Tampa Chapter - December 2018
Contents
Meeting
Announcements
Wreaths
Across America
Color
Guard Opportunities
Other Dates of Interest
SAR Post Card
Chapter
Facebook Page
Misc.
Reminders
November Meeting
Last month, we held our annual
Public Service Recognition and Awards Luncheon.
The following public servants and first responders were recognized –
Law Enforcement Commendation
Medal
Trooper
Jeremy Fields, Florida Highway Patrol
Detective
Aaron Dahl, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Emergency Medical Services
Commendation Medal
Rescue
Captain Jeff McAleese, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue
December Meeting Announcement
The next meeting of the
Tampa Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, will be held on Saturday, December
15, at American Legion Post #5 on Kennedy Blvd. in Tampa. There are more details below. After the WAA Ceremony, the members present
will hold a brief meeting to elect officers for 2010. Nominees are:
President John Goolby
Vice
President David Bryant
Recording
Secretary James Handley
Membership
Secretary Jason Krajuyak
Treasurer Paul Ergler
Chancellor Charles Klug
Chaplain John Sessums
Historian Bob Yarnell
Registrar OPEN
Sergeant-At-Arms
OPEN
Board
Members-At-Large Terry Doan
Dick Young
As you can see, we have two open positions in need of a volunteer to
step up and assume these roles. Those
who are interested, contact VP David Bryant.
January meeting
The annual installation of
officers will be held at the Rusty Pelican restaurant on Rocky Point on January
5. This year we are having a buffet with
your choice of Chicken Marsala or Fettucine Pasta Primavera. It is not necessary to make your choice of entrée
with your reservation, as in the past, but it is necessary to make your
reservation and payment. Please mail
your check for $25/person, payable to “Tampa Chapter SAR” to:
Paul Ergler, Treasurer
503 Surrey Lane
Lutz,
FL 33549
American Revolution Notes:
This
space is taking a break for December and January. American revolution notes
will return with the February newsletter.
Wreaths Across America
The Tampa Chapter will
once again sponsor the Wreaths Across America at the American Legion Post #5
Veterans Cemetery at 3810 W Kennedy Blvd. The formal ceremony is on Saturday,
December 15, and will constitute our December Meeting. Our Chapter Color Guard will, once again,
present the Colors at this Ceremony. The C.A.R. has been invited to join
us. The Ceremony starts at 12:00, but
you should be there by 11:30. Everyone
is invited and encouraged to attend.
Being the family. You need not be
in uniform.
In lieu of our Revolutionary
Notes from Bob Yarnell, I have included the story of Wreaths Across
America. It is excerpted, without, edit
except for the removal of pictures and related captions, from their website.
Our
Story – Wreaths Across America
One man's annual tribute to our veterans inspired a legion of
volunteers and gave rise to the Wreaths Across America of today
Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath
Company of Harrington, Maine, was a 12 year
old paper boy for the Bangor Daily News when he won a trip to
Washington D.C. His first trip to our nation’s capital was one he would never
forget, and Arlington National Cemetery made an especially indelible impression
on him. This experience followed him throughout his life and successful career,
reminding him that his good fortune was due, in large part, to the values of
this nation and the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their
country. In 1992, Worcester Wreath found
themselves with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season.
Remembering his boyhood experience at Arlington, Worcester realized he had an
opportunity to honor our country’s veterans. With the aid of Maine Senator
Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington
in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer
visitors with each passing year.
As
plans were underway, a number of other individuals and organizations stepped up
to help. James Prout, owner of local trucking company Blue Bird Ranch, Inc.,
generously provided transportation all the way to Virginia. Volunteers from the
local American Legion and VFW Posts gathered with members of the community to
decorate each wreath with traditional red, hand-tied
bows. Members of the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C. helped to organize
the wreath-laying, which included a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier.
The
annual tribute went on quietly for several years, until 2005, when a photo of
the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, circulated
around the internet. Suddenly, the project received national attention.
Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting
to help with Arlington, to emulate the Arlington project at their National and
State cemeteries, or to simply share their stories and thank Morrill Worcester
for honoring our nation’s heroes.
“The annual tribute went on quietly for several years, until
2005, when a photo of the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered
in snow, circulated around the internet.”
Unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each
state, Worcester began sending seven wreaths to every state, one for each
branch of the military, and for POW/MIAs. In 2006, with the help of the Civil
Air Patrol and other civic organizations, simultaneous wreath-laying ceremonies
were held at over 150 locations around the country. The Patriot Guard Riders
volunteered as escort for the wreaths going to Arlington. This began the annual
“Veterans Honor Parade” that travels the east coast in early December.
The
annual trip to Arlington and the groups of volunteers eager to participate in
Worcester’s simple wreath-laying event grew each year until it became clear the
desire to remember and honor our country’s fallen heroes was bigger than
Arlington, and bigger than this one company.
In 2007, the Worcester family, along with veterans, and other groups and
individuals who had helped with their annual veterans
wreath ceremony in Arlington, formed Wreaths Across America, a non-profit
501-(c)(3) organization, to continue and expand this effort, and support other
groups around the country who wanted to do the same. The mission of the group
is simple:
“The
annual trip to Arlington and the groups of volunteers eager to participate in
Worcester’s simple wreath-laying event grew each year until it became clear the
desire to remember and honor our country’s fallen heroes was bigger than
Arlington, and bigger than this one company.”
In 2008, over 300 locations held
wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas
cemeteries. Over 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves. Over 60,000
volunteers participated. And that year, December 13, 2008 was unanimously
voted by the US Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day”.
In 2014, Wreaths Across America and its
national network of volunteers laid over 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000
locations in the United States and beyond, including ceremonies at the Pearl
Harbor Memorial, as well as Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and the sites if the
September 11 tragedies. This was accomplished with help from 2,047 fundraising
groups, corporate contributions, and donations of trucking, shipping, and
thousands of helping hands. The organization's goal of covering Arlington
National Cemetery was met in 2014 with the placement of 226,525 wreaths.
The wreath-laying is still held annually, on
the second or third Saturday of December. WAA's annual pilgrimage from
Harrington, Maine to Arlington National Cemetery has become known as the
world’s largest veterans’ parade, stopping at schools, monuments,
veterans’ homes and communities all along the way to remind people how
important it is to remember, honor and teach.
Wreaths Across America also conducts several
programs to honor our veterans, including the popular “Thanks a Million”
campaign which distributes cards to people all over the country to give
veterans a simple “thank you” for their service. WAA participates in veterans’
events throughout the year, and has a veteran liaison
on staff to work with local veterans organizations. WAA is committed to teaching younger generations
about the value of their freedoms, and the importance of honoring those who
sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms. The organization offers learning
tools, interactive media projects, and opportunities for youth groups to
participate in the events. They also work to create opportunities to connect
“the Greatest Generation” with the “Generation of Hope”, passing on
inspirational stories from World War II veterans to the leaders of the future.
Wreaths Across America would not be
successful without the help of volunteers, active organizations and the
generosity of the trucking industry, which offer invaluable support to WAA's
mission to remember the men and women who served our country, honor our
military and their families, and teach our children about our freedom and those
who protect it. There are many ways you can help—learn more about how you can get involved.
Color Guard Opportunities
·
December 15 -
Wreaths Across America (see details above)
·
March 9 –
Commemoration of Last Naval Battle on Merritt Island (this is a National SAR
Event)
·
March 30 –
Commemoration of the Battle of Thomas Creek in Jacksonville
·
May 7 -
Honor Flight Mission #37 at Clearwater/St Petersburg Airport
·
June 11 –
Honor Flight Mission #38 at Clearwater/St Petersburg Airport
Other Dates of Interest
Feb
2 Florida
SAR Winter BOM & Rumbaugh Oration Contest
Feb
22 George
Washington’s Birthday
Apr
13 Thomas
Jefferson’s Birthday
May
10-11 Florida SAR
Spring BOM & Annual Meeting
SAR Post Card
A couple members have
asked about a post card from SAR, with a Dallas return address, asking to call
and update/confirm your membership information.
Florida SAR President,
Pat Niemann, has been contacted. He is not aware of any effort by the SAR
to update or confirm membership information. This is always taken care of
thru the annual dues renewal process and the Chapter and State Annual
Reports.
FACEBOOK PAGE
From the President - The new face book page for the Tampa Sons of the American Revolution is Tampa Sar. The password to add anything is American1776.
Please feel free to upload pictures or comments. Invite all your friends to look.
Miscellaneous Reminders
Chapter Website—remember
you can find information about the chapter and programs on the chapter
website. http://www.tampasar.org/
One of the duties of the
Chapter Chaplain is to send cards to our members that are sick. Another is to
send a sympathy card to the family of a member who has passed away. If you know
of anyone that should be the recipient of these cards please mention it to
Chaplain Sessums or one of the other officers at our next meeting.
Chapter officers and committee chairman are encouraged to send any pertinent information they wish included in the newsletter to the editor.