General Orders #1 Fall 2018 Allied with the Grand Army of the Republic DEPARTMENT PRESIDENT S MESSAGE PO Box 33 Cairnbrook, PA 15924-0033 It is a great honor to be elected to serve as your Department President for another term. The first time I was elected as Department President was in 2012. I feel we, as an organization, have come a long way in the past several years. Our Department has been growing by leaps and bounds the last several years. Let s keep up the good work by not only bringing in new members but also doing what we can for our service men and women whether they are currently serving or are veterans. One thing I suggest all tents keep in mind is that we are a non-profit organization. If your coffers are building up please see where your money can make the most difference. It does not help anyone sitting in the bank. Let s work together to make this a great year. PRESIDENT S VISITS I would like to visit as many tents as possible. Please email or text me if you would like me to attend your meeting. If possible, let me know several weeks in advance so I may put it in my schedule. Currently, I have six Tents scheduled but would like to attend all thirteen. PRESIDENT S PROJECT I have decided not to have a President s Project this year. Instead, I strongly urge everyone to give their full support to the Chief-of-Staff, Patriotic Instructor and Chaplain projects. DEPARTMENT OFFICERS President Sharon Harkcom 814-442-2743 PO Box 33, Cairnbrook, PA 15924-0033 skharkcom@yahoo.com Sr. Vice President Kayla Reed 814-521-0594 3466 Ridge Road, Stoystown, PA 15563-8404 reed.kayla@comcast.net Department of Pennsylvania
Jr. Vice President Maureen Snowden 614-204-0736 5600 Kean Road, Westerville, OH 43082 Maureen.snowden@sbcglobal.net Chaplain Linda Kao 814-234-6843 711 Holmes Street, State College, PA 16803 Lsk71150@yahoo.com Patriotic Instructor Cheri Spence 614-891-5542 109 Keethler Drive, Westerville, OH 43081 cheri.spence@pmc.com Treasurer Daryl Reed 814-233-0818 3466 Ridge Road, Stoystown, PA 15563 dendarkay@comcast.net Secretary Ellen Higgins 606-390-2163 PO Box 405, Marmora, NJ 08223 SquirrelOCNJ@aol.com Council 1 Deborah Schiesser 215-345-9110 115 North Hamilton St., Doylestown, PA 18901-3618 dschiesser@aol.com Council 2 Pat Benfer 570-658-8101 224 S. Schrader St., Beavertown, PA 17813-9768 patben@ptd.net Council 3 Constance Cole 814-234-3890 102 Fernwood Court, State College, PA 16803 gramerec@aol.com Registrar Mary Ann Herbsleb 610-948-5837 389 South 4 th Ave., Royersford, PA 19468-2504 mahstar518@hotmail.com Counselor Daryl Reed (see treasurer) Press Correspondent Kayla Reed (see Sr. Vice President) Chief of Staff Daryl Reed (see treasurer) Assistant Chief of Staff Joyce Wrigley 717-445-8259 46 Coopers Way, Denver, PA 17517-9609 rwrigley@frontiernet.net
Guide Sandra Millin 814-395-5332 8004 Kingwood Rd., Confluence, PA 15424-2329 skm25@verizon.net Historian Linda Kao (see Chaplain) Guard Joyce Wrigley (see Assistant Chief of Staff) Press Correspondent Kayla Reed (see Sr. Vice President) Color Bearer #1 Helen Martindale 614-284-3212 13119 Fancher Rd., Westerville, OH 43082 hrm0629@aol.com Color Bearer #2 Frances Vas 724-925-6210 114 S. 4 th St., Youngwood, PA 15697-1204 vasmail2005@yahoo.com Color Bearer #3 Connie Nicholson 724-329-7771 673 Nelson Rd., Farmington, PA 15437-1209 jimconnie@verizon.net Color Bearer #4 Dixie Smith 304-624-1075 104 Bubby Lane, Lost Creek, WV 26385 dilanosyta@hughes.net Webmaster Ellen Higgins (see Secretary) State Veterans Home Sharon Harkcom (see President) VAVS Mary Ann Herbsleb (see Registrar) CONGRATULATIONS My sincere Congratulations and Best Wishes for a successful year are extended to Department Commander Alfred Carty, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War; Department President, Susan Mertz, Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War; Department President, Darlene Alcorn, Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic; and Mary Jane Bannan, National Woman s Relief Corps State Representative. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS MEMBERSHIP & ORGANIZATION: Sr. Vice President, Kayla Reed DUVS Dixie Smith
CONVENTION & SITES COMMITTEE: Ellen Higgins, PNP, Daryl Reed, PDP, Sharon Harkcom, President PATRIOTIC INSTRUCTOR Cheri Spence Our Department Patriotic Instructor would appreciate any support she can get. Donations may be listed on your Funds Distribution Report. Complete details will be in GO s #2. CHAPLAIN Linda Kao If a sister in your tent passes away, please send me her death information, including a copy of the obituary, if possible. The Deceased Member Form can be found on the National website, Members Only section. I will forward the information to Headquarters, the National Chaplain and the National Registrar. One of the special duties of the State Department Chaplain is to raise funds for the Southern Memorial and Wreaths Fund held by the National Department. My project is to sell tickets for a drawing of several VISA gift credit cards customized with photos of some of the Southern National Cemeteries where the Wreaths are placed each Memorial Day. The number and denomination of the cards, as well as means of ticket purchase will be announced later. CHIEFS OF STAFF Daryl Reed & Joyce Wrigley The current chief-of-staff fundraiser is a pair of large scarecrow gourds. Tickets have been sent to each tent president and are selling for $1 each or 6 for $5. The winning ticket will be pulled on the evening of October 15 th, and the gourds will be mailed to the winner. If you are unable to get tickets from your president, you may send a check made payable to Daryl Reed COS to 3466 Ridge Road, Stoystown, PA 15563 for the amount of tickets you want. You will be entered in the drawing and the ticket stubs returned to you. For more information, please look on the department website at paduvcw.com. A trivia game/scavenger hunt is being planned for the Friday of Remembrance Day weekend in Gettysburg. This game will be open to all the Allied Orders and any member of the public who may want to play. If you are planning to be in Gettysburg on Friday, November 16, watch the department website for more details as the logistics are still being determined. A crocheted wall hanging of Abraham Lincoln is being created by Kathy Walton of Tent 56. Tickets will be available as soon as it is completed and will be for sale throughout the year. The winning ticket will be pulled at the department convention. Thank you for the donation Kathy! There will also be small items for sale throughout the year. We thank you for anything you can do to help the chief-of-staff to raise money for our department encampment expenses!
TENT PRESS CORRESPONDENTS Our Department Press Correspondent, Kayla Reed, would like sisters to send her any notices, articles, pictures or newspaper clippings about our organization or the Civil War, so that she may include them in her scrapbook. Please send two copies, so that one can be forwarded to the National Press Correspondent. FORMS The following forms need to be completed by the dates indicated. October 31 Your Treasurer s Report should be sent to the National Associate Treasurer #1. You should have received this information from the Department Treasurer, Daryl Reed. As soon as possible after your election of officers the Tent Officers Annual Report should be completed and copies forwarded as indicated on the form. January 15, 2019 Tent Membership Annual Report shall be completed and submitted as indicated on the form. Please make sure to include the proper amount for National Assessment and dues as well as the Department dues. May 1, 2019 All annual Tent reports are to be completed and submitted as indicated on the form. For those completing the SVH and VAVS forms please check the website for a listing of State Veterans Homes. If your information is not associated with one of these homes please include it on the VAVS form. As for all the forms if your information is not reported on the correct form it may be discarded and therefore the Department will not receive recognition. GENERAL INFORAMTION The National and Department passwords will change on or about October 1 st. If you need the password please call your tent President. The password should not be sent through mail or email. Please check for Pa updates on our website at www.paduvcw.com. Remember the password for the members only section is the same password as National. The Department Bylaws have been updated and approved by National. If you would like a copy please contact Ellen Higgins. The cost is $2.00 if you receive them in person or $3.50 if you would like to have them mailed to you. Enclosed is the form to have your GO s retrieved on line. Please complete the form and send it to Ellen Higgins. If you do not have a computer you may still receive them by mail. Just a reminder of Remembrance Day activities on November 17 th. See the website for more information. 2018 DEPARTMENT CONVENTION The 2018 Convention was held June 22-24, 2018 at the Genetti Hotel and Convention Center in Williamsport. The Loving Cup was presented to Mary Morris Husband Tent 58 of Philadelphia for the most new members. Congratulations!
There were seven PDP s in attendance along with our National President Caren Cleveland and Past National President Ellen Higgins. Seven tents were represented. Thank you to all those who worked so hard to raise funds for various organizations as well as the Department. NATIONAL CONVENTION The national conventions was held in Bloomington, MN from July 25-29. There were several national by-laws changes which will be posted in full in the National General Orders. Dr. Sandra Millin, PDP from PA was elected as National Sr. Vice President. Congratulations Sandy! She will be looking for several PA sisters to be on her staff when she is elected as National President in Atlanta, GA next July. Many positions can be done from home or in the few days of the convention. Please consider giving some of your time. More information will be presented by the delegate-at-large in formal report. 2019 DEPARTMENT CONVENTION The 2019 Department Encampment/Convention of the Allied Orders, which includes the Sons of Union Veterans, Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans, the Daughters of Union Veterans, the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Woman s Relief Corps will be held June 27-30, 2019 at the Valley Forge Crown Plaza in Valley Forge, PA. The rooms will be $119 per night. Additional information will be included in GO s #2. SYMPATHY I want to extend my personal sympathy to all who have lost friends, sisters, brothers and loved ones this year. In closing, my thoughts and prayers are with each and every sister. Yours in Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty, Sharon K. Harkcom Department President Attest: Ellen Higgins Department Secretary