Colorado Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Society Officers for 2014-2015 Wayne Snodgrass President Dick Marsh Vice President Matthew von Hobe Rec. Sec/Hist. Tom Brown Mem. Sec/Registrar Tom Wellborn Treasurer Gene Cheney Chancellor Dick Marsh Chaplain Tom Brown National Trustee Grand Mesa Chapter (GM) Chess Neff President http://www.cossar.us/chapters/ grandmesawest.html Longs Peak Chapter (LP) Dennis Hopper President http://www.cossar.us/chapters/ longspeaknorth.html Mount Evans Chapter (ME) Steve DeBoer (Pro-tem) President http://www.cossar.us/chapters/ mtevanscentral.html Pikes Peak Chapter (PP) Gene Cheney President http://www.cossar.us/chapters/ pikespeaksouth.html Editorial Staff Wayne Snodgrass.Editor Wally Weart...Publisher The Colorado Patriot is the Journal of the Colorado Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and is published quarterly. For article submission or to be added to the mailing list, please e-mail the Editor at wsinmd@comcast.net COSSAR PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Compatriots We are off to a great start for 2014. This year s State Conference Annual Meeting and the George Washington Luncheon were outstanding events with 72 members and guests attending. Our VP Dick Marsh and Norm Kronvall did a great job in the planning. Steve DeBoer led one of the best Color Guard ceremonies with Dave Mann, John Luedecke, Richard Riepe, Bob Easterly, Jan Housley, Gary Mitchell, Wally Weart and the fife and drum corps participating. Dave Mann and his Awards committee selected community service role models ; and Dave conducted the awards ceremony flawlessly. All this was presided over by Past President Garry Brewer. We were very fortunate to have our NSSAR President General Joe Dooley and Vice President General Warren Alter as invited guests.. The highlights of the event were speeches given by PG Joe Dooley and our Eagle Scout award winner, Hunter Bacon. Please mark your calendars for next year s event on February 14 th, 2015. We already have our next PG, Lindsey Brock (nominated), signed up as the key note speaker at the 2015 State Conference. All COSSAR members are invited. Our theme for 2014 is Involvement and Communication. We have expanded our Educational Out-Reach Programs to include the Patriot Chest, Living History and Reenactments, Eagle Scouts, JROTS/ROTC Recognition, National History Day, George Washington Portraits in schools, Color Guard ceremonies & parades, and many more projects and committees. Please join one of these service activities and/or help in the administration of our Chapters or the State Society. Involvement creates friends that last a life time. Please explore the ways in which you may serve. We have expanded our communications with our members via an improved news letter The Colorado Patriot. We are also sharing the event schedules from all Chapters and the Colorado Society in hopes that members will find events of interest that create willingness to participate. We have improved a friendlier more informative website, (cossar.us); and improved the Directory that each member will receive in March. We have initiated the Host Chapter events where the Board of Managers will meet on the home turf of each Chapter for one of the four annual meetings. The host chapter will provide an educational program when it is the host. The main purpose of the meetings will be for the BOM to become better acquainted with the Chapter members. Please plan to attend one of the BOM meetings. Please jump into our COSSAR activities. e need your help and we want to create a fun, friendly, and educational Society. Wayne Snodgrass, President
George Washington Luncheon Longs Peak Chapter Colorado Society of the Sons of the American Revolution The chapter remains active. Membership has increased over the past two years. Three SAR applications have been processed since Jan 1, 2014: Ted Hollman, Mike Schmeeckle, and Robert Chapman. Their memberships are pending review at National. On Jan 22, LP Compatriot Jan Housley along with the COSSAR color guard assisted the Columbine Chapter of DAR with their flag ceremonies for their George Washington Cherry Pie Festival. Rocky Mountain District Vice President General, Warren Alter, installs COSSAR Officers for 2014 Grand Mesa Chapter Colorado Society of the Sons of the American Revolution The chapter will remained active this year with our first business meeting held February 22 nd at Chin Chin s restaurant in Clifton. Grand Mesa is establishing monthly meeting starting April 3 rd. These will be informal meetings to insure issues do not get dropped from quarterly meetings. (Location to be determined) We are also coordinating with the western slope DAR meeting schedule so that our meetings are complimentary and non-conflicting. Compatriot Norm Kronvall has accepted the role as the Awards Committee coordinator for the Grand Mesa Chapter. Please join us in a future event. The May/June/July schedule includes: 17 th May Chapter Meeting 25 th and 26 th May, Memorial Day Services at the veterans cemetery 31 st May, Family History Fair at the LDS Church 4 th July, Fourth of July Parade 12 th July, Grand Mesa Chapter Picnic Chess Neff, President I will attend the CSU Army ROTC Military Ball and Sunset Salute to present the NSSAR Silver ROTC Awards on April 4 th. I and Jordan Brown will present the Silver ROTC Awards to the CSU Air Force ROTC on April 17 th and I will present the JROTC Certificate and medal to Loveland HS May 9 th. The chapter will continue the adopt a highway program in the Fredrick area through 2014. Seven LP Chapter members attended the State CAR Conference in Fort Collins on March 15 th including a Color Guard. The chapter supported the C.A.R Folsom and William Smith Societies with $50.00 donations. Compatriot Jan Housley did a presentation in uniform for 4 th and 5 th graders at Centennial Elementary School in Firestone on March 4 th. His presentation was well received. Compatriots Robert Cassiday and Jan Housley will be sharing a booth with the DAR at the Memorial Day weekend event at the Veteran s Plaza of Northern Colorado on May 24, 2014. Our next scheduled event for May/June/July: May 11 th, Chapter Meeting Dennis L. Hopper Long Peak Chapter President First Quarter 2014 Page 2
Mount Evans Chapter The Mount Evans Chapter met at the Roxborough Community Center in Littleton, CO on January 18. Steve DeBoer (ME Chapter) and young Compatriots present the Patriot Chest to 5th grade students of the Arvada K8 school on March 19 The focus was on the Patriot Chest Program and Color Guard with presentations of both programs by Steve DeBoer and displays of both the Chest and Color Guard uniform / accessory inventory. The ME Chapter has taken part now in eight Patriot Chest presentations, with another six scheduled prior to May 1. ME members of the Color Guard now total five. Pikes Peak Chapter In January the Pikes Peak Chapter held the annual meeting and installed the 2014 officers. On 1 February I represented PPCSAR and COS- SAR at the DAR Kinnikinnik Society 100 th Birthday Celebration. The PPC held the March meeting 15 March 2014 at Maggie May s restaurant. On April 19 th, PPC will have a Chapter meeting recognizing the Patriots and Founders Day. Other scheduled events for May/June/July: 1. May 10 th, Host the BOM meeting at the Village Inn at Castle Rock 2. May 17 th, Regular Chapter Meeting Gene Cheney, President PPCSAR Compatriot Bob Easterly provided the main program on his Great Grandfather s service as a 12 year old member of the Union Army and patriarch of a Colorado pioneer family on the Western Slope. Motions and approvals took place to provide a Chapter award of $250 for the Eagle Scout Scholarship program, as well as provision of three scholarships ($180) to Eagle Ridge Elementary School in Parker for its Revolutionary War battle reenactment. Left to right Richard Hoskinson(Treasurer), Fr. Richard Bugyi-Sutter(Chaplain), Richard Jeffords(Registrar), Dick Marsh(Historian), Gene Cheney(President), Larry Cox(Vice President), Richard Riepe(Recording Secretary) ME hosted the March 22 BOM at Roxborough. This is a new approach to the COSSAR BOM meetings. The main purpose is to foster closer relationships between the BOM and the Chapters. Members now total 107 in the ME Chapter. Please join us in the next event: 1. April 26 th, Chapter Meeting at Hanson s Steve DeBoer Mt. Evans Chapter President Past President Garry Brewer awards the State Medal for Distinguished Service to Secretary Dick Marsh. First Quarter 2014 Page 3
Patriot Chest Presentations to date and scheduled. This reports includes promotional presentations to organizations to "get the word out". All were or will be presented in Colonial and Militia uniform. December 23, 2013- Arvada "Colonial Christmas" exhibit, approx 75 visitors, DeBoer January 18- DeBoer presented the Patriot Chest Program to the Mount Evans Chapter meeting. Approx 35 in attendance. February 3, 2014- Cottonwood Creek Elementary, Centennial; DeBoer, D. Mann to 120 fifth grade students Feb 7- Dennison Elementary, Lakewood; DeBoer in conjunction with Darrell Osborne of You Can Live History to study his presentation. 100 fifth grade students. Feb 22- Columbine Chapter DAR, Cherry Pie Social, DeBoer, Dave Mann presented the Patriot Chest program to approx 75 attending. March 3- Centennial Elementary- Firestone: Jan Housely, DeBoer, 70 fifth grade students. March 19- Arvada Elementary K8, 63 fifth graders March 8- Arvada Star Spangled Scholar Event, DeBoer, Approx 40 visitors, including representative of Jeffco School Board. April 2- Buckley AFB K-8, 50 students- 2nd grade through Jr. High presented at their Recreation Center April 4- Eagle Ridge Elementary School, Lone Tree, 84 fifth graders, DeBoer, Gary Mitchell, Dave Rogers, all in uniform Official and Scheduled- April 15- "Whiz Kids", Lakewood, presentation to area special student program Lakewood, sponsored by area churches, 30 students April 16- International Academy, Colorado Springs, assisting D Mann April 17- Presentation to Denver Optimist Club- 60+ April 17- Aurora Quest K8, presentation to 56 fifth graders April 25- Sierra Elementary School, Arvada, presentation 87 fifth graders April 29- Hackberry Hill Elementary School, Lakewood, 100 students K8 display First Quarter 2014 Page 4
Registrar Ramblings As of this posting, COSSAR has 308 members. This includes 6 new members since January 1st, and 2 reinstatements or transfer in. Five ( 5 ) new applications have been submitted to the National office. Sixteen (16) supplemental applications have been submitted and approved with 2 additional applications at National. The Annual Reconciliation Report was submitted to and accepted by National prior to the due date of January 31st 2014 and the final membership tally to begin the year 2014 was 301 members. New Members since the last report: 1. Verlyn Barker ME 2. Robert D. Cassiday LP 3. McCarron, Lonnie PP 4. Robert S. Witt PP 5. William C. Easton III - transfer ME 6. Gary E. Manning PP 7. Ryan E. Meister ME 8. Greyson P. Meister ME 9. Benjamin Black AL Chapter 10. Robert L. Stevens ME 11. Mark A. Williams AL 12. Charles J. Williams AL 13. Jacob R. Creamer ME 14. Charles Ray Honaker PP 15. Alexander P. Turner ME 16. Charles R. Hatch PP 17. Michael W. Schmeeckle LP 18. Raymond C. Houck GM Thomas A Brown, COSSAR Registrar` Eagle Scout Committee Report The Eagle Scout committee received only three scholarship applications for the year 2013 and four for the year 2012. No Colorado Eagle Scout has been competitive for the NASSAR scholarship for many years. Considering the many young men that achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in Colorado over those two years, it would not be difficult to come to the conclusion that our program is failing to attract their interest. Accordingly, our program needs to be reviewed for 2014.I see three problems with our program. First, the amount of the award, $250.00, is insufficient to motivate most of our Eagle Scouts to go to the considerable effort required to apply. The low number of applicants to choose from usually means that we will not produce a competitive candidate for the national award. Second, we have no effective mechanism publicize our program. Third, we have an overly subjective evaluation process to select our top candidate. If we are to attract the interest of our Eagle Scouts, we will have to make it worth their while to apply for it. That would entail a substantial increase in the amount of the CaSSAR award. We need a better way to publicize our State Eagle Scout program. This could entail using a different marketing channel. For example, the Colorado Society of Mayflower Descendants markets their scholarship program through the guidance counselors in Colorado high schools by sending a scholarship announcement and application package to every high school in Colorado. Obviously, that entails an investment in the cost of mailing and copying the material and a degree of labor to put together the packages, label the envelopes and mail them. Electronic distribution might be one way to reduce such a cost. First Quarter 2014 Page 5
We have addressed the third problem by developing a more quantitative method to rank candidates that takes the NASSAR criteria into account with a spreadsheet that looks at each category and awards points in a more objective manner but still leaves room for some subjective interpretation. We have also developed a worksheet to more objectively evaluate the written essay that is required for each application. Anthony S. Clark COSSAR Eagle Scout Committee Chairman The National Society, Sons Of The American Revolution General Officer's Report Report of activities: I presented my "Genealogy Seminar - Recruiting and Qualifying the Prospective Member" at the California Society state meeting in November, 2013 and am scheduled to present this seminar at the Illinois Society meeting on Feb 7, the Texas Society meeting in March, the Louisiana and Oklahoma Society meetings in April, and the Ohio Society meeting in May. The power-point slides and script, along with a video of the presentation, are posted on the National SAR web site, accessible by clicking on the Genealogy Tab, and scrolling down and clicking on the "Genealogy Seminar" URL. Chapters and states that implemented the ideas presented report recruiting success. I've extended my seminar by including a section on efficiently handling large numbers of applications at the chapter level. I'll be presenting this extended seminar at Congress in Greenville, SC in July, open to all. For the past 2 3/4 years, I've continued to maintain close e-mail contact with the genealogy staff and state genealogy points of contact to ensure accurate adherence to genealogical processes, procedures, principles, and policies. Almost all pended applications over three Years old on file have been eliminated. The state points of contact continue to turn in more "approval-ready" applications, thus shortening the review time and keeping the backlog of applications down to approximately five weeks. The number of new member applications submitted in 2013 (3728) was slightly lower than the total number submitted in 2012 (3786). Similarly, the number of supplemental applications submitted in 2013 (1498) was slightly lower than the total number submitted in 2012 (1503). For the period - September 2013 to 31 January 2014, there were 1588 new applications received, 1064 new applications approved, and 77 new applications pended. For that same period, there were 812 supplemental applications received, 441 supplemental applications approved, and 36 supplemental applications pended. Yours in Patriotic Service, Cot. Larry P. Cornwell, USAF-Ret. COSSAR Color Guard The COSSAR Color Guard now numbers up to eight members as events present themselves, with expectation of an available "Minute Man" list of ten to fifteen more as needed. Contributions and matching funds from the Mount Evans Chapter, along with Project funds authorized by the BOM have enabled the purchase of uniforms and equipment to completely outfit five participants as Continental Army or Militia participants. By eliminating or reducing the cost of participation, the hope is that more Compatriots across the state will participate in the Color Guard; projecting the face of COSSAR in the community on a more regular basis and enjoying a more active role in the SAR. The Color Guard appeared and presented the Colors most recently at the COSSAR state luncheon, with review by the President General, as well as participation at the CAR state meeting and the DAR Columbine Chapter Social. On March 29, the CG will present the Colors; participating with the Northern Colorado Fife and Drum Corps at the Colorado Mammoth game. First Quarter 2014 Page 6
The Color Guard at two recent events.. NSSAR President General Joe Dooley congratulates the newly elected COSSAR President Wayne Snodgrass at the Annual George Washington Luncheon Invitation to all COSSAR Members, Please mark your calendars! 1. Annual Picnic: 2 August 2014 at the Colorado Springs Masonic Temple Menu: Hawaiian Bar-B-Que Entertainment: Vocal Focus 2. Annual Meeting & George Washington Luncheon: 14 February 2015 At the Hilton Garden Inn in the Denver Tech Center Key Note Speaker: NSSAR President General Lindsey Brock (nominated). 88 First First Quarter 2014 2014 8 Page Page 7 7
COSSAR Secretary Matt von Hobe 1031 Harrison Ave. Canon City, CO 81212 The Colorado Patriot Colorado Society SAR Please send newsletter articles to the Editor: Wayne Snodgrass wsinmd@comcast.net You received this B&W version as we have an invalid or missing e-mail address for you. To receive a color copy of the quarterly newsletter in your e-mail or to make address, phone and e-mail updates, please contact the COSSAR Secretary: Matthew Von Hobe mvonhobe@yahoo.com