The Clarence A. Cook Chapter will host a quarterly chapter meeting on May 19 at the MCL Restaurant at 5520 Castleton Corner Ln Indianapolis, IN 46250.

Meeting with start at 7pm with an optional dinner beginning at 6pm.

The Clifty Creek Chapter will conduct a Patriot Grave Marking on 13 June 2021 for Patriot's Jethro New and John Story at the Vernon Cemetery, 315 S Pike St, Vernon, IN.  Please let us know if you want to present a wreath or participate in the ceremony in some fashion.  Color Guard participants are especially welcome.

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I would like to announce the appointment of a Special State Committee named "Chapter Governance."  The committee will be chaired by Compatriot Pat Cave Jr., who is also our 1st District Vice President.
 
The objective of this committee is to review Indiana Chapter Constitution and Bylaws defining documents to determine their alignment with National and State governing documents.  This scope includes identifying, suggesting, and following up on necessary Chapter defining document changes.
 
This committee is charged with providing a schedule of activities at the next Executive Committee meeting on 8 June, along with a timeline for completion of the committee activities.
 
The members of this special committee are:

• Pat Cave Jr. (Chairman)
  
• Wayne Eells
  
• William Behnke
  

Compatriots:  I have appointed Kevin Cullen as the committee lead for the Flag Recognition and Americanism Committees.  Please see the note I sent to him below.

Jeff
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I would like to sincerely thank you for volunteering as an Indiana State SAR Society committee lead.  The specific committee you volunteered for (Flag and Americanism) is actually two separate committees.  These are:  “Flag Recognition” and “Americanism.”  Your willingness to lead these committees are a strong statement of your support for the SAR and your willingness to contribute your time and your efforts to our Society.
 
I have the following contact information on file for you:
 
Compatriot Frank Kevin Cullen
National Number:  116565
518 Perrin Avenue
Lafayette, IN 47904-2655
Cell:  (765) 429-6247
Email:  irishhiker@aol.com
 
Your two committees fall within our Outreach and Patriotism categories.  Our State SAR strives to support the National SAR Patriotic Goals.  Your committees are aligned with that support.  Here are the National goals:
 

• We will work tirelessly to inspire the community with the principles on which our nation was founded.
  
• We strive to maintain and extend the institutions of American freedom.
  
• We will work to carry out the promises expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution.
  
• We shall provide recognition for public service.
  
• This organization shall strive to honor, respect, and support the sacrifices of our veterans, especially those confined to residential and hospital facilities provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  

Executive Committee:

I am appointing Jacob Vink as the State Color Guard Commander, and the lead of the State Color Guard Committee.  He is to be congratulated for assuming this vital role.  As specified in Bylaw 18, the committee will consist of the State Commander, the Area Color Guard Commanders, and the Vice President.

This position is effective immediately.

Jacob is committed to energizing a recruiting campaign to increase our Color Guard membership and visibility.

Jeff Jones
State President



Bylaw 18 - Committees

Quote:[font="Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif]Section 9. The Color Guard Committee will administer and coordinate all functions, procedures and protocols of the Indiana Society, Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard (hereafter referred to as Color Guard) in accordance with the overall guidance of the Indiana Society House of Delegates.

The Color Guard Committee shall consist of the State Color Guard Commander, who shall serve as the committee chairman, the Area Color Guard Commanders, and the incumbent Indiana Society Vice President, who shall have voting privileges only in the event of a tie vote among the members of the committee. The Indiana Society President shall appoint the State Commander. The State Commander shall appoint Area Commanders.

The Indiana Color Guard shall employ the Events method for Color Guard awards as outlined in the National SAR Handbook.[/font]

I would like to announce the appointment of a Special State Committee named "State District Roles."  The committee will be chaired by Compatriot Mark Kreps, who is also our State Historian.

The objective of this committee is to define the roles and to deconflict responsibilities, among SAR Chapters within our State Districts.  This objective includes updating traditional District boundaries, recommending Chapter responsibilities for Patriot Graves and Color Guard activities, providing guidance for referrals of membership, guidance on recruiting for Youth and ROTC contests, and guidance for responding to DAR requests for SAR participation.

This committee is charged with providing a schedule of activities at the next Executive Committee meeting on 8 June, along with a timeline for completion of the committee activities.

The members of this special committee are:

• Mark Kreps (Chairman)
  
  
• Jacob Vink
  
  
• Allen Manning
  
  
• George Frantz
  
  
• Tom Whiteman
  
  
• William Behnke
  
  
• Randy Helderman
  
  
• Edward Hitchcock
  
  
• Gerald McDowell
  
  
• Wilbur Decker
  

Quote:[font="Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif]Section 1. The President shall appoint the Standing Committees and such Special Committees as he deems necessary to carry on the work of the Indiana Society during his term of office, subject to confirmation by the House of Delegates. All Committees shall be encouraged to present a written report of activities at each meeting of the House of Delegates. Special meetings may be conducted, and votes may be taken and recorded, via teleconference or other electronic means that permits contemporaneous discussion.[/font]

In July, 2016, Congress established the United States Semiquincentennial Commission to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.  The America 250 Foundation has partnered with the Commission to help plan public and private collaboration to commemorate the 2026 event.  The Sons of the American Revolution is an integral part of these preparations and associated activities.  This forum will serve as the Indiana Society's primary America 250 communications venue.

View Indiana SAR 250 Promotional Video

The primary waterway between Lake Erie and the Mississippi River is through what has been called the “Glorious Gate.” The Maumee-Wabash sluiceway connected the most direct waterways from Quebec and Montreal to French settlements in the lower Wabash, Illinois and Mississippi areas. This route opened up new areas, rich in game, and being further south the route was more temperate than the four or five portages farther north in Canada and Wisconsin. Except for a nine mile portage at present day Fort Wayne, travelers, explorers, trappers, tradesmen and armies could traverse the entire distance by water. The portage was a “toll road” defended by the Miami Indians. Along present day Indiana’s southern border is another great waterway, the Ohio River. For about 200 years, these water routes were militarily and economically very strategic. During the French and Indian War, Pontiac’s Rebellion, American Revolution, Northwest Indian War and War of 1812, Indiana was continually contested by French, British, Colonial, Native and to a lesser degree, Spanish forces.

Greetings Compatriots of the SAR!

I am deeply honored to be chosen to serve as your new Indiana SAR Society President.  My primary goal will be to continue the highest tradition of leadership set by our Past President, Kevin Waldroup, during the past two years.  His service, actions, and guidance focused the entire membership of our Society on dealing with change, embracing innovation, collaborating with each other, and assuming new roles and duties that we would have previously not thought possible.  He looked at this past year of 2020 and found opportunities for all us to excel in social interaction at multiple levels and distances of our Society, and to participate broadly on committees and work tasks with new levels of access.  We are eternally grateful to Compatriot Past President Kevin Waldroup.

In addition to continuing our State Society traditions, I would like to find more ways to expand our compatriot opportunities and participation.  My intention is to expand our committee membership rolls, and to conduct regular Executive Committee meetings that include state committee representation.  The outcome that I am hoping for is a regular “heartbeat” of State Society business and continual communication between committees at the State and Chapter levels.

Our Annual House of Delegates (April meeting), hosted by the Clarence A. Cook Chapter, was hugely successful.  It was our first in-person meeting in a very long time.  Instead of struggling to meet a minimum quorum to conduct society business, we instead had most seats filled, with many supporting Ladies of the Auxiliary and the DAR present.  This meeting was the first time (in my memory) that we had a virtual component using ZOOM to bring members to the meeting that could not attend otherwise.  We offer many thanks to Jacob Vink and his crew for their support.  In addition, Chaplain McGriff conducted a very solemn memorial service where we “remembered” 42 deceased Compatriots.  Even though this represents 5% of our membership, they are gone but “truly not forgotten.”

We have a number of important events that are occurring in the near future.  Please make plans to attend our Summer House of Delegates on 31 July in Lafayette.  The William Henry Harrison Chapter will host this meeting.  I would love to be challenged to find everyone a seat, because so many of our Compatriots attended.  The State Leadership will be at the Annual Summer Congress in Seattle in the middle of July, and we will have full reports to bring to our State meeting on the 31st.  Please take a few minutes and review the Society calendar (on the State website) and to make sure the Chapter activities are up to date.

July 4, 2026 will mark 250 years since the United States of America declared its independence as a nation.  As this momentous anniversary approaches, Americans have an unparalleled opportunity to reflect on our past, to celebrate the rich tapestry of our present, and to advance the promise of our democracy for future generations.

Congress established the U.S. Semi-quincentennial Commission to lead the nationwide commemoration of this historic milestone.  The America 250 Foundation serves as the operational arm of the Commission, leading its programs, events, and partnerships.  The Commission and the Foundation envision the America 250 commemoration as a monumental, multiyear initiative, engaging each American in what we expect to be the largest and most inclusive anniversary observance in our nation’s history.

I hope you will join me in finding ways for our State SAR society to plan for, and participate in this upcoming major celebration.
I would like to close with again thanking our Past President for his service and to thank each of our Compatriots in their support of the SAR.  I look forward to our continued fellowship and successes!

Jeff