Greetings Members of the TNSSAR Board of Governors,
Our Quarterly Board of Governors Meeting will be held on 22 JUNE 2024 at the Baker's Creek Presbyterian Church in Maryville TN (5501 Nine Mile Road, Maryville, TN 37801), beginning at 08:30 (Eastern). The agenda features a handful of Resolutions and a Notice, which are linked. If you have questions, please feel free to call or email me. Our meeting on the 22nd will be followed at 11 a.m. by a Monument Dedication in the cemetery located on the church grounds just outside. The ceremony will be a Patriot Grave Marking Ceremony co-sponsored by the Mary Blount Chapter, TSDAR. I hope to have all of you attend the meeting and stay for the ceremony!
Officers, Regional Directors, Chapter Presidents and Committee Chairmen, please note that you may use the links below to file your quarterly/BoG reports. A new feature in this is that you can begin your entries and SAVE your work to come back later to complete, if you need. We have added some fields, also, to help with other filings and requests that some of our Committee's are needing. I have also added the feature of being presented an option to download the completed PDF at the bottom right of the "Thank You" page once you SUBMIT the report. As with anything in cyberspace, there may be bugs or questions, etc., so just keep me posted. But once you submit your particular report the report is sent to those of us who need to process it, including adding the reports to the login/member section of the tnssar.org web site under "Current BoG Files." My prayer is that this makes reporting easier but also more useful to those of us who need certain information for additional reporting to the NSSAR.
TNSSAR Quarterly Chapter Reports (Completed by Chapter President or other officer(s))
NOTE: If you prefer to file reports the old way, please send them to the following email address: 22junbogreports@tnssar.org (also those reports that were already sent in are still accepted and will be processed, but I would ask that all BoG members get accustomed to the new online format because we are developing them on an ongoing basis and striving to incorporate the data from them into other processes (such as the Americanism Report).
Linked are the Meeting Minutes for the March 16, 2024, BoG and Annual Meeting, as prepared by Tim Massey, and additions/corrections by the EXCOM, submitted for any further entries or corrections prior to approval and placing in the record for the MARCH BOG.
The following Resolutions are on the agenda to be presented and voted on by the BoG:
19-24 SAR/CAR Essay -- We have had this committee for some time, but the national society discontinued this contest/program over a year ago. 20-24 Wreaths Across America - This takes WAA from being its own Committee and places it under the Patriotic Outreach Committee 12-24 Life Membership Fund. I have spoken with Investments Chairman Colin Wakefield about this and this resolution is to remove this as a Committee, but leave the funds earmarked within our investment accounts (reported as a line item in the financial reports). 15-24 Partners in Patriotism. Clarifying Resolution defining Committee. 13-24 Flag & Flag Retirement Committee. This defines the purpose of this committee and, I believe, properly places the Flags for Freedom program (which is the program begun by Hon. Mark Norris 4 years ago to put a flag in every classroom in TN and to promote compliance in our schools with Tennessee Law requiring the Pledge of Allegiance be led at the beginning of each school day throughout our state. Formerly, this program has been under America's 250th, but that is a program that will expire in a few years and the Flags for Freedom program will be perpetual beyond the end of the 250th program. 14-24 Membership & Extension Committee. This resolution is to more properly define this committee. 16-24 Youth Video Contest. This committee was announced earlier this year, along with the Chairman, Scott Selliers, but we typically put Contests with budgeted prize awards in our Bylaws. Also, moving to add the Prize Awards to the Budget (Taking $2000 from the Newsletter Budget and moving it over to the Youth Video Contest for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes and a $250 budget per year for administrative costs. 21-24 Resolution for Alternative Designee/Proxy for BoG/Quorum. This resolution enacts a procedure for Chapter Presidents who cannot attend the BoG to give notice of that fact and appoint another duly elected officer of that chapter to serve as his designee (with voting privileges) at the BoG. Prior to the 2020 Pandemic, this was the practice, typically, though not specified in Bylaws. Since 2020 we added a prohibition to voting by Proxy, there has been confusion about it. This clarifies that, hopefully. 18-24 Youth Protection Training. This defines what TNSSAR will have as our official policy starting off with YPT. 17-24 Change of Name Process for Chapters.
NOTICE The Tombigbee Chapter changed its name to the Col. Hugh Brown Chapter in April.
We invite discussion, questions, etc., and encourage everyone to contact myself, PZ or Doug before the BoG so that our BoG doesn't turn into an all day meeting, as we have other events planned that day.
I will also remind everyone of the importance of all members to periodically check the sar.org member database both to check their own individual data and the Member section of the tnssar.org web site. There is also a fairly up-to-date roster of our TNSSAR Officers, Chapter Officers, Regional Directors and Committee Chairmen there, schedules of Color Guard Events, Schedule of other events, as well as a copy of our Constitution and Bylaws.
I have also linked a Registration form for the 2025 TNSSAR Annual Conference. More events and activities will likely be added between now and the end of the year, but I wanted you to have the opportunity to plan on your own attendance and participation next March.
If you need a Zoom link to attend the BoG virtually, please contact VP Doug Evans.
Thank you helping me honor our Patriot Ancestors and Promote Patriotism in our state,