Series 2002-2003

October 30, 2002

Brothers of the Ohio Department,

At the time of General Order No. 1, we did not have a complete list of the newly elected Presidents of our Allied Ordrrs. Now that we have the information, it is included as an attachment. I want to personally congratulate all the Presidents on their election and wish them a most successful year.

On the subject of elections I am pleased to report that PDC Bob Grim was elected to the office of National Commander-in-Chief at the 121st National Encampment of the SUVCW. Bob is the 10th PDC of the Department of Ohio to be elected Commander- in-Chief since the founding of the Department in 1881. Congratulations, Bob!

1. Gen. James B. Mcpherson Camp #66 (Toledo area) Selected for Lincoln Award It was a great honor for all the Ohio delegates at the National Encampment in Springfield, Illinois to be present when Commander-in-Chief George Powell announced our own Gen. James B. McPherson Camp #66 as the winner of the Lincoln Award for the Outstanding Camp in the Nation for 2001. McPherson Brother Scott Baker accepted the award on behalf of the Camp. The Camp is doing great work in many areas, such as grave registration, membership recruitment, monument and cemetery restoration.. McPherson Camp sets a fine example for SUVCW Camps everywhere and the award was certainly well deserved.

2. National Dues Increase By action of the 121st National Encampment , national per capita dues will be increased from the current $12 per year to $18 per year beginning January 1, 2003. In addition, the Encampment voted to change the reporting requirements by Camps and Departments from quarterly to annual. This means that beginning with the year 2003 regular Camp reports will be filed annually. The first Annual Report is due to the Department Secretary/Treasurer by April 30, 2003 and should include the annual dues for each Camp member, i.e. $18 National dues and $4 Department dues. After the Annual Report is submitted, membership status changes should be reported to the Department Secretary/Treasurer by the 15th of the month following the month in which they occur. Dues are subject to the same pro-ration as existed under quarterly reporting. [ The new Camp and Department Annual Report and the new Camp Status Report forms are being Developed by the National Program and Policy Committee and should be available from The National Quartermaster or the SUVCW website by December 1, 2001.] The primary reason for the National dues increase, the first in a number of years, is The cost of producing the "new" Banner publication. The Encampment concluded That the Order should maintain the quality of recent issues. Also, part of the $6 Increase in dues will assist in supporting our efforts to refurbish and restore Civil War monuments and Memorials.

3. Changes in Camp By-laws Resulting from National Dues Increase Camps should review their Camp By-laws in connection with the National dues increase. Many Camps have a provision to automatically increase Camp dues by the amount of the National increase; others have a set amount stipulated in their By-laws. If a Camp wants to take a course of action inconsistent with their current By-laws, then the By-laws need to be changed. Where Camp By-laws are being changed, National Regulations [Chap. 1, Art. IX, Sec. 1] specify that changes shall be submitted to the Department Commander for approval and shall not be effective approved in writing. In this regard, please e-mail or regular mail me the changes. I will respond by return mail.

4. Life Membership Programs In my visits to Camp Meetings over the last several months there have been many questions concerning Life Membership. Below is an explanation of the two former programs and the current one:

a. Programs existing prior to 8/15/1996 Annual reimbursement will continue to be made to Camps for Life Members in these programs upon written request to the Department Secretary/Treasurer and must include the Brothers Life Membership number. The request must be received by the Secretary/Treasurer on or before May 31 of each year. The reimbursement rate is determined annually by the Council of Administration. For 2003 the ammount is $4.

b. 1996 Program (8/15/96 thru 8/19/00)(closed beginning 8/20/2000) Annual reimbursement will continue to be made to Camps for Life Members in this program upon written request to the Department Secretary/Treasurer and must include the Brothers Life Membership number. The request must be received by the Secretary/Treasurer on or before May 31 of each year. The ammount of annual reimbursement in this program is $12.00/yr [National Regulations: Chap. III, Art. VI, Sec. 3, Para. (iv)]

c. 2001 Program (Open beginning 9/1/2001) CURRENT PROGRAM Cost for Brothers under 65 years of age is $500, for those 65 and over cost is $250. Fees may be paid over 3 years. However the Brother is not considered a Life Member until the entire amount is paid. If the total amount is not paid in 3 years, then the amounts paid are considered a donation to the Permanent Fund of the Order. There is no annual reimbursement to the Camp under the 2001 program. Real Sons are entitled to a free Life Membership. However, no annual reimbursement applies to this category. Please note also that the above Life Membership programs apply only to National dues. Department dues of $4.00 per year are still collected from all Camp members, including Life Members. Whether or not individual Camps collect the Department dues from the member is up to the camp. And whether or not the Camp assesses the local Camp component of dues is is also at the discretion of the Camp. For example: Nat'l dues $18; Ohio Dept. dues $4: Local Camp $3--- Total $25. The Na'tl portion is covered by Life Membership, Dept. portion is either charged to the Life Member or paid out of Camp funds for the Life Member; Local portion, same as Dept.

5. Camp Meetings and Events As noted in the last General Order, I want to visit as many Camps and events as I can this year- including those in the northern part of Ohio. To accomplish this objective I need your help. Please let me know when your meetings/events are going to be held and request my attendance as early as possible. If you could e-mail me a schedule it would be helpful. Several Camps have already done this.

6. Upcoming Department/National Meetings Mid-Winter Meeting-Department of Ohio, Sat. February 1, 2003, Veterans Memorial Columbus, Oh. The meeting will begin at 9am in Room 205. While no official Department actions can be taken, the regular part of the meeting will serve to provide status of Department activities and all officers should be present and prepared to present a to-date report. All Brothers are encouraged to attend. As has become tradition, the Auxillary to the SUVCW will provide lunch, no doubt including one of their famous soups. We plan to have a special discussion at the regular meeting- a seminar on Camp newsletter publishing. I encourage all Camps to attend this session. Those currently having a printed or e-mailed newsletter are asked to bring copies to share. We will review how to start a Camp newsletter, what to include, how to improve one, and even how to do one on the internet. 121st Annual Encampment Ohio Department, June 13-15, 2003 Mt Union College Alliance, Ohio PCinC Dick Greenwalt, annual host for the Ohio Encampment, informs me that plans are already underway for next years get-together. Always a great event in a wonderful setting. Mark your calendars now for June 13-15, 2002. This is where you can see how decisions are made for the Department of Ohio and you can part of that process. 122nd Annual National Encampment, Aug. 7-10, 2003, Drawbridge Inn, Ft. Mitchell, Ky This year the Encampment hosts are the Departments of Ohio and Kentucky and plans are being made for a great event. This location in suburban Cincinnati is the closest that members of the Ohio Department will get to a National Encampment in the next several years and we encourage your attendance. In addition to being able to see how the SUVCW works on the National level, you can experience the many attractions of the Greater Cincinnati area. Rooms are $69 and $79 per night and can bemade currently at the Inn- (800)354-9793. Be sure to note that you are with the Allied Orders of the GAR. Other Encampment questions? Send an e-mail to: Encampment2003@cinci.rr.com

7. Last Union Civil War Veteran Program In my first General Order I discussed our new program, proposed by PDC Don Darby and accepted by the 2002 Department Encampment, to determine and appropriately recognize the last Union Veteran to survive in each Ohio county and the State overall. If your Camp has not begun this effort, let me encourage you to do so. Research sources could include newspaper articles, cemetery records and historical/genealogical society information, among others. Once determined, Camps are encouraged to locate the gravesite of this veteran and place a marker. to date, information provided by the Camps indicates determination has been made for: Gallia, Highland, Lawrence, Meigs and Ross counties. If you determine a county's last Union veteran, please forward the information to the Dept Memorials Officer Don Grant, 614 Franklin Ave., Lancaster, OH 43130-3259, e-mail grantdon@hotmail.com. [Note to Camp Commanders: The position of Camp Memorials Officer is now an official Camp Office. If you do not have one, please appoint one and notify Don Grant]

8. Answering the Final Muster In cases where a Brother passes away and the family requests participation or attendance by the Ohio Dept. Brothers at the funeral services, please contact our Department Chaplain Craig Keller at (513) 868-9911. Brother Keller will alert our Department Officers, and arrange for participation if requested. Last but in no way least, I want to thank all of you who attended the joint reception on October 26 for CinC Bob Grim, Ohio Auxillary President Amy Miller, and myself. a special thanks goes to Brothers Bob Davis and Ray Nagel for all the time and effort in organizing the event.

By Order of: Attested:



James H. Houston                 Richard L. Greenwalt
Commander                           Secretary/Treasurer