Triennial Meeting General Society of Sons of the Revolution

Pennsylvania Society Color Guard at Triennial Meeting

Annapolis, the charming capitol of Maryland, served as the location for the General Society's 1997 Triennial. Gentlemen of the state societies and their ladies gathered for three days of business, celebration, and commemoration. The members of the Maryland Society served as gracious hosts.

Accommodations for attendees were arranged at the Loews Annapolis Hotel. Within close proximity of the historic district and the waterfront, attendees were offered a wealth of dining, shopping, and entertainment options. Tours were offered to the State Capitol, Governor's House, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the city's colonial homes, in addition to the scheduled Society events.

Business sessions were conducted at such significant locations as the U.S. Naval Academy Officers Club and The Maryland Capitol Building, House Chamber. The Maryland Capitol Building is the oldest State House still in use.

The first formal event was a wreath laying ceremony conducted on the campus of St. John's College. The observance was performed at the Monument at the Burial Ground of the French Soldiers and Sailors of the American War of Independence.

President Lloyd dines with Mrs. Maiden and Mrs. Darby

Representatives of various organizations, such as the Society of the Cincinnati, Sons of the American Revolution, Alliance Francaise of Annapolis, Cercle Francaise of Annapolis and others joined in the ceremonies.

Following the Wreath Laying Ceremonies, the Pennsylvania Society hosted a cocktail reception at the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni House. Maryland Society President, Kendall S. Young, remarked in a letter to President Lloyd that the reception was "a smashing success and contributed immensely to the joi-de-vie feeling for follow-on events."

The New York Society had the honor of hosting a reception the following evening at the Governor Calvert Inn.

Vice Presidents Burke and Di Stefano in Annapolis

On Saturday evening, the assemblage gathered for a formal banquet at the Loews Hotel hosted by the Maryland Society. Guests shared in fine food and company. The General Society introduced its newly elected officers, including Thomas Clifton Etter, Jr., the new General Society President.

Outgoing officers of the General Society, including the Pennsylvania Society's own, James Thorington, were honored for their service. The Color Guards of the state societies paraded their flags to the delight of all. The evening was complete with dancing and celebration.

Awards were also presented to the state societies, including the Trent Trophy. The Pennsylvania Society was awarded the Trent Trophy during the 1994 Triennial and was therefore not eligible to receive the award again in 1997. It should be noted, however, that using an empirical system to evaluate the performance of the state societies, the Pennsylvania Society received a score one- and-one-half times that of its next closest competitor. As President Lloyd so eloquently remarked at the Society's Annual Meeting, "the Pennsylvania Society demonstrated itself as 'primas interparias,' first among equals."

On Sunday morning, members of the state society color guards gathered for the planned parade of colors to the worship service, but the weather did not cooperate.

Fortunately, good judgment was shown and discretion being the better part of valor, the color guards decided not to march. A violent, but short lived, storm arrived just as the marchers would have been halfway to the church.

Undaunted by the weather, members gathered at St. Anne's Church for very moving morning services. The congregation presented several children for baptism and the Society joined in the joyous event. All were overjoyed to see the sun return in time to illuminate the stained glass windows and join the travelers in bidding a fond farewell to the Annapolis and the 1997 Triennial Meeting.

Messrs. Sullivan, Snyder and Zetterberg