Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution
Minutes of the Board of Managers Meeting
13 January 2000
President Lloyd called the meeting to order promptly at 4:00 p.m. in the Grant Room of the Union League in Philadelphia. Chaplain Proctor led the Board in prayer.
PRESENT: Messrs. Burke, Cheyney, Clattenburg, Di Stefano, Fenstermacher, Flood, Frick, Gordon, Johnson, Lewis, Lincoln, Lloyd, Moore, Morris, Proctor, Salisbury, Van Gulick, Walkup, Ward, G. Wood and H. Wood.
MINUTES: President Lloyd noted that the Executive Secretary had distributed a packet of reports to the Officers and Managers present. They included the minutes of the December meeting; the Treasurer’s year-end profit and loss budget comparison for the period ending December 31, 1999; the Registrar’s Necrology report; and a list of members who were disenrolled on 31 December 1999 for non-payment of annual dues.
President Lloyd noted that review and approval of the minutes of the December meeting would be brought before the Board under New Business.
SECRETARY'S REPORT: Secretary Clattenburg reported that regrets had been received from Messrs. FitzGerald, Graham, Gresh, Groff, Hoyt, and Loughran.
The current membership of the Society, as of 31 December 1999, stands at 1,077 active members. This number includes 21 Life Members and two regular members for whom the Society has no current address. Total membership also includes 21 Junior Life members, raising the sum of all names on the roster to 1,098.
The Secretary reported that in the period since the last meeting of the Board, no member or former member had requested reinstatement, transfer or resignation.
The Secretary announced one new Life Member, Board member Richard Leopold Walkup (PA Soc. #5910) and two provisional, new Life Members, Edwin Sipler Hart, III (PA Soc. #5951) and Orville Anderson Petty, III (PA Soc. #5961), from who the second of three installment payments has been received.
The Secretary announced the receipt of two requests for Old Guard status. The first request was received from President Emeritus Martin Pullinger Snyder (PA Soc. #3470). Mr. Snyder is 86 years old and has been a member in good standing for 60 years. The second request was received from Fred Arthur Williams (PA Soc. #4133). Mr. Williams is 90 years old and has been a member in good standing for 46 years. Mr. Williams is a member of the Lancaster County Chapter of the Society.
Vice President Di Stefano moved that members Snyder and Williams be granted Old Guard membership status. The motion was duly seconded and on vote, carried unanimously.
There being no other comments or questions, President Lloyd asked if there was a motion to adopt the Secretary’s report. On motion made and duly seconded, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Secretary’s report.
TREASURER'S REPORT: Treasurer Ward noted that copies of his Profit and Loss Budget Comparison report for Fiscal Year 1999 (1 January through 31 December 1999) were distributed at the beginning of the meeting. In reviewing the report for the Board, he called attention to several significant points: a) in the category of General and Administrative costs, total expenditures for the year were $109,607, nearly 10% under budget; b) in the category of Membership Activities, total expenditures totaled just $48,695, nearly 25% under budget; this was achieved primarily through the ability of the Officers and Managers to conduct both the Committee work of the Board and the Society’s events under budget; it was also the result of a positive balance of $8,700 in the Discretionary Funds of both the Board and the President; c) the savings in administrative and activity expense permitted the Society to expend a total of $54,595 in the category of Public Programs; matching contributions by the Color Guard increased this sum by $25,000, to a total of $75,595, as large an annual expenditure for the Society’s charter purposes as any could remember in recent years. For the year, after new member initiation fees and life membership revenues are transferred to the permanent fund, income totaled $212,328.57. For the same period, expense totaled $212,897.94. The Society concluded the year with an operating deficit of $569.37.
With regard to the Society’s assets, Treasurer Ward reported that over the course of Fiscal Year 1999 the market value of the investment portfolio increased approximately $1,080,000 and the appraised value of the Society’s collection of decorative and fine arts increased more than $100,000. In total, the Society’s assets increased $1,200,000 in Fiscal Year 1999.
Treasurer Ward thanked the entire Board for demonstrating prudent management of the Society’s finances and expressed his pleasure at the prospect of making a very positive report to the membership at the annual meeting.
There being no comments or questions, President Lloyd asked for a motion to accept the Treasurer's Report, subject to audit. On motion made and duly seconded, the Board voted unanimously to accept the Treasurer’s report.
REGISTRAR'S REPORT: In the absence of Registrar FitzGerald, Secretary Clattenburg stated that it was his duty to report that in the period since the December meeting of the Board of Managers the deaths of three members had been reported to the office of the Society: William Leonard Gass, Jr. (PA Soc. #5216, elected 11 March 1976); Roger Miller Pegram (PA Soc. #5162, elected 9 January 1975); and President Emeritus Mark Cleveland Tobin (PA Soc. #5284, elected 9 June 1977).
President Lloyd asked all those present to rise and Chaplain Proctor led the Board in memorial prayer.
HISTORIAN’S REPORT: In the absence of Historian Groff, there was no report.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: President Lloyd reported that he had prepared an appropriate minute for the Board to review and consider adopting, memorializing the life and accomplishments of the late President Emeritus Mark Cleveland Tobin. He noted that President Emeritus W. Jeffrey Maiden had edited the minute and presented it to the Tobin family and they had asked that it be distributed at the Memorial Service. The Memorial Service will be held on Friday, 14 January at 3:00 p.m. at the Washington Memorial Chapel on Route 23 in Valley Forge. Notice has been mailed to the entire membership of the Society. President Lloyd asked if there were any suggested additions, corrections, or other changes in the text of the proposed minute. Hearing none, he called for a motion to adopt the minute and incorporate its text in the body of the minutes of this meeting. President Emeritus Lincoln moved the same. The motion was duly seconded and on vote, carried unanimously.
Minute on the death of
Mark Cleveland Tobin
President
of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution
1991-1994
Adopted by unanimous vote of the Board of Managers
13 January 2000
On Tuesday, 4 January 2000, after a courageous struggle against lung cancer, Mark Cleveland Tobin died at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in center city Philadelphia. He was 66 years old.
Mark Cleveland Tobin was closely associated with the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution for nearly a quarter century. In 1976 then President D. Weston Darby, Jr. proposed Mark for membership in the Society. Dean Edwin Burget, Jr. seconded President Darby’s proposal, saying, "[Mark’s] wit and keen interest in matters of heredity should add much to our Society." As an estimate of Mark’s value to our Society, no appraisal of his character could have been truer to its aim. Mark combined a deep personal interest in patriotism and American history with leadership skills admired by all to lead the Society to levels of achievement never previously reached in both membership activities and public programs.
Mark was admitted to membership in 1977, elected to the Board of Managers of the Society in 1979, and to membership in the Color Guard in 1980. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Board in the year 1981-82 and as Registrar in 1982-83. In 1983 he was elected a Vice-President of the Society and held that position for eight years. Throughout those years, in fact, beginning in the fall of 1983 and not concluding until the fall of 1990, he served as chairman of the Society’s Centennial Celebration Committee. It was in this post that Mark demonstrated to all his capacity for work and his insistence on excellence. He planned and directed the magnificent Centennial Celebration Banquet of Saturday evening, 19 March 1988, when 272 members and guests gathered to hear U.S. Attorney General Richard Lewis Thornburgh. At that time Thornburgh was former Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and future U.S. Attorney General. No Pennsylvanian was held in higher esteem and Governor Thornburgh’s address that evening remains one of the most inspirational presentations ever heard by the members of our Society.
In April 1991 the Society elected Mark Cleveland Tobin its 27th President. He brought to the presidency the same values, focus and energy he had displayed while guiding the Centennial Celebration. He believed in the Society’s charter purpose of "perpetuating the memory of the men who achieved the Independence of our country" and he had a vision for accomplishing that aim. He maintained the traditional means by which our Society had commemorated our Revolutionary War heroes by directing the restoration and installation of public markers at historic sites and public roads, not just in Philadelphia, but in all five counties of the Delaware Valley. Likewise, he maintained the Society’s participation in the historic preservation movement and committed the Society’s resources to the successful effort to incorporate Washington’s Square into Independence National Historical Park. He invested our Society deeply in its educational outreach programs, perhaps more so than any President before him. In 1992 and 1993 he worked closely with the Society’s Historian, Edward West Richardson, in crafting a revision and update to the Society’s award-winning film: "Valley Forge: A Winter Encampment." Simultaneously Mark initiated a nation-wide distribution program that brought the film into the classrooms of over 100,000 primary and secondary school students. He also sought to extend the Society’s reach to collegiate and graduate school education and developed a scholarship program which has evolved into our joint program with the Society of the Cincinnati, in which we provide a biennial dissertation fellowship at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies.
Mark believed in the second of our Society’s charter purposes, the "proper celebration of the anniversaries of the birthday of Washington and of prominent events connected with the War of the Revolution." As a direct result, during his presidency the Society’s membership events — George Washington’s Birthday, the Annual Meeting of the Society, the Valley Forge Commemoration, Independence Day, Saratoga-Yorktown Anniversaries, and the New Citizens’ receptions -- were scrupulously well organized and as memorable as any in recent history.
Mark did not neglect the third of our Society’s charter purposes, the preservation and publication of primary sources related to the Revolutionary War. In the first months of his term he initiated a movement in support of the Philadelphia City Archives, an effort that ultimately resulted in more than $50,000 of financial support and the publication of two volumes of abstracts from 18th century Pennsylvania records.
Lastly, but certainly not least, Mark surely believed in the fourth of the charter purposes, "inspiring the members of the Society with the patriotic spirit of their forefathers and promoting the feeling of friendship among them." He was rightfully proud of expanding the Independence Day program into Washington Square and initiating the wreath-laying ceremony. The Society newsletter he launched assured him of enhanced communication with the membership of the Society. He enjoyed cordial working relationships with his fellow officers in both the Society and the Color Guard.
Mark Cleveland Tobin was a man for all seasons. At the close of his term, in April 1994, the Pennsylvania Society elected him President Emeritus and awarded him its Past President’s Star. The General Society of Sons of the Revolution also recognized his extraordinary performance, when, in October 1994, it voted its Trent Trophy to the Pennsylvania Society as the State Society which best represented the ideals of the national organization during the most recent three years.
Almost immediately other Philadelphians sought Mark out for leadership positions. In the fall of 1994 the Penn Club selected him President and he served in that position for the following year. In 1995, however, Mark retired and departed from Philadelphia, relocating to Siasconset, Massachusetts, on the island of Nantucket.
Mark's Revolutionary War ancestor was Moses Cleveland of Norwich, Connecticut. Moses Cleveland was born on 23 May 1745 in Wethersfield, Connecticut and died on 16 November 1818 in Madison County, New York. He was living in Norwich at the time of his service in the War of Independence. He held the rank of 1st Lieutenant, Independent Company, Connecticut Militia, 1775.
Mark Cleveland Tobin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on 15 March 1933, the son of Allen Leming Weatherby and Sylvia Burt (Cleveland) Weatherby. He graduated from St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1952 and from Dartmouth College in 1956, where he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He served his country for two years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. For many years Mark worked as a management consultant for Xerox Learning Systems. He was a regional account manager for Xerox, developing and implementing a regional marketing plan for direct sales. He was a member of the Dartmouth Club of Philadelphia, the Penn Club, the Pickering Hunt Club, and several hereditary societies. His survivors include his widow, the former Lois E. Lindbloom; a daughter, Alison Paige Tobin; a son and daughter-in-law, Daniel Cleveland Tobin and Deanna; and one grandchild, Nicholas Cleveland Tobin.
In his address to the membership of our Society, given at the Annual Meeting of 1994, Mark closed by saying, "’It is better to light but one candle than to curse the darkness.’ The Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution has lighted many candles over the past several years and I think we can all take pride in that." Indeed, we can and among the many praiseworthy legacies of Mark Cleveland Tobin, this is the one we will remember best.
President Lloyd turned next to other matters. He noted first that at the December meeting of the Board he had distributed copies of his "Foreword" to Tom McGuire’s Battle of Paoli book. At that time he had asked that any comments or proposed revisions be relayed to him by the end of January in order that he be able to consider them before the book goes to press. The President reported that he did receive minor editorial corrections from a President Emeritus. He has not received comments from any other person and plans to sign off on the draft text on or about 1 February.
President Lloyd noted also that the brief history of the Society he is preparing for inclusion in the volume of General Society history has been delayed due to unexpected the death of President Emeritus Tobin. He will submit the brief history to the Board at its February meeting.
President Lloyd acknowledged the presence of Captain Salisbury and expressed his appreciation to the Captain Salisbury and the Color Guard for the Guard’s matching contribution to the General Society history. General President Etter has called President Lloyd and expressed his gratitude for the generosity of the Pennsylvania Society and its Color Guard.
President Lloyd was also pleased to announce that the Color Guard has renewed its biennial gift of $20,000 to the National Constitution Center to print and distribute copies of a vest-pocket booklet containing the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence. The Society is very grateful for the Guard’s initiative in both these Public Programs.
The President asked the Board’s indulgence in the continuing delay in printing the Society’s Proceedings and the Newsletter. He expects to have better news at the February meeting of the Board.
The level of the Society’s financial support of delegates to the General Society’s triennial meeting in New Orleans this year will be determined later in the month and presented to the Board at the February meeting.
ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE: Vice President Di Stefano stated that his Committee plans to meet early in February. He noted that one of the Society’s Junior Life Members has recently attained his 18th birthday. That young man is Shane Daniel Noll, born 7 January 1982. The Society will send a letter to Mr. Noll, congratulating him on his birthday and welcoming him to regular Life Membership.
BUDGET COMMITTEE: Vice President Frick noted that the budget for Fiscal Year 2000 was now in effect and that he had not heard any requests for its revision. He stated that he therefore had no report.
FINANCE COMMITTEE: Vice President Johnson reported that at the close of Fiscal Year 1999, that is, as of 31 December 1999, the market value of the Society’s portfolio stood at $3,489,000. This compares to a market value of $2,480,000 at the close of Fiscal Year 1998.
RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE: Counselor Cheyney stated he had no report.
AMERICAN HERITAGE COMMITTEE: Chairman Walkup stated he had no report.
INDEPENDENCE DAY COMMITTEE: In the absence of Chairman Byrne, President Lloyd reported that preliminary arrangements for the luncheon have been made with the Sheraton Society Hill.
In addition, a luncheon meeting of that portion of the Committee that concerns itself with the "Let Freedom Ring" public program was held at noon today in the Racquet Club. The Committee decided, subject to review by the Board of Managers, that the Society would conduct the entire LFR 2000 event on Independence Square only and not expand any part of the program to Washington Square. The Committee also decided to contract with the City of Philadelphia agency, Welcome America, to provide planning, publicity, and on-site coordination of the event itself. Ira Rosen, whose firm, Entertainment-on-Location, has successfully managed several of these tasks in past years, was in attendance at today’s luncheon meeting. President Lloyd asked him to develop a fully articulated plan for LFR 2000, including a proposal for assuming greater responsibility for national publicity. Mr. Rosen will submit such a plan within ten working days and EOL will submit regular, monthly reports thereafter.
President Lloyd concluded the report of the Independence Day Committee by announcing that Manager Fenstermacher has agreed to serve as co-chair of the Committee, with primary responsibility for the LFR portion of the event. The Board expressed its appreciation to Mr. Fenstermacher for accepting this important Committee appointment.
NEW CITIZENS’ RECEPTION: In the absence of Chairman Hoyt, there was no report.
SARATOGA-YORKTOWN ANNIVERSARIES COMMITTEE: In the absence of Chairman Morgan, there was no report.
SPECIAL PROJECTS: In the absence of Historian Groff, there was no report.
VALLEY FORGE COMMEMORATION: Chairman George Wood reported that he forwarded a copy of the Society’s proposed program to The Rev. William Franklin Allen, Sr., rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church, Radnor, for Mr. Allen’s review. In the next week or two he will schedule a meeting to include Mr. Allen, Chaplain Proctor, and himself. Old St. David’s Episcopal Church is located at 763 Valley Forge Road in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
The menu and other arrangements for the members’ reception that follows the Church Service will be discussed with the caterer at Waynesborough next week.
Chairman Wood also plans to meet with Historian Groff to prepare a brief statement on the Society’s participation in the preservation and furnishing of Waynesborough.
Captain Salisbury requested that Chairman Wood be certain that a convenient time be scheduled for the officers of the Color Guard to visit St. David’s Church.
President Lloyd reminded the Board that Officers and Managers should make a special effort to extend personal invitations to the Church Service to the widows of members who have died during the past year. President Lloyd has already extended invitations to Mrs. James Goddard MacBride (Peggy) and Mrs. Mark Cleveland Tobin (Lois).
WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY PARTY COMMITTEE: Chairman Morris reported that his Committee met briefly on New Year’s Eve to select wine and appetizers and he intends now to confirm the entire menu with the banquet staff at the Union League. As soon as that is accomplished, the evening’s program can be finalized and printed. The Society has also received a tentative acceptance from Senator Arlen Specter as the guest of honor on that evening. President Lloyd stated that the Senator wishes to personally congratulate the Society for the support of the National Constitution Center.
YOUNGER MEMBERS: In the absence of Chairman Bowden, there was no report.
THE COLOR GUARD: Captain Salisbury reported on six Color Guard activities, three past and three future: a) the Color Guard placed the colors on static display and paraded the eagles at the Saratoga-Yorktown Anniversaries Celebration, which was held on Saturday, 23 October 1999, at the Philadelphia Country Club; b) the Color Guard held its annual Roast Pig Dinner on Thursday evening, 4 November 1999 at the Philadelphia Club; c) in preparation for the annual meeting of the Color Guard, the Guard’s Nominating Committee met at the Philadelphia Country Club on Thursday, 6 January 2000; d) the Color Guard will hold its Annual Meeting on Thursday evening, 20 January 2000 at the Philadelphia Country Club; e) the Color Guard will conduct a rehearsal of the parading of the colors for Washington’s Birthday Party on Sunday afternoon, 13 February; f) the Color Guard looks forward to parading the colors at the Washington’s Birthday Party itself on Saturday evening, 19 February 2000.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: Chairman Harvard Wood thanked President Lloyd for the comprehensive and detailed membership report which he presented at the December meeting of the Board.
With regard to the "amnesty" program proposed by the Membership Committee to those members disenrolled at the end of Fiscal Years 1997 and 1998, Chairman Wood reported that in the period since the December meeting of the Board he had discussed this program at length with Registrar FitzGerald. Any misunderstanding or confusion which may have existed was now clarified and resolved. The amnesty program intends to expand membership by offering a ready opportunity to former members to reinstate their membership in the Society. It calls for the payments of one year’s back dues and of the current year’s dues, followed by a formal request to the Board for reinstatement. This is not different from the terms of reinstatement accepted by the Board in past years.
Chairman Wood noted that the Society’s generous offer of genealogical assistance to prospective members has encountered the problem of rising hourly rates among professional genealogists. Genealogists who only a few years ago would accept $20 per hour, now require $30 to $40 per hour. Vice President Di Stefano noted that such an hourly fee seems reasonable and illustrated his point by describing the genealogical assistance recently provided to three new members, the Messrs. Hart. In the brief period since their election, they have each made Life Membership payments to the Society. This strongly suggests that an investment in genealogical assistance is an investment with a beneficial return to our Society.
The final list of members disenrolled on 31 December 1999 for failure to pay their annual dues totals 20. They will now receive letters advising them of their disenrollment, along with a form that offers them the option of paying one year’s back dues, the current year’s dues, and making a signed request for reinstatement. In each of the past two years several disenrolled members have responded favorably to this "last chance" appeal.
NEWSLETTER: President Lloyd noted that he had reported on the status of the Newsletter earlier in the meeting under his President’s report.
OPERATIONS COMMITTEE: Vice President Burke stated he had no report. President Lloyd congratulated Mr. Burke and the Executive Secretary for managing the Society’s office so efficiently that General and Administrative expenses for the year just concluded were $10,000 under budget.
TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE: Vice President Lewis referred the members to the copy provided of the latest activity report for the Society’s website. He noted that the correct summary information for page views in the months of September and October were 7,392 and 15,195, respectively, and for the months of November and December, approximately 13,500 and 10,000, respectively.
REPORT OF LANCASTER COUNTY CHAPTER: Regent Moore stated he had no report.
REPRESENTATIVE TO THE GENERAL SOCIETY: Vice President Johnson stated he had no report.
There was no OLD BUSINESS.
NEW BUSINESS: President Lloyd asked the Board if it was prepared to consider the adoption of the minutes of the December meeting which were distributed at the beginning of the meeting. Vice President Lewis requested two changes to the text, on page 8, under the Technology Initiative: a) the word "hits" be changed to "page views"; and b) the phrase "32,000 hits" will be changed to "13,500 page views". There were no further suggestions for additions or corrections to the December minutes. On motion made and duly seconded, the Board voted to adopt the minutes as corrected.
There being no further business to come before the Board, President Lloyd asked Chaplain Proctor to lead the Officers and Managers in prayer and thereafter adjourned the meeting at 4:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Theodore Clattenburg, Jr.
Secretary