The Minuteman - FLSSARThe Minuteman Central Florida SAR Chapter Chartered on May 8, 1961 Meeting Location: served at noon. The cost of the lunch The Mayflower the greatest gift that

May 2016 Volume 55, Issue 5

The Minuteman

Central Florida

SAR Chapter

Chartered on

May 8, 1961

Meeting Location:

The Mayflower

1720 Mayflower

Court Winter Park, FL

32792

Chapter Meeting May 14, 2016

We will be dedicating this meeting to our members and recogniz-ing them for their service to the chap-ter. This meeting will be held in the Duxbury Room of the Mayflower Re-tirement Community Center located at 1620 Mayflower Court in Winter Park, Florida. A time of socializing will begin at 11:30 am with lunch being served at noon. The cost of the lunch is $16.00.

The entrée choices will be an-

nounced in a separate e-mail. Note that

each meal comes with an assortment of

vegetables, starch, salad or soup, and a

dessert. Coffee and tea is also served

with the meal.

Please make your reservation to

attend this meeting by 3/9/2016 by con-

tacting Compatriot Dan Stebbins via

phone at 407-830-6946 or via e-mail at

[email protected]. Your partici-

pation is greatly appreciated in respond-

ing with your RSVP before the deadline

date. Please plan to attend.

Dates to Remember!

FLSSAR Spring BOM/Annual Meeting - May 13 - 15, 2016: This event will be held at the Florida Hotel & Convention Center located off of Sandlake Rd in South Orlando 126th National Congress in Boston, Massa-chusetts - July 8 - 13, 2016. Remembering the Purpose of Memorial Day

It has been said that the greatest gift that one can do is lay down his life for his fellow friend. There have been American sol-diers that have done such gift for us as Americans. This price can be seen in the vari-ous cemetery herein America and also in

Europe. If you attend, a service on Memori-al Day that is coming up you will hear vet-erans from various wars speak of their fel-low buddies who died on the battlefields during World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, the War in Iraq, and the War in Afghanistan. All Vet-erans fought hard for our Country, but this day is to remember those that didn’t make it home.

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Chaplain’s Thoughts Memorial Day

This quote is from a small town weekly in

the north one May after Independence Day.

“There is a strong sense of patriotism in our town

this past week. At our Memorial Day and Inde-

pendence Day parades, our country’s flag was

proudly displayed on every lamppost along Main

Street, on fire trucks, and on many T-shirts on

young and old alike. Our veterans received en-

thusiastic ovations along the parade route as we

let them know we appreciated the sacrifices they

have made for our freedom. We realize how eas-

ily our freedom can be threatened or lost.” As we

approach once again the first of these national

days of thankfulness and remembrance here is a

prayer for our use from the Episcopal Prayer

Book for the Armed Forces:

“Heavenly Father, we commend to they gracious

care all the men and women in our Armed Forces

at home and abroad. Defend them by day with

heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials;

give them courage to face the perils that beset

them; and help them to know that non can pluck

out of they hand those who put their trust in thee

…. And we give thanks for all those they servants

who have laid down their lives in the service of

our country. Grant to them Thy mercy and the

light of thy presence, that the good work that thou

has begun in them may be perfected; through Je-

sus Christ our Lord.”

Birthday Announcements

On behalf of the Central Florida SAR Chapter, we would like to wish the fol-lowing individual a Happy and Enjoyable Birthday:

MAY

1 Gaines, Ruth 2 Weatherwax, Nancy 5 McElroy, Vivian

An Eternal Proclamation

By Lisa DeWitt

In the later winter of 1775, before the piv-otal Battle of Lexington and Concord, a grim res-ignation settled itself in the hearts of patriots and loyalists alike: that reconciliation with Britain was impossible, and the threat of war loomed just be-yond the horizon. During the following year, the Continental Congress commissioned a document that gathered the colonists under a common cause in the face of extreme adversity. However, what they couldn’t predict was the enduring effect this proclamation would have on the entire world. Throughout history, the Declaration of Independ-ence has become a respected testimony to our character as a nation, and is still alive today. By maintaining the ideals put forth in the Declaration with every consequent governing document, America has succeeded in providing and protect-ing each citizen’s natural rights for hundreds of years. In addition to its influence on future gener-

Page 3 Volume 55, Issue 5

ations, the very ideology of this document pre-sented and revised in June of 1776 possesses an integrity all its own. Lawyer, statesman, and lat-er President Thomas Jefferson fashioned this phi-losophy of democratic policy by penning the fa-mous words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unal-ienable rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” All fifty-six sign-ers of this historic pronouncement believed it was an unbreakable covenant with God to preserve the basic rights of every individual, justifying the civil disobedience that would lead to the Ameri-can Revolution. Upon the war’s conclusion, del-egates equally representing the former colonies came together to insure the preservation of the creed that had freed them from the oppressive English Crown. This mutual understanding led to the adoption of the Articles of Confederation. First drafted the very year America de-clared independence from Great Britain, the Arti-cles of Confederation were composed to rally the American colonies and prepare them for an eight year war. While the Articles of Confederation accurately depicted the beliefs of the American people, the impracticalities of a confederation arose at a remarkable rate. It simply failed to unite Americans after the revolution and equalize their rights. Moreover, the unequal distribution of power between the states and the federal gov-ernment failed to produce a collective military and economic authority. As a result, repaying war debts from revolution became virtually im-possible, and a growing frustration spawned nu-merous rebellions. Economically inflated and filled with political unrest, the American Confed-eration realized in their quest for independence and equality ignored the very trait that granted those freedoms sovereignty. Orders to revise the Articles brought about a brand new representative democracy that could protect the rights of the American people. Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the United States Constitution defined a clear authority fig-ure, a judicial system at the national level, and fair representation for the various states. Finally, responsible citizens had the right to elect repre-

sentatives to efficiently advocate their opinions in a federal institution. Aware that this new gov-ernment would need to adapt in order to over-come future disagreements, the Constitutional Convention included a method of amending the Constitution through the power of the House and Senate. Securing their God-given authority to individual rights, protecting the ability to use those rights, and giving the American people an active role in a national representative democra-cy, the Constitution has successfully expressed the democratic ideals emerged within the Decla-ration of Independence, and will continue to do so for years to come. Over the course of American history, the Declaration of Independence has done more that herald the birth of a new nation. It has remained a perpetual code of our founding principles. From its passionate outcries in times of war, to its impact throughout the early years of Ameri-ca’s independence, to the writing of the Constitu-tion, our subsequent representative democracy has helped secure the sacred rights of each indi-vidual. The Declaration of Independence is not only firmly rooted in our founding documents; it has secured women’s suffrage, brought an end to racial segregation, and influenced our interna-tional idea of human rights. Make no mistake; the Declaration of Independence is still guiding our country today.

Flag Award Certificate

The Flag Award Certificate, authorized in 1987, is presented to individuals, companies and gov-ernment agencies that fly the United States flag for patriotic purposes only. It is not to be given to any commercial enterprise that obviously flies it for ad-vertising purposes. If you know of an individual or company whom you think the Central Florida SAR chapter should consider for this Flag Award Certificate, please inform Compatriot Randall Allen.

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Annual Chapter Patriots’ Dinner - April 16, 2016 Each year on the third Saturday evening of each April, the tradition of the Central Florida Chapter is to hold a banquet known as our Patriots’ Dinner. Many of you may wonder, why we meet on a different Saturday that the rest of our meetings. It has to due with the fact that we are coinciding with the official Patriot’s Day holiday. It was originally called “Happy Patriots’ Day” to commemorate the day of “the shot heard around the world” when on April 19, 1775, when the British and American soldiers exchanged fire in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Corcord. The first proclamation by the Massachusetts leg-islation to recognize Patriots’ Day occurred on March of 1894. This day is also special for the Continental Navy who in April 19, 1778 captured three British ships on the Frederica River at St. Simons Island, GA. Some pictures of this year’s banquet are below.