Winter Chapter Meeting

Death of a Chapter Member

1SG (Ret) James B. Rawlinson (Jim), M-960-L, died on 23 January 2019. He was 75.

Winter Meeting – Marion, Virginia

Dave Hensley hosted the Chapter’s Winter meeting on the weekend of 8-10 February 2019, in the great little town of Marion, Virginia. The General Francis Marion Hotel was the team house for the weekend. The hotel was built during the roarin’ 20’s and has kept this Speakeasy atmosphere to this day. In fact, the hotel restaurant carries the name Speakeasy. It is listed in the National Geographic as one of the top 150 hotels in North America. A visit to this hotel will take you back to the days of the Charleston, proabition and the roarin’ twenties. Visit their website, www.gfmhotel.com.

Friday night the group gathered in the Team Room for what has now become our famous auction. Presided over by our own nom de guerre, Master Auctioneer, Stan Shank. For the next couple of hours, Stan did his number on the audience. At the finish, when the last piece of priceless art was auctioned off, the Chapter’s Scholarship fund was increased by $514.

One of the main items on the agenda at our business meeting was the nomination of future officers. The officers listed above have volunteered to serve another two years with the exception of our Secretary. This slot is open, but Sid has offered to remain as Secretary until a new officer can be found.

Our second major item was the pavers for the 14 members who have died since 2015. The paperwork for these pavers has been completed and will be will be sent to the SFA – MBF.

The highlight of our weekend in Marion, Virginia was attending the live concert of the Song of the Mountains at the Lincoln Theater. These concerts are held on the first Saturday of the month and are videotaped for their PBS Television Series. There is no comparison between watching a live show being televised and watching a TV show. Very little excitement in watching the TV but in a live broadcasting, with the MC egging you on, you become involved in the televising. The concerts of Song of the Mountains are something well worth attending. They also have a website, www.songofthemountains.org.

Sunday the group gathered in the breakfast room to partake of waffles, scambled eggs, coffee, and other assorted items. We chatted over multiple cups of coffee and then prepared for the long, medium or short drive home.

Our days were a little chilly, around the mid-fourties and nights in the mid-twenties, but the bad weather stayed west and north of us. All in all it was an enjoyable weekend.

Our Summer meeting will be sometime in June or July in Knoxville, Tennessee and our Fall meeting will be in Crossville, Tennessee sometime in October.

All members of the Special Forces family are invited to our meetings. Anyone interested can click on the link above to access the Chapter Bulletin Board.

A few photos were taken and are placed on this page for your viewing pleasure.

Remember! Our meetings are BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle). Chapter XXXIII no longer furnishes the hard stuff. All alcohol beverages are the responsibility of each member. The Chapter will furnish the soft drinks and water.

You can return to the meeting list by clicking on the icon on the left or view the photos from this meeting by clicking on the icon on the right. Either way, hope you enjoyed your stay with our February Winter meeting.