Spring 2011 Bulletin

2010 Fall Court: Our day together began at noon, with excellent weather and an informal gathering and outdoor picnic under the trees near the bank of the East Branch of the Cooper River. While most guests continued to nosh and imbibe, our Associates removed nearby to the Old Pompion Church for the Society's 2010 Fall Court.

Following the business meeting, Councillor Lockwood returned to the picnic site with his 40-person tram. Reunited with the others, we commenced our tour of the plantation with the history and current status of the revived Colonial church. Founded by French Huguenot settlers in the early 1700s, near Pompion Hill, the church and its gravesites have survived virtually intact. Participating Associates and guests learned about the history of the beautifully renovated building, which is located between Longwood and Middleburg plantations, near Huger, SC. At one main entrance we noted bricks carved with a familiar Masonic symbol and bearing the date 1763.

Re-boarding the Lockwood Express, we then viewed the horse pastures, productive woodlands, waterfowl ponds and marshes of Longwood.

Overlooking the river, we saw the rounded Pumpkin Hill that gave the area its distinctive name – "Pompion" in French. It is considered likely that one or more members of the original Huguenot families are buried here. However, the hill is better documented as the 2006 wed-ding site for our host and hostess, Rabbit and Debi!

Our quorum of steadfast South Carolina OFPA Associates was joined by several prospective members (as pictured above outside entrance) for our official Fall Court, which took place inside the Old Pompion Church (as seen below).

The business meeting was preceded by intro-duction of the Society's first official gavel, presented to the SC OFPA as a gift from the Governor General of the Order, Dr. Tommy Leland. Among other items, our Associates had a lively discussion and debate concerning the future of our Patriotic Service Award program.

All newly elected officers will be sworn in during the Society's upcoming 2011 Winter Court, tentatively planned to be convened in Charleston during next February. Prospectively, this ceremony will be conducted by Governor General Leland and will follow the procedure prescribed by the General Order!

Dr. Leland's Gift of Unique Gavel for SC: At the beginning of the Society's 2010 Fall Court on Saturday, October 30th, the current Governor General of the Order, and South Carolina OFPA's Founding Governor, Thomas M. Leland, MD, PhD, brought forth a unique ceremonial gavel as a gift to the South Carolina Society. Dr. Leland presented this to the Society's presiding Governor, Capers W. McDonald, who immediately put it to use by gaveling to order the assembled Fall Court. The gavel's "business end" is made of a Carolina cypress knee, and a wild turkey foot finishes the handle. Our young but growing muster can now forever take pride in this singular artifact belonging to the SC Society. Many thanks to Governor General Leland!

South Carolina OFPA Patriotic Service Award Program: The South Carolina Society OFPA and others continue to support and develop the "Patriotic Service Award" program of the Society, believing it is a worthy one consistent with the overall objectives of the South Carolina Society and the General OFPA. The goal is periodically to recognize and honor appropriately the service of a contemporary or past member of the United States Armed Forces or ROTC units from South Carolina.

To further the objectives of this awards program, we have already secured substantial gift funds. However, the Society's Patriotic Service Awards Committee is developing additional needed funding through both membership and outside contacts. Any Associates or others inside or outside the SC Society who are interested in learning more or contributing to the effort, please contact the SC Society Secretary. Funding for the awards is not a requirement of Society membership and is accounted for separately from other Society funds.

Fall Bulletin 2010

Nothing succeeds like success! Many thanks and hearty congratulations to all Associates who "made it happen" during May 27-30 as the SC Society OFPA toured, fed, informed and otherwise entertained and supported our national Order by successfully hosting the 114th General Court in and near Historic Charleston.

Our Secretary General and founding SC Governor, Dr. Tommy Leland and his gracious wife, Gwendolyn Leland, set the leading examples we will always remember – artfully designing, carefully planning, prudently contracting and ultimately "working long and hard" to fulfill the dream of hosting an excellent series of friendly, elegant, memorable and necessarily practical events.

Many others – an unusually high percentage of all Associates in a host Society, we are told – helped make this General Court what one Past Governor General termed, "Triumphant!" On the evening of May 28th, the assembled diners of the 114th General Court had memorable personal encounters with the ghosts of The Swamp Fox, General Francis Marion, and one of his most experienced upcountry officers, Captain Henry Felder. Gathered on an upper floor of The Old Exchange in Charleston, nearly 100 people enjoyed the unique portrayals of these historic figures provided by actors who have appeared professionally in "All For Liberty" and other theatrical productions.

During the General Court Banquet on the evening of Saturday, May 29th, South Carolina OFPA's Founding Governor, Thomas Mikel Leland, MD, PhD, was sworn in as 52nd Governor General of the Order, having been elected earlier that day. Tommy served as General Secretary for the previous two years. It is a testament to his talents, vision, leadership and hard work that our newly-formed SC Society can also take pride in this singular achievement in service to the Order. The success of the 114th General Court is one of several reasons Tommy earned this honor, and is a signal of the type of bold, can-do approach to expect from his national administration. Congratulations, Dr. Leland!

Spring Bulletin 2010

It was all about getting ready for the 2010 Gen Court this coming May, but the attendees at the Spring Court of the South Carolina Society took some time out for a joint meeting reception with the South Carolina Society of the War of 1812. The SC Society has focused on membership develop and laying the grown work necessary to stage a Grand General Court in Charleston This May. The Spoleto Arts Festival will be in full swing when OFPA Associates are in Charleston, so come prepared for a City by the Sea packed with spirited visitors......and remember General George Washington himself was , as OFPA Associates, a guest in Charleston. While in Charleston, Associates will dine where Washington dined, tour the home rented for him by the city for his visit and have church service in the Huguenot Church (Washington was a French Huguenot).

South Carolina Society members dine following a joint meeting with the Society of the war of 1812.

Fall 2009 Bulletin

Treasurer General, Charles Lucas MD, ( center ) joined SC OFPA officers ( from left to right ) Capers McDonald SC OFPA Secretary, Phil Savage SC OFPA Treasurer, Sandy Savage SC OFPA Deputy Governor and Tommy Leland SC OFPA Governor for Court and other SC Lineage activities.

The South Carolina Society held its Spring Court at the Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston on April 25, 2009. The Spring Court was followed in the nearby Yacht Club dining room by a convivial luncheon for members and guests, held jointly with The First Families of South Carolina 1670-1700. Nicholas Butler, Ph. D., Manager of the Archives of the Charleston County Public Library, spoke and played recordings of “The Musical Life and Times of the First Families of South Carolina.”

The 2009 South Carolina ROTC Award was presented on May 7 at The Citadel in Charleston to Cadet Patricia Thibodeau, an outstanding graduating senior.

Spring 2009 Bulletin

Capers W. McDonald, Secretary; A. Phillips “Phil” Savage, Treasurer; Dr. Charles C. Lucas, Jr., lunchon speaker;
L. A. “Sandy” Savage, Jr., Deputy Governor;
and Dr. Thomas M. Leland, Governor.

The South Carolina Society held its Winter Court at the Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2009.

The Winter Court was followed by a convivial luncheon for members and guests, also at the Carolina Yacht Club, with Col. Charles Lucas, M.D., Commandant of the Veteran Corps of Artillery, State of New York, speaking on “Americans of Armorial Ancestry and the Coming of the Magna Carta.”

The same evening, many Society members participated in a black tie gala at the Carolina Yacht Club as the inaugural event of The Founders Society, of which the Society’s Governor, Dr. Thomas Leland, is a co-founder.

Fall Bulletin 2008

Pictured left to right, founding officers of OFPA SC Lawrence A. Savage, Jr., Deputy Governor; Capers W. McDonald, Secretary; Dr. Duke N. Stern, Councillor General and States Attorney; and Dr. Thomas M. Leland, Governor.






The new South Carolina Society participated in its first General Court of the Order in Boston during May this year – the 112th General Court. In attendance, pictured left to right, were founding officers Lawrence Alexander Savage, Jr., Deputy Governor; Capers Walter McDonald, Secretary; Dr. Duke Nordlinger Stern, Councillor General and States Attorney; and Dr. Thomas Mikell Leland, Governor.

At the General Court, Governor Leland was nominated and elected to serve as Secretary General of the Order, continuing his high level of service. The South Carolina Society had
only held its first Annual Meeting on November 8, 2007.

Led by Dr. Leland, the South Carolina delegation proposed that the state’s first colonial city, Charleston, host the Order’s 114th General Court in 2010. This was accepted unanimously by all members present. Our friendly and historic port city now looks forward to enjoying a large and productive session – y’all please plan to come!

Spring 2008

Governor General M. Phelps welcomes South Carolina as a new society, presenting Governor
Tommy Leland with the societies charter, welcoming them as the newest state society of the OFPA.

Fall Bulletin 2007

The new South Carolina Society held its historic Organizational Meeting at the Carolina Yacht Club in Charleston on July 11, 2007. Nearly all of the founding members were present either in person or by proxy. The initial Officers and Council Members were elected, committees for bylaws, awards and meetings were appointed, and the 2008 dues structure was approved.

The initial officers are Thomas Mikell Leland, Governor; Lawrence Alexander Savage, Jr., Deputy Governor; Capers Walter McDonald, Secretary; Myles Burdell Brandt, Treasurer; Timothy Lester Jacobs, Registrar; William Gordon Parrott IV, Genealogist; Rev. Robert Epting Howard Peeples, Chaplain; Arthur Francis Doty III, Historian; and Duke Nordlinger Stern, Councillor General. The gentlemen of the Council are Julian Victor Brandt, IV; John Michael Proctor; Emerson Brackett Read; Kerrell Withers Savage; Lawrence Alexander Savage III; and Allison Francis Page Wilder, Jr.

South Carolina Governor Thomas Leland, with Governor General Michael Phelps at General Court.