Paul Chase of the Col William Grayson Chapter and CMM President Bill Schwetke passed out Liberty Sprigs, passed out literature to prospective members, solicited donations, and solicited pre-purchases for Culpeper Minutemen License Plates during Warrenton's First Friday celebration today.  The thunderstorms subsided and there was a great crowd, many sporting "Liberty Sprigs" thanks to Paul and Bill.

     CMM member Bobby Hurst, Captain, USAF, was in attendance.  He drove down from McGuire AFB, NJ, to be with his mother and attend Warrenton's First Friday.

Compatriots and Friends,
     Fall approaches, and with it a much busier schedule for the Culpeper Minutemen.  The big event for us is the addition of a ceremony to commemorate the 240th Anniversary of the Muster of the Culpeper Minutemen.  This is tentatively scheduled for 6pm on Thursday, September 17th.  That ceremony will also launch our drive for a specialty vehicle license plate honoring the 1775 Culpeper Minutemen.  We will have some hard work ahead of us to collect 450 paid applications for the license plate before the beginning of the 2016 session of the Virginia General Assembly on January 13th.
     The license plate will be proudly sponsored by our members at the Semi-Annual Meeting, beginning the next day, September 18th; then at Warrenton Heritage Day, Saturday, September 26th, and again on First Friday in Warrenton on October 2nd. We need your help to promote the license plates – join us at these events.  After the license plate is unveiled on September 17th the design will also be released on the Muster Call.
     We also will co-host, with the Fauquier Court House Chapter of the DAR, a Genealogy Workshop on November 7th.  The highlight of that free workshop will be a talk by John Sinks, Genealogist General, on tracking down the men who served as Culpeper Minutemen in 1775-6.
     We are also entering the season where we solicit candidates for our law enforcement, fire fighting, EMT, and teacher awards.  If you have ties to any of those communities let them know we are looking for good candidates for our awards to be presented at the next chapter meeting, October 17th at the Inn at Kelly’s Ford.
     This is the season for many commemorations and ceremonies:  Patriots Day in Culpeper on September 11th, Sycamore Shoals on September 19th, Point Pleasant on October 4th, King’s Mountain on October 7th, The President General’s Wreath Laying at Arlington on October 10th, Yorktown on October 19th, Veteran’s Day at Culpeper National Cemetery, and Great Bridge on December 5th.  We will have a representative at every one of these ceremonies, except for Sycamore Shoals and are hoping to find someone to represent us there.
     Our plate is full, full of the things we anticipated when we joined the SAR.  This would be a good time for some of our newer members to join us as we celebrate our heritage, educate the public about that heritage, and honor modern day patriots who continue to exhibit the spirit of our patriot ancestors.  See you there.

Your Servant,
Bill Schwetke, President