Henry N. McCarl
PRESIDENT GENERAL 2004-2005
In his own words: “As I write this message, it has been a while since you gave me the opportunity to serve you as the 101st President General of our National Society. My endeavor will be throughout this year, to work together with the other Compatriots on our leadership team, to support our programs, our principles, our ideals and our great Nation. The 114th Annual Congress in Pittsburgh was one of the best attended events in our recent history. It proved to me that our members are sincerely concerned about the future of our Society. They were willing to be there to assure that the business of the SAR was conducted in a proper and open manner. I can pledge to you that your President General and all of our National Leaders will work together, in unity, without rancor, to further the goals of honoring our forefathers while promoting the patriotic spirit of America. As Benjamin Franklin said “We must all hang together, or we will surely hang separately.” In addition to the coordination of all endowment fund raising under the direction of our new Treasurer General, Nathan E. White, Jr., Secretary General Roland G. Downing will be organizing the archives and records of NSSAR to improve recovery of our historical records. The Secretary General will also be the Chairman of the NSSAR Strategic Planning Committee, developing new approaches to communications within our Society and new educational outreach programs that will utilize our Center for Advancing America ‘s Heritage to increase our impact on patriotic education and public understanding of American History. I would like to offer the opportunity to any interested Compatriot to participate in the efforts of our NSSAR Committees and working groups. Leadership and membership of our NSSAR Committees are listed elsewhere in this issue of The SAR Magazine. This will be a starting point for activities at our Trustees meeting in September. Additions and changes to these listings may be found on the NSSAR Web site at www.sar.org where we will try to maintain the most current listings as members are added to our Committees and leadership responsibilities are shifted during the year. Mary and I had a wonderful experience in New York and New Jersey immediately following the Pittsburgh Congress. We attended the 200th Anniversary . Commemoration of the death of Alexander Hamilton, one of our most important and often under appreciated Founders. Hamilton was , in the words of Ron Chernow, the author of the current best selling biography, “the principle designer of the federal government, the catalyst for the emergence of the two-party political system, the patron saint of Wall Street, founder of the US Coast Guard, and pioneer of our modern banking and financial systems .. . He was arguably the most important figure in American history who never attained the presidency, but he has a far more lasting impact than many who did.’ I was honored to be an invited guest at the Hamilton Family Reunion, Burr/Hamilton Duel reenactment, and Memorial Service, for Alexander Hamilton at Trinity Church in Manhattan· I represented the NSSAR as a speaker at the Memorial Service on Monday, July 12. An honor guard from the U.S. Coast Guard laid the memorial wreath on the grave of our Patriot Ancestor, and my wife Mary, great-great-great granddaughter of Hamilton, laid the memorial wreath on the grave of his wife, Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. We have been invited to return to New York on September 9, 2004, for a preopening reception for the six -month exhibition at the New-York Historical Society honoring Hamilton: soldier, patriot, statesman, and in the opinion of many, the founder of Modern America. The building in Manhattan that houses the N-YHS will be sheathed in a large replica of the $10 bill in time for the 2004 Republican National Convention. Please accept my gratitude for entrusting me with the top position in our National Society. I have always given my best efforts to the missions that have undertaken. You may expect no less during this next year as I coordinate the best teamwork with the best leadership that we have elected and appointed for the coming year.”
