The members of the Alexander Hodge #49, Sons of the American Revolution, gathered at Spring Creek
Barbeque located at 4895 Highway 6, Missouri City, TX. In the private meeting room.
Chapter President, Carl Hill called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.
The Invocation given by Phil Whitley (Chaplain) followed by pledges to the United States flag, to the Texas flag and to the SAR flag.
16 Attending Chapter Members:
Carl Hill (President & Treasurer), Steven Barber (Secretary), Don Rollins (Sgt. of Arms),
Phil Whitley (Chaplain), Jim G. Penny (Web Master), Mike Green (Newsletter),
Lovell Aldrich, Matt Barber, John Lucey, Ron Brown, Dennis Giuffre, Rich Guiffre, Dr. Chris Hammons
(tonight’s speaker), Tim Birtcher, Patrick Kenney and Allen Bogard.
3 Attending New Prospective Chapter SAR Members: John Placette, Emanual Banan and Scott
Hutchinson.
8 Other Guests: Mrs. Bernice Mistriot, Mrs. Sharon Rollins, Mrs. Sharon Aldrich, Ms. Eron Tynes, Mrs. Kim Birtcher, Mrs. Carolyn Hutchinson and Sandy Hutchinson.
Recognitions:
Richard Colwell and John T. Kovach were sworn into the Alexander Hodge Chapter No. 49. Richard and John each received their SAR certificates presented by Carl Hill and Mike Green, Registrar Committee.
Treasury Report:
Carl Hill presented the Treasures Report. The Chapter’s Treasury has a balance of $9,186.31 which
includes two outstanding scholarships checks awarded for $300.00 and $500.00 that have not yet been
cleared. These outstanding checks are the last 2 of the 4 scholarships the Chapter awarded to JROTC
candidates. A total of $1,600.00 in Scholarship JROTC donations raised by District 7 VP, Richard
Zdanowicz’s was awarded to four candidates from two different high schools by the Alexander Hodge
Chapter. 2024 Goal is to have $5,000.00 in JROTC scholarships.
The Chapter was reimbursed $329.00 from the State for the 17 Bronze SAR JROTC metals and
certificates presented at the annual JROTC year-end banquet.
Annual National SAR dues for 2024 are increasing from $35.00 to $50.00. New application fees to the
SAR are increasing from $190.00 to $210.00 per application starting in 2024. State dues remain at
$12.50 and Chapter dues at $9.50, so the total amount of annual dues that will be due for each SAR
member will be $72.00 for membership in 2024. Each member should receive an invoice from State SAR for this amount due December 31, 2023.
Secretary’s Report:
The October 31, 2023, bi-monthly meeting minutes were published on the Chapter Website early
November for membership review. These minutes were voted on and approved at the October Business
Meeting by the attending officers of the Chapter. A motion was made and seconded to accept these
minutes.
The October 2023 Business Meeting minutes were reviewed and voted on and approved.
Registrar’s Report:
Anticipating that at the January 24, 2024, first meeting of 2024, the following new applicants for the
Alexander Hodge Chapter #49 should be approved for swearing into the Chapter. Don Burns and Jason
Barnes certificates have already been received by the President of the Chapter. John Placette, Kevin
Buford, and Scott Hutchinson applications have been accepted by National SAR, returned to the State
SAR office and we should have their certificates by the January meeting.
Jonathan Buford’s application has been received by National SAR and might be added to this list for the January meeting. There are an additional 11 new candidates whose applications are presently being prepared for submittal in 2024. Applications for Robert Laughlin, Robert Godwin and Steve Sanders are completed and just waiting for signatures and/or checks. Applications for the following are still being prepared for submittal early in 2024. David Linder, Fred Loden, Charles Gaten, Adam Bogard, Edward Runnder, Edward Nixon, Chris Pettite and Micheal Sorgenfrie.
Web Site and Newsletter Report:
Jim Penny on the Chapter Web Site, and Mike Green on the Chapter Newsletter reports that both are
updated and available on months that there is no Chapter meeting planned. The Newsletter is sent out to
members monthly and members can go to the Chapter Web page for more information.
(http://www.hodgesar.org)
There is a constant need for more member news. Dig out your old SAR applications and share your patriot’s story or provide news of activities that you are participating in.
Jim Penny was recognized and honored by the National SAR magazine by publishing his article in the
2023 Summer National SAR Magazine. This is a first for the Alexander Hodge Chapter. Jim’s article
discussed how to research your ancestry to determine the type of uniforms worn by various Continental
Patriot Ancestor military units. Congratulation Jim!
Unfinished Business Report:
● Flag Certificate to the new McDonalds located on Cartwright Street in Missouri City, TX. have been
presented to proud owners Kevin and Carla Moore for participating and flying United States flags.
● At the Anderson VA Center, there will be a SAR Color Guard participating in a ceremony on Friday
November 10 th , 2023. The Alexander Hodge SAR Chapter #49 will also have a table setup at this event for recruiting into the SAR.
●A handout was given at the Chapter meeting to purchase Christmas Wreaths that are to be placed on
Veterans Graves on December 16 th during “National Wreaths Across America Day”. The orders are
placed through the scan provided on the handout that credits the Alexander Hodge DAR Chapter with
organizing this drive. The Alexander Hodge SAR Chapter #49 committed to buying three wreaths in the
SAR Chapter’s name and encourage each member to get on-line to order wreaths. The cost for one
wreath is only $17.00. Deadline for orders is December 2 nd , 2023. Carl Hill presented two checks to the DAR for wreaths. One check was for the three wreaths purchased by the SAR Chapter and a second
check was for money from individual members who submitted money through Carl Hill for purchase of additional wreaths.
●The Partners in Patriotism Outreach Chapter Reward has been presented to the Alexander Hodge
Chapter #49 with Tom McCormack named as awarded the Liberty Medal for his efforts in functioning in
the past as the Chapter Registrar and the Chapter for Outstanding Service in Recruitment of New Members.
New Business and Upcoming Activity:
●On December 16 th , 2023, all wreaths will be delivered to the Evangelical Church Cemetery in
Needville,Texas for placement on 130 Veterans Graves in that cemetery. The SAT Alexander Hodge
Chapter #49 is invited to participate in this event on December 16 th , 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Directions to the Evangelical Church Cemetery are included in the scan on the handout. A second wreath laying ceremony will be conducted that same day at 1;00 p.m. at the Alexander Hodge cemetery. 6 veteran’s graves including Alexander Hodge’s grave are located at this cemetery.
●The Texas State SAR has a Go-Fund-Me page for raising $60,000.00 to build a Texas State SAR
Monument at the State Cemetery in Austin, TX, commemorating the 250 th anniversary of United States
founding in 2026. A link labeled GOFUNDME! has been established for SAR members to donate to this
State project. If every member donated $3.90, this fund-raising goal would be met. One third of this has
already been pledged. You can contact the Paul Carrington Chapter Registrar, Richard Zdunkewicz,
Chairman, Monument Committee at vpd7@texassar.org for more information or donations.
●The SAR Paul Carrington Chapter and The Alexander Hodge Chapter #49 has been requested by the
district 7 Vice President to sponsor the 2025 Fall State BOM business meeting somewhere in the
southwest part of Houston in a convention hotel. It was agreed to accept this assignment if the Paul
Carrington Chapter also agreed to take on this responsibility of organizing and arranging this function.
●Finally, we are ending another year with the Alexander Hodge #49 Chapter with many new members.
There is a call and need for members to come forward and volunteer for various positions. Positions that
are open are:
1) Chapters President Position,
2) Chapter Vice President Position,
3) Registrar’s position,
4) Chapter Youth Awards Chairman,
5) Chapter Metals and Awards Chairman,
6) Chapter Newsletter Editor
Carl Hill has volunteered to remain as Chapter Treasure and be available to assist the new President and
Vice President in their duties. Phil Whitney has agreed to continue to be the Chapter Chaplain. Jim
Penny has agreed to continue to be the Web-Master for the Chapter Web site. Steve Barber has agreed
to continue as the Chapter Secretary and Don Rollins to continue as Sgt. Of Arms.
The need for the Youth Awards Chairmen is right now the most pressing because of upcoming events
that must be communicated in 9 different youth programs and one American Teacher Award that can be
sponsored and made each year by the Chapter. These programs should be kicked off early in 2024.
Chapter Meeting Speaker: Dr. Chris Hammons- “The Boston Tea Party at 250”.
We welcome Dr. Hammons to speak tonight on the 250 th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Dr.
Hammons is a Professor of Government at Houston Christian University in Houston, TX. He is also
Director of the Morris Family Center for Law and Liberty and Program Coordinator, Political Science (BA and Minor). Dr. Hammons has a BA in Government from the University of Texas in Austin, an MA degree in Political Science – University of Houston and a PhD in Political Science- University of Houston.
Dr. Hammons has published works in various places including the American Political Science Review, the Albany Law Review, The Journal of Law & Public Policy, Education Next, the Houston Business Journal and the Houston Chronicle. He is currently writing a second book entitled “America’s Constitutional Culture” and he was nominated for the best book in history and politics by the American Political Science Association with his first book entitled “Constitutionalism of the American States”.
In Dr. Hammons presentation he set the scene of conditions in the American colonies on December 16th,
1773, when an event took place that has been considered the beginning of the American Revolution
away from Great Britian, The Boston Tea Party.
At this time, the city of Boston was small with a population of around 15,000 living in Boston. Half of that population was under the age of 16 and approximately 3,000 British troops were living in Boston. The remainder of the population was rather young, being of the age of 20-50 years. It was also noted that at that time there were about 100 taverns in the city of Boston. At this time, the City of Philadelphia was the largest city with approximately 40,000 people and New York City was the second largest city with a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city of Boston was tightly packed around the harbor.
The British Government was trying to raise funds for the debt that occurred from the Indian Wars. Up until this time, the colonies existed for 150 years with no taxation from Britian. With the Townsend Tax Act, Britian Parliament had attempted taxes on sugar, paper and paint, but active smuggling of those products made it difficult to collect much tax.
With the British Parliament attempting to collect revenues from the colonies, there was already a position that taxation without representation was not fair to the colonist. Then the British Parliament passed the Clarity Tax Act, that taxed tea. Why Tea? Because it was very popular. It was mostly imported from India and was controlled by Britian.
There were three ships in Boston Harbor that sat waiting to be unloaded, but the tea could not be
unloaded until the tax was paid. This tea was owned by merchants that were importing the tea, but there
was a British regulation and law that if any product was not unloaded within a specific time, the product
would be confiscated as now property belonging to the King of Britian. A plan was carefully put into place to address the tea. It was after December 16th that the tea would change ownership. A crowd gathered at the shipping docks and a group of 50-70 men dressed as Mohawk Indians arrived. In 3 hours,
approximately 342 chests of tea were dumped into Boston Harbor. The tea’s value was about $1M
pounds. The tea was meticulously dumped from the crates into the water to assure the tea would be
absorbed by the harbor water. The empty crates were collected and placed back in the ships holes and
locked.
No individuals were identified to being responsible for the actions of the Boston Tea Party. This action was not acceptable to other colonies, but other similar actions were taken later in Charleston and Annapolis.
Closing Remarks:
President reported the next Alexander Hodge No.49-Chapter meeting will be held January 30th, at the
Spring Creek Barbeque restaurant on Highway 6 in Missouri City, TX. At 7:00 P.M. The next Chapter
Business Meeting will be at the same restaurant on February 27th at 100 P.M.
Recessional: The SAR recessional was recited by all present.
Benediction: Closing benediction was given by Phil Whitley, Chaplain.
END OF SAR Dinner Meeting Minutes
Prepared by Steven J. Barber, Secretary
