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Investor Newslet ter

Join Us As We Honor Nat Mack

As our Hero of Heroes For many years Nat has presented a memorial to America’s Missing- in-Action and Prisoners of War wherever family and friends gather to remember those who were captured or never returned from war.

36th Annual Awards Banquet February 19, 2020

CONTENTS

7.1 36TH ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUETJoin us as we honor our Pensacola community FFVF

National Award recipients

7.2 DID YOU KNOW ... ?Historical Tidbit … Who was the

First Speaker of the U.S. House

of Representatives?

7.3 2019 Lifetime Achievement Georgia Blackmon

7.4 2019 Freedoms Foundation Award Recipients Outstanding community members recognized 7.5 Out and About Freedoms Foundation members community activities 7.6 John Hancock A signature large enough for the King to read without spectacles

7.7 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Add to your contact list

7.8 JOIN USReject apathy and get involved

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020

THE BELLRINGERPensacola Chapter

The Pensacola Chapter of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge

cordially invites you to the 36th Annual Awards Banquet Wednesday, February 19, 2020

6:00 pm The Yacht Club

1897 Cypress Street Pensacola, Florida 32501

R.S.V.P. by February 7, 2020 $35.00 per person

Contact: Connie Brown (850) 450-4227 text cbrown991@cox.net

Business Attire Mail Your Reservations to

Pensacola Chapter Freedoms Foundation PO Box 1012

Pensacola, FL 32591 Or Pay Online

http://www.freedomsfoundationpensacola.org/special-events/

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Historical Tidbit … Who was the First Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives? Answer: Frederick Muhlenberg

Is it Time to Renew Your Freedoms Foundation Chapter

Membership?

Renew via credit/debit card: Membership Application

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020 PAGE 2

Did You Know ... ?

Second son of Henry Muhlenberg, German immigrant and founder of the Lutheran Church in America, Frederick was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania in 1750. Along with his two brothers he was educated in Germany and ordained a Lutheran minister upon returning to America. He married Catherine Schaffer, daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia sugar refiner, and served congregations around Schaefferstown, PA. After a brief call to serve as a minister in New York City, he moved his family back to Pennsylvania in 1776 as talk of a revolution and war with England became imminent.

After struggling to make ends meet without a regular ministering call, he decided to enter politics and in 1779 became a member of the Continental Congress. Muhlenberg served in leadership roles in the Pennsylvania General Assembly for about ten years. In 1789, as a Representative to the first U.S. Congress, he was chosen to be the first Speaker of the House. He was the first signer of the Bill of Rights. Elected to the next three Congresses, he served as Speaker during the Third Congress as well.

In 1796, Frederick Muhlenberg cast the tie-breaking vote as chairman of a House committee to ratify the Jay Treaty, in an effort to improve post war British-American tensions following the Revolutionary War. This vote ended his rising political career because the treaty was unpopular with many Americans, so much so that his own brother-in-law stabbed him over it. He survived the attack, but was not nominated to the next Congress. He resumed work in the Pennsylvania government as Receiver General of the Pennsylvania Land Office in Lancaster, PA, then the state capital and lived there until his death in 1801.

His home, known as The Speaker’s House, is now a museum and is one of the homes we visited during the Freedoms Foundation Chapter Conference. Extensive work is being undertaken to restore the building to its original appearance.

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FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020 PAGE 3

2019 Lifetime Achievement Award - Georgia Blackmon

Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Pensacola Chapter will be honoring Ms. Georgia Blackmon with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Awards Banquet on February 19. Ms. Blackmon is a pillar of the Pensacola community and a tireless advocate for historic preservation. Formerly, she owned  Gathering Awareness and Book Center, an invaluable resource for often hard-to-find literature and merchandise for African-American clientele as well as a community gathering spot to talk, learn and grow.

“Georgia is one of the most ‘connected’ people in Pensacola. If you need to know someone, ask Georgia,” said retired school administrator, Dr. Jacqueline Young.

In a recent interview with “Coming of Age” magazine, Georgia shared a bit of advice she received while living with her grandparents, “If you follow someone going nowhere, you’ll go nowhere with them.” She and her cousins spent many summers with her grandparents helping harvest farm vegetables and learning the values of hard work and building strong family ties. Currently, she leads the initiative working to restore the Ella Jordan house which served as a focal point for the Civil Rights movement in Pensacola. Georgia founded Mother Wit, a 501(c)3, to preserve the Jordan house for use as a museum that will commemorate Ella Jordan’s impact in our community. Ella is best known for her remarkable work as an educator, community leader, and political and social activist. Her home served as a sanctuary where tutoring, mentoring, sewing lessons, and special events took place.

“The universe belongs to everybody and you need everybody’s history. That’s what we want to do with the Ella Jordan house. African-Americans cannot afford to lose their history. They need it for their children and grandchildren.”

References

https://www.teacherready.org/education-changes-lives/ https://issuu.com/ballingerpublishing/docs/coming_of_age_fall_web

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2019 Freedoms Foundation Award RecipientsAdult Community - George Washington Honor Medal

H.E.R. Foundation Faith House - Nancy Bullock-Prevot Powerful Women of the Gulf Coast - Kolleen Chelsey

Military Recognition Day - Petty Officer First Class Brian Clark Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron - CDR Brian Kessling

Patriot Guard Riders of Northwest Florida - Ray Doyle Pensacola’s Reading is Fundamental, Inc. - Elaine Sites

Educator - George Washington Honor Medal

Jean Odom - Using Drama to Teach Patriotism and Core Values

Public Communications - George Washington Honor Medal “Lost in Heaven” - Leo Murphy

“Palafox: One of America’s Greatest Streets” - John Appleyard and Deborah Dunlap

School - George Washington Honor Medal Tate High School - FFA Chapter, Meals of Hope Project

Special Events - George Washington Honor Medal Pandas Empowered - Marcello Alcantar

Pensacola Lighthouse - Jon Hill Josh Sitton Pro Camp - Josh Sitton

Our Night to Shine - Debbie Stanhagen 42nd Annual McGuire’s St.Patrick’s Day Run - Amy Martin and McGuire Martin,

McGuire’s Irish Pub

Youth Essay - George Washington Honor Medal on Neck Ribbon Sebastian Chapman, Hunter Howard, Graybill Partington, Isiah Salter, Joseph Velez

Spirit of ’76 Award - Cherie Arnette

Liberty Bell Awards Mayor Grover C. Robinson, IV - World’s Strongest Town

Superintendent Malcolm Thomas - 2019 FL Superintendent of the Year Keitha Brown - Social Studies Teacher, Escambia High School

Debbie Naylor - Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Vince Whibbs - R.E.A.P. Alliance Pensacola

Dan Lindemann - Bruce Beach Revitalization Ransom Middle School - Kicks for a Cause Shoe Drive

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020 PAGE 4

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FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020 PAGE 5

Freedoms Foundation Chapter Activities in Our Community

Escambia County School System held the 5th annual Raise the Bar teacher in-service day on January 18, 2020. Over 400 teachers attended. Kelly Gallagher from California, was keynote speaker. He focused on the importance of reading and writing. Every child in all age groups should read or be read to 60 minutes each day and should spend 40 minutes each day writing. These activities stimulate the thinking process and help students develop the ability to express themselves. Lessons in reading, math, science and psychology as well as history lessons, including a skit by the League of Women Voters on the 19th Amendment (women’s voting rights) were presented. Freedoms Foundation Pensacola Chapter participated with a table where we distributed information on Freedoms Foundation continuing education programs, Bill of Responsibility cards as well as pocket Constitutions. We contributed four door prizes and cookies for refreshments. Three teachers who have attended Freedoms Foundation educational events were on hand to share their experiences and Melanie Hendrix taught a class on the Medal of Honor program.

WE CHALLENGE ALL TO REJECT APATHY AND GET INVOLVED

John Hancock was an American merchant, statesman, and prominent patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence. Before the American Revolution, Hancock was one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies, having inherited a profitable mercantile business from his uncle. He began his political career in Boston as a protégé of Samuel Adams, an influential local politician. Hancock used his wealth to support the colonial cause as tensions increased between colonists and Great Britain in the 1760s. He became very popular in Massachusetts, especially after British officials

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020 PAGE 6

John Hancock A Signature Large Enough the King Could Read Without His Spectacles

seized his sloop Liberty in 1768 and charged him with smuggling. Those charges were eventually dropped; he has often been described as a smuggler in historical accounts, but the accuracy of this characterization has been questioned. After its victory in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the British Empire was deeply in debt. Looking for new sources of revenue, the British Parliament sought, for the first time, to directly tax the colonies, beginning with the Sugar Act of 1764. The Sugar Act provoked outrage in Boston, where it was widely viewed as a violation of colonial rights. Men such as James Otis and Samuel Adams argued that because the colonists were not represented in Parliament, they could not be taxed by that body; only the colonial assemblies, where the colonists were represented, could levy taxes upon the colonies. Hancock was not yet a political activist; however, he criticized the tax for economic, rather than constitutional, reasons. Hancock emerged as a leading political figure in Boston just as tensions with Great Britain were increasing. In March 1765, he was elected as one of Boston's five selectmen, an office previously held by his uncle for many years. Soon after, Parliament passed the 1765 Stamp Act, a tax on legal documents, such as wills, that had been levied in Britain for many years but which was wildly unpopular in the colonies, producing riots and organized resistance. Hancock initially took a moderate position: as a loyal British subject, he thought that the colonists should submit to the act, even though he believed that Parliament was misguided. Within a few months, Hancock had changed his mind, although he continued to disapprove of violence and the intimidation of royal officials by mobs. Hancock joined the resistance to the Stamp Act by participating in a boycott of British goods, which made him popular in Boston. After Bostonians learned of the impending repeal of the Stamp Act, Hancock was elected to the Massachusetts’ House of Representatives. Hancock’s revolutionary activities made him a target for British authorities. In 1775, he and fellow patriot Samuel Adams avoided arrest in Lexington, Massachusetts, thanks to Paul Revere. In May 1775, John Hancock was elected president of the Continental Congress, which was meeting in Philadelphia. During the eight years of war that followed, Hancock used his wealth and influence to help fund the army and revolutionary cause. As president of the Continental Congress, Hancock is credited as the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. He did not attend the 1787 Constitutional Convention, but presided over his home states’s convention to ratify it.

WE CHALLENGE ALL TO REJECT APATHY AND GET INVOLVED

Bob Anderson, WEB Admin(850) 384-7474nsgfmc4@aol.com

Cherie Arnette, Liasion Escambia Co.Schools         (850) 969-9820 carnette@escambia.k12.fl.us

Melinda Beckett, VP - Grants (850) 438-3898 melindabeckett@cox.net

Jeri Blankenbeck, Director    (850) 453-5382(850) 485-3223

Connie Brown, VP-Youth Leadership (850) 484-8567(850) 450-4227 cbrown991@cox.net

Tom Furr, Director(850) 777-9784furrto@penair.org

Lynn Mott, Treasurer (850) 501-7218 beachrun49@aol.com

Billie Nicholson, BellRinger Editor (851) 375-5900 billieandrobert@gmail.com

Robert Nicholson, Membership(850) 602-0850billieandrobert@gmail.com

 Dr. Anita Schmitt, Secretary (850) 393-9623 aschmitt53@gmail.com

Tracie Stitt, Director(850) 497-9980(850) 206-9264

Freddie Tellis, Chapter Chaplain (850) 492-0882(850) 508-5753 freddietellis@gmail.com

Butch Wallace, Historian         (850) 944-8347(850) 324-8634 cticmwallace@icloud.com

Betty Williams, President(850) 944-3237(850) 712-7221herbwilliams@prodigy.net

Michele Wilson, Director(850) 453-8726(850) 516-8692 michelewilson2898@gmail.com

Dr. Jacqueline Young, Director(850) 438-4401jacqueline_young@outlook.com

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020 PAGE 7

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION  BOARD - 2020

WE CHALLENGE ALL TO REJECT APATHY AND GET INVOLVED

Fillable Form: Membership Application

FREEDOMS FOUNDATION PENSACOLA CHAPTER JAN/FEB 2020 PAGE 8

APPLICATION FOR PENSACOLA CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP

Effective July 1, 201 Please Print Clearly

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