Minutes of the 142nd Encampment, in Special Meeting, respectfully submitted by Eric Boothroyd, P.D.C., Department Secretary-Treasurer.

A Special Meeting of the Department of Maine, SUVCW, was called for in Department Order No. 1 for a ratification vote on the language proposed in General Order No. 2, Series 2023-2024. The meeting was held in the Board Room of the Bangor Public Library, Bangor, Maine, on November 4, 2023.

The Encampment was opened with limited ritual at 10:09 AM with Department Commander Peter Redman presiding. Three Brothers were in the physical room while five attended via Zoom video conference. All Brothers present were eligible to vote.

Those attending were:

NAME	CAMP	CREDENTIALS	VIA
Peter Redman	Camp 3	PCC, Elected Dept. Officer	In-Person
James Bonney	Camp 11	Elected Dept. Officer	Zoom
Eric Boothroyd	Camp 11	PDC, Elected Dept. Officer	Zoom
Charles Shaffer	Camp 11	Delegate	In-Person
Morris Berry	Camp 68	PDC, Elected Dept. Officer	Zoom
Steven Gibbons	Camp 68	Elected Dept. Officer	Zoom
Paul Raudonat	Camp 68	Delegate	Zoom
James Ewing (arriving later)	Camp 86	Camp Commander	In-Person
Charles McGillicuddy	Camp 11	PDC	In-Person

The Secretary read the text of General Order No. 2.

The Commander read a communication from Brother Roger Lamson, a lawyer from the Dept. of NH, who was present at the National Encampment and is OPPOSED to the ratification of this General Order.

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Brother McGillicuddy entered the Encampment room at 10:19, bringing the membership present up to nine.

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The Commander also read a letter sent to him by the membership of Corp. Geo. S. Cobb Camp #68 in OPPOSITION to the G.O.

Brother Boothroyd reported that the majority of Douty Camp #11 members at their last meeting voted FOR the language in the G.O., but he read a personal statement in OPPOSITION.

Commander Redman asked if anyone else wanted to speak AGAINST the order.

Brother McGillicuddy stated that he thought the language was well intentioned, and he was in favor of being open-minded about any implementation. However the issue of re-defining gender at this time has yet to be more clearly defined by the courts, and he feels this move on the part of the SUVCW is premature. We should not change our policy until we see how the high courts further define gender.

Brother Ewing stated that this type of situation had come up in the VFW. Originally, the VFW was an all-male organization, and the Ladies’ Auxiliary was its female counterpart. Now, with both male and female veterans, the VFW is open to both, and the “Ladies” was dropped from the VFW Auxiliary name to include non-military males who are partners of female veterans, hence becoming gender neutral.

Commander Redman asked if there was anyone who wanted to speak FOR the G.O.

Brother Shaffer acknowledged that he was elected to represent the majority view FOR the proposed changes, but he stated that he felt the defining language was badly written and agreed that this should play out in the courts first. In his opinion, this was a “knee-jerk” reaction to a specific situation and deserved more thought and clarification. Keep the SUVCW as-is, for the time being, as a “male” organization without defining the term.

Commander Redman then spoke on his own behalf AGAINST the order. He had changed his position held last spring after attending the National Encampment and has been influenced by Brother Lennon’s opinion. This issue created a lot of confusion at the National Encampment. The former C-in-C didn’t expect this much pushback against raising this issue. Commander Redman felt that this discussion was to continue to be explored by asking the opinions of the Department Encampments and taking it up again at the next National Encampment. The current C-in-C reappointed the National Special Committee on Reviewing Membership Qualification in his General Order No.1, but he stated in the email accompanying the issuance of G.O. #2 that “this (ratification vote) needs to be done as soon as possible…because we can’t wait for the next National Encampment 2024.” This appears to be in conflict with what was understood. The Department Commander said we need to slow this process down or it will open up the Sons to a lawsuit. “The Departments are going to have to put the brakes on this!”

With no more opinions expressed, Brother Shaffer made a motion to proceed to vote. The motion was seconded by Brother Ewing, and the motion was CARRIED.

The Secretary asked if the vote should be by secret ballot or show of hands. The Commander asked if there were any objections to voting by show of hands. No objections were offered.

Are you in favor of the proposed membership qualification language to the SUVCW Constitution & Regulations presented in General Order No. 2?

• YES 1
• NO 8

The Department of Maine has voted AGAINST the ratification of General Order No. 2. A letter will be prepared and mailed to the Commander-in-Chief and the National Secretary with these results.

With no further business to come before this Special Encampment, we proceeded to close.

The 142nd Encampment of the Department of Maine, in Special Meeting, was duly closed with ritual at 10:48 AM by Department Commander Peter Redman.