The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Department of Nebraska held their 20th Annual Department Encampment on June 20, 2020 at the Saunders County Museum in Wahoo, Nebraska. The meeting was held both in person and online with 18 members attending. PCinC Donald Shaw was the visiting National representative.
A Memorial Service was held at 9:15 AM for departed members, Marvin Welstead and Paul Eveland of Welstead Camp. The business meeting started at 10:00 AM. Recaps of the various submitted reports were given by the Dept. Commander, Secretary/Treasurer, Officers, and Camp Commanders. Discussion was held on our Last Soldier Project and how that will proceed, and amendments to the Department bylaws.
New officers were nominated and elected for 2020-21, they are:
Department Commander: John Surman
Senior Vice Commander: Keith Rockefeller
Junior Vice Commander: Paul Burright
Secretary/Treasurer: Gage Stermensky
Council 1: Merle Rudebusch
Council 2: Norm Weber
Council 3: Bill Dean
The following are the appointed officers by Commander Surman:
Patriotic Instructor: Eric Bachenberg
Chaplain: Marc Witkovski
Counselor: Paul Hadley
Graves Registration Officer: Merle Rudebusch
Department Historian: Merle Rudebusch
ROTC Officer: Steve Bauermeister
Camp Creation Officer: Norm Weber
Recruiting Officer: Val Schmiedeskamp
Eagle Scout Coordinator: Mark Nichols
Signals Officer: Mark Nichols
Color Bearer: Nate Harder
Guide: Larry Angle
Guard: Swan Swanson
Civil War Memorials Officer: Bill Dean
GAR Highway Officer: Howard Davis
Department Musician: Eric Bachenberg
A break for lunch followed the business meeting and the group reconvened at 2:00 PM for the awards and guest speaker presentation. A gift of appreciation was presented to Don Shaw for traveling to our encampment and installing the officers. PDC Mark Nichols was presented the PDC badge and a book as a gift for his service as Dept. Commander. David Wells was the guest speaker and gave a presentation on the 1864 Lincoln Election. The awards handed out this year were:
Michael Bondall Award (for promoting the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic): will be handed to the recipient at a later time
George Shulz Award (for exceptional service to our order): Eric Bachenberg
Paul Vandervoort Award (Camp with most new members): Shiloh Camp No. 2 and Thayer Camp-at-Large
John Reese Award (Camp with highest percentage of new members): Shiloh Camp No. 2
Certificate of Commendation: David Wells, Guest Speaker