Don Shelton, AoT Heritage Chief

This is an occasional, personally published communication by the AoT Heritage Chief. While my main purpose herein is to encourage communications in the AoT on heritage defense, offense, successes and failures so that we might all learn and be more effective, there also will be information on the upcoming AoT Commander election; please don’t feel obligated to read that if SCV political topics are not to your liking.  Please bear with any bugs in this initial communiqué. It is presented in HTML since I think most everyone’s computer can handle that now, but if you need a text only version let me know. If you just aren’t interested in receiving this, don’t hesitate to let me know, but on the other hand feel free to give me e-mail addresses of compatriots you think would like to receive this information.

Georgia Flag Rally: The politicians, the chamber of commerce and the media all said that the fight to save the Real Georgia flag is over now that there has been a bogus referendum which didn’t include it. However, the Georgia division said “not so fast” and on short notice was able to put over 400 people in the streets of Atlanta marching on the capitol. The politicians should get the message, even if the media didn't (the AJC article completely missed the point and effect of the rally). The Georgians proved just how much fight they have. There are several good articles on the rally: http://www.georgiascv.com/flagrally404.htm

http://www.spofga.org/flag/2004/april/capitol_rally_3.phtml

School Flag Bans: These things pop up like dandelions; some we win quickly, some are going to take a while. In recent weeks new ones have popped up in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and elsewhere in the AoT. The good news is that recently in Ohio two school systems which had instituted Confederate bans have done complete turn-arounds after Div. Cmdr. Edd Sharp hit them with the ‘Castorina’ information (from the landmark 6th Circuit decision that the SCV supported in Kentucky and is now case law in KY, TN, OH and MI). The less-good news is that the Kentucky and Florida situations may not be so easy. So many schools in Kentucky have been smacked down successfully by Castorina that they have begun looking for ways to get around it. The first way is to defy us, and see if we have the wherewithal (money) to take them to court. Secondly they have latched on to the one exception where the courts allow a ban—if there is “material disruption” of the educational process in the school over the flag. We now have schools claiming that a few purported name-calling incidents are material disruption. We firmly believe that the courts did not intend such a flimsy and broad interpretation. It will probably require us winning that point in court to drive it home with the school systems, though. In Florida we are working in the 11th federal circuit, which has been very unfriendly to us. However, one Florida case involves an SCV member being disciplined for wearing his membership pin to school. It is direct discrimination against our organization and appears to be a strong case for us. The SCV needs to stand behind this suit, if not be a direct plaintiff. There is material available on handling these school situations; contact me if you need it. You can read the 6th Circuit Castorina decision at: http://pacer.ca6.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=01a0064p.06  Media coverage of our statement on the latest school banning in Kentucky: http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=1738988&nav=3w6oLoMJ

Davis Statue: A resolution introduced into the Kentucky legislature to remove the statue of President Davis from the capitol rotunda was quickly killed by concerted efforts from the SCV and like-minded organizations. The experience did teach us much about behind-the-scenes political machinations of a legislature and where the exact pressure points lie. An article on the filing of the resolution is at: http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/02/24ky/met-3-bather0224-2910.html

Alabama Holidays: In another attempt to diminish our Confederate heritage, the Governor tried to combine Confederate Memorial Day and Jefferson Davis’ Birthday into a single holiday. The Alabama division jumped on this quickly and were able to defeat it in the legislature. Legislative battles are going to remain an annual theme for us; we need to focus and be prepared for them. I encourage the men who have fought these battles in GA, AL, TN, KY and elsewhere to prepare reports for me of their experiences with an emphasis on what worked, what didn’t and what we should know for dealing with legislatures in the future. By comparing these and sharing the conclusions we can be better prepared next year.

t

PACS: Speaking of legislatures, several folks have asked me what has become of FPAC and APAC (besides publishing the Southern Mercury), the political action committees that CIC Griffin pushed for the formation of. The answer: I don’t know—yet. I’ll be inquiring of folks who have more knowledge on this than I to see if it can be determined what needs to be done to get these tools working for us (I’m sure the answer will involve money in one way or another). PACS are being used very effectively in Georgia and we need that to spread. It could be that state PACS are a better approach than national ones and we need to take the Georgia example and teach other states. It could be that the experience gained in Georgia can now be used to kick-start FPAC and APAC. It could be something else, but I will be passing along my conclusions as I study this.

t

SCV Elections: Okay, now is the time to stop reading if you’re not interested in SCV politics. Yes, I have announced for AoT Commander in the upcoming elections at Dalton, and I would appreciate your support. It does not mean that I dislike the other candidates—indeed I have great respect for them. If you support someone else, please do not feel awkward contacting me about heritage issues, etc. We are all on the same team, and the SCV’s growth and success are more important than politics. So now to answer a few questions:

Why are you running? I have a vision for the SCV which is a vibrant, effective, aggressive force for preserving and promoting Confederate heritage. I’m willing to take that vision to the GEC if enough of you all share it. I do have a "real life" outside the SCV, and ways to serve other than as AoT Commander, meaning that this isn't about personal ego gratification, but rather it is about what type of leadership you want on the GEC.

Will you be visiting division reunions and functions? I have been to the Upper Dixie Conference in Sandusky, the AoT meeting in Birmingham and the flag rally in Atlanta. I will be at the Tennessee reunion in a few days. Unfortunately, Kentucky, Mississippi and Florida have all scheduled division reunions the same weekend. My division duties in Kentucky are going to keep me there that weekend. I will be at the Georgia reunion in June. The Alabama reunion is still uncertain right now due to calendar pressures.

Will you be sending out a campaign brochure? Yes. It will go out as soon as I a) pull the money out of the family budget b) finish the work on the Kentucky division magazine, which has occupied most of my “spare” graphic design time over the last few weeks. Probably it will be mailed by mid-May. It will emphasize actions done rather than titles held.

Do you have a website? Yes, www.sheltonaot.net  It currently contains a detailed platform, and we’ll be adding information about my record in the SCV soon.

Are you a Ron Wilson clone? I don’t think it’s a secret that I supported CIC Wilson’s election, and support his initiatives (let's at least give them a try and see if they work). I do have my own distinct leadership style, though. I tend to place emphasis on communication, encouragement, and prioritizing. By prioritizing, I mean using logic to apply our limited resources on the issues which have greatest impact and importance. Fighting smart is another way to put it. Because of my involvement in numerous heritage issues I may be thought of by some only in terms as a "heritage guy". That may connote suicidal frontal assaults on the enemy in some minds, but I'm really more of a situational analyst. Gather information, look at options, formulate a plan and put it into action. If the plan is to work behind the scenes that is fine; if it calls for flag rally and lots of media attention, that is fine too. Whatever will best get the job done. I suggest you ask members of the Kentucky division for an honest assessment of that style when I was Division Commander. More next time...