John Coski, President                  Rob Monroe, Editor       
5028 King William Road                 2416 Edenbrook Dr.       
Richmond, VA 23225                     Richmond, VA 23228-3040  
jmcoski@peoplepc.com                   RMonroe500@comcast.net   
 November 2008 PROGRAM

Dr. Edward L. Ayres
"Aftermath"

Annual Dinner Meeting
Thursday, November 13, 2008 
Jepson Alumni Center at University of Richmond
6:00 Social Hour, 7:00 Dinner, 8:00 Speaker

We often focus on the way that the Civil War began  and  was
fought.   We  have  not  thought  as  much about the ways it
ended.  In his presentation at our annual dinner meeting  on
November  13,  University  of  Richmond  President Edward L.
Ayers will  evoke  the  challenges  faced  by  an  array  of
Americans in the immediate aftermath of the war, showing how
these individuals attempted to rebuild their lives.         

Dr.  Ayers assumed the UR presidency in July 2007.   He  was
previously  dean  of  arts and sciences at the University of
Virginia, where he began teaching in 1980.                  

A historian of the American South, Dr.   Ayers  has  written
and  edited  ten  books.  The Promise of the New South: Life
After Reconstruction was a finalist for  both  the  National
Book  Award and the Pulitzer Prize in 1992.  In the Presence
of Mine Enemies: War in the Heart of America  1859-1863  won
the   2003  Bancroft  Prize  for  distinguished  writing  in
American history and the Beveridge Prize for the  best  book
in English on the history of the Americas since 1942.       

Dr.   Ayers  also  is the creator of a large digital history
project, "The Valley of the Shadow Project: Two  Communities
in the American Civil War." It was named the best aid to the
teaching of history from the American Historical Association
in 2002.                                                    


Amendments to RCWRT Constitution

The Executive Committee recommends a series of amendments to
the Richmond Civil War Round Table Constitution.  The entire
text  of  the  revised  Constitution  appears   below   with
amendments  blue & in  italics.  All  of  the amendments are
intended  to  make  the  Constitution  consistent  with  the
organization's  actual  practices  and  policies, especially
correcting  the  date  of  the  meeting  and  defining   the
categories  of  membership, the composition of the Executive
Committee, the duties of officers, and the payments of dues.

The Constitution of the Richmond Civil War Round Table
Amended October 9, 1980
Amended December 9, 2008

ARTICLE I - NAME                                            

The name of this organization shall be:                     
THE RICHMOND CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE.                         

ARTICLE II - PURPOSES                                       

To discuss the events, customs, military actions  and  other
activities  pertaining to the War Between the States (1861 -
1865).   To  encourage  and  stimulate   interest   in   the
objectives  of  all  agencies interested in the preservation
and protection of  the  landmarks,  earthworks,  relics  and
collections of data pertinent to the above period for use by
the general public.                                         

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP                                    

Section 1: There shall be five  (5)  classes  of  membership
composed  of  persons  of either sex who (excepting those in
category "d" below) have reached the age of eighteen:       

a.	Resident                                     
b.	Non-resident                                 
c.	Senior                                       
d.	Student                                      
e.	Sustaining                                   

[International category eliminated; subsumed into "non-resident"]

Resident members shall be persons whose place  of  residence
shall  be  within fifty (50) miles of the limits of the City
of Richmond, Virginia.  [number limit eliminated]           

Non-resident  members  shall  be  persons  whose  place   of
residence  shall  be  beyond fifty (50) miles of the City of
Richmond, Virginia.                                         

Senior members shall be at least 65 years old and have  been
RCWRT members for ten (10) or more years.                   

Student  members  shall  be thirteen (13) years old or older
and enrolled as full-time students.                         

Sustaining members                                          

Section 2: By three-fourths (3/4) vote of members present at
any  regular  business meeting, The Richmond Civil War Round
Table may elect to Life Honorary membership any persons  who
have  made outstanding contributions to the knowledge and/or
advancement of the Civil War period.  There shall be no more
than ten (10) Life Honorary members at any given time.      

Section   3:   The   secretary  shall  receive  and  process
applications for all membership categories.                 

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS AND GOVERNMENT                        

Section 1: The officers of  The  Richmond  Civil  War  Round
Table shall be:                                             

a.      President,  who  shall  preside  over  general  and 
	special meetings                                    

b.      First Vice-President, who shall act also as  Program
	Chairman                                            

c.      Second Vice-President, who shall act as Chairman of  
	Field Trips and arrange the following year's programs

d.      Secretary, who shall maintain records of  membership
	and dues                                            

e.      Treasurer,  who shall collect and deposit revenues, 
	pay expenses, and report on finances                

f.      Newsletter editor, who shall (with  such  assistance
	as required) write, edit, compose,  and  disseminate
	the newsletter                                      

g.      Webmaster,  who  shall  maintain  and  update   the 
	organization's website                              

These  officers  shall be duly elected at the annual meeting
and shall serve  for  the  term  of  one  (1)  year.   These
officers  shall  be  chosen  from  and  by  members  in good
standing.                                                   

Section 2:  The  duties  of  the  officers  shall  be  those
described generally in Section 1 above and more specifically
in position descriptions.                                   

Section 3: The above-mentioned officers, the immediate  Past
President and three Past Presidents to be designated by vote
of the membership at the annual  meeting  shall  compose  an
Executive  Committee  which  is  empowered  to  transact any
business  of  this  organization  except  the  election   of
officers   and   of   the   Executive   Committee   and  the
establishment of dues and initiation fees.   Said  committee
may  recommend  policy  and  program for ratification of the
membership.  A majority of  the  members  of  the  Executive
Committee shall constitute a quorum.                        

Section 4: the term of officers and committees shall be from
January 1 through December 31 or until their successors  are
elected.                                                    

ARTICLE V - MEETINGS                                        

Section 1: the members shall meet once a year in  the  month
of  December  at  a  business meeting; hereafter, called the
Annual Meeting.  The Annual Meeting shall be for the purpose
of  presenting  the  annual  reports, budgets, fixing of the
dues and the election of officers.                          

Section 2: The regular monthly meetings of this organization
shall be on the second Tuesday of each month.               

Section  3:  Robert's  Newly  Revised  Rules  of Order shall
govern  all  matters  before  this  organization  where  not
otherwise specified.                                        

ARTICLE VI - DUES                                           

Section 1: Each member of The Richmond Civil War Round Table
shall   pay  to  the  Treasurer  the  amount  voted  by  the
membership at the annual meeting as the year's rate of dues,
on or before the 15th day of March of each year. [eliminated
clause specifying fraction of regular dues for  husband  and
wife, student, and non-resident members]                    

Section  2:  Members,  who are sixty (60) days delinquent in
their payment of dues, shall be  automatically  dropped  and
shall  be  treated  as  new applicants should they desire to
return to membership.                                       

ARTICLE VII - INITIATION FEE                                

All new members to The Richmond Civil War Round Table  shall
pay  an  Initiation  Fee  and  pro  rata  dues for the year.
Initiation Fee shall be paid only once.                     

ARTICLE VIII - COMMITTEES

Section 1: The Executive Committee (described in Article IV,
Section  3  above)  shall  also  constitute  the  Nominating
Committee and shall solicit  recommendations  of  candidates
for  offices from the membership and recommend at the Annual
Meeting a slate of officers.                                

Section 2: Other committees may be named by  the  President.
No  such  committee  shall  serve longer than the end of the
year; although, this shall not prevent their re-appointment.

ARTICLE IX - GUESTS                                         

Any member in good standing may bring a reasonable number of
guests to any regular business meeting of this organization.
No guest may attend  more  than  two  (2)  meetings  without
applying   for  membership.   Special  meetings  and  social
functions may restrict attendance of guests by action of the
membership and/or Executive Committee.                      

ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS                                      

Amendments may be made to this Constitution by a  two-thirds
(2/3)  vote of the members present at a duly called business
meeting, provided  that  each  member  has  a  copy  of  the
proposed  amendment  sent  to  his  address of record by the
Secretary together with a call for  said  meeting  at  least
fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting.                    



Editor's   note:   Obviously   this   is  not  your  typical
newsletter.  However, with these  changes  being  the  first
amendments  to the RCWRT's Constitution in 28 years, we felt
it our obligation to present them to all our members.   Look
for a more traditional newsletter next month.  Thank you.   


RCWRT Monthly Speakers for 2008


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Richmond Civil War Round Table Newsletter
Rob Monroe, Editor     
2416 Edenbrook Dr.     
Richmond, VA 23228-3040