To our great Family of the Holland Society of New York.
I write to you all today to introduce myself and invite dialogue. First off, my introduction.
Introduction of the 76th Society President
Who am I, my family’s role in the Society? I am Adrian Thomas Bogart III, my father Adrian Thomas Bogart Jr. has been an active member of the Society, as well as my Grandfather. I have been a member of the Society for 42 years now, served as a trustee and recently Vice President. My daughter Sarah Bogart Cooney is the Society’s Executive Administrator and my Son 1LT Adrian Thomas Bogart IV heads the Rock Mountain Branch. My daughter Catherine has membership and my sister Laurie is a serving Trustee. Laurie, Sarah and Catherine were part of the first female membership slate for the Society.
What is my Profession? I am a Colonel in the United States Army. Commissioned in 1983, I am a Special Forces officer or “Green Beret” and have just returned from 20 months in Afghanistan where I was the Deputy Commander of NATO forces in Northern Afghanistan. I have just finished 6 and 1/2 years in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and now assigned to a senior position in the Pentagon. Like others, I’ll balance my profession with my role in the Society.
What is my education? I am a Civil Engineer graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and have a Masters in Diplomacy with a concentration in Terrorism from Norwich University. I have many Military Schools as well, to include Command and General Staff College and Senior Service College.
Where did I grow up and where do I live now? I grew up on Long Island and lived there through college, spending some time working in the Family’s Engineer Practice which my Grandfather started. We did live in Manhattan for many years and then followed my military assignments living in Maryland and Colorado. I currently reside in Arlington, Virginia.
Please email me any questions you may have on my background to president@hollandsociety.org and I’ll be happy to answer them.
A Dialogue
I also wanted to dialogue with the Society with key points for discussion.
1. Leadership at this Time. My election on 4 April 2020 as your 76th President follows a long line of distinguished leaders and leadership of the Society who have brought us through good days and bad. It is on the day of my election that we find ourselves in troubled times. As such, the Society requires a leadership to manage our progress through this crisis. At this point in time, we react to the circumstances around us and act in fellowship for our Society.
Your leadership team as of 4 April 2020 is:
President
Colonel Adrian T. Bogart III
president@hollandsociety.org
Vice President
Richard Van Deusen
vicepresident@hollandsociety.org
Secretary
James J. Middaugh
secretary@hollandsociety.org
Treasurer
David Conklin
treasurer@hollandsociety.org
Domine
Rev. Paul D. Lent
domine@hollandsociety.org
Trustees
Thomas Bogart
Christopher M. Cortright
Eric E. Delamarter
David W. Ditmars
Sarah Lefferts Fosdick
Andrew A. Hendricks
Sally Quackenbush Mason
David D. Nostrand
Gregory M. Outwater
Andrew Terhune
Stuart W. Van Winkle
Laurie Bogart Wiles
Kenneth Winans
As we move successfully through these troubled times, please reach out to your leadership with ideas, comments, opinions and ideas.
2. The Society’s Domain. From our first meeting on February 21, 1885 until today, our Society has been a home of great Americans who have kinship back to the early Settlers of Nieuw Netherlands. Today we have 729 Members and 91 Friends with the Society and I’d ask how we could see increasing our membership. I have asked Sarah Lefferts Fosdick to lead our Membership effort and she can be reached out at Membership@hollandsociety.org.
3. Medalist. Each year we look to award the Society’s Distinguished Achievement Medal to recognize achievement by those who are not members of the Society, but who have made an outstanding contribution in some field of human endeavor. I’d like to bring your feedback to the Trustees for the 2020 Award which we could look to be made this fall.
4. Online and Virtual. Society events bring us closer to each other and our past. Under current circumstances, we leverage technology to connect. I’ll ask the Society what would you like to see for online Society events. We can work several venues to deliver lectures, meetings, and information exchanges.
5. Priorities. You can expect over the next several months for a dialogue to occur within the Society’s leadership on where we are going, your discussions and how we see managing the organization and functions of ‘corporate’ Holland Society of New York. Please feel free to contribute upfront on your Society and please participate in the virtual Town Hall meetings we will call to order in the future.
Thank you again for your trust and confidence in the Holland Society of New York and more importantly your participation. The ‘Strength of the Society’ rests with its family of Members, Friends, and Associates and it is a kinship which has flourished since the Society formed in 1885 to celebrate those who came before us to the Nieuw Netherlands. Please feel free to participate in the multitude of social media outlets the Society hosts, as well as the upcoming Society functions.
Thank you and have a great day!
Adrian T. Bogart III
President, HSNY
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