The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati is governed by the Officers and Board of Directors of the Society of the Cincinnati with the guidance and support of the Board of Overseers. The bylaws of the Society of the Cincinnati, a District of Columbia non-profit corporation, define this governing structure and the relationship between the two boards. Together they shape the agenda of the Institute and ensure that the Institute carries out the historic mission of the Society, defined by the founders of the Society of the Cincinnati in 1783, to perpetuate the memory of the American Revolution.
Board of Overseers
The Board has the right and responsibility to oversee, and to make recommendations concerning, the operations of the Institute and the use of funds dedicated to the Institute. Drawing on the wide-ranging experience and expertise of its members, the Board exerts broad influence over the Institute’s strategic directions and provides counsel to the Society’s leadership on priorities and plans.
The Board of Overseers is comprised of as many as fifteen members. The Vice President General of the Society of the Cincinnati is an ex officio member. Other members of the Board of Overseers are nominated by the Board of Overseers and confirmed by the Executive Committee of the Corporation. A simple majority of the members of the Board of Overseers must be members of the Society of the Cincinnati. Other members of the Board of Overseers are men and women who are committed to the goals of the Institute. Members of the Board of Overseers are elected to staggered six-year terms, which may be renewed. All members serve without compensation.
The current members of the Board of Overseers are:
Mark Calhoun Williams, Chairman, Bethesda, Maryland
Charles Lilly Coltman III, Chairman Emeritus, Del Ray, Florida
William Francis Price, Jr., Chairman Emeritus, Malibu, California
Kathleen Walsh Carr, Washington, D.C.
Hannah Caffery Cox, Alexandria, Virginia
Dr. J. Phillip London, McLean, Virginia
George Sunderland Rich, Baltimore, Maryland
William Henry Savage, Alexandria, Virginia
Frank Keech Turner, Jr., ex officio, Baltimore, Maryland
Executive Committee
The role of the Executive Committee is to govern the Corporation between meetings of the Board of Directors. The Executive Committee receives reports from the Board of Overseers and a variety of committees appointed by the President, confirms the election of members of the Board of Overseers and takes other actions, some of which are subject to the final approval of the Board of Directors. The six General Officers constitute the historic leadership of the Society of the Cincinnati, each Officer holding a position established by the Institution of the Society of the Cincinnati and first held by a former officer of the Continental Army. George Washington was the first president general of the Society of the Cincinnati.
The six General Officers of the Society of the Cincinnati serve as the Executive Committee of the Corporation. The Solicitor and the Executive Director of the Society of the Cincinnati are non-voting members of the Executive Committee. The Officers of the Corporation serve for three-year terms. The President may not succeed himself, but there is no such term limit for other Officers.
The current Officers of the Corporation are:
William Pless Lunger, President, Arlington, Virginia
Frank Keech Turner, Jr., Vice President, Baltimore, Maryland
Joel Thomas Daves IV, Secretary, Mobile, Alabama
Francis Ellerbe Grimball, Treasurer, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
William Postell Raiford, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary, Hockessin, Delaware
Robert Mosby Turnbull, Assistant Treasurer, Richmond, Virginia
William Polk Skinner, Solicitor, Washington, D.C.
Jack Duane Warren, Jr., Executive Director, Alexandria, Virginia
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is comprised of the six General Officers and two Directors from each of the fourteen constituent societies, organized in the thirteen original states and France, and as many as six at-large members. All Directors serve until replaced.
The current Directors of the Corporation are:
Richard Saltonstall Auchincloss, Jr., St. Davids, Pennsylvania
George William Beale, Woodford, Virginia
Charles-Henri, marquis de Beauvoir, Hericourt en Caux, France
Francis Gorham Brigham III, Newtonville, Massachusetts
Robert Campbell Farmer, Richmond, Virginia
Thomas Bartley Gorin, Riverside, Connecticut
Palmer Clarkson Hamilton, Mobile, Alabama
Thomas Heyward Motte Hamilton, Charleston, South Carolina
James Terry Honan, Eufaula, Alabama
Brien Purcell Horan, West Hartford, Connecticut
Paul Douglas Huling, Alexandria, Virginia
Basil Magruder Jones, Richmond, Virginia
David Peter Kollock, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
George Wright Lennon, Raleigh, North Carolina
Robert Vincent Martin III, Savannah, Georgia
Frank Mauran IV, Providence, Rhode Island
Capers Walter McDonald, Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Hollis Warren Merrick, M.D., Perrysburg, Ohio
Bernard, marquis de Montferrand, Paris, France
Herbert Jaques Motley, Jr., Nahant, Massachusetts
John Arthur O’Malley, New York, New York
James Keith Peoples, Washington, D.C.
James Orlo Pringle, M.D.,Windham, Maine
William Francis Price, Jr., Malibu, California
William Postell Raiford, Ph.D., Hockessin, Delaware
George Sunderland Rich, Stevenson, Maryland
Nathaniel Reynolds Tingley, Jr., Providence, Rhode Island
Mark Crosby Ward, Devon, Pennsylvania
Bruce Colin Webb, National Harbor, Maryland