Greetings to all...

My name is Bruce Davis and this is my first communication as the newly-elected President of the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable. If you’re saying “Bruce Who?” I completely understand, as I only joined the group last fall. Sitting in the back row of the GAR Hall, I heard Lynn Heller asking for nominations of people to serve as president. I was too new to even know of anyone to nominate, though it did occur to me the job sounded like fun. I read a written notice to the same effect, then heard Lynn reiterating that the group still needed someone to step up as president. As the Civil War generation was not averse to speaking Biblically, neither shall I be: Like Isaiah, hearing the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send?”; I said, with no small amount of trepidation, “Here I am, Lynn, use me!”—quick to add that if a more veteran member—which would include most anyone else—stepped up, I would quickly withdraw my name from consideration. Well, here I am!

I like to think this is service to which I am well-suited. I recently retired after 44 years of United Methodist ministry, most of that spent leading large membership multi-staff congregations. My wife Nancy is herself an ordained Methodist pastor. We had been in Omaha, Nebraska, for thirteen years and had no intention of enduring another winter on the plains. With children and grandchildren spread out from the Mountain West to the Bordeaux wine region of France, we had our pick of places to retire—and chose Gettysburg. I first experienced Gettysburg in childhood, traipsing battlefields with my father, and had been a frequent visitor since. While Nancy’s interest in the Civil War is limited, she was very attracted to the town itself, the physical beauty of the region, and proximity to the great cities of the east. We count ourselves very blessed to be here.

I suspect one of the reasons no one was stepping up for the Roundtable presidency was full-knowledge that Lynn Heller would be a tough act to follow. Frankly, I told Lynn I thought the Roundtable would be best served if she continued in the job, but she explained that she was up against term limits which had already been extended. Happily, she’ll continue to serve on the board; as I understand it, most all the present board members will continue, which is incredibly welcome. Lynn has kindly offered every encouragement, including coordination of the Christmas event. (Not being a party planner, myself, I am particularly glad of that.) I’ve told Lynn, I’ve told those Board members I’ve met, and I’ll tell you: Given my newness to the organization, I’ll be depending on a lot of input and suggestion. My preferred method of correspondence is e-mail, the address: brdgettysburg@gmail.com. I like putting names and faces together, and toward that end invite you to “Friend” me on Facebook. Please know that I will take stewardship of the Roundtable very seriously and that I look forward to serving with each of you.

- BRD