Bernard W. Wolff

    President

    The Honorable Bernard W. Wolff, MPA resides in northern Florida with his lovely bride Delores where he manages and directs several non-profit organizations. Bernard retired from 34 years of service in the US Army, leaving as an intelligence officer with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Four and the Legion of Merit. He also owned and managed a financial practice firm specializing in college planning for many years after a managerial position with the Prudential Insurance Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Earlier in his life, the Boy Scouts of America awarded him the Eagle Scout rank.

    He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida and continued his formal education by working on a master’s degree at Purdue University, followed by Master of Business Administration work at Western Michigan University, master’s in information technology at Barry University, and obtained a master’s in public administration from the same school. He currently is pursuing his Doctorate in Higher Education with a specialty in Leadership and Administration from Barry University.

    Bernard served as the Council President of a Michigan town and subsequently became a candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives. He chaired many diverse committees I both in the private and public realm, including legislative, ethics, and planning, among many others. He joined other Patri-lineal societies and became a state president, receive the highest state decoration – the Patriot Medal. He also served as the security advisor for the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce of North America, coordinating security for several Ambassadors.

    He serves on the Board of several international charitable organizations and discharges responsibilities He travels extensively throughout Europe, Latin and South America, the Mid East, Caribbean, and Korea. Recently, Two President of the United States recognized Bernard with the Presidential Gold Volunteer Award and, later, the Presidential Life-Time Achievement Award.

    Jerry Halstead

    Vice President
    Jerry serves as Vice President for Development of the National Society of the American Revolution. He has a diverse background involving team building, having built a large agency in the A.L. Williams organization over a ten-year period. He coached baseball for 29 years from T-ball to Division I on the collegiate level as well as coaching youth basketball for 15 years.
     
    Having built and managed over 50 different teams, Jerry has also served as Governor of the Tampa Jamestowne Society chapter and as Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans St. Petersburg camp, both lineage societies.
     
    A Navy Vietnam veteran, he his work experience also includes Arthur Andersen & Co., public high school teacher and coach, and McMullen & Co. a local Atlanta CPA firm. Jerry has also worked as a financial advisor for the past 43 years. He served on the Zoning and Planning Board for Rockwall County, Texas. Jerry holds a B.S. in Business Administration, majoring in accounting, from the University of Florida.

    Peter Ford

    Treasurer

    Peter serves as Treasurer of the National Society of the American Revolution. He has over 40 years of experience in corporate finance and crisis management with both public and private companies.

     

    He has been the chief financial officer or a senior financial executive with such firms as Bausch & Lomb, Time Warner, Macmillan, Hearx Corp., Highland Environmental, and Phoenix Information Systems Corp.

    Mr. Ford has also served on corporate boards, as corporate secretary, and treasurer. He has extensive experience in planning, analysis, investor relations, SEC reporting, and the equity markets.

    He founded Ford Consulting Group Inc. in 1999. The firm’s engagements have included serving as a court-appointed bankruptcy plan administrator,  liquidation agent, forensic consultant, and interim chief financial officer for firms ranging in size from $5 million to $3 billion in annual revenue.

    Mr. Ford has a BS degree from Clarkson University and an MBA from Indiana University.

    James Schmidt, PhD

    Vice President, Education Outreach

    James A. “Jim” Schmidt is a “nearly native” Floridian. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Florida State University. After attending Stetson College of Law for over a year he received his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Florida in 1983.

    Jim has worked in large and small two-year colleges in North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and South Carolina. He specialized in Student Affairs providing leadership for the Admissions/Registrar’s Offices, Financial Aid/Veterans Services, Student Activities, Athletics, Counseling/Transfer Services and Special Programs.

    Professionally, Jim was active in Phi Delta Kappa (Education Honorary), SACS Accrediting visits and training, Southern Association of College Student Affairs and several respective state organizations. Jim provided leadership for several community agencies such as the Humane Society, Jaycees/Kiwanis/Rotary International, Boy Scouts, United Way, Knights of Columbus, Sons of the American Revolution, a local Scholarship Committee and local churches.

    In college, he was a member of Beta Theta Pi (social fraternity) and inducted into Phi Kappa Phi (academic honorary). Having a lifelong interest in European History, American History and Genealogy led to Jim’s interest and association with the National Society of the American Revolution.

    Charles Butler

    Vice President, Planning

    Although he has lived and worked in many states, Charles currently resides in St Petersburg, Florida, His background is eclectic, and emblematic of his many skill sets and ability to address even the most difficult professional challenges.

    A graduate of Florida State University and completed the Wharton Health Care business and marketing program in 1979, he is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Marketing (FACHM). Among his specialty areas are: prescription drug benefit programs, hospital and health systems marketing, planning, business development, physician hospital organizations, and self-funded benefit plans.

    Charles has been active in other lineage societies over the past decade, and has served as chapter President, Regional Vice President, Chairman of Strategic Planning, and Aide-de-Camp during a President General’s visit to his Chapter. He was also honored for his services in the area of Education outreach, being designated by President Bernard Wolff to be the Patriot Award winner for 2022.

    Although Charles has earned numerous honors for his service to our nation, one is of special meaning to him. On June 6, 1944, as the D-Day invasion of Normandy was underway, 2nd Lt John Donald Mumford of the Army Air Forces was escorting a squadron of B-17 Flying Fortresses in his P-51 Mustang over Romania.

    They were on their way to bomb a German air base. After successfully completing the mission, German ground control radioed their fighters to engage the Allied aircraft. Suddenly, Mumford, 22, from St. Petersburg, Florida, was being attacked by ten German fighter planes. He was killed and not seen again for over 70 years until his remains had been located in a field in the Ukraine.

    Using interviews and archaeological methods, specialists were able to recover Mumford’s remains and send it home for burial in Bay Pines National Veterans Cemetery in St. Petersburg. The funeral and interment of Lt. Mumford drew international media attention. Charles Butler was privileged to be the first to speak at the funeral of Lt. Mumford.

     

    “It was an honor I value above all others, and one I shall never forget.”

    Website Management

    Robert Butler

    A Florida native, Robert is originally from Jacksonville. He graduated from Center Academy, a private school in St. Petersburg with honors. He attended Hillsborough Community College and completed several database development and management programs.

    He is a software engineer, specializing in complex database programs and large group member management software development. His ancestry includes lineages from Mayflower, Jamestowne, American Revolution, and Magna Carta.

    Rudy Valencia

    A native of Colorado, Rudy Valencia is a talented technologist who provides hosting to the NSOAR for this website. His hobbies include working with computers and technology, playing video games, and spending quality time with family and friends, among others.