Edited and reprinted from the PARTISAN Team website
From a Compatriot who attended the Mississippi Convention
I have just returned from Mississippi and New Orleans where I spent about ten days. I spoke at the Miss. Div. Convention on Saturday June 4. I will report on the trip below.
I did not attend the "special" meeting held in Byram, Miss. on May 27, 2005. However, I received numerous reports from those who did. It is my understanding that about 36 people attended. It should be noted that about 1700+ Miss. Division members were invited, with postage costs alone running over $400. Of the 36 who attended, about a dozen were moles from our side. No headway was made by SWEENEY or Jim Dark in changing anyone's mind. So I guess they spent a lot of SCV money for nothing from their point of view. Of particular note was a statement from SWEENEY that " Kirk Lyons is the last line of defense for the Sons of Confederate Veterans." It appeared the main business of this meeting was the bashing of John French and Earl Faggert by SWEENEY and Dark. Judging from the numerous standing ovations accorded French and Faggert at the real Miss. Division Convention the following weekend, Sweeney and Dark were unsuccessful.
John French had announced that no non-Division members would be allowed in the business session on Saturday, June 4. Apparently, when he was told this by phone, PCIC Ron Wilson went ballistic and began shouting that he was the "representative of the CIC and could go anywhere in the SCV he wanted." That may be true elsewhere, but not in Miss. PCIC Wilson went to a judge at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and attempted to get a court order allowing him to attend the business session. Commander French was consulted by speaker-phone and read the appropriate section of the Miss. Division Constitution, the judge immediately stated this was an "internal matter" and told Wilson that he would not grant his motion. So when the convention went into executive session, all visitors including myself and PCIC Wilson were excluded.
At the banquet that evening, Commander French, who was leaving office, received multiple standing ovations. One standing ovation occurred for both Commander French and myself, when we were awarded a special medal for being members of the Old Guard. This award brought the crowd to its feet with cheers and applause. It should be noted that only PCIC Wilson and his small entourage remained seated.
It appeared to me that Jim Dark's propaganda campaign was not successful. Indeed, it seemed to me that Wilson was viewed as an outside agitator, trying to force himself into others’ business. He was treated politely, as you would expect in Mississippi.
I was told by many people that SWEENEY had threatened to "come after Beauvoir" if the Miss. Division attempted to secede from the SCV. Some of these individuals who told me this were NOT from Mississippi.
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