Bondurant Family AssociationBondurant Family Association
Annual Meeting, October 20-21
BFA gathered at the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, on Saturday morning
From our President:
Dear Friends and Cousins:
I can say that 2023 was a resoundingly eventful and successful year for the Bondurant Family Association. We enjoyed a 30-year anniversary trip to France and hosted a successful reunion on Lynchburg, Virginia. We had commemorative coins created, which are for sale (quantity limited). For info and photos of this year’s events, please visit our Meetings page. Videos from both the trip to France and the annual meeting are now online on the Virtual Meetings page, to watch at your leisure!
For the Reunion, on Saturday morning, October 21, we visited the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. It was magnificent. The several large monuments and waterworks placed over the vast campus in honor of the D-Day Dead from Bedford, County, Virginia, were awe-inspiring, and capable of causing a “lump in the throat.” They have a fountain designed to imitate the beach-landing.
Why is there a D-Day Memorial in Bedford? It so happened that Bedford, as a percentage of its population, lost the most soldiers on D-Day than any other county in the USA. The grounds make for a very fitting tribute.
The Bedford Museum
We then drove up to Bedford Town and visited the Bedford Museum. It is a most impressive institution located in a beautiful old building worthy of visiting whenever in the area. They had Bondurant material laid out for us to view. The museum features some wonderful historical displays. The third floor is taken up with an intriguing model train village.
That afternoon we toured Thomas Jefferson’s country home at Poplar Forest. Like Monticello, it is shaped as an octagon. We partook of the very informative guided tours. Jefferson’s brilliance is demonstrated throughout his home.
During the business meeting on Saturday morning, the current slate of officers was reelected for two years. Check the website for the minutes of the meeting. It was open to the membership via Zoom link.
One more comment about 2023: We have started monthly Zoom meetings consisting of the Board and the Reunion Committee, which I feel has fueled greater efficiency for the BFA. The meetings are free and open to the membership. If you would like to participate, email me and I will put you on the zoom link. We hold them about every third Tuesday of the month at 8PM Eastern Time.
The second volume of Jules Larimore’s trilogy about our Huguenot progenitor, Jean Pierre Bondurant, has been launched. It is called Find Me in the Stars and it's now available on Amazon. The first volume, The Muse of Freedom, has already received quite a number of awards for its author!
And, we are floating the possibility of hosting next year’s annual reunion in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Marsha and Tom Miller have offered to host the 2024 reunion there. More details will be posted on the BFA Facebook page and in the newsletter as they come available.
I trust you and your loved ones enjoyed a joyous Christmas and I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Bruce Ramsdell
siouxlake@aol.com