The General Order of the Founders and Patriots of America gathered in the Queen of the south — Atlanta, Georgia — at the historic J. W. Marriot Hotel in Buckhead from May 25-28 for the 121st General Court of the Order.

According to a press release, while in Atlanta, private tours were given of the 1967 Georgia Governor’s Mansion, the Swan House Museum at the Atlanta History Center and the Coca-Cola Museum.

“More than 50 associates from across the nation gathered for the yearly function. The Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (OFPA) is a hereditary organization. Founded in 1896, the OFPA is comprised of “associates,” who trace their ancestry back to those first colonists and who have forefathers in the same male ancestral line who served in the American Revolution. Membership is open by invitation to any man of the age of 18 years, of good moral character and reputation, and a citizen of the United States, who is lineally descended, in the male line of either parent, from an ancestor who settled in any of the original 13 colonies now included in the United States of America prior to May 13, 1657; and one or all of whose intermediate ancestors in the same line, who lived in the period of the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, adhered as patriots to the cause of the colonies, shall be eligible for membership in the order.”

According to the release, “the OFPA is broken down into constituent or state societies. The Virginia Society OFPA meets more than twice a year at varying locations throughout the commonwealth to honor, pay tribute and commemorate the early founders and patriots of our nation. Wreath laying ceremonies and services along with guest presentations, lectures and programs are held.”

J. Shane Newcombe a native of Randolph and general manager of Accessories Abroad, a wholesale furniture and home accessories company based in Farmville, and High Point, North Carolina, represented the commonwealth and the Virginia Society OFPA to the 121st General Court. “Newcombe is the current governor of the Virginia Society and serves as the National Order’s Deputy Secretary General. Newcombe’s mother, Virginia ‘Jenny Lou’ Newcombe, accompanied her son on the trip and she was recognized as being a direct lineal descendant of James Allen, a founding ancestor who arrived in Jamestowne in 1608 and Cap. Richard Allen of the Cumberland Militia during the Revolutionary War. During the Governor General’s Reception, banquet, and awards ceremony Deputy Secretary Gen. Newcombe was bestowed with the Parrish Award, the order’s most prestigious award, which is presented to constituent societies for being the most active, having the highest number of new associate recruits, retaining its roster of associates, holding numerous programs and presentations throughout the calendar year and commemorating the cause of liberty through memorializing our nation’s founders and patriots by means of wreath laying ceremonies, religious services and educational programs.”

This marks the ninth-consecutive year in which the Virginia Society of the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America has been awarded the Parrish Award.”