The Tennessee Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, held their division convention Oct. 12-14, at Pickwick Landing State Park in Counce, TN. It was an honor to host the commander-in-chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Jason Boshers, and his wife at this convention.
The highest award that can be bestowed upon a woman through the Sons of Confederate Veterans is the Commander-In Chief’s Ladies Appreciation Award. This medal can only be presented by the CIC in recognition of a woman’s outstanding service to the SCV. The recipient is chosen by the CIC and the award is presented to the lady at a convention or reunion by the CIC in person. This is a once in a lifetime award. The award consists of an appreciation medal suspended on a gray ribbon and a certificate of award.
There are two women in the Tennessee Division who have been chosen to receive this medal. Barbara Parsons of Crossville, past Tennessee Division president, was one of the first recipients of the medal. The award was presented to her by CIC Michael Givens in 2010. The award was in recognition of books and articles authored by Parsons on correct Confederate history, most notably the “Confederate History Compendium of Tennessee,” over 1,100 pages of Confederate history including every county in Tennessee in 1861. A copy of the book is in the National Confederate Museum & Library, the Art Circle Public Library and the Putnam County Public Library as well as other libraries all across the state of Tennessee and at the Library of Congress.
Matilda Speck of Livingston, past Tennessee Division president, was chosen by Commander-In-Chief Larry McCluney Jr. to receive the medal in 2020, exactly ten years after Parsons. Mrs. Speck was recognized for her tireless work on Confederate interment records, locating, documenting, and digitizing thousands of burial records to assist those researching their Confederate ancestors. She was also recognized for her daunting work in securing the 80+ foot pediment from Confederate Memorial Hall at Vanderbilt. She secured storage for its safety as funds were raised and a contractor secured to re-assemble and place the entire pediment at the Sons of Confederate Veterans Headquarters at Elm Springs in Columbia, TN.