Recently, we have seen an uptick in new members, so I decided to go over our membership list just to get a count of our latest numbers. To my surprise, I discovered that we had 246 members, just shy of 250! To me, that is quite an achievement for an organization that was never designed to have such a large contingent of followers.
Here is the back story:
When the Society was formed in 2008, there were just three members: Ernie Richards, Phil Flemming, and me. The actual idea of forming a “Society” was the brainchild of Phil Flemming. So, he enlisted Ernie Richrads and me to join him in this endeavor. We created the “Society” to commemorate the 300th Anniversary of the loss of the 1715 Fleet, which would take place in July of 2015. We wanted to do something really special, so we decided to start early. The Society had one purpose and one purpose only, and that was to plan and execute a weeklong commemoration. After that, we would essentially fold.
Initially, we did not take on “members” because the Society was not designed for that. We were basically a “Society” of three, and we kept it that way for efficiency purposes. We planned an exhibit of coins and artifacts from the State of Florida Collection to be displayed at the January 2015 Florida United Numismatists Show in Orlando. Anything involving the State, we thought, would take years, which is one reason we wanted to get an early start. Also, being part of a “Society”, we thought, would give us added credibility even though the “Society” consisted of only three people.
By 2011, it became obvious that we needed a website, so in May, we launched the 1715 Fleet Society website with the stated purpose of commemorating the 300th Anniversary. Following the launch of the website, something strange happened. People wanted to join the “Society”. Inasmuch as we had no mechanism for members, we politely declined. Over time, the demand to join got so intense that we decided that we would take on members to create a real “Society”. We also knew that by taking on members, this organization could not just “fold up” after the 300th Anniversary commemoration and that we would need to continue with a new mission, which we decided to do. So, we announced our decision to enroll members at the Sedwick Auction #16 in November 2014. In a little over 10 years, we have grown to 246 members.
We signed up our 100th member almost 5 years later, in September 2019. Things have moved quickly since we reached our 100th member milestone. By May 2022, we welcomed our 150th member. January 2024 saw us sign up our 200th member, and now, less than two years later, we are looking to add our 250th member. Who that will be is, of course, unknown. But whoever that is will get a nice write-up.
It is also notable that our members represent 29 states. Most members can be found in Florida (126), California (16), and Georgia (11). Also, our members can be found in seven countries (Spain, Australia, The Bahamas, The Netherlands, Japan, Canada, and most recently, the UK) and two territories, Puerto Rico and The Cayman Islands.
So, it looks like we have come a long way since a “Society “of three in 2008. My wish is that we will continue to grow and that our members will find membership in this community of fellow enthusiasts worthwhile.
I hope to see you at the conference in January!
Ben Costello
President, 1715 Fleet Society
