Society of Military Widows to open conference in Lawton on Monday

The Society of Military Widows is holding its national convention in Lawton this week.

Members will be meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn all week beginning Monday, said Pat Cameron, national president and a member of the Local Chapter 6 of the Society of Military Widows. Cameron said the convention is the organization’s 46th and is coming just before the Lawton chapter celebrates its 50th anniversary on Nov. 6.

“Ladies come from all over,” she said, of the 13 chapters that will be sending 41 members to Lawton to attend the 2023 convention.

Cameron said the convention will begin Monday with a reception slated for 6 p.m., which will feature an opening ceremony by the Buffalo Soldiers and welcomes by Lawton Mayor Stan Booker and Comanche Nation Chairman Mark Woommavovah.

Tuesday’s schedule includes a morning ceremony at Fort Sill’s Post Chapel, for a memorial for members who have died in the past year, then a presentation on that historical landmark. Members also will be treated to tours of other Fort Sill points of interest, including the Old Quadrangle, and the history of the Buffalo Soldiers. Tuesday afternoon will include lunch and a tour of Medicine Park, then a tour and presentation on the Holy City of the Wichitas, as well as stops in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

Wednesday is a day of meetings, along with lunch presentations by Native American Marine Corps Veterans Association Princess Kasey Marie Atauvich (who will perform The Lord’s Prayer) and drummer/singer Kenneth Lookingglass.

Thursday’s schedule is a trip to Oklahoma City, for visits to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, the Botanical Gardens and the First Americans Museum. Friday will bring the society’s annual meeting and banquet, set for 7 p.m.

The conference is open only to members of the Society of Military Widows, but Cameron said the society is always looking for new members. The society was founded in 1968 to serve the interests of women whose husbands died while on active duty, of a service-related illness or during disability, or regular retirement from the armed forces. Cameron said today’s society is open to women and men who are military spouses.

Information is available by contacting her at (580) 678-7040.