FDA Sigma Xi Chapter members honored
for judging area high school Science Fairs

Coining Ceremony

Members of the FDA Chapter of Sigma Xi were recognized on May 21, 2009 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their volunteer service as science fair judges. Linda Ng, Mary Shackelford, Paddy Wiesenfeld, Jeffrey Yourick, Fred Fry, Douglas Chadwick, Angela Eppler and Margaret Kraeling are current and former employees of FDA who on weekends throughout March and April are science fair judges in three Maryland counties, the District of Columbia and northern Virginia. Although many more FDA Sigma Xi Chapter members volunteer as judges at regional science fairs and at the FDA Science Forums, this was the first time that our organization, the FDA Chapter of Sigma Xi, and its members were acknowledged in this manner. The Coining ceremony was held at the new Federal Research Center at White Oak in Silver Spring, MD. In what's known in military circles as a "coining" ceremony, a special coin was given to acknowledge leadership, fellowship, and commitment to community service in "augmenting the next generations' love of science by bringing their skills, talents and experiences to science fairs". They received the first commemorative FDA/Public Health Service coin ever given for this purpose. A picture of this beautiful coin may be seen below:

About the Military Coin

The military challenge coin represents affiliation, support or patronage to the organization minted on the coin. The challenge coin is a treasured and respected representation of the organization minted on the coin. Commanders use specially minted military coins to improve morale, foster unit esprit and honor service members for their hard work. Challenge coin rules only apply to other individuals who also have a challenge coin. A holder of a challenge coin may "challenge" any individual who is known to have a coin. A challenge is made by withdrawing a coin and raising it in the air or by tapping it on a bar or table. The individual who is challenged is required to produce their coin within 60 seconds. If the individual produces the coin, the challenger is obligated to buy them a drink. If the challenged individual fails to produce the coin, they are obligated to buy the drink. The reward does NOT have to be an alcoholic beverage. It can be a soda or any other reward that the two individuals agree on. If a coin is dropped and it hits the floor, the owner is obligated to buy drinks for anyone who hears or sees the coin hit the floor (provided they have their coin on them). Coin challengers are known to strike anywhere at anytime. They insidiously stalk the challenge, waiting for just the right moment to attack. An innocent bystander may never hear the challenge - only the challengee's despairing cry, "... Ah ____! I forgot mine!

According to one story, challenge coins originated during World War I. American volunteers from all parts of the country filled the newly formed flying squadrons. Some were wealthy scions attending colleges such as Yale and Harvard who quit in mid-term to join the war. In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his unit. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore about his neck. Shortly after acquiring the medallions, the pilots' aircraft was severely damaged by ground fire. He was forced to land behind enemy lines and was immediately captured by a German patrol. In order to discourage his escape, the Germans took all of his personal identification except for the small leather pouch around his neck. In the meantime, he was taken to a small French town near the front. Taking advantage of a bombardment that night, he escaped. However, he was without personal identification. He succeeded in avoiding German patrols by donning civilian attire and reached the front lines. With great difficulty, he crossed no-man's land. Eventually, he stumbled onto a French outpost. Unfortunately, saboteurs had plagued the French in the sector. They sometimes masqueraded as civilians and wore civilian clothes. Not recognizing the young pilot's American accent, the French thought him to be a saboteur and made ready to execute him. He had no identification to prove his allegiance, but he did have his leather pouch containing the medallion. He showed the medallion to his would-be executioners and one of his French captors recognized the squadron insignia on the medallion. They delayed his execution long enough for him to confirm his identity. Instead of shooting him they gave him a bottle of wine. Back at his squadron, it became tradition to ensure that all members carried their medallion or coin at all times. This was accomplished through challenge in the following manner - a challenger would ask to see the medallion. If the challenged could not produce a medallion, they were required to buy a drink of choice for the member who challenged them. If the challenged member produced a medallion, then the challenging member was required to pay for the drink. This tradition continued on throughout the war and for many years after the war while surviving members of the squadron were still alive.