Today's DAR
It’s official! Delegates to the 128th Continental Congress approved the establishment of an internal DAR Insignia Operation, with its proceeds allocated to supporting the purpose-driven work of our National Society. It was a bold and visionary vote in favor of a sound business decision to further our mission.
With this approval, voters have now afforded the National Society the ability to; realize greater net income to help fund external gifts consistent with our mission; control insignia quality and vendor performance; ensure consistency with our public image/branding; and leverage internal knowledge to increase the growth potential of insignia sales.
Thanks to the work of an Insignia Task Force appointed more than a year ago that has been working behind the scenes ever since, preparation for the launch of our DAR Insignia Operation is well underway. A search for the new Insignia Director will start this week. Contracts for the new point-of-sale and e-commerce system to support DAR Insignia and the DAR Store are ready for signature. Contracts to undertake the work to ready space at 1776 D Street will also soon be issued.
Please note, however, that the current process of ordering through our third-party provider, Hamilton Insignia, will remain in the months ahead, as we work to ensure a smooth transition ahead of the contract expiration on February 29, 2020. The projected start date for NSDAR to sell insignia directly to our members is next Continental Congress. While no DAR insignia or ribbons will be sold February through Congress, 2020, as the process of transferring inventory and finalizing systems takes place, I assure you that we will be ready to launch this operation by next year’s annual conference.
Once established, our new Insignia Operation will complement the current DAR Store and will allow Daughters one-stop shopping for all of their DAR retail needs. Both operations will fall under the Office of the Corresponding Secretary General; the pin approval process, however, will remain with the Office of the Organizing Secretary General.
It is my distinct pleasure to announce that the first new items to be produced for DAR Insignia will be this administration’s Rise and Shine for America President General’s Project benefactor and donor pins. Therefore, not only will your donations to this administration’s project support the continued restoration of DAR Constitution Hall, but your purchase of the associated DAR pins will also directly support the Society’s mission-related work. You will soon be able to take pride in knowing that enhancing your personal insignia collection will help to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism -- not benefit a third party.
I am grateful to the members of the Task Force on Insignia Sales, who together dedicated more than 1,200 hours to formulating the detailed business plan for a DAR-owned insignia operation. The partnership of headquarters staff and DAR members, with expertise in retail sales, e-Commerce, financial analysis and management, saved the Society a substantial expense.
I express my sincere gratitude to DAR members Dr. Sherry Edwards (chair), Kathryn West, Janet McFarland and Aubrey Williams; and NSDAR staff members Steve Nordholt, Victor Kunze, Sandy Pollack, Tania Tatum, Carolie Walker and Amanda DeFrancesco for their many hours of hard work and thoughtful input. I am also pleased that Virginia Daughter Karen Pogoloff, a retired project manager with 35+ years of experience managing programs in the defense industry and commercial sector, will be joining the task force as a volunteer to assist with managing the many facets of launching this important project. Watch for updates from the team on the Announcements section of our DAR Members’ Website.
Our DAR founders acted boldly when they established a nationwide service organization and then conceived and constructed the buildings we have the privilege to today call our “House Beautiful.” Today’s Daughters have shown that same indomitable spirit in approving the creation of our own internal DAR Insignia Operation. The profits from this endeavor will allow us to provide increased mission support, which will raise public awareness of our organization through its funding of external philanthropic projects. Thank you, Daughters, for your support of this exciting new undertaking. Let us show that we can, indeed, Rise and Shine.
