The Michigan State Conference
Diane Schrift, Michigan State Regent

Leaving Denver a day before the Michigan State Conference, I traveled with my daughter to visit her son who is attending Northwood University just a two hour drive from the conference hotel.  The following day, I flew the short distance back to Detroit, so the routine of providing transportation for the President General would be as normal as possible.  It was anything but normal because a three hour flight delay disrupted several planned events.  I have asked Diane Schrift, Michigan State Regent, to tell you about this one hundred seventeenth state conference.

- President General Ann Dillon

Michigan’s 117th State Conference was planned with special emphasis on Celebrating Our American Heritage. This included observing Constitution Week, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War and remembering the centennial of the entry of the US in WWI. The Dearborn Inn was selected as a perfect venue.  Conceived by Henry Ford and executed by architect Albert Kahn in 1931, the Dearborn Inn is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. It is two blocks away from the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village as well as the Rouge Factory Tour. 

Thursday’s Pre Conference events included a Heritage and Founders Club Tea at which Sandra Pollack from Development acted as hostess in the absence of President General Ann Turner Dillon who had flight delays. This event was followed by a State Book Club meeting featuring a review of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and was moderated by Martha Bunde, State Librarian. Our Memorial Service concluded the afternoon.  Kathleen Leo (DAR award winning poet) produced two original poems for the occasion and orchids were floated in glass basins as we recognized each of our departed daughters. Michigan Daughter Stephanie (Schrift) Fletcher flew in from California to sing at the Memorial.

The Pre Conference cocktail reception and dinner concluded the evening with our guest speaker D. Joshua Taylor (Genealogy Roadshow) highlighting the program. With his permission, a Q& A session followed. A morning breakfast hosted by the State Chairs’ Club featured the presentation of the Women in American History Medal to Karen Bachelor from Ezra Parker Chapter.

The Friday DAR Schools Luncheon featured Hindman Settlement School.  Brent D. Hutchinson, Executive Director spoke and received our gift of $10,000 toward the construction of an office for the Cornerstone Project. The remaining balance of for this State Regent’s project was raised before the end of the conference by our generous daughters.

Following lunch, our guests State Regents Cynthia McNamara, Mississippi; Karen F. Strover, New Jersey; Elizabeth C. Graham, , North Carolina; Judy C. Ostler,  Texas and Malinda Davis,  West Virginia were escorted by Piety Hill Chapter Members on a tour of Greenfield Village by antique Ford automobiles.

The Friday evening banquet featuring guest speaker President General Ann Turner Dillon was the most attended event in the last decade.  By this evening, attendance was up 100 registrants to 342 this figure is over 10% of our membership! We were so proud to present Mrs. Dillon with a generous gift for her project and a charm featuring Leland Stone (polished slag), a byproduct of the iron ore mining in the Upper Peninsula and a second charm of Petoskey Stone (Michigan’s State Stone), a fossil representing the Lower Peninsula.

Saturday’s business meeting and luncheon concluded the conference. Each page was personally thanked and Michigan was extremely grateful to recognize our Junior Pages and visiting pages from eight other states.

After the conference, orchids, roses and hydrangea used for our arrangements were re-purposed, re-arranged and transported by Barbara Sauerwald, our Master Florist and Gina LaCroix State Vice Regent to seniors in residences with high veteran counts and also placed on the graves of departed daughters buried in the Great Lakes National Cemetery.

Michigan Daughters are Growing our Legacy of Spirit and Service.

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