The October National Board of Management Meeting
Denise Doring VanBuren, President General

October brought the gathering of our National Board of Management, and I am pleased to share with you highlights of a very enjoyable week that included meetings of the Long Range Planning Commission, the Development and Finance committees, and the National Chairs’ Forum. It was the first chance to come together to explore the priorities and themes of our new administration, and I am grateful to all who so superbly organized and wholeheartedly participated in myriad events.

It was especially enjoyable to host a consultant from the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission to lead a session on plans for our nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary. We also welcomed the Mobile Education Exhibit of Wreaths Across America (which now displays the DAR logo following our corporate sponsorship!) and conducted a leadership training forum.  As we celebrated our National Society’s anniversary on October 11 and participated in the fifth annual National DAR Day of Service, we all benefitted from a fascinating session teaching attendees how to create and add biographies of Revolutionary War Patriots to Wikipedia in order to shine a light on their service.  On Friday, we also donned the color purple to demonstrate our support for the victims of domestic violence.

We together experienced the privilege of placing a wreath at the Washington, D.C. monument to Rear Admiral John Paul Jones, followed by a wonderful dinner served in the O’Byrne Gallery.  Attendees especially enjoyed a fun ice breaker: each was provided a name tag that displayed the name of a random Patriot, and she had to then search to find who was wearing the name of her own Patriot ancestor; members exchanged badges until all were proudly wearing the name of their own ancestor. What a fun way to celebrate Our Patriots in order to keep alive the memory of their courage and sacrifice!

Earlier in the week, the Executive Committee was busy conducting the business of the National Society, with highlights that included:

- Setting the 2020-2021 American History Essay Contest theme as “The Boston Massacre;” the Christopher Columbus Essay Contest theme as “Recollections of Christopher Columbus;” and the American Heritage Committee Contest theme as “Rise, and Shine Your Light on Your Revolutionary War Patriot,” with the companion costume contest theme of “The Revolutionary Era,” to focus on the years of 1770-1778.

- Creating the DAR Book Club to raise awareness of nonfiction book titles focused on the Colonial through the Federal periods.

- Purchasing an exceptional 18th-century desk and bookcase for display in the DAR Museum, thanks to our members’ generous support of the Friends of the DAR Museum Fund.

- Providing a “Leadership Donor” level of sponsorship for the new Native American Veterans Memorial at the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, D.C., which is scheduled to be dedicated on November 11, 2020.

At the close of a busy and productive week, two busloads of Daughters boarded the 2019 DAR Sunshine School Tour. Look forward to a blog next week by DAR Schools Committee Chair Morgan Lake to summarize the trip; in the meantime, please follow along by visiting my DAR President General Facebook page for photos of the tour. We are hooked on DAR Schools!

send-a-commentSend Us a comment

National Board of Management

Connect with DAR

Stay Up-to-Date

Subscribe to the blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Search, Subscribe, & Send us a comment

Genealogical Research System (GRS) logoDAR on FacebookDAR on XDAR on YouTubeEmail DAR blog feedback

Get Involved

 

Historic Preservation,
Education, Patriotism

Through restoring historic properties, funding scholarships and supporting our troops, DAR makes a difference in local communities.