2020 Has Provided Lessons for Which We Should All be Grateful

As the Society’s first President General who is also a Blue Star Mother, I am particularly proud of our ongoing work to support our active duty service personnel. On behalf of military families everywhere, I express my sincere appreciation for all that you do to help those in uniform – in good times and in bad.  Your expressions of support are more appreciated than you will ever know, but especially so during a national emergency that has strained these families further still.

Your deep commitment to our military is only one of dozens of examples of service work that Daughters continued during 2020 in order to fulfill our shared purpose.  Whether your call to serve came in welcoming new citizens, conducting essay contests, cleaning cemeteries or indexing genealogical records, I am grateful for the ways that you selflessly continued to honor our American heritage -- despite the shutdowns and the uncertainty in 2020.  In any given year, our members amaze me in the ways and lengths they fulfill our mission of historic preservation, education and patriotism – but especially so this year, given the headwinds of the pandemic. I am thankful for your commitment to our nation and to our National Society – and I am so proud of what we stand for as organization of patriotic, purpose-driven women. Need proof? View the examples here of how you marked our Sixth Annual National DAR Day of Service in October.

Even when Application submissions declined by nearly 25 percent in August (due largely to the fact that people had stopped gathering at social events) and we issued the “We Can Do It Challenge” to encourage chapters to attain at least two members by year’s end…ladies, you proved once again, that yes, WE CAN DO IT! We expect to end the year with an admission total of which we can all be very proud – due to YOU and your resilience in the face of the virus, turmoil and economic complexities of 2020.

None of these achievements happened by accident. They occurred because of the strong and infectious leadership provided by chapter and state officers who refused to let our important work falter during 2020 – and the bond that we share as members of one of the world’s most vibrant women’s service organizations.

This Thanksgiving, I give thanks for YOU -- your determination, your example and your courage – and I know one thing for certain: that your Patriot ancestors are surely grateful for your unfaltering dedication to uphold our American way of life.

Now, let’s have some turkey!