Reflections from the Executive Officers: Organizing Secretary General

Nancy Wright, Organizing Secretary General

May 14, 2025

What a ride it has been these past three years. The experiences that I have had and the people I have met continue to amaze me. It is very humbling to think that our members put their faith in us and elected us to serve in these positions.

The accomplishments in the Office of the Organizing Secretary General have been many. The “Step-By-Step Instructions for Organizing a New Chapter” manual was completely revised. Forty-five chapters have been organized thus far, with thirteen in process. We welcomed back a record 5,408 members who reinstated.

Sadly, we lost our Office Director, Tania Tatum, on January 1, 2025. Tania was a 20-year employee and a friend to many of our members helping everyone.

It has been a pleasure working with our dedicated and hard-working office staff, consisting of Lakeisha Graham, Director, Huong Vo, Team Leader, LaVonne Chappell, Lynne David, and Sharnetta Barnett, who have done a marvelous job of maintaining the membership records of our members, the national, state, and chapter officers and chairs, dues remittance, life membership, Congress credentials and registration, chapter mergers/disbandments, National Board of Management Requests, eMembership access, chapter charters, membership certificates and the organization of chapters.

One of the great joys was serving as Executive Liaison to three very talented national committee chairs: Jeannie Deakyne (Community Classroom), Michelle Wherry (Community Service Awards), and Laura Druker (Membership). They are all talented, creative, and dedicated women.

Community Classroom – implemented the Friends of Education Fund, implemented the DAR American Revolution Grant Program awarding $100,000 in 2023, $64,600 in 2024 and $ 66,100 in 2025.
Community Service Awards – Implemented Acts of Random Kindness (ARK), created the Community Service Awards Toolkit, and increased the number of awards presented in each division.
Membership – Implemented eight membership initiatives, some in conjunction with CDRC, created Membership Mondays, and participated in 3 national membership Zoom calls.

New ideas were successfully implemented by each. I had the privilege of serving as national chair of the Chapter Development and Revitalization Commission (CDRC) and worked with the greatest group of women to assist in revitalizing chapters and working with smaller chapters and those in rural areas.

It was an honor to represent DAR at different state functions and celebrations, as well as representing the President General by presenting awards at the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

We were so fortunate to visit many places, and behind the scenes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the tomb of George and Martha Washington, and the archives at Mount Vernon where we saw the President’s waistcoat, Martha’s ballgown, her purple wedding shoes, and the President’s large globe.

As our term ends, I want to thank the President General, Pamela Wright, and our members for giving me this opportunity to serve our National Society.