Today's DAR
Looking Forward to Opening Night
I am so overjoyed to officially begin the 124th Continental Congress this evening at our Opening Night Ceremony. This special evening will be devoted to the 125th anniversary of the DAR. We will look back at the DAR’s past as well as celebrate the contemporary impact our Society has on communities today. I hope you will enjoy the special video presentations, musical entertainment and be inspired about DAR’s future.
Tonight we will also have a special presentation to announce the final tabulation of Celebrate America! community service hours from 2013 and 2014 combined and then we will include the service hours we have for 2015 to see how close we are to our goal of 10 million hours! I am so thrilled to celebrate the amazing volunteer work our members have performed across the world this past year.
If you can’t be with us this evening in Washington, D.C. you can always participate in Congress virtually, where you can view the live streaming video of the evening ceremonies and business sessions, view photos from Congress events and read the daily Congress Herald. Also follow along with Continental Congress social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Today I will have the honor of thanking more than 500 Heritage Club members at their special events throughout the day. Their contributions continue to sustain the organization’s crucial work. This will be a lovely opportunity to welcome these members to Congress and thank them for their generous donations to our National Society.
This afternoon I plan to attend the Patriotism Luncheon, featuring Dr. Linda Schwartz, Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as the Keynote Speaker. Dr. Schwartz is a disabled Vietnam veteran who served in the Unites States Air Force Nurse Corps from 1968 to 1986, both active duty and as a reservist. She was chosen for her national post by President Barack Obama in 2013 and confirmed in 2014 by the U.S. Senate. Dr. Schwartz is known for her advocacy of veterans and is especially passionate about the issues of homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder, women and disabled veterans. As an added bonus, Dr. Schwartz is a Connecticut DAR member!
I look forward to stopping by the Page Meeting this afternoon to greet these young women. I have such fond memories of serving as a Congress Page and look forward to welcoming them to Congress. I am so thankful for their service and for taking time out of the busy lives to come be a part of Continental Congress. We are very excited to be welcoming 400 Pages this year! That’s around 150 more Pages than in years past!
There are many social events over the next few days and this afternoon I will drop by the Indiana Tea and then gather with my fellow Texas Daughters for a delightful Texas Tea. I am looking forward to greeting these dear friends. The food is always delicious and we traditionally have a large centerpiece of yellow roses. I am especially grateful that the Texas Society has offered to donate the centerpiece to the President General’s Reception Room for the rest of Congress.
I hope members will take time today to attend the Membership Forum, to see the presentations of these wonderful National Chairs and to learn how you can increase and retain membership in your chapter.
While you are visiting Headquarters, please stop by the many State Open Houses in the DAR Museum Period Rooms which are scheduled for today and throughout the week. It is always interesting to get a close up look at the beautiful period room and to learn more about the objects, many of which have recently been added to the rooms. This year many of the rooms have retro signs indicating how they were used when the building was first opened.
Be sure to read today’s edition of the Congress Herald online!