Covid-19 has caused 2020 to be a year of firsts. When Emily and I took our oaths of office last summer, it never occurred to me that we would not be in DC for Congress this year. While many organizations would have taken a year off or only implemented plans for the bare minimum to occur, our National Society chose to take on the challenge and has created an online virtual event that will make us feel like we are back in our House Beautiful. Certainly when our Founders created this organization they could have never thought of what a virtual 129th Congress would look like in 2020. I hope you will take a few minutes to catch up with all that is planned via our President General’s Blog.
By the end of next week you will have had ample opportunity to learn more about the important work of the national committees through reports and special events that they have scheduled. Each committee has also created presentations to honor and recognize the hard work of our chapters. I would encourage you to take a look at those presentations. I was delighted to learn that several Tennessee chapters, individuals and state projects had been included in the presentations. There will also be virtual committee luncheons, like DAR DAR Schools, Patriotism,Units Overseas, Historic Preservation, American Indians, and a wonderful collection of Junior Membership events to attend throughout the week as well.
I hope you will take advantage of all the wonderful programming that will be available to you this year. The Congress schedule for next week has been prepared to give you the best of Congress from home. And with many of the sessions tailored to work around daytime work schedules, most of the business of the society should be accessible during the evening and weekend hours. I hope you will try to join as many sessions as you can to learn more about what we are doing, however there are a few I would love to highlight. First our very own National Chair of American Heritage, Dianna Callaway, will be hosting an awards event on Tuesday June 23 from 5:00-6:00 pm. You can register for the event here. One of our own Tennessee Daughters will be honored that evening with the Evelyn Cole Peters Award for Fiber Arts. Linda Smith’s, Fort Nashborough Chapter, entry was awarded this prestigious distinction for her Post Edwardian Tailored Suit (1912-1919).
Voting delegates will not want to miss our Thursday night session as this year we have several outstanding women running for the 7 open Vice President General spots and one Honorary Vice President position. Bios for all of the candidates can be found here, and I would encourage you to read more about each one. Voting will take place online on Saturday from 8am.- 2pm., and results will be announced live from the hall that afternoon. Information regarding log-in passwords and more has been sent out to registered delegates and these emails will explain to delegates how they can vote.
On Friday evening at 7 pm. I hope you will join us for the State Regents’ Night and the announcement of our 2020 NSDAR Outstanding Junior Member. Our own Jennifer Thomas, Judge David Campbell Chapter, will be honored as the Tennessee Outstanding Junior, and you won’t want to miss the pageantry of our amazing Junior members. That evening is also scheduled to feature the reports from all the states, so keep your eyes peeled for photos from Tennessee that highlight just a fraction of what we did in 2019 — 2 minutes goes fast when you are trying to share the work of over 6,000 service minded women.
From bookclubs and virtual state room open houses to exciting key note speakers, there is something for everyone at Congress this year — and you can do it all from the comfort of your own home. I look forward to “seeing” you there.
In Service, Cecile
