The 119th state conference of the West Virginia Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution was held April 5 – 7 at the Holiday Inn in Martinsburg.
This year’s theme was “125 Years and Counting,” and emphasized the work done relating to the goal of supporting education. The meeting was hosted by the eastern district chapters and presided over by Jane J. Larke, West Virginia state regent. Distinguished guests included Nancy Schirm Wright, organizing secretary general, NSDAR, Morgan Elliot, vice president general, NSDAR, Kelly Van Wormer, Michigan state regent, and Mernie Crane, Maryland state regent.
The conference is held each year to receive reports from state officers, district directors, chapter regents and state chairs, to vote on recommendations and resolutions and to act on any other business.
Four members of the South Branch Valley Chapter, NSDAR and one page (granddaughter of a member of the group) attended the meeting. The keynote speaker Friday night was Will Anderson, executive director of the Hindman Settlement School located in Knott County, Kentucky. This school was founded in 1902 by two Kentucky Daughters of the American Revolution. Their goal was to provide an education to students who did not have the opportunity at that time to do so. About 40 years ago, the school transitioned to mainly serving students who struggle with dyslexia. During a severe windstorm on April 1, 2023, a tree fell on one of the main housing buildings on the campus, causing complete destruction of the roof mounted HVAC unit. The West Virginia State Society of the NSDAR gave a major donation to the school to help with the installation of a new HVAC unit and agreed to provide funding for the repair of “Uncle Sol’s Cabin,” which was damaged in the flood of 2022.
Attendees of the conference were invited to attend two “Service in Seconds” programs where they created and installed bookplates in books that were donated to the Berkeley Medical Center for their pediatric patients. They also folded small flags to become pocket flags for deployed military personnel and veterans at veteran centers.
The memorial service recognized two former daughters of the local chapter, Margaret Rowe, who passed away in July 2023, and Janie Lester, who passed away this March.
The South Branch Valley Chapter, NSDAR was the recipient of the following awards: excellence in DAR/SAR/SR Relations “Spreading the Sparkles for West Virginia;” donation of a book to the NSDAR library; honoring veterans, third place large chapter; Wreaths Across America participation, number of adult volunteers for veterans and number of volunteer hours for veterans, all honorable mention; providing service to women veterans and providing service to veterans, both first place; service to America reading volunteers, service to America books donated and service to America volunteer hours, all third place; Susan Garrett, Chapter DAR School chair; and Judy Mathias, patriot records project indexing and supporting the President General’s Poppy project.
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a volunteer service organization dedicated to the preservation of history, promoting patriotism and the education of children. Any woman 18 years or older, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution is eligible for membership. DAR volunteers are available and willing to assist with guidance in genealogy research for women interested in becoming a member. For more information, visit the DAR website at www.dar.org, email inquiries to membership@dar.org or contact Bonnie Myers, chapter registrar at khs7377@aol.com.
