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 Hello,
I am Mary
Sockwell, regent of the Elizabeth Denton English Chapter in Mineola,
Texas. Welcome to our website. Founded in 1890, the DAR continues to be
the most influential and recognized womens' organization in our
country. As a member, you will join thousands of other women who
truly
make a difference in their communities. There is tremendous pride
and
personal satisfaction in knowing you are providing a much-needed
service to your community while you honor our country's veterans,
extraordinary students, and while also promoting patriotism and
recognizing historical sites. The list of worthwhile activities
is
endless! I hope the information you find here will encourage you to
join the DAR.
Interest
in joining the DAR has increased for our chapter. I am so blessed
to have a
wonderful group of ladies working with me to fulfill the goals and
programs of the DAR. All the chapter officers share my
enthusiasm
for the DAR and each of us strives to complete our agenda while
providing service to our communities. Our Chapter Activities page
gives
you a small glimpse into what our chapter does. With every
event,
we hope to make our communities better, pay respect to our veterans
and recognize the sacrifices they have made for our freedoms,
and
maintain historical places and programs.
There are so
many
areas where we, as DAR members, can focus our attention. Let me first
explain
some of our activities and programs. Our Chapter provides a
yearly
scholarship to an outstanding student in the Mineola school district.
We also provide a DAR Good Citizens Award to outstanding students in
Wood
County. Past winners of our scholarships have shown exemplary
scholastic, community, and leadership achievements. We are very
proud
of all the past scholarship winners.
Along with providing scholarships, we are proud of our dictionary
program for elementary students.
This has been such a successful and well-received program, we are
looking forward to another program in the fall. It is exciting to
see
the enthusiasm of these young students as they receive their own
dictionary. While exciting for them, the program is a labor of
love for our members to help students on their way to a higher
education.
Our chapter Constitution Week activities continue to
expand
each year. Recognizing our country's
Constitution is a
very important program for all DAR members. Not only do we
display the
Governor's Proclamation, but we also display the Proclamations signed
by
a Wood County Judge, and the Mayor of Mineola.
We contact the local radio and cable stations to run
PSA
spots, decorate the local library, and receive much printed publicity in
local newspapers. By using the tools provided by National, we are
able to extend our community interest throughout the county.
We continue to honor America's veterans. Chapter members have placed flags
at the graves of veterans in Wood County. We strive to make sure all
veteran's graves are recognized. We collect items for veterans at the Bonham,
Texas, VA Hospital and those in the local nursing homes, and for patients
at Landstuhl Hospital in Germany. Our recycling program for cell
phones, which are refurbished and sold with the proceeds going to buy
phone cards for soldiers, has been met with great enthusiasm.
This is just another way our members show
appreciation to veterans.
Celebrating and
paying respect to our American Flag is an on-going
project. In cooperation with the local
American Legion
Post and the VFW Post, we participate in Flag Retirement Ceremonies to
dispose of old,
worn, or tattered flags. Chapter members
are always
looking to salvage old flags to make sure they are properly
retired with the degree of respect they deserve.
Our chapter participates in
numerous National activities such as
collecting pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, collecting stamps
for the wounded soldiers' rehabilitation program, donating pennies for
the American Indians youth program, and many other nationally
recognized activities. As our membership has grown, the
leadership and enthusiasm for our committees has also grown.
Thanks to the dedicated, hardworking members in our chapter, we
are able to contribute to the programs and goals of the National society while
being a vital part of our community.
The DAR is an entirely volunteer organization. Many of our
members
attend every meeting while others attend only those they can fit into
their busy schedules. The wonderful aspects of DAR are that you can do
what you feel comfortable in doing and spend as much or as little time
as you can on committees or projects. Some of our projects are
merely saving stamps and pull tabs, or collecting cell phones, but it all
contributes to helping others.
Today's DAR is designed to
accommodate all available time for members. We welcome you and
appreciate your interest. We hope you find enough information to
start
your membership process today. Just follow the link to contact
our
registrar to ask about membership. Learning about your ancestors
and the contribution he or she made to our country is both interesting
and rewarding. By connecting to our ancestors, we preserve our
heritage and preserve that history for our descendants.
We hope to hear from you
soon.
In DAR
Friendship,
Mary Sockwell
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