For Immediate Release
- Press Contact:
- Bren Landon
- [email protected]
- (202) 572-0563
119th Continental Congress held in DAR Constitution Hall
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The nation’s capital will welcome more than 4,000 members of one of its foremost service organizations this week with the arrival of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) for their 119th annual Continental Congress. Highlights of the week-long event will include welcoming respected keynote speakers and award winners during the gala evening ceremonies. The Opening Night featured speaker will be James Rees, Executive Director of the Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, sharing his insights on the preservation and educational efforts at George Washington’s estate. Lieutenant General John Allen, Acting Commander of the United States Central Command, will provide the keynote address for National Defense Night, an evening dedicated to honoring and celebrating our nation’s service personnel and veterans.
In addition to these prestigious keynote speakers, a variety of other national award winners will be honored during the week. The DAR Media Award will be presented to the NBC television series “Who Do You Think You Are?” with Dan Bucatinsky, executive producer, accepting the award on behalf of Is or Isn’t Entertainment, the production company he founded with Lisa Kudrow which produces the documentary series. LTC James “Maggie” Megellas, USA (ret.) will be presented with the DAR Medal of Honor recognizing his distinguished service in World War II and his lifetime of volunteer efforts with troops stationed abroad even now into his 90s. The Americanism Award, presented to a naturalized US citizen, will be presented to Noémi Ban, a Holocaust survivor who turned her tragedy into a positive force by becoming a respected educator and author on the subject.
“It’s inspiring to see so many Daughters make the trip to Washington to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments during the past year in service to God, home and country,” said Linda Gist Calvin, President General. “The reports of our members’ enthusiastic dedication to historic preservation, education, and patriotism make it clear that the DAR is playing an important role in cities and towns across the country.”
The DAR Continental Congress is a time-honored tradition that has been held in Washington, D.C. as the annual national meeting of the membership since the organization’s founding. National, state and chapter leaders as well as other members from across the country and around the world meet at the DAR National Headquarters to report on the year’s work, honor outstanding award recipients, plan future initiatives and reconnect with friends. The week-long convention consists of business sessions, committee meetings, and social functions, and is topped off with three formal evening ceremonies at which national DAR award winners are honored.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 165,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world's largest and most active service organizations. To learn more about the work of today's DAR, visit www.DAR.org or www.youtube.com/TodaysDAR.
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