The Urbana Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution met at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, at the Urbana First Presbyterian Church for the annual office and committee chair planning session.
Members present: Pat Detwiler, Kim Snyder, Carol Tong, Lana Seeberg, Dona Tullis, Janet Ebert, Judy Brooks, Judi Henson, Becky Shultz, Betty Driever and Dolly Wisma.
Regent Pat Detwiler welcomed members and mentioned several important events that occurred on Aug. 15 in the past. She then led the group in the opening DAR ritual, which included recitation of The Americans Creed and The Pledge of Allegiance and ended with the singing of the national anthem.
Regent Detwiler reported that nine members attended the Fall Fun Fair held at the Marriott in Dublin. She called attention to the OSDAR SIP (State Information Packet) and suggested that Committee chairs go to that web site to learn more about their duties and descriptions of responsibilities.
Program books for 2016-2017 were given to members present. Everyone was asked to look at their personal information for any needed corrections and then members went over the schedule of monthly programs for the year. A motion to approve program meetings and booklets was made by Becky Shultz and seconded by Lana Seeberg. Motion carried.
The secretary’s minutes from June will be made available for the September meeting.
Treasurer Judy Brooks gave a report and added that Jeanne Evans and Jan Forsbach had completed the auditing for the 2015-2016 year. A year-end financial report was sent to the OSDAR State Treasurer and one was given to Regent Detwiler. She also handed out membership cards to those in attendance and mentioned that dues could be paid today and are due no later than Sept. 30.
Historian Janet Ebert reported on the following projects she had completed: a compilation of every Revolutionary Soldier thought to have been in Champaign County and a listing of Urbana Chapter grave sites. She also told members about the “Dead” and “Present” books. The “Dead” binder lists every member of the DAR chapter from its inception in the 1800s to the present and lists the offices and committees the member was involved in at the local chapter, state and national level. The “Present” binder is the same information for current members. She has other projects on-going. She requested that members vote to recognize Elmo Layman (who passed away this past spring) for his contributions to conservation. This would take place at the March meeting. A motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Carol Tong. Motion carried.
Vice Regent Kim Snyder told us about State Regent Nancy Wright’s new project which deals with starting an honor roll competition for OSDAR chapters. The goal is to be a “Cardinal.” Other levels are “Blue-Jay,” “Goldfinch,” and “Pigeon.” We do not want to be a Pigeon, and initial calculations indicate that the Urbana chapter is a strong Goldfinch and about to be a Blue Jay. Kim will have a poster made from the score sheet, and we can see how we are doing at each meeting. To become a Cardinal, we need to recruit a Junior member to serve as a chair or officer, become involved at Christian Waldschmidt House, and be more involved in local historical activities. More to come as the year moves along.
She also reminded members to sign up for the Kroger Rewards program and announced rewards programs available through Amazon and Coke.
Lana Seeberg, chair of the Telephone Committee asked for assistance, and Judi Henson offered her help with calling members.
A CDRC workshop is to be held on Saturday, Aug. 20, in Wilmington. Regent Detwiler and Vice Regent Snyder will attend along with Judi Henson and Dona Tullis.
Our next meeting will be Friday, Sept. 16 at 1:30 p.m. at the Community Center, followed by the Constitution Day Bell Ringing at 4 p.m. at Freedom Grove. Bring your bells, your family, and your friends and celebrate the signing of our U.S. Constitution.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. with a motion by Judy Brooks and a second by Betty Driever.
