Three hundred forty-five (345) California Daughters attended Continental Congress in June. We heard about all the achievements of the very successful Wright Administration, and were proud of what our State and its members contributed in time, money, and effort. We voted for new National officers and are so proud of two of our amazing California Daughters, Karon Jarrard and Carole Belcher, who were elected at Congress. Karon is serving on the National Executive Board as Corresponding Secretary General, and Carole was elected as Honorary Vice President General for life! We were so excited to welcome our new President General Lynn Young and her “Celebrate America!” administration.
National Awards presented at Congress included awards presented to the California State Society. That means awards given for all of the combined work and donations of ALL of our members.
The California State Society was recognized for 100% participation in the President General’s Project; for placing a new gate on the California Room and installing energy efficient lighting; for donations to the lay light project for one and a half panels; and for a $5,000 donation to the President General’s Project.
The State Society received first place national awards for outstanding service of a state for literacy promotion; outstanding service for lineage research; most American flags presented by larger states; most Flag Codes presented by larger states; First place for Percentage of New Members – states with 100 or more chapters.
By Division, California had the largest total contribution to the Helen Pouch Memorial Fund; Largest junior sales; and largest increase in juniors by application.
The National fifth grade American History Essay contest winner was Sylvia Cho, sponsored by Beverly Hills Chapter.
The National seventh grade American History Essay winner was Jack Palaski, sponsored by Beverly Hills Chapter.
The National Outstanding Veteran was Ernest Conner, sponsored by Merced River Chapter.
Individual and Chapter National First Place Awards went to:
Catherine McCausland, La Puerta de Oro –San Francisco Chapter, Crafts/Porcelain Doll.
Anna Lisa Lauer-Hansing, La Jolla Chapter, Crafts/Metal Work and Jewelry
Feather Tippetts, Gabilan Chapter, Fiber Arts/Historic Costume
Irvine Ranch Chapter for Spread the American Spirit Subscription Contest for the highest number of magazine subscriptions in the nation
Judy Kimball, Presidio Chapter, National Outstanding Volunteer Genealogist
I hope I did not miss anyone. The folder of certificates was huge and just busting at the seams. I think it weighed about 10 pounds. We had dozens and dozens of division winners and second and third place national winners. All will be listed in the CSSDAR Annual Proceedings.
For Chapter Achievement, I thought you’d be interested to know that out of 114 chapters:
One chapter achieved Level 3 – and that’s because it is brand new!
Ten achieved Level 2, and
101 achieved Level 1
Congratulations to everyone for an awesome year!
As you all know, Phase I of the State Regent’s Honey Bee Project has been completed and culminated in a celebration at UC Davis in May. Your generous donations to the project allowed the State Society to contribute $30,000 to University of California at Davis to be used in the Dr. Brian Johnson Lab in the Department of Entomology.
Today, we are announcing Phase II of the project – to enhance honey bee environments. Because UC Davis was so wonderful to work with and due to the fact that this facility is at the forefront of research regarding the plight of honey bees, the next phase of this project will raise funds to support the Häagen Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half acre bee friendly garden next to the research facility. This garden provides forage for the research bees and other pollinators year-round, which is particularly important after the crop pollination season is over. The garden was built in 2009 with a very generous donation from the Häagen Dazs ice cream company – proceeds came from the sale of honey ice cream! We are hoping to make a donation to UC Davis to purchase plants for the garden, do some landscaping and hardscaping, and maybe even build a shade structure. The garden is used by researchers and hundreds of school children tour the acreage each year to learn about insects, plant life, and conservation. An event we call “Lunch with the Bees” is scheduled for next March, where we are planning an outdoor lunch, the State Society will present a donation for the garden, and other activities are planned. More info to come!
You all have been given a wildflower seed packet to take home and scatter. One of the largest problems bees have is lack of food and poor nutrition. After the crop pollination season is over bees rely on whatever is blooming. There is a worldwide shortage of wildflowers, so keep scattering those seeds!
Did you know that we have had a DAR Conservation Committee since 1909, and members have always been encouraged to preserve our natural resources for future generations. Please continue this mission.
Your support of the State Regent’s Honey Bee Project has been overwhelming. Thank you for your individual and chapter donations, all the information you’ve sent, your supportive cards and messages, all the thoughtful gifts, and all of the varieties of honey! I never guessed when I started thinking about this project a long time ago that the honey bee would make the cover of the August issue of Time Magazine. I actually cried when I saw it. Our efforts to make a difference are so vital. Some scientists predict that there will be no more bees by the year 2035 if we don’t figure out what is causing their demise.
Thank you all so much for everything you do for DAR, for our communities, for our country, and for our world.
Thank you.
Debbie Jamison
State Regent
regent@californiadar.org