CA Daughters… Making a difference through our service to God, Home, and Country
My Dear California Daughters,
Fire Concerns
Where has our summer gone? Well, certainly for too many days, we were caught up with worry about Daughters living in and near fire areas. My sincere appreciation to directors in the stricken areas and their regents for reaching out through all ways possible to check on Daughters and each other. It is with a very grateful heart that I am able to report that, though still dealing with smoke and a few evacuations, none sustained injury or loss of property. We are continuing to monitor as fires still burn…this fire season is still a concern.
A number of you were asking, “What can we do, how can we support our members?” To these folks, the first answer was “other than check on their welfare, until the chaos of the fire is handled and we are able to assess how members were affected, there is nothing specific for the State Society to do.” Many of you felt and still feel the need to “do something.” Individuals are still encouraged to contact the agencies working the emergencies. Help comes through donations to the Red Cross, food provided to the responders on the front line, water delivery, volunteers in shelters, neighbors helping neighbors. Of course, continue to pray for the victims, emergency responders, and favorable weather. CA Daughters always step forward to do what you do best… make a difference through your thoughtful service to others.
September Council Meetings: Theme: Celebrating Service and Patriotism Reminders and Additional Information
Registration
We are just under three weeks from our September 7th-8th Southern Council meeting, with Northern Council the following weekend, September 14th-15th. Reservations for rooms at the Renaissance Newport Beach have closed and are sold out. There are only a few rooms available at the Sacramento Rancho Cordova Marriott. We are now approaching deadlines for registration. Please register now, if you haven’t already. The final dates are final…. No extended deadlines. Go online and register through the webstore or fill out the form and mail it with your check, whichever works best for you. Just get it done.
Friday Evening Kitchen Shower: Please remember to bring the new, unwrapped kitchen items that will go to facilities such as (in Southern CA) Veterans Village, providing Rapid Rehousing service to veterans with “welcome home” kits for new move-ins, to SDMOMs serving families of E-4 and below and Solutions for Change… and (in Northern CA) VA-Northern California Healthcare System and the 2000+ displaced veterans and their families (nearly 200 losing their homes in the Carr fire), living in temporary housing. They will need the items as housing is found.
What items you ask? Whatever you might take to a bridal kitchen shower. These things are going to people who have empty cupboards and drawers. There will be several laundry baskets available to receive your donations: at check in, in the exhibit room, and the large meeting room Friday night. What a difference these items will make to people in need!
Saturday Keynote Presentations: How honored we are that two representatives of our Armed Forces will be with us to share their perspectives on how Daughters are making a difference through our support to active duty personnel and Military veterans who served and sacrificed.
Southern Council will welcome Lt. LaToya Zavala, USN Chaplain.
Chaplain Zavala joined the United States Navy as an active duty chaplain in 2012 and has served our nation with joy and pride ever since. She’s been stationed in Iwakuni Japan with the United States Marines. In San Diego, she has serve aboard five San Diego-based ships and is currently serving as the Command Chaplain for the Naval Base Point Loma. Here she runs a chapel and provides personal development programs, pastoral care and counseling, and professional advisement. Happily married to her husband, Crisogono Zavala Pena, USN Retired, for nearly 17 years, they enjoy all the blessings associated with raising their two children: 10-year old son, John, and 7-month old daughter, Julia.
Northern Council will welcome Lt. Col. Joel Armstrong, US Army.
LTC Phillip “Joel” Armstrong entered enlisted service on August 13, 1985. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant from California State University Fresno ROTC program in 1990. After resigning his commission in 1995 and a seven year break in service, First Lieutenant Armstrong assessed back into the California Army National Guard in the wake of September 11, 2001. He then entered State Active Duty, February 15, 2007, and has concurrently served since. Many Daughters will recall sending care packages to the men and women, an all-California unit, under his command when they were deployed to Jordan last year. Lt. Col. Armstrong lives in Fair Oaks, CA with his wife Katie. Their two children are 23-year old daughter, Amy, and son, Will, who is 20.
So many other things are planned, too, for our time together. Council chairs Kathy Russo and Laurie Smotherman, various committee chairs, and your state officers have done a wonderful job with plans and preparations. Check the schedule of events on the website. There is something for everyone! Please come… join your friends… attend the workshops… visit the exhibit room where State Committee Chairs will have displays and a great deal of information… make your way to the Junior Shoppe and State Regent’s Project tables for unique shopping experiences. The weekend will be all about Education, Historic Preservation, and Patriotism and how CA Daughters can make a difference through our service to God, Home, and Country.
With much affection and appreciation,
Adele Lancaster, State Regent
