Roanoke will host more than 800 Daughters of the American Revolution from all across Virginia when they arrive for their 115th annual State Conference on March 25-27 at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.
Chaired by Virginia DAR State Regent Patricia Musick Hatfield, of Marion, the conference allows the state’s 136 DAR chapters and various committees to report on their accomplishments in the past year.
One key accomplishment is that the State organization is close to achieving its three-year goal, announced by Mrs. Hatfield only last July, of raising $30,000 to provide the Abingdon Muster Grounds Interpretive Center in southwest Virginia with museum-quality display cases for housing items related to the 1780 Battle of King’s Mountain near present-day Blacksburg, S.C.
“The early success of this project is directly linked to the overwhelming support of Virginia DAR members who have embraced the Abingdon Muster Grounds and the story of the brave patriots who marched more than 330 miles from Abingdon to Kings Mountain,” said Mrs. Hatfield. “Virginia Daughters loved the stories of sacrifice and innovation that won the War of Independence.”
Virginia Daughters, now almost 9000 strong, have a long history of preserving historic artifacts and buildings; supporting schools and child and adult literacy programs; providing scholarships and awards; supporting active duty and veteran military members and their families; providing good citizenship programs and awards for youth, and commemorating historic events in American history.
Support is not limited to writing checks – many Daughters further DAR aims by volunteering at local schools, hospitals, libraries and other sites. Being located comparatively close to the National Headquarters in Washington, DC, Virginia Daughters also provide hands-on support to the Library, Museum and other activities there.
One of the world’s largest, most active women’s service organizations, the DAR is dedicated to historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its more than 165,000 members in approximately 3000 chapters worldwide descend from men and women who supported the American cause during the Revolutionary War.
For more information on the work of today’s DAR, see www.vadar.org and www.dar.org.
