The Overland Trail Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution held their annual Patriots Award Ceremony on Feb. 2 at the American Legion in LaPorte. The ceremony recognizes the outstanding students and adults in our rural communities.
The DAR Good Citizenship Medal is an award that is presented to girls or boys in grades five through eleven who fulfill the qualities of honor, service, courage, leadership, and patriotism. One medal per grade per school may be given. This year the winners of the DAR Good Citizenship Medals are:
5th grade
Rice Elementary School, Wellington – Garrett Ramler
Eyestone Elementary School, Wellington – Joeleen Castorino
Cache la Poudre Elementary, LaPorte – Sam Nelson
The chapter gave Certificates of Appreciation to the Livermore Fire Protection District and the Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District for their selfless service and sacrifice during the High Park Fire. It is through the outstanding efforts of these men and women, the citizens of our communities are protected in cases of emergency and make our communities a safer place to live. The Glacier View Fire District and the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department will receive their certificates at a later date.
The staff of the North Forty News received a Certificate of Appreciation for their outstanding support of the rural communities of Northern Colorado through the monthly newspaper and the online paper. The newspaper’s reporting of the news in the area as well as concerns, keeps the residents in the know of what is happening in their communities. Reporting on the High Park Fire kept the community and residents of the fire areas up to date on the status and the efforts for rebuilding.
Three members of the Veteran’s Plaza of Northern Colorado were recognized with Certificates of Appreciation. Diggs Brown, Billy Thornton, and Rob Allerheiligen all veterans have served on the Veteran’s Plaza of Northern Colorado Committee for the past several years seeing the project to completion. Diggs Brown is the founder of the Plaza project. Their dedication to honoring the veteran’s of the past, present and helping to education the veteran’s of the future is commendable. The Veteran’s Plaza also received a certificate for the correct presentation of the United States Flag.
Regent Sue Harmon gave the welcome and lead the opening patriotic exercises with the assistance of Carol Cook, Jennifer Dodds, Meg Cattell, Mary Eberhard and Laurie Button. The National Defense Chairman, Susan Brand, gave a report from the national chairman on Senator Daniel Inouye, a WWII veteran. The President General’s message was given by Dawn Paschal.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and support better education for our nation’s children. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 173,000 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. For more information on the Overland Trail Chapter, please visit the chapter website at http://www.coloradodar.org/chapters/overlandtrail/ or contact the chapter at [email protected] .