DSDI 2020 Fall Meeting | Virtual Trip to Newport, RI

How lucky we were to explore Newport, Rhode Island, in October for our Virtual Fall Meeting 2020. We walked along the cliffs smelling the salty sea, shopped and ate at the harbor, had tea in one of those enormous “cottages” then said thanks at a 1700-century church. We raced incredible yachts, toasted our members, voted about our future and celebrated after our meetings, all for free using a bit of imagination.

Member Shelley Cruz created a remarkable show on Zoom as we explored lovely Newport. A few months ago, none of us knew how to share our thoughts this way. By October many of us had become savvy and able to assist others while we learned to vote and to create our Roll Call naming our ancestors by Chat. We listened to our Board as we improved our website and how we have spread the news of our Signers and our organization thanks to members’ donations. We were inspired by our scholarships, wrote about our Signers’ wives and discussed ways to reach out to others. We found we are needed to volunteer!

Granted, our photos in our screenshots look a lot like the Brady Bunch, but it was a fantastic experience to get to know each other. Many of us waited after the presentation Saturday night and found we could stay and chat, getting to know each other more. It would have been wonderful to shake hands and sit down for a good drink and dinner, but we’ll have to wait until we are safe again with vaccinations. Lots of fun together again in the future!

To see Shelley’s Trip to Newport in YouTube, visit https://youtu.be/o7QUcfoorTU.