Thinking about DSDI’s future

What a happy celebration as we met in Princeton in October for our Fall Meeting! Thanks to hostess Nancy Wark and her husband Ray, many members with families and friends enjoyed each other. We met to eat and drink, travel and learn more about our Signers and their families. It was a beautiful weekend to explore Princeton and the American Revolution Battlefield. We missed those who couldn’t be with us.

I’m delighted to see DSDI moving ahead by using our website to register for the meeting, thanks to Event Coordinator Jill Haimes. Announcements came to members’ email through Secretary-General Donald Ward Jr’s transmissions with Nancy’s messages. In Princeton for our Board Meeting, we used Zoom as our new Webmaster Alexa Scholl controlled the computers with Nancy’s support. What a terrific team for our Princeton Meeting! Thank you, digital team, and for the work for our new treasurer, Bill Urbina, with guidance from Johnny Alexander!

One of the biggest decisions for our Board Members was to hire a company to redesign our website. Twelve years ago, members Hunter George and Jim Alexander set up our first website. As webmaster, Jim inspired us and our public who checked on our site many thousands of times to know about our Signers. We are grateful for the countless hours that Jim worked for us and the public.

We all sense the need for change. During our Princeton meeting, Alexa introduced several digital communications companies that could help us move ahead to prepare our website for the future. Jill checked on the site, observing that there had been more than 300 hits for those interested in our site that day. The Board voted unanimously for the Executive Board to interview one of the companies concerning rebuilding our site to make it more appealing to the public and to allow easier access for our members through Members Only. We’ll share details as we go forward, following our mission, teaching and reminding the public about our Signers. Please support us as we grow through our website.

Speaking of support, Annual Appeal Chair Shirley Hunter Smith sent out letters to each member in hopes that we’ll continue to improve our organization. We much appreciate any donation for website, scholarships, meetings or in general. There is no deadline, but we are grateful for any donation to DSDI.

Let’s meet in Vincennes, Indiana, in May 2022!

Sincerely,

Lucy Duke Tonacci

President-General