DAR to honor Justice O’Connor and civic mindedness

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – The Old Unicoi Trail  Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), will hold an informational meeting Saturday, Nov. 9 on the civic-mindedness of Georgians and how they interact with each other, their communities, and political life. According to DAR, Georgia generally falls behind national averages in measures of civic health.

“Leading up to the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, August 20, 1920, the one-hour
program will focus on iCivics, a project of the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor,” DAR Regent Annette Bomar Hopgood explained. “Over the course of her career, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor grew concerned about a growing lack of understanding about our system of government and the disengagement that inevitably follows. In 2009, Justice O’Connor founded iCivics with the goal of transforming civic education in America. iCivics is a national program, which is promoted in Georgia by the State Bar of Georgia and Georgia Family Connection Partnership.”

The GA Civic Health Index is a project of the Georgia Family Connection Partnership, gafcp.org; the Georgia Municipal Association, gmanet.com; and the National Conference on Citizenship, ncoc.org. In 2013, the Georgia Family Connection Partnership – with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, GeorgiaForward, and the National Conference on Citizenship – published the first Georgia Civic Health Index™ (CHI). The 2019 second edition of the Georgia CHI shows that overall civic health in Georgia has shown little improvement, and in most areas has declined from the first report . . . voting in local elections dropped from 29th to 40th, volunteering dropped from 34th to 44th and group participation dropped from 28th to 49th.

DAR stated that they understand that such measures indicate the health of our communities and nation. The public is invited to join daughters, and invited civic, government and education leaders from Towns, Union and Fannin counties for an introduction to the state of civic health in Georgia and learn about volunteer efforts to support civic education. Staff from the iCivics program of the GA Family Connection Partnership will be present.

DAR is a non-political organization founded in 1890 whose mission is historic preservation, education and patriotism. Without civic-minded citizens, this mission cannot be realized; therefore, we support iCivics. Women 18 years or older, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution are eligible to join DAR.

The program will be held Saturday, Nov. 9 at 10:30 am at the Union County First Methodist Church, 938 Highway 515, Blairsville. Email oldunicoitrail@gmail.com for additional information or to confirm a reservation.

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