Regents Chattanooga Area Regent's Council, from left, with State Regent Natalie Blackwell, Nancy Ward Chapter; Jessica (Raz) Dimitru, Chief John Ross Chapter; Teresa Rimer, Chairman, Regents' Council; Charlotte Reynolds, Tennessee State Regent; Susan Lindsey, Judge David Campbell Chapter, Barbara Fickley, Moccasin Bend Chapter
Natalie Davis, Kevin Bate, and Natalie Blackwell
Barbara Nicodemus, author of Silence Means Security
Judge David Campbell members attending were front row, from left, JDC Corresponding Secretary Jennifer Thomas, JDC Recording Secretary Jody Clevenger, JDC Chapter Regent Susan Lindsey, Tennessee State Regent Charlotte Reynolds, National Vice President General Susan Thomas, JDC 2nd Vice Regent Stacy Kehoe, and JDC Chaplain Meegan Burton. Back row, from left, JDC Members Bettie Purcell, Charlotte Smalley, Jennifer Cook, Sarah Zimmerman, Mary McMorrow, Bette Cook, Mary Burrows, Marie Wingate, Sue Ison, Juanita Jennings, Dolores Wolfe, Wynn Brady, and Phyllis Carter. Not pictured: Mary Jo Koory.
The annual Joint Luncheon of the Chattanooga’s Regent Council was held at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club. Members from Chickamauga, Chief John Ross, Judge David Campbell, Moccasin Bend, and Nancy Ward Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution joined with the Alexander Keith, Avery Trace, and Ocoee chapters in celebrating the 26 Daughters who have given 50 or more years as volunteers in the DAR and the eight Daughters who have or are serving in the military.
Special guest holding state offices included State Regent Charlotte Reynolds, State Corresponding Secretary Pam McConnell and State Historian Linda Mines. From the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, National Vice President General Susan Thomas attended, along with national appointees Vice Chairman for Membership, Recruitment, Lori Cook; Vice Chairman, Southeast Division, Chapter Achievement Awards, Wanda Garrett; Vice Chairman, Southeast Division, Junior Membership, Meegan Burton; and Co-Vice Chairman, President General’s Project, Congressional Sales, Jessica (Raz) Dumitru. Also attending was representatives from the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, Ala., Heather Green, executive director, and Beth Cagle, developmental director and the President of the Tennessee Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Charles Dammann.
A highlight of the event was the presentation of the NSDAR for Excellence in Community Service Award to Kevin Bate, the artist who created the mural of the Fallen Five. The painting covers one side of a building extending one city block at 1215 McCallie Ave. Desiring to memorialize the service men slain in 2015, Mr. Bate spent 11 months designing the mural, working with families, and preparing and painting the massive representation. The nomination of the award to Mr. Bate was by the Nancy Ward Chapter with Natalie Blackwell, chapter regent, and Natalie Davis, community service chairman, presenting.
Author of Silence Means Security, Barbara Nicodemus, was the guest speaker. Her novel tells the story of her mother, Billie Jean, from the diary entries, letters, poems and photographs found in her mother’s collection after her passing. The novel weaves the story of the life of a Women’s Army Corps code breaker stationed in Australia, New Guinea and then Philippines during World War II, intertwining the past and the present. From her early days in Texas to braving the bias of women serving in the military, BJ’s story is well crafted by her daughter. Ms. Nicodemus used a series of slides collected from her mother’s own photos, national archives and other sources to illustrate the reality of the background of the novel while telling highlights of her mother’s life. Ms. Nicodemus competed her talk with a reading from the novel.