DAR Youth Citizenship Medals

June 2023

The DAR Youth Citizenship Medal was established to foster among schoolchildren a greater appreciation of the qualities of citizenship Americans must possess if our country is to remain sovereign and independent. This medal is presented to a student (male or female) who exemplifies the qualities of honor, service, courage, leadership, and patriotism.

On June 10, 2023, Patricia Ríos, the Chapter Registrar for the España Chapter, presented Kira Gerke, a 5th grader at David Glasgow Farragut Elementary School on Naval Station Rota, Spain with a DAR Youth Citizenship Medal. The medal is presented to a student who exemplifies the qualities of honor, service, courage, leadership and patriotism. The DAR Youth Citizenship Medal was established to foster among schoolchildren a greater appreciation of the qualities of citizenship Americans must possess if our country is to remain sovereign and independent.

9∕11 Commemoration Ceremony

September 2022

The España Chapter held its traditional 9∕11 Commemoration Ceremony at the Parque Juan Carlos Ⅰ in Madrid.

The park is the site where the US Embassy planted ten oak trees and placed a stone marker in memory of 9∕11.

Our group of attendees included five DARs, two SARs, family and friends. We were joined by David, the historian for the British Cemetery in Madrid, and Teresa, whose English class takes part in the DAR essay contest every year.

In a moving ceremony we remembered the almost 3,000 victims of 9∕11 and their families.

After the ceremony, during which we recited the Pledge of Allegiance and said a short prayer, we walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch.

Alice Bache Gould Award

June 2020

June 29 was the graduation ceremony of the men and women who finished their masters at the University of Alcalá, near Madrid. Teresa Mejia is this year’s winner of the Alice Bache Gould Award, that the España Chapter, NSDAR, has presented for the last six years to an outstanding student of the Franklin Institute master’s program of the University of Alcalá de Henares. The title of her winning thesis is “Acculturation and Markers of Acculturative Stress in Second Generation Students”. Congratulations, Teresa!

Book Donation to Malawi

December 2019

In December we received the request for reading books and textbooks for children and young people in Likoma on Lake Malawi, where all reading matter is valuable, and books are very expensive. Our regent took books that were donated by our chapter members to St. George’s Church in Madrid, where two American volunteer students packed them to take with them to St. Peter’s Anglican School in Likoma, Malawi, in southeastern Africa.

Gálvez Award

November 2019

The España Chapter, NSDAR, was pleased when we learned that the NSDAR had been selected as the 12th winner of the Bernardo de Gálvez Award given by the Asociación Bernardo de Gálvez y Gallardo in Málaga, Spain, on November 15, 2019. To represent the President General of NSDAR, Denise Doring VanBuren, chapter members traveled to Málaga, on the southern coast of Spain, to receive the award.

Ceuta Marker

March 2019

Commemorative events were organized in Ceuta by the Military Historic and Cultural Center of Ceuta and the Fernando de Leyba Cultural Association in March. Ceuta rolled out the red carpet for us. Our Chapter Historian, Kristine Sjostrom, has become an expert on Fernando de Leyba and his defense of St. Louis, Missouri, during the American Revolutionary War. Kristine is the co-author of the book, “The Battle of St. Louis, The attack on Cahokia, and the American Revolution in the West”. Five España Chapter, NSDAR, members and some members of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) were in Ceuta to take part in the unveiling of a plaque for Leyba, who was born in Ceuta, and to enjoy learning more about him during Kristine’s conference. Kristine was given the credit she is due as an investigator of this forgotten Spanish hero born in Ceuta. There is another plaque for him in St. Louis, Missouri, and this is the first in Spain. Thank you, Kristine, for all your hard work in discovering and introducing us to the life of Fernando de Leyba!