Summer 2018 – Message from the President General

At our Annual Meeting, on April 30th in New York City, I was installed as the 38th President General of The Colonial Dames of America (CDA). Thank you for putting your trust in me. It is a singular honor to follow Sharon Vaino in leading our august organization. It is my hope to build upon the many innovations that have propelled CDA forward, and to continue the relevance of our Society’s mission nationally and abroad.

During my first year in office, I will visit many chapters and present “CDA: Our Gilded Age Genesis.” I hope to meet as many of you as possible! Since taking office, I have met with three chapters and will see eleven more before the 2019 Annual Meeting. Additionally, there will be a European Regional Meeting (Paris-Rome-London) in the spring of 2019, which I will attend. The Regional will be hosted by Chapter IV-Paris, and facilitated by CDA Liaison Chairman, Charlotte Christian of Chapter XXIV-Atlanta. Please let Charlotte know if your chapter is willing to host a Regional Meeting, which is a wonderful way to meet new Dames and share forward-thinking initiatives.

CDA will be working on a new five-year Strategic Plan, as our present one expires in 2020. Laurie Aldinger, President of Chapter XXXI-South Carolina, will chair the committee. Please share your thoughts with Laurie as we move forward ([email protected]).

The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum (MVHM), located in New York City on East 61st Street, is wholly owned and operated by CDA, and is our Society’s galvanizing project. Built in 1799, it is remains one of the few 18th century buildings in Manhattan still standing and open to the public. The museum will also be formulating a new Strategic Plan, with Cathy Brawer of the Parent Chapter as committee chairman.

Our beautiful garden, our Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, the Abigail Adams Smith Ballroom, and our corporate offices are truly a haven for Dames when in New York. 86% of our membership does not live in New York, so we are truly a national and international group. We now have a total of 39 chapters plus the Parent Chapter.

Please come by the Society’s headquarters when in New York, and be welcomed by our wonderful Executive Director, Deb McWilliams, and our new CDA Administrator, the capable Nicole Scholet. We are truly a family of Dames…all committed, since 1890, to our mission of historic preservation, patriotic activities, and education and scholarship in the field of American History.

With my best wishes,