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Opening Night of the 123rd Continental Congress

Lynn Young, President General

We have a spectacular Opening Night of Congress planned for you and I’m so pleased to give you a sneak peek! What better way to launch our 123rd Continental Congress than with an evening celebrating exceptional storytellers who help to bring history alive for us.

Our keynote speaker brings military history to life in his publications. Our DAR Media and Entertainment Award honoree brings military history to life on the screen. Our DAR Medal of Honor winner brings military history to life in person on the historic battlefields where such momentous events in our nation’s history have happened. Learn more about these special guests from expanded biographies on the DAR Members’ Website.

Opening Night Keynote Speaker: Alexander Rose, well-known author and historian behind the book, Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring, which is the basis of the television show TURN. Mr. Rose is committed to thorough research and storytelling in order to shed light on the everyday people who did extraordinary things to help secure American Independence.

DAR Media and Entertainment AwardAMC’s TURN. I am so thrilled to be presenting this award to this wonderful television series which I’m sure many of you, like me, are hooked on. The television show, which tells the untold story of America’s first spy ring, is being presented with this award for their commitment to artistic excellence, and for expanding the historical knowledge of viewers worldwide.

DAR Medal of Honor:  Ed Bearss, Chief Historian Emeritus for the National Park Service, for his lifelong commitment to historic education and preservation through his battlefield tours. Mr. Bearss is a consummate tour guide who brings history alive to visitors of all knowledge levels, he is known for telling encyclopedic stories from his memory and having a great deal of energy.

Keep checking the Congress page of the DAR Members’ Website as we will be posting more and more information about Congress as we get closer to the big week!