The Hotel Real de Chapala was headquarters for the 43rd Annual Mexico Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Conference, hosted by the Ajijic Thomas Paine Chapter at the end of February.
Along with local members, 45 members from Mexico chapters in Los Alamos, Mexico City and San Carlos, as well as chapters throughout the United States, attended the conference.
Events included a memorial service for deceased members in the hotel garden with music provided by a local string quartet. On the Saturday of the conference, most attendees rode the Tequila Express to the Herradura Hacienda in Amatitán.
At the Annual Business Meeting on Sunday, chapter and State Society officers presented their annual reports, and a new slate of Mexico State officers was elected for a three-year term. New State officers included three Thomas Paine members: Annette Evans as State Regent, Cindy Stone as State Chaplain, and Sandra Loridans as State Registrar.
Ajijic resident Coralie White was a special guest at a luncheon attended by spouses and guests. She was presented with a Community Service Award recognizing her many years of service selecting and mentoring scholarship students for the Lake Chapala Society and for the DAR’s scholarship program. Another guest was Cinthia Martinez, who received a scholarship to the Jaltepec Educational Center presented by the John Edwards Chapter from Mexico City.
There was a farewell dinner on the last evening of the conference, at which chef Agustin of Viva Mexico in San Juan Cosalá prepared a Mexican buffet.