2024 DAR Community Service Awards Honors Three
May 23, 2024 02:49PM ● By Thomas J. Sullivan, photos by Thomas J. SullivanShown are Dianne Poppert, Citrus Heights Daughters of the American Revolution Community Service Award chairperson, Kaye Lynn and David Peterson of Sacramento, leaders of the U.S. Constitution Study Group, and Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost.
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Three community leaders were honored for their community service by members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) General John A. Sutter Citrus Heights Chapter on May 11 for their many volunteer contributions to the local community.
Lorie Rheams, a resident of Orangevale and an active member of the Orangevale Rotary Club with her husband, Russ, were recognized for two volunteer activities in which they both made a difference in their community.
For the past 17 years, the Rheams have volunteered to distribute Christmas baskets to local families in need at Divine Savior Catholic Church in Orangevale. Some 43 such baskets were distributed at Divine Savior in December 2023.
“There’s such an incredible need and so many ways in which all of us can help our community,” she said modestly. Rheams acknowledged the support of her husband who is “always by my side,” fellow church members at Divine Savior and her fellow Orangevale Rotarians in being able to “model and live a full life of service to others.”
Here are Dianne Poppert, Citrus Heights Daughters of the American Revolution Community Service Award chairperson, Lorie Rheams, and Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost.
Rheams was also cited for leading a clothing collection program for the nonprofit Underground Clothing Connection store in the Citrus Heights Sunrise Mall for young adults and children in need.
“What the Underground needs now, besides clothing donations, is consistent volunteer support hours helping out in the store to better help it thrive,” she said. “It’s an important resource for so many people it serves,” she said.
The free clothing store, exclusively for students and their families of San Juan Unified School District, by school referral only, is the product of a community partnership between the Citrus Heights Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART), Sunrise Mall, San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) and Sunrise MarketPlace (SMP).
To volunteer or make a clothing donation to the Underground Clothing Connection, call 916-952-9797 or email [email protected].
The couple also own and operate Orangevale Copy Center at 9267 Greenback Lane, Suite C5, Orangevale since February 1990.
Kaye Lynn and David Peterson of Sacramento were recognized for volunteering their time leading a non-partisan U.S. Constitution Discussion Group (CDG), which meets at Epic Bible College at 4330 Auburn Boulevard in Sacramento. Both received an award for their outstanding service to the community.
The couple lead a free eight-week course on the U.S. Constitution through Aug. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. hosted at Epic Bible College with discussion topics including state sovereignty, nullification and taxation, unconstitutional powers, the Electoral College, and the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting unreasonable search and seizures.
“We the people, no longer understand our relationship to, and our responsibilities under the Constitution,” Kaye Lynn Peterson told the Daughters of the American Revolution members. “Our purpose is to help adults review, re-learn and discuss what a Constitutional Republic is, and review the documents left to us by the Founding Fathers of our nation.”
The Sacramento U.S. Constitution Discussion Group, running for the past three years, is conducted in a seminar-style presentation, with instruction followed by open discussion and questions. Kaye Lynn is the moderator and searches for material to cover, while David runs the video equipment used to present audio-visual materials.
The couple said a “thorough understanding and refresh of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship under the U.S. Constitution are an important part of an active civics education.”
The public is also invited to bring a dish to share and attend a Memorial Day patriotic potluck from 6 to 8 p.m. May 30 hosted by the group on the main floor at Epic Bible College, 4330 Auburn Blvd.
The General John A. Sutter Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR or DAR), a nonprofit, non-political organization, meets at the Sylvan Community Center, 7521 Community Drive in Citrus Heights.
Women who are 18 years of age and older and descended from a parent who aided in achieving American independence between April 19, 1775, and Nov. 26, 1783, can apply for Daughters of the American Revolution membership.