Leader of DAR in Orleans and NYS named national officer for Daughters of American Revolution

Press Release, Daughters of American Revolution

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 4,000 members of the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered this past week in the nation’s capital for their 131st Continental Congress, the service organization’s annual meeting.

Patrice Powley Birner

The week-long convention, which was projected to draw the largest attendance in the organization’s history, consisted of business sessions, committee meetings and social functions, in addition to formal evening ceremonies that honored national award winners and featured outstanding keynote speakers. This year’s convention was the first in-person gathering in three years, after the 2020 and 2021 editions were conducted virtually due to the pandemic.

In attendance was New York State Regent Patrice Powley Birner, a member of the Orleans Chapter in Albion. Birner was elected to the office of Vice President General at this year’s Continental Congress. She will serve a term of three years with NSDAR’s National Board of Management. Each year, seven new Vice Presidents General are elected for a total of twenty-one serving at any one time. These National officers advise and guide the work of the society.

Patrice Powley Birner has served the NSDAR since becoming a member in 2004. At the chapter level, she has served as Treasurer, Regent, and Vice Regent. In 2015, she was selected as the New York State Organization’s State Outstanding Chapter Regent.

While serving as State Historian, she managed the digitizing and rebinding of 102 volumes of state history. During her term as State Regent, Birner’s State Regent’s Project has raised awareness about General Lafayette and his 1824-1825 Farewell Tour by placing historic markers across New York and sponsoring webisodes of “Follow the Frenchmen” as part of the national Lafayette Trail project. In addition to serving as State Regent, she currently serves on the National Board of Management and as National Chair of the VanBuren President General’s Project. Birner also served on the Continental Congress House Committee – President General’s Project Sales, 2013-2016, and participated in the 2019 National DAR Schools Tour.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Patrice Birner, state regent of the DAR, spoke on April 14, 2021 at the dedication event for a new historical marker in Albion to recognize the farewell tour in 1824-1825 to honor Marquis de Lafayette, a young French aristocrat and military officer served with George Washington. Lafayette traveled on the Erie Canal from Lockport to Rochester in June 1825 to great fanfare.

The DAR Continental Congress is a time-honored annual event that has been held in Washington, D.C. since the organization’s founding. Members from across the country and around the world gather at the DAR National Headquarters to report on the year’s work, honor outstanding award recipients, plan future initiatives and reconnect with friends.

To learn more about its important work, visit www.DAR.org.