2015

DAR Continental Congress

DAR Constitution Hall, Washington D.C.

Pax Romana at the Units Overseas Bazaar

(Congress, 2015)

Candy & Marti with the Eagle

(Congress, 2014)

Candy & Marti with Honorary PG Linda Calvin (Congress, 2015)

Learn more about DAR Continental Congress by clicking here!

DAR Continental Congress

The ideals and spirit of DAR inspire all members of the National Society who attend Continental Congress. Each year more than 3,000 Daughters travel to the nation's capital to attend business meetings and social events, meet new friends, and renew old acquaintances.

Highlights

A vast variety of events takes place during the week of Continental Congress. The most important are the daily business sessions and evening ceremonies that occur in the DAR Constitution Hall. Committee meetings, workshops and social events also take place at DAR Headquarters, as well as at the official convention hotel and various nearby locations.

While this 5-day meeting is chock-full of so many interesting and also administrative activities, the primary ones that our Pax Romana ladies attend (and report back to us on!) are:

Opening Gala
Units Overseas Meeting
Units Overseas Luncheon
South Carolina Dessert
Closing Night Gala
NVC Members Dinner
Northwest Breakfast
Patriotism Luncheon

Continental Congress is also a great place to meet people: old friends who have joined DAR themselves, new friends we meet waiting in line or seated at tables, VIPs (NSDAR Officers and special guests), as well as our Associates for whom oftentimes it is the first time we get to see them in person!

History of Pax Romana at Congress

Our History at Congress

Pax Romana Chapter is a part of the Units Overseas (UO). There are fourteen countries represented by over twenty chapters. Within UO there are only two "State" Societies, France and Mexico. These “states” actually function and have all the rights of a State Society in the US. They have a State Regent, and that Regent can run for National office. The rest of our chapters are not States and have no “state” leaders. We are under the Units Overseas Chairman and her National Vice Chairmen and other sub officers. We have a place to sit in the big Hall just like a State does.

We in Units Overseas have a meeting at Continental Congress, usually Wednesday morning. At this meeting, reports are given by the Chairman and her officers and Vice Chairs. It is here that the chapters receive the little certificates for all the services rendered during the year and all the prizes that a chapter might have won. These certificates are the proof of all those “points” that we strive to get during the year.

Marti giving Pax Romana

Chapter Report (Congress, 2013)

The other UO event is the Units Oversees Luncheon. This luncheon went from five hundred participants to six hundred in the past few years. It is considered the most popular and fun luncheon event. The tables are grouped by country and the Associates sit with their favorite chapter. Many Associates belong to several UO chapters. It is at this luncheon that we can offer our gloves, as there is a “Bazaar" where each Chapter has a table and can legally offer their wares to the members of DAR. Everything from Mexican vanilla to German teddybears are on these tables. The Italian gloves are probably the most popular table. It is total chaos at the table but we have a great product at a very low price. After lunch, the Regents of each chapter have two minutes to tell the audience about their accomplishments during the year. The shopping, which had been stopped during the meal service, is then reopened and available for another hour before being closed for another year.

Event Details

Events Details

Opening Night Gala: see the American flag drop (it's humongous!), listen to the band, the entry procession in white (show support for our UO Chairperson - Virginia Lingelbach).
Units Overseas Luncheon: 600 people (1 of the 2 largest luncheons) and clearly the most popular lunch! Here we find the famous country-specific sales tables, with one of the event favorites: PaxRomana Italian Gloves!
Closing Night Gala: highlight is on the Special Guest who is honored. Recent notable speakers, award winners and entertainers have included Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Emmy award-winning journalist and best-selling author Cokie Roberts, actress Bo Derek, singer Wayne Newton, Oscar and Emmy award winning composer Bill Conti, Tuskegee Airman Luther Smith, and NASA astronaut Brigadier General Susan Helms

…and hopefully they find time to also enjoy a little bit of

tourism time for visiting some nearby sites of our country’s capital!

Marti and Candy with our famous gloves

at the Units Overseas Luncheon, 2016

Everyone Loves Our Gloves...

The Story of Our Gloves

by Candace Biamonti, former Gloves Committee Chair

The first time I went to CC in 1999, I had just become a DAR and our chapter was organizing (previous "Italia" chapter). I was told to bring white gloves. I still had a couple of pairs of old cotton gloves from my youth but they were a bit yellow so I went to my friendly glove store in the Rome historical center of dear Mr. Merola, a 4th generation Italian "Master artisan." Mr. Merola was a bit amused that I had to have white gloves for a “convention” in America, yet nonetheless sold me a very beautiful pair of gloves.

When I arrived in Washington DC, it was spring but very warm, as CC used to be in April. I went to every possible event in tow by my UO Chairman and her helpers. The first thing I noticed was the fact that no one had lovely gloves like mine.

So... when I returned back home to Rome, I went right away to visit Mr. Merola. He said that he could make white cotton gloves for our Chapter. We had NO money so he said that we could pay when I got home the next year. So we started out with about fifty pairs and put the message out on DARlings. Well, I was on the computer all day and half the night. It was a full time job! We had to keep ordering more and more gloves to meet the demand! By the time I went to CC I took around 300 pairs of white cotton gloves. I walked into the Hilton….where the DAR’s stayed then…and I was mobbed like a rockstar…."It's the glove lady!!!!,"…they all yelled. And I am still called the “glove lady” even today.

A Brief History of Merola

The Merola glove company was founded in Naples in 1878, opened a store in Rome on Via del Corso in 1885, and also in Florence and Venice around the same time. Merola served noble families and selective buyers from around the world. Many Americans were steady clients in the golden years. When gloves started going out of style, Alberto Merola decided to take a chance and started designing gloves, taking them to the accessory market in Florence. Their success was beyond his wildest dreams! He made gloves for many of the major designers and stores around the world. You will find his gloves at Bergdorf’s in New York under his own name, which is quite an accomplishment. He was asked to make gloves for many films, starting with Roman Holiday, and more recently Titanic, The Patriot, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Return to Cold Mountain, and Australia, to name a few.

Although Mr. Merola closed his store a number of years ago because of health issues, he continued to design gloves until recently, when he handed over the bulk of his company to his son and daughter. The Louis Vuitton City Guide to Rome in recent years dedicated a whole page to Merola, even though he doesn’t have a shop and does not sell to the public!

The Pax Romana Charm

The Pax Romana charm debuted as a trial run in sterling silver for our Units Overseas Bazaar table in 2015. These charms are hand-made by Florentine trained jeweler Julie Havener, who has donated her work to our cause.

The finished Pax Romana charm is made from an ancient Roman coin from the Pitigliano Museum in Tuscany and features the Goddess Pax Romana and Emperor Alessandro Severo (208-235 AD). This exact replica charm was given to our President General in honor of DAR’s 125th Anniversary and symbolizes our hope for the peace and prosperity of our Chapter, Society and Country in the next 125 years.

(Note: The silver coin may appear gold in the photos)

Members' Anecdotes

Members'

Personal Anecdotes

of Congresses Past

The first time I went to Continental Congress was in June 2013. I worked on the House committee which assists and directs people at the events and sessions. I was a guest of Susan Conger at the Georgia State Luncheon. Attended the Michigan Tea with Candy and Marti and the UO Luncheon where I worked the gloves table selling Bookmarks for our 5454Girls project and Vatican religious medals as well as gloves.

- Cara

I have been going to Continental Congress for 16 years. I started going when I was just made a DAR and the Italia Chapter was being organized. I was taken around by the Units Overseas Chairman and her helpers. It was a very special beginning because I had the honor of meeting all of the National Officers, sitting at head tables, and being treated like a very important person when I was an absolute nobody! I was up by five every morning and went to breakfast, lunch and dinner and hours of meetings at the Hall. It was a full immersion in DAR at a high level. I was told what to wear and what not to wear… how to wear my pins, when to wear a hat and when to wear my gloves. I had never seen so many women together. They were all so different... their dress, their accents, but they were all so nice to me!

Every year I would go back and see so many of the same faces and over the years these women became my friends. They have helped me, comforted me and shared so much. Now going to Continental Congress is very important to me because I will have the opportunity to see these women… even for a brief hug or better a long walk or maybe a rare afternoon tea or dinner.

- Candy