Lynn Forney Young | |
---|---|
Commissioner for the United States Semiquincentennial | |
Assumed office 2017 | |
Appointed by | Paul Ryan |
43rd President General of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution | |
In office 2013–2016 | |
Preceded by | Merry Ann T. Wright |
Succeeded by | Ann Turner Dillon |
Personal details | |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Larry Steven Young |
Children | 2 |
Education | Stephen F. Austin State University University of Houston |
Lynn Forney Young is an American civil leader and clubwoman. She was the 43rd President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution,serving from 2013 to 2016. As the organization's president general,she oversaw a $4 million restoration of DAR Constitution Hall,led the organization in setting a Guinness World Record for "most letters to military personnel collected in one month" with 100,904 letters to members of the United States Armed Forces,and met with Elizabeth II during an event to launch a project to digitize the Royal Archives of George III.
In June 2016,Young was appointed to the United States Semiquincentennial Commission by House Speaker Paul Ryan and took office in 2017. She is also a member of the Colonial Dames of America,the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century,the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists,the National Society United States Daughters of 1812,the United Daughters of the Confederacy,and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Young was born and raised in Houston,Texas. She attended Stephen F. Austin State University,where she was a member of Delta Zeta. [1] She graduated from the University of Houston. [2]
Young is a member of a variety of historical and lineage societies,including the Daughters of the American Revolution,Milam County Historical Commission,El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association,the United Daughters of the Confederacy,the Colonial Dames of America,the Daughters of the Republic of Texas,the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists,the National Society United States Daughters of 1812,and the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century. [3] [4]
Young joined the Daughters of the American Revolution in the 1980s and has served many roles,from Regent of the Tejas Chapter to President General. Elected PG in 2013,she was the first DAR member from Texas to hold the office. [5] [6] The symbol of her administration was the "majestic eagle." Her administration's theme was “Honoring Our Heritage—Focusing on the Future—Celebrating America!,”commonly shortened to "Celebrate America!," and focused the DAR's role as a service organization. She encouraged Chapters and Members to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the NSDAR in 2015 and participate in the new Celebrate America! Committee,which focused on meaningful public service. [7] She asked members to log one million service hours and ultimately 14 million hours were logged. Her term coincided with the 125th anniversary of the DAR in 2015. [5]
As president general,she Celebrated the Daughters of the American Revolution's 125th Anniversary. The organization reached its highest yearly total of new members in 2013,with 13,906 new members. [6] Young initiated the National DAR Day of Service and,under her term,members of the organization logged over 14.5 million service hours. [6] [5] The organization also set a Guinness World Record for "Most letters to military personnel collected in one month" by collecting 100,904 letters. [8]
Young created the Sustaining Supporter Program,the Daughters Tribute,and the Guardian Trust Endowment Fund and oversaw facility upgrades at DAR Constitution Hall,including a cooling tower and chilled water pumping/distribution system,as well as the installation of a solar energy array. [6] The renovations included over $4 Million in the historic preservation and restoration of Constitution Hall's 475-foot-long lobby,the President General's Reception Room,replacement of window sills in the Banquet Hall,exterior masonry work,carpet replacement, [9] and gutter repair. [6] She also oversaw technological advances including a new DAR website,installation of fiber optic cable to improve internet access and programming,new computers that doubled the capacity of the Seimes Technology Center,initiation of an electronic application,and upgrades in management software for the NSDAR Archives and Americana Collection. [6]
On April 1,2015,Young met with Queen Elizabeth II during an event to launch a project to digitize the Royal Archives of King George III. [10]
Young was appointed to the United States Semiquincentennial Commission in June 2016 by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan,as one of 16 private citizens appointed. [2] She will serve,in part,as a liaison between the more than 950,000 members of the Daughters of the American Revolution who are commemorating the U.S. Semiquincentennial through the DAR's pre-existing America 250! Committee. Young stated,“We look forward to celebrating our nation’s incredible history and fostering a renewed appreciation for all of the Americans who founded our nation and ensured its progress through the generations.” [12]
Young lives on a cattle ranch in Milam County,near Austin,with her husband,Larry Steven Young. [2] [4] They have two children and three grandchildren.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-profit group,the organization promotes education and patriotism. Its membership is limited to direct lineal descendants of soldiers or others of the American Revolution era who aided the revolution and its subsequent war. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and have a birth certificate indicating that their gender is female. DAR has over 190,000 current members in the United States and other countries. The organization's motto is "God,Home,and Country".
The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization comprising women who descend from one or more ancestors who lived in British North America between 1607 and 1775,and who aided the colonies in public office,in military service,or in another acceptable capacity. The CDA is listed as an approved lineage society with the Hereditary Society Community of the United States of America.
The National Society Children of the American Revolution (NSCAR) is a youth organization that was founded on April 5,1895,by Harriett Lothrop. The idea was proposed on February 22,1895,at the Fourth Continental Congress of the National Society,Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The organization was promptly chartered by the United States Congress,and is now the nation's oldest and largest,patriotic youth organization. NSCAR offers membership to anyone under the age of 22 who is lineally descended from someone who served in the Continental Army or gave material aid to the cause of freedom in the American Revolution.
Helena Rebecca Hellwig Pouch was an American female tennis player and served as the 18th President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
American Monthly magazine was the original official monthly magazine published by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). The magazine was published between 1892 and 2001.
Estelle Emma Doremus was the daughter of Hubbard Skidmore,who served in the American Revolutionary War,and became a charter member and honorary vice president general of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She was a charter officer and regent of the New York City chapter of the DAR between 1892 and 1894. The wife of U.S. chemist Robert Ogden Doremus,she was a leading member of the American community in Paris during the height of the Second French Empire.
The DAR Museum,run by the Daughters of the American Revolution,is an art and history museum in Washington,D.C. The museum is located in Memorial Continental Hall,just down the street from DAR Constitution Hall,where some of the museum's concerts take place.
Mary Eleanor Brackenridge was one of three women on the first board of regents at Texas Woman's University,the first women in the state of Texas to sit on a governing board of any university. She was active in women's clubs and was a co-founder of the Woman's Club of San Antonio. Brackenridge was a leader in Texas suffrage organizations and helped get the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed. She was the first woman in San Antonio to register to vote. Although it's the Brackenridge name in Texas that is associated with wealth,philanthropy and achievement,Brackenridge qualified as a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution through her mother's lineage. Miss Brackenridge was a founding member and the first Regent of the oldest DAR chapter in San Antonio,the San Antonio de Bexar Chapter,established on December 11,1902.
Eugenia Scholay Washington was an American historian,civil servant,and a founder of the lineage societies,Daughters of the American Revolution and Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America.
The Dr. Jabez Campfield House,also known as the Schuyler Hamilton House,is a historic,two-story,braced timber-frame colonial Georgian-style house and museum located at 5 Olyphant Place,Morristown,New Jersey.
Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly was an African-American genealogist who traced her American lineage to the April 5,1614,union of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. She was also a member of the Jamestowne Society. In 2019 she became the New York State Regent and a member of the National Board of Management,highest ranking woman of color in the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR),since its founding in 1890. She was a pioneer of African-American genealogy. Born and raised in Brooklyn,she was a local Brooklyn historian and member of the Society of Old Brooklynites (SOB),one of the borough's oldest civic organizations. She was the author of books on Bedford-Stuyvesant as well as the Crown Heights and Weeksville sections of Brooklyn,and family genealogy books tracing her family's American roots.
Florence Anderson Clark was an American author,newspaper editor,librarian,and university administrator. She served for 14 years as assistant librarian at the University of Texas (UT),and in honor for her service to the university,she was first woman to have her portrait hung in the university's Main Tower. Clark was affiliated with several organizations,including the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R),Colonial Dames of America,and United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Ann Turner Dillon is an American clubwoman who served as the 44th President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was the first woman from Colorado to be elected as the President General.
Sarah Emily Corbin Robert served as the 17th President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was a noted authority on parliamentary procedure.
Adele Woodhouse Erb Sullivan served as the 26th President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution and noted for her 1968 visit to Vietnam with General William C. Westmoreland.
Pamela Hilda Edwards Rouse Wright is an American philanthropist,clubwoman,businesswoman,and jewelry designer. Since 2022,she has served as the President General of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. She is the second Texan to serve as the national society's president general. In 2022,Wright was presented with the Yellow Rose of Texas Award by Governor Greg Abbott for charitable contributions and volunteerism in Texas.
The National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century,also referenced as National Society Colonial Dames 17th Century,is an American lineage-based heraldry society and non-profit service organization for women who are directly descended from American colonists who lived in the Thirteen Colonies prior to 1701.
Daisy Allen Story,also known as Mrs. William C. Story,was an American socialite,clubwoman,and suffragist. She served two consecutive terms as the President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Presley McDonald Merritt Wagoner is an American clubwoman who served as the President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution from 2005 to 2007.