(Originally Published Wednesday, March 19, 2014 – Blogger: One Daughter’s Point of View)
Following are the comments made by Chapter Regent R. R. Rutledge on March 19, 2014, for the presentation of the DAR Americanism Medal to Luis Lobo. The Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter, NSDAR recommended Mr. Lobo for this award for reason which will be obvious below.
Presentation of DAR Americanism Medal to Luis Lobo by the Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots scarified their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag; and to defend it against all enemies.
This is The American’s Creed, and it is recited a each of our chapter meetings. In many respects it embodies the meaning and spirit of the DAR Americanism Medal that I have a pleasure to present today.
Our chapter – the Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter – is the oldest of three DAR chapters in Winston-Salem and just last month we marked our chapter’s 110th anniversary. We are celebrating this milestone with a series of concentrated events over the course of 110 days. Today our focus is Americanism.
The early 1900s were a period of vast change in America. Immigration reached its historical peak in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era with almost twelve-million immigrants entering the U.S. between 1890 and 1910. It was during this period in history that the DAR first realized the need to help immigrants become naturalized citizens. From publishing the DAR Manual for Citizenship – which serves as a critical tool even today for the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services – to providing personal care items for distribution at Ellis Island, DAR has a long history of efforts aimed at supporting and welcoming our nation’s newest citizens.
During our chapter’s historic anniversary celebration, I’ve had the luxury of reviewing our chapter’s history as documented in one-hundred-year-old minute books detailing the early meetings of our chapter. The early meetings of the Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter prove that the early Daughters had a passion to help new citizens develop a love and loyalty for their new country. Therefore, it was only natural that the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) would eventually establish the DAR Americanism Medal – the highest award given by the NSDAR to a naturalized citizen.
This medal is awarded to an adult man or woman who has been a naturalized United States citizen for at least five years and has fulfilled the required qualifications following naturalization. DAR Americanism Medal recipients must have shown outstanding qualities of leadership, trustworthiness, service and patriotism. They must have actively assisted other aliens to become American citizens or displayed outstanding ability in community affairs, preferably with emphasis on the foreign-born community.
It should be no surprise to many of you that Mr. Luis Lobo has been selected to receive this prestigious award today.
The application process is rigorous, initiating with a recommendation from a DAR chapter that includes a dossier of materials supporting the candidate’s nomination. We began collecting the materials for Mr. Lobo’s nomination last July. Our chapter thanks Ms. Allen, Mr. Brown and Mrs. Lobo who helped facilitate this process. Once submitted, the application must be approved by the State Americanism Chairman and State Regent. It is then submitted to a National Division Vice Chairman who then forwards approved recommendations to the National Chairman; final determination of award recipient is made at the national level.
It is not an easy process, and all nominations are not successful. In fact, this may be the first nomination from our chapter in its 110-year history. With a candidate like Luis Lobo, it was most certainly worth the wait.
Following are some comments from Mr. Lobo’s nomination package that support his worthiness as a DAR Americanism Medal recipient.
Mr. Lobo displays trustworthiness via obvious ways such as the ability to commit to and perform as promised in his banking career and community involvement. He’s faithful to his heritage by being involved in Hispanic community causes as evidenced by the awards and accolades he’s received. But perhaps the most significant way Lobo displays his trustworthiness is by his passion to maintain his oath as a U.S. citizen – the oath he took at his naturalization ceremony on the first anniversary of 9/11. This passion is noted when he encourages other new citizens, reminding them of the significance of their role in safeguarding our Republic and Constitution; when he encourages people of all backgrounds to use education to improve themselves and their circumstances; when he writes of historical American figures and the lessons we can still learn from them today; and when he uses his background in finance to help promote financial education and opportunities for the Hispanic community – as well as the whole community. Lobo has taken seriously the oath and opportunities entrusted to him in his citizenship.
His patriotism was also exhibited as the keynote speaker at a 4th of July Naturalization Ceremony where he quoted Lincoln, King, and Kennedy before he confronted the attendees in their roles and responsibilities as new U.S. citizens.
Luis Lobo has been active in the communities in which he has resided over the years…and includes expected activities such as rotary, children’s charities, and the Hispanic community. but a common thread in much of his service to his community has been to promote education – what he called the great equalizer.
Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter, NSDAR Recommendation for Award of DAR Americanism Medal
A native of Costa Rica in Central America, he knows first-hand the challenges and opportunities of becoming a United States citizen. As a result, he has worked to support others from foreign -born communities to understand the value and responsibility of being an American, to stress the importance and value of pursuing an education, and finally, to take an active role in developing their leadership skills in order to advance their careers and strengthen their communities.
Mr. Henson
While extraordinarily proud of his Hispanic heritage, he is equally proud to be an American.
Mr. Waetjen
He doesn’t just simply exhibit the qualities of leadership, trustworthiness, service and patriotism. he models them in his lifestyle and teaches others how to do the same. He is passionate about education for all. He is also determined to help others understand different cultures and how we can help each other achieve and be the best can be through understanding multi-cultural opportunities in both life and business. Through it all, Luis champions the opportunities we have in our American culture which is historically a fabric woven of many cultures and traditions.
Ms. Rutledge, Colonel Joseph Winston Chapter Regent
Mr. Lobo – it IS your attitude that has justified the awarding of the DAR Americanism Medal.
A Robynn’s Chirps 