New officers were elected and installed at the April meeting of the Arkansas Diamond Colony Branch National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims (SDP).
Elected were Governor Jerrie Townsend of Stuttgart; Deputy Governor Frankie Ochsner of Hot Springs; Secretary Jayne Spears of Beebe; Treasurer Jo Ann Cooper of Little Rock; Registrar Eugene Smith of Clinton; and Elder Betty Harp of North Little Rock, who wasn't present, according to a news release.
All the new officers have held chapter and state leadership positions in several lineage societies in Arkansas including the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons of the American Revolution, General Society of the War of 1812, United States Daughters of 1812, Colonial Dames 17th Century, New England Women, Mayflower Society, Huguenot Society, Daughters of the American Colonists and the Jamestowne Society.
The SDP meets biannually with the Diamond Colony New England Women and the Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America. The societies adopted the Arkansas School for the Deaf and each semester present gifts of shoe boxes filled with school supplies and other items for the resident children.
Member Raymond Wesley Harris, of Heber Springs, was applauded for proving 37 Pilgrim ancestors to the society. Two of the objectives of the society are to perpetuate the memory and to foster and promote the principles and the virtues of the Pilgrims; and to encourage the study and research of Pilgrim history.
Regular membership in SDP is limited to men and women over the age of 18 who can prove direct lineage from a Pilgrim. Details: Jerrie Townsend at jerriet51@icloud.com.