Locals awarded for community service by American history group

SYCAMORE – The General John Stark Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution recently named its DAR Community Service Award recipients.

The award recipients are Tauyna Eckman, Kurt Thurmaier, and Jeanine Thurmaier.

The award recognizes individuals who create change through cultural, educational, humanitarian, patriotic, environmental, or conservation initiatives. The recipients were selected for volunteering in local and global communities.

The Thurmaiers were recognized for their nonprofit organization Tanzania Development Support. The organization has worked to break the poverty cycle through community-led education projects in Tanzania’s Mara region since 2008. The projects included scholarships for over 50 girls to attend secondary school, programs to benefit students, and constructions of girl’s dormitory and community library.

The Tanzania Development Support also built water tanks, set up school computer labs, established 4-H clubs, and created reading circles. The organizations also holds an annual yard sale fundraiser, providing financial support and promoting sustainability and community engagement.

Eckman was honored for her commitment to celebrating and revitalizing the town of Leland. She helped beautify the community through flower planting and maintenance and creating hand-painted signs for community organizations. Eckman also designed murals that transformed black-and-white pictures into tributes to Leland’s past. She founded the Leland Hometown Harvest Fest in 2018.

The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based service organization dedicated to education, historic preservation and patriotism.

For information, visit DAR.org or email GeneralJohnStarkNSDAR@gmail.com.