SAUGUS — The town’s chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held an awards ceremony followed by a luncheon at the MEG building in Cliftondale Square.
The Parson Roby Chapter of the DAR handed out awards to recognize two Good Citizens of Saugus High School and Winthrop High School. The chapter also gave awards recognizing residents for community service and historical preservation.
The Good Citizens Award recognizes outstanding young people who demonstrate dependability, respect, leadership, community service, and patriotism. They were chosen by the administrators and teachers of their school. The recipients of the award were Wiktoria Biegun of Saugus High School and Sarah Marie Delehanty of Winthrop High School.
Biegun was described in a statement as a “student who is always the first to volunteer both in school and in her community and does so with a smile [and] demonstrates integrity, leadership, respect, and a positive attitude in every task and activity”. Both students wrote an essay on what it means to be a good citizen during the American Revolution compared to today. The release said both essays were outstanding.
Each student was given a Good Citizens pin, a certificate, and a monetary gift card.
The Community Service Award recipient was Jack Klecker of Saugus. The statement said Klecker has spent countless hours serving his community. He has a passion for veterans and building models to record history. One of the models he made is of the Saugus Iron Works, which is on display in the Saugus Historical Society. Klecker recently gave a presentation to members of the Parson Roby Chapter and told them it took him 18 months to build this model. He also displayed his other models, which include his childhood farm house and train layouts.
Klecker is also an active member of the Historical Society, VFW, American Legion, and Saugus Veterans Council, and lent his time and truck in the Wreaths Across America event held in December.
The Historical Preservation Award recipients were Laura Eisener and Paul Kenworthy for their continued commitment to preserving history of Saugus. Eisener and Kenworthy both live in Saugus. Laura is president of the Saugus Historical Society and has a passion for history. She recently gave a presentation on the chapter’s namesake, Parson Joseph Roby, from Saugus, who led 62 men from the town to the Battle of Concord and Lexington on April 19, 1775.
Eisener was described in the statement as a wealth of information, and she has supported the Parson Roby Chapter for many historical and community events. She was also named Woman of the Year at this year’s Founder’s Day celebration.
Kenworthy also received the Historical Preservation Award. The statement said that he is very passionate about historical preservation and is the vice president of the Saugus Historical Society. If you visit the Saugus Iron Works, you will find Kenworthy giving tours and talks on the history of the Iron Works. He has worked for the National Park Service since 2015, and recently did a presentation on DAR and Louise Hawkes’ roles in preserving the Saugus Iron Works. Kenworthy is also camp commander of the Camp 5 Department of Massachusetts Sons of Union Veterans. In addition to the awards, the Parson Roby Chapter donated a check to the Historical Society.
The luncheon was attended by the recipients’ friends and families.
The Daughters of the American Revolution’s mission is to promote education and patriotism, and preserve history. The statement said these citizens exemplify these qualities and that the Parson Roby Chapter was very honored to recognize their accomplishments.
If you are interested in learning more about DAR membership, please email [email protected].
