ATHENS-Celebrating the Constitution was started by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1955. The DAR petitioned Congress to set aside the week of September 17-23 annually to be dedicated to the observance of the Constitution. The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution promote and support patriotism, historic preservation, and quality education for children. Athens State University and the John Wade Keyes Chapter DAR will host the Celebration of the Constitution at McCandless Hall at Athens State University at noon on September 17th. Dr. Ron Fritze, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Athens State University, states, ‘We are excited to offer and recognize students who participate in a history quiz that will allow them the chance to learn about this most important American document and also allows them to potentially win book scholarships. We look forward to the Celebration of the Constitution with the DAR.’
The celebration will offer a patriotic program, including music, special guest speaker Captain Austin Boyd , USN (retired) and the presentation of several student scholarships. An all-American lunch will be offered at 11:00, preceding the program. The program will be at McCandless Hall on the Athens State University Campus on September 17th. The event is free and open to the public. Special guest speaker Austin Boyd is an award-winning author who writes extensively about faith issues related to technology and business. He published award winning poetry and more than two dozen technical articles and papers during his career as a
Becky Howell, John Wade Keyes DAR Constitution Week Chair, Judy Rew, Regent, John Wade Keyes DAR, Ruth Guertin, Co-Chair Constitution Committee, Dr. Ron Fritze, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History at Athens State University, at the signing of the Constitution Week Proclamation with Mayor Ronnie Marks.
Navy pilot, NASA astronaut finalist, and spacecraft engineer. The author of six novels, he is a Christy Gold Medal finalist (The Proof, 2007) and the winner of the Mount Hermon “Pacesetter Award.”
Austin currently writes for Zondervan, Inc. and has previously written for the B&H Publishing Group of Nashville, TN, and NavPress, the publishing arm of the Navigators in Colorado Springs, CO. He has several novels in work based on themes tied to dilemmas in bioethics.
Austin is employed as the Chief Executive Officer for Inergi, Inc., an engineering and design firm in Huntsville, Alabama.
The John Wade Keyes DAR along with Athens State University welcomes the public and encourages all to join them for lunch provided by the Student Government Association and later at McCandless Hall for the Celebration of the Constitution.
