ROCKINGHAM — At the Nov. 17, 2025, meeting of Rockingham Rotary Charities, Inc., held at First Methodist Church in Rockingham, Melissa Wall, regent of the General Henry William Harrington Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, presented Rotary President Ben Mercer with the prestigious DAR Literacy Champion Award.
This award recognizes individuals and organizations — DAR or non-DAR — who have made outstanding contributions to their communities through service and initiatives that promote literacy. The Rockingham Rotary Club was honored for its remarkable 20-year commitment to advancing literacy in Richmond County.
Each year, the club visits local elementary schools to personally deliver dictionaries to every third-grade student. In 2025 alone, 300 third graders received their own dictionaries. Since the program’s inception, the Rotary has donated more than 13,000 dictionaries to Richmond County students — an enduring investment in education and empowerment.
“It has always been important to the Rockingham Rotary Club to focus on giving back and supporting our local community,” said Mercer. “For the past several years, we’ve given dictionaries to every third grader in the county, we give numerous grants each year to local organizations, and for the 2025–2026 year, we’ve applied for and been awarded a Rotary district grant that we will use to help the Leath Memorial Library with their summer reading program.”
The missions of Rotary International and the Daughters of the American Revolution are deeply aligned. Both organizations are committed to education, civic engagement, and community service. Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self,” echoes DAR’s dedication to “God, Home, and Country.” Together, they champion literacy, preserve history, and empower future generations through meaningful action.
For more information about the Rockingham Rotary Club, please contact: facebook/rockinghamrotary/.
If you are interested in learning more about DAR membership, visit: facebook.com/RichmondCountyDAR/; or contact ncdar.org/GeneralHenryWilliamHarringtonChapter.html.
