Members of the Elk River Chapter, NSDAR, attended the June 1, 2018 Naturalization Ceremony in Clarksburg. Thirteen new citizens took the Oath of Allegiance at the ceremony held at the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia before the Honorable Irene M. Keeley, District Judge of the United States District Court.

The new citizens came from the following eleven countries: Spain, El Salvador, India, Iraq, Colombia, Canada, Phillipines, South Korea, Cameroon, Germany and Peru.

The beautiful ceremony included the flag presentation by Junior ROTC, Robert C. Byrd High School in  Clarksburg, patriotic musical selections by soloist Kristen Antolini, and inspirational words by Pastor Valerie Gittings of the First Baptist Church of Fairmont. WV.

Doug Cortinovis, Immigration Services Officer, from the office of United States Citizenship & Immigration Service presented each new citizen with the naturalization certificate, signifying all the rights and privileges of citizenship, including the right to vote and hold public office. This presentation was the highlight of the ceremony.

Elk River Chapter (Gassaway), Daniel Davisson Chapter (Clarksburg) and the Ohio Valley Chapter (St. Mary’s) were the three Daughters of the American Revolution chapters who helped welcome the new naturalized citizens. A gift bag of various patriotic items was presented to each. Some of the items included a flag lapel pin, flag code, key chain and bookmark.

Members attending from the Elk River and Ohio Valley chapters included: Meg Ashby, Bonita Bell, Dabney Phillips, Amy Starcher, Ruth Mooney and Marilyn “Susie” Rogers. Those attending from the Daniel Davisson chapter included: Carolyn Burnside, Laura Fullen, Charlotte Orrahood, Kate Burnside, Tracy Zang and Alexandra Kolodziej.