The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT), Dr. Wilhelm Keidel Chapter, met on Monday, May 19 at the Gillespie County Historical Society Sanctuary Hall to install its new officer board.

Outgoing chapter president Barbara Whittington Rathke led the business meeting. Newly installed officers will serve from June 2025 to May 2027. New officers include: Deanne Heinen Brown, president; Kimberly Otte Gibbs, first vice president; Raynell Wilke, second vice president; Shelley Wilson Downing, third vice president; Mary Ann Garrett, chaplain; Leslie Dille White, registrar; Karen Murray Vanek, secretary; Cheryl Crenwelge Sione, treasurer, and Kristin Otte Janik, historian.

The DRT is a lineage non-profit organization founded in 1891 to honor and preserve the legacy of the Republic of Texas. The DRT encourages Texas patriotism, preservation of Texas history, historical research and the placement of memorial markers, among other projects.

The Dr. Wilhelm Keidel chapter was formed in 1987, and is named for Keidel, a German immigrant who served in the United States Army and as chief justice of Gillespie County.

Any woman at least 16 years old with a lineal descendant of a man or woman who rendered service for Texas prior to the consummation of the Annexation Agreement of the Republic of Texas with the United States of America, Feb. 19, 1846, is eligible to join.

For more information on the local DRT chapter, contact Registrar Leslie Dille White at 830-4569624 or visit drtinfo.org.