Officers of Daughters of the American Revolution's Ecor Rouge Chapter presented an award of excellence on Oct. 10, to Joycelyn Davis and Darron Patterson of The Clotilda Descendants Association.

The DAR Community Service Award provides recognition to worthy individuals and organizations for outstanding voluntary service and unpaid achievements in cultural, educational, humanitarian, patriotic, historical, citizenship or environmental conservation endeavors.

Davis is a teaching assistant who works with special needs students and has served on a volunteer basis as vice president of the Clotilda Descendants Association for the past several years. She is a resident of Africatown and a direct descendant of Charlie Lewis, a survivor of the slave ship Clotilda and one of the founders of Africatown.

Patterson has served voluntarily as president of the Clotilda Descendants Association. He is a resident of Mobile and a direct descendant of Poli Allen, who was a survivor of the slave ship Clotilda and a founder of Africatown. He is an award-winning sports writer, professional technical writer and small business owner.

The DAR Community Service Award was presented to the pair for their efforts and success in educating the public about the survivors of the Clotilda, for promoting the preservation of their history and culture, and for laying the groundwork toward historic preservation and revitalization of the Africatown Community.

Through their combined generosity of spirit, they have sacrificed personal time and helped lead the way through public lectures and presentations of their ancestors' histories, from a grass roots movement to the upcoming, world-wide release of the Sundance Award winning documentary, "Descendant", which premiered on Oct. 21 on Netflix.

The Ecor Rouge Chapter, NSDAR supports the future efforts of the Clotilda Descendants Association as they continue their journey toward revitalization of the Africatown Community and preservation of their heritage.

More than 1,000,000 women have joined the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution since its founding over 125 years ago. The Ecor Rouge Chapter, serving the Eastern Shore of Baldwin County, is 69 years old. The chapter welcomes prospective members who want to honor their heritage as well as make a difference in their community.