The Daniels family held their 40th annual family reunion on Friday, June 30 to Sunday July 2. The three-day ceremony was celebrated with a theme titled “Back to our Roots,” in honor and memory of the Daniels family ancestors, Ben and Isabelle Daniels. Family festivities began on Friday, June 30, with a Meet and Greet that was held at the Ellington Insurance social hall from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Dinner was served, and family reunion t-shirts, bags and itinerary books were distributed.
On Saturday, July 1, at 11 a.m. the family gathered at the family lake house located on GA HWY 56 north in Swainsboro for the reunion picnic. BBQ was served for lunch and activities included fishing, a bouncy house, and many games. Some family members also enjoyed Swainsboro’s Fourth of July celebration and amenities in downtown Swainsboro until the Family Reunion Banquet which began at 6 p.m. at the Swainsboro Country Club and lasted until 9 p.m.
On Sunday, July 2, family members attended worship service at Rountree Island Baptist Church in Midville, with Reverend Richard Lawrence, Jr. Family members that were unable to attend the service met at Days Inn Suites to say their farewells as they departed home.
In 1982 members of the Daniels family met and decided to plan a family reunion. The following year in 1983, the Daniels family convened at the National Guard Armory in Swainsboro with several family members for the first official family reunion as well as Mayor Roger Shaw welcoming the family. The planning team members were Mr. Gonnie C. Mosely, President; Mr. Clark Elbert, Vice President; Ms. Shelia Young, Secretary; Ms. Wilhemina Roberson, Assistant Secretary; Mrs. Robbie Lee Steely and Mrs. Margaret Bright, Treasurers; and Mrs. Geraldine Jones, Assistant Treasurer. They worked diligently to organize the three-day event and decided every year the family will reunite again. The planning committee for the 40th anniversary of the Ben and Isabelle Daniels Family reunion was Family Historian, Verdell Brinson; Tara Green; and Tanisha Isaac.
Elect Lady Mayor Pro-Tem, Bobbie Collins, welcomed family at the banquet reunion. Speaker was Dr. Crystal Bright, great-granddaughter of Robbie Lee Daniels-Steeley. Verdell Brinson, Historian, is the daughter of Geraldine Daniels-Jones. Planning committee members are Tanisha Isaac and Tara Green, granddaughters of Nathaniel Jay Daniels.
