Luke Bate, executive director of the River of Time Museum, is guest speaker at the upcoming Daughters of the American Revolution meeting.

The meeting starts at 8:30 a.m. with a brief social time and the business meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Bate’s presentation will begin at 10:30 am.

In honor of Arizona’s 104th birthday, Bate will present “What’s the Date Got to Do with It?” at the Saturday, Feb. 13, meeting. Members will gather at Desert Canyon Golf Club.

Bate will explore the political process behind Arizona’s Statehood and Centennial Celebration, and will demonstrate how these events offer parallels and possibilities for the town of Fountain Hills and the Lower Verde River Valley.

He will address the reasons Feb. 12, 1912, was selected as the date Arizona became the 48th and final state of the contiguous United States.

“Arizona’s Centennial Celebration in 2012 brought increased visibility, tourism, and civic pride for residents all over the state,” Bate said.

“However it’s less well-known why that date was chosen. Was it a romantic feeling? A desire to develop a marketing campaign around the nickname ‘Valentine State?’ Or was there a deeper historical reason?”

Prior to coming to the River of Time Museum, Bate spent eight years at the Arizona Capitol Museum in a variety of roles including: acting/assistant director, program manager and education curator. He began his museum career in 1996 in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Daughters of the American Revolution is open to anyone with an ancestor who participated in the Revolutionary War. Contact Alfretta Schadle, regent, 480-836-0442 or aschadle@gmail.com for additional information.