International Reunion Day 2008
Best Use of Theme Award Winner: Atlanta Alumnae Chapter
Selecting the IRD celebration that displayed the best use of the theme was extremely difficult this year! Every group that submitted a report obviously gave much thought to portraying how music and Alpha Gamma Delta have enriched each member’s life. Sisters showed so much creativity in their use of the musical theme in their decorations, centerpieces, favors and programs.
However, one group used the musical theme to thoughtfully bridge the gap between collegians and alumnae and to reach out to those they care about. The Atlanta Alumnae Chapter gave each attendee musical stationery and encouraged all to write a “note” of thanks to someone “to make a happy melody in someone else’s life.” For their program, a set of questions was handed out to each table, encouraging discussion about the role music played in each sister’s fraternity experience, and of course, discussion about each sister’s favorite Alpha Gam song! The sharing brought the alumnae and collegians closer together as they all realized that “singing and sharing were abundant through the various melodies of our lives.”
Congratulations to the Atlanta Alumnae Chapter!
IRD 2008 Recaps
Arizona
Valley of the Sun Alumnae Chapter
The Valley of the Sun Alumnae Chapter in Arizona celebrated IRD this past Saturday, April 19, 2008. Our program featured a slideshow of alumnae showing various pictures from college days to alumnae days and a short depiction of how Alpha Gamma Delta has played a role in the melody of their lives. We also had a guest speaker, Maria Murphy, from the Volunteer Service Team, who told us how Alpha Gam has played a role in the melody of her life as well as answered questions regarding the recolonization of the Delta Xi Chapter here at ASU. After lunch, we had a great time with a karaoke machine where many sisters sang Alpha Gam songs from the past! The favorite seemed to be "Chums." We honored a special sister, Eleanor Patton, for having been an Alpha Gam sister for 70 years! We presented her with a silver box with our letters engraved on the top, a framed photo of Eleanor with a group of VOS Sisters from the 2007 Holiday Party, where we acknowledged her 90th birthday and a certificate that we made up with a photo of her Alpha Gam days in 1939. Eleanor got up to the front of the room and sang three Alpha Gam songs on the Karaoke machine! Our centerpieces were gold baskets with red and buff rose balls hanging from the handles by pearls and a ribbon with musical notes on them. We also sprinkled the tables with red, buff and green glass crystals. Our favors were CDs with 18 Alpha Gamma Delta songs on it. Everyone had a good time with a raffle of various Alpha Gam items and gift baskets that were donated by our alumnae members. We ended our luncheon with a Rose Circle.
Minnesota
Delta Chapter Celebrates 100 Years at IRD 2008
(Above: 50 Year Members of Delta Chapter, pictured from left to right: Judith Nelson Mattison, Kathryn Montgomery Armbruster, Dee Anderson Long, Mary Wegner Nelson, Judith Carpenter Schuck)
International Reunion Day 2008 marked a special anniversary for Delta Chapter as it celebrated its centennial. Delta is the first active chapter in Fraternity history to reach this impressive milestone and the alumnae and collegians wanted to ensure that it received the pomp and circumstance that the event deserves. The April 19th celebration was held at the elegant, new Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville, Minnesota. The celestial sounds of a harp greeted over 250 sisters as they arrived amidst squeals of recognition and excitement as sisters reunited with each other. It was the perfect beginning to a weekend of sharing old memories and creating new ones. Judith Nelson Mattison, Delta Chapter 1958, presented an eloquent and moving program, "A Legacy of Love," that focused on the "pay it forward" philosophy using our sisters' lives and experiences as examples. Irene Fernando, Delta Chapter 2008, created a video of pictures, called Delta through the Decades, that spanned many decades of photos that she found at the chapter house. Jackie Brannon Stutts, International President, and Julie Waitman Cretin, Executive Director of the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation, brought greetings from International Headquarters. Judy Volkenant McNamara, Delta Chapter 1964, presented the chapter with an original watercolor painting by Founder Emily Helen Butterfield that she purchased from International Headquarters. Special recognition went to 97-year-old Evylin Seeley Johnson, the most senior alumna in attendance, and to 50 year members, Judith Nelson Mattison, Kathryn Montgomery Armbruster, Devona "Dee" Anderson Long, Mary Wegner Nelson and Judith Carpenter Schuck.
Missouri
St. Louis Alumnae Club
Tracie Fream Noel and Susan Stewart Luebbers hosted International Reunion Day for the St. Louis Alumnae Club on Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Greenbriar Hills Country Club. Several members of the club enjoyed a lovely lunch, great conversation and a fun game of the "Singing Bee." The alumnae are looking forward to more fun next year!
-Katie Fitzgerald Sotiriou
Oklahoma
Tulsa Alumnae Club
Front row (left to right): Gayla Cox, Jacque Zehren, Jennifer Moore, Kelly Davenport, Danika Hurley. Back row (left to right): Connie Yates Brown, Maureen Crotty, Meredith Perry.
Texas
Epsilon Upsilon Alumnae Chapter
Epsilon Upsilon collegians celebrated IRD 2008 with special guests Blanche Hare Patterson and Marion Seymer Snyder.
