Chevron - Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority

ChevronOMEGA PHI ALPHA NATIONAL SERVICE SORORITY WWW.OMEGAPHIALPHA.ORGConvention 2006Hartford, ConnecticutNew England’s Rising StarVOLUME 38 NUMBER 2H HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHartford, Connecticut will host Convention 2006. Tentative dates are July 19 to 23. Hartford hasmany other attractions, so you may want to come early or stay late to visit New England’s RisingStar.Hartford is located along the Connecticut River, which makes its way up from Long Island Sound,just a two-hour drive from New York or Boston. The Bradley International Airport is just minutesfrom the Capitol City and the region is part of the Amtrak system as well.Hartford is full of history, with collections of more than 150 years at the Connecticut HistoricalSociety Museum, the homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Hartford is also full ofgood food with over 30 four-star restaurants.Please join us and become one of Omega Phi Alpha’s Rising Stars in Hartford, CT for the annualOmega Phi Alpha Convention.If you are interested in helping with the coordination of Convention 2006, please contact MyrindaGrantham, convention@omegaphialpha.org. If you are an alumna and would like to attendConvention, please contact Lisa Guest at alumnae@omegaphialpha.org.I look forward to seeing you in Hartford.Susie LarsonPresident/VP of Business Operations

From the EditorThe Chevron is a quarterly newsletterproduced for Omega Phi AlphaNational Service Sorority alumnae andactive sisters.National Executive Board MembersInterimPresident - Susie LarsonVP Business Operations - Susie LarsonExecutive Secretary - Anita LandryVP Communications - Sarah VanDykeVP Alumnae Relations - Lisa GuestVP Leadership Development - Heather HarmonVP Expansions - Ginger McGarityVP Advancement - VacantMembership Director - Amy McConnellVP Finance - Pam McEwenChevron EditorsChevron Editor - Anne RiesCopy Editor - Ann DeMatteoLayout Editor - Shelley LaiDistribution:The Chevron is mailed out four times ayear to all alumnae and active OPAchapters. Distribution dates are asfollows: October 1, January 1,April 1, and July 1.Submissions:Articles for the Chevron are written byactive sisters and alumnae. If you wouldlike to submit a feature story about analumna or special project happening atyour chapter, please email it to:chevron@omegaphialpha.orgPictures may also be submitted in jpgor bmp format.National Office Mailing Address:Omega Phi AlphaNational OfficeP.O. Box 757Russells Point, OH 43348-0757Official National Website:www.omegaphialpha.orgComplete Sorority Contact List:To request a complete contact list of allsorority officers, appointments andchapter addresses, please contact theNational Executive Secretary:Anita Landry1917 Aymond StreetEunice, LA 70535337-550-9373sec@omegaphialpha.orgDear Sisters,Dear Sisters,Happy New Year! I hopeeveryone had a happy andsafe holiday season. I wish itcould have lasted longer, buta new year and a newsemester awaits us! Thatmeans fresh beginnings andmore opportunities to makea difference in the lives ofothers.We all know what happensto New Year resolutions,or at least I know whathappens to mine. About theend of January my promiseto work out more fades intothoughts of Godiva chocolateson Valentine's Day. Soinstead of making resolutionsand promises - dosomething! Isn't Omega PhiAlpha about doing service?Then instead of just pledgingto volunteer more, make ithappen. Participate in awalk-a-thon, volunteer at asoup kitchen, or even plan aleadership event for yourlocal OPA chapter. As longas our sisters, pledges, andalumnae are still active - nomatter where you are - thepurpose and goals of OmegaPhi Alpha will thrive.I have a wonderful timeserving as the editor of theChevron, but unfortunatelythis will be my last issue asa part of its team. I just completedmy first semester inthe MA of English programat Texas A&M University -Corpus Christi and earned a4.0! (Yeah!) But betweenspending hours researchingand working, I have hadvery little free time to helpthe Chevron flourish, as itshould. I would like to sincerelythank the wholeChevron team - especiallySarah Van Dyke and ShelleyLai - for the exceptionaleffort they have put into creatingsuch a strong newsletter.I would also like tothank everyone who hascontributed to the Chevronover the last couple ofmonths - we could not havedone it without you! I willmiss being a part of such agreat network, but I am alsoexcited about the greatopportunities ahead.Love Always,Anne Ries2 Chevron y Winter 2006

dAlumnae FeatureJill WhittingtonTo Serve as Chairperson for theAnnual Literacy Council Fundraiserby Jill Whittington and Lisa GuestJill Whittington has been elected to the Board ofDirectors for the Literacy Council of Bowie/MillerCounties. The council is one of hundreds ofLiteracy Councils around the country that are organizedthrough adult education programs. As a boardmember, Jill is one of 40 members responsible forthe fundraising, management and charitable administrationof the council. The Literacy Council is a 100percent non-profit organization focused on advancingliteracy through literacy tutoring for adults,English as a Second Language tutoring, and correctionalrehabilitational tutoring. The local LiteracyCouncil, which makes up the counties of Bowie,Texas, and Miller, Ark., received national accreditationfrom the Literacy Volunteers of America. Morethan 200 volunteer tutors from the council helpabout 1,000 students each year. In our local areaapproximately 30 percent of the population has onlya Level 1 out of 5 literacy level. Low literacy skillsare directly related to higher rates of poverty, unemployment,public assistance and incarceration.This year, Jill is the chairperson of the council’slargest annual fundraiser, a charity dinner, silent auction,and spelling bee with corporate sponsoredteams and prizes. Local businesses donate everythingfrom the location and food to cash and teamsponsorships. Please support Jill in this endeavor bygiving a monetary donation OR donating anythingthe council can sell in the silent auction. In the past,items such as a mink coat as well as gift basketsincluding gift certificates for dinner and a moviehave been available. Homemade arts and crafts arealways a big draw. Imagine the fun a chapter couldhave while making a basket of homemade Christmasornaments or a handmade quilt to donate to the auction.For more information about the LiteracyCouncil and/or making a donation, please contact JillWhittington at 903-223-0251 or atjrtwhittington@yahoo.comfOPAWinter 2006 y Chevron 3

Active Chapter ReportsEPSILON CHAPTERHello from Epsilon Chapter. By the timeeveryone reads this, we will have justwrapped up the semester. This semesterwent very well with service projects andother events. Our alumnae are alwaysvery active, but some of them made anextra effort to support us duringHomecoming Week. We really appreciatedall the help that we could get, not tomention that we were just excited to seeall of our alums.Homecoming Week was also when weheld our annual alumnae tea. Since it wasdone on Homecoming it gave a lot of thealumnae more than one reason to come toTennessee Tech. The tea was very successfulbecause we had such a good turnout. We have a tea-type get togetherevery semester for our alumnae, but weare thinking of changing things a little bitfor next semester, maybe to a picnic setting.We are planning to have either analumnae tea or picnic around the lastweek of March or the first week of April.We will be sending out more informationto our alumnae as the date gets closer. Wehope everyone had as productive asemester as we did, and good luck nextsemester.GAMMA CHAPTERby Courtney Lehmann, Gamma ChapterHello ladies from Gamma Chapter! Wehave been quite busy for the past coupleof months. We planned our annual districtrally with Alpha Chapter, which wasscheduled in our hometown of Ysilantifor Nov. 20. We are set to do two serviceprojects. We will begin with a "Rake andRun" around town, then come back tocampus and make fleece blankets fornewborns at one of our local hospitals.We are all excited about seeing our Alphasisters again. We had such a blast lastyear. Service projects have kept us busytoo. Gamma has been doing the usualvolunteering at Saline Library and RonaldMcDonald House. When Saline Libraryhad its annual Harry Potter Party, wehelped the children make magical clocksthat show where each of the family membersare and cheered them on as theyplayed "Pin the Tail on Dudley." ForHalloween, collected money for UNICEFin Ypsilanti and raised over $300. Wehave also been helping out at theChildren's Institute located on EMU'scampus with organizing the storagerooms and taking care of the children.Gamma would like everyone to know thatour new local chapter mascot is the mitten,since we are in the state of Michigan.And, we added a friendship requirementto our local constitution. Every sister isrequired to attend at least three hours ofsocial/sisterhood activities. We hope theholidays were safe and fun for everyone.NU CHAPTERby Ashley Ryan and Cassie PeaseNu Chapter had a big change this semesterdue to the large pledge class werecruited. Nu has been hard at work tryingto overcome the difficulties of doublingin size next semester. One of theways in which we have adapted to a largergroup is by the addition of the Xi family.Another important part of adapting toa larger chapter is to delegate responsibilitiesamong a larger group of people. Wehave achieved this initiative by formingmore committees and creating morechairs and co-chairs. We also feel thatwe will create a stronger and more unifiedchapter by suspending Spring rushuntil Fall 2007. Although Nu Chapterhas taken a proactive approach to shapingthe dynamics of our chapter, there arealways unexpected consequences ofchange. Nu did not realize the tremendousimpact of our pledges’ un-endingenthusiasm for service.SIGMA CHAPTERWe have stayed busy at Sigma Chapterthis semester. Over the past two monthswe've sold Krispy Kreme donuts for afundraiser, painted at the ChattanoogaRescue Mission, held a retreat, hadBig/Little Reveal, planned Founders'Day, worked in a greenhouse at a schoolfor children with learning disabilities, andknitted and crocheted scarves for thehomeless. By the time you read this wewill have activated our pledges (they bothpassed their Pledge Test!), held Founders'Day, contributed to Operation ChristmasChild, and spent a day volunteering atHabitat for Humanity. We wish tocongradulate Mary Varnell, who will begraduating from UTC in December andwill be going to graduate school at theUniversity of Tennessee in Knoxville inthe spring. We hope the rest of you aredoing well.Love in OPhiA, SigmaTAU CHAPTERHey ladies! Wow, has it been an eventfulsemester so far!! We have been veryvery very busy with service projects,socials and pledging. NationalService Week, Nov. 7-12, was incredible.We set up two tablesevery day at two different campus locationsfor education awareness, as wellas to collect school supply items whichwere donated to Austin ISD schooldistrict. The service projects focused onthat week were Heart House, which wasour permanent project this semester,which is a nonprofit afterschoolorganization, Girl Start, which isalso a nonprofit organization thatfocuses on helping girls learn all theiropportunities, as well as tutoringat elementary schools. The projects wereespecially fun and enjoyablebecause the kids there are so great. Wehave had many socials as well,including a big sis/little sis event atChuck E. Cheese's, a get-together at acute café in downtown, potluck dinner,movie and game night, as well as analumnae social. Pledging is going great4 Chevron y Winter 2006

Active Chapter Reportsand we are really excited about allof the 17 wonderful girls who are all sohard-working.PHI CHAPTERby Megan Wede, Secretary Phi ChapterHello from sunny Arizona!The girls of Phi Chapter have been verybusy. We are all very excited about andproud to announce that we have 13pledges. This semester the girls of Phi puton another very successful Girl ScoutTry-It Day where we helped 40 Browniesearn two Try-Its in careers and manners.We were also lucky enough to participatein the Rock-n-Roll Paintathon where wespent the day painting an elderly woman'shome. We helped educate students oncampus about AIDS on World AIDS Day.There have also been plenty of socialevents this semester from self-defenseclasses to Sex and The City nights. ThePhi sisters are also happy to announcethat we to joined the Panhellenic Councilat Arizona State, which we feel will openus up to new friends and amazing opportunities.CHI CHAPTERChi Chapter is looking forward to windingdown the semester and spending timewith our loved ones over the holidays,before jumping into a new semester. Werecently activated 10 new members andlook forward to their contributions to ourchapter. They have great ideas and we areall excited about working together. Weenjoyed getting to know our newest sisters,as well as strengthening our bondswith the previously activated ones, on oursisterhood retreat. We spent a weekend onthe Isle of Palms, off the coast ofCharleston, S.C. We got a lot accomplishedand still had time to play on thebeach!Service-wise, we are winding thingsdown for the semester. Most of us arecurrently volunteering at the 21st AnnualCarolina/Clemson Blood Battle, eitherdonating blood or assisting the doctorsand nurses with the largest blood drive inthe Southeast. We also volunteered ourtime at the Harvest Hope Food Bank. Weenjoyed helping them sort and packagefood for those who need it, especiallyaround this time of year. We are continuingour visits at the Palmetto Children’sHospital and are putting together boxesfor the Samaritan’s Purse project,Operation: Christmas Child. Our ReachOut & Read Book Drive was a great success.A lot of local community memberswere glad to donate new or gently usedchildren’s books so the program volunteerswould have books to read to childrenas they waited in hospital and doctorwaiting rooms. The program also allowseach child to take home a new book afterevery doctor visit.We hope everyone is doing well and islooking forward to the holiday season.You'll hear from us via snail mail afterJanuary.ALPHA ALPHA CHAPTERHowdy from the Alpha Alpha Chapter.Can you believe that the semester isalmost over? Time flies when you arehaving fun and working hard. We sentour Furby, "Alfie," to other chapters as aservice-to-the-sisters project. He wasnominated as our District 6 mascot overthe summer at Convention, and in spiritof sending out sisterly love around, he ismaking his way through the mail and y'allshould be seeing him over the next fewweeks.As one of the pledges' projects, there wasa pledge/active retreat, a fun overnightevent for all of us to hang out togetherand for pledges to get to know active sisters.We spent the night running around towndoing picture scavenger hunts, graffitiparties and a few crazy games of Twister(We've got a lively bunch of pledges.)We volunteered at the United Way CraftFair for a few days, helping put togetherthe raffle as we did last year. We recentlyadopted a third grade teacher, and helpedwith her reading groups for a few hours,and are acting as pen pals with anotherelementary school class..We recently finished our mental healthproject, in which we cheered on a localhigh school's volleyball team. Signs,cheers, spirit bags and all; they loved uscheering for them, and we just lovedcheering for them. We had a great timeattending the games, and the girls werevery thankful for the support.For Halloween we went trick or treatingfor canned food and are extending thatproject into volunteering at one of thelocal food banks for a week. Our pledgesjust took their national test and were activatedon Dec. 4.UPSILON CHAPTERThe sisters of the Upsilon Chapter, havebeen doing various service projects, suchas: helping the victims of the hurricane atthe Cajundome, serving food at St.Joseph's Diner and tutoring throughoutthe semester at a local high school. Wetrick-or-treated for canned goods, whichwere used to make Thanksgiving basketsfor a needy family. We also participatedin a cleanup of our university's footballstadium, and made dessert baskets toshow appreciation to our custodians.We have been doing well with serviceprojects and sisterhood projects, whichwere successful in helping us grow closerand experience the true meaning of sisterhood.We now have 23 new active members,thebiggest addition our chapter hashad in a long time. Overall, we have beendoing really well. The fall semester was avery productive one.Winter 2006 y Chevron 5

National NewsPresident’s Corner...Greetings from Nashville. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve as interim president for the remaining year. As youmay know, Leann Williams had to resign in October due to health reasons. The National Executive Board elected me to fill thepresident’s position until we hold an election at Convention in Hartford, CT this summer.At Convention this summer we will have the following elected positions vacant:President-Elect – 1-year term, 3-year term as presidentPresident – 1-year termVice President of Business Operations – 3-year termExecutive Secretary – 2-year termMembership Director – 2-year termVice President of Advancement Planning – 3-year termIn addition to the elected positions, there are many appointed positions, so there is always a way for any OPA alum to continue toserve. Please contact any member of the National Executive Board for more information.The National President’s Project for this year is education, and Omega Phi Alpha is helping in a big way. The NEB, with delegationapproval, voted to match and double any contributions up to $5,000 to be used to help the Katrina Hurricane Relief. Themoney will be used to fund education projects, such as rebuilding a library, buying text books, or buying building supplies.One of my goals as interim president is to maintain healthy chapters and provide them support. I encourage all alumnae to continueto support their chapters in any way they can, whether by donations, helping with service or fundraising projects, or just bysending them encouragement.I look forward to serving as your president for the remaining year.Love in OPA,Susie LarsonPresident/VP of Business OperationsOMEGA PHI ALPHA SCHOLARSHIP TRUSTby Jill Whittington and Lisa GuestOPA’s Scholarship Trust has been awarding scholarships to deserving OPA sisters annually since 1997. The number and the size ofthe awards are based on the interest earned on donations made to the Omega Phi Alpha Scholarship Trust. Your chapter can helpto increase the awards by holding fundraising activities for the trust.The scholarship is a cash award that may be used to support tuition, fees, books or living expenses. To be eligible for the scholarship,a sister must: be a lifetime member; have paid national dues, or had her dues waived by local and national; be enrolled and in good standing with the chapter and the college/university.The scholarship applications are evaluated based on attributes such as grade point average, enrollment status in school forthe previous and upcoming semesters and number of academic years in OPA since becoming a lifetime member. The applicant isalso asked to write about the cardinal principles and why she joined OPA.Scholarship applications are sent to each chapter president annually, or are available on the national Web site. The deadlinefor filing is March 1. Now is the time to plan to apply for the 2006 scholarships that will be awarded at Convention in Hartford.6 Chevron y Winter 2006

National NewsFOCUSED EXPANSIONS STRATEGYPAYS OFF IN TWO NEW COLONIESby Ginger McGarityWhen we describe Omega Phi Alpha as anational organization, many people commonlystart with "We have 17 activechapters spread across a dozen states...."Well, don't get too used to quoting thatstatistic because it's going to change verysoon. O Phi A is growing again! Thesorority now has active colonies atGeorgia Southern University andSoutheastern Louisiana University. Inaddition, VP Expansion Ginger McGarityis working closely with interest groups atKennesaw State University in northGeorgia, and at Penn State.Following an expansions strategy developedlast year, Ginger's first focus was torevamp the expansion section of thenational Web site to better reflect ourexpansions policy and procedures. Nuactive Heather Pritchard developed thedesign of the new web pages, using contentthat Ginger had developed previously.The new pages flash pictures of OPhi A sisters from several different chapters.Take a look and see if you seeyourself there. The new expansionspages, coupled with a more prominentlink on the OPA home page, has reallygenerated more interest in our organizationthis year.Another key point of the expansionsstrategy is to focus our efforts on middlesizedto large public universities. Thelarger schools have a bigger pool ofpotential members to draw upon, and OPhi A has traditionally been more successfulat that type of school.Occasionally this means that O Phi Adeclines an expansions opportunity wheninterest is extended from a very smallschool, and that's tough. We'd love to beable to extend the hand of sisterhood toevery campus across the country, but atthis stage in our national developmentwe have to be careful how we expendour limited resources. Maybe a decadefrom now we'll be able to cast a wider,more inclusive net.An important feature in the expansionsstrategy is to build strong bonds betweenthe colony and the rest of the sorority.Toward that goal, we are leveragingactive and alumnae around the country toserve as long-distance big sisters to thecolonists. In addition, colonies are beingincorporated into district events at anearlier stage, and are encouraged to interactwith the leaders of active chaptersthrough the online councils that are inplace.In addition to developing new interestgroups from "scratch," O Phi A's expansionsstrategy positions the sorority toreach out to local sororities and offeraffiliation at a national level. The interestgroup at Penn State is a prime example,having existed on their campus forthe last 10 years. It's not clear yetwhether this group will turn into acolony (and eventually a chapter) butGinger firmly believes that local sororitiescan bring a wealth of ideas into thenational organization.Sisters who have suggestions or questionsabout Omega Phi Alpha's expansionsefforts should contact GingerMcGarity, Vice President of Expansions,at expansions@omegaphialpha.org.SPOTLIGHT ON GEORGIASOUTHERN COLONYThe Georgia Southern University Colonywas founded by Lindsey Rozier.Disillusioned and disappointed when thePanhellenic sorority she was pledgingsuddenly went inactive, Lindsey fell intoconversation with a close high schoolfriend who now attends AuburnUniversity, and who is an active sister atO Phi A's Omicron Chapter. Excited tolearn about this new kind of sorority witha heavy emphasis on community service,Lindsey immediately started researchingfurther. The Nu Chapter Web site convincedher that she needed to start achapter of O Phi A at GSU.Lindsey leveraged the Facebook Web siteand her personal contacts around campusto quickly build a strong interest groupon campus. The GSU Colony's Petitionfor Colonization was accepted onHalloween. They have 22 active membersand have already completed two oftheir pledge quizzes and two colonysponsoredservice projects. Their big sistersare from Chi and Nu chapters, with afew area alumnae to round things out.VPE Ginger McGarity flew to southGeorgia to lead their colonization retreatin mid-November.Georgia Southern University is inStatesboro, Ga, not far from the historiccoastal city of Savannah. The colonycan be reached by email atGSU@omegaphialpha.org.continued on page 12Winter 2006 y Chevron 7

school or both next year, after which sheplans to become an FBI agent.Erin has always been involved in somesort of service organization. She was aGirl Scout and then was part of a Masonicyouth organization. While at Rho Chapter,Erin served as communications directorand service co-chair.Erin’s hobbies include reading and writing.Erin hopes to someday be a publishedauthor. Erin is really excited aboutbeing involved with OPA on a nationallevel and eager to get to know you all.District 4 – vacantDistrict 5 – vacantDistrict 6 – vacantKERRY KORNACKIDistrict 7Kerry Kornacki (Oldenburg) is a GammaChapter alumna. Kerry has served inmany local positions, a few appointmentsand a national position. Kerry teachesseverely emotionally impaired students ina day treatment program. Kerry is attendinggraduate school pursuing her master'sin reading and has only five classes left.Kerry has a 20-month-old daughter that isthe apple of her eye even through all hertemper tantrums. Kerry has been marriedjust over three years to a wonderful husbandand father, Matt. Kerry is a Sundayschool teacher. Kerry conducts events forthe local science Olympiad and is workingwith alumnae to continue success withthe Omega Beta Chapter.CHELSEA MORRISEYYoung Alum LeaderChelsea Morrisey is a Nu alumna. As anactive sister, Chelsea held offices includingpresident, vice president, sisterhoodchair and national database administrator.Chelsea’s favorite service project was ascholar lock-in where Nu tutored highschool students to help prepare them fortheir graduation exam. As an alum,Chelsea is Nu Chapter's alumnae advisorand coordinator of Omega Gamma(Atlanta Alums).Chelsea was the District 3 alumnae advisorlast year and has been appointed asDistrict NewsYoung Alumnae Leader this year.Chelsea was attracted to being a YoungAlumnae Leader after seeing this positionin another organization. As actives continueto become alumnae, it is importantfor OPA to stay in touch with them andkeep them involved. Chelsea encouragesyoung alums to send her input and shewill also actively seek it during this year.Chelsea is a software engineer for a customsoftware engineering company inAtlanta, TechDiscovery. Chelsea graduatedwith a B.S. in computer science and aminor in business from Georgia Tech.Chelsea serves as a member of the GTCollege of Computing Alumni Council.Chelsea loves to volunteer with teenagersand is involved with the Girl Scouts ofNorthwest Georgia, where she is developinga technology program geared at 11- to14-year-old girls, which she hopes willencourage more women to consider joiningthe technology industry. Chelsea alsoenjoys scrapbooking and photography.JUANITA WADE – Alumnae SecretaryDistrict 3 NewsGreetings from District 3. The principles offriendship, leadership and service are aliveand well this semester with all three chaptersexceedingly involved in all aspects ofOPA. As individual chapters, Mu, Rho andEpsilon have had unique projects going onall semester. For Service to the Sisters, theMu sisters celebrated an earlyThanksgiving dinner with each other. Theyalso ushered in a great new fall pledgeclass. Epsilon’s ladies have had a verybusy fall as well. Congratulations go out tothem, and the brothers of Sigma PhiEpsilon, for receiving second place overallin Tennessee Tech’s homecoming celebration.Within the celebration was a cannedfood drive, which goes to help the unprivilegedcitizens of the Upper CumberlandRegion. The Epsilon sisters had a tremendouslysuccessful trick-or-treat for cansdrive. Sisters to the North at Rho Chapterhad their Founder’s Celebration on Nov.19.They are also collecting teddy bears duringthe gala to benefit children of fire-relatedaccidents.The district rally was a huge success anddefinitely one of the highlights of thesemester. The sisters came in fromCookeville, Bowling Green andMurfreesboro to gather at the Zoo forGhouls at Grassmere. We got to act likekids once more by dressing up and workingwith the zoo to entertain the kids thatvisited the zoo after hours. VanessaLaffoon and Susan Taylor organized theevent and showed off what great ADO’swe are proud to have within the district.The sisters were happy to have HeatherHarmon, vice president, leadership development,National President Susie Larsonand Alumnae Vice President Lisa Guestalong for the day to share in the fun. As theTLC for District 2, I am extremely proudof the work that all of the ladies have donethis semester. I love getting to visit all ofthe chapters and see how friendship, leadershipand service are still alive today.District 2 will be working on projectsthrough the holidays and we are all lookingforward to a great spring filled with projectsbefore we head to Connecticut forConvention.District 5 NewsSarah M. Barber, ABsmbarber@ou.eduHowdy and greetings from District 5.My name is Sarah Barber, and I am thenew TLC for District 5. I am an alum ofAlpha Beta, and I'm super excited to beworking with a new district. Since I amstill new to District 5, I am still makingcontact with all the chapters and gettingup-to-date with everything going on. Adistrict rally is being planned and Delta,along with the other chapters, are finishingup with their service projects for thesemester. I look forward to workingwith everyone.Winter 2006 y Chevron 9

Alumnae CornerFrom the Desk of theVP Alumnae Relationsby Lisa Guest, VP Alumnae RelationsCalling ALL alumnae! We need yourinput, thoughts and opinions. During theOctober retreat for district alumnae advisors,,each DAA selected a project andwill spend the next few months workingwith alumnae and active sisters to buildthe foundation needed for each project. Iencourage all alumnae to contact yourdistrict alumnae advisor or me to let yourvoice be heard.Alum QuestionnairesThe alumnae questionnaire from the winter2004 Chevron is available online. Iwould like to encourage alumnae whohave not completed the questionnaire toplease do so. Your input and opinionsare important in planning for the futureof the national alumnae program. Thequestionnaire can be found by visitinghttp://omegaphialpha.org/feedback.html.Chapter Alumnae AdvisorsNeededChapters are still in need of alumnaeadvisors, those who will assist activechapters with minor issues and problemson the local level, provide guidance, supportand continuity to chapter officersand lead workshops, as needed. Alumsinterested in serving a local chapter inthis capacity must live close enough toattend active meetings on a regular basis.If you are interested in this position orwould like more information, emailalumnae@omegaphialpha.org.2005-06 District AlumnaeAdvisors NeededDAA's are needed for District 4(Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi,Alabama, and Florida / Upsilon, AlphaBeta, and Omicron) and District 5(Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, SouthDakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,Kansas, and Nebraska).If you are interested in this position readon .... DAAs assist in locating missingalums, work with alums to establish newalumnae organizations, encourage alumparticipation in sorority activities includingattendance and participation at thenational Convention, plan activities foralumnae, attend national Convention,work with alums to organize alumnaeactivities and workshops during districtrallies, encourage alums to attend andparticipate in district rallies, serve as aresource and contact for alumnae, developrelationships with traveling leadershipconsultants, chapter alumnae advisors,and active chapters, and work on variouscommittees and alum projects.If you are interested in the becoming aDistrict Alumnae Advisor or have questions,please send an email to alumnae@omegaphialpha.org.Alumnae CookbookFundraiserThe Alumnae Cookbook fundraiser is infull swing. Cookbooks can be orderedby either visiting our Web site,www.omegaphialpha.org, or send anemail to alumnae@omegaphialpha.org.Cookbooks cost $10 each plus $3.50 perorder for shipping. Orders of more than20 cookbooks require additional shippingcharges. Please make checks and moneyorders payable “Omega Phi Alpha―and mail to Lisa Guest at P.O. Box 307,Iola, TX 77861.Convention 2006 UpdateI encourage all alumnae to begin to makeplans to attend Convention 2006 inHartford, Connecticut.For now, I encourage all alumnae tomake contact with the national organization,local chapters, other alumnae, alumnaechapters, the DAA's, or myself. Thisis your alumnae program and we need tohear from you. We cannot build thealumnae organization without your input,views, and voice.District Alumnae Advisors Needed Immediatelyfor the following Districts:District 2 West – West Tennessee and Kentucky/Epsilon and RhoDistrict 4 – Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida/Upsilon,Alpha Beta, and OmicronIf interested in serving as a DAA, please contact Lisa Guest at alumnae@omegaphialpha.org.10 Chevron y Winter 2006