Alumnae - Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority

AlumnaeAlumnae Service Awardby Juanita Wade and Keshia Gibson, Alumnae Board of DirectorsnIn September 2002, Karin Hoodenpyle Coulter's 3-month-oldson had open-heart surgery. After going through such a difficulttime and watching many others experience the same thing,Karin and her husband decided to assist to those in similar situations.The outcome? Saving Little Hearts, a charity that aidsfamilies of children with congenital heart defects.Alumnae Travel Awardby Keshia Gibson, Alumnae Board of DirectorsThe Alumnae Travel Award is one of the few awards that sistersare eligible for only by attending Convention. Its purposeis to recognize the alumna who traveled the greatest distanceto attend Convention in any given year; taking the number ofyears the alum has been in OPhiA into consideration. ElizabethAnderson, a Mu Chapter alumna, was this year’s recipient. Shetraveled from Nashville to Denver to attend Convention.Elizabeth joined the alumnae ranks in 1997, after graduatingfrom Middle Tennessee State University. She recently movedback to Nashville and eventually plans to start a doctorate in"Karin has taken what too many would be an end of the worldevent and turned it into a way to help others while dealingwith her own daily situation with her son," said Sigma alumnaJuanita Haggard Wade. It was for that reason that she nominatedKaren for the Alumnae Service Award.Incorporated in Tennessee in 2002, the charity now providescare packages to families and hospitals throughout the UnitedStates."I am very proud to call Karin my little sister and feel honoredin nominating her for the Alumnae Service Award. She hastaken the principles of Omega Phi Alpha and continued toactively share them with others through her service to childrenwith congenital heart defects and their parents."history. This year, she wanted to become more involved inOmega Phi Alpha-- and that she did. She joined Omega Delta(Greater Nashville Area Alumnae Chapter) to connect withalumnae nearby.Elizabeth has served in many leadership capacities sincebecoming an active alumna. She contributed alumnae featuresto the Chevron. She also acted as national awards chair andrepresented District 2 alumnae as their delegate at Convention.Elizabeth plans to remain just as involved in OPhiA in thecoming year.AnnouncementsJoin an Alumnae CommitteeAlumnae Chapter Expansion Committee: This committee looks at alumnae chapter issues and serves two main functions: to facilitatecommunication between existing alumnae chapters/interest groups, and to work to expand the network of alumnae chapters of OmegaPhi Alpha. This year, the committee also has a third goal, to improve and create structures and procedures regarding alumnae chapters inaccordance with Vision 2010. Please contact Erin Gatlin-Martin at e.gatlinmartin@gmail.com or via the forum if you are interested.Alumnae Delegates for Convention 2009Are you an alumna with plans to attend Convention in Philadelphia in July 2009? Why not represent the alums in your area by attendingas an alum delegate? For more information please contact the VPAR at alumnae@omegaphialpha.org and check out the OPA online forum.Update Your Contact InfoGet involved and stay connected! Please update your contact information via the alumnae section of the national Web site:www.omegaphialpha.org. Also, log onto the OPA forum (www.omegaphialpha.org/forum) to hear the latest news, access valuableresources and catch up with your sisters!14 Chevron y Fall 2008