Volume 68, Issue 2
Spring 2016
THE ECHO News from the Greater Raleigh Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta
Inside this Issue
President’s Letter
Chapter Happenings
Dear Sisters,
Upcoming Events Collegiate Updates Alumnae News Ways & Means Foundation Notes Junior Circle Plans
Share Your News! Are you getting married, having a baby, retiring, changing jobs, or experiencing a change in your life? We want to hear from you and put your news in the Echo! Please send your news and photos to: echo@agdraleigh.org.
Happy spring! I hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying this lovely weather. Our chapter has had a wonderful winter, and we're looking forward to our spring events, which include our IRD luncheon and our annual potluck dinner/officer installation in May. Throughout our events this winter, we have celebrated the spirit of sisterhood in many ways. For our November social, we had a Sisters’ Tea where we met at Tin Roof Teas in Cameron Village and sampled fall and Christmas teas. In December we gathered for our annual holiday celebration and gift exchange at the home of Meg Hodge, who along with co-hostess Joan Cassilly, treated us to an assortment of holiday goodies. At our January meeting,
New to the Area? Be sure to let Jan Thorpe White, our Permanent Secretary, know if you have been active in other Alpha Gamma Delta alumnae groups. Her e-mail address is jtwhite6@bellsouth.net.
Sisters gather for a group photo around the Christmas tree after the gift exchange at the annual holiday party on December 10.
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Volume 68, Issue 2
Belk Charity Days GRAC is selling Belk Charity Day tickets and gets to keep 100% of the proceeds - that's $5 per ticket sold! Ticket holders will get 20-70% off most purchases, and there will be savings on rarely discounted brands. Ticket holders will also get $5 off their first purchase. You need a ticket to shop. In-store sales of Charity Day tickets are divided among charities and churches that send representatives to greet and sell tickets on the day of the event. The sale is Saturday, April 30 from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM at all local area Belk stores. If you are interested in purchasing and/or selling tickets for the sale, please contact Jean Campbell Burroughs at jean@cj4m.com.
Junior Circle Plans The Greater Raleigh Junior Circle has several fun activities planned during the upcoming months for the young and young at heart! • Paint Your Pet event at Wine &
Design on Thursday, April 14 • Couples Bowling Night in May
Details about these events will be coming soon - keep an eye on agdraleigh.org!
Spring 2016
hosted by Jan Thorpe White, we filled out Valentine’s Day cards and put together care packages for our Adopt-a-Chapters. In February we met at the home of Jean Campbell Burroughs and learned about Jan Thorpe White’s life. Thank you to all of our hostesses and co-hostesses for welcoming us into your homes and providing us with such wonderful hospitality! Our chapter continues to focus on philanthropic efforts. Our chapter raised nearly $1,500 for Triangle JDRF during their JDRF One Walk to Cure Diabetes. In December, we continued our support of Interact of Wake County, a local organization that provides assistance and support for victims of domestic violence, by collecting toiletries and other supplies. A big thank you to Carrie Wheeler, who for the past several years has coordinated the collection of these items at our holiday social and delivered our donations to the Interact facility! As a result of our annual pecan sale and participation in Belk Charity Day sales, we were able to send additional donations to JDRF, a $100 donation to Camp Carolina Trails, a camp for children with Type 1 diabetes, $100 to Marina’s Kids, an organization that helps orphans in the Ukraine, $100 to Crayons2Calculators, an organization that provides school supplies to local classrooms, a $1,000 donation to the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation, making us a Jewel Chapter and the remainder, approximately $300, to Theta Mu chapter ’s scholarship foundation. We are thankful as always for Jeanette Drane Benjey's outstanding work as our Philanthropy chair. Please join us on Saturday, April 23 as we celebrate International Reunion Day! Our theme this year is "Endless Possibilities," and we will be celebrating at the home of Mary Ann Akin. More details about this celebration of sisterhood can be found inside this issue--we hope to see you there! If you have ideas for future programs or activities or would like to host a meeting, please let us know. We really appreciate everyone's contributions of time, talent, and creativity; you are what makes our chapter a success! Have a great spring, and I hope to see you soon! Loyally, Lisa Pinyan Poole Gamma Alpha ‘91
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Volume 68, Issue 2
Ways & Means As part of our Ways & Means fundraising this year, GRAC is again participating in the Great Lakes Scrip Center Program. We raised $688 last year! We hope to add a few more sisters to the list of participants. It is an easy way to raise money for our chapter while shopping at your favorite retailers. There is a huge list of participating stores and websites, along with hotels, movie theaters, and restaurants. Please contact Jean Campbell Burroughs at jean@cj4m.com for more information.
Spring 2016
Chapter Happenings Week of Service As part of the Alpha Gamma Delta Week of Service from February 15-19, a group of our sisters volunteered to serve lunch at Shepherd's Table Soup Kitchen in downtown Raleigh.
ΑΓΔ
Looking to buy or sell a home? Ask Jeanette Drane Benjey (X ’65)! When she helps you with the sale or purchase of your home, she will donate 5 percent of her commission to the chapter.
Marianne Leitch Breneman, Diana Hurtado, Lisa Pinyan Poole, Elsie Manny
Alumnae Dues
Soup Kitchen on February 19 to help celebrate the ΑΓΔ Week of Service.
Your $40.00 annual Alumnae Dues payment to the International Fraternity supports numerous Alpha Gam initiatives, collegiate members, our extension efforts and our volunteers. Your voluntary contribution makes a true impact, providing our Fraternity with the sustainability to extend our reach and the means to exceed our Purpose! You can pay your Alumnae Dues today by visiting www.alphagammadelta.org/ alphagams/alumnae/ alumnaedues. Live with Purpose
Eads, and Jeanette Drane Benjey volunteered at the Shepherd’s Table
Collegiate Updates Theta Omicron Chapter at Western Carolina University welcomed 22 new members with a "Ringing in the New Bids" themed bid day and have added one additional new member through continuous open recruitment. Initiation is planned for April 2. The chapter also held a Rose Sale in February and raised more than $500 for the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation. Theta Omicron will celebrate IRD and its 20th anniversary on April 16. If any Theta Omicron alumnae have any photos of themselves and sisters from their collegiate days, or any stories or favorite memories they would like to share, please e-mail them to Caitlin Bernabe at ccbernabe1@catamount.wcu.edu; she is putting together a slideshow of stories and photos for IRD. Sarah Elkins will be attending IRD on behalf of GRAC.
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Upcoming Events April 23 - International Reunion Day celebration May 12 - Annual Potluck and Officer Installation May 21 - Clothes & Book Swap All meetings begin at 7:15 p.m. For more details, visit our Web site - agdraleigh.org.
Spring 2016
Theta Mu Chapter at UNC-Wilmington welcomed six new members this semester at a celebration held at Defy Gravity, a local trampoline center. The chapter also held a sisterhood retreat in Surf City and is planning on holding a flag football tournament on April 9 to raise funds for JDRF. Theta Mu will celebrate IRD on April 16, and Quinn Killough, Victoria Dhers Mayberry, and Judi Vance will be attending on behalf of GRAC.
As part of the ΑΓΔ
Foundation Notes
Week of Service, members of the
Part-time students or sisters planning to attend a careerrelated workshop or seminar, apply for a Continuing Education Grant. CE Grant applications do not have a deadline and are accepted year-round. Not sure if your upcoming seminar qualifies? Contact Karen Knotts, Communications & Programs Manager, at 317.663.4242.
AmazonSmile for AGD Foundation
Theta Mu chapter brought treats to thank their local JDRF volunteers for all they do.
Alumnae News Margaret Johnson Hood (AK ‘48) entered Chapter Grand on February 3, 2016 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Marg was an active member of the Greater Raleigh Alumnae Chapter for many years. Martha Bridger Shipman (ΓΕ ’53) entered Chapter Grand on January 19, 2016.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation every time you shop, at no cost to you.
Lorraine Yancey Carroll (ΓΕ ‘54) entered Chapter Grand on June 26, 2015.
Just start your Amazon shopping at smile.amazon.com, select the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation as your charity of choice, and Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price of your order.
Mary Lou Szymkowski (Λ ’62) is now the owner of The Cat Hospital of Durham and Chapel Hill.
Dorothy Beals Ballew (ΓΕ ‘52) entered Chapter Grand on May 23, 2015.
Michele Kislan (ΔΣ ‘96) is now more than halfway done with her pharmacy residency in Yakima, Washington. Barbara Bransford Lacy (ΓΕ ’46) recently moved to a retirement community in Matthews, N.C. Lillian Bellochi Abbott (ΑΘ ‘45) has now returned home and is doing well after recovering from an illness.
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Volume 68, Issue 2
Spring 2016
Dirty Dollars & Support Fee By sending in your annual support fee and donating Dirty Dollars, you are helping to create a place in the Triangle area for members of Alpha Gamma Delta to gather in sisterhood. Our annual support fee is $25 and helps to support chapter operations, and Dirty Dollars of any amount are always welcome to help defray some of the costs of publishing our newsletter. Special thanks to the sisters who have graciously donated Dirty Dollars recently: Jacque Goodwin Burgess (ΓΕ ’48), Judith Hayes Hand (EA ‘58), Eileen Dorgan Herbermann (ΑΘ ‘41), Joan Charles Hall (ΓΕ ‘51), Barbara Thomas Horton (ΓΕ ‘49), Carol Clayton Norris (ΓΕ ’61), and Barbara Ttee (chapter and initiation year unknown). To donate Dirty Dollars or pay support fees, please send checks payable to Alpha Gamma Delta to the attention of our treasurer, Christa Beloskur, at 407 Brook Creek Drive, Cary, NC 27519. You can also pay support fees online at agdraleigh.org/duesfees. A small convenience charge has been added to the support fee if you choose to pay online. Do you have a change in name, address, or marital status? Please notify IHQ with the information: Alpha Gamma Delta International Headquarters, 8701 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260 Phone: (317) 663-4200, Fax: (317)663-4210, info@alphagammadelta.org, www.alphagammadelta.org You can submit your address change to us locally and we will forward it to IHQ. Please visit www.agdraleigh.org/contact to send in your address change.
Greater Raleigh Alumnae Chapter Alpha Gamma Delta Jan Thorpe White Permanent Secretary 208 Summerwinds Drive Cary, NC 27518
Please Place Stamp Here
www.agdraleigh.org facebook.com/agdraleigh AGDRaleigh@groupspaces.com
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