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Fall 2016
How to Grow a Garden of Golden Violets In the summer of 2001 when Ruth Hitchens Ritchie, Gamma Delta, organized a reunion for fellow chapter sisters at Adrian College in Adrian, MI, she didn’t expect her labor of love to “bloom” into a garden of Golden Violets! The Gamma Delta Chapter was formed at Adrian College in 1961, but was closed in the early 1990s. Ruth Nancy Bennett and her friends had talked about planning a reunion, and enlisted the help of the College Alumni Department. During the event, Tri Sigma alumnae stayed in a dorm and ate in the dining hall, shared memories and sang old Carol Wacker & Lynne Phillips Sigma songs. Ten years later they decided that they had so much fun, they did it again.
and worked together on the “quest” of finding more Gamma Delta sisters who were eligible to receive their Golden Violet. What followed over the next few months were phone calls, emails, nomination forms submitted, and more Gamma Delta sisters from all over the country who proudly received their Golden Violets. If you have ever run across someone who started their sisterhood journey Marilyn Kremer with you, there is always a special joy and interest. Ruth did not accomplish this by herself, and is extremely grateful to Toni Dinges for her quick responses to the many emails, and her ability to find the information that Ruth needed. To date, 25 Gamma Delta Doreen Val Sickle alumnae have been awarded the Golden Violet, with more than half of those thanks to Ruth’s persistence and love for Tri Sigma. Hopefully one day another alumna may find herself in the position of being able to start a garden of Golden Violets. She could use Ruth’s story as a guide.
July 2015 Ruth received a call from a Gamma Delta sister, Beth Jobse DeMeritt, who had recently received Sue Jones her Golden Violet. They thought because the chapter had been chartered over 50 years ago, there must be several other sisters who would be eligible to receive the Golden Violet. Ruth then Jeanne Lasky contacted Toni Dinges, Alumnae Membership Coordinator at National Headquarters,
(Toni is a resource to all Golden Violets, contact her at tdinges@trisigma.org)