Installation News
TAMUCC is now home to Lambda Delta on the beach for hours roasting marshmallows with colony members?” Collegians from Delta Zeta Chapter returned to Corpus Christi to conduct the Initiation Services for the 52 charter members on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 30, at the First United Methodist Church. The National Officer team arrived from San Antonio that evening and conducted the Installation Service on Sunday morning at the Holiday Inn Emerald Beach. Mrs. Mauro was the Installing officer with Extension Director Karen Farmer Mills assisting. Also attending were Vice President Collegiate II Stacey Verkest Voigt, Province President XI-G Tami Sims O’Brien, Carolyn Carpenter, Director of New Chapters Dolores Gonzales Gastineau and DNCH Supervisor Courtney Cristiani Varner. The ritual team from Delta Zeta Chapter gave each new Lambda Delta member a personalized wooden crown plaque.
Z
eta Tau Alpha installed its 242nd link in the Chain of Chapters, Lambda Delta Chapter at Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi, on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, completing a weekend of two installations in the state of Texas. The team of National Officers that installed Lambda Gamma Chapter at The University of Texas at San Antonio on Jan. 30 (see page 8) barely caught its breath before heading south to install Lambda Delta. Never before in ZTA history had the same team of officers installed two chapters in a 24-hour period. ZTA was selected to become the fourth National Panhellenic Council group at TAMUCC in March of 2009. The school of 7,500 undergraduate students calls itself “The Island University” because its 240-acre campus sits in the Gulf of Mexico. The colonization of the newest ZTA chapter began in September 2009 with Traveling Leadership Consultants Emily Howe, Dani Murtagh and Alison Ward conducting a public relations effort to identify potential new members. The Extension team of National President Laura Ladewig Mauro, ZTA Foundation Director Nora Nell Hardy Jackson, former Vice President Alumnae II Betty Coe Cruzen Manuel, District President XI-B Carolyn Hof Carpenter and Executive Director Deb Ensor was assisted at the recruitment events by the Corpus Christi Alumnae Chapter and collegians from Delta Zeta Chapter (Sam Houston State University) and Gamma Omega Chapter (University of Houston). The Bid Day Celebration was held on Oct. 8. “As we began those first new member meetings,” TLC Emily recalled, “these ladies showed their potential with their excitement and their eagerness. We became true friends as we spent time together. And what other TLCs got to hang out
After the services, Installation Chairman Jane Watson Hedrick welcomed members, alumnae, parents and guests to the Corpus Christi Yacht Club for the Installation Luncheon. Mrs. Mills was the toastmistress and Mrs. Voigt read greetings from ZTA collegians and alumnae. In her keynote address, Mrs. Mauro praised the new chapter for its dedication to service. “You will hand out pink ribbons and shower cards at the homecoming parade and you organized a Think Pink!® basketball game for breast cancer awareness. You made holiday cards for a retirement home and provided gifts for two local families in need,” she said. “Our Founders knew that serving others brings joy to a chapter and strengthens the bonds of friendship. You have made them proud by catching this vision very early.” Lambda Delta President Brittany Flores thanked National Council, the TLCs, the Greek community and especially their advisors for helping the chapter reach its goals. “Our amazing alumnae have inspired us in many ways and have shown us that Zeta truly is forever,” Brittany said. The new chapter received a unique gift from the collegians in Province XI-Gamma—a rolling, lockable trunk, complete with an engraved brass plate, perfect for storing ritual equipment. The Delta Zeta Chapter members gave each charter member a wooden crown, signed by the members of their ritual team.
These 52 young women from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi are the charter members of our 242nd link.
Spring 2010
• 9