Chi Omega Houston Alumnae Newsletter
Letter from Our President
January 2013
Dear Chi Omega Sisters:
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and spent time with family and friends! The Alumnae
Association had an exciting fall with lots of special events and the spring calendar is filled with a number of opportunities to
get together with your Chi Omega sisters. So grab a friend and join us! In the spring we celebrate the founding of our
Fraternity and our Eleusinian Banquet planning is in full swing. Our Scholarship committee is currently collecting
applications from many worthy Chi Omega actives and those awards, along with our Chi Omega Houston Woman of the
Year, will be announced at the dinner. We will also recognize our members in attendance who have had 50, 60 and 70
years of membership in Chi Omega and we look forward to hearing their stories!
We continue to look for new ideas and ways to connect with our membership. A short survey has been put together, asking
for your feedback on our major fundraising event, Chi Omega Kaleidoscope. I promise it will only take a few minutes to
complete and your comments will provide us with valuable information as we begin planning our 2014 event. I want to
thank you in advance for your time and support of our efforts.
I’ve enjoyed serving as President and look forward to remaining very involved with this wonderful group of women when
my term concludes in May. If you have an interest in serving on a committee or on our Executive Board, please take just a
moment to drop me a note and let me know what interests you! We strive to be one of the top Alumnae groups in the
nation; making a name for ourselves with a high level of active membership, providing scholarships to our area collegians
and making donations to our local philanthropies and our National Foundation. I want each of you to be proud to say
you’re a member of our group. I look forward to hearing from you.
Loyally in Chi Omega,
Mona Barron
Epsilon Gamma, 1985
[email protected]
New Member & Legacy
Holiday Party
Dana Bryant Kelly, Psi Zeta, gave birth to
Zachary Thomas Kelly on November 14th.
Congratulations to Brian Laine and Mackenzie
Blair Laine, Upsilon Zeta, who were married on
November 17th.
Wedding bells will soon be heard for Psi Zeta sisters:
Congratulations to each lady on her engagement!
Diana Herrera, Mary Mojica and Trang Do.
Our deepest condolences to Trish Ruff Cunningham, Epsilon Zeta, on the recent loss of her sister and
mother, and to Geyer Wise Dybesland, Rho, and Susan Duncan Wise, Rho Epsilon, on the loss of their
great-aunt and aunt.
Georgan Wallace Reitmeier, Tau Beta, will be honored as the Education Honoree at the North Harris
County AAUW 2013 Outstanding Women Awards Luncheon on Saturday, February 23rd. The luncheon will be
held in the Garden Room at Shirley Acres, 217 Woerner Road, Houston, 77090. Tickets are $50 and can be
purchased by contacting Mary Gubert at [email protected].
Please keep our sisters in your thoughts and prayers:
Kimberly Yates Burleson, Iota, www.caringbridge.org/visit/KBurleson/
Laura Connor Blight, Epsilon Gamma, www.caringbridge.org/visit/laurablight/
CHI OMEGA GENERAL MEETING
From Chi O to Cop
featuring guest speaker
Jana Banowsky Enloe, Iota
January 31st
7 p.m.
Home of Sally Sellers Reed
4710 Willow Street, Bellaire 77401
RSVP at www.chiomegahouston.com
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Psi Zeta & Alumnae Thanksgiving Mixer
Woman of the Year
Nominations are
due…
Do you know a Chi Omega who has provided
noteworthy service within our Fraternity, our
Alumnae Association and/or the greater
Houston community?
If so, send her name to Drue Terry DaSilva at
[email protected] by
March 10th.
The award will be presented at the spring
Eleusinian Banquet.
Save the Date
Eleusinian Banquet
April 10, 2013
Gather your Chi O friends
for a special night of
sisterhood and song
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STEP RIGHT UP!
If you would like to serve on the Alumnae Association Board
in either an Executive Board position or as a Committee Chair,
we could use your time and talents!
Mother’s Club
For more information
on joining
the Mother’s Club,
contact Kelly Tronzo at
[email protected]
or (832) 423-6714
Contact President-Elect, Sally Sellers Reed,
at [email protected]
To receive a copy of the Psi Zeta Babysitting List,
email Drue Terry DaSilva at [email protected]
HOOT! HOOT!
It’s Scholarship Time!
Calling all Houston-area Chi Omega Actives
Don’t miss out - the application deadlines for these
scholarships are just around the corner:
Chi Omega Alumnae Association of Houston scholarship
Psi Zeta of Chi Omega Building Association scholarship
Houston Alumnae Panhellenic Foundation scholarship
Chi Omega Mother’s Club scholarship
Chi Omega Foundation scholarships
The application forms, eligibility requirements, and due dates are
available online at www.chiomegahouston.com, under the Philanthropies
tab, and must be submitted beginning February 1, 2013.
For questions, contact Susan D. Patterson at [email protected]
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CHI OMEGA HOUSTON
Like and Follow us on…
Kaleidoscope Check
Presentation
Do you remember?
The Myth of Demeter
One day Persephone was gathering
flowers when Hades, the God of the
underworld, was driving past in his
chariot. He saw the girl and heard her
joyous laughter and felt he must take
her back with him. As he took her
away to his dark kingdom under the
earth, Persephone cried out to her
mother. Demeter heard the cry yet
was unable to rescue her daughter.
Chi Omega Kaleidoscope held its biennial fundraiser
recently with Ali Wentworth as the featured speaker.
Proceeds from the event benefited The Center, the Chi
Omega Foundation, and collegiate scholarships.
Pictured above is Alumnae Association President Mona
Barron, Epsilon Gamma, and event chairwoman Erin
Chambers Packwood, Psi Zeta, presenting a check for
$35,000 to The Center Foundation’s Executive Director,
Debra Collins. The Chi Omegas pictured below enjoyed the
check presentation in the newly renovated Cullen
Residence Hall lobby.
Demeter began to search in vain for
Persephone. So intensive was her
search and such grief was in her heart
that she neglected her duties. The
flowers drooped, the grain parched,
and the grass perished. Helios, the
sun god, traveled as much under the
earth as over it and knew
Persephone's location.
He told
Demeter that her daughter was being
held in the underworld. In despair,
Demeter went to Zeus, the king of the
gods, begging him to allow
Persephone to return. Zeus, seeing
that all vegetation was dying because
Demeter was neglecting her role of
tending to the plants, granted
Persephone permission to return if
she had not eaten anything while in
the underworld. Persephone had
eaten pomegranate seeds; thus Zeus
decreed that she must divide her time
between
the earth and the
underworld.
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Upcoming Events – Please join us….
January 20th
Chi O at the Movies
Les Misérables
2 – 5:30 p.m.
Lunch at Red Robin &
Movie at Edwards Marq*E
7620 Katy Frwy., Houston 77024
February 6th
Chow Omega
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Amazon Grill
5114 Kirby Dr., Houston 77098
March 1st
General Meeting
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Bayou Bend Collection & Gardens
6003 Memorial Dr. at Westcott
Houston 77007
January 24th
Book Club
The House at Tyneford
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Home of Jo Crake
11931 Memorial Dr., Houston 77024
February 24th
Chi O at the Movies
12:30 – 4 p.m.
Lunch at Which Wich &
Movie at Edwards Grand Palace
3839 Richmond, Houston 77027
March 21st
Book Club
The Secret Keeper
7 – 8:30 p.m.
Home of Sally Reed
4710 Willow St., Bellaire 77401
January 31st
General Meeting
7 – 9 p.m.
Guest Speaker, Jana Enloe
Home of Sally Reed
4710 Willow St., Bellaire 77401
Night Owls Events
February 20th
Rodeo Roundup
7 – 9 p.m.
Goode’s Armadillo Palace
5015 Kirby Dr., Houston 77098
March 11th
Chi O’s Cookin’
7 – 9 p.m.
Details - TBD
Contact Night Owls Chairs,
Susan Rudolph or Siri Hinze, at
[email protected]
for more information
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March 24th
Chi O at the Movies
12:30 – 4 p.m.
Lunch at Café Adobe &
Movie at Edwards Marq*E
7620 Katy Frwy., Houston 77024
March 28th
Recruitment 101
6 – 7:30 p.m.
TBD
March 29th
Chi O Walking Club
10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Memorial Park
To receive notices to these
events, select Cocktails, Movies,
Walking Group or Book Club on
your member profile. Log onto
www.chiomegahouston.com,
then go to Member, Preferences.
Take a Tour of Chi O Headquarters!
The Chi Omega Fraternity, Chi Omega Foundation, and Chi O Creations have called Memphis,
Tennessee home since January 1994. The beautiful building consists of 23,000 square feet of
highly functional work, retail, and training space. Situated on 1.5 suburban acres in a wooded
natural setting, the building includes three floors with a foyer opening into a two-story main
gallery, archival display, vault, library, staff offices, board room, meeting/training space, kitchen
and lounge areas, overnight accommodations for travelers on Chi Omega business and the Chi O
Creations Boutique.
Plan a visit to your Chi Omega Executive Headquarters. Tours are available Monday through
Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For chapter or group tours, please contact the Executive
Headquarters staff by calling (901) 748-8600 or emailing [email protected].
3395 Players Club Parkway
Memphis, TN 38125
Collegiate News for Houston-area Chi Os
(left) Karen Steffensen, Iota, was named a
University of Texas Silver Spurs Sweetheart.
(right) Houstonian Caroline Bortz was
selected as Executive Board V.P. to the Mu
Beta chapter at the University of Georgia. She
is shown here with Joni Hruska Fichter,
Alpha Zeta, and Houstonian McClary Snow,
Tau active.
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Psi Zeta News
Judy Kyung Sook Kim was recently
selected for the UH Cougar Dolls dance team.
Molly Marek will be attending graduate
school for a Doctorate of Physical Therapy at
UTMB Galveston in the fall.
Suzanne Standly and Judy Kyung Sook
Kim were named as UH Orientation Team
Leaders.
Congrats to Chelsea Wong and Marissa
Blumenthal who were admitted to the UH
Pharmacy School.
New Member Educator Kristen Nazarko (in red) with the fall 2012
New Members at White Carnation Ball
CONGRATULATIONS to the 2013 Executive Board:
President:
Vice President:
Secretary:
New Member Educator:
Treasurer:
Personnel:
Panhellenic:
Recruitment:
Katelyn Clasen
Adrienne Gross
Brooklynn Adelman
Kaitlin Anderson
Karen Lopez
Kelly Wood
Skye-Lynn Ferch
Liz Russell
Executive Board Retreat for incoming and outgoing officers
Lovely Psi Zetas at White Carnation Ball
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Want to get involved with the Houston Alumnae,
but don’t know how?
Send us an email at
[email protected].