NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER

June 2010 Volume II Number 6

Dear Sorors, It’s hard to believe that the summer break is here. Time surely flies when you’re having fun! However, Sorors, we still have a few exciting activities scheduled. Join us! We mourn the passing of our beloved Golden Soror Odessa Davis. She served faithfully on many committees in the chapter, but her favorite was the Life-Long Learning Committee. To the sorors that participated in the Ivy Beyond the Wall ceremony and the Homegoing Celebration of her life, thank you. During the weekend of April 30, 2010, sorors joined the Houston Area Pan-Hellenic Council members at several activities which included volunteering at SEARCH (a facility that helps the homeless), the Greek Happy Hour and a picnic. I would like to thank Darlene Johnson, the Pan-Hellenic Council representative. At the April sorority meeting each soror received a beautiful centennial tile and at the chapter retreat you will receive other nice items. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Patricia Eugene for her generous donations. Due to the determination, dedication and compassion of LaDonna Harris, Elnora Flewellen and many other sorors, the $4,000 needed for the Texas AKA license plates was raised. The corporate office did approve the design and we are waiting on approval from the state of Texas. We will keep you posted regarding this exciting project! Over 80 sorors of Alpha Kappa Omega, Gamma Psi and Omicron Gamma chapters participated in the spring joint chapter meeting held on Saturday, April 23, 2010. It was a fun-filled event held at Pearwood Bowling Alley. Alpha Kappa Omega sorors skated, participated in a sisterly relations activity, mixed and mingled with our undergraduates. The undergraduate sorors and the graduate advisors, Pamela Lazard and Mary Smith Johnson, did an excellent job in planning this activity. Please continue to RSVP if you plan to attend sorority meeting. An accurate count is necessary for an appropriately organized and successful meeting. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Sisterly yours,

02 Hostess Service Committee Nurturing Our Ivy Sister-2-Sister

03 Sunday of Service Reactivation Rebranding Your Skills Youth Financial Literacy

04 Calendar of Events Save the Dates

05 AKA-nomic$ FYI/Evite News Flash/RSVP Congratulations Staying Connected

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Headings Summary

2010 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE2010 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

BASILEUSBASILEUS Tamara J. CubitTamara J. Cubit

ANTI BASILEUSANTI BASILEUS LaDonna HarrisLaDonna Harris

GRAMMATEUSGRAMMATEUS

Staci Taylor FullmighterStaci Taylor Fullmighter

ANTI GRAMMATEUSANTI GRAMMATEUS Marianne WalkerMarianne Walker

EPISTOLEUSEPISTOLEUS

Karen Y. GraysKaren Y. Grays

TAMIOUCHOSTAMIOUCHOS Yavaunda WhiteYavaunda White

PECUNIOUS GRAMMATEUSPECUNIOUS GRAMMATEUS

Sandra CampbellSandra Campbell

ANTI PECUNIOUS GRAMMATEUSANTI PECUNIOUS GRAMMATEUS Andrea StampsAndrea Stamps

PHILACTERPHILACTER

Brenda DavisBrenda Davis

HODEGOSHODEGOS Rhonda RichardsonRhonda Richardson

REPORTERREPORTER--TOTO--THETHE--IVY LEAFIVY LEAF

Nkenge BerryNkenge Berry--OwensOwens

HISTORIANHISTORIAN Jo Carolyn GoodeJo Carolyn Goode

CHAPLAINCHAPLAIN

Margie TaylorMargie Taylor

GRADUATE ADVISORS:GRADUATE ADVISORS: PARLIAMENTARIANPARLIAMENTARIAN Mary Smith JohnsonMary Smith Johnson Rita RobertsRita Roberts Gamma PsiGamma Psi Pamela LazardPamela Lazard MEMBERSMEMBERS--ATAT--LARGELARGE Omicron GammaOmicron Gamma Helen HoustonHelen Houston Edwina JohnsonEdwina Johnson Demetria WilliamsDemetria Williams

2 Chapter Website: www.alphakappaomega.com

June 2010

JUNE HOSTESS SERVICE COMMITTEE The June service project will support the North Harris County affiliate chapter of Sisters Network, Inc. It is an organization of African-American breast cancer survivors committed to increasing attention to the impact of the disease in our community through outreach and education. We are asking sorors to bring to sorority meeting pink ribbon and various items suitable for give-away bags; e.g., pens, pencils, and small note pads, note clips, etc. These items will be used for their outreach programs.

SEPTEMBER HOSTESS SERVICE COMMITTEE Chairman: Barbara Hayes Co-Chairman: Douthulia Gardner Co-Chairman Janice Granger Committee: Gabriel - Hayes

Editor Tamara J. Cubit

Graphic Design / Distribution Karen Y. Grays Proofreading

Jackie Columbus Kim Harris Helen Houston Yvonne McCree Margie Taylor Bettye White

Articles must be submitted and received by the Basileus no later than the last day of the month preceding the next sorority meeting. Articles must be limited to 150 words; submitted in Microsoft Word format; Arial, 12 point font; insert only one space between sentences. When submitting photographs, attach them in JPEG format to emails. Photographs embedded in the body of emails or Word documents cannot be used. Correspondence received after the deadline will be printed in the next month’s newsletter, at the discretion of the Basileus. Submit articles via email to:

Tamara J. Cubit akomegapresident@yahoo.com

September Newsletter Deadline for all content — August 31, 2010

October Newsletter Deadline for all content — September 30, 2010

NEWSLETTER SUBMISSION PROTOCOL

Cares, Concerns and Prayers for: Soror Kim Harris in the passing of her grandmother and aunt. Soror Yvonne Peterson in the passing of her son. Soror Janice Warner in the passing of her mother-in-law. Soror Jacqueline Wiley in the passing of her uncles.

Keep the following sorors in your prayers:

Soror Aleice Conley who is in Cornerstone Hospital. Soror Gladys Goffney whose husband is ill. Soror Darlene Johnson who was in the hospital and is at

home. Soror Rita Roberts whose daughter was ill. Soror DiAnn Robinson whose husband is ill. Soror Delores Smith whose daughter was ill. Continue to keep in your prayers: Sorors Marva Adams, Shirley Brewster, Franceta Lane, Melba Moreland, Ora Lee Piper, Richie Routt and Polly Sparks Turner.

Sister-2-Sister

Thank you notes received from…

Soror Gwendolyn J. Brinkley Soror Vivian Harrison Soror Janice Davis Soror Clardina Hopes Soror Faye Gray Soror Brenda Scott Soror Shirley Gentry Soror Donna Smith (Daughter of Soror Mary Collins Soror Delores Smith) Soror LaDonna Harris

Nurturing Our Ivy NOTE: Please inform Soror Rhonda Richardson or the Basileus as you become aware of those who are ill or otherwise challenged.

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A SUNDAY OF SERVICE WITH LEMONADE DAY The sorors of the chapter and their children did not let the warm Sunday afternoon cause them to lose focus of their goal of “service to all mankind” and participated in the 4th Annual Lemonade Day. The purpose of Lemonade Day is to teach youth how to start, own and operate their own business through the simple and time-honored act of building and running a lemonade stand. The great part of the program is children were encouraged to open a youth savings account after covering their expenses and paying back their investors. They also learned the basic principles of business since they retain all proceeds from their lemonade stands. Sorors purchased lemonade showing the young entrepreneurs how much we believed in them. Each child that participated received a backpack and a wealth of the experience in running their own company. This year we partnered with Project Row Houses (located in the Third Ward area) and Imperial Sugar. Soror Lucy Bremond is to be commended for organizing this event. REACTIVATION COMMITTEE The committee held their spring event “Reactivation Superfest,” on Saturday, May 15, 2010, prior to sorority meeting. Newly reactivated and transferred sorors were invited to attend. The overall goal of the event was to make each soror understand the chapter operations and procedures. Members of the chapter gave presentations on how to access chapter, regional, and corporate office websites, the importance of completing the data form, how to receive phone tree messages, making reservations for chapter meetings, ESP Platforms, how committees work, chapters dues, the chapter directory, understanding protocol, ordering chapter t-shirts and reviewing the sorority hymn and pledge. More than thirty sorors attended. After the event many sorors stated how they enjoyed themselves and expressed a desire to become more active. Our very own Soror Gwendolyn J. Brinkley, South Central Regional Director and Soror Faye B. Bryant, 21st International President, spoke with the sorors and encouraged them to get involved. I would like to thank Soror Bettye Narcisse, reactivation chairman, the committee, and presenters for a job well done. REBRANDING YOUR SKILLS WORKSHOP The Non-Traditional Entrepreneur Committee partnered with the Workforce Solutions, a company which provides comprehensive human resource services for businesses and residents of the 13-county Houston-Galveston Gulf Coast region and hosted a Rebranding Your Skills Workshop on Wednesday, May 19, 2010. This workshop was designed for sorors who have been recently

3

June 2010

Chapter Phone: 713.942.2087 / Fax: 888.347.9293

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May Hostess Committee with Soror Cheryl Cash serving as chairman and Sorors Katharine Brown and Frances Brown serving as co-chairmen. Sorors Alicia Duplechain, Renee Bourgeois, Lillian Bourgeois, Nomeva Trini Charles, Shonthenia Edwards, Veronica Johnson, Beverly Maddox, Cheryl Mitchell, Sheri Coles and the Philacter Team. The following proof reading team: Sorors Jackie Columbus, Kim Harris, Helen Houston, Yvonne McCree, and Bettye White.

unemployed as a result of economic conditions. It focused on how to: identify skills and attributes desired by employers, describing personal and professional strengths and rebranding your skills to meet the needs of a new employer. Over twelve sorors took advantage of this excellent opportunity. Mrs. Carolyn Kennard, Regional Worksource Solution Manager for Texas, was the guest speaker. After the workshop sorors were excited and pleased by the wealth of information that was shared at the workshop. Soror Shonthenia Edwards was the coordinator for this successful event. YOUTH FINANCIAL LITERACY WORKSHOP The May Hostess committee hosted a “Making Dollars out of Cents” workshop, held at Holy Lutheran Church on May 22, 2010.The event was attended by more than 25 youth and parents The program was designed to teach youth the fundamentals of finance and steps to becoming smarter, educated young consumers The elementary and middle school students learned life-long lessons about setting financial goals, savings options, developing and sticking to a budget as well as using credit cards wisely. Ms.Tami Harrell Johnson, an Assistant Vice-President from Encore Bank, Soror Cheryl Cash and Soror Nathene Caldwell did presentations. The thirty students that attended the workshop were presented with a folder of information from Encore Bank, refrigerator magnets, pens, smartypig handouts, a comic book from the Federal Reserve Bank and a bank to begin saving their money. The parents and sorors that attended participated in a breakout session on the new rules for debit cards presented by Soror Endria Chachere. Refreshments and door prizes were provided by the May hostess committee. Hats off to the committee for a great educational activity!

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4 Chapter Basileus email: akomegapresident@yahoo.com

2010 Calendar

SAVE THE DATES

2—WEDNESDAY Health Committee meeting; 6:30 PM; Power Center; Contact: Camilla Jackson Connection Committee meeting; 7:00 PM; Power Center; Contact: Mary Shockley

8—TUESDAY Membership Committee meeting; 6:00 PM: Power Center; Contact: Lillian Bourgeois Entertainment Committee meeting; 7:00 PM; Power Center; Contact: Xenith Green

12—SATURDAY Chapter Retreat; 9:00 AM-2:00 PM; Brady’s Landing Restaurant, 8505 Cypress Street, 77012; Contact: Lillian Bourgeois

16—WEDNESDAY Executive Committee meeting; 6:30 PM; Power Center; Contact: Tamara Cubit

19—SATURDAY Sorority meeting; 11:00 AM; Power Center; Contact: Tamara Cubit

21-25 MONDAY-FRIDAY

Life-Long Learning activities; Time: 10:00 AM-12:00 PM; Location: Whidby Elementary School; Contact: Margie Taylor

26—SATURDAY ESP Unity Walk; 10:00 AM; Place: Tom Bass Park, Pavillion I; Contact: Demetria Williams

JUNE

July 9-July 16 64th Boule; St. Louis, MO

August 27-29 Undergraduate Round-Up; Austin, TX

October 23 Southeast Texas Cluster Retreat; Spring, TX

Enjoy!

June 2010

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Platform III: Youth Business Plan Winners! Platform II: “Making Dollars Out Of Cents”