Our philanthropy, Read > Lead > Achieve®, and our mission to raise awareness about literacy is our greatest asset as a chapter.

Our chapter has always been a wonderful blend of women from all over the United States and even beyond. We all bring our distinctive life experiences and viewpoints, but where, and how, do our over 400 members grow together? As sisters, we do a lot together — we eat together, go out together, gather at chapter together, but it is through philanthropy that I think we, as women, grow together.

I came into my position of Vice President Philanthropy knowing just one fact about literacy: that one in four children will grow up to be functionally illiterate. I stood up my first day as VPP and told our chapter so many facts about poverty rates, unemployment rates and student dropout rates, and tied them all into how the power of literacy can change each of those statistics. Not only that, but illiteracy hits close to home, as Mississippi is the most illiterate state in the nation.

As a chapter, we’ve taken the idea of philanthropy more seriously than just a recruitment topic. We’ve taken the time to learn about literacy and the power it has to change someone’s life. Not only did we have a record-breaking year for fundraising, but we had a record-breaking number of volunteers for Champions are Readers®. Last year we only had 30 members show up to our local elementary school. This year we had 200 women show up on the first day. We went from having 10 students per Pi Phi to multiple Pi Phis per student.

Our work with the Lafayette County Literacy Council (LCLC) is another staple of our philanthropic work. I was initially connected to them through one of our Pi Phi advisors. She told me about Pi Beta Phi Foundation’s Local Impact Grants, and how we could nominate 25 percent of our donations to The Literacy Fund, which would then be matched by the Foundation, for a local nonprofit. I was so excited because LCLC aims to raise awareness for children’s literacy.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

An official publication of Pi Beta Phi Foundation for donors and special friends

The BowSPRING 2016

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Philanthropy is How we Grow and How we Lead

Philanthropy is How we Grow and How we Lead continued on Page 3

I Want to be a Part and I Want to be a Friend

3Philanthropy is How We Grow Continued

4Building Bonds as New Members

5Founders Portrait Unveiled

6My 12 Favorite Moments of Pi Beta Phi

8News & Notes

7Giving Day Thank You

Vice President Philanthropy Virginia Summer, Mississippi Beta, shares why philanthropic service to others is so important to her and her chapter sisters.

Vice President Philanthropy Virginia Summer, Mississippi Beta, presents a Local Impact Grant to the Executive

Director of the Lafayette County Literacy Council.

2 The Bow Spring 2016

I Want to be a Part and I Want to be a FriendFoundation Trustee and Vice President Finance Janice Worthington Lisko, Oklahoma Beta, reflects on her membership in Pi Beta Phi.

When I became a new member of Pi Beta Phi in August of 1975, our pledge trainer asked our class to write a letter to ourselves about what Pi Phi meant to us. Late last year I was fortunate to stumble upon my letter, tucked away in a drawer. Here is a snippet of what I wrote:

“I want sisters with whom I could share anything my heart or mind put out. I want it to be an everlasting bond that builds me into a better person, a better Christian. I want my sisterhood to build my confidence and sincerity, and not be a crutch, but gives me an arm, a shoulder, and friends. I want it to extend past college days and provide infinite opportunities for new and exciting relationships. I want to be a part and I want to be a friend.”

As I re-read these words 40 years later, I can’t help but cry (I’m a crier) thinking about the role Pi Phi has played in my life and the women who have made all of the difference.

My story begins in a tiny town in Oklahoma where I lived with my parents and older sister. Halfway through first grade, we moved to a suburb of Tulsa. My new first-grade teacher quickly realized I was not learning to read and was behind my classmates. She made it her mission to help me be a better reader, and I credit her for putting me on a path to achieve academically. From that day, I never stopped working hard to excel in school.

It was the support from my teachers and my personal drive that helped me earn merit and needs-based scholarships to attend college. Growing up, my family did not have money to put my sister or me through school, and when my father passed away when I was 12, finances got even tighter. Had I not received those scholarships to attend Oklahoma State University, I wouldn’t have gone to college, wouldn’t have become a CPA and wouldn’t have become a Pi Phi.

Pi Phi became like a second family to me in college. I met women with whom I share lifelong friendships today. In college, we shared our heartbreaks and greatest joys, and motivated each other to be our best ... all of the things I had hoped for when I wrote that letter as a new member.

One of the many blessings of Pi Beta Phi is that it will always be there for you when you need it. I loved Pi Phi in college and was an active alumna right out of school, but after getting married, advancing in my career and raising my son, I didn’t

have a lot of time to give. Then before I could blink, my son, Mitch, was going away to college. My husband, Jim, and I promised ourselves we would not fill our newly acquired free time with more work. Can you guess what happened next?

Pi Phi came calling. And I’m so glad it did. I’ve met so many inspiring new sisters, had the honor and privilege of serving as a leader in the Oklahoma City Alumnae Club and served as the founding chair of the Club’s scholarship fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. And I’ve found new ways to engage with our literacy mission both locally and nationally as a Foundation Trustee. For the last two years I’ve supported and attended Fraternity Day of Service Signature Events in Oklahoma City and Jackson, Mississippi, where we gave away 20,000 books in each city. It gives me so much joy to know I can play a small role in the lives of children who don’t always have resources and tools to be successful readers.

Those words I wrote 40 years ago still ring true today. Pi Phi has been the experience I was hoping for ... and more. I’m grateful to Pi Beta Phi for letting me be a part and letting me be a friend.

What does Pi Phi mean to you? I’d love to connect with you and hear your story. Feel free to email me at jklisko@cox.net or call me at (405) 274–8677.

Janice (left) recently received Pi Phi’s Panhellenic Woman of the Year Award in Oklahoma City. She is pictured here at the

awards luncheon with Texas Gamma Chris Mills Verity.

3 The Bow Spring 2016

Philanthropy is How we Grow and How we Lead continued from Page 1

Foundation Trustee and Vice President Finance Janice Worthington Lisko, Oklahoma Beta, reflects on her membership in Pi Beta Phi. I immediately scheduled a meeting with the director and met with her to learn their plans for the coming year and how our chapter might be able to get involved.

LCLC has some great initiatives, including the Dolly Parton Imagination Program. Through this program, children, once registered by their parents, receive one new book in the mail every month until they turn five. LCLC also holds an annual Children’s Book Festival, where volunteers go into area schools and give the same book to every child, also taking the time to read the books with the students. At the end of the week, all of the students from the schools come together to Ole Miss’ auditorium to hear the book read aloud by the author. It’s an amazing experience!

Like any nonprofit, LCLC must fundraise in order to sustain important initiatives like this, so they executemany events throughout the year. For instance, one of their most successful fundraisers is Read, Beats and Eats, a dinner auction with a live band. These fundraisers, combined with local support like our Local Impact Grant from the Foundation, make a big impact on their mission. I’m proud to say our chapter members helped LCLC with all of their events this year. From running around Oxford and putting up promotional posters for events to reading aloud to children, our members truly enjoy working alongside LCLC’s staff and volunteers. Literacy has been such a gift, not only for the students we work with through LCLC, but for us too!

Philanthropy is the story of what brings us together as strong women who are growing and leading in so many different ways. We have worked on our fundraising, handed out books at the Fraternity Day of Service event in Jackson, Mississippi, and sounded out words with children three miles down the road from campus. No matter who we are individually, together we are Pi Phi and together we will continue to create lifelong readers.

Members of the Mississippi Beta Chapter participated in the Fraternity Day of Service Signature event in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2016, helping to give 20,000 books away to children in need. These books were made possible thanks to chapters, alumnae clubs and individual members’ donations to The Literacy Fund.

“Literacy has been such a gift, not only for the students we work with through LCLC, but for us too!”

Visit pibetaphifoundation.org/direct to learn more about the Foundation’s Local Impact Grant Program.

Building Bonds as New Members

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Pi Beta Phi’s New Member Education Program aims to support sisters on their journey to being lifelong members.

Each year, your gifts to the Foundation help fund Pi Beta Phi’s award-winning programming, Leading with Values®. Through interactive online and in-person seminars, collegians and alumnae engage in conversations pertinent to their personal, intellectual and professional development as leaders and dedicated members of their communities.

The New Member Education Program is the first, and most critical step of the Leading with Values curriculum, as it sets the stage for a member’s engagement and understanding of Pi Phi and its benefits.

Revised in 2014, the eight-week program teaches New Members the meaning of Pi Phi’s core values, heritage and member obligations.

The program also features weekly, in-person meetings where New

Members participate in sisterhood and mentoring activities. Activities range from name game icebreakers to identifying servant leadership qualities in one another, including giving shout-outs on social media using the hashtag #piphiservantleader.

“We hope Pi Phis look back on their New Member period and remember feeling at home in the chapter,” said Assistant Director of Chapter Services Ashley Hallowell Karth, Illinois Eta. “The program provides a New Member with the opportunity not only for personal growth, but for making special connections with her Pi Phi sisters. This program is just the beginning of a lifelong bond that continues into our alumnae lives.”

Thank you for helping us give New Members a great experience as they transition from new to initiated members of Pi Beta Phi.

Welcoming Our Newest SistersThis spring, Pi Beta Phi installed two new chapters: Georgia Beta (left) at Emory University and Delaware Alpha at the University of Delaware and welcomed 315 women into the sisterhood. We look forward to supporting these women as they begin their Pi Phi journey! For more information about these new chapters visit pibetaphi.org.

What New Members are saying about the program

“I loved learning more about the values, mission, and our founders!”

“Very informative.”

“Engaging and fun.”

5 The Bow Spring 2016

Founders Portrait Unveiled at Holt House

Above: The very first portrait of Pi Beta Phi’s 12 founders, made possible thanks to Foundation donors. Below: Members of the Holt House Committee gather for a picture with the portrait.

This past Founders’ Day, sisters gathered to celebrate the 75 year milestone and see the unveiling of the first portrait of Pi Beta Phi’s 12 founders.

The piece, created by award-winning artist Carole Diane Heslin, was made possible thanks to the generosity of Foundation donors at convention in 2015. Through the purchase of limited-edition Holt House halos in Chicago, sisters honored our past and helped establish a work of art that future generations of Pi Beta Phis can enjoy and value ... right in the home of where it all began.

“It was truly a special day as we honored Pi Phi’s beginning and the 12 women who created our great organization,” said Holt House Curator Denise Turnbull. “Now the portrait will be on display for all visitors to our founding home, helping us continue to share the legacy of these amazing women and tell the rich history of Pi Beta Phi.”

Thank you, sisters, for supporting this project. What a wonderful way to celebrate as we approach 150 years of Pi Beta Phi!

Visit pibetaphifoundation.org/foundersportrait to watch a video of the portrait unveiling and be sure to like Holt House’s new Facebook page, facebook.com/monmouthholthouse.

2016 marks the 75th anniversary of the dedication of our founding home.

Four Fast Facts About Holt House1. In 2009, Holt House was recognized as a historical landmark by the Illinois State Historical Society.2. Through the efforts of a Pi Phi father, Hugh Moffet, of the Monmouth Daily Review, Holt House was purchased for the Fraternity at a delinquent tax auction for the sum of $1,100.3. After the house was dedicated in 1941, the first civic group to host meetings was the American Red Cross during World War II. The house is still used for events and meetings today. 4. Holt House contains many artifacts once belonging to Pi Phi’s founders, including a walnut drop-leaf table and the set of six cane chairs that belonged to founder Inez Smith Soule.

My 12 Favorite Moments of Pi Beta Phi

6 The Bow Spring 2016

It’s not unheard of for Pi Beta Phi Headquarters to occasionally get the question, “Are there men that work for Pi Beta Phi?” Yes, there are! We asked Shawn Eagleburger, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Fraternity and Foundation, to share with us some of his favorite memories and projects while serving on staff.

Shawn EagleburgerSenior Director of Strategic Initiatives

Shawn has been serving Pi Beta Phi on staff for seven years. In 2016, he took on a new leadership role for the Fraternity and Foundation, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives. In this cross-entity role, Shawn will drive strategic priorities, influence program development and Fraternity events, partner on extension efforts and lead fundraising campaigns for the Foundation. Shawn is a member of FarmHouse Fraternity and has served the organization in several roles, including Educational Leadership Consultant, leader of the effort to expand and rewrite the Fraternity’s Ritual and Ritual Education Program and Executive Board Member, signing six charters for new FarmHouse chapters as International Vice President.

To connect with Shawn, email shawn@pibetaphi.org or call (636) 256–1357.

1. My first Pi Phi mentor was Colorado Beta Linda Noel Ibsen. At the conclusion of Linda’s last convention as a sitting Grand Council member, she gave me a hug. That’s a memory I will never forget!

2. Launching the revised Leading with Values® member development program on January 19, 2010, just four months after I started working for Pi Phi. Since the launch, more than 10,000 Leading with Values seminars have been conducted by collegiate chapters.

3. In 2012, it was humbling to attend Pi Phi’s 100 Years of Literacy Celebration in Gatlinburg. As part of the weekend, I toured the sites and learned about Pi Phi’s legacy of literacy from Colorado Alpha Lisa Gamel Scott and Kentucky Beta Karen Emberton.

4. Brainstorming the name Read > Lead > Achieve® with former Headquarters staff member Chantel Hagner Lanier, Florida Epsilon, and seeing Pi Phi commit to a HUGE goal of literacy service for another 100 years.

5. I love conventions, and have been honored to help plan and execute them over the years. Banner Parade is my favorite!

6. Practicing recruitment door songs with 300+ of my Pi Phi friends at the Alabama Beta Chapter.

7. Asking “What if?” with Past Grand President Mary Loy Tatum, Oklahoma Beta, and dreaming about Pi Phi’s future.

8. Having more Pi Phis at my wedding than Fraternity brothers, and the rousing Ring Ching Ching toast to my spouse and me. (No, I did not marry a Pi Phi!)

9. I’ve seen firsthand the impact of donor dollars on Fraternity programs and initiatives, so I’ve made it a priority over the years to give back to the Foundation. Joining the Foundation’s Evelyn Peters Kyle Society in 2015 was a great moment for me!

10. I love representing Pi Beta Phi as part of the Extension team and seeing the Fraternity grow. I have been a part

of 11 “winning” presentations: Maryland Gamma, Connecticut Gamma, California Omicron, Illinois Kappa, Florida Zeta, California Xi, Virginia Iota, South Carolina Alpha, Georgia Beta, Delaware Alpha and South Carolina Beta.

11. The privilege of coaching and leading Pi Phi’s Member Services and Programming staff in my previous role — all 19 in office and 26 Leadership Development Consultants.

12. Any time I get the opportunity to reflect on all of the sincere friends Pi Phi has brought me. When I started at Pi Phi, I hoped I would contribute in meaningful ways ... I never could have imagined all that Pi Phi would give me in return!

My 12 Favorite Moments of Pi Beta Phi

7 The Bow Spring 2016

Thank You for Your Support!On Founders’ Day, April 28, sisters from all over the world came together to celebrate our sisterhood and give back for our first-ever Pi Phi Giving Day. Thanks to sisters and friends like you, we surpassed our initial fundraising goal of $50,000, raising a total of $70,018.67 from 1,259 donors for the future of our sisterhood.

See below for a small sample of the Pi Phi pride that was shared across social media that day!

Visit piphigivingday.org to see more social media posts and a special infographic with the day’s results. the day.

Shared Vision of Pi Beta Phi To be recognized as a premier organization for women by providing lifelong enrichment to its members and contributing to the betterment of society.

MissionPi Beta Phi Foundation enables the Fraternity to realize its mission and ensures the future of our sisterhood.

ValuesIntegrityPhilanthropic PassionFraternal and Community CommitmentTrustworthy Stewardship

Board of Trustees

PresidentBeth Seidelhuber Sordi, California Kappa Vice President FinanceJanice Worthington Lisko, Oklahoma Beta Vice President Development Jan Kincaid Clifford, Indiana Delta SecretaryMary Rakow Tanner, Maryland BetaTrusteesKathy Wager Ewing, Alabama GammaVivian Long, New York EtaKate Blatherwick Pickert, Kansas Alpha Rena Rodeman Thorsen, Maryland BetaBeth Torres, Illinois ZetaEx Officio Paula Pace Shepherd, Texas EpsilonLisa Gamel Scott, Colorado AlphaPresident EmeritaAnn Dudgeon Phy, Texas Alpha Staff

Executive Director Hallee Winnie, Michigan GammaDirector of Operations and ProgramsBetsy West McCune, Missouri AlphaDevelopment Director Jenny Miller Pratt, Indiana AlphaDirector of Strategic Initiatives Shawn Eagleburger Development Database SpecialistJoanna Sell Donor Relations Specialist Carolyn Banks, Illinois Eta

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSt. Louis, MOPermit No. 811154 Town & Country Commons Drive

Town & Country, Missouri 63017

UIFI Scholarship RecipientsThis year, 23 collegians will be attending the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute’s five-day seminar thanks to Foundation donors! The institute brings together fraternity men and sorority women from across North America to create opportunities to explore, define, and enhance their leadership skills, personal awareness, commitment to their fraternity or sorority, and grow to expect values based action from themselves and those they lead.

Welcome Carolyn Banks Pi Beta Phi Foundation recently welcomed Carolyn Banks, Illinois Eta, as Donor Relations Specialist. She came to Pi Phi from the hospitality industry where she focused on customer service, event management and logistics. In her new role, Carolyn is responsible for donor acknowledgement, event support and scheduling donor visits.

News & Notes

Stay connected all year long! Visit our website at

pibetaphifoundation.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

/pibetaphifoundation

@pibetaphifndn