CRs
The name may have changed more then once this semester but who we were looking for did not. From COBs to CORs to CRs Alpha Xi Delta still wants girls who will fit the chapter just right. To kick off the spring semester Alpha Xi Delta held two rounds of Continuous Recruitment to gain new members.
In the first week we did a spa night which happened to end in a headstand contest. The second night, Tuesday January 25th, our snow fort building plans fell through due there being no snow. Instead we had some fun getting to know you games. Wednesday we made bookmarks for Warren County Library. At our invite only dinner, Janet Kajor spoke about how much Alpha Xi means to her and how it was the best decision she ever made. There also was a power point slideshow that showed the true bonds of sisterhood that we have. For the current members it was a great reminder of why we love Alpha Xi, and to the potential new members it showed what they could potentially be a part of.
The second round started off with 60s night which was complete with music, tie-dying, and even love beads! The second night we didn’t have a normal session, instead we attended a self defense talk in the Huff center. The last night we all got to be creative and put together tooth fairy bears. Then on Thursday we had out invite-only desert in Poling Hall’s Morgan room. During the second round at our invite-only dessert Cheryl Luif spoke about how much each sister means to her and how we have become her family over the past three years.
During both of these events it was evident that the speeches reminded every girl of why they were in Alpha Xi and how amazing this sorority really is. Throughout the whole two weeks everyone was able to make some new friends and become even closer to their sisters. Although everyone has busy lives with school and extracurricular activities going on we all made a point to come to the events and enjoy the company of not only our sisters, but of the new friends that we have all made. Even though we did not receive any new members, all of the sisters were grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with one another and play games together. Everyone walked away from those two weeks knowing a sister a little bit better and remembering that Alpha Xi Delta is really a place that allows you to be your own individual self with a bunch of sisters surrounding you. ~Shannon Healy and Rachel Mitchell
Faculty Night Out
Faculty Night Out is one of the many philanthropies that our chapter participates in. For Faculty Night Out, our chapter extends invitations to the faculty and staff members here at Monmouth College. Our sorority picks specific nights, locations, and times to provide a free night for the faculty and staff, without their children so they can enjoy a weekend night as they wish.
From the sorority perspective, sisters sign up to work specific shifts throughout the evening in which they ‘work.’ We provide different activities for the kids to do, such as puzzles, coloring books, playdoh, and movies to watch.
Naturally, we have our ‘regulars’ or kids that show up every time we hold Faculty Night Out. I particularly enjoy Faculty Night Out, and find myself chasing and play with a number of different kids as the night wears on. I typically stay for the entire night, which only results in the kids stealing my shoes, chasing me around with playdoh, and lots and lots of bathroom trips. I love it all though and it has been a huge success for our chapter. ~Krisha Otto
V-Day Philanthropy
To help raise money to donate to charity here in Monmouth, the sisters of Alpha Xi Delta devoted their time to a new philanthropy idea. Every day during the week, sisters volunteered to sell hand made Valentine’s Day cards and personalized home-made cookies during their meal times. The proceeds of this philanthropy fundraiser went to Starting Point; an outstanding total of over $200. Thanks to the help of the brothers of Zeta Beta Tau, we were able to sell over 350 cards, over 130 cookies, and collect monetary donations. This philanthropy fundraiser was a financial success. Good job ladies! ~Sarah Zanger & Recruitment Counselor
Easter Egg Hunt
SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Bright and early at 8 am the AZD girls flooded the Giese’s lawn. Soon the grass was covered with colorful Easter eggs and the games were set up. Our annual Easter egg hunt was held on Saturday the 19th of March. Though it was cold each of our girls wore a warm smile and helped the children fill their baskets with eggs. The cold air did prevent our usual large crowd from coming out, but it was still a great day! After the hunt we played games and gave away prizes, including a plush lamb. Overall the hunt was a lot of fun for both the AZD sisters and the kids! ~ Rachel Mitchell
Officer Articles
President: With the end
of the school year in sight, there has been a lot of progress made within the
chapter this semester alone. For one, we have expanded our “philanthropy
horizons” and have really gotten the campus involved in our carious fund raisers
which have all been extremely successful. I am also thrilled to report that our
chapter GPA has risen from last semester and we currently hold the second
highest GPA among all the sororities and fraternities. I am so proud of this
chapter as I know we will improve more by the end of the semester! Also,
everything seems to be running right on schedule: plans for Formal Recruitment
are really taking shape, preparations for Founder’s Day are coming together, and
formal looks like it is going to be a beautiful night filled with laughter,
dancing, and all around great times for current members and alumnae alike! It
is going to be a great ending to an amazing and productive semester! ~Jodi Luif
Chapter Life: This semester, Alpha Xi Delta’s Chapter Life Council has already sponsored some exciting events, while anticipating even more. Early on, we had a special Valentine’s Day Sisterhood that included conversation, conversation hearts, and a sappy romantic movie. A couple of weeks later, we put on an exchange with Monmouth’s Kappa Kappa Gamma. The theme of the event was Mexican Fiesta. There were chips, música, and even a piñata! Women from both sororities had a great time getting to know each other and scrambling over falling candy. Our biggest project of the semester, however, is Formal. We are pleased to announce the formal theme of 2005: Masquerade. The dance will be held on April 30 at the beautiful Kensington Ballroom, in Galesburg, IL. We already have an excellent DJ booked, and decorations galore! We have confidence that not only will this year’s formal be a success, but an amazing evening. The Chapter Life Council is a wonderful group of girls full of energy and ideas for the chapter. As long as we continue to put these characteristics to work, the rest of the year will go by smoothly, creating long-lasting memories. ~Holly Trotter
Public Relations: This semester has been a busy one in the world of PR. We started out the semester with CRs, which meant lots of fliers to make and hang up. Soon after, all the girls on my council began working hard to write articles for this newsletter. Our latest endeavor was the Easter egg hunt, which took lots of PR work within the elementary schools and around Monmouth. Amanda Weck has been busy all semester working on Founder’s Day, and it looks like it will be an amazing one! My entire council has done an amazing job this year and I look forward to many more amazing jobs done in the future! ~ Katherine Taylor
Programs: All of the officers on the programs council have been working hard to make this year a smooth one. Missy McCrimmon and Liz Lutmer, our new member orientation chairs, are already planning for formal recruitment in the fall. Academic achievement chair Kat Koelbl is working on improving our academics and help increase our GPA (one of our goals as a chapter). Recruitment Counselor and Angela Pullum, our philanthropy chairs, are planning lots of activities for the semester, including our annual philanthropy, the Easter Egg Hunt, which was held on March 19th. The Ritual Chair, Fraternity Heritage Chair and Chaplin (Hilary Binks, Angie Vemmer, and Sarah Pickrel) keep the chapter updated on events going on in the sorority and on campus. We have already held two programs as a chapter, one to help us relate with one another better and the second to help confront sisters. The entire council has been working hard to help better the chapter and help us realize our potential! ~ Recruitment Counselor
Membership: I have many excellent ideas and plans for formal recruitment in the fall, and it’s been easy getting the chapter pumped up about it as well. The themes and entertainment I have planned are a lot of fun and will be sure to show our true spirit! On that note, **If you would like to donate any money to help pay for the little details of recruitment, like food, candles, etc., that would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! The budget this year is really tight, so any amount would help!!! If you have any questions or are interested in donating, please email me at cluif@monm.edu. Thank you very much!!! ~ Cheryl Luif
Financial: It has been, as always, a busy semester for Financial! I have tried to be early in getting reports in to Nationals, and so far so good! The members have been exceptionally good about paying their dues on time (great job girls!) and we have the money we need to pay for all of our events, including Formal. Right now I am busy working on the budget for next year, and making sure everyone keeps paying their dues and sticking to the budget. Overall, it has been a great semester and I can't wait for the next one! "The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money" -Author Unknown ~Brandie Miller
Recording Secretary: I am extremely excited to be Alpha Xi's new Recording Secretary. Even though it is more of a "behind the scenes" position, I try my best to help improve the chapter. This year I have been calculating points as often as possible to make sure that our chapter is enthusiastic about participating in events, and I have put all my organizational skills to work to be the best Recording Secretary I can be. I always try to be available to support my sisters. Everyday I can see how unified our chapter is and I could not be more proud to be a member of this chapter. ~ Theresa McMullen
Panhellenic Delegate: The Panhellenic Delegate represents Alpha Xi Delta to the other sororities on campus. The Panhellenic Delegate gives or receives information about our sorority or the other sororities itself. The Panhellenic Delegate is what we would call the peacemaker between sororities. I, Emily Bakes, am proud to be the Alpha Xi Delta Panhellenic Delegate of the year 2005! ~ Emily Bakes
Sister Spotlight: Tammy Dring
Tammy (or Tam Tam, as she is commonly called) is a junior Sociology/Anthropology major, here at Monmouth College. In addition to Alpha Xi Delta she is also an active member of Monmouth College’s Crimson Masque. In February she was in the cast of the Vagina Monologues here on campus.
This spring Tammy has been very excited over such philanthropic Alpha Xi events such as Faculty Night Out, and the annual Easter Egg Hunt. She is very active and willing to participate when it comes to goofing around with the faculty’s children. She has often been mistaken for an elementary education major, because she is so good with kids.
Aside from Alpha Xi and acting, Tammy is a movie fanatic. She has an extensive collection of movies from all genres and has been said to run a rental store out of her room. While she does not have a favorite movie genre, she loves movies from the thirties and forties, and makes no secret that she is nearly obsessed with the late Katharine Hepburn, whom she easily says is the greatest actress of all time. While not exactly musically inclined, she is also addicted to music, and plays it and sings to herself all the time (especially in the car).
In the future Tammy plans on seeking a job in Criminal Justice or Law Enforcement. While Law School is not in her immediate future she has not ruled it out. But for the time being she sees herself working in Forensics for the Chicago Police Department in the future. In the meantime, she spends hours reading up on some of the most notorious crime stories and spends endless amounts of time watching Court TV.
Overall, Tammy is pretty typical college girl. Procrastination often slips in and she finds it hard to keep to her studies especially now with the beautiful weather coming on. However, seeing as it is now spring, Greek Week is upon us, and she is very, very excited about all the events about to come, and she enjoys all the time and bonding she gets to do with her sisters during this week. The chapter always seems to walk away from Greek Week even closer than we already are.
Why We Love Tammy:
Dinner and an Award
Every semester, the Panhellenic Council’s scholarship chair plans a banquet that honors all the general letter sororities on campus for their academic achievements. The banquet is meant to serve as a reminder to each sorority to continue to succeed or to strive to be recognized at future banquets. In addition to being a rewarding event, it is also a time for all the sororities to come together and build on Panhellenic friendships. Each sorority attempts to sit outside of their usual group of friends and instead sit with girls of different sororities. After a brief dinner, a variety of awards are announced and the winners are asked to stand in recognition or receive a certificate. This year a number of Alpha Xi Delta members received awards. A number of girls received the award for order of omega as well as placement on the Dean’s List. In addition, the overall chapter received the award for most improved GPA. The women of Alpha Xi have raised their combined GPA’s and are now ranked second highest GPA throughout the Monmouth College Greek community. Overall, the night was a sweep for the ladies of AXD. ~ Recruitment Counselor
Alumni Spotlight: Margaret Josephson
Margaret has been a member of Alpha Xi Delta since 1950 and has thoroughly enjoyed her college sorority friendships since then. She has kept up with many of her friends both through travel and the local Alumni Association in Monmouth, which she has been a member of since 1960. While a college student at Monmouth, she even remembers visiting the home of Alice Bartlett Bruner, one of our founders who lived in Monmouth.
After college, she married her TKE college sweetheart and later had three sons. Margaret was an elementary school teacher for six years while her husband was in the military and working through dental school. She has always enjoyed her family and is now a proud mother to her three sons, their wives, and five grandchildren. She says, “That is as good as life can get!”
Margaret likes to travel and has visited New York City, taken an 8 day raft trip down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, and enjoys hiking, rafting, and canoeing. She still travels, but says that she mostly visits family, especially her sons- as they live in Oregon, Colorado, and Wisconsin.
Lastly, Margaret still enjoys her AXD connections– both past and present- and she feels that “sorority membership is always uplifting and valuable.”
TFJ and all Xi love goes out to Margaret!
Founders’ Day!
This year our Founders’ Day celebration will be held on April 16th. We will be in the Morgan Room from 11am-2pm and a light lunch will be served. Founders’ Day is a wonderful way to recognize the dedication of the twelve women who first envisioned Alpha Xi Delta. It is also a way for sisters, new and old, to come together to celebrate the way that Alpha Xi has forever changed them. ~ Amanda Weck
Sisters and their everyday lives
Alpha Xi Delta is just one organization the girls are involved in. Alpha Xi’s become involved in many ways throughout Monmouth’s campus. There are many girls who have wonderful talents and can play a sport, sing, play an instrument or even come up with the most creative work in art. Many others love their majors and are very involved with them. We come from all different directions which I love most about my sisters. An important thing we do though is get involved in other organizations and groups on the campus such as Student Senate, ASAP, Gamma, PRISM, hall council, bible studies, chapel and Relay for Life. These are just a few of our organizations and groups the sisters are involved in.
While being involved in these wonderful organizations and groups we still have all of our classes we attend, our homework to keep up with, our families and friends to stay in touch with from home and the love of our sisters to support us through the good and bad times we experience. On a side note we all don’t just stay on campus either. We have last minute Steak n Shake trips to get out of Monmouth to leave the frustration behind. We also take trips to Wal-Mart to just be together somewhere else outside of school. These trips contain some of the most memorable times we can have. To take breaks from homework throughout the night we will schedule our favorite T.V. show to watch together. Other nights we just sit around and talk. I am so glad to be a part of such a well-rounded group of girls who I love. Alpha Xi Delta has many unique and talented girls. Since we are involved, our sorority’s name shall be known for our hard work, caring and respect to the campus and ourselves. ~Emily Bakes
Senior Sendoff at Dr. B’s
All alumnae are invited to Dr. Bond’s the Friday of Graduation Weekend to honor the AXD seniors participating in graduation. This year’s AXD seniors are Lisa Bondi, Julie Cahill, and Krisha Otto. Food and non-alcoholic drinks will be served. Dr. Bond hopes that celebrating the seniors the Friday of Graduation Weekend will become a traditional event and an opportunity for alumnae to see each other too. For past alumnae, Dr. Bond has moved and her new address is 218 E. Girard Ave. If you are planning to attend, please RSVP mebond@monm.edu or (309) 734-8003.
Senior Sendoff 2005: Friday, May 13th, anytime after 6:30 p.m.
Join Your Local AXD Alumnae Association
Are you missing your AXD sisters? Join your local Alumnae Association. This URL will help you find an association near you: http://www.alphaxidelta.org/chapterlisting.asp If you live in the area around Monmouth, we’d love to have you join the local association. Contact Karen Ogorzalek, kareno@monm.edu or Marjorie Bond, mebond@monm.edu . We’ll let you know about the Monmouth Alumnae Association.
Alumni Link
Have you lost touch with the Beta Epsilon chapter? Have you moved? Newly married? New baby in the house? Grandkids? You name it; the girls of Beta Epsilon chapter want to hear about it!
Our newly created Alumni Link on the website will be continually updated with your latest news! Send us pictures too!
To get your news and info on the website, email Katherine Taylor at ktaylor1@monm.edu
TFJ!