Happy 81st Birthday Beta Eta Chapter

Beta Eta, the collegiate chapter ETE supports, celebrates her 81st birthday today, March 29th, 2010! Real.Strong.Women gracing Florida for 81 years - keep seeking the heights ladies! ☆☆☆

AXO-Beta Eta Par-Tee Charity Golf Tournament

We are pleased to share the plans the collegiate chapter has made for their annual philanthropy, Par-Tee. If you are on facebook, please join the Par-Tee 2010 group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110706042274350&ref=ss and mark your calendars for dinner Wednesday, April 7^th at Tijuana Flats restaurant, 2020 West Pensacola St. From 6-9pm that day, write ACW on the back of your receipt and 10% will go to Alpha Chi Omega Foundation and Refuge House. On facebook, the event is posted here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107512772600600&ref=mf We hope to see you there!

Dear Alumnae,

My name is Katherine, and I am this year’s Par-Tee Chair. Par-Tee is our annual charity golf tournament which allows us to raise money for our national altruism: Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention. All funds raised from the event will be donated to the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation and Women's Refuge House. The Alpha Chi Omega Foundation supports the educational and philanthropic purposes of Alpha Chi Omega.Refuge House is a local shelter whose mission is to provide services for battered women, their children and sexual assault survivors while working to eliminate conditions in society that allow such violence to continue.

This year’s tournament will be held the weekend of April 9-11, 2010, and it will be a great weekend to revisit the house and enjoy time with old friends! Early evening Friday we will be having a BBQ. All golfers are invited to the BBQ free of cost and it will cost other family members or friends five dollars a person. The tournament will take place  Saturday morning at Killearn Country Club with a 9:00 AM shotgun start. Golfers can arrive anytime starting at 8:00 AM to go out and take some practice swings on the range. Golfers, come hungry as breakfast and lunch will be provided! Sunday morning we invite all golfers and family members back to our chapter house for a complimentary brunch from 10:00 AM- noon. At the brunch we will be handing out awards from the tournament, announcing Saturday’s closest to the pin and longest drive winners, and there will also be the drawing from the 50/50 raffle.

We would love for all alumnae and families to come out and join us for a fun weekend! If you are interested in playing, please email me and I will send you the registration form. Please fill it out and send it in with the checks, which need to be back to me by April 1. So I could have a quick head count, if know you are interested in playing or attending any weekend activities, can you please email and tell me how many people will be attending each event. 

If you cannot make it to the event but would still like to make a contribution, you can sponsor a hole for $100.00 or a donation of any amount is greatly appreciated! All checks can be sent to the chapter house: 

ATTN: Par-Tee Chair
518 W Park Ave 
Tallahassee, FL 32301

I thank you in advance for all of your support with our tournament. If you have any questions you can e-mail me at kkovach10 at yahoo dot com.

Sincerely,

Katherine

Par-Tee Chair

Our Mission: Supporting Sisters ("SS")

One of our missions as an Alpha Chi Omega alumnae chapter is to support sisters who are active in the community. So many Alpha Chis are generous with their time and talents! It is wonderful to see them use the skills they developed and honed as collegiate officers, alumnae volunteers, and community members to advance a variety of causes in the Tallahassee/Thomasville community.

A few times a month, we'll spotlight an event or organization and share a little about the Alpha Chi sister(s) involved. We'll tag these events to make them easy to track, using "Supporting Sisters" and/or "SS" in the title of the post and in the Labels.

In addition to highlighting sisters who organize fundraisers, perform in and promote fine arts activities, and assist with philanthropic events, members of Epsilon Tau Epsilon also attend their events as a group, organize sponsorships, volunteer behind the scenes and contribute as a group.

Among the sisters and groups we have supported:

• Junior League of Tallahassee 
• Tallahassee Ballet
• Tallahassee Symphony Society
• Stubbs Educational Foundation (a local group that provides youth music scholarships)
• Leadership Tallahassee 
• South Georgia Ballet 
• Springtime Tallahassee
• Big Bend March for Babies
• Christmas Connection (a local effort to raise funds and donations for families in need)
• and two local groups whose work benefits domestic violence survivors: Children’s Home Society and Refuge House.

We look forward to adding to this list in the coming months and hope you'll stay tuned to learn more!

Springtime Tallahassee: "Leap Into Springtime" - SS

March 26-27, 2010 - the weather looks like it will cooperate too!

Two of our ETE sisters, Stefanie (Beta Eta - FSU) and Holly (BH), are associated with Springtime Tallahassee. Stefanie and husband are members of Springtime Tallahassee(and son Brian was a "Gent"), and Holly is part of the backbone staff for Springtime Tallahassee.

Friday night will kick off the festival weekend with the Capital City Bank Downtown GetDown from 6:00-10:00 pm in Adams Street Commons.

Saturday, March 27th
aPrior to the parade the Gulf Winds Track Club 35th Annual Springtime Tallahassee 10K race will be run in and around downtown Tallahassee. Target Copy is sponsoring the 10K and their own 1 Mile (Under 16) Run.

aThe Annual Springtime Tallahassee Jubilee in the Park and Grand Parade. The Grand parade will consist of over 100 fun and inviting entries that you do not want to miss, including Krewe floats, marching bands, and some of the best parade units in the Southeast.

aFollowing the Grand Parade will be the Jubilee in the Park filled arts and craft vendors, food, local and national entertainment, children's park, seafood festival, beer garden, and more for all ages.

... and in another AXΩ connection - the Grand Parade Marshall of the Parade this year is Tracey (Epsilon Chi, UNC-Chapel Hill)'s dad!

Tijuana Flats, April 7th - Dinner, Supporting Refuge House

Join Alpha Chi Omega at Tijuana Flats on April 7 from 6 to 9 pm, to raise money for the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation and Women's Refuge House! Just write AXΩ on the back of your receipt and 10% will be donated to this great cause. See you all there!

Tijuana Flats, 2020 West Pensacola Street

Note also that you can RSVP on the facebook event here. Hope to see you there!

Thank you for Making APT Luncheon a Success!

Each year on the first Saturday in February, Alumnae Panhellenic of Tallahassee holds its Scholarship Luncheon & Auction. It is always a fun event and this year did not disappoint. We want to thank all of our Alpha Chi Omega alumnae who attended, contributed and shopped!

(Some of the Alpha Chi alumnae and FSU AXO collegians in the Tri-Delt courtyard after lunch.)

Overall, the silent auction raised $1896 for the Scholarship fund! Alpha Chi Omegas donated 24 items and purchased (won!) items totalling $546 - more than one-quarter of the total and twice as much as the second group. Thank you all for your generosity!! As usual we had the best representation among all the groups; and as usual, we enjoyed the society of our Alpha Chi sisters and our Panhellenic sisters!

Thank you Tri-Delta for hosting the event, Alpha Chi sister Britain for serving as APT Treasurer and cashier for the Auctions, and everyone at Alumnae Panhellenic for making our day special!

Caryn Beck-Dudley: One of Tallahassee's 25 Women You Should Know 2010

ETE rejoiced to see Caryn Beck-Dudley (Beta Xi - Utah State), Dean of FSU's School of Business, honored by the Tallahassee community. Caryn exemplifies AXΩ's Real. Strong. Woman. An additional fun fact: Caryn's daughter is a current BH collegian.


Dean sees vital community role for College of Business
By Dave Hodges • DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR • March 7, 2010

An attorney primed for a law career, Caryn Beck-Dudley found the attraction of the classroom too much to resist.Husband Lynn Dudley, a soil chemist, got a job at Utah State University, and the couple settled nearby. An individual who taught business law at Utah State abruptly resigned, and a Realtor who saw the classified ad in the newspaper for a temporary instructor phoned to ask Beck-Dudley if she might like to teach.

The decision she made put her on a whole new career track. "I loved it. I was passionate about it. It was tons of fun," she said of the experience. She taught business law, finance law and real estate law. "I got a permanent position and never looked back."

It was four years ago this month that Beck-Dudley arrived at Florida State University to become the dean of the College of Business. Since then, she has worked with the faculty to craft a strategic plan for the college and raise its stature among institutions of its type in the U.S.
"We decided that we really wanted to be a preeminent business school, among the top business schools in the world and that requires a variety of types of things," said Beck-Dudley, one of the 25 Women You Need to Know, the Democrat's annual celebration of women and their contributions to the community.

The effort got its share of notice. "The college is currently ranked No. 35 among public institutions in the nation by U.S. News & World Report (2010), and each of its five departments holds special distinctions of their own," communications manager Lindsay Potvin wrote in her nomination.

The plan set important goals for the college and the steps necessary to achieve them. One in particular is the addition of new programs for students.

"To me, the most gratifying is just the number of student-oriented activities that we have added to the college in the past four years," she said. "We have added a whole new internship program. We have added a student-run investment fund. We've added a brand new entrepreneurship certificate and entrepreneurship program where students are actually starting businesses."
She also stresses the college's need to be involved in Tallahassee's business community, and she leads by example, staying active with the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, and helping with projects of the Knight Creative Communities Initiative.

"I firmly believe that colleges of business should be part of the business community in which they sit, and actually in the broader community. We try to expand our activities throughout the state of Florida with different programs, and actually even up to Atlanta with some," she said.

ETE is blessed with great women!

Alumnae Survey from AXO Headquarters

Did you receive a survey on February 3, 2010 from the Alumnae Engagement Team at Alpha Chi Omega Headquarters? If NOT, visit today. They WANT your input!

Each member who completes the survey and includes her contact information at the bottom of the form will be eligible for a grand prize drawing. Twenty lucky winners will be randomly selected to receive a $20 gift card to Herff Jones, the official jeweler of Alpha Chi Omega.


The survey consists of 35 questions and will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

The survey deadline is April 15, 2010, so we will do a reminder blog for y'all in April.

Happy Hera Day & Operation Prom Dress!

Monday March 1^st is a double holiday for Alpha Chi Omega – both International Badge Day (celebrated by all 26 National Panhellenic Conference member groups – wear your lyre pin with pride today) and Hera Day, Alpha Chi Omega’s national day of service to others. Read a little more about Hera Day here: http://axoete.blogspot.com/2010/02/hera-day-march-1st-what-is-your-good.html

If you are looking for a service project today, please consider helping out Lauren Aukeman (Beta Eta, FSU) – she chairs Operation Prom Dress for Junior League Tallahassee this year!

 

Hi Friends and Colleagues!   Do you remember how great your prom was?  Remember, how fun it was to dress up and take lots of fun pictures? It may be one of my favorite memories from high school.    Unfortunately, many young girls in our community won't get that chance because funds will prevent them for going. But the Junior League of Tallahassee is doing something about it, and I am privileged to chair this fantastic event. .   The Junior League of Tallahassee (JLT) is collecting formal dresses, shoes and accessories for its annual event, Operation Prom Dress. This one-day shopping event is for students of Gretchen Everhart School for Exceptional Students and all public high school students in the Big Bend region that may not be able to afford a prom dress. Operation Prom Dress is scheduled for Sunday, March 21 from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Tallahassee . Girls will have the opportunity to visit this make-shift boutique -- complete with dressing rooms -- and select a formal outfit, as well as try on shoes and accessories to complete their prom look.

I know each of you probably has a bridesmaid dress or prom dress you'll never wear again.  Please consider donating it and/or formal shoes or accessories to the JLT’s Operation Prom Dress. Contact me, and I'll coordinate the pick up of these items.  If you don't have dresses, please consider forwarding this email to a friend or colleague, or posting on a bulletin board at work with my contact information.

I really appreciate your support!  

Lauren A. Aukeman

lauren_aukeman at yahoo.com