The Best and Brightest AXO Recap

We're so proud of  all the Alpha Chi Omegas involved in The Best and the Brightest Awards last week here in Tallahassee! The Best & Brightest Awards recognize the most outstanding graduating high school seniors in our area. First, big hugs to Laura Rogers (Beta Eta, FSU), who not only organizes the awards and the big event but also, along with her husband, Sam Rogers, created an additional new "Spirit of the Best and Brightest" scholarship award in memory of their son, Brooks.

Second, big congratulations to our Alpha Chi Omega family members who were winners as well:
- Tori, daughter of Shannon (Beta Eta, FSU) won the Drama and Performing Arts category;
- Sarah, sister of Anna (Gamma Iota, UF) took second place in the Social Science category; and
- Dominique, daughter of Kathy (Alpha Upsilon, U of AL) won third place in Public Speaking!

Alpha Chi Omega Global Service Initiative #AXOGSI

Exciting news: Alpha Chi Omega's first Global Service Initiative trip started Saturday, May 19th. A dozen collegians from around the nation were chosen to participate in this service-learning experience in Negril, Jamaica, including Beta Eta Isabelle Wilkins! Read her article about the process so far on the chapter's blog - http://axofloridastate.blogspot.com/2012/05/beta-eta-in-jamaica.html where I'm sure she'll also share photos and a full report after she returns.

Learn more about the Global Service Initiative here and follow the Alpha Chi Omega blog for posts this week!

If you are on twitter, follow #AXOGSI for real-time tweets from the project.

Twitter Love from AXO National HQ

Yum! RT @axoete: MT @amy_z: Loved the fun we had @ @AXOETE Salad Days! Enjoying a slice of @jennsueb's lemon blueberry pound cake

— Alpha Chi Omega (@AlphaChiOmegaHQ) May 8, 2012

Welcoming FSU AXO Graduating Seniors as New AXO Alumnae!

Sunday, April 22nd, we hosted Hall of Commitment for the graduating seniors at the FSU chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. We're so proud of these young women, and amazed by how quickly four years can pass. 

gifts for the seniors 

 our newest alumnae!

carnations for the ceremony

 cookies to enjoy after the ceremony

Thank you to our alumnae, representing four collegiate chapters, who performed the ceremony!

And our second ceremony, Thursday, April 26th:

National Women's Health Week

We're happy to join with the National Panhellenic Conference in celebrating National Women's Health Week! 

National Women’s Health Week empowers women to make their health a top priority. It also encourages women to take the following steps to improve their physical and mental health and lower their risks of certain diseases:

• Visit a health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive screenings.
• Get active.
• Eat healthy.
• Pay attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress.
• Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet.

Learn more about National Women's Health Week.

Friends of the Library - SS

Please add the following fun event to your calendars and plan to support our AXO sister Laura (Beta Eta, FSU): Friends of the Library Trivia Fundraiser - Sunday May 20th!

Please join us and support the Friends of the Library for a TRIVIA contest at

Bird's Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack

325 North Bronough Street

Sunday, May 20^th  4:00 – 6:00 pm

Fire Chief Cindy Dick is the celebrity announcer so you know it’s worth the price to see her in action!

Tickets are $25 per person and we will have nice cash prizes for the winning team. Cash bar - Beer and Wine. Grab a few of your friends who have trivia knowledge and want to have fun on a Sunday afternoon!  You could win!!!  Contact Laura for more information and tickets at 509-6820

In Memory of Peggy Maguire

Sad news to share today. Our longest-lived Alpha Chi Omega in the Tallahassee area passed away last fall, at age 101.

Peggy Maguire (1910 - 2011)

    |   Visit Guest Book

Peggy Maguire

Peggy Maguire, 101, passed away, Friday, September 30, 2011 at Westminster Oaks in Tallahassee, FL. A native of Oklahoma, she was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega Social Sorority and of Mortor Board. She has been a resident of Tallahassee since 1963. She was a secretary for the Department of Legal Affairs, Office of the Attorney General, for 16 years. Memorial contributions may be made to a favorite charity or Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 624 Miccosukee Rd, Tallahassee, FL , 32308.

Peggy was a 1928 initiate of Psi chapter at the University of Oklahoma, where she majored in journalism and was a scholar and leader on campus (the photo, at left, is her junior year picture from the UO yearbook The Sooner). After graduating in 1931, she moved to Chicago and began her career. In Tallahassee, Peggy worked for the Attorney General. We had the pleasure of meeting some of her former co-workers at her 100th birthday in 2010. She will be missed.

February 21, 2004

June 11, 2010 (Peggy's 100th birthday)

Another Successful Salad Days: Welcoming Summer

You will see below, JSBH is NOT a professional photographer, but at least she documents our fun :-) Thank you to our president Amy Z who hosts the yearly event.

We enjoyed a fantastic variety and number of alumnae at our 7th Annual Salad Days and Fruity Drinks fun evening.

Alumnae who graduated last month and 48+ years ago joined us - how fantastic and amazing that we shared the Bond of Sisterhood across the years - good food and drinks will do that. Sisters from nine chapters attended: Pi - Berkeley, Upsilon - Millikin, Beta Eta - FSU, Beta Gamma - LSU, Gamma Epsilon - OK State, Gamma Iota - UF, Zeta Upsilon - CWRU, Theta Lambda - Clemson and Iota Psi - Elon.

from the right going clockwise - Maxine, Britain, Chelsie, Rachael,
Linda, Lynda, Amy D, Amy K, Magie, Tara, Amy Z, Annette



from the left going clockwise:  Maxine, Lauren, Amy C, Ashley H, Danielle, Britain, Rachael, Linda, Lynda, Amy D, Amy K

Amy C (Beta Eta), Amy D (Upsilon), Barbara C (Gamma Iota),
Chelsie (Iota Psi) and Linda H (Gamma Epsilon)



We celebrated our newest alumna's birthday (note the princess crown)

We forgot to photograph the appetizers, drinks:  homemade sangria and watermelon lemonade and desserts:  blueberry + lemon curd pound cake, cream-cheese brownies and The Cake Shop cupcakes, but we did snap a picture of the salads (fruit, tossed, bean, pasta - you name it - all yummy!) We had plenty of leftovers to take to sick sisters who couldn't attend, boyfriends, husbands and roommates!

We can't wait for next year!

Salad Days Recap (a throw back from 2010)

In preparation for our annual event on Monday, May 7, 2012, we offer this glimpse at our 2010 event ... 
HOPE TO SEE YOU MONDAY - CONTACT AMY Z for more information!

Each spring ETE holds Salad Days, a fun get together where everyone brings a salad to share and we share an evening of catching up while enjoying a lot of good food and maybe a signature drink or two. When the weather is nice we sit out by the pool at our President's house.

The weather did not cooperate this past Monday but we had a great time nonetheless and thought it would be fun to share some of the delicious salad recipes.

Tara (Beta Eta, FSU) prepared a fabulous healthy butternut squash sage pasta salad from Self magazine. (Thank you Self for the picture!) This was really yummy - the only difference is Tara used rotini (spiral pasta) instead of penne:

Butternut Squash and Fried Sage Pasta

A hearty bowl of pasta plus savory cheese? You'd never know this whole-grain comfort food is diet-friendly! Squash supplies all the vitamin A you need for the day.

By Kerri Conan

From the February 2010 Issue

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz whole-wheat penne 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 8 sage leaves 
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced 
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lb), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 
  
• PREPARATION
• Cook penne as directed on package. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry sage, turning once, until crisp on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a paper towel. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and golden, about 3 minutes. Add squash, 3/4 cup water, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until squash softens, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Return pasta to pot and add squash mixture; stir over low heat, adding some reserved cooking water if necessary, until pasta is coated, about 1 minute. Serve, garnished with cheese and sage. 
•  
• THE SKINNY
• 337 calories per serving, 6.5 g fat (1.4 g saturated), 63 g carbs, 10 g fiber, 11 g protein
•  
•  
• Jenn (Theta Lambda, Clemson) our treasurer made a fabulous traditional peach cobbler that we served hot with vanilla ice cream. YUM!

The Lady and Sons Peach Cobbler

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (28-ounce) can sliced peaches in heavy syrup, un-drained (use fresh peaches if available; see note*)
• Cinnamon, for sprinkling, optional
• Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, for serving

Directions

*If they are available, by all means use fresh peaches. In a saucepan, mix 2 cups fresh peach slices with one cup sugar and one cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir often, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved. Substitute this for the canned peaches.

*Cook's Note: The most important part of this dish is not stirring the mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put butter in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish and place in the oven to melt. Stir sugar and flour together and mix well. Slowly add milk and continue stirring to prevent the batter from lumping.

Being careful not to burn yourself, remove hot baking dish containing melted butter from oven; pour batter directly over butter in baking dish. Do not stir.

Spoon fruit on top of batter, then gently pour syrup on top. Do not stir. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of batter, if using. (The most important part of this dish is not stirring the mixture at this point in the recipe.)

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Your batter will rise above your fruit, producing the most wonderful of crusts. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Betty A (Gamma Zeta, K State) made a Paella Recipe and she collaborated with our famous gourmand about the recipe:  Mary "Faith" Sappington Whiteside Bingham  (a beloved sister and alumna of Beta Eta chapter who passed away in 2011. At one time Faith owned a kitchen store in Tallahassee and published a cookbook - see below links.)

Paella Salad (very colorful!)

one medium (1 lb) pkg yellow rice

1/8 t dried mustard powder

2 T wine vinegar

1/3 c grapeseed or olive oil

1/8 t salt

1 c frozen peas

1-2 c cubed chicken

1 c diced tomatoes

1/2 scant c chopped celery

1/8 c diced onion

1/2 c chopped green pepper

1 3 oz jar pimento

1/2 c sliced black olives

5 drops tabasco sauce

1-2 c boiled shrimp (may use all shrimp or all chicken or mix it)

Cook rice according to directions. While warm, toss rice with dressing made with 1/8 t mustard

powder, the wine vinegar, oil and salt.

When the rice is cool, add the remaining ingredients. Serve with turmeric dressing.

Tumeric Dressing: Mix 1 c mayo (low-fat is fine) with 1 t turmeric and 2 T lemon juice.

Salad notes - add more chicken, shrimp and veggies - enough to make ~ 8 servings

Faith's obituary, http://www.apalachtimes.com/articles/mary-9624-faith-whiteside.html

Faith's cookbook, http://www.worldcat.org/title/faith-in-the-kitchen/oclc/48935596?tab=details