Mary Ann Mobley, Miss America 1959, died yesterday at the age of 75. She was a Chi Omega from the University of Mississippi. In 1960, as the outgoing Miss America, she crowned Lynda Lee Mead. Both were initiated into the Tau chapter of Chi Omega at the University of Mississippi. It is the only time that the outgoing and incoming Miss Americas were from the same sorority chapter. May she rest in peace.
Mary Ann Mobley at the 1990 Chi Omega convention (Photo courtesy of Lyn Harris)
Two Kudos…
Kudos to Kappa Alpha Theta’s Executive Headquarter’s staff; 100% have given to the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation. Moreover, these stats from the website are impressive.
42 total employees work at Headquarters (not including ELCs) 27 are Fraternity employees 8 are Fraternity Housing Corporation employees 7 are Foundation employees 3 are men 39 are women 28 are members of Kappa Alpha Theta 19 have given to Theta Foundation for 10 years or more (that’s 45 percent—nearly half of staff!) Collectively, the current staff has contributed over $54,000 in their lifetimes Thus far in 2014, staff contributions total over $9,300Kudos, too, to my friend Juli Holmes Willeman, Executive Director of Pi Beta Phi, who recently endowed an undergraduate scholarship. Preference will be given to members of Juli’s chapter, Iowa Beta at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. In a Pi Beta Phi Foundation press release, Juli said,
“I had no idea the impact Pi Phi would have on my life beyond college. My closest friends today are friends I made at 406 N. Buxton during those four treasured years at Simpson College. Professionally, I’ve been blessed to work with amazing Pi Phis that challenge me, inspire me and lift me up to do more than I ever thought possible. I am incredibly proud to be an Iowa Beta and I hope Iowa Beta is proud to have one of their own leading our beloved organization. We are all a part of something so much bigger, and my hope and wish with this scholarship is to give back to an organization near and dear to my heart and live our mission developing leaders for tomorrow.”
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Three Recommends…
Take the Thank You Challenge! T.J. Sullivan, motivational Greek speaker and author of Motivating the Middle, has sent out a challenge to student leaders to thank those who have had an impact on their lives. Read about it at http://intentionaltjs.com/thank-you-challenge/. I am a true believer in thank you notes (see http://wp.me/p20I1i-IX) and so his post really touched my heart.
The controversy at the University of Virginia continues to make news after Rolling Stone magazine retracted the article about an alleged rape victim. For more information, see http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/calls-for-uva-to-restore-greek-life-after-retraction/ and/or ow.ly/FDXl7 . Both links are courtesy of the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee twitterfeed.
Five things that won’t fix your Greek System, an insightful post by John Shertzer on his Fraternal Thoughts blog – http://fraternalthoughts.blogspot.com/2014/11/5-things-that-wont-fix-your-greek.html#.VG4zVFHwaas.twitter
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Four Founders Days…
Happy Founding Day to three men’s fraternities and one sorority.
Kappa Sigma was founded on December 10, 1869 by five students at the University of Virginia.
Pi Kappa Phi was founded on this date in 1904 at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
Sigma Sigma Rho, a South Asian-based sorority, was founded on December 10, 1998 at St. John’s University in Queens, New York.
Delta Sigma Phi was founded on December 10, 1899, at the City College of New York.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
