Sisterhood as a Pi

Today started off with a second business meeting. This meeting was the election of officers for grand council. The meeting ran very smoothly and ended around 10am. It was scheduled to last until sometime around 12pm and Mrs.Gwaltney assured us that not every Convention runs as smoothly as this one has. I must say however that we were all very pleased that it did. So as the meeting closed, all Convention attendees were free until dinner at 7pm.

Everyone scattered after the business meeting. My roommate and some of her district sisters went to Disney and were elated they were going to be able to leave early enough to spend a good amount of time with Mickey and the gang. I decided to come back to my room and work a bit on homework for my summer session online class. But these big white beds have a magical effect when you lay in them and I drifted to sleep for an hour or so. The sun was peaking through the curtains when I woke. I finished my homework and changed for the pool. With a fresh new ADPi towel, courtesy of Gift Mart, I made my way down the elevator and towards the pool.

The pool here is really beautiful. It was nice to get out of the highly air conditioned conference rooms and spend some time in the warm Florida sun. After a few hours by the pool, the pool chair had the same effect as my bed. Basking in the warm sun, I drifted off to a nap for an hour or so. When I work it was 5:30 and time for me to get ready for the evenings dinner. Thankfully I didn't have any problems with my wardrobe when dressing for dinner and I headed downstairs promptly at 6:30 for a Diamond 4-Point Award photograph. I am very proud of my Zeta Psi sisters for working so hard and continuing to receive this award many years running.

Dinner this evening was a very special occasion. I sat with a few of my district sisters with some other nice women we had just met. Gift Mart put on a fashion show during dinner and it was full of entertainment. They even found a few guys to walk the cat walk that had been set up and a nice young man proposed to an alumnae member- very entertaining. He was such a good sport.

After we finished dinner there were several alumnae awards being given out. One of these honors was awarded to Martha Alexander. Mrs. Alexander is the mother of a Zeta Mu alumnae. My advisor, Connie, is also a Zeta Mu alumnae member. Connie is good friends with an advisor for Zeta Mu, Jamie, who is also a Zeta Mu alumnae. I have become very close with the two young women representing the Zeta Mu chapter here at Convention. As well as my Finance DTD when I was FVP last year is a Zeta Mu alumnae. With all of these connections through Zeta Mu it was amazing to feel some connection to such an amazing women as Martha Alexander. Her accomplishments over the years are immense and I know she has dearly touched all of the lives of the Zeta Mu alumnae members that I know.

One tradition that was continued tonight that cannot go on without being mentioned was the singing of the Convention song. This song is started with everyone standing and goes through the number of Conventions that have been attended by this years attendees. The song continued on from 1 to 5 to 10 to 20 with the winner having been to 21 Conventions! What an accomplishment and inspiration. Forty-two years of Alpha Delta Pi Conventions, now that is loyalty.

Tonight was a special night. As we joined together in honoring several alumnae members they spoke words of wisdom to each of us on the importance of Alpha Delta Pi in there lives. Seeing so many women who have dedicated their lives to being loyal to this amazing organization was truly special. I watched as these women laughed together, cried together and enjoyed themselves as they shared in remembering what brought them together in the first place- the sisterhood of Alpha Delta Pi. There friendships and life long commitments are an inspiration to me. Having only been a member for 2 years it really dawned on me as one alumnae spoke and said "most of your time in Alpha Delta Pi is spent as an alumnae member." Its true, more than ten times of your membership in Alpha Delta Pi is spend as an alumnae member. This made me realize just how important being an active alumnae is to the continued success and growth of ADPi. After all, it isn't collegiates that are starting new chapters or connecting our chapters internationally- its the alumnae. This is an inspiring thought and much of my success as a member of ADPi is due to the continued support of alumnae. Without them, ADPi would not exist. I hope I can be half as dedicated as an alum as the women who were recognized tonight.

Courtney, Chapter President Zeta Psi