Tiwana Rayburn, Girl Responsible

First Chapter in Louisiana

Picture this… February, 2020. A kindergarten teacher in Baton Rouge, LA is longing for “sisterhood”. She belongs to a sorority from college but wants more. She wants true friendship and the opportunity to serve her community. She prays; she searches the web for sororities; she prays; she thinks of starting her own sorority; she prays; and something keeps drawing her back to the Sigma Phi Gamma website, including the blog and the history. In March, she sends out a web inquiry, admitting what she is looking for. Beth Beckham, International Organizer, leads the team to contact her, thinking she would join Omicron Epsilon, our virtual chapter. Her next email to us says that she has 15 friends who are also interested in Sigma Phi Gamma and she would like to start a chapter in Louisiana. Knocked our socks off!! Tiwana Rayburn and her 15 friends pledged in May, 2020 via zoom. Kappa Province reached out to them with support and friendship, and prepared them for sisterhood. In June, again by zoom, a new chapter was installed, 16 were initiated into Omicron Eta and officers installed! Tiwana’s journey for sisterhood had begun!

Now Tiwana has a full life, with a husband, 6 children, 5 grandchildren, plus teaches kindergarten during the pandemic. She loves reading (yes, she joined our Bookends) and writing. In fact she has an inspirational book that will be published next year. She enjoys gardening with her children and grandchildren, and her church gives her daily guidance. With all of this, Tiwana wanted sisterhood. She was amazed at the outpouring of support, friendship and love as she led her friends on the SPG journey. Three of her group also belonged to the other sorority, two were her daughters and others were her co-workers. As she shared the SPG story, she told them to visit the website, and her enthusiasm was contagious! And now, as a chapter she encourages them by coaching them with words and “practice sessions” so they are prepared to share SPG with others. She also encourages each of them to return to college, complete their degree or strive for more!

Service to community is so important to Tiwana. This summer her chapter made “COVID packages”, including face shields and masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, Lysol and more, for teachers and students. Teacher bags also included a teacher’s journal, a book for teachers and EXPO markers. Her “social media savvy sisters” talked about the packages and SPG on Facebook and got such a response that they did a drawing with 13 teachers and 13 students receiving the bags. The excitement was so great that 7 of the teacher recipients became pledges and were initiated via zoom in October. They also made backpacks for many students, loading them with necessary school supplies. They are now planning their next service project.

At this time, Omicron Eta meets via zoom for meetings. As Louisiana moves into Phase 3, they plan to meet the 3^rd Sunday of each month at a restaurant for brunch and time to be together physically, with masks and social distance of course. They are surviving a summer of hurricane after hurricane after hurricane. But this group of women have sisterhood. They feel our love and support for them. They are succeeding by working as a team. Some are even planning to attend Convention 2021 in Portland! Tiwana Rayburn and Omicron Eta, welcome to Sigma Phi Gamma! Can’t wait to meet you all in person!

How was Halloween when you were kid? Do you remember the excitement of trick or treating?!

I grew up in a military family with 5 brothers and sisters. Most of the time we lived on military bases so there were lots of families with lots of kids. Trick or treating was lots of fun and safe.

My brothers, sisters and I thought Halloween was almost the best holiday ever, only Christmas surpassed it. We put our costumes on as early as possible- sometimes we got to wear them to school for the party!

We’d eat dinner, waiting for it to get dusk, when the street lights came on it was time! With the darkness, off we’d go, door to door, ring or knock, the door would open, trick or treat, candy dropped, on to the next! Sometimes the giver would actually ask for a trick to be done and you’d have to do something before the candy was given. We would do as many houses as we could till Dad was tired of walking and then we’d head home. We went to so many houses we didn’t have cute, little candy pails, we used a pillowcase! Once home, we’d dump the candy out to marvel at our bounty! The parents would look things over, pick out a few for themselves and the rest was ours! We guarded that treasure like it was gold.

As we aged the Halloween tradition changed, trick or treat became parties or haunted houses. I still love a good haunted house and of course candy so I guess there’s a bit of kid in me still! I still enjoy costume parties! Dressing up incognito- if you chose a clever enough costume even your friends may not recognize you.

For sorority, some years have brought a costume, Bingo party. One Province we had a holidays theme, Friday night’s Welcome Reception was Halloween. One sister made a piece of furniture out of cardboard, it had a lamp, a book, a pair of glasses and a clock on it, can you guess what she was? A one nightstand! We all laughed at that one. The best treat of course, is time spent with sisters but the snacks and candy our sisters bring are good too.

This year could be different, how will Covid affect Halloween? Some places have canceled Halloween altogether. You are supposed to social distance these days so there can be no group of kids gathered on the porch waiting in anticipation of the door opening and what the treat will  be…There aren’t as many houses decorated in the neighborhoods as usual. If you think about it, how safe has Halloween ever been? Knocking on stranger’s doors after dark, taking treats from stranger’s, wearing masks that hide your face- well that one could be good for Covid times- but Halloween is a time for kids to be kids. Whatever you do to celebrate Halloween remember to make it fun for the kids.

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

I am ashamed to say that I don’t even know his name. Truth be told, I really don’t know anything about him.  I’ve heard rumors…he is wealthy, he has mental problems, and he has experienced a difficult life.  I don’t know if any of this is true.  And really, I am not sure I want to know.

I live in a town of about 12,000 people in the heartland of Indiana.  Things are slower paced here.  Sometimes that is a good thing, sometimes not so much.  But here is where the unknown man comes in.  The street I take through town, to go to the bank, the grocery store, church, well just about everywhere, is one of the busiest. And it is there, that for several hours almost everyday, the unknown man sits.  He has his old bike beside him, usually a soft drink, and there is now a small bench for him to sit on.

And what does he do during these hours?  He waves to every car that goes by.  He smiles when people wave back or honk their horns.  I used to drive right by him, wondering what his story was.  I said that I “used to” drive right by, but not anymore.  You see, his attempt to brighten someone’s day, however small, made a difference.  I now look for him, to see him wave and smile as I wave back to him.  And the smile crosses my face as I feel like maybe I have brightened his day as he has brightened mine.

Sometimes it is the little things that people do, that make the biggest difference.

I have COVID-19! How did you react when you read that?

Three weeks ago, three sorority sisters and I left Indiana to do some sightseeing at the National Parks in southern Utah and northern Arizona.

Three days into the 24/7 enclosed car/hotel trip, as we were heading to Wendie’s, one of the sisters-an essential worker, being tested weekly, was notified that she was Covid positive.

We were in the middle of nowhere East of the Grand Canyon. I called Wendie to tell her we would be unable to join them for our weekend retreat at “Paradise”, we could not bring Covid to the ranch.

Wendie said, what are your options? We didn’t know…

How could we go to a hotel and ask for a couple rooms when we were positive for Covid!

Finances were not an issue since I had recently made a transfer from my retirement account, but would you let us stay at your hotel ,being positive?! Without skipping a beat, Wendie told us we had no choice but to come to the ranch. Her trailers were not being used the rest of the year, so she and other sisters at the ranch for our retreat weekend, got the trailers stocked, ready and set up as  isolation areas, safely away from the main area so we could be social, play trivia, get to know each other and share meals-all at a safe, social distance. We felt sisterhood and love not ostracism.

When the other guests left, things got complicated… one of us had to be taken into the Seligman FD and transferred by ambulance to the Flagstaff Hospital, where she is still receiving treatment and waiting for her family to come take her home.

The original positive sister went through her quarantine with some difficulty breathing but came through fine.

The third sister of our group had no symptoms, though she was probably more isolated than the rest of us as her cell service was almost nil at the ranch.

As for me, I had great days of wandering the ranch outside, sharing my photos and doing Silver Sneakers classes to stay busy, then, BAM! I started having high fever-up to 104.3!

Who was here for all of us? Wendie! A true Sigma Phi Gamma, angel! She took precautions to keep herself and her home safe but she did not abandon us. She kept us fed with wonderful food, projects to keep us busy and many trivia games, as we continued to enjoy her “Paradise” at a distance.

Her present sad, situation of falling was an act of trying to figure out how to transport me to Vegas when I’m better and yet keep herself Covid free. My pain for her is great but my love and gratitude as a human being is beyond measure. God, thank you for placing us at Wendie’s and now let your healing graces give her swift, complete healing with minimal pain!
 

My Virtual Chapter meeting was Sunday October 11. Canadian Thanksgiving was October 12 but we celebrated on the 11th. I’m sorry I missed our meeting… but it was a family holiday for my family.

Even with the unusual times we are all in, I made our usual Thanksgiving dinner and it felt great to cook a celebratory meal! We normally host 31+ members at our place for Thanksgiving. This year it was just for 4.

My youngest sister, Wanda, and our Mom, live on their own, but they are in our close social bubble in relation to the pandemic. My sister still works so we keep our circle very small given the additional risk of her working.

I completely forgot to take a photo of our 16 lb. turkey before I carved the bird so I posted a few pictures of the meal in dishes ready to serve. Usually our meal includes pumpkin and apple pie and or butter tarts for dessert, this year to be different we had ice cream. Sweet potato and green bean casseroles, turnips, squash and corn are usual too.  Ham is sometimes served. Caesar Salad and fresh bakery buns are standard for my family too. Since there was just 4 of us, I went for a more tailored menu, but there were lots of leftovers, which made my husband a happy guy, and I sent Mom and Wanda home with leftovers so they could each have another meal or two!

Some sorority sisters commented on my FB post. Linda Bullington thanked me for sharing my Canadian traditions with our US sisters. Linda thought it nice that we had similar menus in both countries and she is looking forward to the US holiday meal with family. Sister Nan Hargiss wished us a Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my US sisters when your holiday arrives, enjoy, I’m sure it’ll be amazing!

Wow, where is the time going?  I cannot believe it is Fall already.  This is my most favorite time of the year.  The temperature starts to cool down and the humidity disappears. Here, in Western New York, it is a busy season.  The apple orchards are open for apple picking, the cider mills are running full steam, pumpkin patches and hayrides are always a big hit.  The smell of the fresh apple cider doughnuts, yum! The trees are painting us a picture every day.  The colors change daily from yellows, reds, oranges, greens and even some burgundy.  It is quite a sight to drive through the countryside and see all the vibrate colors.

The Chapters in our area take advantage of the season.  Eta Sigma Chapter held their annual mum sale.  They sell 9” pots in every color; red, orange, purple, white, and yellow.  They even sold a 12” pot with three different colors! They are beautiful.  Omicron Gamma Chapter holds their annual chicken barbeque.  This year we sold out; 330 dinners!  The money raised goes directly to Every Bottom Covered Diaper Bank of WNY.  It is one of our favorite charities to help.

These fund-raising events give all of us a chance to work together for a common cause.  We love the comradery that these events allow us to have, even while social distancing and being safe.

If you are interested in joining, please do not hesitate to contact us.  You can be helping to raise money for some worthy organization in your community too.

I, like many others, am on Facebook.  No, not 24/7, but I check it once or twice a day.  Occasionally I will post something…a birthday or anniversary wish or a remembrance of someone who is not with us anymore.  I may share something another has posted, a picture of a trip and yes, even the occasional rant.

Truth be told, I live vicariously through my SPG Facebook Sisters.

Let me explain.  I am not a cook.  I do not like to cook, I am not a good cook, I don’t like the time involved and I especially don’t like the cleanup, but I will help you cook ( I am a good sous chef- I can chop and stir gravy very well) and I always love a good home cooked meal. I have the most well stocked kitchen for someone who does not cook.  Many of my SPG sisters are GREAT cooks.  I know this firsthand because I have eaten their meals and gone back for seconds or even thirds. I have some Facebook Sisters who will post pictures of food they have made or baked.  It usually makes my mouth water and I dream…if only I could do that.  But I have neither the energy nor inclination to learn how to cook, so I will stick with what little I know.

I love to travel, but some physical problems since I have retired has made travel sometimes challenging.  But I love to look at pictures that my SPG Sisters post of places they have traveled.  Through them, I can travel all over the country and some parts of the world.  Wish I was there with you.

Sometimes my SPG Facebook Sisters will post words of wisdom, a prayer request or a helpful suggestion.  This allows me to connect with them, wherever they may be, or whatever is going on in their lives.  And on occasion, I can REALLY relate because I find myself going through a very similar situation.

My SPG Facebook Sisters are funny too.  I cannot count the number of times I read a post or watched a video clip from an SPG sister and just burst out laughing!  Laughter is good for the soul and definitely the best medicine.

My SPG Facebook Sisters can keep me grounded, keep me entertained and even make me feel like I am experiencing something new.  I am never alone.  Thank you, SPG Facebook Sisters!!

I decided that I would share my experience of living through this present pandemic.

Officially the shutdown began in Windsor on March 16ᵗʰ. I and two of my chapter sisters had just returned from Beta Province Meeting in Ft Wayne, IN on Sunday, March 15ᵗʰ. I was notified by my
out of country health insurance that we had to be home within 5 days for us to be covered. This was the e-mail I received on Friday, March 13ᵗʰ.

Now began the period of cutting back on going to stores, visiting people, etc. At this point masks were not mandatory. So now began my period of grocery shopping once per week and remaining at home the rest of the time. The lineups were a bit of hassle but once I figured out what were the best times to shop and where to shop it became routine.

The positive of all this was that suddenly all my activities ceased and lo and behold I had time to sit and do things for myself. It was pleasant being home to cook 3 meals per day and not have to
rush because I had a meeting or an event to attend. I think I have cooked more since March 16ᵗʰ than I have in the last 20 years. It was enjoyable, looking up recipes and having the time to cook, eat and enjoy my meals.

For my sanity so I didn’t feel as if I was locked up, I started to walk for at least an hour every day. I have walked all the trails in Riverside, met all the neighbourhood dogs and observed all the healthy rabbits in the area. (Flower beds are not quite so healthy.) Watched as those who were now at home were doing home renovations, upgrades on their property, etc. Since the 16ᵗʰ of March I have walked daily until June when I started to golf on Mondays and Thursdays. Didn’t want to overdo it. Still keeping up my walking and now that golf season is drawing to a close, I will again be walking daily again.

Currently the border between Canada and the USA is closed to all but essential travel. This has been a hardship for some of my friends as they have children, grandchildren or parents who live in
the US. It looks as if the border will probably remain closed until 2021.

I managed to clean out cupboards, closets, etc. Amazing what I found in these places. By the time some of the local charities opened up to receive goods, I had a bedroom full of donations. The only thing I haven’t completed is sorting my pictures. Big task! I even ended up on a hiring committee who had to complete the hiring of an Executive Director using Zoom. That was quite a unique experience.

The negative to all this was being unable to personally visit my family and friends. This began to bother me at the beginning of June. Thank goodness for the good weather, making it possible for porch or backyard visits. Since my family is 2 hours away, I was unable to
visit any of them until July. Living in different counties, the rules were different in each case.

In my area, we were the last in the province to move to Stage 3. There was an issue with many migrant workers testing positive for COVID-19 and how to handle the isolation of these people.
Fortunately, my aunt, who lives in a Long Term Facility, was not impacted by the virus. No cases! I have now personally seen all of my family except for one great niece.

As many of my friends and acquaintances, I have accepted that masks must be worn in public places (mandated now), social distancing is very important and that this will be our new normal for the time being. Gatherings of groups is limited and meetings of groups face to face is currently curtailed. Distancing and sanitization being a huge issue, I am currently avoiding crowds and
staying out of restaurants. Will only eat at restaurants that have patios that I feel are properly spaced. Any outbreaks that are occurring are those who have over expanded their social circle or
had large family gatherings.

Now that I have finished my blog, I am going for that daily walk. Helen Biales
Delta Omega Chapter Windsor, ON, Canada

I have an acre of land. Its never been leveled or planted, so its bumpy and wild field grass.

When I mow, it looks good from a distance but close up the flaws are apparent. Because it’s field grass, it grows like weeds, cuz…well it is.

This means mowing needs to start early in the spring and continue as long as possible. Mowing becomes a major focus of my time.

In the beginning of the “mowing season” I have water hazards to consider, because my soil is clay, which means where ever there are depressions, they fill like a pond- in fact I’ve had  🦆🦆 bottoms up in some places…

The areas with the water problem continue to grow even though water filled, which means when I finally get to mow it, it could be tall grass, sometimes its hip high before its dry enough to mow.

I mentioned the yard being an acre, and uneven. Those 2 factors don’t go together well. Because of the size, a riding mower makes the job easier but the uneven ground makes for a bumpy ride- hard on the mower and the rider.

In fact, I once had a doctor 👩‍⚕️tell me my hurt back couldn’t take the jostle of a riding mower any more- my response at the time was- “I have an acre, it would take forever to mow with a walk behind mower,” so I took a few days off to allow my back to heal, then went at a slower speed when I started mowing again.

I mentioned that the uneven ground was hard on the mower too- I’ve abused two riding mowers to death. Each year would bring trips to the shop for costly repairs🤑, until I decided enough was too much!

I started mowing with my walk behind mower. It was a 24 inch, self propelled model, easy to guide but took forever to complete the job- like 5 hours, compared to about 2 hrs on the riding mower.

Well I wasn’t buying another riding mower until I put landscaping in so I continued to mow with the self propelled walk behind…until the self propelled wore out. The job got even harder and the time it took increased to 6 hours because now it was me propelling the mower and…I was aging👵…

There are other hazards to mowing as well. These are not physical for me or the mower, in fact some of them are downright cute. One hazard is cute tiny green frogs🐸. I keep a sharp lookout for them so I don’t run over them or heaven forbid kill them with the blade.

Recently, a new hazard has developed…wild rabbits🐰 have chosen to birth their babies in my yard. I go out to mow and see nothing unusual so I start mowing. Then I come across a bunny home- they lift the turf & make a small burrow, which I might see if my yard were level…

Imagine being a baby bunny🐇 and having a loud mower pass over your home- you’d flee in fear! They pop up out of no where- to me- scare the dickens out of me and run to safer points. Silly rabbits-(did you just say-Trix are for kids?)-it’d be safer if they stayed where they were till I passed.

The day before yesterday, tragedy struck…one little 🐇 met my mower…a sibling might’ve pushed their way past or pushed the first one to be quicker. It’s not as sad as it could’ve been- 2 🐇🐇popped out and ran away.  I I looked back to where they came from and saw a 🐇down…upon closer look it seemed to have a bloody nose- not bad just a bit of blood- phew maybe it would be ok, so I continued mowing but kept an eye on it. The little guy was shaken to be sure but seemed OK all things considered.

As I got farther away in my mowing, I left the baby bunny on its own but kept checking on it every time I emptied the clippings bag. It looked like it was having trouble breathing once- thoughts of humanely putting it down☠ crossed my mind- but I couldn’t bring myself to do “it”- murder is not my forte…so I left it on it’s own & went back to mowing.

It started 🌧, I checked the 🐇- it seemed a bit better. I didn’t want it to get wet so I put a bucket upside down over it. It was just a sprinkle but I quit mowing because I was sad🥺 I’d hurt a cute baby 🐇…my neighbor would’ve been happy!- it seems the rabbits like her vegetable patch🥬🥕🍅🌽…but this is a cute little baby 🐇, not a vegetable patch attacking rabbit.

The next morning I carefully lifted the bucket & to my surprise there were 2 🐇🐇 snuggled together. I’m not sure if one of them was the hurt baby or not, I couldn’t tell, so I went with- “yea, the hurt one made it through the night & a sibling returned!” But quickly my joy turned to sadness 😢 at the thought of- “where’s the third baby bunny?” I upset a family and may have caused the demise of a baby bunny left on their own in the darkness of night🌃…

You would think the easy solution to all of this would be to put in the landscaping, then it’ll be smooth & I could buy another riding mower🚜 to make the job quick and easy. But…that would mean spending lots of money for leveling, lawn and riding mower. It’s not that I don’t have the money…it’s that I’d rather use the money for fun✈🚢🎢. But I think the baby 🐇🐇🐇 have forced my hand- I see landscaping in my near future!

How does this fit into sorority? I talked about emotions, caring for others, exercise, aging, health and weather. Sorority sisters are caring towards others. Exercise 🚴‍♀️🏊‍♀️🧗‍♀️🤾‍♀️is good for sorority sisters, especially when done together- like organized fundraising walks. Weather🌞🌧❄🌪 affects everything sorority sisters do outside. Sorority sisters are the best at sharing emotions🥰- they’re there through thick and thin. I talked about health and aging- right now Covid is wreaking havoc on our sorority calendars but luckily I’ve only heard of a few of us being ill from it and those have rallied which is good since many of us are in the “aged”👵 category.

Remember to wear your mask😷, wash your hands🙌 often and keep your hands away from your face to stay healthy.

Covid as caused scheduled fundraisers, meetings and socials to be cancelled, rescheduled, postponed, or altered- check our website, FB, Twitter and Instagram sites for sale items chapters are offering🎫- you’ll help support our sisters fundraising efforts and in turn you’ll be helping the local communities.

SPG is good for many things! If you are already a member, good for you! If you aren’t a member yet, what are you waiting for? Give us a try!

Founders’ Day

Proud to be an SPG Sister!

August 29, 2020

By Chris Wilkens

Xi Theta, Omega Province

Sigma Phi Gamma Sisters, do you realize that 100 years ago TODAY, 18 women came together in Hartford City, Indiana, to form a sorority based on a commitment to friendship and service? Five of these women, Phyllis Langstaff Royce, Ferne Palmer Shick, Violet Petit Tindall and Irene Waters Worley earned the title Life Founders for their dedication to SPG in those difficult beginning years. In the five years prior to this meeting, they, along with our whole country, had survived World War 1, “the war to end all wars.” They had survived the Spanish Flu pandemic. And they had earned the right to vote, along with all American women. Each of these was a struggle, but back to back? The women of that time were strong and determined. Our beloved sorority was created by this kind of woman, and continues today, with this kind of woman. SPG grew slowly, first creating a Constitution, celebrating the first Founders Day, forming a Sorority Examination for new pledges, then came expansion to National level with the installation of Beta Chapter in Huntington, Indiana, and then the need to have a Convention in 1922. All this happened in about two years, yet by 1936, with 124 chapters in the United States and Canada, Sigma Phi Gamma was recognized as the strongest non-academic organization in existence!

Everything that represents Sigma Phi Gamma has a history, a reason for creation. You can learn about our Crest, our pins, Convention, our Zeta Chapter, and many of our songs on the SPG website: log on, go to Documents then Governance then Appendix. It is amazing reading! I would like to share about the Buddie and Founders Park. The Buddie was first called THE BOOK OF BUDDHA and Phyllis Langstaff Royce was our first editor from 1925-1929. At the 1932 Convention, this publication became Buddie and became a monthly magazine. Wouldn’t they be surprised to see The Buddie now – online, with colored pictures and information about everything SPG does! The Founders Park idea was conceived by Edith Anderson, Delta Eta Chapter, Rock Island, Illinois and she presented this idea at the Convention in 1941. The site in Hartford City, Indiana, was chosen in 1942 and the dedication was in 1945 with Edith Anderson making the formal presentation. This commemorated our 25^th anniversary! In 1995, our 75^th anniversary, they buried a time capsule behind the Life Founders bench, to be opened at the 100^th anniversary! Will we open it at our 101^st anniversary? This summer I visited Founders Park for the first time, and it was wonderful! So exciting to see families playing on the playgrounds, eating lunch at the picnic tables, and the name Sigma Phi Gamma was everywhere. And so wonderful to meet some of our sisters there!

In 1940, Luella Foster Handel, International Welfare Secretary, felt that sisters would hesitate sending small donations to health organizations, but she thought, “Suppose we collected these together to make a worthy donation?” In 1942 this fund got the name Little Friends Health Fund, one word for each of her initials. LFHF started with $.10 assessments! Today our assessment per active member is $3.00 and this summer Sigma Phi Gamma LFHF  presented a $5,000.00 check to Safe Haven Baby Boxes while we were at Founders Park!

Service is huge for SPG! Let me share some statistics with you. Last year, Chapter Ways & Means projects, Service projects and Province projects raised $326,118 and we served 70,880 hours!!! That is only one year! Our sisters have worked diligently to raise similar amounts to help others every year! On the International level, going from 1980 when the International Sponsorship was established, to 2019, SPG donated $465,994.26!!! LFHF has donated $200,452.68!! And Founders Park has raised $222,542.21!!! Internationally, we have donated $888,989.15!!! We have a right to be proud of who we are, sisters in Sigma Phi Gamma!!!

Amazing! One little amount can make such a difference! One sister can do so much! I have shared stories of just a few sisters. These women had an idea, shared it and they opened such opportunities and possibilities! Our sorority is changing the world! Each of us has a gift to share, a talent to lead, a hand to extend. I am so proud of my sisters of Sigma Phi Gamma! We are making a difference in our world! Thank you to our five Life Founders for giving us this sorority!

Be the Artist

I am NOT an artist!  There, I stated it out loud, forever to be preserved in history.  Well sort of.

I cannot draw a straight line, even with a ruler.  When painting in my house, I tend to stick with very basic colors, because I am not comfortable mixing and matching colors and décor.  Even my clothes tend to be on the “safe and neutral” side of the color wheel.  Even as my best friend has often urged me, “don’t be afraid of color”, I am still a work in progress. I wish I could be more like her, to see something and visualize what it could be, to think outside of the box, so to speak.  Still working on that.

So, you ask, what does all this have to do with Sorority?  Some of us are okay with having both feet in the “things we are comfortable with” camp.  We have done it this way all along.  Change is hard, and I will be the first to admit that I hate change.  It may be a swamp, but it is MY swamp.  I may be reluctant to change, but I also know, that regardless of how uncomfortable it may be, sometimes change is needed.

Some are in with both feet in the “we have to do a complete overhaul” camp.   I know it sounds scary, and I am right there with you.  To force complete change on those that do not want or understand it, is frightening.

And then there are those that have one foot in each camp- the “we need to change” camp and the “don’t take away what makes Sorority so special” camp.  I think many of us are in this situation.  We know that we must change in ways that will keep our beloved Sorority growing, but we do not want to lose that which has made our beloved Sorority so special.

So here we are, in a time and with a chance, to do both.  Yes, keep what is so special to us, but be open to “think outside the box”, maybe in small, but very meaningful ways.  We, as Sisters in Sigma Phi Gamma Sorority, have the opportunity to be the artists, to “not be afraid of color” as we move our sorority into the second hundred years.

We are a work in progress. Think, visualize all that our Sorority could be. We can be bold in our work, but we must do it TOGETHER and TOGETHER WE WILL!!