Our First Alumnae Appreciation Award Recipient

BY SALLY CUTLER (ALPHA CHI, BUTLER UNIVERSITY), HISTORIAN AND ARCHIVIST

Giving back to Alpha Chi Omega can take many shapes and forms for our members. One special way the Fraternity recognizes this unmatched devotion is through the Alumnae Appreciation Award, which was introduced in 1983. The first recipient of this significant honor was Florence Lindahl Cooling, a 1916 initiate of the Iota chapter at the University of Illinois, whose devotion to our Fraternity spanned more than 60 years of alumnae membership.

While Florence was initially involved with the Alpha Alpha alumnae chapter in Chicago, when she and her husband moved to California in 1922, she took on many roles supporting the Alpha Psi chapter at UCLA. As the chapter’s house corporation board president, for example, she oversaw three remodeling's of the chapter house!

A dedicated alumna, Florence formed alumnae clubs and chapters in California; assisted in the establishment and growth of collegiate chapters at California State University, Fullerton (Epsilon Kappa) and the University of California, Irvine (Epsilon Psi); attended numerous national conventions, including serving as the official parliamentarian in 1980; and served on the National Constitution Committee for several years. She was also an early and ardent supporter of the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation.

Florence Lindahl Cooling, an ultimate example of strength and sisterhood, passed away in June 1987.

FLORENCE ACCEPTING THE ALUMNAE APPRECIATION AWARD AT THE 1983 NATIONAL CONVENTION IN PHILADELPHIA