LTO March 2017 Newsletter

Volume II Issue 3

March 2017

Greetings Sorors, Please keep our Sorors in your prayers; they are fighting a variety of battles. Kudos to the members of our Spiritual Oversight Committee (SOC) which has been busy ministering to our Sorors. You are truly appreciated. My personal thanks to you for your acts of kindness during my time of loss of a loved one.

We have a very robust calendar as we enter the month of April and extending through September. Our 83 rd Central Regional Conference (CRC) convenes on Thursday, April 06, 2017 - Sunday, April 09, 2017. Delegates, if for any reason you are unable to fulfill this obligation, please inform me so that I may notify the first alternate on the list, as well as make the change officially.

CRC Highlights April 6th Thursday-Conference Briefing: 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Recommended for 1st time attendees.

April 7th Friday-First and Second Plenary Sessions: (8:00 am - Noon and 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm).

April 7th Conference Luncheon “A Cream City Vintage Affair” 2017 April 7th LTO Chapter Dinner (Information to Follow)

April 7th Step Show Competition: “Old Skool Throwback” 2017, Midnight - 2 am April 8th EAF Breakfast: “Excellence in Emeralds and Pearls” 7am – 8:45 am April 8th CRC Workshops April 8th Saturday-Plenary Session: (3: 00 pm - 5:30 pm).

April 8th Welcome Reception: 8:30 pm - 5:30 pm April 9th Spiritual Send Off Breakfast “Travelin’ Shoes Lord…” As You Go, be EMPOWERED to Serve LTO Highlights IMPORTANT: MEETING CHANGE FOR APRIL: WE WILL MEET ON THE 4TH SATURDAY

April 7th LTO Chapter Dinner at CRC (Information to Follow) April 22nd: 2:00 pm LTO General Meeting at Southland High School April 22nd: 3:00 pm TPF General Meeting at Southland High School

REMINDER: Please review Articles III and IV of Lambda Tau Omega Chapter BYLAWS

Sincerely, Soror Barbara Pearson-McCreary, President president@ltoaka.org

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In This Issue: Please refer to the Event Calendar on the website for the date, location and time of committee meetings

March 25th: SOC Chew & Chat

Apr. 6-9th: Central Regional Conference-Milwaukee, Wis. Apr. 18th: AKA/NAMI Awareness Apr. 22nd: LTO General Meeting 2:00 p.m.

TPF General Meeting 3:00 p.m.

May 7th: Miss Prominent Pearl Cotillion May 20th: AKA 1908 Playgrounds Project June 10th: June Luncheon-Silver Lake Country Club June 20th: The Longest Day (Alzheimer's Association)

June 25th: An AKAlectic Gospel & Jazz Brunch

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Basileus Greeting 1 Upcoming Events 2 Spiritual Oversight 3 SOC Chat and Chew 4 Fundraising Events 5 Parliamentarian Pearls of Wisdom 6 Taste of Technology 7 February Donations 8 Tamiouchos Tips 9 Think HBCU 10 New Gold & Silver Sorors 11 Gentle Winds of Change 12 & 13 Soror in the News 14 & 15 AKAversaries 16 & 17

July 13th-16th: Leadership 2017-Las Vegas, Nevada Sept 16th or 17th: AKAKLASSIC (TBD) Oct. 16th: Childhood Hunger Awareness

Newsletter submissions are due to the Basileus on the first Monday of each month. The April newsletter submissions must be in by April 10, 2017.

Please send all submissions to: president@ltoaka.org.

Be sure to Cc Soror Ruby Roberson at: ruby.roberson@sbcglobal.net.

Next month, featured articles will include: Sorors at Regional Conference

Many Hearts Beating as One

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The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy

What will your legacy be?

not just to have an enormous wealth of experiences. One's moment in time and thinking about oneself in the chain of The legacy we leave is part of the on- development from generation to generation and being motigoing foundations of life," says busi- vated to not only make something of oneself—but to share ness philosopher and author Jim it." The task at hand is what will your legacy be?

Rohn. "Those who came before leave #staywoke us the world we live in. Those who will come after will have only what we leave them. We are stewards of this world, and we have a calling in our lives to leave it better than how we found it, even if it seems like such a small part."

Look back on your own life, and you'll see legacy-leavers everywhere, from the founding fathers of our nation to your parents, former teachers, elder family members and our ancestors. All of these people left you with instructions on how Keep Sorors in Your Prayers to live—for better or for worse. And now it's your turn to decide what kind of legacy you'll leave for posterity.

There by the grace of God go I……

Legacies come in different shapes and forms, requiring varying levels of effort and commitment. Some choose to leave financial legacies, supporting causes such as funding breast cancer research or financial support at an HBCU. Other legacies are institutional, like when somebody founds a nonprofit or builds a business that's a positive force in the community. All of these examples have their value and place in society.

Soror Barbara McCreary (Loss of herAunt: Soror Mary Ann Pearson) Soror Joyce Duke (recovering from surgery) Soror Carol Sharp (back at home) The Parks Family (Soror Lois) Soror Stephanie Farrow Soror Toni Grayer (Her Great-niece was involved in a

Don’t let the trappings of the world derail your purpose. The shooting, but is now recovering from surgery) bible declares in Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. What will that “ EXPECTED END ” look like for you? Your legacy is larger than Facebook and more meaningful than Snapchat. The task at hand is what will your legacy be?

Soror Tina Hughes Burke Spiritual Oversight Committee Chairman "What's the purpose of having 60, 80, 100 years of life? It’s 3

The Lambda Tau Omega Spiritual Oversight Committee invites you to Chat and Chew.

Saturday, March 25, 2017 11 am -2p.m. (Closes at 2:30 p.m. at the Egg and I (Chicago Heights, Illinois) (R.S.V.P for seating – thughesburke@yahoo.com) (Meals are on your own) Come out and fellowship with us. Enjoy great conversation and food as we get to know each other better and feed our souls.

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Natasha Topps 2017 Cotillion Chairman

Saundra Jones Jazz Event Chairman

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PEARLS OF WISDOM FROM THE PARLIAMENTARIAN

Sorors, we are all very fortunate to be members of our illustrious sorority. Membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. carries with it privileges as well as responsibilities. I will list just a few of each: Privileges *To attend meetings *To make motions and enter into debate *To vote *To nominate when appropriate *To be a candidate for office when requested *To assist in the enforcement of the rules contained in LTO’s Bylaws and Standing Rules *To review official records, including the most recent governing documents and the minutes of previous meetings Responsibilities *To promote LTO’s objectives and purposes *To comply with and uphold the sorority’s governing rules *To attend meetings regularly and punctually *To give your undivided attention to the business of the meeting *To abstain from acts or remarks outside the meetings that will in any way interfere with the work of the chapter or of its officers *To hold office when requested *To perform conscientiously any duty assigned and accepted in the chapter Listed below, are a few “Keys to Being a Good Member” of LTO. *Attend meetings regularly and arrives on time. *Speak up during the meeting, bringing out important points and contributing from your own Experience. *Participate with good humor; brightening up the meeting and making way for differing viewpoints. *Serve willingly to the best of your ability, thus gaining experience with each added duty. *Confine yourself to the question before the assembly and avoid personalities. *Practice correct parliamentary procedure.

Soror Jan Rankins Parliamentarian

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February 2017 Donations

Thank You Sorors!

You Are Making a Difference!

AKA One Million Backpacks

Think HBCU

Judy Rush Natasha Salas Krystall Y. Tibbs-Green Linda Taylor Varnardo Arlethia Wright

Sheila L. Allen-Stokes Allison C. Bonner-Evans Alesia Dowell Stephanie Farrow Margaret Laporte June Mitchell Tanai Nelson Ruby Roberson Tiffany Wicks Yvonne Williams

AKA One Million Backpacks and Think HBCU Donna Fowler-Canty Laura Chapman Latosha Cherry Michelle Clark Zenobia Clark Tirshatha Derricks-Bey Kristin Hamb Shawn Jackson Kwalee Kemp Kathy Martin Kimberly Mooring Mary Reaves Meesha Townson

Sorors get your donations ready! We collected 90 backpacks with supplies for AKA One Million Backpacks and $720 for Think HBCU in the month of February.

2017 Goals AKA One Million Backpacks: 214 backpacks with supplies have been collected (goal: 818) Think HBCU: $1,290 have been collected (goal $4,620) Soror La’Sheah S., One Million Backpacks Chairman Soror Jaronda H., Think HBCU Chairman

Soror Zenobia C., One Million Backpacks Co-chairman Soror Alise B.-J., Think HBCU Co-Chairman

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Tamiouchos Tips Twenty Pearls Foundation, Inc. (TPF) As we move full steam ahead into our fundraisers, remember the following: Fundraising Events / Activities: In order to receive credit for event tickets, raffle tickets and ad sales, payment from the TPF member must be received prior to the event.

Assessment credit will not be honored for members paying the day of an event or after an event for event tickets, raffle tickets and ad sales.

Restricted Donations are Grants or donations that require the funds to be used in a specific way or for a specific purpose. If the funds are used for something other than what was stipulated, the organization could be required to pay the funds back.

A member seeking consideration of a Restricted Donations must: Seek prior written approval from the Committee Chairman and Basileus Prior to seeking the grant or donation and/or incurring the expense.

2. Only planned and budgeted expenses will be considered for donation.

3. Provide a restricted donation whose value is in excess of $100.

4. Once approved, the member should provide payment to Twenty Pearls Foundation, Incorporated in the form of cash, money order or check. The payment along with the written approval from the Committee Chairman and Basileus must be presented to the TPF Financial Secretary.

5. A voucher for payment by the Foundation must be submitted for the payment of the approved expense, noting that the payment is being made using a restricted donation.

When purchasing on behalf Twenty Pearls Foundation, use the tax exempt letter Checks are to be made payable to Twenty Pearls Foundation, Inc. for all fundraising contributions.

$oror $arah Lewis-Weaver 2017 Tamiouchos 9

#NewYearNewYouThinkHBCU Morgan State Joins HBCU Coalition To Work With DOE On Community Clean Energy Solutions:

With a signed memorandum of understanding in place, the HBCUs involved in this effort will request funding from the DOE to lead initiatives in three key regions of the country — The HBCU Clean Energy Consortium’ will focus on bringing the Southeast, Southwest and Northeast. As a model for solar energy to working communities and STEM workforce community engagement around these initiatives, the Condevelopment. sortium will adopt the best practices of the Morgan CommuAs part of an initiative to promote renewable energy and nity Mile Solar Initiative at Morgan State University, which transformative economic development for communities na- was created to engage the entire community more deeply in tionwide, Morgan State University has joined a coalition of energy initiatives. In addition to Morgan, the HBCU particiHistorically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in sign- pants include Coppin State University, Florida Memorial Uniing an agreement with the United States Department of En- versity, the University of the Virgin Islands, Southern Univerergy (DOE). The agreement, which launches a new partner- sity at New Orleans, Johnson C. Smith University, Southern ship known as the “HBCU Clean Energy Consortium,” will University at Shreveport, Prairie View A&M University and help advance HBCU-led measures in the innovation econo- the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. my, expand the number of graduates working in STEM fields and bring alternative energy sources to communities in need.

As the nation transitions to a clean energy economy, HBCUs are playing a significant role in leading the transformation in the communities where they are located. Many of these same HBCUs have already begun initiatives that promote sustainability and a green environment on their campuses.

HBCUs also play an influential role in driving greater awareness of energy efficiency and solar and renewable energies Soror Jaronda Hall, in the communities around them. Ultimately, the HBCU Sub Committee Chairman: Clean Energy Consortium will provide a bigger platform for Think HBCU the DOE to engage HBCUs as key stakeholders in nationwide renewable energy initiatives.

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Soror Jeanette W. Rogers

Soror Ceola Davis-Barnes

Celebrating our New Gold and Silver Sorors

Soror Sharlean Brooks-Gettings

Soror Sheila Stokes 11

As Basileus, I see within our chapter, the results of the gentle winds of change. No fanfares, drumrolls or loud announcements. The results of the gentle winds of change are manifested by Sorors stepping up and assuming leadership positions and impacting the forward, innovative, refreshing movement toward increased involvement. Consider embracing different ways of doing things and not just settling for business as usual. There is a gentle current of wind which brings with it an interest in learning more about how the business of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is to be conducted.

“Common practice” is not always supported by our documents.

There are many Sorors stepping up and participating more, as well as others who are actually stepping into leadership roles. The following Sorors represent a few of those. There are however…many more . My sincere thanks to each of you for all that you do.

Soror La’Sheah Stewart: One Million Back Packs (Target I)

Soror Krista Butler: Active with Family Strengthening (Target III)

Soror Stephanie Farrow: Director (TPF)

Soror Onquanette Nowels-Pierce: Chairman, Social Committee

Soror Patricia O’Neal: Chairman, Nominating Committee 12

...Winds of Change continued Soror Alice Buford-Johnson: Active with Think HBCU (Target)

Soror Money Bullock: Chairman, Financial Planning Committee

Soror Tirshatha Derricks-Bey: Chairman, Technology Committee

Soror Cynthia Robinson: Gospel-Jazz Committee Co-Chairman

Soror Alicia Dowell: Chairman June Luncheon

Soror Tammy Guyton: Active with Family Strengthening (Target III)

Soror Kwalee Kemp: Serving on AKA Klassic Committee

Soror Tanai Nelson: Chairman Conference Committee

Soror Rosalind M. Backstrom and

Soror Dana Turner: Co-Chairing Emerging Pearls

Thank you Sorors. May the work that you do inspire others to a higher level of service.

Soror Barbara, Basileus

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Dear Sorors, It is with a humble spirit that I post this listing from the Illinois Supreme Court Website: Latest News Effective March 16, 2017, the Illinois Supreme Court appoints Toya T. Harvey to fill the Cook County Circuit Court vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. James L. Rhodes.

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HAPPY AKAVERSARY oror EscEniath “Jan� rankins Soror Trina Johnson-Spivey

March 8 (1969) March 10 (2000)

Soror Veneeta Phelps

March 13 (1984)

Soror Sandra Collins

March 16

Soror Sarah Lewis-Weaver

March 17 (1989)

Soror Angela Williams

March 19 (2000)

Soror LaJeanne Grinnage

March 19 (2000)

Soror Jerry Bridges

March 19 (2000)

Soror Sandra Perkins-Butler

March 20 (1965)

Soror Joni Bradley-Sctt

March 21 (2004)

Soror Marva Campbell-Pruitt

March 21 (2004)

Soror Sheila Allen-Stokes

March 24 (1990)

Soror Yvonne Williams

March 24 (1991)

Soror Jacqualine Scott

March 26 (1956)

Soror Ursula Carter

March 27 (1986)

Soror Salwa Rahim-Dillard

March 27 (1994)

Soror Betty Hood-Escalante

March 29 (1998)

Soror Saundra Jones

March 29 (1998)

Soror Erica Leonard-Whorton

March 29 (1998)

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HAPPY AKAVERSARY continued Soror Krystall Tibbs-Green

March (1999)

MARCH 11, 2001 Soror Karla Barton

Soror Alice Title

Soror Antionette Patton

Soror Paula Daniels MARCH 5, 2006

Soror Allison Bonner-Evans

Soror Sandra Lee

Soror Marydale Donald

Soror Valerie Pace

Soror Vivian Hudson-Davis

Soror Carol Sharp

Soror Tina Hughes-Burke

Soror Tiffany Wicks

Soror Stephanie Adams

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about” 17