2013 STATE CONVENTION

So we are heading to convention starting tomorrow for some of us and boy are we all excited.  Our own Judy Ahrens from our chapter is being installed as the State of Kansas president on Saturday evening.  We have every member from our chapter coming to support her.  We know she will do an awesome job next year.

This is Phyllis Simmons' convention and she has done such an amazing job this year.  It was a privilege for me to serve as her membership director this past year.  We did increase membership some, but we have a long way to go.

We are looking forward to our IC rep Sherry Day being here as well.  The snow and wind are suppose to blow, but that is not going to dampen our spirits.

We are going to have a great time playing BUNCO for St. Jude's, going to workshops, meetings, banquets and seeing old friends and making new ones!

Let the fun begin!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our January business meeting was held at the home of Judy Ahrens with Linda Bottom as co-hostess.  A pledge ceremony was held for Jean Bramwell and a jewel pin ceremony was held for Claire Beck, DeAdre Strouts and Jan Tidball.  We are excited to have all of them as new members of ESA.

The "Thought for the Day" was given by Virginia Bigbee.  It was a "View on Aging" by George Carlin.  It was a great article and had us all laughing by the time she was done reading it.

Educationals for the evening were given by Judy Ahrens and Brenda Schaffer who told about some of their "success" stories in their lives. 

The next State Board meeting will be in Pratt, KS on January 25-27th.  The hands-on project for the weekend will be bringing items for the USO.  These various items will be placed in welcome home packages for the soldiers. The speaker for the weekend will be a single mom who is a soldier.  She will talk about her life, various challenges, etc. The next District meeting will be on Sunday, January 13th at the Weaver Hotel in Waterville, KS.  Beta Epsilon will be the host of the meeting.  Cost to attend is $7.00.  We will meet at Blue Hills at 12:30 to carpool over to the event.

There will be a work session at the Peace Lutheran Church for anyone that is interested on Saturday, January 12th from 1-4 to make straps for masks for the Children of St. Jude.  Anyone that is interested is invited to attend to help sew, cut out items, etc.  You can also drop off donations of fabric, elastic, etc., if you do not have time to attend the event.

Brenda reported that we had five applicants for the Outstanding Senior High Youth Award.  She also reported that we have 11 pecan pieces, 4 sweet and salty and 2 bridge mix left.  Total profits from selling the nuts was around $2,000.  Good Job everyone!

We will hold an HCI fundraising event this Spring and one again next Fall.  Judy is checking the calendar and will let us know when it will be in the fall.

Second Helping will be on Sunday, January 20th. Judy will send out a reminder to everyone that signed up closer to the date.

The next chapter social will be on Wednesday, January 23rd at 7:30 at Maureen's house.  The social will be "Kick Back and Relax".  Everyone is invited to wear their pajamas, bathrobes, slippers, etc., but no jeans as they wouldn't be casual enough.)  Maureen will be providing the snacks to share and we will play various games and just relax.  

Jan and DeAdre will be telling their success stories at the next business meeting on February 13th.  Anyone that would like to may bring a gift (no more than $10) to the February business meeting and we will draw numbers and exchange gifts at that time.  This is voluntary participation only.  The meeting will be at BJ's, with DeAdre as co-hostess.

The Day of Love will be at Heartsprings on February 16th.  This is an event that ESA helps with each year.  A bunch of individuals normally go down and decorate, the kids are served cookies and punch while dancing away to a DJ's music for a few hours. It is a lot of fun for everyone involved!

Don't forget State Convention May 2 - 5th.  Come support Judy Ahrens as she is installed as the next President for the State of Kansas.  Judy would like for the honor guard to dress in black.  You can wear black slacks with a nice black top, black long dress, etc.  Judy's installation will be on Saturday the 4th.

As always, please feel free to invite your friends to our next social, business meeting, etc.  Spread the word!

Brenda

Last Business Meeting of Year

Wow---Our year is wrapping up.  Since my last post we have had three new awesome members join our chapter:  Claire Beck, DeAdre Strouts  and Jan Tidball.  We feel very fortunate to have these ladies join our chapter.  Their pinning ceremony was at our Founder's Day on May 9th.

We will sing at Stoneybrook on Monday the 21st at 6:00 and our last business meeting will be at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, May 23rd at Linda Bottom's house.  We will wrap up things from last year and sign up for committees, host and co-hosting, etc.  Then we will do our favorite thing:  eat dessert and talk!  Second helping will be on Sunday, May 27th beginning at 3:30.

Our next event is BUNCO for St. Jude's at Brenda's house on April 28th. For $10.00 we will play BUNCO, have snacks, and lots of fun. Bring a friend and come on over and roll the dice for the Kids at St. Jude's.

The members of Gamma Omicron met on Wednesday, March 14th at Kathy Crowl's. Maureen Wells was co-hostess. Jackson Fike who is our Outstanding Junior High youth brought his family to our meeting. Jackson read his essay and received a check for $250.00 from our chapter. Jackson was then surprised with the honor of being named the Outstanding Junior High Youth for Epsilon Sigma Alpha International for the state of Kansas. Our educational was presented by Carol Collins from the Riley County Historical Society on a gentleman named Del Close who grew up in Manhattan an then went on to be quite famous.

Members brought cake/frosting for the Flinthills Breadbasket and snack crackers for the Free Clinic.

The State Board Meeting will be held in Hutchinson, KS on May 6th thru 8th.

We will sing at Stoneybrook on Monday, March 19th at 5:45 pm.

We will prepare a meal and help serve dinner at Second Helping on Sunday, March 25th.

St Judes-the Give Thanks. Walk for St. Jude

The Give thanks. Walk for St. Jude event that was held in Manhattan, KS on November 21st raised over $14,000 for the kids at St. Judes. How awesome is that!

GAMMA OMICRON-MEETINGS

We have a business meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. We have an Educational of some type at the beginning of each meeting. The meetings last no more than 1- 1.5 hours and then we eat dessert and socialize.

We also have a social committee that meets and plans the events for the year. Socials range from scavenger hunts, BUNCO for St. Jude's, going to a bb game, movie or play, etc. Some of the socials are women only and some are for families as well.