Alabama State Council

Alabama State Council

BAMA JONQUIL

Wanda Ferris

President, 2013-2014

Spring Edition 2014

“ESA – The Journey is the Reward”

Presidents’ Message

Hard to believe we have had Leadership/Camp ASCCA, SERC, and our February meeting since our last newsletter!! Where has all the time gone? We had a great time at Camp ASCCA again and they love us coming to support such a great camp. SERC in Ashville, NC, was wonderful. Some of us spent the Thursday before the conference at Biltmore and had the best day even though it was cold and windy. But not as cold as we have been this January!! I was in Alaska most of January with my new granddaughter and it was actually warmer there than in Alabama even though Alaska had three feet of snow on the ground. The January 25th Council meeting was well attended with six who could not come at the last minute due to illness. We have had so many with illnesses this past year, I blame it on the weather, sure hope everyone is well now and will be at convention at Joe Wheeler Park in May.

We had President Victoria Green and VP Marcus Swanson from our Tuscaloosa Collegiate ESA Chapter at our January meeting and it was so nice meeting them and hearing about their activities. Victoria has gotten to go to Leadership with Stephanie Roberts due to the assistance from some of our chapters. We thank you so much for that help. Remember these members of ESA are our future!! If your chapter could help sponsor a collegiate member to attend our convention I would love to hear from you.

Hope to see you all in your Mardi Gras gear in May at our convention. Enjoy the pictures! Love to all! Wanda

Jeanie Lassiter; Sandy Weston, Wanda Ferris;President, Victoria Green and Vice-Presidenter

Cathy Hoffman and Lynda Edwards at theMarcus Green, Tuscaloosa Collegiate ESA

Biltmore Estate during SERC November, 2013Chapter and Alabama State Council President

Wanda Ferris (center) at the January State

Council Meeting

First Vice President/Membership Chairman –

Stephanie Whemys Roberts

Greetings I hope everyone has weathered the snow storms without life threatening incidences and this issue of The Bama Jonquil finds you well.

The year 2013-2014 was to be the year that the Alabama State Council's membership drives netted us at least 30-40% increase in membership. We tried the BOGO - Be one member, get one member. We targeted certain counties and tried to get contacts in these counties to take up the mantle of leadership and form chapters with our assistance. This too failed. Our membership in Alabama has become a generation of our aging population who are fast becoming extinct. Deaths outnumber members and in some instances and new members in any given year.

After the November Give Thanks, St. Jude Walk in Huntsville. We had College/University Chapters who very enthuastically assisted us and expressed a desire to get more involved in ESA, to find out more about ESA, To attend council meetings, conventions etc. and to really feel a part of the ESA community in Alabama. In dialogue the main theme of conversation centered around the need for guidance, mentorship and some assistance to bring the financial state of the collegiate chapters solvent. Ah! This was an opportunity for recruitment ground I refused to miss. A varied young adult population whom we can target as potential chapters/chapter leaders and mentor and groom them to take up the mantle of leadership.

We are working with Spillman College's Omega Alpha. The president of the group was sponsored by one chapter from Alabama State Council and by some members of another chapter with small donations from two companies in the community to attend leadership in Denver Colorado. The response to having a collegiate member attend was phoenimnal as IC is stressing the importance of using collegiate populations to assist with attracting ayounger population and increasing and retaining members as they transition from college into their communities.

Ladies we must embrace the new opportunities presented to us, as the old ways of recruitment do not provide the desired populace that we need. I.C. has reiterated at leadership many times this year that "rules and the proper order of things" are causing us to lose recruitment opportunities AND the target population now is the collegiate groups.

We therefore, must change our persona in terms of rules, routine, and order if we must grow and continue on to meet the challenges that "no child goes untreated at St. Jude because of finances etc, " "increased literacy", "strike out domestic violence", "provide relief to parents with disabled children and provide opportunities to make these disabled children independent.; to assist our warriors and wounded warriors and their families and to provide assistance where ever we can. ALL while having some fun! Thus being a beacon of light in someone's life, a small bit of light when multiplied produces a great big ware of light that's constant.

I challenge yourselves to embrace the young members in our state and state collegiate chapters to see them as members and chapters of our state andwhere every year we get to experience new growth in membership. We see it as a conveyer belt in a production line constantly moving. Not as a belt that one uses to hold a pair of trousers in place, fixed and rigid, immovable! Then we would appreciate the choice that we make to embrace out collegiate chapters. They are the future. Let’s go ahead embrace and groom them. Peace and love always.

Your 1st VP (Outgoing 2013-2014)

Alabama State Council

Stephanie Whemys-Roberts

Alabama State

Council 64th Annual Convention

“It’s Time to Let the Good Times Roll with Mardi Gras inMay”

Message from Beth Thompson, 2nd-Vice President-Convention Chairman

I hope this message finds everyone healthy and happy in what seems to be a winter that has been so long and brutal. We have had so much sickness and sadness and I know we have many sisters and family members that still need our prayers. I want to thank everyone for the cards and prayers I received while I was so sick in January. You are still all such special friends.

Let’s start thinking about the warmer sunnier time of the Alabama State Convention coming up this spring on May 2, 3, and 4th. Our “Mardi Gras in May with E.S.A.” will be held at Joe Wheeler State Park (1800-544-5639) just outside of Rogersville. We have a wonderful room rate of only $77 for a double-room! Registration forms were distributed at the October Council meeting and are now on the State’s website. (thank you web-masters)

Our Friday night mixer and buffet-style dinner will be hosted by the fun-loving women of Zeta Chi, so get ready for a great French Quarter party “Bottoms Up” with entertainment by the bawdy ladies of the Burlesque Revue. Zeta Chi has offered to take the entire event on by themselves and I am sure they will put on a great evening.

After our meeting on Saturday, the Awards Luncheon “Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler” (Let the Good Times Roll) will be hosted by members of Delta Gamma.

Let’s all dress up and find our fancy Mardi Gras masks for the “Masquerade Ball” Saturday night. Gamma Phi and Beta Pi will be your hostesses for a beautiful night of celebration.

Our Sunday morning event will be in the hands of Beta Sigma as they present “When the Saints Go Marching In”.

This year (unlike in years past) you WILL be able to buy alcohol at Joe Wheeler and I plan on having a cash bar for Saturday night. But of course, we will still have a hospitality room with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks as usual. Alpha Pi sisters are in charge and already rounding up goodies.

Gamma Phi will be handling registration and name badges for convention and hopefully, Iona Alpha will be able to help in putting the brochures together.

If your chapter has not been assigned a particular function or duty, (or even if they have) you can still help if you have something that might be useful or if you want to contribute to a project. This is definitely a group endeavor and we don’t want anyone to feel left out. Please feel free to contact me or nay of your fellow sisters and let’s get going on this.

Message from Alabama State Council Awards Chair, Cathy Hoffman

Dragonfly Awards

Awards time is just around the corner. There are 20 different awards to be given out. Please check the website for the revised awards rules and regulations and forms. Thank you all for helping us do housekeeping and modifications.

In Japan, the dragonfly symbolizessuccess, victory, strength and courage. These attributes apply to all Alabama state chapters. Please fill out the forms and get your reports in to Betty Thompson, Workshop Coordinator and come claim your Dragonfly Awards at Convention. Deadline for submission is March 31st.

Dragonfly Awards Master, Cathy

Message from Jr. Past President/ Disaster Fund Chairman, Lynda Edwards

Dear Alabama State Council ESA Members: It was great to see everyone at the January State Council Meeting. I sent the second repot to headquarter recently and look forward to receiving your chapter checks/donations to the Disaster Fund. We will announce the totals and chapter donations at Alabama State Convention.

Please don’t forget to include the Disaster Fund in your projects. Thank you, Lynda

Important Message from Workshop Coordinator – Betty Thompson

Cathy Hoffman, Awards Chairman has set March 31, 2014 as the deadline for awards. This means that all 4th quarter reports are due by that deadline. It will be a great help to all Committee Chairpersons who will be receiving reports to receive them on time. They in turn will report needed information to Cathy.

Reports due are: Educational; Philanthropic, Rush and Easter Seal. Recipients of reports are as follows:

Philanthropic – 1 copy to Workshop Coordinator; 1 copy to Philanthropic Chairperson – Alice Sandlin;

Rush: 1 copy to Workshop Coordinator; 1 copy to First Vice-President- Stephanie Roberts;

Educational: 1 Copy to Workshop Coordinator;

Easter Seal: 1 copy to Workshop Coordinator; 1 copy to Easter Seal Chairperson-Anita Crittenden.

I urge all chapters to report for this final quarter. This is a chance to catch up on all reports for the year. Information obtained from the reports is used for awards. We want each chapter to be recognized for its activities.

Any forms needed can be obtained from Alabama ESA Website. I look forward to reading your reports. Betty Thompson, Workshop Coordinator

To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. John Lennon

Ways and Means Chair – Karen Peacock

Happy Spring Everyone! Hope winter has said its goodbyes by now. I know because of weather and illness there were a lot of you that missed Council Meetings. Hope you all are feeling better. The Draw Down tickets were given to representative from each chapter and I hope by now that you have had a meeting and tickets have been distributed. We printed 125 tickets and we would love to sell all of them. Please make sure that you keep up with the tickets and get the money or checks for unsold tickets back to me as soon as possible. Don’t forget to ask people to split the cost of a ticket if they can’t afford the whole $50.00. I need to get the checks cashed in order to have the money to pass out at convention. If you can’t get the unsold tickets to me before the convention, please make sure to bring to convention as I must have all the tickets accounted for. Love ya’ll, Karen Peacock,

Chapter Chatter

Alpha Pi

Hello from Alpha Pi. Waiting on warmer weather as I am sure of all us are. Alpha Pi is getting GEARED UP FOR 2014. We have worked a cooking school for our Ways and Means on February 25th. We held our annual St. Jude Radiothon on March 5th. The new station we went with last year actually had a country side along with the classics they were already doing on two other sides. They did broadcast our radiothon on all three of the stations. Our St., Jude rep, Ashley Trotter is due to deliver her baby any day now. We know all will go well and she is supposed to send photos. The Alpha Pi annual golf tournament is set for April 2nd. This is our largest Ways and Means project. We made at least $2,000 on this project which enables us to do our work thru the year in supporting the local families in need such as St. Jude and Hope for Heroes; Wounded Warriors and we also send a child to Camp ASCA.

Alpha Pi also welcomed a new member, Ruth Boswell. Ruth attended the January State Council Meeting and several of you met her. She is an asset to Alpha Pi. Hope everyone is feeling better as there was so much illness going around.

Love to all our sisters, Karen Peacock

Beta Pi Chapter, 2013 Huntsville St. Jude Give Thanks Walk

Judith Londene and husband Fred Londene, Co-Chairs of the GTS

Beta Pi Chapter members sponsored the 6th Annual St. Jude 5K Give Thanks Walk (GTW) at Madison Square Mall, Huntsville, Alabama on Saturday, November 23, to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Our goal for the 2013 St. Jude GTW was $60,000.00. We exceeded our goal making over $67,000.00 for the children of St. Jude. Fifty-three teams and over 350 walkers participated.

As Walk Co-Chair and Beta Pi St. Jude Coordinator, I would like to thank Stephanie Roberts, Walk Chair, Beta Pi Chapter committee members and spouses, ESA council members and volunteers. A special thanks to Fred Londene, Walk Volunteer Coordinator, Donna Young, St. Jude Coordinator, Group and Organizations ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Madison Young. Also thanks to Ashley Ramsdell, Jackie Harris and Martha Smith, ALSAC/St. Jude, Linda Fields, Betty Keeton, Sharon Green, Louise Cooper, Leslie Moody, Cristina Lynn; Lindsey Jones, Oakwood College students, Barbara Hale, Victoria Green, Stillman College ESA and collegiate members, Grissom High School Jr.ROTC color guard, Derrick Whitlow, Stefon Roberts,Shelana Dorn, Jason Bruening, Girl Scout Troop 575 and Sandy Weston, Alabama State Council Junior St. Jude Coordinator and all other volunteers.

Thank you for your outstanding support and joining together we were successful in battling cancer and other deadly childhood diseases. Judith Londene

Judith Londene, top left with St. Jude patient and her mom and friend at the GTW (right) Judith Londene and Cathy Hoffman participate in the Belk Lancome Day for St. Jude’s, October, 2013;

(left) Sandy Weston, State St. Jude Jr. Coorindator at the St. Jude Walk, Stephanie Roberts, Walk Chair and Judith Londene Co-Chair at the GTW; Tommy Lau, St. Jude patient (cancer free); Charlotte Massey and Emily Lau at GTW

News from Delta Gamma

Delta Gamma members have had different types of emotions over the past few weeks. We have celebrated the holidays and the New Year and then we have mourned the loss of two of our family members. Sharon Green’s mother, Grace Vandiver, and Wayne Green’s brother, Larry Green, passed away within a 40-minute period on February 12th. We extend to them our deepest sympathy and love.

Delta Gamma members may be small in number, but are big in heart. We have had several philanthropic projects to include: Sale of Belk’s tickets for Disaster Fund, Christmas bags of gloves, socks and toboggans for the residents of Evergreen Apartments, adopted an angel from the Salvation Army Angel tree, had a project to send snacks and toiletry items to a member of the military; donated toiletry items and books to Safeplace, donated books for Reader’s Aid for the ICA literacy project, jewelry bingo party for residents of Montreat Apartments and 3 members and husbands worked the Trail of Tears with other Shoals chapters.

Our educational programs for this year have been in connection t our projects. We have had a representative of the Alabama Rader’s Aid Society to speak at our July meeting. Others programs have been Evergreen, Easter Seals/Camp ASCCA, Restoration Ranch, Montreat Apartments/residents and American Heart Association. Just for the fun of it, one program was sharing our favorite recipes.

Four members traveled to Birmingham to attend the State Council Meeting. Thanks to President Wanda Ferris for scheduling a wonderful location for this meeting.

We have had a good year and are looking forward to attending the State Convention at Joe Wheeler the first week-end of May.–Love, Betty Keeton