by Emma Bannen, Director of PR

A Weekend to Remember

Pictured with the Delta Gamma flag are (from left) Katie Grace Hatton (Beta Psi Chapter President), Jessica Smith (former Beta Psi VP: Programming), Amanda Shoemaker (Beta Psi VP: Social Standards), Leyla Desjardin (Beta Psi VP: Finance), and Ray Doughman (Beta Psi VP: Panhellenic). Pictured on the couch are Katie Grace Hatton and Leyla Desjardin. 

Hundreds of sisters together in one room? We can’t imagine anything better! Several of our Beta Psi members and advisors traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the 2018 Delta Gamma Convention. This biennial event is a time for collegiate and alumnae members of Delta Gamma to come together, reflect and celebrate our fraternity.

This year, Beta Psi was honored for excellence in Vice President Finance for our region, and recognized as the number one chapter in our region for collecting Boxtops for Education. Our region was also commended for fundraising the highest monetary amount in the nation for our foundation, winning the Regional Race. Beta Psi was also recognized for donating $50,000 to the needs based scholarship program.

In addition, Beta Psi alumna, Susan Eddy Kinney, was elected Delta Gamma Fraternity Treasurer!

Susan Eddy Kinney (left) is pictured here with Katie Grace Hatton (right).

Keep reading to see what a few Beta Psi sisters had to say about their experience in Phoenix at DG Convention!

Leyla Desjardin

Leyla Desjardin serves as Beta Psi’s VP: Finance. She is pictured here (center) with Amy Davis, Beta Psi Advisory Team Chairman (left), and Katie Grace Hatton, Beta Psi Chapter President (right), 

“Delta Gamma Convention was such an incredible, life-changing experience. Our motto, “For hope, for strength, for life”, truly became a reality for me these past few days. I was so touched to learn about all of the amazing things our foundation does, as well as honored to be able to witness the announcement that our foundation will be sponsoring a FIFTH school for the visually impaired! I was able to meet women of all ages from all over, and it amazed me that while we all live very different lives, we all have Delta Gamma in common. Convention has made me fall deeper in love with Delta Gamma and has only made me want to become more involved with Delta Gamma both now and when I become an alumna. I am so lucky to be a member of an organization so dedicated to empowering women and helping others, and am so happy to have experienced the 68^th Biennial Convention of Delta Gamma.” 

 

Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith is a former VP: Programming of Beta Psi. She is pictured here (left) with Amanda Shoemaker, Beta Psi’s VP: Social Standards (center), and Leyla Desjardin, Beta Psi’s VP: Finance (right). 

“To begin to describe the experiences had this weekend at the Delta Gamma convention is impossible. From hearing the State of the Fraternity address to watching Beta Psi alumna Susan Kinney take the oath of office to begin her duties as Council Treasurer, the experience was so surreal that I often was moved to tears. I constantly found myself taking a second to pause and think about the sheer power that existed in those conference rooms at the Arizona Biltmore hotel. The women that I was surrounded by have made tremendous impacts not only on the lives of Delta Gamma women, but on the lives of all women. Their empowering words renewed my sense of pride in Delta Gamma and the mission that we have adopted to do good in all that we do. Most of all, I was reminded that Delta Gamma, if you allow it to be, will be for life. My stories that I will tell of Delta Gamma convention for years to come will surely be love stories, stories of love for our beloved fraternity, for the women that have made it what it is, and for the women in those conference rooms— the visionaries of the future of the fraternity who will help guide us towards the next sixty-eight conventions of our beautiful Delta Gamma.”

 

Katie Grace Hatton

Katie Grace Hatton serves as Beta Psi’s Chapter President. She is pictured here (right) with Kate Stanton, Delta Gamma Council Trustee: Fraternity Programming.

“As I leave convention I am more proud and thankful to be apart of such a spectacular women’s fraternity. Delta Gamma has truly given me an experience I will never forget and will continue to live it out for the rest of my life. From all of the inspiring women I have met to the wonderful speakers and new things I have learned, I will cherish this weekend forever and look forward to many more conventions.”

 

Lasting Memories

Newly installed Fraternity President, Wilma Wilbanks (left), with Beta Psi President, Katie Grace Hatton (right). 

Delta Gamma Convention provided us with memories that will last a lifetime, new connections with sisters and a renewed understanding of what it truly means to be a Delta Gamma woman.

Pictured from left: Jessica Smith, Leyla Desjardin, Kate Stanton, Katie Grace Hatton, and Ray Doughman.