Centennial celebration

Tri Delta growing strong and giving more in 100th year

Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Delta Iota chapter of Delta Delta Delta is not the first sorority to reach its centennial year at the University of Arkansas, but it is the top fundraising chapter for Tri Delta this year for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

The University of Arkansas chapter of the sorority, which will celebrate its centennial this weekend, raised more than $168,000 for the hospital, which is the sorority’s national philanthropy, said Kenny Padgett Van Patten, Delta Iota centennial chairman.

In June, the chapter was named the top fundraising chapter and top chapter for St. Jude for raising more than any other chapter in the country.

Chapter President Caroline Fuller, pledge class 2010, said she has a passion for the sorority’s philanthropy.

“I’m a nursing major, so I love being able to be involved with that. That really holds a special place in my heart,” she said.

CHAPTER HISTORY

The Delta Iota chapter was established in 1913 at the University of Arkansas, and Tri Delta was the fourth sorority at the university, Van Patten said. The first chapter was founded in 1888 at Boston University, according to UAgreeks.uark.edu. Tri Delta colors are silver, gold and blue, and the sorority’s symbols are the pearl and pine tree, according to the website.

There are currently 139 active Tri Delta chapters. The UA chapter is the largest in the country with 435 current members, Fuller said. A total of 3,582 Delta Iotas have been initiated, according to an email from Van Patten.

Van Patten said that Tri Delta National President Edna Perrin attended the creation of the chapter at the university in 1913. Students lived in dorms and boarding houses before the Tri Delta house was built in 1932. The house is at 920 W. Maple St. in Fayetteville.

The first Tri Delta to be crowned Miss America was Delta Iota member Donna AxumWhitworth in 1964. After she was named Miss America, she spent the year traveling and then came back to the university to finish her degree and lived in the Tri Delta house for a year, Van Patten said.

Whitworth will be speaking at the centennial dinner Friday for Tri Delta alumnae and members.

Fuller said she has known who Whitworth was since she was young, and it’s almost funny to her to be able “to call her my sister now.”

Other famous alumnae include Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni, poet laureate of Arkansas from 1953 to 1970, and Louise McPhetridge Thaden, aviator and winner of the Bendix Transcontinental Air Race of 1936.

Tri Delta celebrated 100 years nationally in 1988. Tri Delta National President Phyllis Grissom will attend the Delta Iota chapter centennial celebration this weekend, Van Patten said. The chapter house features a marker designating it a historic site on campus, and the first centennial event will be dedicating this historical marker at 2:30 p.m. Friday, she said. A reception will follow. At 5:30 p.m.

Friday, 35 women who have been members of the Delta Iota chapter of Tri Delta for 50 years or longer will receive their 50 year pins during the Golden Circle Ceremony at the Fayetteville Town Center.

Both of these events are open to the public.

A sold-out cocktail party for members and alumnae will follow at the Fayetteville Town Center. Van Patten said about 960 people, including 700 alumnae, have registered.

During this event, the centennial committee will present a a donation for endowing a scholarship called the Delta Delta Delta Centennial Scholarship, which will be given each year to a Tri Delta, she said.

There are two women from the 1943 pledge class attending the centennial gala, Van Patten said. One of these is Mary Carolyn Cherry Pendleton, 88, who lives in Fayetteville. She said she loves being a Tri Delta because whenever she meets another member, “you always have a special bond.” She was an adviser for the chapter for 13 years after she graduated.

She noted that she has never moved away from Fayetteville.

“I’ve watched them change through the years,” she said.

When she was at the university, all of the chapters were small, Pendleton said.

If they pledged more than 40 girls, that was good, she added.

“Our chapter was very close knit,” she said.

One of her favorite memories was building homecoming floats. When she was a pledge, one of the chapter members was voted homecoming queen, and they got to make the float for her, which Pendleton described as delightful. After she married and came back to school to finish her degree, she said her husband designed the homecoming float, they built it and won first place. It featured alumni coming back to the university for homecoming and showcased a replica of Old Main, she said.

Other public events over centennial weekend will be house tours from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, a tailgate from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday on the front lawn of the house and a Centennial Walk to benefit St.Jude at 9 a.m. Sunday in front of Old Main. Registration is open at 8:30 a.m. Sunday if interested people have not pre-registered.

“It’s going to be kind of a walk around memory lane,” Van Patten said.

ACTIVES, ALUMNA REMARKS Van Patten’s daughter “lives in the same room I lived in 32 years ago.” Van Patten was an active member from 1978 to 1982 and said being a Tri Delta allowed her to grow and be a leader.

“I was active till the day I left, and that’s what I want for these girls,” she said.

Her daughter Katie, pledge class 2011 and collegiate centennial chairman, said living inthe same room as her mom is “so special to me.” She loves living in the house and said the chapter reaching 100 years shows its staying power.

“I love to think about how many girls have gone through the house, lived in the house,” she said.

Fuller, chapter president, said it is an honor to live in the house during its centennial year.

“I’m just really looking forward to this weekend and meeting so many of my sisters that have done wonderful things for our chapter,” Fuller said. “I feel like I have grown so much from being in this chapter. I cannot imagine my four years of college without being involved with Tri Delta.”

FYI Three Questions about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

How long have Tri Delta chapters across the nation raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital?

Since Tri Delta formed a national partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 1999, more than $25.6 million has been raised for the kids at St. Jude who are battling cancer and other deadly diseases.

What are the hospital staff and administration’s thoughts on the Delta Iota chapter of Tri Delta sorority, which raised more than $168,000 to go toward St. Jude? What do their contributions mean to St. Jude?

“When it comes to supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the members of Tri Delta aim high and consistently over deliver,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“What they’ve done is truly remarkable, and their results are exceeded only by their commitment to the kids of St. Jude and our gratitude for their partnership.” Do you know what the money they raised will be used for?

Thanks to generous support of individuals through organizations like Tri Delta, St. Jude can continue to find the cures that save children’s lives and ensure that no family ever pays St. Jude for their child’s treatment, travel, housing and food.

Source: ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

FYI Centennials

More Sororities Reaching 100 Years at the UA Chi Omega: Founded at UA in 1895 Zeta Tau Alpha: Established at UA in 1903 Pi Beta Phi: Established at UA in 1909 Source: UAgreeks.uark.edu

Style, Pages 27 on 10/31/2013