Greetings i am anita metcalf of delta sigma theta sorority incorporated peoria alumni chapter welcome to our sisterhood in legends celebration the peoria lonely chapter has had the pleasure of hosting alongside with our divine nine sisters in honoring women in our community who advance the african-american experience here at florida illinois
In the words of our model vice president kamala harris our unity is our strength and diversity is our power today we are united here to celebrate and empower women who are diverse in talent and skills march is women’s history month it doesn’t get any better than to acknowledge and celebrate and to give
The nominees their fathers when they are here to appreciate them we have a great program in store for you and the curia mummy chapter thank you for supporting this event and celebrating the women that we are honoring thank you and hope you enjoy the program Please join us in an attitude of prayer gracious god we seek you with a wishful heart please break down divisions in our lives lead us to a community of christ followers unite us in sisterly joy and wisdom strengthen the web of sisters in christ
So that we can praise you with a lot of voices and glorious harmony help us to grow and prosper together just as you gave us this life you also gave us this beautiful sisterhood under your holy name and for that we sing to the heavens in jesus name and the people said amen
Greetings legends and sisters of the divine nine we are honored that you are here with us today as we celebrate the sixth annual sisterhood and legends celebration this has traditionally been an elegant luncheon but we like everyone else have had to reimagine this collaborative event determined still to celebrate all of our sisters
The idea of building a collaboration with the sisterhood to celebrate our community legends and to highlight the fabulous works of each of our sororities grew out of the arts and letters committee of the peoria alumni chapter we were careful to align this celebration with the mission of our national arts and letters commission
That seeks to advance the african-american experience through arts and letters and to ferret out the contributions of african-american people and lift them to public attention the celebration aligns with the national panhellenic council initiative to provide a platform for member collaboration to demonstrate our service to the community to serve as a promotional opportunity
For member organizations to provide all of us with an opportunity to continue shaping our message for the public of organizations who perform public service in our communities we tear down the walls of all the beautiful colors and combine them into one illustrious bouquet advancing our unanimity of thought and action
As well as our mutual interest of enhancing the cultural and historic interests of this community how appropriate that the sixth annual sisterhood and legends luncheon or celebration coincides with women’s history month women’s history month is an outgrowth of international women’s day which was celebrated in europe march 8 1911.
When women’s rights was a political hot topic women’s suffrage winning the right to vote both were a priority for many women’s organizations delta sigma theta sorority founded in january 1913 performed its first public act by participating in the women’s suffrage march down pennsylvania avenue in washington dc on march 13 1913
Because we were living in a segregated society they had to march at the back of parade but march they did we celebrate women 365 days a year but today we celebrate furious legends and thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of you who have done
And things to be considered a legend in this community we give you your flowers today while you yet live enjoy thanks again for for joining us today Me hey Two Hip hop Um To renita metcalf president of delta sigma theta sorority incorporated peoria illuminae chapter and to my dear friend sharon reed chairperson of the arts and letters committee good afternoon i am the reverend dr elaine gordon president of the new pie omega chapter of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated
New pi omega chapter of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated was charted december 14 1980 with 20 members today the notable members of newpie omega are 46 members strong and growing our target programs are hbcu for life highlighting and promoting historically black colleges and universities as well as predominantly black institutions or pbis
Women’s health specifically partnering with the american heart association and promoting healthy heart lifestyles i’m susan g komen for breast health and cancer awareness this year we have expanded the partnership to align with the links to enhance awareness regarding kidney disease healthy tips to promote kidney health building your economic legacy
Focusing on building wealth eliminating debt and building credit we highlight black and women-owned businesses and track dollars spent with black businesses the arts through this target we have promoted black artists and focused particularly on the harlem renaissance period global impact the emphasis has been on collecting and donating eyeglasses in partnership with
The lions club collecting shoes and making pillowcase dresses for girls in underdeveloped countries specifically africa connections and social action newport omega chapter collected signatures for black female candidates for office to assist them with getting on the ballot scholarships new pie omega provided five scholarships to students headed for college in 2021
And is planning to increase that number for 2022. new pi omega’s efforts have resulted in our being awarded in the central region for our signature programs in global impact in 2019 the best of the best chapter in 2020 and building your economic legacy in 2022 we are committed to continue our 42-year
History of serving all mankind all while singing things that are worthwhile and with a smile we’ll help each other for we know there’s no other like our sisterhood alpha kappa alpha Uh Hmm Me So hello Me Hey Foreign Um [Applause] [Applause] Oh hello my name is shanti hunter and i am the president of zai alphazeta chapter of zeta phi beta so we’re already incorporated here in peoria illinois zeta phi beta sorority incorporated was founded january 16 1920 on the campus of howard university in washington d.c by five college-educated young ladies
Who wanted to be different from the other sororities on campus our founders arizona cleaver simmons pearl anna neill murdered tyler faithful viola tyler goings and fanny petty watts chose to encourage the highest standards of scholarship through scientific literary cultural and education programs promotes service projects on college campuses and in the community
And fosters sisterhood and exemplify the idea of finer womanhood zeta phi beta sorority incorporated’s principles are scholarship service sisterhood and finer womanhood these ideals are reflected in the sororities national programs such as march or dimes domestic violence sturchness saint jude’s and the zeta national educational fund which is also called zenf
Zai alpha zeta chapter of zeta phi beta sorority incorporated was founded april of 1986 in peoria illinois by five women who wanted to make a difference in the peoria community zeit alpha zeta which has an active of seven active members here in peoria has raised funds and donated items to local
Domestic violence shelters has worked with the salvation army and has also given thousands of dollars in scholarships to local high school seniors So So So My My name is alicia alexander i am the bacillus of the epsilon ada sigma chapter of sigma gamma rho sorority incorporated sigma gamma rho sorority incorporated was organized november 12 1922 in indianapolis indiana at butler university by seven young educators the dynamic women of sigma gamma rho have built and sustained
A well-known and well-respected reputation for leading positive change to help uplift the community through sisterhood leadership scholarship and service the epsilon ada stigma chapter of sigma gamma rho has been serving the peoria community since 1980. we are currently on the road to centennial celebrating 100 years sigma gamma ro has welcomed more than
100 000 collegiate and professional women from every profession in the united states bahamas bermuda canada germany south korea the u.s virgin islands and the united arab emirates we visualize a world in which all women and their families reach their full potential in all aspects of life and are able to create unlimited opportunities
For future generations the time when education for african americans was difficult to attain sigma gamma rho sorority was founded on the precept of education and continues to promote and encourage high scholastic attainment as a graduate chapter we encourage and promote high academic achievements and encourage our youth to seek higher
Education by annually providing financial scholarships our commitment to service is expressed in our slogan greater service greater progress the sorority has a proud history of providing positive and proactive community outreach nationally and internationally within our local community we have a variety of programs our national youth symposium our operation big book bag
And also our swim 1922 initiative we aim to enhance the quality of life within the community addressing concerns that impact society educationally civically and economically So So I am dolores turner the program planning and development chair serving pure alumni chapter delta sigma theta sorority in his novel a tale of two cities charles dickens penned it was the best of times it was the worst of times many view those lines as a self-fulfilling prophecy when providing quality programming
During a worldwide pandemic pure alumni chapter in our national chapter pivoted and boldly confronted the challenges that face all americans including those of african descent through its five-point programmatic thrust of economic development educational development international awareness and involvement physical and mental health and political awareness and involvement members of the peoria alumni chapter
Took to the streets to register educate and mobilize voters our midwest region recognize those efforts alone and our chapter received a social action award our yearly midwest impact day of service focused on economic development as a chapter we supported two black businesses on october 16th and significantly impacted their sales receipts
For that day on december 1st our international awareness and involvement thrust and social action collaborated with the friends organization on world aids day which generated a record number of participants meanwhile the social action committee collected funds from the chapter to donate to our haitian brothers and sisters during their crisis period only chapter
With the peoria coleman affiliate became more recognized as a public service sorority when they asked to host the breast cancer survivors tent for its october event and the upcoming may more than pink walk our chapter is still collaborating with our local naacp by administering the axo program academic cultural technological scientific olympics
We sent five students to compete in visual arts performing arts and humanities to the national axo competition the event was virtual this year at the 33rd annual delta day in the nation capitol march 4th through 8th 2022 over 4 900 deltas attended the event either virtually or in person
We are armed with our advocacy walking orders it is now all boots on the ground with us those boots are red boots to advocate against rampant voter suppression student loan debt crisis affecting people of color redistricting economic justice expanding medicaid and resisting block grants to strip health care reimagining public safety
By advocating for investments made to resources that address the root causes with pure alumni chapter it is the best of times for sisterhood scholarship service and social action It is my esteemed privilege to introduce christian diane greer graduate advisor of new pie omega chapter of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated christian or cece as we affectionately refer to her provides oversight for the undergraduate chapter of epsilon eta on the campus of bradley university cece is social media chairman and
Co-chairman of the membership committee she also serves on the national panhellenic council as its social media chairman cece is an educator in peoria public schools where she has served for the past 16 years she serves as the avid or advancement via individual determination building coordinator for whittier primary school
And has been the coordinator since whittier started its avid in 2015. in august of 2020 kristen along with three other teachers in her building developed the cultural responsiveness learning committee at whittier primary school kristen has served as a mentor to new teachers in the peoria public schools new teacher mentoring program
And for the past 11 years she has served as a cooperating teacher for a plethora of students while they complete their novice teaching and student teaching christian is also the chess club sponsor and serves in other leadership roles as well kristin is loved by her students for not
Just being their teacher but their mentor their coach and sometimes a parent figure or a source of counsel and consolation she is a member of the naacp peoria branch serving as a member of the education committee she is also a tri-county urban league young professional kristin greer is a product a peoria
Public schools graduating from peoria high school she attended western illinois university in macomb illinois where she graduated with honors and received her bachelor of science in elementary education in 2010 kristen graduated with honors from saint xavier university in chicago illinois where she received her master of arts degree
In teaching and leadership time does not permit me to tell at all so sisters and friends new pie omega is pleased to honor our sister and sora kristen greer greetings to the ladies of delta sigma theta sorority incorporated fury alumni chapter i wanted to thank you so much i’m very humbled
For being selected as one of the legends in the 2022 class of the sisterhood and legends program i also wanted to acknowledge my sorority sisters of the notable and noble newpy omega chapter of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated thank you so much for selecting me as one of the legends this
Year um you all know i do a lot behind the scenes and i do appreciate you acknowledging my hard work lastly i wanted to dedicate this award to my parents mr christopher greer and the late mrs diane walker grier my parents have instilled in me to be a servant leader
And i got to grow up watching them be involved in the peoria community with being a masonic brother and an easter star and my mother was an alpha kappa alpha woman as well involved at the tri-county uh urban league within our church and so many other organizations and i got to grow up
And watch and participate and so i chose to continue to live this life and i’m very proud and very humbled to be selected as one of the legends this year thank you Tina walton is currently an information technology portfolio manager for caterpillar incorporated she is responsible for global deployment and execution of sarbanes-oxley general controls over the course of her expansive career tina has worked in various roles around the world with ever increasing technical and leadership responsibilities she earned her project manager pmp certification
While residing in canada and is also a certified scrum master tina is a proud alumna of grambling state university where she earned a bachelor of science degree in computer information services having held various leadership positions with the new pi omega chapter of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated tina is currently the financial secretary
Through her love and passion for historically black colleges and universities she led the chapters hbcu for life committee in support of the sororities international target under tina’s guidance the hbcu committee participated in several local high school college fairs shared information about the importance and opportunities at hbcus
And helped raise funds for the hbcu impact day with significant financial contributions also tina serves as the recording secretary of the greater peoria chapter of jack and jill of america and is a board member of the illinois central college foundation tina is a working wife and mother that
Is inspired daily by her husband jay and three teenage sons my sisters and friends newpie omega proudly honors our sister and our sorrow tina walton to the notable and noble new pie omega chapter of alpha kappa alpha sorority incorporated thank you for recognizing me for this prestigious award i am humbled and honored
I gladly accept this award as i stand on the shoulders of many strong courageous and visionary women leaders in this community they have laid up a clear path for us to continue to strengthen peoria while developing future black and brown female legends thank you and congratulations to the
Ladies of the peoria alumni chapter of delta sigma theta sorority incorporated for continuing to highlight and honor women through the sisterhood and legends program and lastly congratulations to all the other past and present honorees thank you Today zeta phi beta sorority incorporated a community conscious action-oriented organization is honored to recognize a young lady who has been going above and beyond for her community for decades this young lady is a native of peoria and a graduate of bradley university with a bachelor’s of arts in communications
This young lady has worked with various news radio and tv stations in new york from 1988 to 1999. upon returning to peoria in 1999 she became very active working as a reporter affiliate anchor and a multimedia journalist at w-e-e-k and w-h-o-i tv being a board member of the south side
Community united for change the peoria land bank authority downtown development corporation and a former board member of the tri county urban league she also works as a substitute teacher for the peoria public schools and a former part-time instructor at the illinois central college she serves as president for the newtown neighborhood
Association for the last 10 years she was elected to the peoria city council to represent the first district in may of 2021. she also was focused on working with the city staff to upgrade street and alley lighting corroborate with city engineers to put more rain gardens in areas to deal with
Storm water runoff and establish a campaign to deter illegal dumping of tires and other wastes in the neighborhoods please give a round of applause to councilwoman denise jackson first of all thank you zeta phi beta sorority for choosing to honor me i am deeply humbled and excited about this recognition i’ve
Only served on the peoria city council for about 10 months but my involvement in community service extends at least uh two decades and it is a very exciting time for me i have the opportunity to work with a very diverse group on the city council and under the remarkable
Leadership of peoria’s first female african-american mayor dr rita ali proverbs 31 9 sums up public service eloquently it says speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves for all the rights of all those who are destitute speak up and judge fairly defend the rights of the poor and the needy
I believe we all have the ability to serve one another in some capacity the challenge the question we must ask ourselves is what are we going to do with the time that god has given us here on earth what’s my purpose well that statement reminds me of a
Quote from the late dr miles monroe he said graveyards all around the world are full of people with untapped potential they’re full of billionaires millionaires entrepreneurs people who fail to tap into those gifts that god had given them and the challenge he put before his audience was
That make sure that you use every gift god has given you so that when you transition this life when you go to the graveyard you are empty not full in my new assignment as the first district city council person i will work diligently to bring about transformational change to our community
When you talk about things like new affordable housing economic redevelopment or revitalizing our communities these are things that people have been waiting for for 20 30 40 even 50 years well i’m happy to say that i’m excited change is occurring changes like what we’re seeing with the western avenue redevelopment project
That began last year and is about to enter its second phase of redevelopment over the next couple of years peoria will spend 34 million dollars on capital projects i am excited that god has chosen me to be a player at the table and also given me an opportunity to represent the
Residents in the first district again thank you thank you thank you zeta phi beta sorority Chalice pie is a military veteran and has her emba and business administration with an emphasis on leadership from bradley university shalise is the superintendent of human resources at the peoria park district and has been in human resources for 25 years and holding her phr and shrm cp certifications
Shalise owns chalice l pi enterprise llc where she provides hr consulting services she has had the opportunity to volunteer for several boards and committees which includes the heart of illinois h.r council where she is past president she has also shared her knowledge skills talents and abilities as a keynote
Speaker at several career day workshops throughout central illinois she volunteers her time to conduct practice interviews with applicants for the peoria police and fire department as an active member in her community she is the minister of music at heaven’s view christian fellowship she has served in this role for over 25
Years through her music ministry she has traveled the midwest as well as served in prison ministry and mission work on the islands of saint vincent and trinidad chalice became a member of sigma gamma rose sorority incorporated in 1991 on the campus of bradley university through the zeta phi undergraduate chapter
From there she transitioned to the elegant ladies of the epsilon ada stigma chapter in peoria illinois where she has held several leadership roles shalisa served as bacillus of epsilon ada sigma from 2015 to 2018. she has also served previously as the second anti-bacillus anti-grammatious parliamentarian roar coordinator and strategic planning chair
She currently serves as a centennial committee chair also serving on the regional and national level with the music and arts committee chalice is a ruby member and became life member number 1502 i am humbled to have been selected as a legend by my chapter epsilon eta sigma of sigma gamma rho sorority incorporated
When working within your community serving others you just think about how one can make an impact in what you do i pray that every life i’ve touched has been made better this is a very special year for our sorority as we are celebrating 100 years of sisterhood scholarship and service and i
Hope that i am able to continue to build upon the foundation that has been established by our seven illustrious founders long ago sisterhood no matter the colors you wear is so important especially today we are loving tenacious strong ever-bearing visionaries emotional resourceful we can make it do what it do
And you will never see us break a sweat while we’re doing i celebrate the other women being recognized today and i salute you thank you delta sigma theta sorority incorporated for this opportunity to recognize women within our community i stand today on the shoulders of so many powerful women before me and i
Promise to continue their examples to lift others Constance jackson hinden has a plethora of accomplishments so i’ll highlight a few constance is a 2002 monmouth college graduate who holds a ba in accounting who loves thinking outside of the box and helping the foundation of the college’s first minority organization which grew strong enough that the college granted the organization its own
House in spite of the minority population being less than two percent at its inception the second endeavor was to help found an international club for students who came from other countries the two organizations then created a new culture of holding diversified events on the predominantly white campus that still exists to this day
This type of action in changing the norm is why she was attracted to sigma gamma rho as it too is an organization that was created in spite of the predominantly white atmosphere casas is the current grammarist in the epsilon eta sigma chapter where she became a graduate member in april of 2018.
She enjoys serving meeting and playing with her sorority sisters while she is not working in other capacities in the community she was blessed with many athletic honors such as seven ncaa all-american awards midwest valley conference championship record holder with 31 gold medals multiple conference mvp awards serving on the ncaa advisory council
And the monmouth college’s president’s advisory council and she’s a 2011 hall of fame inductee on wednesday she’s found volunteering at our church as the fifth and sixth grade and awana teacher but she has taught memory verses and scripture-based lessons for 13 years it’s also not unusual to find her dance
Rehearsal as she has been involved with the youth and adult praise dance ministry for several years including choreographing gospel fest dances on the riverfront when she isn’t running and dancing with students she can be found on the football field tackling jfl woodruff athletes as she has coached football for that
Organization for 13 years and is proud to be a back-to-back super bowl championship coach the football field is where she met her husband there camden and as a blended family they have nine kids ranging from ages 4 to 24 years old classics would love to legally leave a legacy for children
Experience life the good bad and the ugly just as in track you sometimes miss the mark she would say but certainly had from time to time but you go back and you try again she says that what she’s trying to live is what she hopes to instill in the people that she touches
Hello my name is constance jackson hinden and i just want to take the time to thank you for a submission into being acknowledged as a legend um i would not give myself that title i am aware of the work that so many other women have done and i don’t think that
I have reached that part yet but i am definitely striving to my effect on the community i believe is when i’m working one-on-one with students in a personal element but as i get older i do have the desire to like increase that touch with the students in the educational
Realm in the athletic realm any way that i can share whatever skill set i have or any talent that i have or any experience that i’ve been through both good and challenging i have a deep emphasis on my heart for those that don’t have the traditional ideal background
If i reflect on some of the students that i work with they might be homeless they might be in foster care they might be a teen mom and they just touch on my heart because i feel like you can become whatever you want you can overcome whatever your circumstances are and so
My ultimate goal is to um really touch on that segment of the community and help in any way that i can in the with the talents and the skills again that i have whatever i’m able or capable of sharing with those students i humbly humbly humbly
Thank you for anyone from my chapter or the community just acknowledging the little bit of the effect that i do have with the students that i work with and i truly appreciate this opportunity thank you Hello my name is demetrius worley and i am pleased to introduce the illustrious honorees of peoria alumni chapter delta sigma theta sorority incorporated our first honoree is miss levine burdette miss burdette is a native of monmouth illinois she received her undergraduate degree from western illinois university and her master’s from bradley university
She has done numerous hours of postgraduate work in the field of education she came to peoria in 1955 due to the naacp’s effort to recruit black teachers she was one of the five black teachers who answered that call thus making her a trailblazer for other minority teachers employed by peoria’s public schools
Miss burdette contributes that effort by nwcp to bring her being involved with the naacp for 50 plus years her first teaching assignment in peoria was at lincoln grade school she taught for two years at lincoln and then transferred to tran grade school she took a two-year absence from peoria
Public schools and was named principal of catalyst alternative school after the two years at catalyst she returned to tree wind middle school and completed her teaching career by retiring in 1995. after her retirement she was hired as an in-school suspension teacher at white middle school and rolling acres middle school
She served in that position for 15 years ms burdette’s community involvement and volunteer activities are numerous she has been a volunteer at webster head start where she read to students she has been a continual supporter of the local boy scouts other activities include board member of the naacp life member of the naacp
Life member of peoria area retired teachers and the illinois retired teachers association member of delta kappa gamma new chapter and education sorority a member of the national association of university women held both local and sectional offices and is a tri-county urban league guild member ms burdette has also tutored young
People in the peoria court system ms burdette was a generous blood donor for the america red cross she was a pediatric blood donor and and nefarious donor miss burdette has been honored by alpha phi alpha fraternity peoria county superintendent’s office for her service to the community she is a chartered member of the
National museum of african american history and culture she recently received the 2021 outstanding member award from the naacp i am pleased to introduce peoria alumni’s chapters legend award honoree ms levine burdette my name is naveen burdette and i want to thank delta sigma theta sorority for honoring me as one of their legs
Since i came to peoria i’ve tried to be a positive image a professional person as well as a contributor to the community uh for me that i found the best way to do that is to work with our young young people and to work with community civil rights organizations
For uh being one of the first five black teachers in peoria i hope i have opened the doors for those that followed me i was able to explain to the young people that they could they could couldn’t do what they wanted to do like their peers that they would have to pay consequences
Uh with uh was as teachers i would just try to encourage if i could encourage them to work with the best they can and they have to take some of the um static that they had to in our schools um also i could say the thing about today’s young people they still have
Uh the same problems maybe not as much but the problems are still there so i i will say thank you again for uh honoring me and i hope that they have a blessed day I am pleased to introduce peoria alumni’s second honoree miss pam adams pam adams was born in dallas and raised in peoria a town she loves she has been a fanatic about tony morrison probably since the mid-1970s in her mind her mommy was citified and her daddy was countrified that might not be true
Children rarely fully know their parents but as she grew older it gave her an appreciation for all aspects of black culture and culture period she likes to say black love is black wealth a quote from nikki giovanni’s poem nikki rosa she tries to live those words somehow she always knew she wanted to
Work for her hometown newspaper the journal star and she did for more years than she likes to say out loud it was not always easy but how many people can say they earned a living by asking questions she covered features news stories and wrote a column for the edu editorial page
In her final years she was the health and education reporter did we forget to mention her formal education though she loves learning she thought school was often boring anyway she graduated from manual high school and bradley university with stints at monmouth college and illinois central college however
She still talks to her first grade teacher annette smith regularly at 100 years old miss smith is as sharp and witty as ever adams retired from the journal star in 2018 she has continued to write occasionally recent work includes a story on her trip to the national lynching memorial and
Museum in montgomery alabama with a focus on lynchings in central illinois she is currently researching the history of carver’s community center and peoria’s colored women’s aid group the group that started what eventually became carver she has a huge extended family including one son adam and three sisters by the way
Her baby sister is a delta indeed as miss adams states black love is black wealth i am pleased to introduce peoria alumni’s chapters legends honor award honoree miss pam adams thank you delta sigma theta i really appreciate it and i appreciate all the other women who have been honored today
All the women who have been honored in the past and all the women who will be honored in the future again thank you and i must tell you my mother died when i was 16. but a few years later i noticed that something special always happened on her birthday
If i was having a problem it seemed like it dissolved itself if i was frustrated about something it seemed like i came into a clearing or if i was very very happy something would happen that would make me happier and i must tell you that her birthday is march 26th
And so once again she’s come through with something special for me on her birthday and that makes this honor from you all the more special thank you again and black love is blank well Do You
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