We hope you all had a great holiday season! We know lots of exciting events take place over the holidays and we want to celebrate with you! You may be asking: how do I stay in the know?
Donna’s role: The Corresponding Secretary's job is to stay in touch with members and provide support, encouragement, a pat on the back, or just a simple hello. I write birthday cards, notes to members who are new mommies or have received some other honor that needs to be recognized. I call and send letters to our sisters that are ill and write sympathy cards to families of sisters who have passed on. I love having this role at this point in my life because it lets me stay in touch. Please remember if you hear of any life events that fall under the Corresponding Secretary’s role, please let me know and I can send them a card or give them a call.
Michelle’s role: The Recording Secretary’s role is to capture the minutes from all of our signature events and keep the master calendar in Member Planet updated with all of the club events and activities. I also do the historian role and create the scrapbook at the end of the club year- so be sure to take pictures at all club events! If you have any questions about meeting minutes or the club scrapbooks, feel free to contact me!
Now for a little about each of us…
Donna: I am now retired but the majority of my working career was in radio, both on-air and in sales. I also had a TV show in Las Vegas before I was hired by KRFM (beautiful music not on the air anymore) in Phoenix in 1975. I worked there for 12 years and then switched careers and went to work for FHP (which is now United Healthcare) in Sales.
Michelle: I am a South Dakota Alpha and originally from Chamberlain, SD. I have a Bachelors in Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration and a Masters in Public Administration. My husband and I moved to AZ in 2013 and we have been married for 4 years. When we moved I got to keep my job and work from home as a Project Manager for The Evangelical Good Samaritan Society. We have a son that is a year old and one cat. I joined the Phoenix Alumnae Club shortly after moving to AZ and the women have quickly become my friends, family and support system.
Thank you for a great first half of the club year, we’re looking forward to celebrating and sharing 2016 with you!
Ring Ching,
Donna Draper and Michelle Tjeerdsma
Angel Exchange
We had a great turnout for Angel Exchange this year! We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone that was involved: our programming team, Amanda and Brianna, for planning a great event; Anastasia Olson, for hosting us in your beautiful home; our club leadership, for arriving early and staying late to help set up, organize, and clean afterwards; and everyone who attended, brought a gift, and made a dessert or appetizer - it wouldn't have been a great event without our club members!
Philanthropy and Fundraising
Philanthropy Phebruary is almost here! Begin clearing your calendar now for all kinds of philanthropy phun! Remember, all philanthropy events will earn you a stamp for your virtual passport.
Waste Management Phoenix Open
There are still spots available for the Waste Management Phoenix Open! Phoenix Panhellenic Association provides concession volunteers at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in turn for scholarship money. Pi Beta Phi needs 80 volunteers for the 2016 WMPO! As a result, Pi Phis will be eligible for scholarships.
Remember, anyone can help us reach our goal --- friends, co-workers, family, boyfriends, husbands, significant others, etc. Volunteers need only to register under Pi Beta Phi for us to get credit. So find a friend and sign up together - anyone can be a Pi Phi for a day!
Please click here to sign up, and make sure to select Pi Beta Phi as your organization.
If you have questions or a technical issue with registration, please email Kim OBrien at kob1@cox.net.
Champions Are Readers (CAR)
We will be partnering with Brunson-Lee Elementary again this year on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Feb 9th-March 2nd. Watch your email for more details and a sign up link as we get closer to the date.
Fraternity Day of Service
Our annual Fraternity Day of Service will be held at the Burton-Barr Central Library with our literacy partner, the Phoenix Public Library. We will host twelve Dr. Seuss themed craft stations and give away new books to children who attend the event. Set aside Saturday, Feb 27th on your calendars - you won't want to miss this excellent opportunity! We will provide more details on times and shifts in the next few weeks.
January Volunteer Opportunities
UMOM New Day Centers
Book Room Wednesday, January 6th & 20th 9:00am – 12:00pm Organize new and donated books into categories of picture, easy chapter, harder chapter books for the Read to Me program.
Read to Me Tuesday, January 12th 6:00pm – 8:00pm Read to/with children, ages 4-12 years old, who reside at UMOM. Members’ children are encouraged to come too.
Brunson Lee Elementary
Birthday Books Thursday, January 5th 10:00am – 12:00pm Escort January birthdays, K-6th graders, to this a special room stocked with new books to select a new book for their birthday! Two volunteers are needed.
Ring Ching Roadshow
Libbie is packing her bags and heading to Phoenix! Join us on January 17th from 1-3 pm to meet Libbie, her driver Daphney Bitanga (CA Eta), and celebrate our upcoming 150th Anniversary! If you did not receive the evite, please contact Amanda Montelongo atprograms@phoenixpibetaphi.org for details.
Calling all Leaders!
Interested in serving on our Club Leadership Team next year? Please contact one of our LNC members to find out what roles will be available and to express your interest.
There are lots of opportunities surrounding scholarships available. Take a look and see if any are a good fit for you!
Phoenix Panhellenic Association
Phoenix Panhellenic scholarships are now available to collegiate and alumnae continuing their education. Click on the 2016 Panhellenic scholarship application link below to submit an ONLINE application.
Pi Beta Phi Foundation Online applications are now open! Available awards include undergraduate, graduate and Alumnae Continuing Education scholarships. Check out the link below to fill out your online application.
AZ Beta started its first undergraduate scholarship back in February 2015. The chapter donated $25,000, with the eventual goal of creating a permanently endowed scholarship. To do this, they need to collect $50,000. The first scholarship for $2000 was given for this school year to one of the AZ Beta collegians, Jackie Remackel. She was most appreciative. Individuals plus the Phoenix Alumnae Club have donated $4,210 thus far - resulting in a total balance of $27,210. If you are interested in helping AZ Beta reach their $50,000 goal, you have two options:
Call the Pi Beta Phi Foundation at (636) 256–1357to donate. Specify that you would like your gift to go towards the AZ Beta Foundation Scholarship.
Visit www.pibetaphifoundation.org and go to the "Donate" page. Where it says "Yes! I want to make a gift to Pi Beta Phi Foundation for:" - select "Scholarship Fund", then click "other" and enter "AZ Beta Foundation Scholarship" as the specific scholarship you would like your donation to go towards.
Tell us Something Good!
Lots of good things happened in December - congratulations to our sisters!
Kassandra Goffena and her boyfriend, Kyle King, are engaged - congratulations, Kassandra!
Jennifer Pratt and her boyfriend, Andrew, are engaged - congratulations, Jennifer!
Kate Ewy was promoted to Operations Program Manager for the Internet of Things - Platform Engineering & Development Team at Intel - congratulations, Kate!
Morgan Sexton was promoted from Underwriting Assistant to Underwriter I at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Congratulations, Morgan!
Tara Davis competed her Master's Degree from ASU - way to go, Tara!
Leanne Abushar completed her Master's Degree from MSU - great job, Leanne!
Natalie Kellogg organized two holiday drives, one for Thanksgiving food baskets and one for Christmas toys. Natalie works as a Developmental Therapist with Arizona Early Intervention and saw a need for the families she works with. It can be difficult to qualify for programs such as St Mary's, Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army, etc, just because there's so much need and only so many resources. She partnered with Wildflower Bread Company and a few family members and friends to fill 4 huge boxes with food for some of the families she's met through her work for Thanksgiving. She also collected toys and gifts for Christmas and donated them to 10 local families, and is actively working to collect more for after the holidays. What a great way to give back during the holidays - we're proud to have members like you, Natalie!
Heather Miller helped organize a clothing drive for the Pajama Program - an organization that provides new pajamas and a book for local children in need. she collected 1,500 pairs of pajamas and hosted a sorting party at her house - her group sorted nearly 2,200 pairs of pajamas! Thanks for always going the extra mile, Heather!
