Difference between pages "Epsilon Rho" and "Epsilon Lambda"

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{{Infobox Fraternity
 
{{Infobox Fraternity
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|Name= Epsilon Rho
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|Name= Epsilon Lambda
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|GreekSymbol= EP
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|GreekSymbol= EΛ
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|Image= [[File:Epsilon_Rho.jpg|200px]]
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|Image= [[File:Epsilon_Lambda.jpg|200px]]
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1976|02|28}}
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|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1967|02|25}}
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|College= [http://www.tamu.edu/ Texas A&M University]
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|College= [https://www.utk.edu/ University of Tennessee]
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|Location= College Station, TX
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|Location= Knoxville, Tennessee
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|Homepage= [http://www.aggiekappa.com/ Epsilon Rho Homepage]
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|Homepage= [https://utk.kappa.org/ Epsilon Lambda Homepage]
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|Media= [http://wiki.kappakappagamma.org/index.php?title=Category:Epsilon_Rho Media related to Epsilon_Rho Chapter]}}
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|Media= [https://wiki.kkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Epsilon_Lambda Media related to Epsilon Lambda Chapter]}}
 
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'''University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, Established 1794'''
  
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'''2,164 initiates (as of June 2016)'''
 
  
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'''Epsilon Rho, Texas A&M'''
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'''Epsilon Lambda founded February 25, 1967'''
  
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'''Founded February 28, 1976'''
 
  
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'''Texas A&M University founded in 1876 in College Station, Texas'''
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'''1,942 initiates (as of June 2018)'''
  
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'''30 charter members'''
 
  
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'''Charter Members:'''
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Cary Vaughan Axhbaucher, Donna Lee Buchanan, Kay Marie Burns, Virginia Susan Cameron, Catherine Cotton, Kay Dyer Edwards, Mary Emily Evans, Mary Katherine Faucette, Patricia Lee Fillers, Margaret Lynn Harris, Cynthia Hart, Kathryn Ann Hibbs, Nora Margaret Hopkins, Patsy Ann Hughes, Jan Carol Jones, Sandra Rayburn Jones, Lillie Kay Mitchell, Diana Lea Murray, Nancy Olivia Nelson, Rebecca Rita O'Connor, Teresa Pentecost, Betty Jo Proffitt, Patricia Ann Schlemmer, Anna Celeste Thompson.
  
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==Installation==
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==The Early Years (Excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity: 1870-1976)==
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As far as Kappas were concerned, the year 1976 at Texas A&M University was triply special. In addition to being America’s Bicentennial, it was also the university’s Centennial, and most special for 31 new Kappas, the Installation of Epsilon Rho Chapter, which took place during February 27–29, 1976.
 
  
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It was also a special occasion for the 24 Kappa alumnae of the Bryan/College Station area who worked so hard—first in helping to colonize the chapter, then in seeing that the girls received all the help and advice they needed, and finally in arranging and staging the Installation weekend. A Beta Omicron, Tulane alumna, hosted a lovely reception at her beautiful College Station home on Friday evening for the installation team, local alumnae, and members of Gamma Phi, SMU, the installing chapter.
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Discussion of the establishment of a Kappa chapter on the University of Tennessee campus began in 1946.
  
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The Sunday afternoon reception honoring the new chapter was a beautifully fitting climax to the installation activities. Parents, some from hundreds of miles away, joined with campus friends and local alumnae in congratulating the new members. Guests had the opportunity to view the many beautiful gifts presented to the chapter during the previous night’s banquet.
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Knoxville area Kappas organized in 1948 and their president, Mary Hamilton Ewing, Delta Xi- Carnegie Tech, Province Director of Alumnae, worked four years with the campus Panhellenic. By 1962 Tennessee was seen as a possible extension choice, and in 1964 an extension team endorsed the campus for colonization.
  
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An impressive array of Fraternity officials was on hand for the occasion including Marian Schroeder Graham, Beta Phi, Montana, Fraternity President, who captivated the girls to the point that they wanted to know what you have to do to become Fraternity President; Marian Klingbeil Williams, Theta, Missouri, Director of Personnel (Standards) and Rebecca Stone Arbour, Delta Iota, LSU, Director of Chapters were also present, in addition to the Theta Province Director of Alumnae, a Field Secretary, the Chairman of Chapter Advisory Boards, and Extension Committee members.
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In September, 1966, Epsilon Lambda colony was formed and within a few weeks 34 members had been pledged. It was an outstanding group, and Susan Ward (Cline) with her title of "Miss Tennessee Engineer" brought the chapter its first trophy.
  
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Louise Little Barbeck, Gamma Phi, SMU, former Fraternity President, was the featured speaker at the installation banquet Saturday evening at the Briarcrest Country Club.
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"We can never compete with the established sororities," was thought more than once. The challenge was accepted by three Kappa actives: D. Jane Humphrey (Henegar), Epsilon Alpha- Texas Christian, graduate counselor, "a Kappa lady through and through"; Betsy Rule (Marcum), Beta Upsilon- West Virginia, pledge chairman, "with her sweet demure manner"; and Leslie Hughes (Mier), Epsilon Eta- Auburn, song leader, "our devoted musical transfer."
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Active members from Gamma Phi, SMU, sister chapter to Epsilon Rho, were also on hand to help with Initiation and celebrate Kappa’s fifth chapter in Texas. Local Kappa alumnae helped immensely in every area of chapter life.  
 
  
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==Texas A&M==
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Installation was scheduled February 24,25, and 26, 1967. Special guests were national officers Frances Fatout Alexander, Iota- DePauw, Ruth Hoehle Lane, Phi- Boston, and Clara O. Pierce, Beta Nu- Ohio State, as well as the Beta Chi Kappas who were in Knoxville to see the colony become the first Kappa chapter in the state. Twenty-four girls became charter members on February 25 at a service in the Panhellenic Building where the spacious Kappa suite is located. The Passing of the Light Ceremony saw the heirloom Charlotte Barrell Ware candlesticks passed from Betty Davis Van Fleet, Alpha Deuteron- Monmouth College, to Rebecca O'Connor (Greene), the colony president.  
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Located in College Station, about half-way between Houston and Waco, the TAMU campus was undergoing much growth and building construction at the time of Epsilon Rho’s founding. Established in 1876 at Texas’s first public institution of higher learning, the old Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College was renamed Texas A&M University.
 
  
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Kappa Kappa Gamma was the ninth sorority to be installed at Texas A&M, all of them within the previous two years, and it was said to be the last for at least three years. Since the university did not recognize sororities at that time, Panhellenic declared a moratorium on additional colonization in order to see what the official university attitude would be once the women’s groups had a chance to prove themselves in the previously all-male land of the Aggies.
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Tennessee President Dr. Andrew Holt and Mrs. Holt were guests at the banquet that night and Dean of Women Jane McCormick, Delta Alpha- Penn State, brought the university's and her own greetings. Anna Thompson (Parker), Epsilon Lambda's first president, received the charter.
  
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'''Housing'''
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Margaret Lynn Harris was awarded a scholarship by the Austin, Texas, Alumnae; Kay Marie Burns (Kendall) received the scholarship award; and Becky O'Connor (Greene), as outstanding contributor to the colony, was given an antique key sent by Beta Nu actives and the Columbus, Ohio, Alumnae Association.
  
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The nine groups were in the process of setting up lodges in an apartment complex just being completed. Many of their members planned to rent apartments in the same complex, making it the center of Aggie sorority activity for the next three years.
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The first rush was "wild," with fun-filled practices, work sessions, mistakes, aggravating moments, tears, and extreme joy. Mrs. Louise Little Barbeck, Gamma Phi- Southern Methodist, then national vice president, helped keep spirit up with her kind advice and perpetual calmness. On "squeal night," when 30 pledges walked through the door, there could not have been a prouder group of actives.
  
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==Highlights of the late 1970s==                   
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The Kappa "Pumpkin Walk," now a tradition, began that fall when jack-o-lanterns with Kappa eyes, Gamma noses, and key mouths were delivered on fraternity row. Initiation, parties, the chapter's first birthday, and honors filled the term.
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During the remainder of the 1970s, Epsilon Rho faced the challenges of not having a house in which to hold recruitment or meetings. However, the chapter was able to hold successful Recruitment events in other locations, such as the Ramada Inn. In 1975, chapter meetings were hosted in the party room of the Barcelona Apartments. The following year, the sisters were able to move Recruitment from the Barcelona Apartments to their new "Kappa Korner," which was located in Sausilito Apartments on Munson and Highway 30.
 
  
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'''Housing:'''
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Twenty-nine pledges found their big sisters in the fall of 1968 by following a maze of yarn ending in 29 wooden keys. That began an active schedule focusing on a cultural program and scholarship that resulted in the chapter earning second place among 18 sororities, with a difference of only one-five-hundreth of a point!
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Epsilon Rho was without a chapter house of its own, but many members lived in rented apartments.
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Rushing in 1969 was a great success with an icewater party, Kappa Karnival, South Pacific party, and preference party when each Kappa told what KKG meant to her personally. On October 13, 32 coeds were officially pledged before the Centennial Founders Day program and introduced to the Knoxville alumnae. At Christmas, members enjoyed buying dresses, sweaters, and bellbottoms for an 11-year-old underprivileged girl. During that school year the chapter gave a dance at the old L&N (Louisville and Nashville) railroad station, started a volunteer program for hospital aides, and formed a basketball team. They captured the Panhellenic All-Sports Trophy, and ranked third in the list of sororities in scholarship.
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In 1970, 28 top coeds were pledged, and 24 initiated...the first initiation ceremony in the Kappa room. Pledges worked hard on a new initiation song. They papered the kitchen and painted blue and green flowers on the cabinet doors.
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The fifth birthday of the chapter was celebrated. At the alumnae picnic in the spring of 1972, Knoxville and Nashville Kappas presented the chapter with a beautiful Revere punchbowl; the Memphis Alumnae Association gave a round silver tray; and a silver ladle was also received.
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Looking back over Epsilon Lambda's growth, each member's contribution is appreciated, and it is certain that these same attributes will make them valuable members of alumnae groups for years to come.
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==Highlights of 1980s==
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Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity is one of the oldest women's fraternities with a total membership of more than 260,000 women and 140 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada. At the University of Tennessee, Kappa Kappa Gamma prides itself on the tradition of leadership. The chapter strives in every aspect to uphold the fraternity's national mission statement: "Kappa Kappa Gamma is an organization of women, which seeks for every member throughout her life bonds of friendship, mutual support, opportunities for self-growth, respect for intellectual development, and an understanding of and an allegiance to positive ethical principles." Being a member of Kappa is really about opportunity: to grow, to connect, to serve, to befriend, to aspire. History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key.
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The 1980’s found Epsilon Lambda very busy trying to establish themselves on campus.  Their goal of campus participation continued throughout the 80’s and it began to pay off with all of the Campus events like All-Sing, Homecoming and helping each with the Helen Ross McNabb Therapeutic nursery.  All the while working to keep up their grades.  At the 1987 Nu Province meeting the chapter was awarded the Scholarship Award.  They were very successful with the recruitment process and each year pledged a quota of girls for their chapter.
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==Highlights of 1990s==
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The 1990’s started with a Letter of Concern which the chapter received well and worked hard to be removed and they did.  But, lack of scholarship caused great hardship with several officers being replaced because of grade problems.  This taught the chapter the importance of time management.  This period of the 90’s also initiated the beginning of the bus policy when the chapter traveled to an event off campus.  After a little period of adjustment, they wondered why they hadn’t done it before!  Each year the chapter participated in All-Sing, Sapphire Ball , Derby Week ,Helen McNabb Center and in 1992 adopted a barn owl at the Knoxville Zoo.  Hurricane Andrew gave the chapter an opportunity to raise money to help those in need along with all other Greeks on campus.  Each year the chapter worked to help each member to improve their grades. Through must hard work on behalf of the members as well as the chapter Council this was achieved many years. In 1994, Epsilon Lambda was assigned a whole floor in Massey Hall in which 39 girls could live together.  This proved to be a great sisterhood enhancement.
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Philanthropy was a big part of the chapter and in 1998 they teamed with Aids Response Knoxville to implement the first annual AIDS Walk and it was an overwhelming success.  By the end of the 90’s they had become a more recognized name on the UT campus for their campus philanthropic events, community philanthropies as well as campus leadership in student organizations all the while maintaining grades and getting outstanding pledge classes to make their chapter strong.
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==Highlights of 2000-2010==
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From 2000-2010, Epsilon Lambda participated in many campus events like All Sing, Greek Week, Kappa-Lympics and often won or placed in these events.  In 2004, they adopted the March of Dimes as their philanthropy.  Also raised $8,702.63 at the Dance Marathon benefiting the Tennessee Children’s Hospital.  The chapter continued to support March of Dimes and was the National Collegiate Award for raising the most money of any college in the country.  They also teamed up with a Kappa designer and sold hundreds of designer jeans at a discounted price with 15% goes to March of Dimes. Princess for a day was another meaningful event where members went to hospitals and played one on one with the children.  During these years they celebrated their 40th anniversary with many alumnae who shared stories of the chapter. 
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Many new pledges acme to Epsilon Lambda during this time who help make the chapter strong even in times of chapter issues.  But, these issues made the chapter wiser, closer and in the end made the chapter so much stronger than it had been in years.  They learned the value of good communication, respecting the alumnae and each other.
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==Highlights of 2011==
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The year 2011 began with the installment of a new chapter council, with Maggie Wallace as the new president of Epsilon Lambda. Each member of the new chapter council is committed to the improvement of the chapter. Throughout the year, Epsilon Lambda chapter participated in many campus and philanthropic events. They continue to strive for success every year. At the beginning of February, the ladies of Kappa Kappa Gamma held a continuous open bidding event and gave out bids to seven young women.
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The night was very casual and allowed chapter members to engage in light conversation with the new ladies. The following month, the Leadership Consultant visited Knoxville and met with each chapter council member. Her visit was very helpful and was much appreciated by the chapter council due to her excellent suggestions. In addition, the ladies of Epsilon Lambda participated in a Reading is Fundamental event at Bearden Elementary school. This event allowed us to have a more "hands on" experience with our national philanthropy. In the spring, Epsilon Lambda initiated seven new members into the chapter on April 2nd, 2011. The following day our chapter held the annual philanthropy event "Kappalympics," in which twenty teams of sororities and fraternities participated in a series of field games to raise money for the March of Dimes organization. The event was sponsored by Red Bull, Krispy Kreme, and Firehous subs. We raised over $1,600 through the team entrance fees and the "cream a kappa" booth.
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Shortly after Kappalympics, the chapter participated in Carnicus with the ladies of Delta Delta Delta. The title of the performance was "The Wizard of Knox" and was directed by Mary Carter Kniffen and Hailey Wood. The award for best actress was given to Stephanie Thrasher who played Dorothy. Soon after, the ladies of Epsilon Lambda participated in Greek week with the gentlemen of Phi Sigma Kappa. Greek week began on April 10th and chapter members participated in a habitat for humanity build, blood drive, and all other events throughout the week. Following Greek Week, Relay for life and March for Babies were both held on April 16th, 2011. Both events were a success and the ladies of Kappa Kappa Gamma enjoyed helping out their community by volunteering.
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After summer break, the ladies returned to Knoxville to prepare for formal Fall Recruitment. Recruitment was very successful and we obtained a new member pledge class of 56 ladies. Soon after, the ladies of Epsilon Lambda took part in Vol Challenge, a week of volunteering run by the university. We also held our annual designer blue jeans sale called Blue Jeans for Babies for the March of Dimes foundation. On October 8th , 2011 we initiated 55 lovely women in to Epsilon Lambda. Following initiation, the new members participated in the Junior Panhellenic event called "lip sync" that all of the new pledge classes participate in. They were assigned the letter "K" and created a dance to go with all of the artists with that letter. They performed in front of a huge audience and did a fantastic job. During homecoming week, the ladies of Kappa paired up with the gentlemen of Sigma Phi Epsilon and prepared a banner and homecoming float. We were finalists in Smokey's Howl, winning third place overall. Kappa also reached out to the community by volunteering for Chef's Auction, a local event in Knoxville. In November we held our chapter elections and nominated a new chapter council for the following year.
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'''Campus:''' The University of Tennessee was founded in 1794 and is based around the pride of their lasting traditions. The university has an undergraduate program with over 21,000 students and over 5,000 graduate students. It remains a flagship campus for Tennessee in undergraduate, graduate, professional programs, research, and community service. The campus has 550 acres in which 220 university buildings reside. A new branding campaign was recently launched called "Big Orange, Big Ideas" to create a new image for the university and it's students. The University of Tennessee continues to build and create leaders for the future through academics, athletics, and campus involvement. Go Vols!
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'''Chapter:''' Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity was founded on February 25, 1967 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Kappa Kappa Gamma is proud to be a part of the Greek system and remains one of the strongest chapters. The sisters of Epsilon Lambda exemplify the ideals of leadership and the development of women. We are dedicated to each other and our sisterhood while also remaining involved in our academics, campus events, and community service. Many members are involved in other organizations on campus and even hold leadership positions in them. Epsilon Lambda strives to uphold the highest ideals of sisterhood while keeping the traditions of Kappa Kappa Gamma alive throughout our daily lives.
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The main challenge that Epsilon Lambda faced in the year 2011 was honoring the suggestions sent to the chapter through the focus letter. Our academics have not been our primary focus in recent years, but this past year our chapter council did a great job of changing that. We were placed on academic probation and were told that our chapter could not hold more than two mandatory chapter events during one given week. The academic adviser communicated well with our VPAE to make sure that the grade point average of the chapter improved.
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Our goal was to have grades that were above the all sorority average of panhellenic. The VPAE instituted mandatory study hours starting in the fall and the chapter logged their individual study hours for the week. In addition, she updated the test files and held more study hours to suit every chapter member's needs. The chapter continues to strive for the improvement of our grades and study habits. Another problem that Epsilon Lambda chapter wanted to improve was chapter member accountability. Chapter participation in events such as philanthropy, meetings, recruitment have been low in recent semesters. Chapter council has done a great job of improving the standards committee to hold members that miss required events responsible for their actions. Chapter morale has also improved lately due to the efforts of chapter council to reward chapter members for their good attendance at Kappa functions. Epsilon Lambda continues to work towards a more united, strong chapter for the future.
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==Highlights of 2012==
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Scholarship
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Several programs implemented
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* Test Fairy
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* Academic Conference
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* Study Logs/Study Files
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* Smart Cookie of the Week
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Greek Awards Banquet - Spring 2012
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* Panhellenic's Circle of Sisterhood Award
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* Volunteer Level Achievement in Greek Excellence
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Kappa Convention Awards
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* Honorable Mention for Finance
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* Honorable Mention for Advisory Board
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* Finalist for the Most Outstanding Association Award
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Chapter Goals
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Intellectual Development
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* Academic Development by creating incentives, educating, and closely monitoring
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Interpersonal Development
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* Chapter Involvement by creating a reward system and boosting sisterhood events
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Leadership and Skill Building
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* Chapter Leadership Programming by using committees and increasing involvement
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Understanding & Appreciation of Kappa
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* Chapter Knowledge, and Chapter Heritage by emphasizing importance of ritual
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Philanthropic Events
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* March for Babies benefiting March of Dimes
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* Kappalympics benefiting March of Dime
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* Chef's Auction benefiting March of Dimes
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* SOAR benefiting Knoxville education
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* March of Dimes Golf Tournament
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* Pi Beta Phi's Kisses for Soldiers
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* Phi Mu Model for a Miracle
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* Kappa Sigma South Seas
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* ATO's OcTAUberfest
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* Lambda Chi Alpha's Watermelon Bust
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World/Local Events
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* Hurricane Sandy - collected toiletries, clothing items, non-perishables, etc. 
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* Sandy Hook Shooting - members donated money and material needed to be sent through a  member of Phi Mu whose hometown was Newtown, CT
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Traditions
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* Blue and Blue Banquet
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* Parent's Weekend Dinner
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* Senior Night
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* More to come with the house!
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The University of Tennessee is an ever evolving campus with changes being implemented both by the administration and the students. As a general body, the University is seeking acknowlegement as a Top 25 Public University, and changes are being made steadily in that direction. Some of these changes are being felt more than others. Standards for the Greek community are increasing both in academics and social consciousness.
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The University wants to redevelop the Greek community as a force of social change and community support. Panhellenic works very closely with the University to champion and instill these values back into the chapters and also to unite the other Greek councils (MGC, IFC, NPHC) into one cohesive force. Kappa has a large presence on the Panhellenic council and we hope to continue the emphasis we have always had. One very obvious change on campus is that the Panhellenic sororities are in the midst of moving into the houses of Sorority Village. Kappa Kappa Gamma is seeking resident move in into the house on February 23rd, 2013. This is of great excitement for our chapter members who have long anticipated this day, and have worked very hard to get there.
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Epsilon Lambda as a chapter has several core strengths and a few weaknesses, as well. One of our greatest strengths as a chapter is that we are very well united and have a way of using our unique differences to make us a complete chapter. We find things in common and make strides out of them. We are also very stringent about our ritual practices and take it very seriously. This makes our chapter more cohesive and efficient in all the things we do.  
  
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Some of our weaknesses include lack of accountability as far as participation and attendance goes. We have a hard time getting members to attend events they pay for. It is difficult to understand why this is, but it is our most difficult challenge to deal with because it affects overall chapter morale, as well. The council's officers project that the presence of the house alone will increase morale, participation, and general attendance by our members for at least the next couple of semesters. This comes at a key time for our chapter as we work to implement rewards systems and find a way to keep members involved and thriving. Our hope is that this will create a new standard in the chapter through the house that will last for years in the future. We are excited to see what changes the house brings and we will have much to share in the next Chapter History Report!
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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==Highlights of 2013==
  
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In November of 1979, Epsilon Rho participated in an all-Greek philanthropy project for the United Way in which they helped to raise $2900 by "kidnapping" prominent people in the community and holding them for "ransom" in Manor East Mall. Also, Epsilon Rho participated in Sigma Chi's Derby Days philanthropy event every year.
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Scholarship: Several programs implemented
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* Test Fairy
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* Academic Conferences
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* Study Logs/Study Files
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* No Skippy Jar
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* 4.0 presentation each semester
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* Academic Presentation status to chapter each semester
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* Wise Owl Jar
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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Province Awards:
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* Standards Award
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* Panhellenic Involvement Award
  
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==Highlights of the 1980s==
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Chapter Goals: Intellectual Development
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The 1980s were a productive decade for Epsilon Rho. The chapter participated in Fall Rush each year and regularly welcomed an average of 50 new Kappas into the chapter. The sisters were kept busy with a variety of development programs, including an officer retreat and a standards workshop. Panhellenic activities were important to the chapter, and the Kappas gladly took part in the Panhellenic Alcohol Awareness Week each year. Additionally, Epsilon Rho scheduled events with other Greek-letter organizations, such as Monmouth Duo with Pi Beta Phi and Kite and Key with Kappa Alpha Theta. The chapter also participated in Chi Omega’s Songfest every year.
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* Academic Development by creating incentives, educating, and closely monitoring
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* Kappa Brand emphasis Interpersonal Development
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* Chapter Involvement by using our new reward system Leadership and Skill Building
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* Leadership presentation at Leadership Day, using committees and encouraging participation by setting examples and Rewards Celebration
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Understanding & Appreciation of Kappa
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* Increasing Chapter knowledge, and Chapter Heritage by reiterating Importance of ritual:
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* Each formal meeting we rehearse/review at least one part of our ritual with the whole chapter.
  
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The chapter’s social calendar was always full with fun activities such as a Christmas formal and a flag football game. One of the highlights of the year was Parents’ Day and the related events. First, the chapter hosted a Parents’ Day Picnic in which the members gathered informally with their families. The Kappa Pickers group often provided the entertainment for the picnic. That evening, the families again came together, but for a much more formal event, Pledge Presentation. At this event, the fathers or escorts of the newest Kappas officially presented the young women to the chapter and then danced the night away. At the end of each year, Epsilon Rho said goodbye to the graduating seniors at the Senior Roast.
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Philanthropic Events:
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* Breakfast for Babies
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* March for Babies benefiting March of Dimes
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* Kappalympics benefiting March of Dimes
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* Chef's Auction benefiting March of Dimes
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* SOAR benefiting Knoxville education
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* March of Dimes Golf Tournament
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* Phi Sig March Madness
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* Kappa Sigma South Seas
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* Sig Ep's Hurricane Week
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* AGR’s Water Wars
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* ATO’s OctauberFest
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* SAE’s Santa Alpha Eplison
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* BYX’s Island Week
  
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Founders Day was a large celebration each year. The chapter paired with the local alumnae association for the annual Founders Day Banquet, an elegant event that included the presentation of awards to both the active and alumna members. In April 1987, Epsilon Rho proudly hosted Theta Province Meeting.
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World/Local Events: We had a clothing drive for a sister’s friend’s house that burned down.
  
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'''Housing: '''
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Overcoming Challenges: Our Philanthropy Chair had to step down due to applying to Nursing school, so we had to find a replacement, which ended up turning out very well. Our new philanthropy chair even had the brilliant idea of a new philanthropy event called Breakfast for Babies. Panhellenic wanting to release Judicial Affairs statistics about all of the Chapters, but through meetings and discussions, Pan decided to table release of the information at this time.
  
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For the early part of the decade, Epsilon Rho members were without a home on campus. Without a house, meetings, Initiation, and other functions were held in other locations such as churches, the homes of alumnae, and hotels. By the mid-1980s, a chapter house was completed and 48 Kappas were able to call the new house home. The house became the focus for many fun activities, such as the annual door decorating contest for Parents’ Day and House Mother Appreciation Week. By the end of the decade, Epsilon Rho’s house received a few upgrades: a storage shed, fresh paint for the exterior, new blinds in the windows, and updated upholstery for the TV room furniture.
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New Traditions:
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* Sapphire Banquet
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* Mother/Daughter Tea
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* Breakfast For Babies
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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Special Events: We had the dedication/opening of our new chapter house.
  
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Philanthropy was important to the Epsilon Rho women. The chapter regularly participated in Cleaning Up the Grove with the Aggie Men’s Club and Kappa Alptha Theta. In 1987, Epsilon Rho organized a cookbook fundraiser that raised $1,900 for charity, specifically a local mental health center and the Rose McGill Fund. In 1988, the chapter hosted its first Kappa Klassic Golf Tournament, which again benefitted the mental health clinic. Other philanthropic activities included singing Christmas carols at local retirement home, participating in the Adopt-A-Grandparent Project, and spending time with underprivileged children during a Greek Week event. Epsilon Rho also made donations to CROP, a Christian fund that donates 25% of its money to community needs and 75% to world hunger, and to a Texas A&M graduate in need of a liver transplant.
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Group Honors/Awards:  We placed 3rd in Carnicus, an all campus event.
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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The University of Tennessee is an ever-changing campus. Two initiatives continue to be priorities for the University of Tennessee – new dorm construction and the focus to become a Top 25 University.  A significant change, which has impacted our chapter, has been the development of Sorority Village. Sorority Village has been in the planning and development stage for the past 8-10 years; however, the actual construction of the individual sorority houses was negative impacted by the recession in 2008 and many houses were delayed in breaking ground until 2010/2011. Our chapter moved into our new house in February 2013 and it has been such a positive change. Ever since Sorority Village has opened, the whole Greek community has benefited from it. Not only do Sorority Women have a new home to live in, but it has also created a wonderful cohesive area for Panhellenic women to interact and hold social functions with each other. Our social functions vary from “Pan Pal” events that our Panhellenic Council and Pan Delegates put on, to simply getting to talk to each other while walking through the Village on the way to the bus stop. Yet another bonus to Sorority Village is that Recruitment is so much more fun and exciting for potential new members now that we no longer have to have recruitment in the Panhellenic building. Our Chapter has thoroughly enjoyed our new home here in Sorority Village and eagerly look forward to the memories our members will make while living in our new home.
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Our chapter continues to emphasize Academics, Sisterhood and Participation. We support these concepts by our intense focus on Academic performance throughout the semester, creative Sisterhood events and a new Participation Celebration we implemented Fall 2013 to encourage participation in mandatory events, academic success and participation on campus and in the community.
  
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==Highlights of the 1990s==
 
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Throughout the 1990s, Epsilon Rho welcomed many more large pledge classes into the chapter. In order to ensure that all members, old and new, knew each other, the chapter held retreats, sleepovers at the house, picnics, and a variety of other sisterhood activities. Several times a year, the Kappas got together for big/little sister nights with ice cream and yogurt. In 1991, the chapter held a sister-only pumpkin carving contest and Easter egg hunt. That same year, Epsilon Rho won the Excellence in Pledge Education award during Greek Week.
 
  
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The chapter also hosted useful development programs each month, including Responsible Behavior, Risk Management, and Professionalism. Social activities included Pledge Presentation, the Butterbash Ball Fall Casual, and the Valentine’s Day semi-formal. Epsilon Rho often paired up with other Greek-letter organizations for events, such as Kite N Key with Theta, Monmouth Formal with Pi Phi, Owl-O-Ween with Chi Omega, and the Ranch Party with the Tri-Delts. The chapter even accompanied ZBT to Country Western dance lessons.
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==Highlights of 2014==
  
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Alumnae involvement was also important to Epsilon Rho. The Founders Day Banquet was held each year with the local alumnae association. For the Initiation Banquet, chapter alumnae and the mothers of initiates joined Epsilon Rho in welcoming the new Kappas.
 
  
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Epsilon Rho had many achievements throughout the decade. The chapter was repeatedly recognized for scholarship on campus. In1990, the Kappas won Chi Omega’s Songfest.
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Scholarship:
  
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'''Housing: '''
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Epsilon Lambda has done a wonderful job this year of continuing to emphasize the importance of  chapter academic success. We are proud to announce that for Fall semester 2014, we had an average chapter GPA of 3.16, which placed us above the all-sorority average of 3.12.
  
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The chapter maintained a house on campus throughout the 1990s.
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Here are some programs we have implemented to encourage members to excel in academics:
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- KKG Test Fairy twitter account
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- Academic Conferences for members on an academic status
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- Study Hour Log
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- Wise Owl Jar, which allows members to be rewarded for their good grades throughout the week.
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- Study Hours
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- DropBox used for test files
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- Rewards for Members who make above a 3.50 GPA
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- All New Members must have at or above a 3.0 high school GPA
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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Awards:
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- At the 2014 Convention, Epsilon Lambda won the Finance Award for a housed chapter.
  
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Epsilon Rho participated in a variety of philanthropic activities throughout the 1990s. The chapter was always a part of the Big Event, a Texas A&M-sponsored event to help out around the Bryan/College Station area. The Kappas also contributed to FestiveFall, another event sponsored by the University.  
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Philanthropic Events:
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The chapter held a community-wide spaghetti dinner that raised $2000 for charity as well as a canned food drive with Sigma Nu. The Kappas volunteered their time to paint bathrooms and pick up trash at a local park. In 1991, the sisters worked together to send Valentine’s Day cards to troops stationed in the Gulf.
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- Epsilon Lambda participated in and won Beta Upsilon Chi's Island week, whose proceeds went to Tiva Water.
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The chapter’s annual Kappa Klassic Golf Tournament prospered in the 1990s, and, in 1994, the event raised $15,000 for a local mental health clinic.  
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- Participated in Kappa Sigma's South Seas Week, whose proceeds benefitted the Fisher House Foundation.  
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- Participated in and won Delta Tau Delta's Battle of the Bands, whose proceeds benefitted the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
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- Participated in and won Chi Omega's Flag Football Tournament, benefitting Dream Connection.  
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- March for Babies, benefitting March of Dimes
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- Chef's Auction, benefitting March of Dimes
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- March of Dimes Golf Tournament
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- Reading to children at Thrive for Lonsdale Elementary, benefitting underprivileged youth in the Knoxville area
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- Relay for Life (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in)
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- Habitat for Humanity (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in)
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- 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes.  
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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We are so proud of the success of our 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars. Below is a summary of this event:
  
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==Highlights of 2000-2010==
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On September 24, 2014 Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma hosted its newest philanthropy event, Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes. Kolor Wars is a paint-filled water balloon dodgeball tournament, mixing elements of the color run with dodgeball. The tournament was bracket-style with separate girl’s and boy’s brackets. Each sorority and fraternity team consisted of five players, each receiving a Kappa Kolor Wars t-shirt to participate in. The winners of each bracket received a trophy, as well as a $100 donation to their philanthropy.
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Epsilon Rho welcomed the new millennium with numerous sisterhood activities to strengthen the bonds of friendship. These sister-only events included a New Member retreat, a day of Valentine’s Day cookie decorating, and a pizza party study break. Other fun activities included the December semi-formal and the "Farewell Fleur de Lis" party to say goodbye to graduating seniors. Each year, the chapter held a Monmouth formal with Pi Beta Phi, Owloween with Chi Omega, and the Ranch Party with the Tri-Delts.
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The chapter also spent time thanking their parents for their never-ending love and support. A Mother/Daughter Tea was held in the fall, and a Dad’s Day Baseball Game proved to be a big hit with the fathers.
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A total of 19 teams participated, 9 sororities: Delta Zeta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa, Kappa Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, and Alpha Chi Omega; and 10 fraternities: Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Gamma Rho, Phi Delta Gamma, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Beta Upsilon Chi, Sigma Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, and Phi Sigma Kappa. The ladies of Tri Delta won the girl’s bracket, and the gentleman of Sigma Chi were the champions of the boy’s.
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All of the proceeds from Kappa Kolor Wars went to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s local philanthropy, March of Dimes. March of Dimes is a non-profit organization promoting the health of babies and their families, along with preventing infant mortality and premature birth. Kappa is excited to announce that a total of $3,110 was raised for the Knoxville chapter of March of Dimes! Everyone in the chapter really enjoyed participating and had a great time raising money for a great cause!
  
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'''Housing: '''
 
  
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Epsilon Rho continued to maintain a residence at Texas A&M University throughout the decade.
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Chapter Goals:
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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- Academic Development:
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* Maintain chapter GPA above the all-Panhellenic average
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* Continue to monitor members with grades below 3.0
  
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Epsilon Rho continued to focus on philanthropy throughout the decade. Each year, the chapter participated in the University-sponsored Big Event. Kappa Kaddies, the annual philanthropy golf tournament, proved to be a huge success year after year. In 2007, the event raised $8,000 for Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Bryan. The following year, $14,000 was raised through the Kappa Kaddies event. The chapter began another annual philanthropy event, Kappa Krawfish. The crawfish boil was a success and raised hundreds of dollars for philanthropy.
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- Chapter Involvement
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* Chapter council members should respect time of chapter members
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* Continue to educate the chapter about the attendance reward program
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* Emphasize and promote opportunities to the chapter to help members become more involved and gain leadership experience.
 
   
 
   
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By mid-decade, Epsilon Rho began concentrating on Reading Is Fundamental, Kappa’s philanthropy. The chapter held a community-wide book drive to collect books and raise money.  The books were donated to elementary schools in the Bryan/ College Station area.
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- Chapter Leadership Programming
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* Chapter council should utilize committees to encourage member involvement in chapter decision making
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* Increase chapter participation throughout Panhellenic and always promote Kappa ideals and values
 
   
 
   
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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- Chapter Knowledge and Chapter Heritage
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* Continue exposing new members to ritual thoroughly and immediately after initiation
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* Increase enthusiasm for ritual, and emphasize the importance of Initiation and respecting Kappa values during Inspiration Week
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* Educate the members on the importance and uniqueness of our ritual.
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Traditions:
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- Sapphire Rewards Banquet
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- Mother Daughter Tea during the Spring semester
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- Annual Parents Weekend during the Fall semester
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- Father-Daughter Baseball Game during the Spring semester
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- Recruitment Traditions, including the Tennessee Kappa Rap and Kappa Kozy during Recruitment Retreat.
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Overcoming Challenges:  
  
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==Highlights of 2011-2019==
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For the past several years, Epsilon Lambda has been on an academic focus letter due to our chapter semester GPA falling below the all-sorority average semester GPA for multiple, consecutive semesters. We are proud to announce, that for Fall 2014, Epsilon Lambda placed 5th overall for Panhellenic GPAs. Our chapter had an overall GPA of 3.16, placing us above the all sorority average of 3.12. This is the first time we have been above the average in many semesters. Our VPAE and her committee continues to work diligently to ensure we remain above the all-sorority average again for Spring 2015.  
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Epsilon Rho was very busy as the chapter entered the second decade of the twenty-first century. The Kappas focused on providing members with personal development programs that would prepare them for life after college. In 2011, KKG Connections was held with alumnae from Dallas and served as a networking opportunity. Special programs were held for the seniors such as a professional etiquette presentation and a workshop on how to stay connected with the Fraternity after graduation. The seniors also hosted a potluck dinner, and the recipes were later compiled into a senior cookbook. The entire chapter enjoyed the programming as well. The Education Committee sponsored speakers who gave presentations about self-defense, nutrition, exercise, and more. Epsilon Rho also had Chapter Chaplains for the benefit of the sisters.
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Also, one concern that Epsilon Lambda has had for some time is overall chapter appearance at informal meetings. Many members were wearing athletic clothes, baggy t-shirts, and other non-professional attire. Chapter Council members decided that Members should look more presentable and professional, even for informal meetings, so under the leadership of President Whitney Robinson, Epsilon Lambda created a new Standing Rule that banned athletic clothes, leggings, and baggy t-shirts from informal meetings. This is to ensure that members look presentable for all guests coming into chapter meetings.
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Another challenge Epsilon Lambda continues to battle is lack of participation by a large portion of our membership. Attendance at major philanthropic events has been a recent issue for Epsilon Lambda, but we are taking strides to eradicate this problem. One such stride is the implementation of the Sapphire Rewards program in Fall 2013, which keeps track of member involvement throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, members who have obtained all required points for mandatory events as well as those who have the most points, will be invited to a Sapphire Rewards Banquet, which includes dinner and some sort of tangible reward, like a new and trendy clothing item or other gift. So far, this system seems to be encouraging more attendance, but we are still working through this challenge. We are excited to see all the benefits this system brings to the chapter in the coming semesters.
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The University of Tennessee is a very dynamic campus- constantly changing and working to improve. Similarly, Epsilon Lambda is an ever-evolving chapter as well. As a chapter, we work hard to overcome challenges and better our chapter in any way possible. As our university changes, we work hard to stay at the forefront of new reforms, thus promoting university standards and ideals while upholding the reputation of an influential and beneficial organization on this campus.
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In 2010, the University of Tennessee announced its goal to become a Top 25 university. Since then, many strides have been taken in this direction. With increased focus on academics campus-wide, Epsilon Lambda is proud to announce our recent accomplishment of obtaining a chapter cumulative GPA above the all-sorority average. Just as the university has increased focus on academics, so have we placed more emphasis on this vital aspect of the college experience. We believe in creating a supportive environment in which Epsilon Lambda members can succeed academically. With the new programs and rewards in place, we encourage all members to contribute not only to Kappa Kappa Gamma's academic standards, but also the academic standards and goals of the University of Tennessee.
 
   
 
   
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The chapter also had fun during a variety of social events. Examples of such activities include the February semi-formal, Monmouth with Pi Phi, KKG BBQ, and K-K-Jean, which was held at a local boutique.
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In the past year, the University of Tennessee has also increased its standards for the Greek community. As members of Kappa Kappa Gamma, we believe that we must be leaders in the Greek community, embodying university ideals at all times. We acknowledge that we are wearing our letters at all times, and we realize that our behavior inside and outside of the classroom will reflect on the reputation of our chapter. As the university looks with more scrutiny at the Greek chapters on campus, Epsilon Lambda is committed to proving to our university that Greek life is beneficial to our campus in many ways, not detrimental. To do this, we are uniting with more Panhellenic sororities and enacting reforms within the Panhellenic community. Our Panhellenic delegate is doing a wonderful job at communicating Panhellenic decisions to the chapter and at communicating Kappa values to the Panhellenic community.
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In conclusion, with the changes implemented on the University of Tennessee's campus, Epsilon Lambda's goal is to remain a model organization on campus, embracing all university ideals and fostering the development of young women into successful, proud alumni of both Epsilon Lambda and the University of Tennessee. 
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All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house located in the new Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus. Once per month, a chapter meal is held at the house before a chapter meeting to foster deeper relationships between all members in all pledge classes. On February 23, 2013, Epsilon Lambda opened the doors to its first house, located in the beautiful Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus, where all 13 sororities now have a house. Our house sleeps 33 girls, mostly members of the Sophomore pledge class. This house has been a wonderful opportunity for members to become closer to each other and develop relationships that they otherwise would not have without this wonderful house.
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==Highlights of 2015==
  
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'''Housing: '''
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This year, we continued the use of our Wise Owl Jar to reward members who excelled on tests and assignments. We also continued to hold academic conferences and encouraged members to log their study hours and contribute to the study files. Our chapter GPA in Spring 2015 was 3.18, which was higher than the all-women average on our university’s campus but lower than the all-sorority average. 
  
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Epsilon Rho’s chapter house holds 46 members. The sisters are able to enjoy a large backyard and a spacious patio, one of the only ones found on Sorority Row. In 2011, the chapter added a second grill to the patio, which permits the members to enjoy many outdoor meals throughout the year.
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For the Fall of 2015, we were above the All-Sorority Average. Also, our freshman new member class had the 3rd highest GPA out of all the sororities on campus.
  
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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Chapter Goals:
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Academic Development
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- Work towards the all-Panhellenic GPA average and continue to monitor girls with
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grades below 3.0.
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Chapter Involvement
  
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Epsilon Rho continued the tradition of participating in Texas A&M’s Big Event. The 2011 Kappa Krawfish event was held on Parents’ Weekend. The 400 guests were able to enjoy entertainment provided by a local band as well as the chapter’s Kappa Pickers and Stomp Team. The event was a huge success and raised around $10,000 for charity.
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- Respect time of chapter members, continue to educate the chapter about the reward
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system, and emphasize and promote opportunities within the chapter to help
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members become more involved and develop leadership qualities.
  
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A new philanthropic event was Kappa Kook Out, which was held at the house in the fall. Over $10,000 was donated to the Nehemiah Foundation of Navasota. The chapter volunteered at the Nehemiah center to tutor and spend time with local at-risk children. Many of the sisters volunteered at Nehemiah a few times a week, and the chapter was able to accumulate over 1,000 service hours in one semester.
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Chapter Leadership Programming
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Epsilon Rho also gave to the Texas A&M community through Kappa Kappa Chino, a daytime event where Kappas passed out free coffee provided by Starbucks to students at various locations around campus.
 
  
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'''Chapter Convention Awards:'''
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- Utilize committees/motivate the middle, increase chapter participation throughout
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Panhellenic and promote the Kappa “brand”, and emphasize and promote
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opportunities within the chapter to encourage members to become more involved
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and develop leadership qualities.
  
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==Highlights of 2011==
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Chapter Knoweldge and Chapter Heritage
  
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January: The Epsilon Rho executive council started out the 2011 year by attending an officer retreat at the home of advisor, Carole Gruen. At the retreat officers had the unique opportunity to increase the unity of the executive council by sharing ideas and engaging in fun team building activities.  
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- Continue exposing new members to ritual immediately after initiation, increase the
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enthusiasm and emphasize the importance of initiation during inspiration week, and
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educate the members on the importance and uniqueness of our ritual by utilizing
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spare meeting time and chapter events to practice ritual.
  
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February: On February 27th, we held Semiformal at Downtown 202 in Bryan, Texas.
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Philanthropic Events:
  
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March: March 5th was "Dad's Day" for the Epsilon Rho Chapter. March was highlighted with the successful and fun campus-wide service opportunity, The Big Event on the 27th in which the Owl, Minerva, and Sapphire groups were paired with the fraternity Ol' Ags to volunteer yardwork services to locals. We ended the month with our first recruitment workshop which was held from 2-4pm on Sunday the 27th .
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March for Babies benefiting March of Dimes
  
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April: April 2nd was our annual formal dance, Monmouth, hosted with the sorority Pi Beta Phi at The Hilton. On Sunday the 3rd, KKG Connections was held with a few Alumni from Dallas from 2-4pm. The purpose of KKG Connections is to get to know your local alumni and have connections when you graduate and start life in the real world. Friday the 8th was Texas A&M's Annual Chilifest Cook Off. Sunday the 10th was Epsilon Rho's second Chapter Workshop from 2-4pm, where everyone was required to get their dresses approved for recruitment. Wednesday April 13th was Stompfest, a stomp competition among the sororities and fraternities. The theme was "Back to the Basics" and Epsilon Rho dressed to the theme of "A&M Traditions" and we won second place. On the 16th Kappa BBQ which was a purely social event took place and parents and friends were invited for a delicious home cooked meal.
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Kappa Kolor Wars benefiting March of Dimes
  
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May: Senior Date Party was themed, "Viva los Seniors" and was held on May 2nd at Schotzis. In order to prepare for finals, the Kappa house was a quiet zone and our chapter room was used as the "Kappa Library" to study. Compared to previous years, more and more actives are taking advantage of the “Kappa Library” as a resource and this year there were many delicious snacks to choose from, provided by our VP of Academic Excellence.
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Chef's Auction benefiting March of Dimes
  
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June & July: Summer was a time for recruitment preparation. Melanie Urmeovich the Head of Recruitment and her assistants spent a lot of time in College Station. Epsilon Rho won the prestigious Panhellenic award from A&M for our outstanding participation in Texas A&M University’s Panhellenic system. August: PC '10 moved into the house on the 13th and then we began the month with work week on Sunday the 14th. During this week, we held a special night for our parents and friends to preview our skit that we were to perform for the potential new members during recruitment. We celebrated Bid Day and the arrival of our 44 new members, including 6 sophomores, with the theme, "Don't Mess with Kappa" where the chapter dressed in Texan attire and boots.
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Major League Breakfast benefiting March of Dimes
  
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September: On the 25th we had KKG Ritual Review, where actives went over Kappa rituals and practices songs. On the 29th, our informal social event, K-K-Jean was held at The Tap. In September, Kali Davis attended Leadership Academy in Ohio on behalf of Epsilon Rho, and met many different Kappas from around the country.
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THRIVE benefiting Knoxville education and children’s literacy
  
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October: October 16th was Chapter Ritual Review from 2-4pm. Composite pictures were taken on the 12th, 13th and 14th of October. October was a big month for Epsilon Rho because on Friday the 21st, KKG Fireside took place. The new members came to the house after their lovely Italian dinner and joined the actives for an evening of fun and surprises. They spent the night and bonded with the actives until they were left for a peaceful night of rest, waiting in anticipation for the morning to come. The women were initiated on Friday October 21st. We also started volunteering at Nehemiah, our local philanthropy during October. We celebrated Founders Day at our October 17th meeting where there was a founders day cake and our officers spoke about the history of Founder's Day and Sarah Atkins was formally affiliated as well. Brittany Sutherland, the Nominating Committee Chair explained what nominating committee is and when nominations would take place. The next week on the 25th , Owloween took place and we implemented a new system to make check in for events easier through googledocs. Sunday the 30th, Mom's Day was organized by Megan Montgomery at the Kappa house from 2-4pm. 130 mother and daughters total were present and there were snacks and treats provided while they decorated mugs purchased from U-Paint-It. Trick-or-Treat on Sorority Row took place on Halloween and Kappa was paired with Sig Ep.
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Kappa Sigma’s South Seas benefiting the Fisher House Foundation
  
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November: On Friday November 4th, New Member Presentation was held. This is an event in which the new members are presented by a male family member or friend at David Gardner, the jewelry store. The next morning was Tri Deltas Game day, which many Kappas participated in. During the month of November PC 11 had an anti-hazing meeting that was required by Panhellenic. At the November 14th meeting, the slate was presented and elected on November 21st.
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Delta Tau Delta’s Battle of the Bands benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
  
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Our new philanthropy event, Kappa Kook Out took place on Thursday November 17th from 5-8 pm and it was a huge success! The week before the event banners were held alll round campus, at Academic Plaza, on West Campus, in the Commons and on the corner of Texas and George Bush. We set up for the event all afternoon with three letter signs on each sign of the house and one in the back yard, many tables and chairs in the back yard with red plaid table cloths. Country music was played and the event was truly a success. Over $10,000 was donated to the Nehemiah Foundation of Navasota this past year, and our donation made a significant impact on their ability to serve the surrounding community of Navasota. On November 30th, we held Kappa Kappa Chino, which is a nonprofit, non-fundraising event where Kappas volunteer their time to pass out free coffee, provided by Starbucks on various locations around campus.  
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Lambda Chi Alpha’s Watermelon Bust benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital
  
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The Kappa Powder Puff Team, which is part of Panhellenic Intramurals, placed 4th out of 18 teams - Congratulations! December: We began the month on Thursday December 1st where we had Ranch Party with Tri Delta. On December 4th from 2-5pm the newly elected officers had their "Triplet Meeting", where they had training with the previous officers and alumnae advisors. Academic Banquet was December 5th and PC'09 was awarded the PC with the highest GPA. We also have 8 young women who have 4.0 GPA's overall. KKP (Most Valuable Kappa) awards, were presented to; Stephanie Gonzales of PC'11, Meredith Barnes of PC'10, Sarah Wiggins of PC'09, and Brittany Sutherland of PC'08. Exams began the next Friday December 9th through Wednesday the 14th, then all the Kappas went home for a wonderful break.
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Sigma Chi’s Derby Days benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network
  
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Epsilon Rho worked to achieve the chapter GPR and remain in high scholastic standing among the sororities on campus. Girls who got A's on tests were rewarded and "No Skippy" recognized girls who did not skip class. After surpassing the GPR goal of 3.33 for the fall semester 0f 2009, the chapter voted on a GPR goal of 3.35 which challenged every girl to work hard in school. The "Test Bank" served as a great way for girl's to look at old tests in a certain subject, allowing them to practice and prepare for an upcoming test. When the chapter room isn't in use for chapter meetings, it is set up the Kappa library with tables and lamps for girls to study in a quiet location. By providing these helpful resources, the 2011 spring and fall GPR's were 3.3. Currently 8 actives have an overall GPR of 4.0 and around 15 actives achieved a 4.0 GPR for the 2011 fall semester.
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Alpha Tau Omega’s OcTAUberfest
  
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In order to increase participation on campus in the chapter as well as support other organizations, the executive council implemented a points system and split the chapter into six "Kore" groups. Members would receive a point everytime they attended another organizations philanthropy, and each group was assigned to attend a certain philanthropy event. The “Kore” groups also helped in making sign-in at meeting faster and more efficient. Girls now check in by group rather than new member class like in previous years. We also announced a new, hands-on philanthropy approach in which girls would have the opportunity to volunteer at the Nehemiah center and work with local children several times a week. Through Nehemiah, the chapter worked on the service component of philanthropy by tutoring and playing with at risk children. In the year of 2011, approximately half of the women in each pledge class volunteered at Nehemiah a few times a week and we had a combined number of 1,000 service hours.
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Beta Upsilon Chi’s Island Party benefiting TIVA water
  
  
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Overcoming Challenges:
  
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In the past years, our officers and advisors have noticed that our chapter has been over programming
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the members. However, this year, we worked on the challenge of being over programmed
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by increasing communication among officers to facilitate more efficient planning.
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With this improvement in communication, we were able to decrease needless programming in
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order to foster an environment that both encourages member involvement and enables members to
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remain focused on academics.
  
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==Highlights of 2012==
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In previous years, our chapter struggled to meet quota for new member recruitment.
 +
However, this year we overcame this challenge and easily exceeded quota thanks to an amazing
 +
recruitment process. Our Membership Chairman, Anna Taylor, worked tirelessly to facilitate a
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positive, informative, and empowering recruitment workshop in order to successfully recruit 69
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new members.
  
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January: The Epsilon Rho executive council started out the year 2012 by attending an officer retreat at the home of advisor Carol Gruen. During the retreat goals were made for the new year, decisions were discussed, and a positive attitude was implemented. Officers were able to strengthen the unity of the Council and get to know each other through team building activities. A profit share was held at Chick Fil A on the 26th and at Red Mango on the 31st.  Profit Shares consist of encouraging members and friends to go to a specific place, like a restaurant, and tell the cashier that you are in support of a certain organization, like Kappa. The restaurant then donates a portion of the proceeds raised during that day and it is a win-win situation. The restaurant gets more business because of our marketing and we earn money for our philanthropy. Through these profit shares we raised $300 for the Nehemiah Center of Navasota during the month of January.  
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Finally, we have, in the past, been faced with the challenge of losing new members. However,
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this year, our new member retention rate increased due to the wonderful new member education
 +
program directed by our New Member Chairman, Haley Hancock.
  
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February: On February 10th, we enjoyed a sisterhood event where actives were invited to the midnight premiere of The Vow. Our annual philanthropy event, Reading is Fundamental, took place on February 11th at the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. RIF included one-on-one reading with the kids, Valentine themed cookie decorating, many arts and crafts activities, a performance by our very own Kappa Pickers, and a book reading by an Aggie football player. Each child was able to choose 2 books to take home and the rest of the books were donated to the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. The LEAD Conference was held in Austin this month. The entire Executive Council attended and gained leadership skills from alumnae and members of other chapters. Our Semi-Formal, themed “Texas Tuxes,” was held on February 16th. Our Events committee organized a fashion show for the Monday meeting before to assist actives and their dates in dressing in the perfect attire. On the 27th, guest speaker Jessica Bowers spoke at our chapter meeting about the harmful effects of alcohol.  A profit share was held at Froyoyo on the 28th for the Nehemiah Center of Navasota.
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Traditions:
  
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March: On the 3rd, we invited our Dad’s to College Station for lunch at a local favorite, The Dixie Chicken. We then took them to an A&M baseball game at the newly renovated Olsen Field. The 18th marked the beginning of our Senior Programming series with a lesson on Interviewing and Business Professionalism. On the 19th, Dr. Elizabeth Grey spoke at our Monday meeting on the value of saying "I don't know" in both the medical field and in every day life. PC'10 had their own sisterhood event on the 20th with a viewing party of Pretty Little Liars and a plethora of pizza rolls. On the 4th and 25th, a Recruitment workshop was held for our newest members to enhance their understanding of Kappa Recruitment. A profit share was held at Fuddruckers on the 6th and at Spoons on the 22nd to benefit the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. Senior Programming continued on the 25th with helpful insight into Networking and Entrepreneurship. On the 26th, Kelsey Schmidt gave a presentation at our Monday meeting about the history of Kappa Kappa Gamma.  The month ended with Parents Weekend, which was hosted at the Kappa house with lunch.
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Sapphire Reward System
  
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April:  We kicked off the month with our annual philanthropy event, Kappa Krawfish! All proceeds were donated to the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. Seniors were prepped on Eating Healthy and leading a Balanced Lifestyle on the 1st. A Recruitment workshop was held on the 15th to help the entire chapter prepare for a successful Recruitment. Our annual "Monmouth" formal with Pi Beta Phi was held on the 5th, complete with a photo booth, casino, and face painting. PC' 09 had their own Sisterhood Event on the 10th with a Potluck Dinner. Seniors heard about how to manage their money after graduation with a lesson on "I'm Graduating, Now what" on the 15th. On the 17th, the in-house girls participated in a dinner swap with the girls of Alpha Chi Omega. Creative ideas about how to get involved in a community after college were shared with the seniors on the 22nd. Senior Programming ended on the 29th with an Alumna Presentation and Senior Banquet at Alumna Connie Appelt's house, the president of the College Station Alum Association. Our graduating seniors were given the chance to network with and learn from these women in a very unique and personal way. The Academic Banquet was held on the 30th, where girls were rewarded with gifts for their academic excellence. 
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Mother Daughter Tea
  
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May: We celebrated our graduating seniors on May 1st with an 80s themed date party and took advantage of the "Kappa Library" while preparing for finals.
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Major League Breakfast
  
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June & July: From June 20-24th, five members of our Executive Council were able to attend Kappa Convention. The girls attended several programs throughout the day to gain creativity and insight on how to better lead our chapter. They left inspired after hearing so many great ideas and hearing the national Kappa President speak.  
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In the past year, the University of Tennessee has worked tirelessly to create a campus environment
 +
that is inclusive of all persons regardless of cultural, racial, sexual, religious, or socioeconomic
 +
background. The University of Tennessee seeks to gain student participation in ongoing diversity
 +
inclusion campaigns in order to spread the message of acceptance to all corners of campus. The
 +
University of Tennessee especially looks to members of the Greek community to be a force of
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social change and community support. One of the most prominent strengths of the Epsilon
 +
Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma is that we are composed of a very unique, diverse, and
 +
accepting body of members. Our member involvement extends far beyond the walls of our chapter
 +
room and the Greek community. In addition to having a large presence on Panhellenic council,
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Kappa Kappa Gamma has several members involved in Student Government Association (SGA),
 +
with one of our members being the Vice President of SGA. With this heavy involvement on
 +
campus, members of Kappa Kappa Gamma are able to serve as role models to other students and
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are able to provide a strong and unifying voice regarding student opinions of social and academic
 +
changes being implemented by campus administration.
  
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August: The Fall season began with 48 members of PC '11 moving into the house and embarking on Recruitment Work Week. During this week, we held a special night for our parents and friends to preview our “Monopoly” skit that we were to perform for the potential new members during Recruitment. We then kicked off Recruitment with a “Candy Land”  day one and finished up with a “Don’t Mess with Kappa” themed Bid Day. Leadership Consultant Jessica Pereira stayed with us the entire week to help us build upon our Recruitment. She was immensely helpful. The new members spent the night at the Kappa House that night and the chapter was thrilled to have a new pledge class filled bright young women joining our sorority. The first meeting marked the announcement of our new academic program. The Period of Concern plan called for supervised study hours at either the Kappa Library or an on campus library, and supervision would be provided by the Academics Committee and the officers. With this new system the girls are held to a higher standard and are held accountable. We also required all of the girls on POC to meet with each of their professors and get to know them personally. These new changes were implemented with the hope of seeing an improvement in the Epsilon Rho Academics overall. After much hard work, the new Kappa website was introduced by our Public Relations chair.
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As a chapter, Epsilon Lambda has several core strengths as well as some weaknesses on which we
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+
strive to improve. One of our greatest strengths is the uniqueness of our members. Each member
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September:  At our Formal Meeting on the 3rd, Formal Pledging began. Owl Groups were announced, a program that combined New Members with active members, creating a group for girls from different pledge classes to get to know each other. They were also given the chance to pull tickets for the Florida Football Game as a pledge class with the New Member Executive. During the Monday meeting on the 10th, the new Kappa Kolor points system was announced, requiring girls to get two points for participation in our brand new philanthropy event. PC 11 attended Ritual Review on the 9th and the entire chapter attended Ritual Review on the 16th.  We kicked off our socials with the first date party on the 20th. The theme was “Two by two” and it was held at The Tap. Actives revealed themselves to their new little sisters on the 23rd. at the Kappa house in a unique way.
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brings something special to the table, which helps to complete the chapter. Our members work
 +
together to unify each person’s unique qualities to foster a positive, supportive, and empowering
 +
environment in which members can wholly express themselves as well as learn new and different
 +
things from other members. Another strength of this chapter is the commitment to our ritual.
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Thanks to a well-organized new member education program, our new members are exposed to and
 +
encouraged to learn our ritual immediately after initiation in a manner that is both fun and
 +
informative. All members understand and appreciate the importance and uniqueness of our ritual,
 +
which further unifies our chapter. Despite these strengths, our chapter recognizes that there is
 +
always room for improvement. We recognize that one of our weaknesses is lack of member
 +
participation in Kappa-sponsored events. This year’s chapter council paid special attention to this
 +
weakness in order to discover the root of the problem. With the help of our advisors, we decided
 +
that lack of member participation might be due to over-programming. Therefore, we carefully
 +
planned all chapter events this year in an attempt to boost chapter interest and maximize
 +
participation. While we have not yet been able to determine if more careful programming has made
 +
a difference, we hope that the next council will continue to program carefully, maintain
 +
transparency and flexibility, and work to improve member participation in all events.
  
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October: October was a big month for our chapter as we initiated our new members! We hosted a profit share at the local burger joint, Grub, to raise money for our philanthropy on the 2nd. One last Ritual Review was held for the entire chapter on the 7th.  On the 8th, girls were split up according to their majors and were able to answer questions that the new PC had about professors and classes.  On the 9th, a profit share was held at Chick-Fil-A to earn money to support the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. During the week leading up to initiation, the 9th through the 11th, our Marshal committee planned nightly mixers for the pledge classes to get to know each other. After a week of activities, Fireside was held on the 12th and Initiation was held on the 13th. 55 members were initiated. Founders Day was celebrated with a presentation given by the Education committee during the Monday meeting on the 15th.  An interesting video was displayed and both cookie cake and sparkling grape juice were served afterwards. The intramural chair organized a discount gym membership for actives at Athletes Prime, which has included many workout classes during the semester. To give members a chance to get more involved with philanthropic activity, girls went to "Lights After School" to help Lincoln Center host a carnival for kids. A group of girls gathered to go to "Trick or TREATs" at a local Animal Shelter on the 26th, , giving animals treats and taking dogs outside to exercise them. On October 27th, we hosted our first annual Kappa Kolor Run. Participants ran a 5k where they had different colored powdered paint thrown on them at each kilometer. The event was a huge success and raised about $11,000 for our local philanthropy, the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. On the 29th, the Academic's Banquet was held at the Monday meeting. Girls were rewarded for their academic excellence. We also raised money to contribute to the family we sponsored with Rose McGill Holiday Sharing through the Kappa Foundation. The chapter celebrated Halloween with Chi Omega at the “Owloween” date party at Hurricane Harry’s on the 30th. Members then passed out candy on sorority row with Kappa Alpha Order to young trick-or-treaters on the 31st. 
+
Chapter Philanthropy:
  
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November: The new members were presented at the Kappa House on November 3rd at the New Member Presentation, featuring a performance by the Kappa Pickers. Mom’s Day took place the 4th and members had the option to paint mugs, tiles or crosses with their mothers. On the 15th, “Ranch Party” was hosted with Tri Delta.  We voted on our new Chapter Council on the 19th, securing a responsible and driven group of girls. On the 26th, the in-house girls helped decorate the Kappa House for the holiday season! Actives passed out free coffee and donuts on campus at our semi-annual event, Kappa Kappa Chino on the 28th. The intramurals team placed 2nd in the flag football league and 3rd in the indoor soccer league. The team also participated in a powderpuff tournament put on by the men of Ol' Ags and won 4th in the tournament. We worked hard all semester with the men of Squadron 17 to ensure a great dance performance at Chi Omega’s fundraiser, Songfest. The first night took place on November 30th and the Kappa Pickers performed between acts. We earned money to donate to Nehemiah because of our dedicated participation.
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What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in
 +
your community?
  
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December: This month was a season to be jolly amid studying for finals in the “Kappa Library”. While the Stompfest Team prepared for their final performance on the night of the 1st,  9 of our other lucky members participated in Houston Alumni Association's Kappa Pilgrimage. Girls had brunch at an alumnae's house and toured some of the most beautiful homes in Houston. The "Triplet Meeting" occurred on the 2nd, where the new officers had the chance to meet with the previous officers and their advisors. Our Vice President of Standards hosted a Christmas party after the Monday meeting that took place on the 3rd. Girls dressed in tacky Christmas sweaters, decorated cookies with festive icings and sprinkles, and exchanged ornaments. Upon finals, our Chaplains hosted a Hot Chocolate Bar and provided bible verse cut outs to remind girls what the Christmas season was about on December 9th.
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THRIVE and March of Dimes.
  
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During the past year, Texas A&M joined the SEC Conference. Spirits are high at the recent winning of the Heismann by our very own Johnny Manziel. The Memorial Student Center opened on September 1st after two and a half years of renovation. This has given students a place to study together, eat together, and get to know each other in a central location. The campus feels more united for it. Texas A&M still holds true to it's reputation of kindness and chivalry, and the student body radiates with pride for attending such an incredible University.
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Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
  
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==Highlights of 2013==
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Since Reading is Fundamental is Kappa’s national philanthropy, we chose to donate our time and
 +
efforts to a local organization that also promotes literacy in young children. THRIVE at Lonsdale
 +
elementary is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating inner-city children who come from
 +
minority families or families below the poverty line. THRIVE recognizes that children have
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educational, physical, and spiritual needs, and in order to break the cycle of poverty, these needs
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must be met. Therefore, as members of the Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, we
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spend one day a week reading to and tutoring the children of this after-school program in order to
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promote literacy and education.
  
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We also donate much of our time and money to March of Dimes, our local philanthropy that
 +
supports research regarding premature births and also aids parents of premature children. Each
 +
year we participate in March for Babies, a walk put on by March of Dimes. During this event, we
 +
are able to interact with many of the children and parents who have benefitted from this incredible
 +
organization. We truly enjoy the opportunity to see where our money is going and how much of an
 +
impact is has on the people we are helping. We have several fundraisers during the year that we
 +
organize to raise money for this organization. In the fall, we have Kappa Kolor Wars, and in the
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spring, we have Breakfast for Babies or Major League Breakfast. All proceeds from these events are
 +
donated directly to March of Dimes.
  
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January: The Epsilon Rho executive officers started out 2013 with an officer’s retreat at Academic Advisor, Sarah Elmore’s house in Bryan, TX. This was the first time the new council had the opportunity to sit down and prepare for the year ahead. All of the officers expressed their goals for 2013, planned the chapter calendar, and made important decisions regarding the Epsilon Rho Chapter as a whole. Officers were able to get to know one another and strengthen the bond of the Council. January 14th, 2013 was the first chapter meeting to start the semester.
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==Highlights of 2016==
  
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February: For Valentines Day, instead of having a normal day at Nehemiah we had a Valentines Day Party on the 14th, which included decorating cookies. Nehemiah Center of Navasota is an after school program to help at-risk kids enhance their growth. Each girl in our chapter is required to volunteer at least two times per semester in Navasota to help the kids with their homework, read with them, and play on the playground. Our annual RIF event (Reading is Fundamental) on the 16th was very exciting for the kids at The Nehemiah Center of Navasota. The Kappa Pickers performed and two A&M football players read books to the kids to get them excited about reading. Our chapter donated many books for the kids to take home and encourage them to read. Five wonderful Houston Alums came to the event along with kids at Nehemiah and their families. They enjoyed new books to take home, along with hot dogs, chips, and lemonade to snack on during the event.  
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This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over fifty beautiful ladies and really strived to implement and uphold our chapter's values and goals. With such an outstanding group of ladies in our chapter, our goals and standards were easily met. We received the Panhellenic Award at national convention for exemplifying true Panhellenic leadership and support at our university. We also received an Honorable Mention for our New Member Program and we were recognized as an Adelphe Society Member for raising $10,000 for the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation.  
  
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To educate PC’12 on Recruitment, a Rookie Workshop was held on Sunday the 24th from 2:00pm to 4:00 pm. The new pledge class was informed and advised on how to vote and what Work Week and Recruitment would entail. On the 23rd, all Fathers were invited for a day in College Station to eat lunch at the Dixie Chicken and attend a Texas A&M basketball game in Read Arena. The 24th marked our first speaker of the semester. He was a local police officer who talked about different laws pertaining to alcohol. “Texas Tuxes”, our annual Semi-Formal Date Party, was held on the 28th.
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We also received the Sisterhood Program of the Year award from Panhellenic at the University of Tennessee and were one of two Panhellenic sororities featured in UT's Admissions viewbook for high school seniors. We also completed the most SOFE requirements during the pilot year out of all Panhellenic sororities. Regarding academics, we continued to push our members to work hard and stay above the All-sorority average. Our VPAE, Abbey Rosanski, really went above and beyond to make sure each and every member had the resources and support they needed to meet their academic goals. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and Chef's Auction, which all benefited March of Dimes raising over $5000 in total donations in 2016.  
  
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March: We kicked this month off with the Province Meeting in Lubbock on the 1st-3rd. Twelve officers attended this meeting, learning many strategies to help make our chapter as successful as possible. During this retreat we were awarded with the Philanthropy Excellence Award for our dedication and support to our local philanthropy the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. This award encouraged us to continue working on all areas of our chapter. We had the honor of hosting Chelsea, our Leadership Consultant, during the 17th through the 22nd. Chelsea not only helped us address issues that are challenges for us, she also highlighted the areas where we excel. On Saturday the 23rd our chapter participated in Big Event along with an all Men’s Organization called Ol Ags. Big Event is a university wide community service project that A&M created to give back to the community around us. Recruitment team conducted another Rookie Workshop on the 24th for PC’12 to prepare them for Work Week and Recruitment. Also on the 24th was the kick off of Senior Programming.  At their meeting they discussed interview tips along with dressing for success for professional interviews. Lastly, Professor Welch from Mays Business School, came to talk to the chapter about self motivation and dreaming big.
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We also participated in THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary School, Lemonade for Literacy, Project Elevates Hero Day, Boys and Girls Club Easter Egg Hunt, the Gatlinburg Wildfire Relief, Relay for Life, and many other Greek organization's philanthropy events as well. We placed first overall in Greek Beat and was the top fundraising team for For The Kids (FTK) at UT. We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition as well. Epsilon Lambda really strived to get involved and make a difference in the lives of our own members and those around us, whether that be local or national. We put in a lot of hard work this year and it definitely paid off to see all of those who have benefitted from it.  
  
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April: At our chapter meeting on April 1st, we had our guest speaker, Dr. Stoker speak to us about interviewing. He stressed the importance of being prepared for the interview and also expressing your knowledge about the company rather than just talking about your qualifications. Chapter Workshop was held on the 7th from 2 to 4 to prepare the entire chapter for success during Recruitment. Senior Programming was also held on April 7th with a chance to go ice-skating at a local ice rink. April 10th was the exciting roommate reveal for the girls living in the house for the upcoming year. During Aggie Parents Weekend, Kappa hosted a luncheon at the Kappa house for anyone who could attend with their parents. Kappa Krawfish, a philanthropy event, was held at Veteran’s Park on April 14th with around 300 people who showed up to eat crawfish and support Kappa. The Kappa Pickers performed along with a local band Votary and all the proceeds went to the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. Also on this Sunday was a yoga class at the rec center as the activity for Senior Programming. On April 21st a Kappa Trainer came to visit and presented a PowerPoint show on Ritual. She expressed the importance of Ritual and how it binds us all together.
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The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and implementing new standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lambda really strives to uphold our universities standards to become not only proud, successful women of Kappa, but also of the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was regarding diversity. Epsilon Lambda sees every member of our chapter as unique and we welcome and embrace any and all diversity that comes our way.
  
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Along with the Kappa trainer was a cooking class for the seniors at Marci Cory’s beautiful home. Our annual formal called Monmouth was held on the 18th along with Pi Beta Phi. We had a live band, photo booth, casino, and face painting that kept everyone occupied and having fun the whole night. Senior Programming ended on the 28th with a dinner that six alums attended with Houston alums hosting. The seniors were transferred to Alum status by Carolyn Hoyle, a local alum, who performed the ritual. The Houston alums made the traditional small blue pillow for each of the new alums to keep their Key safe and a few alums told their stories of why Kappa has been an important part of their adult life. The last date party for the semester had a theme of YouTube Hits chosen and voted by the seniors graduating in May. This date party was held on the 30th, which was the last day of classes to kick off the week of finals.  
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We wanted to continue with the ideas of Kappa's national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, and help to promote literacy in children. THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school provides us the opportunity to do this, as well as interact with some of the most kind-hearted and fun-loving children. This year, we expanded our involvement with THRIVE, now going twice a week to help students read and work on homework.  
  
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May: We took advantage of the “Kappa Library” in the house while preparing for finals and also congratulated the graduating seniors for the semester.
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We also donate as much time and money as we can to March of Dimes, our local philanthropy that supports research regarding premature birth and helps families dealing with this issue. This year, we found an amazing family to sponsor and absolutely love working with them to help raise awareness about premature birth. All proceeds from our fall philanthropy, Kappa Kolor Wars, and our spring philanthropy, Breakfast for Babies, were donated to March of  Dimes.  
  
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August: As the fall semester was about to begin, 44 members of PC’12  moved into the Kappa house to embark on Work Week held on the 12th through the 16th. During this week all the members of the chapter work rigorously to prepare for Recruitment. During this week we have one special night when we invite parents and friends to our preview of our recruitment skit. This year was especially exciting because our theme of our skit was changed from Monopoly to Disney. The amazing recruitment team worked very hard to change and improve our skit, which turned out as a great success. Recruitment began on the 19th and started with the theme “Candy Land” and ended with “Don’t Mess With Kappa” theme for Bid Day on the 24th. We welcomed the new sixty nine wonderful and bright young women of Pledge Class 2013 on Bid Day. We also had the wonderful opportunity to welcome our new house mom, Momma Hurley to our family. This first meeting of this semester marked an announcement of achieving 2nd ranked in grades for Panhellenic for the past semester with an overall GPA of 3.36. We also announced that our chapter won the Penny Wars, which was a competition put on by Panhellenic the past semester. During this meeting all the current officers introduced themselves and expressed what their duties are to the new pledge class of PC’13.
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All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
  
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September: To kick off this month we sent a check to the Nehemiah Center of Navasota for $9,590.68 from our earnings from Kappa Kolor and Kappa Krawfish. We also sent a check for $1000 to the Kappa Foundation. September 8th was a day full of activities. First PC’13 had their retreat starting at 12pm to 5pm. Girls participated in many activities throughout the day to get to know one another. That night 65 girls attended the Panhellenic event to the Women’s A&M Soccer game vs. Baylor. Kappa won this event with the most attendance and received $100 toward our local philanthropy. The 12th - 15th, one of our chapter members was honored to attend Leadership Academy. She learned through this retreat how to channel her values and passions into being a better leader personally and in Kappa. As a way for the new pledge class to get to know one another, girls had the opportunity to pull tickets together for the SMU football game on the 13th. Big Little Reveal is an especially exciting night for the new pledge class and occurred at the Kappa House on the 18th. September 19th marked our first date party of the semester. The theme was “New Kappa’s on the Block”, which was celebrated with 90s costumes.  On the 22nd, the first Ritual Review was held for PC’12, and the entire chapter attended a Ritual Review on the 29th. On the 23rd the Academics Award Ceremony was held. We celebrated girls who made great grades last semester, which included 10 girls who upheld their overall 4.0’s and 32 girls who received 4.0’s for the past semester. At the Monday meeting on the 30th for our guest speaker we had girls within out chapter speak about their experiences with study abroad. This gave other Kappa’s within our chapter a chance to learn about all the opportunities throughout A&M pertaining to the study abroad program.
+
==Highlights of 2017==
  
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October: This month started off quickly with Inspiration Week (I-Week). On the 1st, PC’13 and PC’12 had a mixer to paint pumpkins at the Kappa House. On the 2nd, PC’13 and PC’11 had a chance to mingle and make s’mores. And lastly on the 3rd, PC’13 and PC’10 devoured ice cream sundaes and PC’10 shared their experiences with the new pledge class. Then came the exciting weekend of ritual. Fireside was concluded on the 4th and initiation on the 5th. 68 new members were successfully initiated and had a wonderful time sleeping at the Kappa house on Friday night.  
+
This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over 60 new ladies who shared our values and have helped us reach our chapter's goals. We were able to meet these goals with the help of our hardworking, dedicated members. We won the award of Chapter of the Year from Panhellenic at the University of Tennessee and Whitney Padgett, the previous president, won President of the Year. We also completed the SOFEE requirements this year. While we were not able to stay above the All-Sorority average in the Spring, Cait Berosh, our VPAE, worked hard to motivate all of our members to do the best they can in classes. The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and setting new rules and standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lamda aims to follow our university standards to become proud and successful women of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was still having to do with diversity. Epsilon Lambda knows that we have all unique but wonderful members as a part of our chapter and we welcome them all and the diversity that comes our way.
  
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At our Monday Meeting we celebrated Founders Day with Lisa Hunziker, our guest speaker and alumna. Lisa spoke to the chapter about “Kappa Throughout the Years” and how special membership is in Kappa and how Kappa lasts a lifetime. After our meeting we had cookie cake and refreshments to celebrate. We conducted a Profit Share at Northgate Vintage on the 17th. Profit Shares consist of encouraging members and friends to go to a specific place, at a specific time and when checking out inform the cashier that you are in support of a certain organization like Kappa. The place the holds the profit share, like Northgate Vintage, donates a portion of the proceeds raised to our organization.
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[[File:Epsilon Lambda chapter room.jpg|thumb|Epsilon Lambda's chapter room]]
  
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It is a great and easy way to help raise money for Kappa and our philanthropies. October 20th marked the New Member Presentation at the Kappa House along with Moms Day at Briarcrest Country Club. All the new members were presented to family and friends that afternoon after a successful Mom’s Day. We had 40 girls attend a “Dinner Swap” with the Sorority of Delta Delta Delta on the 23rd. This was the most girls we have ever had attend a dinner swap. We had our second date party for the semester called “Owl-o-ween” on October 24th. Sixteen Kappa’s attended the Aggie Greek Award Banquet on the 25th, which we were honored to accept the “Outstanding Community Relations” Award. On the 28th we had our Sister Sorority Event with Alpha Chi Omega at Froyoyo after the meeting, in which we had 59 girls attend. Our sister sorority is matched up by Panhellenic to encourage sororities to mix with each other. Lastly to end this exciting month, we had Trick or Treat on Sorority Row on the 31st. We had a chance to pass out candy and do an activity with all the kids that attended. We were paired with a men’s organization Alpha Tau Omega.
+
We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids. We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition again this year. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.
  
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November: We kicked off November with another Panhellenic event hosted by Dillard’s. One hundred and ten girls from our chapter attended, which made us the chapter with the highest attendance. On the 4th we had a wonderful guest speaker who spoke about dressing for success and gave us interview tips for use in our future. We had our second Leadership Consultant arrive on the 3rd and stay all the way through the 8th. Emilee provided us with things we really need to focus on and also with attributes that we can continue to succeed in. On November 6th we had a Sisterhood event at our local bowling ally. Girls in all different pledge classes attended and had a blast bowling. We had another Profit Share at Newks Restaurant on the 12th to help raise awareness and money for our Kappa Kolor Run. The 16th marked our 2nd Annual Kappa Kolor Run, where many family and friends came out to run the 5K. This year we had four hundred and twenty five participants for the College Station community as well as students within A&M. The Texas A&M Yell Leaders started off the race with a few “Yells” to get everyone pumped up for the race. We also had a silent auction that was a huge success to raise money for Nehemiah. November 17th was the Powder Puff tournament, where we had 25 girls participate in. November 20th Kappa’s attended the Hunger Games Premiere with another sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta as another sister sorority mixer. “Ranch Party” on November 21st was our final Date Party for the semester. This party was with another sorority, Delta Delta Delta and was held at a ranch in Bryan, TX. On November 24th Chaplains put on a Kappa Fellowship Night at the Kappa house for movies and fun. Also that night was a tree decorating party that our new house mom hosted to get girls excited about the holidays. At every meeting this month we collected donations for the Rose McGill Holiday Sharing to help out a Kappa’s family in financial need this holiday season. We met our goal and bought gift cards from places requested by the family.
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'''Philanthropy'''
  
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December: As activities were winding down, the Public Relations Chair hosted Kappa Chino on December 3rd. Kappa Chino is where our chapter gives our free Starbucks coffee and donuts to people on campus near finals week. This year we had fifty-two Kappa’s stop by the station to help out and hand out free coffee to anyone who wants it. During this week and the next the “Kappa Library” was opened at the Kappa House. Lastly, to close out the year we had out triplet meeting with all the advisors, previous officers, and new officers.
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We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids.We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition again this year. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.
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Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter.
 
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2013 was a very big year for Texas A&M that included immense changes for our University. In July President Loftin announced that he is stepping down as President of Texas A&M University. Much of our University was upset by this announcement because President Loftin embodied A&M and made extensive changes to our school. Although he is leaving, his idea of a new and improved Kyle Field will continue on. Reconstruction to our football stadium began right after our last home game against Mississippi State on November 9th.  The new stadium will be the biggest in the SEC and will hold 102, 500 screaming fans. And lastly, although he didn’t win, Johnny Manziel was once again a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He himself changed Texas A&M football along side Coach Sumlin, who in December signed a six-year extension contract.  
 
  
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Our chapter is very genuine and down to earth. We love to volunteer at our local philanthropy and continue to look at Nehemiah as an opportunity to stay positive and help the wonderful kids who need support. We are also a very spirited chapter and love to have fun.
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We chose to support THRIVE Lonsdale because of Kappa's national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school provides us with the opportunity to go and help children with their homework and give them someone they can read to. This year we are still able to continue going twice a week to help the students. We also donate time and money to the March of Dimes, our local philanthropy, that supports research with premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality. We volunteer at fundraisers that they have hear in Knoxville and have formed a very close relationship with the Ambassador Family. All the money we are able to raise from our fall philanthropy, Kappa Kolor Wars, and our spring philanthropy, Breakfast for Babies, were donated to the March of Dimes.
  
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==Highlights of 2014==
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All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
  
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January: The Epsilon Rho chapter officers for 2014 attended an officer’s retreat Friday January 10th through Saturday 11th at adviser, Carol’s Gruen’s, ranch house. This was the first time the 2014 officers worked together to plan for a great year for our chapter. The officers established goals for the entire chapter to accomplish in 2014, created the chapter calendar for the fall, and made important decisions about the Epsilon Rho Chapter as a whole. This 2 day retreat allowed all the officers to bond as friends and officers and helped our Chapter Council grow. The first meeting of the year was on Monday, January 13th, 2014. A Leadership consultant, Emilie Blake, came to our chapter from January 26th – 31st.  She had been a Leadership Consultant for us the year before. It was a great opportunity to strengthen our relationship with her while she gave us feedback on our chapter’s strengths and focus areas and assessed our progress since her last visit.
 
  
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February: Our chapter had a great time country dancing at our Semi-formal, “Texas Tuxes”, on February 6th.  On February 8th, our officers attended, adviser, Carol Gruen’s ranch house again for a meeting with the University of Texas Kappa’s Chapter Council. We shared ideas, talked about our chapter’s pros and cons, and bonded with each other and our advisors. Our chapter also hosted a Valentine’s Day party on the 13th. The party was also to celebrate our house mom, Martha Hurley’s, birthday. We decorated cookies and sang Happy Birthday to Mom Hurley.
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== Highlights of 2018 ==
  
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The Nehemiah Center of Navasota is an after school program to help at-risk kids reach their full potential. Every Epsilon Rho member must volunteer at least two times a semester. The girls help the kids with their homework, help with arts and crafts, read with them, and play activities outside. On the 15th we hosted our annual RIF event (Reading is Fundamental) for the kids at the Nehemiah Center. The kids had a fun day as two Texas A&M football players read books to 13 kids and the Kappa Pickers sang 3 songs. Our Academics Banquet was on Monday the 17th. PC 13 and PC 12 had a fun evening on February 20th at the Kappa house for paddle pass. PC13 gave cute, personalized paddles to their big sisters. Dad’s Day on Saturday, February 22th was a success. Kappa’s and their dads had lunch at a local restaurant, the Dixie Chicken. Afterwards, everyone went to a basketball game. PC 13 had a meeting, Rookie Workshop, on Sunday February 23rd. The girls learned about work week, recruitment, and the voting process for Recruitment. At a chapter meeting of February 24th, Sara Tharp and Christa Peyton, our Marshal advisor, explained the importance of Ritual.
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This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over 70 new ladies who shared our values and have helped us reach our chapter's goals. We were able to meet these goals with the help of our hardworking, dedicated members. With such an outstanding group of ladies in our chapter, our goals and standards were easily met. We also completed the SOFEE requirements this year. While we were not able to stay above the All-Sorority average in the Spring, Allison Padgett, our VPAE, worked hard to motivate all of our members to do the best they can in classes. She came up with new successful programs and incentives for our members to reach their academic and career  goals such as a resume building course and gift cards for members who get above average test grades. The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and setting new rules and standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lambda aims to follow our university standards to become proud and successful women of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was still having to do with diversity. Epsilon Lambda knows that we have all unique but wonderful members as a part of our chapter and we welcome them all and the diversity that comes our way. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, and For the Kids. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.
  
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March: Kappa was a part of the first Panhellenic Preview Day on Saturday, March 22nd. Every sorority had a booth and members outside of their house so potential new members who were interested in recruitment could talk to each sorority or ask questions. The first day of senior programming was on March 23rd. As our spring philanthropy, Kappa Kook-out, was near, members held banners between March 24th and April 1st advertising to the student body. The Senior Date Party was a few days later on March 27th. Since the theme was Kappa Kappa Grammy’s, everyone creatively dressed up as their favorite celebrity or artist. As a way to give back to the College Station community, Kappa and the fraternity, Kappa Alpha Order, participated together in Big Event on March 29th. Big Event was founded at Texas A&M, and is an annual university wide community service project for students to serve the local residents in College Station. Our chapters split into smaller groups and did whatever the locals needed help with, such as pulled weeds, raked, and spruced up peoples front and back yards. There was another Rookie Workshop on March 30th, which furthered PC13’s preparation for work week and Recruitment. The same day the seniors had Senior Programming.
 
  
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April: Our chapter kicked April off with our philanthropy event, Kappa Kook-out, on the 1st at the Kappa House from 5-8pm. Everyone had a great time eating burgers, and taking pictures with fun props at the photo station. A local musician played live music and the Pickers sang. The line of people who attended was down the street! We raised around $5,000 for the Nehemiah Center of Navasota. A Recruitment workshop was held on April 6th to prepare all members for an effective recruitment. That same day there was a senior programming meeting.  On April 10th we had our formal, Monmouth, with the sorority Pi Beta Phi. The night was filled with a live band, face painting, photo booth, and fun games! Saturday, April 12th was the annual Kappa Krawfish event, on Parents Weekend. It is not a philanthropy event, but a relaxing event for Epsilon Rho’s members, their families and friends to eat crawfish at the Kappa house. PC 13 began learning Kappa’s rituals for initiation at Ritual Review on the 13th.  Seniors attended a senior programming meeting the same day. April 16th was PC 13’s roommate reveal at the Kappa house. Chapter members volunteered at Kappa Chino on the 22nd. They had a great opportunity serving Aggies free coffee and food on campus. The next Sunday, April 27th, the senior members had another Senior Programming meeting. As the semester began to end, our chapter had its last meeting of the semester on April 28. At this meeting our chapter was awarded first place in the SAE philanthropy event and received $3,700 towards our philanthropy, Nehemiah.
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'''Philanthropy:'''
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In the spring we had our Breakfast for Babies brunch benefitting March for Dimes at the house. We had a very successful year and raised 6000 dollars for the Knoxville March of Dimes chapter. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids. We also participated in other chapter’s philanthropy events on campus.  Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped. In the fall we decided as a chapter to focus fully on Kappa’s National Philanthropy Reading is Fundamental, this means that we no longer support March of Dimes and the Knoxville Chapter. This came about because the Knoxville chapter was really struggling and the money we donate could not help save it. We decided to put all our time and resources into THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school. This provides us with the opportunity to go and help children with their homework and give them someone they can read to. This year we are still able to continue going twice a week to help the students.
  
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May: On May 4th, the Senior Programming Dinner was held. The local alums hosted a dinner for the seniors at Kay Cox’s house. The chapter room became the “Kappa Library” for all the members as finals approached.  
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All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
  
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June: Our chapter had the privilege to host the Kappa Convention in Houston, TX. Four of our officers and a few of our advisors attended the convention from June 25th to 29th. They attended workshops, meetings, banquets, a speaker, and much more. We received the Best Advisory Board Award and Honorable Mention for Gracious Living, Panhellenic, and Philanthropy. During the convention, the officers saw the heart of Kappa Kappa Gamma. They learned that Kappa Kappa Gamma is bigger than just our chapter, but Kappa’s all across the country make a difference in this sorority.
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==Highlights of 2019==
  
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July: N/A
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[[File:Epsilon Lambda Chapter Council 2019.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda Chapter Council 2019]]
  
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August: As the summer ended, PC 13 moved into the Kappa house on August 16th. From August 18th to the 22nd our chapter attended Work Week. We worked extremely hard for a great recruitment. Over the week, we kept spirits high with costume themes everyday, dunking booth, slip and slide, and snow cones. The Nehemiah board visited our chapter one day during work week thanking us for all our support and donations. It was very special to us to see Epsilon Rho’s impact on Nehemiah. Saturday, the 23rd our parents and friends supported us by watching our wonderful Disney themed skit for recruitment. As a result, we received great feedback. The next week, August 25th through the 29th, our chapter and Recruitment team gave 110% during Recruitment. Our first theme of the week was “Candy Land”. We changed our philanthropy day this year. We explained Nehemiah and our national philanthropy through parodies of famous songs. Girls dress up as the iconic singers and sang the parts. It was a hit! As a result of our hard work, our chapter received 89 wonderful girls to our chapter! We were ecstatic to welcome them on August 30th with the theme “Don’t Mess With Kappa.”
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This August Epsilon Lambda welcomed home 92 new members to our chapter, which is our largest pledge class we have ever taken. We have achieved many goals this calendar year such as raising our chapter GPA and advancing from 10/ 13 in the village to 7/13 in the village. This advancement could not have been done without our amazing VPAE, Katelyn Robinson. Katelyn has implemented many things throughout her time as VPAE and has helped us as a chapter achieve our goals of becoming better students in our classes.  
  
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September: September 1st was the beginning of school. This was also the first new member meeting at 6pm each week following the first weekly chapter meeting at 7pm. The officers described their positions during the chapter meeting for PC 14. PC 14 had formal pledging at the next meeting on September 8th, which was a formal meeting. Our chapter had a special opportunity on the 14th as a trainer, Sharon Gober, from Fraternity Council talked to our entire chapter. She taught us about the use of committees and ritual, and our chapter grew stronger from her advice. The Panhellenic soccer game was held on the same day. Our chapter won the highest attendance of the game. This is our second year to win. During our next meeting, September 22nd, we had an academic celebration. The members who earned excellent grades received gifts. 33 girls earned 4.0’s during the fall semester. September 30th was an exciting night for PC 14 because it was Big Little reveal at the Kappa house. 
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This year Epsilon Lambda has participated, and won many philanthropy events throughout the Greek community. In the spring we participated in SAE’s Paddy Murphy week and AOPi’s strike out arthritis kickball tournament and placed first in both of these events. As for our own chapter philanthropy events, we volunteer weekly at THRIVE a multiple locations to help under privileged children complete different homework assignments such as math and reading that goes hand in hand with our national philanthropy, Reading Is Fundamental. We also competed in the All Campus Events All Sing partnered with Sigma Kappa and took home first place. In April of 2019 we competed in All Campus Events Big Orange Beat partnered with Tri Delta and took home first place again. This year has been filled with many events and competitions that we as a chapter have loved participating in. It has been such a rewarding year for Epsilon Lambda!
  
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October: Composite pictures were taken on the first and second of October at the park nearby the Kappa house. The first date party of the fall semester was on the second as well. The theme was “Peace, Love, and Kappa” and everyone dressed up in 70’s theme costumes. On Sunday the 5th, PC13 attended a ritual review meeting. They prepared for initiation and fireside through entertaining activities. For the Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M game, Epsilon Rho hosted a Kappa Parents tailgate on Saturday the 11th at Spence Park for our members and their families. Everyone ate delicious barbeque and played games.
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We celebrated our fraternity’s Founder’s Day with a brunch at The Standard in downtown Knoxville. Many alumnae were in attendance and we were able to hold our annual Founders Day ceremony for the chapter and new members. In November we successfully initiated 90 new members and welcomed them into the sisterhood of Kappa Kappa Gamma. During inspiration period we were able to hold a dinner for the whole chapter at The Press Room in downtown Knoxville and celebrate the new members as they were about to be officially welcomed into our chapter.  
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The next day all our members attended the chapter ritual workshop. We prepared for Fireside and practiced ritual to ensure that initiation would run smoothly. Our chapter celebrated Founders Day at our formal meeting on October 13th.The education officer, Monica Priwin, and her committee gave a presentation to the chapter. Everyone had dessert and spent time together after the meeting to continue the celebration.  
 
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To celebrate PC 14’s initiation, our chapter had a Sisterhood-Initiation week event on the 22nd. Everyone spent the evening together watching Hocus Pocus and eating s’mores at the Kappa house. October 24th was a memorable night for our sorority. Our chapter had Fireside at the Kappa house for PC 14. The Aggie Greek Awards Banquet was that night.  Epsilon Rho received the Loyalty award and the Selfless Service Award. Only 8 awards were presented and we received two. Also, our President, Rachel Huber, was a finalist for Sorority Woman of the Year. These awards were great accomplishments for our chapter. The next morning, we had initiation. 88 wonderful girls in PC 14 officially became members of our chapter. On October 28th we had a date party with the sorority Chi Omega. It was “Owl-oween” themed and everyone decked out in creative Halloween costumes. It was great having an event with another sorority. On Halloween, Our sorority participated in the Panhellenic Trick or Treat on the Row event. Kids who lived in the area played games in front of the Kappa house with our members from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
 
  
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November: On November 8th our chapter hosted our biggest philanthropy event, Kappa Kolor Run. It is a 5k run around sorority row in College Station. Chapter members are stationed throughout the race throwing powdered paint at the runners. Every runner received a t-shirt before the race and food was provided for everyone afterwards. Another part of the event was a silent auction; we had great items such as a weekend at a beach house, beat headphones, and a puppy. In all the three years our chapter has hosted Kappa Kolor, this was the highest attended race and the most money every raised. About 950 people attended the race, which greatly surpassed our expectations. Our chapter raised around $35,000 in total. This was a huge accomplishment for us and appreciated by our philanthropy, Nehemiah.
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'''Philanthropy'''
  
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Later that day, our chapter celebrated Mom’s Day. Our members and their moms went to the Hilton in College station for a luncheon. There was great food, a raffle, and everyone spent great quality time together. For a fun treat, we had a sisterhood event on the 19th. Just our chapter saw the premiere of the Hunger Games at the movie theatre in College Station. The next evening, November 20th, our chapter had our last date party of the semester, Ranch Party, with the sorority Tri Delta in Bryan, TX. Everyone put on their cowboy boots and had a great time two stepping the night away. On November 21st and 22nd, we participated in Songfest, which is a dance competition hosted by Chi Omega that organizations pair up to compete in for two days. This is a great way for organizations to make friends with their partners and raise money for their philanthropies. We competed with the fraternity Beta Theta Pi and raised $2,000 for Nehemiah.  
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This year our amazing philanthropy chair, Avery Kraus, introduced a new spring philanthropy event to the chapter and Greek community. The spring event was a mac and cheese bar that we called “Mac and Keys.” This event benefitted our local philanthropy, THRIVE. In the fall we held our annual Kappa Kolor Wars event. KKW is an obstacle course event that involved different courses involving paint. At the end we have a dodgeball tournament for the sororities and fraternities that participated in the event. Since we do not support March of Dimes as our local philanthropy anymore both of these events benefitted THRIVE. We were able to donate money towards philanthropy events that we were unable to participate in such as Kappa Delta’s annual golf tournament, and Phi Kappa Tau’s philanthropy week. Overall this year for philanthropy has been so fun and rewarding for us as a chapter.  
  
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December: On the December 1st meeting, the new officers for 2015 were inducted. On Sunday the 7th, the new and old officers, and advisors attended the Triplet meeting to discuss each position for the new officers. On December 8th, we had karaoke at the Kappa house for our last meeting. The girls sang songs and ate yummy desserts for a relaxing last meeting before finals.
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[[File:Epsilon Lambda Chapter House.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda Chapter House]]
  
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Over the year, Texas A&M stadium has been under construction. The new stadium will be the biggest in the SEC and will hold 102,500 screaming fans. Our Previous president, President Loftin, stepped down last year and was not replaced in 2014. He has been replaced by Michael Young in the beginning of 2015. Epsilon Rho is very genuine and down to earth chapter. We love to volunteer at our local philanthropy, Nehemiah. It has been an a wonderful opportunity that positively impacts spirited kids who need support and even our members. We are also a very enthusiastic chapter and love friendly competition. We are flexible, and willing to try new things for the benefit of the chapter overall.  
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All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.
  
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Our Chapter holds its meetings in the chapter room of the Epsilon Rho Kappa house. The facility is a house owned by the chapter.  Our chapter house, which we own, was built in 1981. We added an addition in 2000. Girls from in newest pledge class have the opportunity to live in the house. 49 sisters (including 3 officers) can live in the house.
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==Highlights of 2020==
  
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This year has been nothing short of bizarre and unprecedented, while Kappas everywhere struggled, here are a few things we did to try and stay relevant and a strong sisterhood. This spring we held a Valentine's Day party with UT Future and Best Buddies, a sisterhood bowling event with BYX, and a sisterhood craft night where made scrapbook pages to put together. After we got sent home in March because of COVID-19, we begin Kappa pen pals, and we continued Lady Minerva through our Facebook page. We had a few Zoom calls where we just caught up and talked about things that were going on. Some friend groups had Zoom formals where they dressed up and got on a Zoom call. During the summer months we had a scrapbook that got sent around to different sisters where they added pages of things they had been up to. This fall had sisterhood events such as picnic in circle park, at main event (an adult arcade), and movie night outside. All of these were conducted following guidelines such as wearing masks and keeping our distance. All in person events were held outside and planned so that there would be shifts or limits on who all could attend. We also incorporated a fun way to attend virtual meetings, with some fun themes. Before the outbreak of COVID-19 we had a fun themed meeting at the beginning of each month such as a pajama meeting and jersey meeting. It was a way to boost chapter morale both before and after things went virtual. Things such as recruitment and the new member process were conducted differently with recruitment being entirely virtual. We started Zoom lunches this semester as well where we had girls get on Zoom during the middle of the day and just eat and chat about random things. In January we initiated a holdover initiate from the 2019 pledge class and this fall Initiation was held virtually over Zoom where we initiated 92 girls in two separate calls on October 31st. Big/little reveal was done differently with everyone spread out over campus and those who were virtual over Zoom.
  
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==Highlights of 2015==
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[[File:Epsilon Lambda 2020.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda 2020]]
  
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January: The Epsilon Rho chapter officers for 2015 attended an officer’s retreat in College Station on January 16th and 17th. This was the first time the 2015 officers worked together to plan for a great year for our chapter. The officers established goals for the entire chapter to accomplish in 2015, created the chapter calendar for the fall, and made important decisions about the Epsilon Rho Chapter as a whole. This 2 day retreat allowed all the officers to bond as friends and officers and helped our Chapter Council grow. The first meeting of the year was on Monday, January 26th, 2015.
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'''Philanthropy'''
  
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February: The In-House girls had a Super Bowl party on Sunday, February 1th. Then there was a Valentine’s Day party for the entire chapter on the 11th at the Kappa house. Our chapter had a great time country dancing at our Semi-formal, “Texas Tuxes”, on February 12th. The Nehemiah Center of Navasota is an after school program to help at-risk kids reach their full potential. Every Epsilon Rho member must volunteer at least two times a semester. The girls help the kids with their homework, help with arts and crafts, read with them, and play activities outside. On the 13th we hosted our annual RIF event (Reading is Fundamental) for the kids at the Nehemiah Center. We had Texas A&M football players come out to see the kids!! Our chapter participated in Panhellenic Preview day on February 15th. This is an opportunity for incoming freshman girls to meet each sorority. A group of our chapter council attended the Province meeting on February 20th-22nd in Dallas. They worked with other Kappa chapters and brought back valuable tools to build our chapter. We celebrated all the hard work our members put into school by hosting an Academics Banquet on Monday the 23rd. PC 14 and PC 13 had a fun evening on February 25th at the Kappa house for paddle pass. PC14 gave cute, personalized paddles to their big sisters. Dad’s day was on February 28th. Our dad’s came to College Station for a BBQ cookout and then attended an A&M Basketball game with their daughters.
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We were able to assist our philanthropy, "Thrive," with things such as a book drive and painting rooms in their building. Thrive is a nonprofit after school program where kids in lower income areas come and do their work. Not only are they helped with school work but they are also introduced to other fun activities that are school related and some that have to do with the Christian faith. We believe that this organization helps highlight our values in the Knoxville community, as these kids don’t have many opportunities for help at home so at Thrive they are helped with homework and some kids have learned to read because of Thrive. This fall we held a small philanthropy event where we sold Chick-fil-A breakfast to pick up at a drive through outside of our house and partnered with a jewelry company to have some of the proceeds go to our three organizations. Each chapter and chapter council meeting was held over Zoom, and officer transitions were done virtually November 16, 2020. During Spirit Week with the university we were paired with BYX and placed third overall.  
  
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March: We had a Leadership Consultant visit our chapter from March 1st-6th. She observed how our chapter functions, and provided feedback about our chapters strengths and weaknesses. PC 14 had a Ritual Review meeting on March 1st where they learned about Fireside and Initiation. There also was a Rookie Workshop meeting on Sunday, March 8th to prepare PC 14 for work week and recruitment. Roommate Reveal was March 11th. This was when PC14 discovered their roommates and their room assignment in the Kappa house for the next school year. The first Senior Programming meeting was on March 23rd. As a way to give back to the College Station community, Kappa and the fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, partnered together for Big Event on March 28th. This event was founded at Texas A&M, and is an annual university wide community service project for students to serve the local residents in College Station. Our chapters split into smaller groups and did whatever the locals needed help with, such as pulled weeds, raked, and spruced up peoples front and back yards. The second Rookie Workshop was on March 29th, which furthered PC14’s preparation for Work Week and Recruitment. There was a Senior Programming meeting on the 29th as well. We held our spring philanthropy event, Kappa Kook-Out, on March 31st at the Kappa House. Everyone had a great time eating burgers, and taking pictures, listening to music and the Pickers. We raised around $4,100 for the Nehemiah Center of Navasota.
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'''Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion'''
  
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April: We had a sisterhood event in place of our weekly chapter meeting on April 6th. We had a “Kappa Karnival” at the Kappa house with corndogs, fun slides, and cotton candy! Everyone dressed up in their High School colors for a fun “High School Heroes” Senior Date Party on Tuesday, April 7th. There was a Recruitment workshop for the entire chapter held on April 12th to prepare all members for an effective recruitment. The third Senior Programming meeting was held on April 12th. On April 15th, Kappa participated in Stompfest, which is a dance competition between different organizations at Texas A&M. Our theme was the Disney channel movie “Holes” and we received third place! We had Kappa Con Queso on April 18th. We had a Mexican restaurant, Chuy’s, cater lunch at the Kappa house for Texas A&M Parents weekend. The fourth Senior Programming event was on April 19th. On April 23rd we had our formal, Monmouth, with the sorority Pi Beta Phi. It was masquerade themed and had a live band, dancing, face painting, and fun games! As the semester began to end, our chapter had its last meeting of the semester on April 27th.  
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This year we have added a DEI chair where the Chapter Council selects someone who would make sure that Diversity and Inclusion is kept a relevant subject in all chapter discussions. During recruitment work, our DEI chair spoke on some ways that we can prevent biases when talking to women of color. She also posted several items in our Facebook page that helped prevent biases on campus and raised awareness for different events that different councils were having. Towards the end of the semester we also had a DEI training session where every member was required to attended, and it was a great conversation starter in the chapter.  
  
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May: On May 3rd the Senior Programming Dinner was held by the Bryan/College Station Alumnae Association. The chapter room became the “Kappa Library” for all the members as finals approached. Our house mother, Martha Hurley, hosted a brunch on May 6th for everyone before finals.
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'''Sesquicentennial'''
  
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June: N/A
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We had the Minnie Stewart Van virtually present their van and tell us about the founding Kappa chapter. We also held a virtual celebration on Zoom the week after Founders Day.
  
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July: N/A
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==Highlights of 2021==
  
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This Spring we held a Valentine’s Day Party with Best Buddies, weekly Zoom dinners where members were able to catch up on zoom, a Virtual Neighborhood Barre Class, Dance Moms Empowerment Talk with Christi Lukasiak and a Main Event Sisterhood Event. In the fall we were able to start back up Lady Minerva where every week at Chapter Meetings, a member would read a letter to another member who has made an impact on their college life in Kappa. As we gradually go back to a somewhat “normal” life, we have all been able to get closer to each other and experience what it is like to be a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma to the fullest.
  
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August: As the summer ended, PC 13 moved into the Kappa house on August 15th. From August 17th to the 21nd our chapter attended Work Week. We worked extremely hard for a great recruitment. Over the week, we kept spirits high with costume themes everyday, and a petting zoo came to Kappa with a baby  monkey and camel. Saturday, the 22nd our parents and friends supported us by watching our wonderful new skit for recruitment, which was “Kappa Through the Decades”. As a result, we received great feedback. The next week, August 23rd through the 28th, our chapter and Recruitment team gave 110% during Recruitment. “Candy Land” was our first theme, which was used the first two days of Recruitment. On Philanthropy Day, which also consisted of two days, we explained our local and national philanthropies. Girls dress up as iconic singers and sang their parts through parodies of famous songs. On skit day, we introduced our new “Kappa Through the Decades”, which was a hit! As a result of our hard work, our chapter received 88 wonderful new girls! We were ecstatic to welcome them on August 29th with the theme “Don’t Mess With Kappa.” August 31st was the first day of school. The first new member meeting was at 6pm that evening with the first weekly chapter meeting following at 7pm.  
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[[File:Epsilon Lambda Preference Round 2021.png|thumb|Epsilon Lambda Preference Round 2021]]
  
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September: PC 14 had formal pledging at the September 7th meeting. We had a wonderful LC visit us from September 13th-18th who reminded our chapter what it means to be a Kappa. She also showed us our chapters strengths and what we can improve on this year. September 22nd was an exciting night for PC 15 because it was Big Little reveal at the Kappa house. Our first date party, Kappa Kappa Galaxy, was held on September 24th. It was out of this world!
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'''Philanthropy'''
  
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October: To kick off October, PC 14 had a Ritual Review on Sunday, October 4th to prepare for Initiation and Fireside. During our next meeting, October 5th, we had an academic banquet. The members who earned excellent grades received gift cards or small gifts. Composite pictures were taken on the 8th and 9th of October at the park near the Kappa house. The entire chapter attended Ritual Review on October 11th. We prepared for Fireside and practiced ritual to ensure that initiation would run smoothly. Our chapter spiced things up for Founders Day on October 12th by attending a zumba class just for our sorority. Everyone had a blast!
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We were able to assist our local philanthropy “Thrive”, with things such as volunteering weekly. Thrive is a nonprofit after school program where kids in lower income areas come and do their school work. Not only are they helped with school work but they are also introduced to other fun activities that are school related and some that have to do with the Christian faith. We believe that this organization helps highlight our values in the Knoxville community, as these kids do not have many opportunities for help at home so at Thrive they are helped with homework and some kids have learned to read because of Thrive. This spring we held a drive-by philanthropy event called “Get Wa-Full with Kappa”, people were able to buy tickets and purchase a waffle from “Never Full Waffles” and pick it up at the Kappa house. This was a great way for us to still support our philanthropies while abiding by COVID-19 protocols. In the fall we were able to have an in-person philanthropy event called “Kappa Karnival” where different fraternities and sororities teamed up to compete in different carnival games, we also sold tickets to people in the Knoxville community to come participate. As a chapter we were also able to participate in different chapter philanthropy events, such as Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash and Lambda Chi’s Watermelon Bust. This year with the change to Kappa’s national philanthropy of Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy, our chapter voted to support Active Minds, a nonprofit in the United States working to end the silence and change the culture around mental health by mobilizing the next generation.
  
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To celebrate PC 15’s initiation, Epsilon Rho went ice skating for our Initiation week event on the 14th. Our chapter had Fireside at the Kappa house for PC 15 on Friday the 16th. The next morning, we had Initiation. 88 wonderful girls in PC 15 officially became members of our chapter. On October 29th we had a date party with the sorority Chi Omega. It was “Owl-oween” themed and everyone decked out in creative Halloween costumes. It was great having an event with another sorority. On October 30th Epsilon Rho planned to participate in the Panhellenic Trick or Treat on the Row event, but it was canceled due to bad weather. Every year kids who live in the area play games in front of the Kappa house with our members from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
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'''Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion'''
  
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November: During November, our chapter went through the voting process for the upcoming 2016 Chapter Council and planned for our biggest philanthropy event, Kappa Kolor Run. We had two profit shares for the event; one at Chipotle on October 10th and another one at Chick Fil A on October 17th. For a fun treat, we had a sisterhood event on the 18th. Our chapter saw the premiere of Hunger Games at the movie theatre in College Station. We held banners around campus for a few weeks leading up to Kappa Kolor, which was on November 21st. It is a 5k run around sorority row in College Station. Chapter members are stationed throughout the race throwing powdered paint at the runners. Every runner received a t-shirt before the race and food was provided for everyone afterwards. Another part of the event was a silent auction; we had great items such as a David Yurman bracelet, and an Apple watch. In the three years our chapter has hosted Kappa Kolor, this was the most money raised. About 885 people attended the race and our chapter raised $50,572.29 in total. This was a huge accomplishment for us and appreciated by our philanthropy, Nehemiah Center of Navastoa. That weekend our chapter also celebrated Mom’s Day. Our members and their moms attended a Happy Hour Meet and Great on Friday October 20th. There was a shopping event at a local boutique just for Kappas and our moms as well a tour of the Kappa house on the 21st. Finally, there was a luncheon at the Traditions Country Club Century Room on the 22nd. On November 20th and 21st, Epsilon Rho participated in Songfest, which is a dance competition hosted by Chi Omega that organizations pair up to compete in for two days. This is a great way for organizations to make friends with their partners and raise money for their philanthropies. We competed with Squadron 17, which is part of the Texas A&M Corps, and we raised $2,200 for Nehemiah. Elections for the new officers were on November 23rd, and they were inducted at the November 30th meeting.
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The previous year we added a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair to our Associates Council to ensure that we were implementing DEI initiatives within all chapter decisions. In the fall, we added a requirement for all of our members to participate in at least two different DEI events per semester. As a chapter, we felt that this new requirement was a necessary step toward actively creating a more inclusive environment. Through educational programming and diversity training, we strive to keep our members informed about current events, as well as spark positive personal growth Our DEI chair also kept the conversation going with having a “trailblazer of the week” where she highlighted different people in history who have made a positive impact in the conversation of diversity. In the spring semester our members were required to attend a DEI Training Program held over zoom which was a great conversation starter in the chapter. In the spring, some of our members also volunteered for the MLK Service event. During Black History Month, our Public Relations chair highlighted trailblazing Black women that have left their mark on history, and posted different educational resources where people can learn more about Black History Month.
  
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December: Our chapter had our last date party of the semester, Ranch Party, on December 3rd with the sorority Tri Delta in Bryan, TX. Everyone put on their cowboy boots and had a great time two stepping the night away. On Sunday the 6th, the new and old officers, and advisors attended the Triplet meeting to discuss each position for the new officers. On December 7th, we had a Christmas party as our last meeting of the year.
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'''Operating During a Pandemic'''
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Describe the recent changes on your campus and describe the overall nature of your chapter.
 
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Several great changes happened over 2015. Texas A&M was honored to have Dr. Michael K. Young step in as our new President in May. While he is not an Aggie, he has extensive experience and has been a great leader this past semester. Texas A&M also finally finished their new football stadium over the summer. The new stadium will be the largest in the SEC and will hold 102,500 fans. Epsilon Rho is very genuine and down to earth chapter. We love to volunteer at our local philanthropy, Nehemiah. It has been a wonderful opportunity that positively impacts spirited kids and even our members. We are also a very enthusiastic chapter, love friendly competition, and love supporting other chapters at Texas A&M. We are flexible, and willing to try new things for the benefit of the chapter overall.
 
  
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Chapter Philanthropy:
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This Spring we held all of our weekly chapter meetings on zoom to adhere by the COVID-19 Protocols. By doing this we were still able to see each other but in a safe manner. We also were able to still hold a philanthropy event which was a drive-by to keep people outside of the Kappa house. Thankfully this Fall we were able to have in-person weekly Chapter meetings. These had to be held on campus to ensure all of our members could fit. This was a breath of fresh air for our members as we were finally able to see each other again. Recruitment was also held in person while wearing masks and we successfully recruited a new pledge class of 113 new members. Initiation in the fall was also able to be held in person while wearing masks but we limited the number of people who attended to only our new members and the girls who were taking littles in the new pledge class. As a Chapter, we are so thankful to be able to semi go back to normal, but also keeping in mind the Pandemic is still on going.
  
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What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
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--------------
  
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Epsilon Rho raises money for The Nehemiah Center in Navasota, which is an after school program for young children in the town of Navasota, TX. We have members of our sorority volunteer at Nehemiah everyday. We raised 4,100.39 from Kappa Kookout in the Spring, and $50,572.29 for Kappa Kolor in Fall of 2015. We also raised $2,200 for Nehemiah through Songfest.
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'''Note to Chapter Registrar:'''
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Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of ''The Key'' to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.  
  
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Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
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Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!
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We chose Nehemiah because they are a loving organization that is positively changing kids lives. The people who run Nehemiah are so passionate, but they need help encouraging and working with the children. We felt a desire to get involved and help Nehemiah in anyway we can. Since our National Philanthropy is Reading is Fundamental, we promote the importance of reading. We want to build strong reading skills in these children, and illustrate how school provides endless opportunities.
 

Latest revision as of 19:34, 20 February 2022

 

Epsilon Lambda
EΛ
Epsilon Lambda.jpg
FoundedFebruary 25, 1967 (1967-02-25) (58 years ago)
CollegeUniversity of Tennessee
LocationKnoxville, Tennessee
HomepageEpsilon Lambda Homepage
Media related to Epsilon Lambda Chapter

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, Established 1794


Epsilon Lambda founded February 25, 1967


1,942 initiates (as of June 2018)


Charter Members: Cary Vaughan Axhbaucher, Donna Lee Buchanan, Kay Marie Burns, Virginia Susan Cameron, Catherine Cotton, Kay Dyer Edwards, Mary Emily Evans, Mary Katherine Faucette, Patricia Lee Fillers, Margaret Lynn Harris, Cynthia Hart, Kathryn Ann Hibbs, Nora Margaret Hopkins, Patsy Ann Hughes, Jan Carol Jones, Sandra Rayburn Jones, Lillie Kay Mitchell, Diana Lea Murray, Nancy Olivia Nelson, Rebecca Rita O'Connor, Teresa Pentecost, Betty Jo Proffitt, Patricia Ann Schlemmer, Anna Celeste Thompson.

The Early Years (Excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity: 1870-1976)[edit]

Discussion of the establishment of a Kappa chapter on the University of Tennessee campus began in 1946.

Knoxville area Kappas organized in 1948 and their president, Mary Hamilton Ewing, Delta Xi- Carnegie Tech, Province Director of Alumnae, worked four years with the campus Panhellenic. By 1962 Tennessee was seen as a possible extension choice, and in 1964 an extension team endorsed the campus for colonization.

In September, 1966, Epsilon Lambda colony was formed and within a few weeks 34 members had been pledged. It was an outstanding group, and Susan Ward (Cline) with her title of "Miss Tennessee Engineer" brought the chapter its first trophy.

"We can never compete with the established sororities," was thought more than once. The challenge was accepted by three Kappa actives: D. Jane Humphrey (Henegar), Epsilon Alpha- Texas Christian, graduate counselor, "a Kappa lady through and through"; Betsy Rule (Marcum), Beta Upsilon- West Virginia, pledge chairman, "with her sweet demure manner"; and Leslie Hughes (Mier), Epsilon Eta- Auburn, song leader, "our devoted musical transfer."

Installation was scheduled February 24,25, and 26, 1967. Special guests were national officers Frances Fatout Alexander, Iota- DePauw, Ruth Hoehle Lane, Phi- Boston, and Clara O. Pierce, Beta Nu- Ohio State, as well as the Beta Chi Kappas who were in Knoxville to see the colony become the first Kappa chapter in the state. Twenty-four girls became charter members on February 25 at a service in the Panhellenic Building where the spacious Kappa suite is located. The Passing of the Light Ceremony saw the heirloom Charlotte Barrell Ware candlesticks passed from Betty Davis Van Fleet, Alpha Deuteron- Monmouth College, to Rebecca O'Connor (Greene), the colony president.

Tennessee President Dr. Andrew Holt and Mrs. Holt were guests at the banquet that night and Dean of Women Jane McCormick, Delta Alpha- Penn State, brought the university's and her own greetings. Anna Thompson (Parker), Epsilon Lambda's first president, received the charter.

Margaret Lynn Harris was awarded a scholarship by the Austin, Texas, Alumnae; Kay Marie Burns (Kendall) received the scholarship award; and Becky O'Connor (Greene), as outstanding contributor to the colony, was given an antique key sent by Beta Nu actives and the Columbus, Ohio, Alumnae Association.

The first rush was "wild," with fun-filled practices, work sessions, mistakes, aggravating moments, tears, and extreme joy. Mrs. Louise Little Barbeck, Gamma Phi- Southern Methodist, then national vice president, helped keep spirit up with her kind advice and perpetual calmness. On "squeal night," when 30 pledges walked through the door, there could not have been a prouder group of actives.

The Kappa "Pumpkin Walk," now a tradition, began that fall when jack-o-lanterns with Kappa eyes, Gamma noses, and key mouths were delivered on fraternity row. Initiation, parties, the chapter's first birthday, and honors filled the term.

Twenty-nine pledges found their big sisters in the fall of 1968 by following a maze of yarn ending in 29 wooden keys. That began an active schedule focusing on a cultural program and scholarship that resulted in the chapter earning second place among 18 sororities, with a difference of only one-five-hundreth of a point!

Rushing in 1969 was a great success with an icewater party, Kappa Karnival, South Pacific party, and preference party when each Kappa told what KKG meant to her personally. On October 13, 32 coeds were officially pledged before the Centennial Founders Day program and introduced to the Knoxville alumnae. At Christmas, members enjoyed buying dresses, sweaters, and bellbottoms for an 11-year-old underprivileged girl. During that school year the chapter gave a dance at the old L&N (Louisville and Nashville) railroad station, started a volunteer program for hospital aides, and formed a basketball team. They captured the Panhellenic All-Sports Trophy, and ranked third in the list of sororities in scholarship.

In 1970, 28 top coeds were pledged, and 24 initiated...the first initiation ceremony in the Kappa room. Pledges worked hard on a new initiation song. They papered the kitchen and painted blue and green flowers on the cabinet doors.

The fifth birthday of the chapter was celebrated. At the alumnae picnic in the spring of 1972, Knoxville and Nashville Kappas presented the chapter with a beautiful Revere punchbowl; the Memphis Alumnae Association gave a round silver tray; and a silver ladle was also received.

Looking back over Epsilon Lambda's growth, each member's contribution is appreciated, and it is certain that these same attributes will make them valuable members of alumnae groups for years to come.

Highlights of 1980s[edit]

Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity is one of the oldest women's fraternities with a total membership of more than 260,000 women and 140 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada. At the University of Tennessee, Kappa Kappa Gamma prides itself on the tradition of leadership. The chapter strives in every aspect to uphold the fraternity's national mission statement: "Kappa Kappa Gamma is an organization of women, which seeks for every member throughout her life bonds of friendship, mutual support, opportunities for self-growth, respect for intellectual development, and an understanding of and an allegiance to positive ethical principles." Being a member of Kappa is really about opportunity: to grow, to connect, to serve, to befriend, to aspire. History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key.

The 1980’s found Epsilon Lambda very busy trying to establish themselves on campus. Their goal of campus participation continued throughout the 80’s and it began to pay off with all of the Campus events like All-Sing, Homecoming and helping each with the Helen Ross McNabb Therapeutic nursery. All the while working to keep up their grades. At the 1987 Nu Province meeting the chapter was awarded the Scholarship Award. They were very successful with the recruitment process and each year pledged a quota of girls for their chapter.

Highlights of 1990s[edit]

The 1990’s started with a Letter of Concern which the chapter received well and worked hard to be removed and they did. But, lack of scholarship caused great hardship with several officers being replaced because of grade problems. This taught the chapter the importance of time management. This period of the 90’s also initiated the beginning of the bus policy when the chapter traveled to an event off campus. After a little period of adjustment, they wondered why they hadn’t done it before! Each year the chapter participated in All-Sing, Sapphire Ball , Derby Week ,Helen McNabb Center and in 1992 adopted a barn owl at the Knoxville Zoo. Hurricane Andrew gave the chapter an opportunity to raise money to help those in need along with all other Greeks on campus. Each year the chapter worked to help each member to improve their grades. Through must hard work on behalf of the members as well as the chapter Council this was achieved many years. In 1994, Epsilon Lambda was assigned a whole floor in Massey Hall in which 39 girls could live together. This proved to be a great sisterhood enhancement. Philanthropy was a big part of the chapter and in 1998 they teamed with Aids Response Knoxville to implement the first annual AIDS Walk and it was an overwhelming success. By the end of the 90’s they had become a more recognized name on the UT campus for their campus philanthropic events, community philanthropies as well as campus leadership in student organizations all the while maintaining grades and getting outstanding pledge classes to make their chapter strong.

Highlights of 2000-2010[edit]

From 2000-2010, Epsilon Lambda participated in many campus events like All Sing, Greek Week, Kappa-Lympics and often won or placed in these events. In 2004, they adopted the March of Dimes as their philanthropy. Also raised $8,702.63 at the Dance Marathon benefiting the Tennessee Children’s Hospital. The chapter continued to support March of Dimes and was the National Collegiate Award for raising the most money of any college in the country. They also teamed up with a Kappa designer and sold hundreds of designer jeans at a discounted price with 15% goes to March of Dimes. Princess for a day was another meaningful event where members went to hospitals and played one on one with the children. During these years they celebrated their 40th anniversary with many alumnae who shared stories of the chapter. Many new pledges acme to Epsilon Lambda during this time who help make the chapter strong even in times of chapter issues. But, these issues made the chapter wiser, closer and in the end made the chapter so much stronger than it had been in years. They learned the value of good communication, respecting the alumnae and each other.


Highlights of 2011[edit]

The year 2011 began with the installment of a new chapter council, with Maggie Wallace as the new president of Epsilon Lambda. Each member of the new chapter council is committed to the improvement of the chapter. Throughout the year, Epsilon Lambda chapter participated in many campus and philanthropic events. They continue to strive for success every year. At the beginning of February, the ladies of Kappa Kappa Gamma held a continuous open bidding event and gave out bids to seven young women.

The night was very casual and allowed chapter members to engage in light conversation with the new ladies. The following month, the Leadership Consultant visited Knoxville and met with each chapter council member. Her visit was very helpful and was much appreciated by the chapter council due to her excellent suggestions. In addition, the ladies of Epsilon Lambda participated in a Reading is Fundamental event at Bearden Elementary school. This event allowed us to have a more "hands on" experience with our national philanthropy. In the spring, Epsilon Lambda initiated seven new members into the chapter on April 2nd, 2011. The following day our chapter held the annual philanthropy event "Kappalympics," in which twenty teams of sororities and fraternities participated in a series of field games to raise money for the March of Dimes organization. The event was sponsored by Red Bull, Krispy Kreme, and Firehous subs. We raised over $1,600 through the team entrance fees and the "cream a kappa" booth.

Shortly after Kappalympics, the chapter participated in Carnicus with the ladies of Delta Delta Delta. The title of the performance was "The Wizard of Knox" and was directed by Mary Carter Kniffen and Hailey Wood. The award for best actress was given to Stephanie Thrasher who played Dorothy. Soon after, the ladies of Epsilon Lambda participated in Greek week with the gentlemen of Phi Sigma Kappa. Greek week began on April 10th and chapter members participated in a habitat for humanity build, blood drive, and all other events throughout the week. Following Greek Week, Relay for life and March for Babies were both held on April 16th, 2011. Both events were a success and the ladies of Kappa Kappa Gamma enjoyed helping out their community by volunteering.

After summer break, the ladies returned to Knoxville to prepare for formal Fall Recruitment. Recruitment was very successful and we obtained a new member pledge class of 56 ladies. Soon after, the ladies of Epsilon Lambda took part in Vol Challenge, a week of volunteering run by the university. We also held our annual designer blue jeans sale called Blue Jeans for Babies for the March of Dimes foundation. On October 8th , 2011 we initiated 55 lovely women in to Epsilon Lambda. Following initiation, the new members participated in the Junior Panhellenic event called "lip sync" that all of the new pledge classes participate in. They were assigned the letter "K" and created a dance to go with all of the artists with that letter. They performed in front of a huge audience and did a fantastic job. During homecoming week, the ladies of Kappa paired up with the gentlemen of Sigma Phi Epsilon and prepared a banner and homecoming float. We were finalists in Smokey's Howl, winning third place overall. Kappa also reached out to the community by volunteering for Chef's Auction, a local event in Knoxville. In November we held our chapter elections and nominated a new chapter council for the following year.

Campus: The University of Tennessee was founded in 1794 and is based around the pride of their lasting traditions. The university has an undergraduate program with over 21,000 students and over 5,000 graduate students. It remains a flagship campus for Tennessee in undergraduate, graduate, professional programs, research, and community service. The campus has 550 acres in which 220 university buildings reside. A new branding campaign was recently launched called "Big Orange, Big Ideas" to create a new image for the university and it's students. The University of Tennessee continues to build and create leaders for the future through academics, athletics, and campus involvement. Go Vols!

Chapter: Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity was founded on February 25, 1967 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Kappa Kappa Gamma is proud to be a part of the Greek system and remains one of the strongest chapters. The sisters of Epsilon Lambda exemplify the ideals of leadership and the development of women. We are dedicated to each other and our sisterhood while also remaining involved in our academics, campus events, and community service. Many members are involved in other organizations on campus and even hold leadership positions in them. Epsilon Lambda strives to uphold the highest ideals of sisterhood while keeping the traditions of Kappa Kappa Gamma alive throughout our daily lives.

The main challenge that Epsilon Lambda faced in the year 2011 was honoring the suggestions sent to the chapter through the focus letter. Our academics have not been our primary focus in recent years, but this past year our chapter council did a great job of changing that. We were placed on academic probation and were told that our chapter could not hold more than two mandatory chapter events during one given week. The academic adviser communicated well with our VPAE to make sure that the grade point average of the chapter improved.

Our goal was to have grades that were above the all sorority average of panhellenic. The VPAE instituted mandatory study hours starting in the fall and the chapter logged their individual study hours for the week. In addition, she updated the test files and held more study hours to suit every chapter member's needs. The chapter continues to strive for the improvement of our grades and study habits. Another problem that Epsilon Lambda chapter wanted to improve was chapter member accountability. Chapter participation in events such as philanthropy, meetings, recruitment have been low in recent semesters. Chapter council has done a great job of improving the standards committee to hold members that miss required events responsible for their actions. Chapter morale has also improved lately due to the efforts of chapter council to reward chapter members for their good attendance at Kappa functions. Epsilon Lambda continues to work towards a more united, strong chapter for the future.

Highlights of 2012[edit]

Scholarship Several programs implemented

  • Test Fairy
  • Academic Conference
  • Study Logs/Study Files
  • Smart Cookie of the Week

Greek Awards Banquet - Spring 2012

  • Panhellenic's Circle of Sisterhood Award
  • Volunteer Level Achievement in Greek Excellence

Kappa Convention Awards

  • Honorable Mention for Finance
  • Honorable Mention for Advisory Board
  • Finalist for the Most Outstanding Association Award

Chapter Goals Intellectual Development

  • Academic Development by creating incentives, educating, and closely monitoring

Interpersonal Development

  • Chapter Involvement by creating a reward system and boosting sisterhood events

Leadership and Skill Building

  • Chapter Leadership Programming by using committees and increasing involvement

Understanding & Appreciation of Kappa

  • Chapter Knowledge, and Chapter Heritage by emphasizing importance of ritual

Philanthropic Events

  • March for Babies benefiting March of Dimes
  • Kappalympics benefiting March of Dime
  • Chef's Auction benefiting March of Dimes
  • SOAR benefiting Knoxville education
  • March of Dimes Golf Tournament
  • Pi Beta Phi's Kisses for Soldiers
  • Phi Mu Model for a Miracle
  • Kappa Sigma South Seas
  • ATO's OcTAUberfest
  • Lambda Chi Alpha's Watermelon Bust

World/Local Events

  • Hurricane Sandy - collected toiletries, clothing items, non-perishables, etc.
  • Sandy Hook Shooting - members donated money and material needed to be sent through a member of Phi Mu whose hometown was Newtown, CT

Traditions

  • Blue and Blue Banquet
  • Parent's Weekend Dinner
  • Senior Night
  • More to come with the house!

The University of Tennessee is an ever evolving campus with changes being implemented both by the administration and the students. As a general body, the University is seeking acknowlegement as a Top 25 Public University, and changes are being made steadily in that direction. Some of these changes are being felt more than others. Standards for the Greek community are increasing both in academics and social consciousness.

The University wants to redevelop the Greek community as a force of social change and community support. Panhellenic works very closely with the University to champion and instill these values back into the chapters and also to unite the other Greek councils (MGC, IFC, NPHC) into one cohesive force. Kappa has a large presence on the Panhellenic council and we hope to continue the emphasis we have always had. One very obvious change on campus is that the Panhellenic sororities are in the midst of moving into the houses of Sorority Village. Kappa Kappa Gamma is seeking resident move in into the house on February 23rd, 2013. This is of great excitement for our chapter members who have long anticipated this day, and have worked very hard to get there.

Epsilon Lambda as a chapter has several core strengths and a few weaknesses, as well. One of our greatest strengths as a chapter is that we are very well united and have a way of using our unique differences to make us a complete chapter. We find things in common and make strides out of them. We are also very stringent about our ritual practices and take it very seriously. This makes our chapter more cohesive and efficient in all the things we do.

Some of our weaknesses include lack of accountability as far as participation and attendance goes. We have a hard time getting members to attend events they pay for. It is difficult to understand why this is, but it is our most difficult challenge to deal with because it affects overall chapter morale, as well. The council's officers project that the presence of the house alone will increase morale, participation, and general attendance by our members for at least the next couple of semesters. This comes at a key time for our chapter as we work to implement rewards systems and find a way to keep members involved and thriving. Our hope is that this will create a new standard in the chapter through the house that will last for years in the future. We are excited to see what changes the house brings and we will have much to share in the next Chapter History Report!

Highlights of 2013[edit]

Scholarship: Several programs implemented

  • Test Fairy
  • Academic Conferences
  • Study Logs/Study Files
  • No Skippy Jar
  • 4.0 presentation each semester
  • Academic Presentation status to chapter each semester
  • Wise Owl Jar

Province Awards:

  • Standards Award
  • Panhellenic Involvement Award

Chapter Goals: Intellectual Development

  • Academic Development by creating incentives, educating, and closely monitoring
  • Kappa Brand emphasis Interpersonal Development
  • Chapter Involvement by using our new reward system Leadership and Skill Building
  • Leadership presentation at Leadership Day, using committees and encouraging participation by setting examples and Rewards Celebration

Understanding & Appreciation of Kappa

  • Increasing Chapter knowledge, and Chapter Heritage by reiterating Importance of ritual:
  • Each formal meeting we rehearse/review at least one part of our ritual with the whole chapter.

Philanthropic Events:

  • Breakfast for Babies
  • March for Babies benefiting March of Dimes
  • Kappalympics benefiting March of Dimes
  • Chef's Auction benefiting March of Dimes
  • SOAR benefiting Knoxville education
  • March of Dimes Golf Tournament
  • Phi Sig March Madness
  • Kappa Sigma South Seas
  • Sig Ep's Hurricane Week
  • AGR’s Water Wars
  • ATO’s OctauberFest
  • SAE’s Santa Alpha Eplison
  • BYX’s Island Week

World/Local Events: We had a clothing drive for a sister’s friend’s house that burned down.

Overcoming Challenges: Our Philanthropy Chair had to step down due to applying to Nursing school, so we had to find a replacement, which ended up turning out very well. Our new philanthropy chair even had the brilliant idea of a new philanthropy event called Breakfast for Babies. Panhellenic wanting to release Judicial Affairs statistics about all of the Chapters, but through meetings and discussions, Pan decided to table release of the information at this time.

New Traditions:

  • Sapphire Banquet
  • Mother/Daughter Tea
  • Breakfast For Babies

Special Events: We had the dedication/opening of our new chapter house.

Group Honors/Awards: We placed 3rd in Carnicus, an all campus event.

The University of Tennessee is an ever-changing campus. Two initiatives continue to be priorities for the University of Tennessee – new dorm construction and the focus to become a Top 25 University. A significant change, which has impacted our chapter, has been the development of Sorority Village. Sorority Village has been in the planning and development stage for the past 8-10 years; however, the actual construction of the individual sorority houses was negative impacted by the recession in 2008 and many houses were delayed in breaking ground until 2010/2011. Our chapter moved into our new house in February 2013 and it has been such a positive change. Ever since Sorority Village has opened, the whole Greek community has benefited from it. Not only do Sorority Women have a new home to live in, but it has also created a wonderful cohesive area for Panhellenic women to interact and hold social functions with each other. Our social functions vary from “Pan Pal” events that our Panhellenic Council and Pan Delegates put on, to simply getting to talk to each other while walking through the Village on the way to the bus stop. Yet another bonus to Sorority Village is that Recruitment is so much more fun and exciting for potential new members now that we no longer have to have recruitment in the Panhellenic building. Our Chapter has thoroughly enjoyed our new home here in Sorority Village and eagerly look forward to the memories our members will make while living in our new home.

Our chapter continues to emphasize Academics, Sisterhood and Participation. We support these concepts by our intense focus on Academic performance throughout the semester, creative Sisterhood events and a new Participation Celebration we implemented Fall 2013 to encourage participation in mandatory events, academic success and participation on campus and in the community.


Highlights of 2014[edit]

Scholarship:

Epsilon Lambda has done a wonderful job this year of continuing to emphasize the importance of chapter academic success. We are proud to announce that for Fall semester 2014, we had an average chapter GPA of 3.16, which placed us above the all-sorority average of 3.12.

Here are some programs we have implemented to encourage members to excel in academics: - KKG Test Fairy twitter account - Academic Conferences for members on an academic status - Study Hour Log - Wise Owl Jar, which allows members to be rewarded for their good grades throughout the week. - Study Hours - DropBox used for test files - Rewards for Members who make above a 3.50 GPA - All New Members must have at or above a 3.0 high school GPA

Awards: - At the 2014 Convention, Epsilon Lambda won the Finance Award for a housed chapter.

Philanthropic Events: - Epsilon Lambda participated in and won Beta Upsilon Chi's Island week, whose proceeds went to Tiva Water. - Participated in Kappa Sigma's South Seas Week, whose proceeds benefitted the Fisher House Foundation. - Participated in and won Delta Tau Delta's Battle of the Bands, whose proceeds benefitted the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. - Participated in and won Chi Omega's Flag Football Tournament, benefitting Dream Connection. - March for Babies, benefitting March of Dimes - Chef's Auction, benefitting March of Dimes - March of Dimes Golf Tournament - Reading to children at Thrive for Lonsdale Elementary, benefitting underprivileged youth in the Knoxville area - Relay for Life (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in) - Habitat for Humanity (campus-wide event that Epsilon Lambda participated in) - 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes.

We are so proud of the success of our 1st annual Kappa Kolor Wars. Below is a summary of this event:

On September 24, 2014 Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma hosted its newest philanthropy event, Kappa Kolor Wars, benefitting March of Dimes. Kolor Wars is a paint-filled water balloon dodgeball tournament, mixing elements of the color run with dodgeball. The tournament was bracket-style with separate girl’s and boy’s brackets. Each sorority and fraternity team consisted of five players, each receiving a Kappa Kolor Wars t-shirt to participate in. The winners of each bracket received a trophy, as well as a $100 donation to their philanthropy.

A total of 19 teams participated, 9 sororities: Delta Zeta, Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Kappa, Kappa Delta, Zeta Tau Alpha, Delta Delta Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, and Alpha Chi Omega; and 10 fraternities: Delta Tau Delta, Alpha Gamma Rho, Phi Delta Gamma, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Beta Upsilon Chi, Sigma Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, and Phi Sigma Kappa. The ladies of Tri Delta won the girl’s bracket, and the gentleman of Sigma Chi were the champions of the boy’s.

All of the proceeds from Kappa Kolor Wars went to Kappa Kappa Gamma’s local philanthropy, March of Dimes. March of Dimes is a non-profit organization promoting the health of babies and their families, along with preventing infant mortality and premature birth. Kappa is excited to announce that a total of $3,110 was raised for the Knoxville chapter of March of Dimes! Everyone in the chapter really enjoyed participating and had a great time raising money for a great cause!


Chapter Goals:

- Academic Development:

  • Maintain chapter GPA above the all-Panhellenic average
  • Continue to monitor members with grades below 3.0

- Chapter Involvement

  • Chapter council members should respect time of chapter members
  • Continue to educate the chapter about the attendance reward program
  • Emphasize and promote opportunities to the chapter to help members become more involved and gain leadership experience.

- Chapter Leadership Programming

  • Chapter council should utilize committees to encourage member involvement in chapter decision making
  • Increase chapter participation throughout Panhellenic and always promote Kappa ideals and values

- Chapter Knowledge and Chapter Heritage

  • Continue exposing new members to ritual thoroughly and immediately after initiation
  • Increase enthusiasm for ritual, and emphasize the importance of Initiation and respecting Kappa values during Inspiration Week
  • Educate the members on the importance and uniqueness of our ritual.

Traditions: - Sapphire Rewards Banquet - Mother Daughter Tea during the Spring semester - Annual Parents Weekend during the Fall semester - Father-Daughter Baseball Game during the Spring semester - Recruitment Traditions, including the Tennessee Kappa Rap and Kappa Kozy during Recruitment Retreat.

Overcoming Challenges:

For the past several years, Epsilon Lambda has been on an academic focus letter due to our chapter semester GPA falling below the all-sorority average semester GPA for multiple, consecutive semesters. We are proud to announce, that for Fall 2014, Epsilon Lambda placed 5th overall for Panhellenic GPAs. Our chapter had an overall GPA of 3.16, placing us above the all sorority average of 3.12. This is the first time we have been above the average in many semesters. Our VPAE and her committee continues to work diligently to ensure we remain above the all-sorority average again for Spring 2015.

Also, one concern that Epsilon Lambda has had for some time is overall chapter appearance at informal meetings. Many members were wearing athletic clothes, baggy t-shirts, and other non-professional attire. Chapter Council members decided that Members should look more presentable and professional, even for informal meetings, so under the leadership of President Whitney Robinson, Epsilon Lambda created a new Standing Rule that banned athletic clothes, leggings, and baggy t-shirts from informal meetings. This is to ensure that members look presentable for all guests coming into chapter meetings.

Another challenge Epsilon Lambda continues to battle is lack of participation by a large portion of our membership. Attendance at major philanthropic events has been a recent issue for Epsilon Lambda, but we are taking strides to eradicate this problem. One such stride is the implementation of the Sapphire Rewards program in Fall 2013, which keeps track of member involvement throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, members who have obtained all required points for mandatory events as well as those who have the most points, will be invited to a Sapphire Rewards Banquet, which includes dinner and some sort of tangible reward, like a new and trendy clothing item or other gift. So far, this system seems to be encouraging more attendance, but we are still working through this challenge. We are excited to see all the benefits this system brings to the chapter in the coming semesters.

The University of Tennessee is a very dynamic campus- constantly changing and working to improve. Similarly, Epsilon Lambda is an ever-evolving chapter as well. As a chapter, we work hard to overcome challenges and better our chapter in any way possible. As our university changes, we work hard to stay at the forefront of new reforms, thus promoting university standards and ideals while upholding the reputation of an influential and beneficial organization on this campus.

In 2010, the University of Tennessee announced its goal to become a Top 25 university. Since then, many strides have been taken in this direction. With increased focus on academics campus-wide, Epsilon Lambda is proud to announce our recent accomplishment of obtaining a chapter cumulative GPA above the all-sorority average. Just as the university has increased focus on academics, so have we placed more emphasis on this vital aspect of the college experience. We believe in creating a supportive environment in which Epsilon Lambda members can succeed academically. With the new programs and rewards in place, we encourage all members to contribute not only to Kappa Kappa Gamma's academic standards, but also the academic standards and goals of the University of Tennessee.

In the past year, the University of Tennessee has also increased its standards for the Greek community. As members of Kappa Kappa Gamma, we believe that we must be leaders in the Greek community, embodying university ideals at all times. We acknowledge that we are wearing our letters at all times, and we realize that our behavior inside and outside of the classroom will reflect on the reputation of our chapter. As the university looks with more scrutiny at the Greek chapters on campus, Epsilon Lambda is committed to proving to our university that Greek life is beneficial to our campus in many ways, not detrimental. To do this, we are uniting with more Panhellenic sororities and enacting reforms within the Panhellenic community. Our Panhellenic delegate is doing a wonderful job at communicating Panhellenic decisions to the chapter and at communicating Kappa values to the Panhellenic community.

In conclusion, with the changes implemented on the University of Tennessee's campus, Epsilon Lambda's goal is to remain a model organization on campus, embracing all university ideals and fostering the development of young women into successful, proud alumni of both Epsilon Lambda and the University of Tennessee.

All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house located in the new Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus. Once per month, a chapter meal is held at the house before a chapter meeting to foster deeper relationships between all members in all pledge classes. On February 23, 2013, Epsilon Lambda opened the doors to its first house, located in the beautiful Sorority Village on the University of Tennessee's campus, where all 13 sororities now have a house. Our house sleeps 33 girls, mostly members of the Sophomore pledge class. This house has been a wonderful opportunity for members to become closer to each other and develop relationships that they otherwise would not have without this wonderful house.


Highlights of 2015[edit]

This year, we continued the use of our Wise Owl Jar to reward members who excelled on tests and assignments. We also continued to hold academic conferences and encouraged members to log their study hours and contribute to the study files. Our chapter GPA in Spring 2015 was 3.18, which was higher than the all-women average on our university’s campus but lower than the all-sorority average.

For the Fall of 2015, we were above the All-Sorority Average. Also, our freshman new member class had the 3rd highest GPA out of all the sororities on campus.

Chapter Goals:

Academic Development

- Work towards the all-Panhellenic GPA average and continue to monitor girls with grades below 3.0.

Chapter Involvement

- Respect time of chapter members, continue to educate the chapter about the reward system, and emphasize and promote opportunities within the chapter to help members become more involved and develop leadership qualities.

Chapter Leadership Programming

- Utilize committees/motivate the middle, increase chapter participation throughout Panhellenic and promote the Kappa “brand”, and emphasize and promote opportunities within the chapter to encourage members to become more involved and develop leadership qualities.

Chapter Knoweldge and Chapter Heritage

- Continue exposing new members to ritual immediately after initiation, increase the enthusiasm and emphasize the importance of initiation during inspiration week, and educate the members on the importance and uniqueness of our ritual by utilizing spare meeting time and chapter events to practice ritual.

Philanthropic Events:

March for Babies benefiting March of Dimes

Kappa Kolor Wars benefiting March of Dimes

Chef's Auction benefiting March of Dimes

Major League Breakfast benefiting March of Dimes

THRIVE benefiting Knoxville education and children’s literacy

Kappa Sigma’s South Seas benefiting the Fisher House Foundation

Delta Tau Delta’s Battle of the Bands benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Lambda Chi Alpha’s Watermelon Bust benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital

Sigma Chi’s Derby Days benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network

Alpha Tau Omega’s OcTAUberfest

Beta Upsilon Chi’s Island Party benefiting TIVA water


Overcoming Challenges:

In the past years, our officers and advisors have noticed that our chapter has been over programming the members. However, this year, we worked on the challenge of being over programmed by increasing communication among officers to facilitate more efficient planning. With this improvement in communication, we were able to decrease needless programming in order to foster an environment that both encourages member involvement and enables members to remain focused on academics.

In previous years, our chapter struggled to meet quota for new member recruitment. However, this year we overcame this challenge and easily exceeded quota thanks to an amazing recruitment process. Our Membership Chairman, Anna Taylor, worked tirelessly to facilitate a positive, informative, and empowering recruitment workshop in order to successfully recruit 69 new members.

Finally, we have, in the past, been faced with the challenge of losing new members. However, this year, our new member retention rate increased due to the wonderful new member education program directed by our New Member Chairman, Haley Hancock.

Traditions:

Sapphire Reward System

Mother Daughter Tea

Major League Breakfast

In the past year, the University of Tennessee has worked tirelessly to create a campus environment that is inclusive of all persons regardless of cultural, racial, sexual, religious, or socioeconomic background. The University of Tennessee seeks to gain student participation in ongoing diversity inclusion campaigns in order to spread the message of acceptance to all corners of campus. The University of Tennessee especially looks to members of the Greek community to be a force of social change and community support. One of the most prominent strengths of the Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma is that we are composed of a very unique, diverse, and accepting body of members. Our member involvement extends far beyond the walls of our chapter room and the Greek community. In addition to having a large presence on Panhellenic council, Kappa Kappa Gamma has several members involved in Student Government Association (SGA), with one of our members being the Vice President of SGA. With this heavy involvement on campus, members of Kappa Kappa Gamma are able to serve as role models to other students and are able to provide a strong and unifying voice regarding student opinions of social and academic changes being implemented by campus administration.

As a chapter, Epsilon Lambda has several core strengths as well as some weaknesses on which we strive to improve. One of our greatest strengths is the uniqueness of our members. Each member brings something special to the table, which helps to complete the chapter. Our members work together to unify each person’s unique qualities to foster a positive, supportive, and empowering environment in which members can wholly express themselves as well as learn new and different things from other members. Another strength of this chapter is the commitment to our ritual. Thanks to a well-organized new member education program, our new members are exposed to and encouraged to learn our ritual immediately after initiation in a manner that is both fun and informative. All members understand and appreciate the importance and uniqueness of our ritual, which further unifies our chapter. Despite these strengths, our chapter recognizes that there is always room for improvement. We recognize that one of our weaknesses is lack of member participation in Kappa-sponsored events. This year’s chapter council paid special attention to this weakness in order to discover the root of the problem. With the help of our advisors, we decided that lack of member participation might be due to over-programming. Therefore, we carefully planned all chapter events this year in an attempt to boost chapter interest and maximize participation. While we have not yet been able to determine if more careful programming has made a difference, we hope that the next council will continue to program carefully, maintain transparency and flexibility, and work to improve member participation in all events.

Chapter Philanthropy:

What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?

THRIVE and March of Dimes.

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?

Since Reading is Fundamental is Kappa’s national philanthropy, we chose to donate our time and efforts to a local organization that also promotes literacy in young children. THRIVE at Lonsdale elementary is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating inner-city children who come from minority families or families below the poverty line. THRIVE recognizes that children have educational, physical, and spiritual needs, and in order to break the cycle of poverty, these needs must be met. Therefore, as members of the Epsilon Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma, we spend one day a week reading to and tutoring the children of this after-school program in order to promote literacy and education.

We also donate much of our time and money to March of Dimes, our local philanthropy that supports research regarding premature births and also aids parents of premature children. Each year we participate in March for Babies, a walk put on by March of Dimes. During this event, we are able to interact with many of the children and parents who have benefitted from this incredible organization. We truly enjoy the opportunity to see where our money is going and how much of an impact is has on the people we are helping. We have several fundraisers during the year that we organize to raise money for this organization. In the fall, we have Kappa Kolor Wars, and in the spring, we have Breakfast for Babies or Major League Breakfast. All proceeds from these events are donated directly to March of Dimes.

Highlights of 2016[edit]

This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over fifty beautiful ladies and really strived to implement and uphold our chapter's values and goals. With such an outstanding group of ladies in our chapter, our goals and standards were easily met. We received the Panhellenic Award at national convention for exemplifying true Panhellenic leadership and support at our university. We also received an Honorable Mention for our New Member Program and we were recognized as an Adelphe Society Member for raising $10,000 for the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation.

We also received the Sisterhood Program of the Year award from Panhellenic at the University of Tennessee and were one of two Panhellenic sororities featured in UT's Admissions viewbook for high school seniors. We also completed the most SOFE requirements during the pilot year out of all Panhellenic sororities. Regarding academics, we continued to push our members to work hard and stay above the All-sorority average. Our VPAE, Abbey Rosanski, really went above and beyond to make sure each and every member had the resources and support they needed to meet their academic goals. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and Chef's Auction, which all benefited March of Dimes raising over $5000 in total donations in 2016.

We also participated in THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary School, Lemonade for Literacy, Project Elevates Hero Day, Boys and Girls Club Easter Egg Hunt, the Gatlinburg Wildfire Relief, Relay for Life, and many other Greek organization's philanthropy events as well. We placed first overall in Greek Beat and was the top fundraising team for For The Kids (FTK) at UT. We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition as well. Epsilon Lambda really strived to get involved and make a difference in the lives of our own members and those around us, whether that be local or national. We put in a lot of hard work this year and it definitely paid off to see all of those who have benefitted from it.

The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and implementing new standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lambda really strives to uphold our universities standards to become not only proud, successful women of Kappa, but also of the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was regarding diversity. Epsilon Lambda sees every member of our chapter as unique and we welcome and embrace any and all diversity that comes our way.

We wanted to continue with the ideas of Kappa's national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, and help to promote literacy in children. THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school provides us the opportunity to do this, as well as interact with some of the most kind-hearted and fun-loving children. This year, we expanded our involvement with THRIVE, now going twice a week to help students read and work on homework.

We also donate as much time and money as we can to March of Dimes, our local philanthropy that supports research regarding premature birth and helps families dealing with this issue. This year, we found an amazing family to sponsor and absolutely love working with them to help raise awareness about premature birth. All proceeds from our fall philanthropy, Kappa Kolor Wars, and our spring philanthropy, Breakfast for Babies, were donated to March of Dimes.

All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.

Highlights of 2017[edit]

This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over 60 new ladies who shared our values and have helped us reach our chapter's goals. We were able to meet these goals with the help of our hardworking, dedicated members. We won the award of Chapter of the Year from Panhellenic at the University of Tennessee and Whitney Padgett, the previous president, won President of the Year. We also completed the SOFEE requirements this year. While we were not able to stay above the All-Sorority average in the Spring, Cait Berosh, our VPAE, worked hard to motivate all of our members to do the best they can in classes. The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and setting new rules and standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lamda aims to follow our university standards to become proud and successful women of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was still having to do with diversity. Epsilon Lambda knows that we have all unique but wonderful members as a part of our chapter and we welcome them all and the diversity that comes our way.

Epsilon Lambda's chapter room

We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids. We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition again this year. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.

Philanthropy

We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids.We received the Miss Congeniality award at Panhellenic's Lip Sync competition again this year. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.

We chose to support THRIVE Lonsdale because of Kappa's national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school provides us with the opportunity to go and help children with their homework and give them someone they can read to. This year we are still able to continue going twice a week to help the students. We also donate time and money to the March of Dimes, our local philanthropy, that supports research with premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality. We volunteer at fundraisers that they have hear in Knoxville and have formed a very close relationship with the Ambassador Family. All the money we are able to raise from our fall philanthropy, Kappa Kolor Wars, and our spring philanthropy, Breakfast for Babies, were donated to the March of Dimes.

All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.


Highlights of 2018[edit]

This year Epsilon Lambda continued to grow with the addition of over 70 new ladies who shared our values and have helped us reach our chapter's goals. We were able to meet these goals with the help of our hardworking, dedicated members. With such an outstanding group of ladies in our chapter, our goals and standards were easily met. We also completed the SOFEE requirements this year. While we were not able to stay above the All-Sorority average in the Spring, Allison Padgett, our VPAE, worked hard to motivate all of our members to do the best they can in classes. She came up with new successful programs and incentives for our members to reach their academic and career goals such as a resume building course and gift cards for members who get above average test grades. The University of Tennessee always seems to be changing and setting new rules and standards for its students to meet. Epsilon Lambda aims to follow our university standards to become proud and successful women of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the the University of Tennessee. One of the biggest issues we saw this year on campus was still having to do with diversity. Epsilon Lambda knows that we have all unique but wonderful members as a part of our chapter and we welcome them all and the diversity that comes our way. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, and For the Kids. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped.


Philanthropy: In the spring we had our Breakfast for Babies brunch benefitting March for Dimes at the house. We had a very successful year and raised 6000 dollars for the Knoxville March of Dimes chapter. We also participated in many philanthropic events including Kappa Kolor Wars, Breakfast for Babies, March for Babies at the Knoxville Zoo, and the Chef's Auction supporting the March of Dimes. We also volunteered at THRIVE Lonsdale Elementary School, Relay for Life, and For the Kids. We also participated in other chapter’s philanthropy events on campus. Epsilon Lambda worked hard to be involved and make a difference this year on and off campus and with our own members but also members of the community. We have put in a lot of hard work this year and it has paid off by getting to see all the lives we have impacted and helped. In the fall we decided as a chapter to focus fully on Kappa’s National Philanthropy Reading is Fundamental, this means that we no longer support March of Dimes and the Knoxville Chapter. This came about because the Knoxville chapter was really struggling and the money we donate could not help save it. We decided to put all our time and resources into THRIVE at Lonsdale Elementary school. This provides us with the opportunity to go and help children with their homework and give them someone they can read to. This year we are still able to continue going twice a week to help the students.

All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.

Highlights of 2019[edit]

Epsilon Lambda Chapter Council 2019

This August Epsilon Lambda welcomed home 92 new members to our chapter, which is our largest pledge class we have ever taken. We have achieved many goals this calendar year such as raising our chapter GPA and advancing from 10/ 13 in the village to 7/13 in the village. This advancement could not have been done without our amazing VPAE, Katelyn Robinson. Katelyn has implemented many things throughout her time as VPAE and has helped us as a chapter achieve our goals of becoming better students in our classes.

This year Epsilon Lambda has participated, and won many philanthropy events throughout the Greek community. In the spring we participated in SAE’s Paddy Murphy week and AOPi’s strike out arthritis kickball tournament and placed first in both of these events. As for our own chapter philanthropy events, we volunteer weekly at THRIVE a multiple locations to help under privileged children complete different homework assignments such as math and reading that goes hand in hand with our national philanthropy, Reading Is Fundamental. We also competed in the All Campus Events All Sing partnered with Sigma Kappa and took home first place. In April of 2019 we competed in All Campus Events Big Orange Beat partnered with Tri Delta and took home first place again. This year has been filled with many events and competitions that we as a chapter have loved participating in. It has been such a rewarding year for Epsilon Lambda!

We celebrated our fraternity’s Founder’s Day with a brunch at The Standard in downtown Knoxville. Many alumnae were in attendance and we were able to hold our annual Founders Day ceremony for the chapter and new members. In November we successfully initiated 90 new members and welcomed them into the sisterhood of Kappa Kappa Gamma. During inspiration period we were able to hold a dinner for the whole chapter at The Press Room in downtown Knoxville and celebrate the new members as they were about to be officially welcomed into our chapter.

Philanthropy

This year our amazing philanthropy chair, Avery Kraus, introduced a new spring philanthropy event to the chapter and Greek community. The spring event was a mac and cheese bar that we called “Mac and Keys.” This event benefitted our local philanthropy, THRIVE. In the fall we held our annual Kappa Kolor Wars event. KKW is an obstacle course event that involved different courses involving paint. At the end we have a dodgeball tournament for the sororities and fraternities that participated in the event. Since we do not support March of Dimes as our local philanthropy anymore both of these events benefitted THRIVE. We were able to donate money towards philanthropy events that we were unable to participate in such as Kappa Delta’s annual golf tournament, and Phi Kappa Tau’s philanthropy week. Overall this year for philanthropy has been so fun and rewarding for us as a chapter.

Epsilon Lambda Chapter House

All Epsilon Lambda meetings are held in the Chapter Room of our beautiful house.

Highlights of 2020[edit]

This year has been nothing short of bizarre and unprecedented, while Kappas everywhere struggled, here are a few things we did to try and stay relevant and a strong sisterhood. This spring we held a Valentine's Day party with UT Future and Best Buddies, a sisterhood bowling event with BYX, and a sisterhood craft night where made scrapbook pages to put together. After we got sent home in March because of COVID-19, we begin Kappa pen pals, and we continued Lady Minerva through our Facebook page. We had a few Zoom calls where we just caught up and talked about things that were going on. Some friend groups had Zoom formals where they dressed up and got on a Zoom call. During the summer months we had a scrapbook that got sent around to different sisters where they added pages of things they had been up to. This fall had sisterhood events such as picnic in circle park, at main event (an adult arcade), and movie night outside. All of these were conducted following guidelines such as wearing masks and keeping our distance. All in person events were held outside and planned so that there would be shifts or limits on who all could attend. We also incorporated a fun way to attend virtual meetings, with some fun themes. Before the outbreak of COVID-19 we had a fun themed meeting at the beginning of each month such as a pajama meeting and jersey meeting. It was a way to boost chapter morale both before and after things went virtual. Things such as recruitment and the new member process were conducted differently with recruitment being entirely virtual. We started Zoom lunches this semester as well where we had girls get on Zoom during the middle of the day and just eat and chat about random things. In January we initiated a holdover initiate from the 2019 pledge class and this fall Initiation was held virtually over Zoom where we initiated 92 girls in two separate calls on October 31st. Big/little reveal was done differently with everyone spread out over campus and those who were virtual over Zoom.

Epsilon Lambda 2020

Philanthropy

We were able to assist our philanthropy, "Thrive," with things such as a book drive and painting rooms in their building. Thrive is a nonprofit after school program where kids in lower income areas come and do their work. Not only are they helped with school work but they are also introduced to other fun activities that are school related and some that have to do with the Christian faith. We believe that this organization helps highlight our values in the Knoxville community, as these kids don’t have many opportunities for help at home so at Thrive they are helped with homework and some kids have learned to read because of Thrive. This fall we held a small philanthropy event where we sold Chick-fil-A breakfast to pick up at a drive through outside of our house and partnered with a jewelry company to have some of the proceeds go to our three organizations. Each chapter and chapter council meeting was held over Zoom, and officer transitions were done virtually November 16, 2020. During Spirit Week with the university we were paired with BYX and placed third overall.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This year we have added a DEI chair where the Chapter Council selects someone who would make sure that Diversity and Inclusion is kept a relevant subject in all chapter discussions. During recruitment work, our DEI chair spoke on some ways that we can prevent biases when talking to women of color. She also posted several items in our Facebook page that helped prevent biases on campus and raised awareness for different events that different councils were having. Towards the end of the semester we also had a DEI training session where every member was required to attended, and it was a great conversation starter in the chapter.

Sesquicentennial

We had the Minnie Stewart Van virtually present their van and tell us about the founding Kappa chapter. We also held a virtual celebration on Zoom the week after Founders Day.

Highlights of 2021[edit]

This Spring we held a Valentine’s Day Party with Best Buddies, weekly Zoom dinners where members were able to catch up on zoom, a Virtual Neighborhood Barre Class, Dance Moms Empowerment Talk with Christi Lukasiak and a Main Event Sisterhood Event. In the fall we were able to start back up Lady Minerva where every week at Chapter Meetings, a member would read a letter to another member who has made an impact on their college life in Kappa. As we gradually go back to a somewhat “normal” life, we have all been able to get closer to each other and experience what it is like to be a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma to the fullest.

Epsilon Lambda Preference Round 2021

Philanthropy

We were able to assist our local philanthropy “Thrive”, with things such as volunteering weekly. Thrive is a nonprofit after school program where kids in lower income areas come and do their school work. Not only are they helped with school work but they are also introduced to other fun activities that are school related and some that have to do with the Christian faith. We believe that this organization helps highlight our values in the Knoxville community, as these kids do not have many opportunities for help at home so at Thrive they are helped with homework and some kids have learned to read because of Thrive. This spring we held a drive-by philanthropy event called “Get Wa-Full with Kappa”, people were able to buy tickets and purchase a waffle from “Never Full Waffles” and pick it up at the Kappa house. This was a great way for us to still support our philanthropies while abiding by COVID-19 protocols. In the fall we were able to have an in-person philanthropy event called “Kappa Karnival” where different fraternities and sororities teamed up to compete in different carnival games, we also sold tickets to people in the Knoxville community to come participate. As a chapter we were also able to participate in different chapter philanthropy events, such as Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash and Lambda Chi’s Watermelon Bust. This year with the change to Kappa’s national philanthropy of Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy, our chapter voted to support Active Minds, a nonprofit in the United States working to end the silence and change the culture around mental health by mobilizing the next generation.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The previous year we added a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair to our Associates Council to ensure that we were implementing DEI initiatives within all chapter decisions. In the fall, we added a requirement for all of our members to participate in at least two different DEI events per semester. As a chapter, we felt that this new requirement was a necessary step toward actively creating a more inclusive environment. Through educational programming and diversity training, we strive to keep our members informed about current events, as well as spark positive personal growth Our DEI chair also kept the conversation going with having a “trailblazer of the week” where she highlighted different people in history who have made a positive impact in the conversation of diversity. In the spring semester our members were required to attend a DEI Training Program held over zoom which was a great conversation starter in the chapter. In the spring, some of our members also volunteered for the MLK Service event. During Black History Month, our Public Relations chair highlighted trailblazing Black women that have left their mark on history, and posted different educational resources where people can learn more about Black History Month.

Operating During a Pandemic

This Spring we held all of our weekly chapter meetings on zoom to adhere by the COVID-19 Protocols. By doing this we were still able to see each other but in a safe manner. We also were able to still hold a philanthropy event which was a drive-by to keep people outside of the Kappa house. Thankfully this Fall we were able to have in-person weekly Chapter meetings. These had to be held on campus to ensure all of our members could fit. This was a breath of fresh air for our members as we were finally able to see each other again. Recruitment was also held in person while wearing masks and we successfully recruited a new pledge class of 113 new members. Initiation in the fall was also able to be held in person while wearing masks but we limited the number of people who attended to only our new members and the girls who were taking littles in the new pledge class. As a Chapter, we are so thankful to be able to semi go back to normal, but also keeping in mind the Pandemic is still on going.

Note to Chapter Registrar: Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of The Key to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.

Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!

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