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|Name= Alpha Deuteron
|GreekSymbol= A<sup>Δ</sup>
|Image= [[File:Monmouth_Old_MainIMG 1741 reduced1.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1870|10|13}}
|College= [http://enwww.wikipediamonmouthcollege.orgedu/wiki/Monmouth_College Monmouth College]
|Location= Monmouth, Ill.
|Province= Epsilon South|Homepage= [http://wwwdepartment.kappamonm.orgedu/kkg/default.htm Alpha Deuteron Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Alpha Media related to Alpha Chapter]}}
<table><tr><td>
'''Founded as Alpha Chapter October 13, 1870; Closed 1884'''
'''44 total initiates (as of 1884 closure)'''
'''_____ 1,708 initiates(as of June 2018)'''
</td>
</tr></table>
'''Charter members''':[[ Mary Louise “Lou” Bennett]], [[Hannah Jeanette Jeannette “Jennie” Boyd]], [[Mary “Minnie” Moore Stewart]], [[Anna Elizabeth Willits]], [[Susan Burley Walker]], [[Martha Louisa “Lou” Stevenson]]. The last two were initiated by the first four, but walked into chapel with them on October 13, 1870. Since that is considered the Fraternity’s official founding date, Susan Walker and Louisa Stevenson are also considered Founders.
'''Alpha Deuteron charter members''': Sarah Louise Brownell, Helen Eugenia Christy, Dorothy May Field, Margaret Rhoda Lee, Mary Lucille Mack, Mary Elizabeth McClanahan, Frances Mills, Maxine Ditteau Moore, Dorothy May Murphy, Frances Carolyn Nelson, Margaret Jane Paull, Janet Randles, Martha Randles, Margaret Maxine Rathbun, Ruth Carolyn Swanson, Margaret Andrews Tubbs, Ruth Claire Wagner, Mary Jane Wilson, Emma Gibson Work, Jane Louise Zimmer.
'''Fraternity Officers:'''Gail Simpson Owen, Director of Personnel 1988-1990; Ellen Boyd (Salyards), Traveling Consultant 1987Director of Programs and Education 2014-1988; Kory Brown2016, Fraternity Vice President 2016-2018, Traveling Consultant 1994Fraternity President 2018-19952020;
'''Additional Outstanding Alpha Deuteron Alumnae'''
Rhonda Correll (VanOteghem), Graduate Counselor 1983-1984, PDC 1995-1999;
Sue Campbell (Jones), Graduate Counselor 1969-1970;
Juleen Kelly (Veneziano), Chapter Consultant 1996-1997;
Kristin Whitver (Fouts), Chapter Consultant 2003-2004;
Hilary HawkinsonStott, Chapter Consultant 2007-2008, Risk Management Content Director 2018-2020;
Janice Camenisch (Keil), Graduate Counselor 1955-1956;
Crystal Straube (Stump), Chapter Consultant 1990-1991, PDC 1996-97;Gail Simpson Owen, Field Representatives Chairman 1994-95, PDC 1985-88;Catherine Axline Williams, PDC 1977-81;Frances Swanson Hobert, PDA 1961-65;Jane Robb Davis, PDA 1987-89;Kathryn Alexander, PDA 1987-89;Leslie James-Cook, PDA 1993-94;Kory Brown, Traveling Consultant 1994-1995;Mabel Martin McCoy, PDC 1961-67;Mary Diffenbaugh Abbott, Province President 1945-57;Nancy Acheson McGaan, PDA 2006-09, PDC 2001-05;Sally Ann Ryder, PDA 1957-61; Ellen Boyd (Salyards), Traveling Consultant 1987-1988;
Mabel Martin McCoy was honored by her chapter in 1971, when its senior class dedicated an award to her, in recognition of her service and devotion. The McCoy Cup is presented annually to an outstanding senior in Alpha Deuteron.
== ''update from 1975 to present'' ... ==
'''Fall 1970 issue of The Key reads''': "Reproductions of the Founders of Kappa Kappa Gamma were taken from small oil portraits hand painted on ivory. The original set is framed with the names of each founder and an early key belonging to Georgie Pillsbury who was initiated in Alpha Chapter in 1877. The framed portraits were a gift from the Monmouth alumnae to Alpha Chapter."
The 1987 pledge class created a cross-stitch pattern with Kappa symbols in all four corners. It was presented to the actives at the end of inspiration week. Traveling Consultant Lila Isbell visited the chapter. In 1987, there were 625 students on campus; 151 women in sororities and Alpha Deuteron had 49 actives, 1 pledge. The faculty and administration of Monmouth College as a whole were very supportive of Greek organizations. Chapter goal was “striving for excellence through individual responsibility and shared experiences.” The chapter worked hard to meet this goal.
The Minnie Stewart House was officially dedicated in May 1990. Barbara Blair Frazier, Monmouth, was hired as the Stewart House hostess in residence. One of the rush parties was a Roaring 20’s Party where the members wore fancy flapper dresses and gangster suits. Rush was very successful and the chapter pledged 31 women. The pledge project was a carved wooden owl with each pledge’s initials carved into it. Keys were hung at the owl’s feet, one key for each of their hearts. The owl was displayed in the chapter room.
The chapter held a Teetertotterathon in the spring and made contributions to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Kappa Foundation from the funds raised. Alpha also sponsored a Rose McGill Kappa, a blood drive and another successful Jail N’ Bail from which the proceeds were donated to Breast Cancer Research and served as Bell Ringers for the Heart Association during Christmas time.
Alpha was ranked first scholastically on campus and with a 3.25 average and was above the all-sorority GPA. In 2005, the chapter had a very successful recruitment and pledged 20 wonderful women. Each of them proved to be an asset to the chapter and many were recently elected to offices as sophomores.
Monmouth College Trustees and Alpha Chapter alumnae Gail Simpson Owen and Barbara Watt Johnson attended the dedication and Gail reflected on the meaning of the bridge. She said, “The metaphor of a bridge is fitting as we build bridges to take us from one place to another; from the known to the unknown, an arduous journey made easier with a bridge, a connection. For me, the Kappa Bridge spanned the distance from my family 5,000 miles away to my new sisters and friends. I recognize that it is our turn to build the next bridge for those who come after us.”
==Highlights of 2011== This calendar year for Kappa Kappa Gamma has been a tremendous year. In fall recruitment 2011 we were blessed with 21 beautiful new babies. Pledge class 2011 has brought so many new things to our chapter. In accordance with that, our chapter also received the highest cumulative GPA on campus. We all have been working hard to keep attaining this reward and we are all very proud of our sisters. During Homecoming this year, our chapter participated in the Spirit Shout dance and we received second place. Homecoming week really brought our chapter together. The 21 babies worked together and made a homecoming float that was so beautiful! The spring 2011 pledge class worked on a banner that also came out terrific.As far as philanthropies go, our chapter started a program with the Roseville Retirement Home. About two times a week, a group of Kappas go to the home and help out in any way we can. Another thing our chapter participated in last semester was the Special Olympics. A large group of us went to the local bowling alley and helped the participants and also helped make sure everything was running smoothly. '''Campus:''' At Monmouth College we are currently in the process of getting a new science and business building. The progress seems to be right on track, and I know everyone is excited to see the final result. '''Chapter:''' We moved our meetings from the Kappa house to Marshall Hall. At Marshall Hall we have a greater amount of space to make the meetings run smoothly. Our chapter is currently going through a stage where we seem to be divided. In the beginning of the year our sisterhood was outstanding, but right now we are kind of in a slump. We are trying to become one again by discussing what our chapter values are and seeing how we can all share our great love for Kappa together again. We are also planning more sisterhoods to bring us together. ==Highlights of 2012== For the previous calendar year we did not participate in many philanthropy events but we did participate in Relay for Life with College Against Cancer. We held a parents breakfast which we collaborated with our academics banquet. While celebrating Founder's Day we had the privileged of also hosting the pinning ceremony. We yet again achieved the highest Greek GPA for the fall semester. We had many goals for this year, while some of them we are still defeating, some of them we overcame. Our chapter goals were to increase attendance at events, better communication skills, and also a stronger sisterhood. We have developed a stronger sisterhood but still need work on the attendance of events. The two major changes to our campus this past year are the building of our new science building and the new 4-4 plan. The building started last year but is still currently under construction. The 4-4 plan is a change that effected all students at the school negatively or positively. The overall nature of our chapter is headed in the right direction. For the new year we have started off on the right foot. We are currently working on our communication and interpersonal skills which has shown improvement. We are working on our attendance at events which has increased. We have reached out to the community and got our name out there. We have strengthened our sisterhood. We are improving the nature of our chapter each and everyday. == Highlights of 2013== In the previous calendar year, in the spring semester we gained 6 new members through informal recruitment. We hosted our first annual Spaghetti Dinner at the local church in Monmouth for our first semester philanthropy event. We raised $550 which we donated to the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation. We also participated in our Journal Buddies program where we wrote letters back and forth with local elementary schools students and visited them at the end of first semester. We hosted “Love and Loyal-tea” which was held at the Stewart House. Members of the Knox Chapter attended as well as a guest speaker that spoke about professionalism. Our chapter also had a ritual review history program and recruitment workshops to help keep our members up to date. As far as our grades, we maintained the highest GPA of all Greek Life at Monmouth College. We set goals to improve our adviser and officer relations as well as increase the strength in the leadership roles of our officers. To reach that our officers watched their webinars and worked together to help each other as a tighter unit. In the fall semester, we gained 14 new members through formal recruitment as well as two more COBs. We continued our Journal Buddy program and for our philanthropy event we hosted a “Kappa Karnival” on our campus. It was not as successful as we had hoped but it was a learning experience. We raised $300, which was donated to put together care packages to send to U.S. troops. To reach our ongoing goal from the previous semester about our officers, he held three separate officer-training workshops. Two of the workshops were with all of the officers and advisers. The other workshop was a meeting between the incoming and outgoing officers. We also set a goal to improve on turning documents in on time. Although we improved a bit on this, we still have progress to make in getting everything in on time. As far as helping with world/local events we did this on three separate occasions. Two of these were due to unfortunate natural disasters. One of the members of our school’s staff was victim to a house fire. We donated our slightly used/new clothes and shoes as well as toiletries to her and her family. Also, when there was the tornado disaster in Washington, Il, we sent cards and donated money to Red Cross to help in relief. For world events, we put together Christmas packages which one of our members sent out to her brother and his fellow troop members in the Army. Overall, we could have been more active in philanthropy and special events, but besides that we had a pretty successful semester and we definitely improved on our goal to strengthen officer positions, although there will always be room for improvement. There was a new “Fraternity” added to campus in the Fall of 2013. This added an additional amount of Greeks to campus and another Greek organization. Now the total number of Greek organizations is at 9. The new building called the Center for Science and Business was completed and classes began holding in there. The overall nature of our chapter, technically, is stronger than in the past. In 2013, we began holding members more accountable for their actions through the Standards Committee. One thing we hope to improve on is turning documents in on time; this includes EPFs, Driver’s Forms, Round Robins and individual officer reports. Also, the chapter wants to improve on sisterhood and morale by holding more sisterhoods and unity bonding sessions. == Highlights of 2014== In the spring our chapter received six new members. We held the annual spaghetti dinner in February. Members from our organization made and served food for the community and raised over one thousand dollars for the Jameison center in Monmouth, IL. We also donated books to the Jameison center children in early November. As a chapter we hosted "Love and Loyal-tea" at the Stewart house with the Knox Kappa chapter. In May, around graduation we held a senior alumni ceremony. At this ceremony we acknowledged and gave thanks to all of our seniors members. In August we gained twenty-six new members through formal recruitment. In October we held initiation for our twenty-six new members. Our chapter also participated in a Journal Buddies program local United Way elementary school. This activity involved girls writing back and forth on a weekly basis with the students of the elementary school. At the end of the ten week program a day was arranged to meet with their journal buddies and personally get to know one another. This is where the girls get to meet their buddies, play games, read books, and craft with them. We also ran a pancake breakfast partnering with local AppleBees in late November. We sold the maximum number of tickets and made close to one thousand dollars for an organization called Stella's Voice (Monmouth College Human Trafficking organization). Along with our two main philanthropy events, many members logged community service hours on their own. We had four members participate in a week long service project called Alternative Spring Break. They partnered with Habitat for Humanity and each logged 50 hours of consistent hard labor for the week. We also celebrated Founders Day where we visited and sang at the burial sites of Minnie Stewart, Anna Willits, and Susan Walker. During our homecoming week we won awards for our banner and spirit shout chant. At Province we won an honorable mention award, and at our annual Greek Week Banquet our Advisor Polly Timmerman won Chapter Advisor of the year. Many of our members were also acknowledged for making it onto the Dean's list and for being in multiple Greek honor programs such as; Alpha Lambda Delta, Blue Key, and Order of Omega. In relation to academics, we were first overall in GPA of our spring semester, and in the fall we were third place overall. Our goal is to improve our GPA and get first overall next semester. We will do this by holding each other accountable for our studying and tracking hours on a Google Docs system. Along with this we will have new study files to help our members succeed academically, and we have installed a group document to log all of our weekly study hours. To improve communication, which has been another weakness in our chapter, we have held two leadership trainings for incoming officers, as well as triplet meetings that involve advisors. This way we can insure the new officers are prepared for their position and have the knowledge they need to excel. We are also planning multiple programs about how to strengthen communication and how different personalities communicate in different ways. In relation to local crises, a member of Kappa was victim to a house fire. We donated any clothes or household items we could to that member and her family. Overall our chapter had a successful year and the goals we have set for our chapter will only help us improve further. We are a heavily involved, studious, and welcoming chapter. Majority of our members are involved in multiple organizations, clubs, and sports teams. Many students on campus know Kappas for their involvement and campus participation. Our campus was given a new College President. He has personally reached out to campus organizations and always asks/participates in some of our activities. He was also involved in our Homecoming activities. This past year we have redecorated the interior of our house with freshly painted walls and new living room furniture. This redecoration also includes a new study room available to all members, providing them with a quiet place to study. We have provided all members with an equal opportunity to hold in their possession a key to our house. This would allow them twenty-four access to a quiet and secluded study room. In our study room we also have a printer that is free to every member's use. Chapter council is also requiring a communication/leadership seminar unlike previous years. Our chapter overall is becoming more responsible, such as with paying for dues on time and turning in documents on time. Another sorority on campus, Pi Beta Phi was approved for new housing, and will begin construction Spring 2015. Next year we will have the smallest and oldest house out of all sororities at Monmouth College. We hold meetings in Marshall Hall on Sundays, it is a college owned facility. For Chapter Council all meeting are held in the common room at our Kappa House. We have a house where members have the opportunity to live together, this house is college owned. A total of seven members can live in the house at one time. This is the only house in our chapter's history. == Highlights of 2015== There have been many changes and improvements in Alpha chapter this year. In the spring our chapter received three new members. In February we held our annual spaghetti dinner, raising $1,800 for the Jamieson Center, which is a local community center in town. We also donated books to the Jamieson Center children in early December. In October our chapter made over 120 trick-or-treat bags for the Jamieson Center as well. Alpha chapter participated in Relay for Life and raised over $2,000 for the cause making us the largest donation by any team, our contribution made up the majority of the funds for the event. Our chapter also organized a Reading is Key event at our local library. Our Reading is Key event was Curious George themed, each child received a book, and local firemen came and read to the children to get the community involved in our efforts to promote literacy. Alpha chapter also participated in a stuffed animal drive, and collected over 75 stuffed animals to donate for the event. In May, around graduation we held a senior alumni ceremony. At this ceremony we acknowledged and gave thanks to all of our seniors members. We also held a senior brunch in May where our chapter expressed appreciation for our seniors through speeches and gifts. We also held an alumna orientation for our seniors as the year came to an end. In August we gained twenty-two new members through formal recruitment. In October we held initiation for our twenty-two new members. In September we held our annual Pancake Breakfast event, raising $1,016 for Reading is Fundamental and $100 of the funds was donated to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. Our chapter also participated in a Journal Buddies program with the local United Way elementary school. This activity involved girls writing back and forth on a weekly basis with the students of the elementary school. At the end of the ten week program a day was arranged to meet with their journal buddies and personally get to know one another. This is where the girls get to meet their buddies, play games, read books, and craft with them. Alpha chapter participated in a program called Adopt-A-Classroom. Through this program, Alpha chapter financially adopted a classroom through Charleston Hope, which will supply inner-city kids in schools with Christmas gifts. Along with our major philanthropy events, many members logged community service hours on their own. In October our chapter celebrated Founder’s Day, where we visited and sang at the burial sites of Minnie Stewart, Anna Willits, and Susan Walker. We also hosted a Founder’s Day Banquet, in which the Eta Kappa chapter of Knox College and many Kappa alumni attended. Events such as our Founder’s Day Banquet have helped our chapter maintain close relationships with our alum and local chapters, which has always been a goal we strive to achieve. During our homecoming week, we won first overall out of all the organizations on campus. Through an awards banquet on our campus Kappa was acknowledged for many awards such as: third place in academic programming, honorable mention in campus involvement, honorable mention in community service/civic engagement, first place emerging female leader, first place advisor of the year, first place outstanding chapter program- for our pancake breakfast. Many of our members were also acknowledged for making it onto the Dean's list and for being in multiple Greek honor programs such as; Alpha Lambda Delta, Blue Key, and Order of Omega. In relation to academics, our chapter has been ranked third in overall sorority GPA. Our academics have been a challenging area for our chapter because we strive to place first overall in GPA and help all of our members succeed academically. Our chapter has implemented study files to help our members improve. Through the application of the new GIN system our members will also be held accountable for their academics through logging study hours. Not only are members expected to be accountable through academics, we also have made efforts to improve overall accountability. A way we have dedicated time to improving accountability is through “accountability buddies”, where each member has a partner that they encourage to attend events and keep each other responsible. Another effort our chapter has made to increase accountability has been through committee meetings. By getting all members more involved in Kappa events and fundamentals, this will increase all members’ involvement and commitment to the chapter. To improve communication, which has been another weakness in our chapter, we have held two leadership trainings for incoming officers, as well as triplet meetings that involve advisors. Each officer has their own advisor, which has helped with communication because each officer knows who they should be in contact with for questions or concerns specifically. Overall our chapter had a successful year and the goals we have set for our chapter will only help us improve further. Alpha chapter excels in the area of campus and community involvement. Not only have we donated to Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation, but we focus heavily on donating to the community and representing Kappa in a philanthropic way around our community and campus. The majority of our members are involved in other organizations and athletic teams, as well as honors societies. This past year we have redecorated the interior of our house with freshly painted walls and new living room furniture. This redecoration also includes a new study room available to all members, providing them with a quiet place to study. We have provided all members with an equal opportunity to hold in their possession a key to our house. This would allow them twenty-four access to a quiet and secluded study room. In our study room we also have a printer that is free to every member's use. Chapter council is also requiring a communication/leadership seminar unlike previous years. Another change our chapter has seen is the recommendation of service hours, which has not been implemented in the past. Our chapter now encourages 5 service hours per semester. Our chapter overall is becoming more responsible, such as with paying for dues on time and turning in documents on time. Another sorority on campus, Pi Beta Phi has continued construction on their new house. Our chapter has continued to work towards achieving new housing. Chapter Philanthropy: What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community? Our chapter frequently donates to the Jamieson Center in our town. The Jamieson Center is a non-profit organization primarily serving residents of Warren County. Their programs are designed to increase food security and help people with essential services. Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support? This organization directly affects the residents in Monmouth’s community and our chapter finds our commitment to this organization very important. Seeing the impact of our contributions to a local organization is extremely gratifying for our chapter, and it also gives Kappa a good name in Monmouth’s community. == Highlights of 2016 == 2016 has been a very successful year for our chapter. Many girls received scholarships from the foundation and Monmouth College which helped them flourish in their studies. As a chapter Kappa Kappa Gamma won Greek Week in the Spring. With Greek Week we won Chapter Education and Programming, Involvement and Leadership Education, along with honorable mention for Academic Accountability, Community Service, and Philanthropy. We won the Spirit Shout competition in the Fall for our college’s homecoming. Through convention we won the standards award. We also received honorable mention in Panhellenic relations, advisory board relations, and heritage award. We celebrated founders day, and even started a possible new tradition of recreating what our 6 founders did in 1870 and walked through Dahl Chapel with keys in our hair. We’ve had mom and dad weekends which families and girls seems to love and enjoy greatly. We had Formal in the spring which was Great Gatsby themed, and semi-formal in the fall which was “You Are What You Netflix” themed, both were of great success. Also wanting our chapter to be a great success we came up with many chapter goals which include improve relationship between the Standards Committee and General Members, improve accountability through the use of fact based and unbiased processes (example: Chapter upholding our fraternity standards), increase overall chapter GPA, provide better communication regarding finances to all members, and increase knowledge of Fraternity History. Kappa has stayed involved within Greek life and many girls have attended other philanthropic events along with working hard at our own. In the Spring Kappa's Spaghetti Dinner event raised $2,300. $600 was donated back to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation and $1,700 was donated to the Jameson Center. Then in September we held the Pancake Breakfast. This event raised $1,070. $400 went to expenses (venue and food), $150 was donated back to the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and $520 was donated back to the Jameson Center. Many Kappas here our tutors, have been electoral judges, and volunteer their time within the community and libraries and animal shelters. On campus our chapter has received a new home and we are graciously waiting to move in. Pi Beta Phi also received a new chapter home in the spring. Altogether our chapter has been working very hard to be the best that we can be and do the best with which we do. Friendship truly is our binding tie, and we are a close kit group that is supportive and cherishing of one another. This year with the presidential election, campus itself had a lot of tension but we as a group did not that effect our relationships with one another. Along with our new home we also received some new members. In the Fall of formal recruitment we gained 11 new members, and with continuous open bidding a week later gained 4 more. After initiation took place on October 22, some weeks later we held another COB event where we gained another two new members who eagerly await to get settled in with our chapter. Our chapter frequently raises money for RIF, the Jamison Center, and Safe Harbor. This year we actually added Safe Harbor on where we donate funds and supplies, and put in hours helping the organization in many other ways in which we can. RIF being our philanthropy we’re happy to do things for. We also do things for the Jamison Center to help families and children in need in our community by donating food, books, and money. Safe Harbor is an organization that hits close to home for a lot of girls. So to help women in need we donate money, books, and clothes to this organization as well as our time. Currently, we meet in our new chapter home in the living room. Prior to this, we met in an auditorium in an academic building. It''s a great privilege that we have received a new home and are utilizing the space as much as we can since we have not moved in yet. We have sisterhoods, open houses, chapter, and exchanges. We await to move in patiently and are very excited for the opportunity.
==Highlights of 2017==
This has been a very busy year for Alpha Chapter. This year’s Greek Week was also an exciting and successful presentation of our chapter to the rest of campus. We placed second overall and won several awards including Outstanding chapter Program; Spheres of Influence, Academic Achievement, Excellence in Chapter Management and an Honorable Mention in the areas of Community Service, Philanthropy, Membership, Recruitment and Public Relations. Alpha Chapter also achieved the highest Spring GPA of 2017 amongst the other sororities on campus. We can now say that we have moved into our beautiful new house. We held a House Dedication on April 28. Many alumni and Beth Black attended the event. There is room currently for seven women to stay in the house. We still have Chapter and other events in the “Sisterhood Living Room”. This past Founders Day Celebration we went as a chapter to visit the graves of some of our founders. We then continued our new tradition of walking through Dahl Chapel. This year the chapter opted to have mom and dad weekends as one event called Family Weekend, that was held during Monmouth’s own Family Weekend. There were goodie bags to make and families could go and watch the football game together. Formal was themed “Under the Sea” and was a fun time for everyone. This year we did not have a traditional semi-formal. We instead had a “Fall Event” named "Falling in Love With Kappa", at one of the active’s farmhouse. There were s’mores, hayrides, crafts and games to play. This year for philanthropy we did our traditional spaghetti dinner and raised almost $1000 for Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, as well as Reading is Fundamental. We were unable to hold our regular RIF event, so all of the books we collected this year were donated to a senior education major’s new library. We decided to donate the extra food to the Jamieson Center here in Monmouth. This October we teamed up with the Kappa chapter located at Knox College and had a Kappa Kolor Run. This event raised $500 dollars and the proceeds were donated to the Rose McGill Aid Fund. During recruitment this year, the chapter and potential new members created adoption bags for the Warren County Animal Rescue. The chapter is also reaching out to the community through Journal Buddies. Journal Buddies are through a Kappa that is student teaching. She pairs an active with a child and the class and they write letters to each other.
==Highlights of 2018==
Over the last year we have grown as a chapter. Not only did we take in three new members during the spring, they were able to join us in the philanthropy event. For that event we raised money for Reading is Fundamental by selling grilled cheese to the people in Monmouth. We also had a wonderful Formal which was Sapphire ball theme. In the fall we took in 17 wonderful new members and they were able to join the second Philanthropy even of the year which is we donated books to a local school and read to the children in the name of our Reading is Fundamental. This fall semester we were able to bring back duo days with Pi Beta Phi this is an event where we spilt the money raise in half and donate it toward each of our philanthropy. For Founder’s Day we invited the Knox Chapter to come and visit the graves and Stewart House and they also partook in ritual with us. We had risk event in the fall which we invited other Greek organization for around campus to. Recently, we had our Semi Formal which was Come On Barbie let’s Date Party theme. At the end of the year we will be partaking in our leadership day event. Our chapter goal is to have everyone accountable to attend events. We have become closer as a chapter and are able to freely express ourselves to be the best we can be.
For informal meetings we as a chapter meet in the Center of Science and Business in the auditorium which is room 100. And for formal meetings with meet at the Kappa house in the informal living room. This fall semester we had the privilege of accepting 17 lovely new members to our chapter. On this past bid day in August, the chapter was surprised by the attendance of both Gail Owen and Beth Black to help us celebrate the special day. Initiation was held on October 28th and the chapter now has 56 active members. After Initiation this year we were treated to a wonderful brunch made for us by several volunteer alumnae. For this year’s Homecoming, the theme was Monmouth Traditions. The chapter had lots of fun at the activities planned for the week such as; trivia night, a boat regatta, and the spirit shout and dance. Our float in the parade this year had alumnae on board and won first place. We are ending the year strong and are excited for our new Chapter Council, our new Panhellenic President and next semester!
==Highlights of 2019==
Alpha Chapter had a very busy year in 2019! Classes resumed for Monmouth College on January 14th. Leadership day was held on the 19th for all new officers, and we started the new pilot structure. We had a fun sisterhood and Spring Recruitment began as well. This February was not as busy as usual. We celebrated Inspirational Person’s Day on the 9th with a special person in our lives. On Valentine’s Day, we had a fun sisterhood and the Kappa Krush philanthropy which raised $22 for the Jamieson Center in Monmouth. We hosted a Leadership Consultant from February 24th through March 1st. Spring Break for the college began on the 1st and continued until the 10th. Greek Week began on the 17th and went through the 22nd. A self-defense class sisterhood was held on March 25th. It was fun and incredibly useful! Formal was on March 30th and the theme was Light up the Night. The new members had their New Member retreat on April 5th and Inspiration Period began the next week after the Return of the Pledge pin. They were formally initiated on April 13th. Seniors were celebrated during Senior Week by Senior Slideshow, Bloom into Alumni and the senior sisterhood. The whole chapter celebrated and wished the seniors luck at the Senior Banquet on April 28th. In May, the day before finals began, the VP of Internal Affairs, Angie, held an all day sisterhood study session with doughnuts. Graduation was on May 12th and seven of our sisters walked across the stage. The Fall semester began on August 14th for us, with Greek Life move in and the first day of Work Week. The chapter was present at the annual Involvement Fair and had lots of fun and girls interested by the end of the night! There were three sisterhoods that were focused on team bonding and getting to know their sisters better. Fall Recruitment began on August 20th and Bid Day was on the 24th. This Bid Day we had fourteen lovely ladies run to meet us outside of Wallace Hall. The Bid Day party theme this year was That 70s Show where we danced, tie-dyed and took pictures until our hearts content. Later that evening, we had a candle pass with Alpha Xi Delta and Pi Beta Phi honoring all our new members and our seniors. Formal pledging followed on the 25th and 26th. September began with New Member Meetings and Senior Orientation. On the 14th, Kappa held the Kappa Kickball Event to raise money for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. $55 was raised for the Foundation. Family Weekend for the college and Kappa was the 27th through the 29th, with a football game and the Academic Banquet on Sunday. On the first Friday in October, the new members had their New Member retreat. On Sunday the 6th, we celebrated Founder’s Day be traveling to the graves of three of our founders and singing to them followed by the candle ceremony and chapter. Fall Break began on the 9th and several members returned early on the 13th to meet the Minnie Stewart Van for the 150th kickoff at the Stewart House. It was an amazing experience to be a part of and Alpha Chapter is grateful for the opportunity! Homecoming was on the 18th and 19th with Kappa coming in 2nd for the Spirit Shout Dance. Sunday the 20th was Return of the Pledge Pin and the beginning of the Inspiration Period. New members became new actives on the 26th and after Initiation was over we had an amazing breakfast thanks to the Alumni. On the 27th, the new actives attended a new member retreat for all new Greek Life on campus. There was a Halloween exchange with Sigma Phi Epsilon where we watched scary movies. Alpha Chapter had the privilege to experience the leadTODAY program offered by Headquarters on November 2nd. We learned a lot and are excited to try all the new ideas we were given! The Nominating Committee was selection and the election process began. On November 7th and 8th, we volunteered at local schools to be reading buddies for the day and gift a child with a book of their very own. Semi-Formal was on the 9th and the theme was Vines and memes; everyone had a good laugh. On the 13th we had a trivia night exchange with Phi Delta Theta and the dip sisterhood/exchange with Alpha Tau Omega on the 14th. The slate was presented on the 14th as well and on Sunday the 17th elections were held. Duo Days was on the 20th and the 21st; we read Dr. Seuss books to raise money and had a spa day sisterhood. Officer Installations were on the 24th and we are excited for all of our new officers! A COB event was held on the 25th and was very successful. On Reading Day, the day before finals begins, there will be a sisterhood study group and a yoga class.
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'''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!"Summarize the previous calendar year, scholarships, group honors/awards, Convention awards, traditions, special events, philanthropic involvement, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, and world/local events the chapter participated in or helped with (e.g., presidential campaigns, natural disasters, etc.). 2020 was a unique year that created challenges to normal chapter functions. However, the members of Kappa Kappa Gamma Alpha chapter adapted through innovative sisterhoods, a virtual recruitment, and a virtual initiation shared with Iota and Theta Alpha chapters. The first chapter of the year was held on January 19th. A Tik-Tok sisterhood was held on January 29th, where sisters made fun videos together at the Kappa house. On Super-bowl Sunday, house girls invited sisters over and made lots of different tailgating foods to celebrate. On February 7th, there was a sisterhood with the Eta chapter at the Stewart house where members made DIY scrunchies. A Galentine’s Day Sisterhood was held on Thursday, February 13th. Sisters made cute Valentine’s Day cards, decorated and painted picture frames, ate snacks, and took cute and goofy pictures in a photo area. Composites were taken on Wednesday, February 19th. The New Member Retreat was February 21st.The chapter had an exchange with Phi Delta on February 23rd, where members sang Karaoke. Inspiration week started Sunday, February 23rd and initiation was held on the 29th where one new member was initiated. Members left for Spring Break on March 6th and were not allowed to return due to Covid-19. A mother/daughter tea party event was scheduled for March 21st and was canceled. A Reading is Key philanthropy event “Grilled Cheese with KKGs” on Sunday, March 22nd was also canceled. Alpha chapter had been paired with ZBT for Greek Week activities but was unable to participate due to Covid. Formal theme was the Roaring 20s and was scheduled for April 18th but was canceled due to Covid. Keynoted chapter minuets were sent to members during the lockdown the first Sundays of April and May to keep members engaged and aware of chapter activities. There were three optional Zoom meetings for members to attend if they needed to reach out. There was a virtual sisterhood, where members played an online card game. Due to the fast change of plans Covid created, many things had to be altered in order to make seniors feel as though they were not forgotten. Our VP of Member Development tried to do as much as possibly for them given that we were unable to hold the Senior Banquet or most of the Senior Week Activities. To make up for what they lost, people in the chapter wrote notes or letters to a senior or seniors of their choice and then those were emailed to them during Senior Week. Our chapter was able to order them all bouquets of flowers and had them sent to their home address for them to receive during Senior Week. The seniors all received their gifts from the chapter at their homes. Our chapter still did a Senior Slideshow, and we were able to watch it together on a Zoom call. There was a Zoom study session hosted for finals. Some sisters returned to campus on August 13th, while some sisters remained virtual for the semester. Work week occurred virtually and included a DEI presentation by the college’s Intercultural Life Director. The theme for recruitment was Falling in Love with Kappa. Recruitment was moved online the night before it began. However, our incredible exec board was able to make the arrangements necessary to move to virtual recruitment, marking our chapter’s first ever online recruitment process. We met a lot of great PNMs and ended up with 11 perfect new members who are great additions to the chapter! We look forward to seeing where their Kappa journey takes them. Bid day was on August 22nd and pledging occurred on August 23rd, on the tennis court outside. The chapter has conducted most business virtually and any in-person activities were socially distanced and in compliance with state and federal guidelines. The chapter has worked extremely hard this year to improve our diversity, equity, and inclusion. This semester, we decided to push the idea of DEI more into our chapter in hopes to expand our knowledge on the topics and learn from each other. We held a few programs that involved the topic of DEI and we also started a new chapter segment called "All the Hoot." We placed this segment in the VP of Member Development section of our chapter. This segment was started to allow sisters to talk about popular issues in the news, issues that are important to them, hard to talk about issues, etc. We wanted to provide a safe place for discussion of these important topics so we could evolve as a chapter. Our goal was to be respectful of everyone's opinions, be willing to learn, be open and honest, and to make our bond stronger. This segment has been very interesting and beneficial to our chapter thus far and we hope to continue it. We know that we still have a lot of work to do as individuals and as a chapter to continue to learn and grow in the field of DEI. We have elected a DEI Director to our exec board to continue to promote our chapter’s growth. In an effort to promote mental health awareness and inclusivity, our chapter hosted Behind Happy Faces on November 21st. The slate was released November 12th, and elections were held on November 15th. Officer installations were November 22nd.Campus overall has a very politically polarized and charged atmosphere. Between COVID-19 restrictions, rising cases, the recent presidential election, and overall division amongst Americans have left Monmouth a very polarized place. Our chapter is not excluded from this division, and we have recently faced division amongst members and issues with being called out for being racist by non-members on campus. These issues have left us a very divided chapter. " We chose Western Illinois Animal Rescue as our philanthropy, because it requires a lot of volunteer work and donations to keep it going. We really like helping out at WIAR because we enjoying working with the staff and supporting all the animals there. We did not have a specific Founders Day ceremony or 150th Anniversary celebration due to COVID restrictions. "
== Visiting Monmouth Today ==
A trip to Monmouth, Illinois, affords visitors the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the Founders of Kappa Kappa Gamma! The Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation operates [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/File:Ph-10021.jpg The Stewart House Museum], open to the public for tours and events. The home of [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/Martha_Louisa_%E2%80%9CLou%E2%80%9D_Stevenson Martha Louisa Stevenson] still stands and Kappa Kappa Gamma placed an [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/File:StevensonMarker_reduced.jpg historical marker] on the property in 2009. The marker recognizes the home as the location of many early meetings of Alpha Chapter. Another [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/File:KappaBridge.jpg historical marker] was placed at site of the [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/File:BridgeNegativePrint.jpg "Kappa Bridge"] where early Fraternity History tells the story of two Kappa Founders meeting to discuss their plans for a Greek letter organization.
The brochure [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/File:MapCover4.jpg ''Footsteps of the Founders''] is available at The Stewart House and includes a [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/File:Cemetery_Map.jpg cemetery map] and a [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/pages/File:MapCemetery.jpg map of town] indicating the former locations of the homes of other Founders. Today only Minnie Stewart's home and Lou Stevenson's home are still standing.