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→Highlights of 2016
==Highlights of 2016==
2016 brought a multitude of milestones and new adventures for the Eta Upsilon Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Wichita State University. In January, we opened the year on the 19th with the university’s Meet the Greeks event. Here our women and the rest of the Greek community were able to mingle with one another and students interested in Greek life. January 25th kicked off our weekly chapter meetings and we were up and running with our events for Continuous Open Bidding. This included tabling, cold calling and hosting a number of mingling events. On the 30th, our women were able to make our facility more welcoming and warm with a chapter house-cleaning party.
We started off February with our book drive where we collected books for K-5th grade students. Then came the first Continuous Open Bidding event in our newly obtained house: the Kappa Carnival. February 7th rolled around and S.E. Spencer, our Leadership Consultant, arrived and visited Eta Upsilon for the week. Monday, February 22nd marked Wichita State’s Greek Awards ceremony. Eta Upsilon was overjoyed to congratulate and cheer on Mariah Smith for receiving the Greek Woman of the Year award and Mineka Rose for receiving the Greek Unity award! We wrapped up our book drive and were able to collect a large sum of books to donate to the children at Oaklawn Elementary School. February 26th marked our last Continuous Open Bidding Event as well as a movie night sisterhood at the Kappa house. Lastly, on February 29th the Panhellenic Council hosted its Scholarship Dinner. This dinner, hosted at the Crown Uptown Theatre, celebrated the academic achievements of the Panhellenic women and chapters at Wichita State.
Following the book drive in February, Eta Upsilon gave a helping hand on March 2nd to Oaklawn Elementary School. We spent time playing literacy games and reading books to K-5th grade students. In addition, each child was able to pick a book from our collection to take home with them. On March 5th, Kappa welcomed our spring COB members as they went through Formal Pledging at the Kappa house.
To begin the month of April, we hosted our very first Parent’s Day on the 2nd. Members were able to give their families a tour of the Kappa house, enjoy a meal, and watch a baseball game at Eck Stadium. As a sweet add-on, Big/Little reveal for the newly pledged COB members followed after the game at the Kappa house. On the 4th, the All-Greek Mixer took place at the Aviate Sports Forum. The days following, Kappa performed with the men of Sigma Alpha Epsilon in the 89th Annual Hippodrome Performances. Under the direction of Portia Montoy and Breck Towner, Kappa and SAE won 1st Place Overall, 1st Place in props, 2nd Place in Costumes, 2nd Place in Acting, and 3rd Place in Music! Panhellenic Council’s Mixer was on the 12th and their Panhellenic Build was on the 15th. Additionally, Eta Upsilon had their formal on April 15th. On April 23rd, Eta Upsilon performed its spring initiation. Afterwards, a brunch was held for the new initiates and their families in the Rhatigan Student Center. The same day, a number of Kappas supported another sister and participated in the MDA Muscle Walk at Sedgwick County Park. Members of Kappa also helped Sigma Phi Epsilon with their annual Pennies for Wishes fundraiser on the 23rd. In the next few days, we prepared for our own philanthropy event, Custard with Kappa. Members served guests with delicious custard donated graciously by Freddy’s Frozen Custard. We also had the opportunity to open the doors to the Kappa House to the public for the first time, and gave house tours during the event. Likewise, Eta Upsilon members participated in Grilled Cheese with Gamma Phi Beta on April 27th and on the 28th.
To wrap up the spring semester, on May 1st we moved out of the Kappa Lounge at Fairmount Towers. Delta Delta Delta’s Putt for A Cure, Lambda Chi Alpha’s Annual Watermelon Bust, and Wu’s Big Event were on May 1st. Our last chapter meeting for the spring semester was on the 2nd as well as Senior Service and Senior Sendoff. May was a popular month for other Greek chapter’s philanthropy events. Panhellenic Council hosted The All-Greek Mixer on the 4th. Play for Parkinson’s was scheduled on the 6th, and Kappa had a Pre-Recruitment Workshop to prepare for fall Formal Recruitment. The 8th of May was also the last Chapter Council meeting for the spring semester. The Kappa house closed on the 13th for the summer.
On June 22nd through the 26th, President, Pam Saenz and Membership Chairman, Mariah Smith attended the 71st Biennial Convention in San Diego, California on behalf of Eta Upsilon. They attended a variety of educational sessions, met Kappas from across the United States and Canada, and were able to witness the Fraternity’s structural and leadership change. Eta Upsilon also received Honorable Mention for the Panhellenic Award and Honorable Mention for the House Board Award.
To start off the fall semester in August, the first women to live in the Kappa house moved in on the 13th. Chapter Council had their first meeting for the semester on the 14th. From the 15th through the 19th, our women learned, practiced and prepared themselves for Formal Recruitment during Work Week. The following Monday, the 22nd, was the first meeting of the 2016 fall semester and classes began. Meet the Greeks was on the 23rd in Omega Court and it served a great way to catch up from the summer break and introduce a multitude of students to Greek life at WSU.
As August came to an end, September began with a busy start. We hosted Formal Recruitment in our new facility for the first time from the 8th - 12th. During that time, Caroline Washnock, Chapter Services Coordinator, came on behalf of the Fraternity to lend a helping hand. On Bid Day, Eta Upsilon welcomed home 23 new members. After Formal Recruitment we had Fall COB from the 13th through the 22nd and we welcomed home an additional 13 new members. On the 17th we had formal pledging for Formal Recruitment new members. To end September we had a sisterhood on the 29th. There we had a great time watching movies, eating snacks, painting nails, and choosing who won the Best Dressed contest.
Moving into October, members participated in Lambda Chi Alpha’s Watermelon Bust, formally pledged our COB members, had our New Member Retreat, and participated in Wu’s Big Event on October 1st. Jennifer Fales, our District Director, came to visit Eta Upsilon on the 3rd. Our first overnight sisterhood in the house was the 7th and the 8th. During the sisterhood we played ice breakers such as charades and “Name that Song”, watched movies, and ate snacks. After our sisterhood on the 8th, we had our Big/Little Reveal. Littles were able to find out who their big was by standing in the middle of a circle while actives passed around a candle and turned it off to reveal that they were the Big. Our Founder’s Day Celebration and Advisor and House Board Appreciation Day was on the 13th. Education Chairman, Kennedy Fish, and Registrar, Nicole Rodgers, provided dinner, put together a presentation and a game that reviewed Eta Upsilon and Kappa Kappa Gamma’s history. At the end of the event, Kennedy presented gifts to the advisors and House Board. On the 22nd, we got into the Halloween spirit with our Field of Screams Date Party. The following weekend, we had a great time cheering for our sisters at Songfest on the 29th at the Orpheum Theatre. From October 30th through November 4th we hosted Merril Weber, Leadership Consultant, for a visit.
On November 3rd, we took our 2016 composite photos. On the 5th, we hosted Kappa Olympics at the Heskett Center. Eta Upsilon was able to raise over $700 and had more than 100 books donated. Beta Theta Pi serenaded our women to invite us to be Hippodrome partners on the 7th. On the 11th and 12th we initiated 29 members into the Eta Upsilon chapter. After Initiation, new active members and their families joined us for brunch at the RSC. Eta Upsilon celebrated its third birthday on November 16th. The following evening, we hosted our first Moms Christmas Decorating Party at the house and held our winter sisterhood on the 17th.. Event Chairman, Jillian Olmstead, put together the Game Night Mixer with Sigma Phi Epsilon on the 18th. On the 28th, Eta Upsilon elected the following members for the 2017 Chapter Council: President: Alyssa Rule, Vice President of Standards: Anne Perez, Vice President of Organization: Hallee Thompson, Vice President of Academic Excellence: Darah Witherspoon, Recording Secretary: Shari Riley, Corresponding Secretary: Mary Greenwood, Registrar: Holly Brown, Treasurer: Leah Ragan, Marshal: Caitlin Lee, Education Chairman: Hannah Tobias, House Chairman: Madison Jewell, Membership Chairman: Deisy Pamela Saenz, New Member Chairman: Kennedy Fish, Philanthropy Chairman: Kaylee Donohue, Panhellenic Delegate: McKenna Brieske, Public Relations Chairman: Jillian Olmstead, Risk Management Chairman: Emily Johnston, Event Chairman: Alison Roets. The 29th marked Panhellenic Council Elections and our own Erin Kirchoff was elected to be the 2017 President.
To end the 2016 fall semester, our last chapter meeting was on December 5th. On the 7th we had our Service Sisterhood, at Larksfield Assisted Living. At the sisterhood we played games and talked with the people at Larksfield. The 2016 Chapter Council wrapped up the year with its final meeting on December 11th. Panhellenic Council held its first annual Panhellenic Reception on December 16th.
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