P.O. Box 373979 Decatur Georgia 30037-3979
My Spelman Sisters,
It is with a humble heart that I greet you as I look forward to this opportunity to carry on the standards raised for the Decatur Chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College, by those who preceded me. I thank all of the leaders and members of our chapter for their vision and guidance that allowed our chapter to develop, grow, and maintain support to Spelman College. I particularly want to thank Pamela Bigelow and Georgette Johnson for 'standing in the gap' and going beyond the call of duty to keep the Decatur Chapter strong and active. The former leaders and supporters of out chapter are big acts to follow, but I feel confident that with the support of our current and future members we will continue the legacy of the Decatur Chapter.
As we embark on 25 years of service, the goals and objectives that I perceive for our chapter are aligned with the characteristics that built our legacy. And by taking advantage of the technique often used by the College President, Dr. Beverly Tatum, I've outlined the objectives in the "SISTERS" acronym.
First, we want to continue and increase our Support to Spelman College. The Decatur Chapter has established a scholarship (The Decatur Chapter Scholarship) that is managed by the college and awarded annually to a student from the Dekalb County area. Members are also encouraged to make donations to the Every Woman…Every Year campaign, and to support activities at the college such as Founders Day and the Morehouse/Spelman Christmas Concert. Campus updates are a part of our monthly meetings through our Alumnae Affairs liaison and our college liaison committee.
We want to Increase our membership to 50 members and more. To help with this goal, all functions that we have will also be membership drives. Our 'salad socials' have served as membership opportunities and we are continuing this effort with our premier Pamela Bigelow "Blue Hats and White Gloves Tea" in the spring of 2012. We are also reaching out to our younger Spelman Sisters and encouraging them to be involved in the chapter as members and officers.
One of our main focus is the Support of Spelman Students. We will continue with our Book Awards and our recognition of incoming students at our annual Mignon Lackey Lewis "Welcome To Spelman" reception.
We will have Timely and accessible meetings. We have incorporated telephone conference meetings for members who are unable to make our meetings. In the future we hope to extend this to video conferencing as well. We will provide timely information via email and our web page if our meeting location and/or time is changed and we are open to suggestions for various times and locations for our meeting to be more effective.
We will also Extend the Big Sister concept by following up with our scholarship and book award recipients and incoming students by inviting them to our activities. We will also establish mentor /mentee relationships.
Recognition and fellowship for fund raiser opportunities is another standard for the Decatur Chapter. We have used our SpelAngel Nia award, recognition banquets, prize drawings, and our 20th Anniversary Celebration to give kudos to chapter members and deserving members of the Spelman family, as well as to raise money for our scholarship fund. We've had successful fellowship times during the creation of our chapter quilt and during our annual Christmas Gatherings. We look forward to continuing the fellowship, kudos, and fundraising during our 25th Anniversary Celebration in November of 2012.
Last but not least, we are Strengthening our chapter with involvement in the community. We want to continue our relationship with the East Lake YMCA and establish relationships with other community entities including local schools. We have established a community liaison committee for this purpose.
In summary, our chapter goals are:
S - Support to Spelman College
I - Increase Membership
S - Support to Spelman Students
T - Timely and Accessible Meetings
E - Extending Big Sister Concept
R - Recognition and Fellowship
S - Strengthening our chapter through community involvement
As strong Spelman Sisters our "SISTERS" goal is not only apropos, but also a blessing and a privilege that I look forward to accomplishing with you.
Sisterly Regards,
Veronica Haven '73
