For ninety years, the Beta Sigma Phi has been a symbol of sisterhood and support globally, and the organization’s services and endeavors continue to serve and give hope. In April, the sorority completed nine decades of selfless service and indomitable spirit.
On April 24, four Villages chapters of the sorority: Laureate Zeta Omicron, Alpha Delta Lambda, Laureate Epsilon Kappa and Alpha Gamma Chi, gathered to celebrate Founder’s Day.
There was a huge celebration at the Belle Glade Country Club to commemorate the big milestone.
“I think it’s a real statement about the enduring quality of the things that Beta Sigma Phi stands for women,” said Tena Truhn, recently-elected Alpha Gamma Chi treasurer.
And those things are the development of deep and lasting friendships, a sense of sisterhood and caring for one another, said Truhn, of the Village Santiago.
Walter W. Ross started the organization in 1931 in Abilene, Kansas during the Great Depression, with the idea of offering women something creative, productive and helpful during those hard times.
According to the sorority’s website, the group now has more than 165,000 members and thousands of active chapters all over the world.
Three chapters announced their “Woman of the Year;” Truhn of Alpha Gamma Chi, Johnson of Laureate Zeta Omicron and Carolyn Binkley of Laureate Epsilon Kappa.
“We try to do things that help young women because we’re a women’s group,” said Cindy Johnson, VP of the Laureate Zeta Omicron Chapter.
“I don’t care what happens, whether it’s a wedding, birth of a child, a death of a parent, death of a child, a divorce, whether it be a happy time or a time of peril, the sisters are always there,” said Johnson, of the Village of Liberty Park.
The sorority is involved in several philanthropic efforts, including backing St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. On the local level, chapters are supporting a variety of causes, such as the Forward Paths Foundation in Leesburg.
Binkley was recently elected as the chapter’s corresponding secretary and was glad about the recognition. While traveling from city to city, she was always able to join up with her local branches of Beta Sigma Phi and still keep in touch with some of the members she met on her travels.
“These are friendships that will support you in whatever need is,” said Binkley, of the Village Palo Alto.
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun