Delta Gamma Convention: Part 1

If you talk to anyone who has attended a Delta Gamma Convention, they will tell you it's a life changing experience! So, Gamma Zeta wanted to share with you the experience of our members who attended the 65th Biennial Convention from their three different perspectives in a three part series.

Part 1 comes from our Advisory Team Chairman, Emily Burris Hester. Enjoy!



As a regular on the Delta Gamma Convention circuit, I had high hopes for Convention 2012 in Indianapolis and it did not disappoint! This was a milestone Convention for me as I was honored with my Silver Anchor Pin for my 5^th Convention. With 4 previous Conventions under my belt, I was excited and full of anticipation of what our Fraternity’s 65^th Biennial Convention would have to offer.

(Emily Hester & Kelsey Hyde at the Foundation Banquet)

Some of my personal highlights from Convention 2012 include:

·         Watching Courtney Lanaux, past Gamma Zeta chapter president, thrive in her Collegiate Development Consultant (CDC) environment and be named the Baynard Consultant which visits and leads DG’s newest colony.

·         Being challenged to share our proudest moment as a sorority woman and as a Delta Gamma with people we meet.

·         Re-framing the way that I think of HOPE in Delta Gamma. A fabulous speaker, Ginny Carroll, really put it into words when she gave a great history lesson of what Mary, Eva, and Anna would have been facing at the time that they founded our dear DG. Theirs was a hope for the future, for equality for women in higher education. We have a slightly different hope for our future as time passes but never straying from that focus on our original purpose. It really put things into perspective!

·        Cheering on my special new Psi Women, Rebecca Lemoine and Rachel Favaloro both of whom are Gamma Zeta’s and my “balance buddy” from my year as a CDC, Sara Owen Solem. Learn more about the Delta Gamma Psi Woman Challenge!

·         Celebrating a job well done by my mentor and Delta Gamma Fraternity President, Beth Searcy, as she retired from the Delta Gamma Council after 8 years of service.

·         And finally…hearing Gamma Zeta’s name called out, TWICE, at the big awards ceremony and for the most meaningful awards in my opinion. First, as the Founders Award Runner Up which recognizes a collegiate chapter that reaches levels of excellence in meeting the objectives in Article II of the Fraternity's Constitution: to foster high ideals of friendship among college women; to promote their educational and cultural interests; to create in them a true sense of social responsibility; and to develop in them the best qualities of character" and then as the Outstanding Chapter Runner Up which is the biggest honor the Fraternity awards.

(Courtney Lanaux, Kate Gremillion, & Emily Hester,
past and present DG CDCs)

(Rebecca Lemoine, Emily Hester, & Rachel Favoloro,
Gamma Zeta Psi Women recipients)

Each Delta Gamma Convention fills my heart to continue to devote my time and passion to DG. It gives me the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, make new ones, and smile so much my face hurts! My advice…if you have a DG Bucket List, put Convention on it! It’s among the most impactful, life altering experiences that will open your eyes to the big picture of Delta Gamma. And, you’ll see a whole lot of ANCHORS!