AEPhis from Atlantic to Pacific arrived in Cleveland, Ohio on June 22nd for the start of the 40th biennial convention. Members of the Cleveland Alumnae chapter greeted attendees at both the airport and hotel and invited them to spend time in the hospitality room before the sessions started. That evening at the welcome dinner, collegians and alumnae volunteers sat within their chapter support teams. Henry Bodker was on-hand to present the Beverly Friedson Bodker Award for Undergraduate Leadership to Hadassa Levenson(Alpha Chi). Mr. Bodker generously funded the opening night event, TAKE Defense Training, which provides girls and women of all ages with unique reality-based, hands-on self-defense training. The evening ended with the opportunity to visit the boutique or jeweler and enjoy dessert.
AEPhis were up and at ‘em early Thursday morning- AEPhi’s first official convention day. Phired Up’s Social Excellence- with conversation skills to help with recruitment- was the topic of the collegians’ morning discussion while alumnae participated in chapter support team and advisor training and an alumnae Round Table. Representatives from Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDs Foundation (EGPAF) and Sharsheret were on-hand to inform and educate about the work of their individual philanthropies. It was then time for the annual Awards Luncheon and the recognition of top AEPhi chapters. The social excellence discussion continued after lunch with an opportunity for the collegians to share ideas while Alumnae met to discuss and always important and concerning topic- risk management. The EGPAF and Sharsheret reps noted AEPhi’s wonderful contributions at Thursday night’s dinner and recognized the top chapters for their outstanding programming and contributions. Following dinner, AEPhi alumnae hosted a reception for Panhellenic friends who were invited to hear Mari Ann Callais’ talk on Living Our Ritual. Ritual discussions in small groups followed. Alumnae attending at least their second convention attended a special AECHON reception.
The always moving Shield Ceremony led off a busy day two of the National Convention on what has become widely referred to as “Green and White Day”. A memorial service for AEPhis who have passed away during the last biennium and the opening business session followed. Next on the agenda was the Katz Leadership Symposium with keynote speaker David Westol who spoke about Compromising Our Ritual. Using humor and real-life examples Dave demonstrated how we all can do a better job of living our ritual. This was followed by the “official” group photo- before an afternoon of free time and exploring all that Cleveland has to offer. Back on schedule after “the break”- it was time for the Foundation dinner. Lynn Prosten (a Foundation Trustee) announced the winners of the Foundation scholarships (watch for a detailed listing in the fall COLUMNS) and Suzi Rudd Cohen and Briana Schwarz presented the winners of the Philip H. and Susan Rudd Cohen Awards for Jewish Communal Services. In addition to the chapters that were recognized, Talia Hassid (Beta Kappa), was named the collegian winner of this award. Finally, small groups of AEPhis met to discuss “The Next 100 Years” and how the sorority’s heritage shapes our chapters.
Beginning with a recognition of alumnae volunteers at the final Business Session on Saturday morning and ending with the announcement of collegian, chapter, and alumnae awards at the final banquet, it was a day to honor AEPhis. It was time, too, for outgoing National President Jamie Gray Light to give her farewell address and to relate all that transpired during her last biennium- and of course to recognize and thank all the AEPhis that played a part. A Town Hall meeting provided an opportunity for asking questions- anonymously if preferable- and to get answers and solutions. Chapters then met with their teams to begin strategizing (Planning Helping and Informing Sessions) for the school year ahead- a time to talk over concerns and to realize the importance of working with the specialists assigned to each chapter. At the same time as the PHIS, alumnae and collegians participated in a series of educations sessions that ran the gamut from Foundation Awareness Month to What Do You Want from your AEPhi Experience and How to Lead Officer Transition. Finally, it was time for the Final Banquet. At the banquet, outstanding AEPhis received the recognition they deserve. AEPhi’s highest collegian honor is the Blanche Z. Greenberger Award (BZG) and Amelia Merwin (Beta Kappa) was named the 2011 BZG Award Winner. AEPhi’s Shirley Mintz Greenfield Achievement & Excellence Award recognizes those chapters that excel in all areas-including activities, community service, philanthropy, and of course academics. Alpha Tau Chapter at the University of Florida took the top honors as the 2011 winner. Omega Alumna AEPhi, Joan Katz, Ft. Worth, TX was named AEPhi’s Community Service Award winner.
After the awards were presented, Former National President Lynna Klaidman had the pleasure and honor of installing the new 2011-2013 National Council. This included her own daughter, Leslie Klaidman, as National President, which brought many to tears. Leslie then took the opportunity to address the convention body to share her vision and goals for the upcoming biennium. She ended her speech with an announcement about where the 2013 Convention will be. In her words, “when you grow west, you go west”. AEPhi’s 2013 National Convention will be at the Biltmore in Phoenix, AZ.