<h1>“Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” This quotation penned by John Lennon of Beatles fame was the theme of the meeting when the Alpha Gamma Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma met at Food & Friends in Lewisburg on Saturday, Sept. 16.</h1> In keeping with this theme, President Barbara Beard called the meeting to order and quizzed the chapter on situations where plans could go wrong. Members responded with “Thumbs Up” for Yes, that’s happened to me, or “Thumbs Down” for No, not yet. Pam Echols led the singing of the Delta Kappa Gamma Song. Fourteen members answered the roll relating stories of when lesson plans went awry. Every teacher had a story to tell, most with hilarious results. After the usual reports by Treasurer Nancy Bostic and Secretary Donna Jackson, the members shared personal events of their summer in a segment entitled “Joys, Celebrations, and Condolences.” Those included the following: three weddings in Mali Minter’s family, new granddaughter for Denise Burns, Heidi Houck’s fourth child due in December, Nancy Bostic’s husband’s retirement in September, Mali Minter’s neighbors helping her during her recovery after two surgeries, Carolyn Bryant’s hip replacement in September, Linda Van Reenen’s successful surgery, and Alma Hogsett’s and Kris Long’s deaths. Alpha Gamma awarded three $200 scholarships for women education majors, one for each of the counties of the membership: Kelsy Carr, Kendra Carr, and Crystal Hodge. In 2016, Alpha Gamma donated 26 coats to Greenbrier students who had been impacted by the flood of June 23. The chapter voted again to designate Greenbrier students as the recipients of the 2017 coat drive. Coats will be collected at the November meeting and distributed soon thereafter. At the summer meeting held at President Barbara Beard’s home, Dondie Stemple was unanimously accepted as a new member; and her initiation would ordinarily have been held at the September meeting. However, because of the recent death of Dondie’s mother, she was not in attendance; and her initiation will be held in November. In March, 2017, Pam Echols led the chapter in an activity in which each member crafted a pin with beads and ribbons indicating the number of years she taught and at what level. Pam provided beads and ribbons to update the pins, and members were encouraged to wear them at each meeting. Alpha Gamma provides classroom supplies to new teachers each year. Those supplies have been distributed in Monroe by Barbara Holesapple and in Pocahontas by Barbara Beard. Carolyn Bryant and Lynne Bostic will distribute the gift bags in Greenbrier. Pam Echols represented Alpha Gamma at the state convention held at The Resort at Glad Springs in April. She supplied an official convention t-shirt for the silent auction. She reported that Alpha Gamma will host the state convention in 2029 in cooperation with Alpha Theta and Phi Chapters. To prepare for this, the chapter voted to designate the Fun Fund collection each meeting to help with the expenses of the convention. In March, 2018, instead of having a program, committees will meet to conduct business and plan for the 2018-2020 years. The next meeting will be held on Nov. 18 and willfeature the gift/cookie exchange with a $10 limit on gifts. Pam McCurdy won the door prize, Sharon Vance won the silent auction, and Donna Jackson gave the parting thought.
