by Elaine Anderson Horsfield, Gamma Omega – Michigan State University
When college students join Alpha Delta Pi they are informed they belong to a sisterhood for life. Many lose contact with their sorority sisters over the years, but the members of Gamma Omega are living proof of the lifetime commitment. The first members for the chapter were initiated in 1956 and the chapter closed in the early 1980’s. With no chapter house in East Lansing, Michigan for reunions, several sisters decided to meet in Las Vegas in 1996. Using word of mouth and address lists for contact information, eleven sisters were able to make plans and travel to Las Vegas and enjoy sights and renew friendships in person. They vowed to keep their connection going by meeting again on the East Coast in two years. Since then, the Gamma Omega members have had biennial reunions all over the United States including Washington, D.C., San Antonio, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. The locations and attendees changed, but the focus on sisterhood was the same wherever they met.
In November 2017, thirty-three Gamma Omega sisters were able to share their lives and love while taking in Charleston, South Carolina’s food and history.
For four days, during visits to museums, a feast on a dinner cruise, a walking tour of local sights, and just laughing and talking, attendees were reminded of the bonds they made long ago. To everyone’s delight the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation also hosted a Diamond Circle ceremony and reception for the Gamma Omega members who were initiated over 50 years ago. These events gave the sisters a renewed sense of the Alpha Delta Pi motto, “We live for each other.”
Email and phone calls flow between the sisters with announcements of grandchildren, births, and illness. Support for a sister can include a flurry of cards being sent to them or a sister providing an in-person visit. Lunch gatherings of sisters in Virginia, Florida, and Michigan are regular occasions. A closed Facebook group was started to exchange information and to post photos of the Gamma Omega events and history. Plans are well in place for the next reunion in Scottsdale/Sedona, Arizona in December 2019. They are always looking to include more Gamma Omega members in their activities around the United States and welcome sisters to contact Elaine Anderson Horsfield (initiated 1965) at ekhads492@gmail.com.
These sisters realize that a chapter is more than a brick chapter house. Friendship, caring, and love are shared for a lifetime when you put on the diamond pin.
What a great story of sisterhood for life!
Our next Reunion will be first week December 2019. Please contact Nathalie Daniels Roberts if you were a Gamma Omega jimcorrypa-dj@yahoo.com