Beta Tau Chapter Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Celebrating a chapter milestone requires a great amount of preparation and collaboration—luckily, the Beta Tau Chapter had both as they celebrated 50 years at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
“We started planning in the summer,” said Vice President of Organization Development Kaitlyn Malo (Beta Tau 2023/UMass Lowell). “Our Chapter President had a goals sheet for each Executive Committee officer, and mine was full of tasks and goals for our 50th anniversary.”
Chapter President Hanna Reagan (Beta Tau 2023/UMass Lowell) said, “We booked the date a year in advance, let our alumnae know, and hands-on planning began this January. We were in constant communication with the Lowell Alumnae Chapter officers and discussed what both alumnae and current collegians would want the event to look like.”
Kaitlyn worked closely with Sarah Hefferan Rine (Beta Tau 1996/UMass Lowell), who serves as UMass Lowell’s Director of Student Life and Involvement, to find a venue and connect with Beta Tau alumnae from many generations. The Lowell Alumnae Chapter also planned an Eternal Sisters table, with chapter memorabilia, for the event. “The table had photos of our Eternal Sisters, and the alumnae officers provided a guestbook for attendees to share well wishes and memories,” Kaitlyn said.
“Planning early was key to our event’s success. It’s important to reach out to the campus to help and get alumnae involved early. I also made sure to delegate tasks, involve our chapter’s committees, and ask for support when I needed it. I wanted to have a sense of community where everyone was helping with something so that we could all bring that feeling to the event and be proud of it together,” Kaitlyn shared.
After months of preparation and planning, the chapter hosted its 50th anniversary celebration on March 22, 2025, just three weeks before the actual 50th anniversary on April 12. Approximately 150 guests attended, including current chapter members, alumnae, and their guests. “Many alumnae planned their hotel and flights together and made the anniversary celebration a part of a weekend trip away together, which was so nice,” shared Kaitlyn.
Hanna remarked, “Even though we knew how many people were coming, it was hard to visualize the guest list until we were in the room. Seeing how packed it was with Sisters was crazy.”
Kaitlyn arrived early alongside the former Vice President of Community Relations, Rachel Christopher (Beta Tau 2023/UMass Lowell), to help set up the venue and organize the event. “Our theme was Emerald Green, Gold, and Pearls, so we had yellow rose centerpieces and gold frames with the names from all the new member classes from the past 50 years on the tables. We also displayed our composites,” she said. “I worked with our event monitors to welcome our guests, sell raffle tickets, and direct people through the venue.”
The night included dinner, a photobooth, dancing, a chapter photo slideshow, and a raffle with prizes donated from local businesses, the UMass Lowell alumni office, and the Lowell Alumnae Chapter. Hanna said, “I reached out to local businesses and explained what Alpha Sigma Tau was, what we were celebrating, and how the money would support the chapter. We had so many places that were excited to help us out.” Kaitlyn added, “We raised over $1,000 from the raffle and our event tickets, which will go back to supporting the chapter.”
Additionally, the chapter presented awards, including the Top Tau Award, the Kylie Inman Spirit Award, and Most Active Alumna. They also recognized the 2024-2025 Executive Committee, presented Badge dangles to the Chapter Advisory Board, and celebrated graduating seniors. “Celebrating our seniors with so many Sisters there to support them was one of my favorite parts,” shared Kaitlyn.
To mark the momentous occasion, Hanna gave a speech and a toast. “It was actually hard to get everyone’s attention before I started speaking, since everyone was having so much fun and there was so much conversation happening,” she said. In her speech, she shared about the chapter’s philanthropic events, alumnae connections, and more from the past year. Hanna ended the speech by saying, “Through every high and low, every one of us in this room has an incredible Sisterhood full of strong, inspiring women that will always have our backs.”
Hanna’s toast also opened up the dance floor. “We have a special tradition we do in honor of Kylie Inman, an Eternal Sister, where we all gather on the dance floor in a big circle, put our arms around each other, and sway to ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis, which was her favorite song,” Kaitlyn explained. “It was wonderful to watch generations of Sisters take part in this tradition in honor of Kylie.”
As the evening drew to a close, the Beta Tau Sisters parted ways in good spirits, reflecting on their time in the Sisterhood. Kaitlyn shared, “It was amazing to see so many Beta Tau Sisters in one room, and I think everyone will remember it as a special event. I also loved that all our newest members were in attendance, so they could meet lots of alumnae Sisters.”
“This event was totally worth all the preparation, hard work, discussions, and meetings it took to make it happen,” said Hanna. “Our alumnae were so complimentary about the event and the current collegiate members. It was so wonderful to talk to these alumnae I’ve never met before, but have a true connection with through Alpha Sigma Tau.”
Up next, Kaitlyn and Hanna look forward to maintaining and growing the 50-year legacy of the Beta Tau Chapter at UMass Lowell. Hanna shared, “We want to have more events that appeal to our older alumnae, rather than younger alumnae who may still be connected to women in the chapter, and create connections across generations.”
“We’re also getting ready for recruitment in the fall, promoting our Sisterhood and aiming for a bigger new member class,” Kaitlyn said. “When we get to celebrate 100 years, it’ll be even more spectacular!”
If your chapter has an upcoming milestone or anniversary, you can refer to our Chapter Milestone Event Planning Guide to help you get started!
Here you can find more information about timelines, budgets, team members, event speakers, recommended venues, and more.