Gamma Delta Chapter Celebrates 25 Years
On April 24, 2024, the Gamma Delta Chapter at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth celebrated its 25th Anniversary. On April 13, they hosted an anniversary event on campus with 75 current members, alumnae members, and guests in attendance.
With Chapter Advisor Brittany McCarron (Gamma Delta 2014/UMass Dartmouth) leading the charge, the Event Planning Committee put together a wonderful event that featured dinner, dancing, a candelighting service, and a speech about the chapter’s origins and installation from founding Sister Sailynn Doyle (Gamma Delta 1999/UMass Dartmouth).
Throughout the evening, the chapter also presented awards and recognition to Sisters. This included recognizing their chapter’s Top Tau, a Sister of the Year for collegiate members, an Anchor Alumna award for alumnae members, and a Yellow Rose Award. They also presented a Kim Jacobsen Award to Sophie Shostek (Gamma Delta 2020/UMass Dartmouth), named for a deceased Gamma Delta Chapter Sister Kimberly Jacobsen (Gamma Delta 2003/UMass Dartmouth).
Additionally, the chapter put together a slideshow of photos submitted by alumnae that played throughout the night and had a table full of chapter memorabilia, ranging from composites to scrapbooks.
“We wanted to create an event that appealed to our alumnae and created nostalgia for their time on campus,” said Chapter President Michelle Henderson (Gamma Delta 2022/UMass Dartmouth). To do so, the chapter held their event in a new event space on their campus that originally served as a dining hall.
The chapter also put tremendous effort into marketing the event and connecting with chapter alumnae. “We did a lot of personal outreach, Facebook outreach through groups and posts, and we even did a The Office-inspired video of the venue space so everyone could see what the event would look like and where it would be,” said Michelle. Additionally, they promoted the event by referencing campus favorites and traditions that alumnae would recognize.
In addition to Sailynn’s speech as a founding chapter Sister, alumnae Meaghan Prince (Gamma Delta 2001/UMass Dartmouth) and Athena Gagnon Mota (Gamma Delta 2001/UMass Dartmouth) spoke to the crowd of Sisters and guests about their Alpha Sigma Tau experience.
With the different experiences and stories being told by alumnae, the event provided a good opportunity for current Gamma Delta Chapter members to connect with alumnae and loop them into the chapter’s day-to-day experiences in 2024.
“By planning this type of event, you learn so much about your chapter’s past and your alumnae,” said Michelle. “We also had been struggling with alumnae involvement and after meeting with many of them, we now have a better way to get them involved and know to do more personal outreach in the future. Our alumnae saw the effort we were putting into the event and were excited by it!”
Even months after their 25th Anniversary event, Michelle said that the chapter has seen increased alumnae engagement and strengthened their connections with local alumnae who were able to attend. She said, “Our alumnae Sisters are actively looking to us with questions about the chapter’s plans and offering advice when and where they can. It’s truly been so amazing!”
Overall, Michelle described the 25th Anniversary event as hard work but worth it. “We have a really strong bond of sisterhood and that’s why the chapter has been around for as long as it has. It was great to be able to see that in person,” she said. Her advice to other chapters getting ready to host their milestone or anniversary events? “Make it work with what you have and enjoy it!”
Planning a chapter anniversary or milestone event soon?
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.