Psi Iota Xi

May

2024

Newsletter

A Message from National President

Rhonda McNall-Crisenbery

Who doesn’t love the month of May! The warmer weather, the beautiful spring flowers, Mother’s Day and we cannot forget the Kentucky Derby. As Psi Otes we celebrate Speech and Hearing month. This month I am highlighting women who laid the foundation for speech and hearing.

Dr. Marion Downs – Pioneer in Pediatric Audiology



Dr. Downs pioneered pediatric audiology. She began her work at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in 1963, and laid the groundwork for universal hearing testing. She proved that early intervention is critical for developing language in hard of hearing or deaf infants.

Sarah T. Barrows – American phonetician

Sarah was recognized for her pioneering work on the phonetics of American English pronunciation. She contributed with her publication aimed at public school teachers. She was one of the Foundation Members of the Linguistic Society of America.

Dr. Anita Todres Pikus - Scientist, Practitioner and Teacher of Audiology



Dr. Pikus specialized in researching genetic conditions that affect the audio-vestibular system. She played a key role in creating policies and the development of the National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders. She was also the founder and first director of the Audiology Clinic at the National Institutes of Health. 

Edna Hill Young - Pioneer in the field of Speech Language Pathology



Ms. Young’s interest in speech pathology came from her own difficulties with speech; she suffered with a severe malocclusion and open bite. Edna’s and her husband, George Young, started a residential school in 1923 in Minneapolis, The Hill-Young School for speech. Ms. Young used the moto-kinesthetic approach at the Hill-Young Speech Clinic. Edna’s therapy methods were the subject of a Rockefeller Grant research project.

“Speech therapy is not just about fixing the way someone speaks; it’s about giving them a voice that can be heard.” – Unknown.

Information Sources:

lww.com – Nikki Pikus

comprehensiveearandhearing.com – Pioneering Women Doctors in Audiology.

Hilton Fort Wayne at the Grand Wayne Convention Center, is open for all to make reservations for the 2024 National Convention, hosted by the Theta Theta chapter.

Hilton Fort Wayne

1020 South Calhoun Street

Fort Wayne, IN 46802

260-420-1100



If telephoning, please request the Psi Iota Xi block.

(click the link)

Hilton Grand Wayne Hotel

 National Council Information

Spring mailing, Project Proposals, Psi Otes of the Year (POOTY), Helicon article and Button Awards information were sent out. If you did not receive this information, please contact:

• Your District Officer
• POOTY, National Conductress, Valerie Helms-Mejia, valeriehelmsmejia@psiiotaxi.org
• Button Awards, Senior District Officer, Jane Patton, at janepatton@psiiotaxi.org
• Helicon Article, National Editor, Terri Resler at terriresler@psiiotaxi.org

 Theta Theta

National Convention Information

·      The 2024 National Convention packets were sent out via US Postal Service. 

·      Past National Presidents, you should have received your packet via postal service.

Registration Form/Payment Due May 15, 2024 to Connie Frederick

Memorial Service Form          Due May 15, 2024 to Theresa Brady

Sales Room                                Due May 15, 2024 to Claudia Rhineholz

Nat'l Memorial Donation       Due May 31, 2024 to Sara Overway, PNP

Raffle Items                               Due May 31, 2024 to Dee Burkhalter

If you did not receive your convention information, please email Rhonda at rhondamcnallcrisenbery@psiiotaxi.org

Recently, my husband and I went to Las Vegas for a few days. One day we were walking around people watching and taking in all the sites. We stopped in for a visit to the Conservatory at the Bellagio hotel to admire all the beautiful flowers. As I was walking down the center aisle, I noticed a HUGE, beautiful yellow rose off to my left. I chuckled to myself as my first thought was of Psi Iota Xi! I thought about all the wonderful things that my sisters in this organization were able to do for their communities.

The day we returned home I received a text from my sister asking me some random questions. One of these questions was “Does the yellow rose symbolize friendship?” I thought to myself “huh?!! Again, with the yellow rose??” I decided to Google the symbolism of the yellow rose just to make sure I was giving out accurate information. It said the yellow rose represents friendship and joy. It went on to say that it also represented feelings that go along with friendship such as warmth, delight, gladness, caring, and affection.

We are in a time in our world and in our organization where a lot of change and transformation is taking place at a pretty fast pace. As we all know, change, transformation, and growth are not always easy! I feel blessed to have been reminded not once but twice by the yellow rose that the heart of our organization is still and will always be sisterhood and friendship!

Together we can navigate anything that comes our way! I am looking forward to seeing and celebrating with all my yellow rose Psi Iota Xi sisters at our National Convention in June!!

Valerie Helms-Mejia

National Conductress  

Alpha, Muncie, IN

This year we are using an online submission form. By clicking the link below or scanning the QR code with your phone or tablet, you will automatically be taken to the Button Award submission form. Once you have completed the form, just hit submit and you are finished.

The deadline for Button Award submissions is May 10, 2024.

Link to online form: https://forms.office.com/r/7C9nXPzdjA

As we close out another chapter year (and the PCRs and Button Award forms roll in), I am reflecting on my own journey as a sorority sister. Unlike many of you, I am not a legacy. April 2024 marks eight years since I was initiated into Psi Iota Xi (shout-out to my Gamma Nu Brownsburg girls!). My husband and I were new empty nesters with a daughter in college when I realized I had been so busy with family and work that I didn’t have any adult connections with anyone in our community, outside of our church. 

How I found our sorority is a story of its own. After I’d tried reaching out to an international service organization that I had been part of back in my younger years, I discovered that their local chapter had disbanded and there were none others within driving distance. A few days after that sad news, I found a post on one of our local Facebook community groups that a local sorority was making and selling cheeseballs. The money raised helped to support music, art, literature, speech, and hearing. Every one of these areas resonates with me–I’m a lifelong bookworm, I play the piano and go to concerts, I can’t draw but my daughter can, and I have worn hearing aids more than half my life. When I looked up the sorority online, I realized this was something I needed to be part of–if they would have me.  Would they have me? I didn’t know, but as my mother used to say, “go ahead and ask. The worst they can do is say no.” 

I reached out to the lady who posted the cheeseball ad, and asked her, “Can I order a couple of cheeseballs? And by the way, I think I’d like to join your sorority. Are you taking new members anytime soon?” The answer to both questions was YES. We arranged to meet one Friday morning at Starbucks–and she invited the treasurer to come, too. The rest, as they say, is history. By the way, Samantha the Facebook poster still sells cheeseballs on every community page we have in Hendricks County IN–maybe your chapter could do that too? 

Sisters, be open to ladies of all ages who approach you with an interest in membership. I think the term “sorority” sometimes gets an undeserved bad connotation because of silly movies or Tik-Tok videos about collegiate rush week, but we have an opportunity to show pride in our work and to let our communities see that sisterhood is about service as well as fun and camaraderie.

Wear your PIX shirts and carry your coffee and water tumblers out there into your community. And if you meet a woman who asks “what does your shirt say?” then tell her. She may end up being a chapter president–or maybe a district officer–someday.    

If you don’t have any PIX shirts or branded merchandise, well...get yourself to convention. We have chapters just waiting to solve that problem for you. See you there!

Missy Cooper

West Central District Officer

Gamma Nu, Brownsburg, IN

Spoken from the podium at the 2024 Indiana State Meeting.

I am so incredibly honored to be installed as President for the coming year. I would like to thank Jennifer for all of her hard work this year. I know that this position is not easy and she has handled the year with grace and good humor and we all deeply appreciate how much she gave of herself.

Briefly about me – I am married to a wonderful man that supports me in all the chaos I bring to our lives with both community work and animals. We have a ridiculous number of cats and dogs because I can’t say no to rescues and he rarely says no to me, but never when it involves an animal. I’m an elder law attorney and a family law mediator and our entire lives are dedicated to being of service, both to our family and our community. PIX is a large part of my life, but it took some time for that to happen.

I came into PIX as a legacy. Like most 18 yr olds, I didn’t understand the significance of joining a philanthropic sorority. I knew it meant something to my mom, and I knew that her friends that were members loved it, and I thought the initiation was pretty cool, but I didn’t *get* it when I first came in. I went away to school, came back, took a couple of years to get things situated and started being an active member. I enjoyed my sisters and didn’t mind being a pack mule carrying the 5-gallon buckets of cheese around at cheeseballs since I had the youngest back in the room, but it still didn’t click for me. It was a good time, and I wanted to give back to my community, but I still didn’t fully understand what being a Psi Ote meant. It started to become clear to me when we helped with a Friday night welcome party for a National Convention. Seeing all the sisters enjoying each other let me get a bigger picture, but it wasn’t until I attended my first State meeting that the magnitude of what we accomplish together as a sisterhood finally sank in.

I remember sitting in my chair at lunch, listening to the performance of an opera singer whose career we had impacted, looking around at the faces of the women there and their sense of awe and appreciation for the artistry of the performer and the overwhelming sense of joy in the room. It was in that moment that I finally understood – we come together to move mountains in order to support our communities while finding connection, love and laughter in moments with each other.

I knew at that moment that I wanted to be more involved. I wanted to take on more responsibility in my chapter and attend every State Meeting and National Convention that I could to meet as many other Psi Ote sisters as possible, to hear their stories and be inspired by the work they do and the obstacles they overcome each and every year, together.

Now, that meeting also introduced me to just how passionate we can be about project spending and bylaw revisions, but it wasn’t quite enough to scare me off. Instead, I started taking on more responsibility in our chapter, eventually working up to Vice President and then President of our chapter. When I got the call from Carie Johann 4 years ago about being on State Board, I was both excited and hesitant. I knew how much work is involved and I knew that I had elderly family members whose situations could change my life in an instant. But I took a deep breath and jumped, agreeing to join State Board. It was one of the best decisions of my life. The time that I’ve spent with the other ladies on State Board, the amazing support from National Board, the state meeting planning process with my chapter sisters – these interactions have provided me with some of the most precious moments of my life.

I chose the theme Finding Magic in the Small Moments because it has been the small, seemingly inconsequential moments with my sister Psi Otes that I have realized the magic in what we do. Yes, nearly 1800 women coming together to raise and give away over ¾ of a million dollars in one year is astounding. But think about the times that mean the most to you – for me, it’s my chapter sisters, covered in cheese, lined up, having an impromptu sing along to 60’s songs with a few adding some dance steps, nuts flying everywhere, or me standing outside so they can decide if they’re going to support me on State Board and literally getting so excited and involved in planning a State Meeting that was still years away that they FORGOT ME outside – for 20 minutes!, or trying to figure out with Kim how on earth to cut through wire on fake roses with nothing but regular scissors around, and we had a ton of roses to cut, or the moment on the zoom call with National Board where Rhonda asked me if I knew what I was going to say in this speech and I had no idea that I was expected to make a speech today….and making her laugh when I emailed her exactly that the next day and asking her what in the world I was supposed to talk about. It’s the smiles on the children’s faces during the party we throw at the end of our speech and hearing clinic, or the message we got from one of the children’s grandmothers thanking us for doing the clinic and how she has made it a point to buy cheeseballs from us every year since her grandchild went through the clinic to help support us and our mission. Those are the moments where I most deeply feel the magic of who we are as a sisterhood and what we mean to each other.

We chose the dragonfly as a symbol because they, too, grace us with just a few moments of beauty that feels magical when they fly near enough to see their gorgeous colors, but also because dragonflies are symbols of change, creativity, hope and reminders to be present. We are all facing so much change. Technology is changing the way we communicate with one another, we have some of our sisters’ losing husbands while we have other sisters welcoming new children, our fundraising is changing. But all that change gives us the opportunity to learn together. I don’t know about you, but my chapter has the most fun and biggest laughs when we all try learning something new together.

It gives us the opportunity to be creative in how we reach out – to our communities and to our sisters and even sister chapters. Have you checked out our Psi Ote facebook page? Sisters are posting their fundraisers and giving each other the opportunity to support and be involved in each other’s fundraisers and events, sharing ideas and areas of need and how they support their communities. It’s so wonderful to see, so please, a small plug here, check it out if you haven’t yet.

Hope – isn’t hope the basis of everything that we do? Hope that we can change our communities for the better, that we may enrich the lives of those around us, that we can support our sisters through both their tragedies and their triumphs. Psi Iota Xi does not exist in the absence of hope.

But all of that comes down to being mindfully present. Those little moments – the laughter, the hug, the smile, just the feeling in the room – they’re all so easy to overlook when we’re constantly bombarded with information, cell phones, busy schedules. I’m more guilty than most of always being in my head about what I need to do next, what is left on my to do list for the day. That’s why it is essential to purposefully be present when with our sisters – we miss the magic otherwise.

Thank you again for your time and I cannot wait to spend the next year finding magic in the small moments with each of you.

Tori Mankin-Harrell

2024-2025 Indiana State President

Gamma Tau, Marian, IN

victoria@mankin-law.com 

Vietta and Maureen

Sigma, Greensburg, IN

Rachel Merz, Rita Bomba, & Maureen Rehmer

Theta Theta, Fort Wayne, IN

Elisa Allen & Anne Bloemer-Lawson

Alpha Omega, North Vernon

If you have a chapter fundraiser or something special to share about your chapter or a Psi Ote, please go to the Psi Iota Xi~Group Facebook page to post. Link below:

Psi Iota Xi~Group | Facebook

This is one of two Facebook pages, the other is more project and news related at the National level. We are working to get it revamped. More to come on it.

Iota Sigma, St Joseph, IL

Pre order and pick up at the IN State meeting or at National Convention.

Convention Charm Order Form (link)

Gamma Xi, Crawfordsville, IN

Storyboards have been added at Sugar Creek Trail. Gamma Xi is a sponsor for this literacy program.

(click her for the full story)

Upsilon, Greenfield, IN celebrating their 104th anniversary.

Iota Phi, Clarksburg, IN made donations of $250 each to the North Decatur Elementary Library, Art and Music Programs

Eta Mu, Rochester, IN

Congratulations to our 2024 Psi Iota Xi 'My Little Town' banner winners.

Delta Zeta, Lafayette, IN



Members gather to celebrate the chapters 84th anniversary

at the Fowler House Mansion for brunch.

Alpha Omicron, Vincennes, IN made their yearly purchase of library books for schools in Knox County.

Alpha Iota, Cambridge City, IN sell spring flowers to support their Summer Kindergarten Readiness Camp.

Claire Hickes

Claire Linette Hicks, 72, of Columbia City (Loon Lake) passed away peacefully with family by her side on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Born March 21, 1952, in Fort Wayne, IN, Claire was the daughter of the late Lester D. "Bud" and Gladys I. Hayner (nee Foellinger).

Claire graduated from North Side High School, with the Class of 1970. She received her bachelor's degree from Ball State University in 1974. In addition to actively serving in the Psi Iota Xi organization, Claire taught at Aboite Elementary School in Southwest Allen County Schools. Later in her career, she served as an Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Students at Taylor University, Fort Wayne. One of her greatest joys was retiring to her newfound home and beautiful community at Loon Lake.

Known for her socks and slippers, Claire was an avid knitter. She also loved to read, play games (particularly with her grandchildren), and, in her later years, became a skilled mahjongg player. Evening pontoon cruises and golf cart rides around the lake brought her great joy.

Claire is survived by her husband of 50 years, Gary D. Hicks; her daughters, Michelle (Richard) Gualandi and Amanda (Michael) Feiock; and her five grandchildren, Elizabeth, Katherine, Jillian, and Luke Feiock and Eric Gualandi.

She is also preceded in death by her brother, Charles L. Hayner.

Barbara Fearnow

Barbara Ann Fearnow passed away peacefully in the company of loved ones at 10:44 am April 20th, 2023. Barb was born to the late Josephine (Vawter) and Nathan Bewley on September 7th, 1946 in Logansport, Indiana. Barb was a gifted employee and child advocate with Washington Township Schools for over 30 years. She enjoyed baking and decorating cookies for any occasion, especially to send to her grandchildren and sharing a pint with friends. She was a long-time active member of the Eta Delta Chapter of Psi Iota Xi, which supported causes of Art, Music, Literature, Speech and Hearing. Her service to the chapter included President, Conductress, By-Laws Committee and actively supported the cheeseball project. Barb was also a member of the Omega Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society, supporting current and future women educators and students. Barb and her husband Chuck were family members of Central Indiana Bicycling Association for 50 years. Their support of CIBA included editing the paper newsletter and producing the slide (and eventually video) show for the Hilly Hundred. Barb and Chuck could often be seen riding their tandem, and for a time with baby Jonathan on the back.

In every corner of her life Barb was the motivation and moral compass for those around her. We will all be a little lost without her.

Barb is survived by her husband of 54 years Chuck Fearnow; their son Jonathan Fearnow; grandchildren Hunter and Hazel Fearnow; daughter-in-law Emily Fearnow; nephew Tom Posz and niece Mindy Turpen. She preceded in death by her sister Kay Ress (Bewley). Please consider donating to Barb’s service sorority, Psi Iota Xi. Her sisters will use those donations to support the causes that Barb cared for most.

Note “Barb” in the memo and mail checks to Psi Iota Xi C/O Kristen Bonwell 7984 Branch Creek Way Indianapolis, IN 46268.

There will be a gathering to remember Barb at the Broad Ripple Brew Pub on May 13, 2023, at 2:00-4pm.

Charlotte Swonder

Charlotte Marie Swonder, age 100 years, died April 15, 2024, at 11:20 A.M. at her home.She is the wife of veterinarian J. Edward Swonder, who preceded her. They were married on March 4, 1944, at the First Methodist Church in Key West, Florida. They moved to Vincennes in 1950. She is survived by her four children Inge (Charlie) Burns of St. Francisville, Illinois, Dr. James E. (Joy) Swonder of Richmond, Indiana, Dr. Roy Swonder of Vincennes, Indiana, and Melanie (Sam) McDonald of Carolina Beach, North Carolina. There are 8 grandchildren and 2 with 1 on the way great-grandchildren. A brother, George Grosskopf, also preceded her.

Born in Indianapolis on October 7, 1923, she was the daughter of Rudolph and Martha Charlotte Grosskopf. She was a 1945 graduate of Indiana University, where she was a Phi Beta Kappa and a member of the Phi Mu sorority. In 1977 she graduated from Vincennes University's registered nurse program and subsequently was employed as a staff nurse at nursing homes.

She has been active in various community groups and has been a past president of the Illiana-Cypress Audubon chapter, the Consolidated # 2 PTA, Psi Iota Xi, (Alpha Omicron Chapter), and the Home Builder's Class at First United Methodist Church, where she often taught Sunday school. Active in the Republican Party, she was Secretary of the Knox County Republican Women's Club for 10 years, and served as it's legislative chairman for 4 years. She served as Chairman of the Knox County Republican Recruitment and Campaign Committee for 4 years, 1989 to 1993, and has been Editor of Knox County Republican monthly publication, "G.O.P Trunk Lines" for 10 years. She served as a precinct committeewoman for 20 years. Her hobbies were genealogy, water sports and bridge.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Goodwin-Sievers Funeral Home. Memorial services will be held at a First United Methodist Church, 411 N. 4th St., on May 4, 2024, at 2 pm.



Convention 2024 will be hosted by Theta Theta, Fort Wayne, in Fort Wayne, IN, June 22-23, 2024.

Hilton Fort Wayne

1020 South Calhoun Street

Fort Wayne, IN 46802

260-420-1100

If telephoning, request the PSI IOTA XI block.

(click the link)

Hilton Grand Wayne Hotel

Convention 2025 will be hosted by Upsilon, Greenfield, in Indianapolis, IN

Convention 2026 will be hosted by Omega, Lebanon, IN

Website

About Us

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Contact

National Office

3905 Vincennes Road, Suite 303

Indianapolis, IN 46268

317.471.3512

info@psiiotaxi.org