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A Message From OSO President Melodie McGee
Greetings…It’s a beautiful day today in our OSO Delta Kappa Gamma Society neighborhood!
My OSO Delta Kappa Gamma Sisters, this is my last article that I will be writing to you as your OSO President. I accepted the assignment to serve as your OSO President in 2023. Over the past two years, I have traveled to many OSO chapter meetings on weekday late afternoons, evenings, and Saturday mornings. (And yes, I am still a very active teacher in the classroom arriving at my site between 8:00-8:15AM in the morning.) I’ve traveled sometimes during difficult weather conditions and Alexa acting up with navigational instructions. I had the pleasure of participating in chapter meetings, Founder’s Day celebrations, chapter officer installations and recommitment ceremonies!
Michael, my husband, has been my classy, calibrating, calculating, punctual chauffer to many chapter meetings outside of Columbus. My mom, Barbara Cleveland, would sometimes be my riding buddy and accompany me to meetings. Over the highways, and through the hills and sometimes through tough terrain to OSO chapter meetings we would go! But when we arrived it was worth the trip because we received the most scrumptious delicacies, this side of the Ohio River, during OSO chapter visits at brunches, lunches, and dinners! I was also blessed to receive some treasures from several chapters during my visits that included plants, (which are still growing and thriving), sculpted pieces of glass art, drawings, gift cards that I won from raffle drawings, as well as appreciation gifts. I went on a special behind the scenes tour of the OSU Athletic Department and I even got to attend my first OSU basketball game with my husband because I won a raffle ticket at one of the chapter meetings.
During the 2023-2025 biennium, I requested OSO chapters to participate in Domestic Violence Prevention President’s Initiative. I was overwhelmed with the amount of chapter presidents that stood up at our OSO 2025 Convention that represented their Chapters participation in the initiative. Thank you to all those OSO chapters who answered the call to serve and completed the assignment to share, in some way with women and children who were a part of the Domestic Violence Initiative. I know that your shared expressions of love that brought hope to every woman and child who were coming out of turbulent and unstable lifestyles. I thank all of you for sharing. You didn’t have to, but you did! I am so very thankful of all of you! My heart overflows with joy and is singing!
My hope and prayer are that I will be remembered by something that I said, or wrote, what I gave or did, or how I encouraged others throughout the 2023 - 2025 biennium, so that my presidential lineage inspired or impacted the life of just one person in a positive way.
Mary McCloud Bethune, a passionate educator, nationally known special advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on African American Affairs regarding the problems in minority groups and the founder of the Bethune-Cookman College, wrote these words and thoughts I want to leave with you as I conclude my biennium journey…“I leave you love. I leave hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you dignity.”
In addition, I have adapted the poem which was one of my Daddy’s favorite songs to sing during his performances…which was "No Man is an Island". So, I entitled this poem, "No OSO Woman is an Island".
No OSO woman is an island
No OSO woman should stand alone
When an OSO member celebrates her successes, we all should congratulate her!
But when an OSO member experiences grief, we should remember how we felt during our journey, when it was our own.
During the 2023 through 2025 Biennium, OSO we found out that we needed one another…
It is education that binds us together to defend.
Each OSO member is our sister,
Each Delta Kappa Gamma woman throughout the world is Our Friend.
Over the 2023 through 2025 Biennium,
We Saw OSO members gather together during
Executive Board Meetings, Leadership Seminars,
OSO Chapter President’s Fireside Chats, Zoom meetings with OSO Admin. Team, Zoom Meetings with
Advisory Committee and Admin. Team
We Heard the music start with
Cheryl Quay and the OSO Ensemble singing during our meetings and we began our Executive Board Meetings with The Kingdom Choir singing
“Stand By Me" from The Royal Wedding.
Those Songs That We Have Been Hearing and Singing,
Will Be Forever Ringing in Our Hearts…
No OSO woman is an Island
No OSO woman should stand alone,
When an OSO member celebrates her successes, we all should congratulate her!
But when an OSO member experiences grief, we should remember how we felt during our journey, when it was our own.
Remember OSO sisters we need one another…
It is education that binds us together to defend.
Each OSO member is our sister,
Each Delta Kappa Gamma woman throughout the world is our friend.
It has been a privilege to serve as your
OSO President for the 2023-2025 Biennium.
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