The Voice - September 2024

Volume 97 - Issue 3| September 2024

Cathy Tenney, Editor

A Message From

OSO President Melodie McGee

Greetings. . .It's a beautiful day today in our

OSO Delta Kappa Gamma Society neighborhood!

We are continuing our Quest from the 2024 Spring Leadership Training Seminar to our Fall Executive Board Meeting on September 14, 2024, at the Quest Conference Center as the OSO committee chairs come together and we hear their reports to learn what they have been doing over the first year of the biennium.

I’m excited to see so many OSO members who are becoming OSO officers for the first time and those who are also returning to their positions during the month of September. OSO chapters are all busy meeting together again having installations, writing chapter newsletters, celebrating Founder’s Day, and having educational presentations. Some chapters are planning visits to historical or educational museums, sharing in chapter birthday luncheons, having membership recruiting rallies, SEE Helping Hands, collecting items for various service projects, and even planning how to share with others in our communities.

Our active teachers have returned to their busy classroom environments and our seasoned veteran instructors remember when they were actively preparing lesson plans, gathering supplies, planning bulletin boards, and creating interactive centers.

This year let’s see how many of our OSO Chapter seasoned veteran educators will email me and let me know how they became a marvelous mentor to one of their active classroom chapter OSO women educators or what they did to adopt an active educator in the classroom. I’ll be keeping a log to see how many of our veteran OSO chapter educators will meet this challenge!

Melodies’ Meaningful Memoirs…

The Ohio State Organization Administrative Team has had some changes recently and I would like to share them with you. Michele Maniskas recently experienced some sudden parental family illness challenges, which brought new responsibilities. Her family responsibilities require her to devote many hours to help assist them with their needs which has resulted in her decision to resign from her OSO First Vice President position. We will miss her on the OSO Administrative Team as well as her marvelous expertise in serving OSO.

I would like to announce Dr. Molly Helmlinger as our new OSO First Vice President and Karen Dombrowski as our new OSO Second Vice President. Congratulations to both of you! I would also like to formally announce our new OSO Webmaster, Cathy Adams. Congratulations to Cathy! They will be formally introduced in person to all in attendance at our OSO Fall Executive Board Meeting!

Welcome aboard to each of you in your new roles in the Ohio State Organization of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.

May each of you have a bouquet of red roses in your lives every day…

Melodie

2024 -2026 DKG International Theme

Leading Women Educators Impacting Education Worldwide with Passion and Purpose

Mary Jim Stahl

Gamma Gamma

Dr. Olajumoke Oshokoya, Gamma Phi Chapter, was honored during the DKG International Convention held at National Harbor, Maryland in July. A select group of twelve DKG members from around the world received gold and red honor cords as their doctoral dissertations were recognized. An elite group of women!

In December of 2023, Duquesne University awarded Jumoke a PhD for studying the changing face of reading instruction by investigating the question: Do Culturally Relevant Passages Increase the Effects of the Repeated Reading Intervention for Middle School Black Girls With Reading Difficulties?

Message from the OSO Nominating Committee

Soon it will be time to elect the 2025-2027 officers for the Ohio State Organization (OSO) of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Chapter presidents are asked to help to identify and encourage leaders to apply for nomination as an officer of OSO and for a position on the OSO Nominating Committee. Encourage these key women educators to use their talents, skills, creativity and network to further OSO goals locally and internationally.

The application is contained within this issue of The Voice. Interested members should complete the application and send it with a photo electronically to Shirley Moore at s.council@sbcglobal.net by January 2, 2025. The members of the OSO Nominating Committee urge all interested members to apply.

Shirley Moore, Chairman, Gamma Nu

Karen Dunn, Alpha Psi

Dr. Norma Kirby, Alpha Delta

Cynthy Kleman, Beta Eta

Marilyn Kretschman, Gamma Iota

OSO State Officer Application

2024-2025 Chapter Officers Installed

Gamma Xi Chapter officers for 2024-2026 installed are Treasurer Ellen Denney, Parliamentarian Kathie Baxter, Corresponding Secretary Debra Hill, Recording Secretary Donna Slinky, Second Vice President Joyce Jones Weinkam, First Vice President Maureen Schwab, Co-Presidents Lisa Smallwood and Janice Kehm.

DKGIEF Emergency Fund

Did you know The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Education Foundation has an Emergency Fund available to members who sustain major losses from floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, or other natural catastrophic disasters?

An EF1 tornado went through Brookville, Indiana, on May 7th. Unfortunately, there was substantial damage to Hickory Woods Campground, and specifically to my property. I was unaware at that time that our DKGIEF has an Emergency Fund available to assist you financially, if a catastrophic natural disaster causes you damage or loss of property.

The process was not difficult at all. I filled out a form that was then signed by the OSO president and not long after I received a $500.00 check from the DKGIEF Emergency Fund to help with my loss. This is a wonderful benefit available to DKG members, but I hope you don’t ever need to use it. I am proud to be a member of DKG Ohio Gamma Phi!

I recently learned that our state organization makes an annual donation to the Emergency Fund. Consider the impact your donation may have on a sister in need. Donate to DKGIEF Emergency Fund by visiting DKG.org. This fund directly assists members when they need it most. We never know when a sister may be impacted by a natural disaster.

Sherrie Foster, Gamma Phi

Chi

Christine Giliberto

Melanie Sterns

Beta Chi

Sharon E. Ballard

Gamma Iota

Sharon L. Skapura

Cathy Adams Appointed OSO Webmaster

I would like to thank President Melodie McGee, Beth Archer and Freda Cook for giving me the opportunity to serve as webmaster! I am excited to be the webmaster for OSO and look forward to working with all of you through this process. Please be patient as we transition and try some new things. OSO was very fortunate to have had Eileen McNally serve in this capacity for so many years and I hope to live up to the standard she set for timeliness and attention to detail.

My DKG history began when I joined Alpha Gamma chapter on May 15, 2007. I was elected to serve as the second vice president in 2008 and I attended my first state convention along with our newly elected chapter president. It was in 2010 our chapter treasurer decided to retire and I was asked to serve as treasurer which is an office I still hold in my chapter.

My involvement at the state level began in 2011 when Dr. Norma Kirby asked me to serve as co-chair of the biennial seminar in Chillicothe in 2013. It was an honor to serve in this capacity. Little did I know that I was on my way to getting to know some amazing women that would lead me to my first International Convention in National Harbor, Maryland and this position.

Just a little about me, I am going into my 27^th year of teaching at Huntington Local Schools of Ross County in southern Ohio. I teach seventh grade math, coach the high school and middle school quiz teams, and serve as the yearbook advisor. Outside of school, I am secretary of the Chilllicothe Chapter #419 Order of the Eastern Star and serve on the Ross County Public Library Board. I married my husband Ryan in 2005.

International Convention was a wonderful experience! I met so many ladies who share my desire to educate our children in the right way to go forward and change the world for the better. The keynote speakers and breakout sessions were inspiring and inspired me to serve in any capacity I can in our state organization. It was during a discussion at our table one afternoon that led me to inquire about the webmaster position. I began the process which led to a wonderful conversation with President Melodie McGee, Cathy Tenney, editor of The Voice and the Personnel Committee. The rest is history! I am honored to serve OSO as webmaster and look forward to meeting many of OSO members as we travel this journey of life and the adventure of membership in DKG.