Alpha Chi Omega Foundation Luncheon

Alpha Chi Omega Convention is coming up July 9-12 in Washington, D.C. This will be my 6th time attending; since I've been so many times, there are events I really look forward to. Thus, as July 9th gets closer, I'm sharing some of my favorite Convention traditions. 


Each year, Alpha Chi Omega Foundation hosts a luncheon at Convention. It's a real highlight for me because of the excellent speakers. In 2006, Delta Delta Delta (and FSU) alumna Andrea Cooper shared the story behind Kristin's Story (Foundation co-sponsors Kristin's Story on many campuses each year). In 2008, Carolyn Cox shared her Silent Secret, that she had been abused for years (and beaten and left for dead) by her husband, in spite of their affluent lifestyle. Carolyn's story of healing and triumph was truly an inspiration.


This year, the Foundation Luncheon is on Monday, July 12th and features Leslie Morgan Steiner, author of Crazy Love. I've written about the book on MTM's blog (see it here) and we've included it in our Twitter Charity Tuesday project (see here), so I'm really looking forward to seeing her in person. Here's an except from my first post:


Crazy Love: A Memoir by Leslie Morgan Steiner tells the author's personal story of an abusive relationship - how she and her husband met, the warning signs she ignored, the perfect life they seemed to have, the abuse, the things her friends, neighbors and even strangers did that helped her, her struggle to leave, their painful divorce, and her life after leaving her husband and starting over.

The striking thing about her story is you can see how it could happen to someone who is well-educated, with a great career. Steiner did her undergraduate work at Harvard; had her dream job working at Seventeen magazine; and had good friends she trusted. These things were not enough to protect her from domestic violence.


What are your favorite Convention traditions?

(See also: other Convention posts, on Star Booth here and here, and some pictures of what to wear here, here, and here.)