SEPC Day 1 Recap

I spent last weekend in Atlanta for SEPC, the Southeastern Panhellenic Conference, which is one of the premier college women's leadership conferences in the country. (See my preview post here.) Because I have lots to share (and lots of photos!) I'm going to share three posts about the conference, one for each day.

SEPC Day 1.
My Alpha Chi friend, Marlene, who lives not far from the airport, volunteered to pick me up when I arrived and take me to the hotel. She also put together some items for me to donate to the Silent Auction.

 Thank you, Marlene! 

(check out her company of facebook: Sorority Spirit)

After having a late lunch with Marlene, it was time to check in to the conference and the hotel, and then head to a casual dinner with the NPC delegates. We had soup, salads and sandwiches (and cookies!) and a briefing on some of the activities, campus meetings, and affiliation gatherings scheduled for the weekend. A campus meeting is a time for all the attendees (collegians and advisors) from one campus to meet with their NPC Area Advisor; an affiliation gathering is a chance for all the women from each sorority to meet each other.

We went from dinner to the Opening Session with Tish Norman. She was a high energy, fun speaker with a great message. There was a lot of dancing and cheering during her interactive hour. We also got to meet the Conference Committee (this is a student-run event) and learn more about the mission of SEPC:

“The 2011 Southeastern Panhellenic Conference unites collegiate women to explore philanthropic initiatives, leadership programs, and social excellence education.

Through the diversity of all members and our shared values, we strive to empower women to impact their communities and ultimately our world."

At the opening session, I sat in front of these nice young women from Spring Hill College. I took their picture for my friend, Britain, who has had some experience working with their campus. I also liked their button-up shirts embroidered with the NPC logo.

My last activity for Thursday was my favorite, the Affiliation Meet and Greet with Alpha Chi Omega. The first thing we did was rearrange chairs so we could sit in a big circle. I had gotten a list of all the AXOs registered for the meeting at the NPC dinner and was expecting around 39 sisters. We had 35 collegiate sisters and 7 alumnae for a total of 42 - and over 30 of us were at the Meet and Greet!

After introducing myself (yes, I was in charge of this event), we went around the around and everyone introduced herself, told us her campus and the offices she holds in her chapter and/or Panhellenic, and then shared a fun fact about herself. To make things more interesting, I promised prizes to the most creative fun facts as well as to the sisters who had traveled the furthest, and the least far. Sarah S. came the farthest, from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. We had 3 sisters in attendance from Georgia Tech, the closest campus to the hotel. All winners got Alpha Chi Omega Real. Strong. Women post-it notes. For the most creative fun facts, we took nominations from the floor and had lots of winners - some sisters shared their fears (very brave) and others have done impressive service projects - one had donated almost three gallons of blood; another had given her hair twice to Locks of Love and is growing it out to donate again. We had a little extra time, so at the suggestion of one of the collegians, we went around the circle again and everyone told us something her chapter or campus is doing that she is proud of. I really enjoyed meeting all the women (many of whom I have emailed with over the last year) and learning more about them and their campuses.

good times!