Your attendance will be greatly appreciated as this month’s program will be the one submitted for the Annie Award. MacKenzie Howell, a nine-year-old girl, will share how she wrote a book to help Bigrade, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, fund school repairs and provide new supplies for an educational facility. Find out ways that our chapter can help this area that lost everything in a 2010 earthquake. If you guess the mystery sister and /or if you find your member number in the newsletter email me at kadenby@pngisd.org.

Karol

President’s message I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

President’s message 1

November meeting 1

October minutes 2

Chapter dues 3

Treasurer’s report 3

November reports due 3

October’s Mystery Sister 3

Birthdays 3

In other news 3

October meeting high-lights

4

Convention highlights 4

MacKenzie’s big difference

5

Mystery Sister clues 5

Karol and the crusin’ cousins

6

Hands for Haiti supplies 7

Imposter scams 7

TRA legislative update 7

O u r v i s i o n “ L e a d i n g w o m e n e d u c a t o r s i m p a c ti n g e d u c a ti o n w o r l d w i d e ”

THE DELTA KAPPA GAMMA SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL

Delta Theta Newsletter

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 6 2 I S S U E 2

E X E C U T I V E B O A R D

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ P R E S I D E N T

K a r o l D e n b y 1 S T V I C E

P R E S I D E N T J a m i e E v a n s

2 N D V I C E P R E S I D E N T

S u s a n D a i g l e R E C O R D I N G S E C R E T A R Y

C r y s t a l W e r k h e i s e r C O R R E S P O N D I N G

S E C R E T A R Y E l i s a B r e u e r T R E A S U R E R

L o u i s e L a tti m o r e P A S T P R E S I D E N T & P A R L I A M E N T A R I A N

D e n i s e S t a n d l e y

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ALPHA STATE, TEXAS

The heart of the Society Is Its MembersThe heart of the Society Is Its Members

Delta Theta Chapter Area II No. 104

November meeting Date: November 2, 2015 Time: 4:30 PM Place: First Baptist Church Parlor, 4000 Grant, Groves Meditation: Mandie Champagne (Tanya Davis) Hostesses: * Pat Briggs , Mary Beth McDuff, Dixie Dubuisson, Sheri Furby, Annette Meier, Emily Rueda, Laura Zito Program Title: Helping Hands for Haiti Program Summary: MacKenzie Howell, a nine-year old girl, will share how she wrote a book to help Bigrade, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, fund school repairs and provide new supplies for an educational facility. She has written a second book to share her visit to this community where she was able to visit the school that her funds helped repair and to meet the children that attend there. Her mother, Allison Howell, will share how the family encouraged MacKenzie to carry about the desire of her heart and also the needs of the school. Program Facilitators: Karol Denby and the Global Awareness and Research Committees

Music: Haitian Music & The Delta Kappa Gamma Song

Editor: Lynne James ~~ lynnej@gt.rr.com

Minutes: October 5, 2015 Delta Theta Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International met in the Parlor at First Baptist Church, Groves, on October 5, 2015. The meeting was called to order by Second Vice President Susan Daigle at 4:30 PM. Twenty-six members were present along with our special guest, Dr. Jason Hunt. Meditation: Dr. Christina Puenté led the group in a prayer for a productive and peaceful school year. Refreshments: Hostesses were Marilyn Trahan, Tanya Davis, and Crystal Werkheiser. Great job, ladies!

Program: The program this month was “Staying Healthy as Educators” by Dr. Jason Hunt. Dr. Hunt is a local chiropractor in Nederland who enjoys empowering people to live healthy lives by educating them on healthy life style choices. Dr. Hunt provided simple, easy tips such as eating five servings of vegetables and five servings of fruit daily to increase one’s intake of valuable vitamins, minerals, and fiber. He also suggested a slow steady diet and exercise modifications to ensure a successful transition to a more healthy life.

Officer and Committee Reports

Recording Secretary: The minutes of the May meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. Crystal Werkheiser also read the minutes from the Executive Board Meeting held July 22, 2015. Treasurer: Copies of the treasurer’s report for May-June 2015 and July-September 2015 were distributed and will be submitted for audit. Louise informed the membership that she is accepting two payments for the $95 in dues. She needs the last payment by December 1st. Bylaws & Rules: Denise Standley read the proposed changes to the chapter rules. The proposed changes are as follows: Recommendations for new members shall be submitted to the membership committee throughout the year. Recommendations will be taken through the March meeting. There will be no September meeting. The Founder’s Day celebration shall be celebrat-ed along with the chapter’s birthday in March. Sandy Jordan moved that we accept the rule changes, and Lynne James seconded the motion. The membership voted to accept the rule changes. Professional Affairs: Sheri Furby announced that the committee selected Kara Killman, daughter of Crystal Werkheiser, as the recipient for the Madie Harrison-Kent grant-in-aid. Achievement Awards: Annette Meier is accepting nominations for achievement awards. Global Awareness: Emily Rueda has decided to challenge the membership with the task of “filling the jar” for global awareness. She will bring the flower jar to each meeting for members to give whatever their hearts desire to fill the jar. Correspondence: Elisa Breuer shared a thank you note from Crystal Werkheiser for the memorial in honor of her mother and father. Elisa also read resignation letters from Meredith Brawner, Patsy Edmonds, and Julie Gauthier. Dixie Tucker moved to accept the resignations and Denise Standley seconded the motions. The membership regretfully accepted the resignations. Membership: A few sisters attempted to guess the mystery sister, but no one guessed correctly this month. Contact: Linda Harrison asked members to confirm their contact information on page 31 in the yearbook. Please forward all corrections to Linda. If you have not signed up for the Remind (text message) for our chapter, please do so. Dr. Duhon sends out meeting reminders and other important information via Remind. Yearbook: Dr. Brenda Duhon distributed yearbooks to the membership. Please look through the yearbook. It has valuable in-formation regarding meetings, hostesses assignments, and contact information. She also asked that members gather yearbooks for sisters who were absent and deliver them to their campuses. 458156 Announcements

August and September birthdays were recognized by Susan Daigle.

Delta Theta earned awards at the state convention. They are the Annie Award, the Five Star Award, and the Seal of Merit for an outstanding 5-Star Newsletter. Lynne James also earned a Certificate of Appreciation for excellence as an editor for our newsletter from Jeanetter Rhyan, who was the TSO chairman of Communications and Publicity.

Sympathy was extended to Crystal Werkheiser in the loss of her dad this summer.

Lynne James reported that the newsletter will have a quick turn around this month so please submit reports by November 16th.

Susan Daigle informed members about the Helping Hands for Haiti program scheduled for the November meeting. She en-couraged all members to attend as it will be a fabulous program. Susan also announced that plans are in motion for the Christmas party.

BRAG TIME—Christina Puenté is thrilled to report that her daughter, whom she has been homeschooling, is reading very well. What a proud mama.

The meeting concluded at 5:32. Crystal Werkheiser

Recording Secretary

D E L T A T H E T A N E W S L E T T E R

V O L U M E 6 2 I S S U E 2 P A G E 2

Crystal Werkheiser

Recording Secretary

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 6 2 I S S U E 2

November reports due Elisa Breuer Correspondence

Susan Daigle Programs and Service

Projects

The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International promotes

professional and personal growth of women educators

and excellence in education.

November birthdays 16-Karol Denby & Lana Parker

19—Michelle Judice 20-Mary Beth McDuff 21-Jennifer Fecowycz

D E L T A T H E T A N E W S L E T T E R

Please send your dues to Louise as soon as possible so she can start preparing her report to send in with the dues to State and International. If you plan to bring your check to her at the November 2 meeting, please let her know that in advance so she can have the report ready to send. She must mail her mem-bership report (and money) by November 5th.

Contact Louise at 724-7728, llattimore@gt.rr.com, or louisel@pngisd.org

Treasurer’s report

July-September 2015

Balance on hand July 1, 2015 1273.70 Receipts Total Receipts $0.00

Disbursements

Gifts and Memorials 30.00

Supplies 17.28

Total Disbursements 47.28

Balance on hand September 30, 20145 $1226.42

October’s Mystery Sister

was Staci Gary

In other news . . . Alpha Theta (Comal County): As part of their chapter mentoring project, Past President Debbie Glasscock and Past 1st Vice-President Nancy Lindley presented a short program about Delta Kappa Gamma and their local Alpha Theta Chapter at the New Braunfels ISD New Teacher conference. A first year teacher at Carl Schurz Elementary School, Elisa Figueroa's name was drawn from ten names and she received a $100 check for teaching supplies. Karen Flora and her students received a surprise gift bag from Alpha Theta members as did Kristin Richey and her students. Alpha Theta member Cathy Hinman also presented gift baskets to two early career teachers at Lone Star Elementary. Beta Zeta (Fredericksburg): The chapter’s end of year “field trip” was a visit down the road to Kerrville on Saturday, May 16, 2015. They left at 9:30 AM and met at the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center downtown at 10:00. There were several exhibits to see, including some small quilt samples as a “teaser” to the Hill Country Guild quilt show. Then they enjoyed a guided tour of the Schreiner Mansion next door at 11:00. A new restaurant across the street, “Crumbs,” was their lunch destination. Then they stopped by the “Empty Cross” on the hill on their way out of town. Everyone enjoyed the outing. What a great way to end the chapter year! Delta Omicron (Dallas): Lou McMillan, first vice president for programs, introduced Nancy Johnson and Wanda Spoonmore, first cousins. As it was the chapter's birthday, members celebrated by listening to Johnson interview Spoonmore, a 50+-year DKG member and immediate past president of the chapter. Spoonmore's reflections and stories were inspiring. She entertained members with tales of her childhood, her own days as a student, and the earlier days of the Society. Spoonmore demonstrated how each of her experiences shaped her teaching style. The presentation was very rich as Spoonmore is an amazing storyteller and entertainer. During part of the program, members also honored the lives of the twelve women who founded Delta Kappa Gamma in 1929.

D E L T A T H E T A N E W S L E T T E R

P A G E 4

October meeting highlights

V O L U M E 6 2 I S S U E 2

Top (left to right): The chapter’s Annie Award project poster on display for all to see; Susan Daigle presides in the absence of presi-dent Karol Denby; Global Affairs Chairman Emily Rueda announces a new fundraiser for this chapter year; Dr. Jason Hunt, a chiroprac-tor who practices in Nederland, presents members with helpful hints to healthy living. Row 2: Members listen attentively to Dr.

Hunt’s presentation.

State convention highlights

Row 1: Susan, Denise and Mary at the Birthday celebration; Mary,

Karol, Susan, and Denise stand with the convention banner; Marilyn

Gregory, in-coming TSO president, addresses the convention. Row 2:

Susan poses with out-going TSO president Nancy Newton; Stacey

Arnold, former member of Delta Theta, joins Mary, Susan, Denise, and

Karol on a midnight cruise along the river walk; Susan presents Delta

Theta’s Annie Award entry; Angie Ruffin, guest speaker from North

Carolina, speaks to the convention audience.

V O L U M E 6 2 I S S U E 2 P A G E 5

MacKenzie’s big difference

D E L T A T H E T A N E W S L E T T E R

~~Mystery Sister~~

Who’s in the Cloud?

From the clues at right, guess which Delta Theta Sister listed below is profiled?

Charlene Williams Elisa Breuer Lori Halbert Jennifer Fecowycz

Christina Puenté Ann Daniels

Lynne Hollomon Sandra Jordan

Delta Theta Communications and Publicity Committee Lynne James (editor), Kathryn French, Michelle Judice, Lana Parker

Below: Paige

Miller Austin

and husband

Blake

Children who survived the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti were helped by two kids in Texas whose imaginative book project caused a stir in their hometown.

Four years ago, five-year-old Mackenzie Howell, a student at Langham Elementary School in Nederland, Texas, was inspired by a TV documentary about the devastating earthquake that had demoralized Haiti. She immediately began to wonder how she could help, how she could make a difference for the Haitian children in need. She found a way!

First she began selling homemade crafts and cookies with her proceeds going to help a Baptist Global Response school project there. Once that was completed, Mackenzie wondered what else she could do. She found an answer!

She wrote a book about a child who made a difference in the lives of others. Mackenzie’s story, “Leila’s Big Difference,” was written with the help of her mother and grandmother, who guided her in learning about Haiti through a contact with the Baptist relief organization and a prayer guide provided by the International Mission Board’s Kids on Mission website. Mackenzie used what she learned to dream up a storyline. While her mother helped her put the story together, a friend, nine-year-old Jace Theriot, created illustrations.

Delta Theta members can learn the rest of Mackenzie’s story when she and her mother speak to chapter members at the November 2 meeting. The chapter Annie Award project will be introduced by Susan Daigle, Delta Theta’s Programs and Service projects chairman. A list of needed supplies is on page 7.

Adapted from an article by Mark Kelly in Baptist Global Response, online at www.gobgr.org.

MacKenzie and Jace

V O L U M E 6 2 I S S U E 2 P A G E 6

Y ou belong to Delta Kappa Gamma because someone believes you are SPECIAL.

D E L T A T H E T A N E W S L E T T E R

Karol and the crusin’ cousins Early this month three of our members headed to the Mississippi Coast for the 19th annual Crusin’ the Coast. Known as

America’s Largest Block Party, Crusin’ the Coast began in 1996 as a festival to celebrate antique, classic, and hot rod

vehicles, nostalgic music, and related events. The first year the event had 374 vehicles registered. In 2015, car

enthusiasts from all over the USA and some foreign countries cruised

Highway 90 from Bay St. Louis to Ocean Springs with stops along the way in

Pass Christian, Gulfport, Biloxi, and D’Iberville. This year, from October 4

through October 11, 7,639 vehicles were registered with hundreds more

simply showing up to join the fun. Among those who enjoyed the ride were

Karol Denby and her husband Kenneth and cousins Ann Daniels and Lynne

James with their husbands Billy and Gary. Karol and Kenneth drove their

classic 1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28 all the way to Mississippi. Ann and Billy took

their pickup and can home with a trailer loaded with a 1923 Model T Ford,

adding to their 1931 Model A Ford, which was wrecked two years ago at the

same event. Lynne and Gary left their classics at home, but had fun looking at

all the beautiful cars on display. Lynne and Gary have two classics: a 1928 Ford

roadster and a 1932 Ford Vicky. While the Daniels’ and the James’ have been

to Crusin’ the Coast several times, this was the Denbys’ first trip. Karol and

Kenneth are active in two local car clubs. They have been members of ACES for

three years and the Spindletop Street Rodders for two. Both take an active

part in the clubs, and next year Kenneth

will be vice president and Karol will be the secretary for the Spindletop club. The

Denby Camero has won awards at several car shows, including the Pecan Festival,

PN-G Project Graduation, West Brook Project Graduation, Classic Chevy in

Beaumont, and Nederland Project Graduation. Karol calls their first Crusin’

experience “awesome,” as they enjoyed seeing the many classic cars from all

over the US and Canada, talking to others about their cars and their restorations,

and especially attending the Beach Boys concert, which was one of the many live

music entertainments at the venues. They definitely expect to make this a yearly event.393105

Billy & Ann with the new T-Bucket

Lynne & Gary in the roadster

Kenneth and Karol on their way to Mississippi!

Ann & Billy with the Model A The Denbys’ Camero The James’ Vicky

V O L U M E 6 2 I S S U E 2 P A G E 7

D E L T A T H E T A N E W S L E T T E R

Colored Shoelaces Small plastic jewels Sequins Acrylic paints (all colors, including neon and

metallic) Artist smocks (small & large) Artist Grade Paint Brushes Small paracord buckles Sharpie markers (all colors) Goody Metal Double Bar Barrettes 4mm ribbon (all colors) Adult and Child sized plain colored baseball

caps (Boy colors only) Soccer Ball Applique s Large Craft Sticks Popsicle Sticks

TRS legislative update

Supplies Needed

Helping Hands for Haiti

Before the next session of the Texas legislature (2017), a legislative joint interim committee will study TRS-Care and Active Care. The committee

was created by SB 1940 and HB 2974. will be composed of 3 Senators and 3 State

Representatives. will report findings and recommendations by

January 15, 2017. The focus of the study is to examine and assess the financial soundness of the plans; the cost and affordability of plan coverage; and the sufficiency of access to physicians and

health care providers under the plan. Additional focus will address TRS-Active Care specifically 157417 the impact of allowing school districts and

other participating entities in the uniform group coverage program for active employees to opt out of that program;

the impact, should participating entities be authorized to opt out of the program, of allowing or prohibiting future participation by previous participating entities that have opted out; and

the impact of establishing a regional rating

method for determining premiums charged in

different regions of the state for the benefits

provided under a group coverage plan

established under the program.

STAY INFORMED!

By Merita Zoga, from the TRS Update to the

TRTA District Fall Convention, Fall 2015

Imposter scams

Here’s how they work: You get a call or an email. It might say you’ve won a prize. It might seem to come from a government official. Maybe it seems to be from someone you know — your grandchild, a relative or friend. Or maybe it’s from someone you feel like you know, but you haven’t met in person — say, a person you met online to whom you have been writing. Whatever the story, the request is the same: wire money to pay taxes or fees, or to help someone you care about. But is the person who you think it is? Is there an emergency or a prize? Judging by the complaints to the Federal Trade Commission, the answer is NO. The person calling you is pretending to be someone else.

Here’s what you can do: Stop. Check it out before you wire money to anyone.

Call the person, the government agency, or someone else you trust. Get the real story. Then decide what to do. No government agency will ever ask you to wire

money.

Pass this information on to a friend. You may not have gotten one of these calls or email, but chances are you know someone who has.

Source: Federal Trade Commission ftc.gov/PassItOn