Centennial Celebration in DC/National Convention Recap Day 4- The End…..

So I decided to sum up the rest of my time during the centennial. There is so much to mention during these days, and nights, as they all seemed like a blur. I will say it was WONDERFUL attending the Social Action Luncheon especially since the entire verdict of Trayvon Martin.  Over the next few days, we had some incredible prominent speakers who address the Delta Body. Speakers such as Hilary Clinton, Bernice King, Attorney General Eric Holder, and many others. They made me feel PROUD of being a member of the best sorority in the world.

I felt bad about neglecting my husband, so I cleared one day for just him and me! We went to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Memorial, the White House, and everything in DC. It was wonderful, and I had a blast with him. I LOVED the fact that he was able to take a picture in front of his FRAT Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The only downfall was it was HOT, and by hot I mean HOTTER THAN I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED (and I am in Phoenix). I had to sit down a few times from not passing out.

As the convention was winding down, reality set it that my ships/neos were going to go back to their "normal" lives and fly home.  (Michigan, St. Louis, Illinois). I realized that I had to find time to spend with them. After taking care of "Delta Business," we ended up going to Howard University to shop, visit, and take pictures at the "Famous" Delta Tree, and Fortitude. We met up with our Neos and had a blast! There was a whole sea of "red" taking pictures everywhere! We laughed, cried, shopped, and we made a ton of connections with other sorors.

Overall the weather in DC was hot. I had to stand in line for almost FOUR hours to get inside of our National Headquarters. It was worth the wait, but as I stated before, I was tired, and drenched in sweat, and there were times I had to sit down from feeling like I was going to faint.

I don't think I got any rest this entire trip, and thankfully since I am a school teacher I was okay with that. (Thank GOD for summers) I think I was living off of an average of 3 hours of sleep every day.

On the last day, I was sorrowful about leaving, but at the same time, I couldn't WAIT to get back home into my own bed! It has been an excellent time/journey with my sorors, and I applaud the EXEC board and everyone involved for doing a fantastic job and making this a memorable convention.

Here are a few pictures to recap my last few days in DC.

Me and My Beautiful Ships  

 My Ships and a small portion of our Neos. (DS 9MM and DS. 21-Derful F.O.R.C.E.S.)

 DS. 9 MM

A small portion of my undergraduate chapter!

 NICE A Phi A Plaque at Howard

Fortitude

 My lovely Husband representing his Phrat

 Me and My Boo!!!!

 So Proud of this,,,,They named a street after us! HOW COOL!!!!

 Me in front of NHQ!

  The FOUR hour long line to get into National HQ

 I had to represent my SAI (Sigma Alpha Iota) At Howard

It's been a blast, See ya in Houston Sorors!!!!!

Centennial Celebration in DC/National Convention Recap Day 3

First off: Happy Anniversary Baby!!!! Today was a very special day for me, and I was hoping to spend some time celebrating the "Endless Love" (our wedding theme) that my husband and I have for each other. I am enterally grateful that he postponed the celebrating our anniversary for my centennial.

As I was hitting snooze, I was thinking how I sure could go for a message, or I wish I were back at home so I can go to a spa for some relaxation. I have been living off of a minimum of 3 1/2 hours of sleep. At any rate, as I  crawled out of bed, I wanted to hit my darling husband who was sleeping next to me as he hugged the covers....Snoring......BOO! I got dressed in my White excited for today's event kissed my snoring hubby and headed downstairs to the lobby to join other Choir Sorors as we waited for a cab to take us to the convention center.

Without going into specifics, the Opening Ceremony was beautiful, I enjoyed every second of it. We sounded great, and by the end we had six brand new sorors join our illustrious sisterhood!  They are:

Dr. Tererari Trent

Angela Bassett

Paula Madison

Susan Taylor

Suzan D. Johnson-Cook

Lisa Jackson

I had to leave the ceremony earlier than expected because I needed to get to my Undergraduate Chapter Meetup Luncheon. I have been planning this for months, and I was praying that it would all work out in the end. Thankfully, one of my chapter soror's uncle was gracious enough to allow us to use his Bonus Room in his Condo for the meetup. The catered food was awesome, and the turnout was incredible! We laughed, cried, sung,  prayed, reminisced about the good ole days, and how our Chapter is the BEST chapter around. We did line introductions and said a few words about our individual pledge lines. It was wonderful to see my Big Sisters, My Spec, My Neo's and the babies of the chapter. When everything ended, I ended up getting ready to go BACK to the convention center to take care of "Delta Business."

Later on that evening, hubby and I got dressed, and was ready to go to the Signature Gala! We had a wonderful time listening to different artists. Here is a re-cap of what I was able to capture from that beautiful evening…..

The artists were fantastic. The only part of the Gala that was sad was when they announced the George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the trial of Trayvon Martin. Everyone was sad and confused. We said a prayer for the Martin family, and it was discussed on how the justice system failed his family. We quickly turned the sadness into a celebration of Trayvon Martin's life.


My darling husband and I finally got back to the hotel roughly around midnight. Although I was tired, we took a quick shower, got dressed and headed back out to Club Delta. The Alphas were hosting Club Delta on tonight so that was one of the main reasons why I decided to go. I wanted my hubby to be around his fraternity brothers. We had  a great time, but I think the lack of sleep was catching up with me.

Once we left We out to Delta Club, and I was EXHAUSTED! So I decided to call it a night and crawl into bed. I  FINALLY fell asleep around 4 am…..

Centennial Celebration in DC/National Convention Recap Day 2

I didn't get much sleep, but I am up EARRRLLLYYY in the AM dressed and ready to get my sing/praise on with my sorors at Choir practice. After kissing my wonderful husband goodbye, I headed down to the lobby to catch the Delta Shuttle (Which is a GREAT Shuttle btw) to head to the convention center for choir practice.

Once I got to the convention center, I was embraced by some SANGIN sorors! It was wonderful, and we sounded SO good! Being a member of a White Church back home, I forgot how beautiful a  traditional Black Church sound.

As I was in rehearsal, I was envious because my Ships were kicking it hard on the Mall.  But then when we started praising God all that envious-ness (I know SO not a word) went out the window. We had a GOOD OLE FASHION time praising God through song. Once we were finally done, and I exchanged phone numbers and emails with several sorors,

I went on a 10 min break. Not only was I a member of the Centennial Choir, but I was also a member of the Praise Team and were meeting for rehearsal. I texted my ships, and I found out that the line at the Verizon Box Office was CRAZY, and I needed to pick up tickets soon for the Stepshow, Signature Gala, and Gospel Fest.  I was afraid that I was not going to get there in enough time to pick up me and Hubby's Tickets.  I guess I had favor because when we finished rehearsal, I RAN to the box office and there was NO LINE!

I got home, quickly changed for the step show and the hubby, and I caught the Delta Shuttle to the Verizon Center for the Step show. It was GREAT to see so much crimson cream in this place. I was told that the step show was SOLD OUT and seeing the crowd outside while waiting for the doors to open only confirmed it.

Once we FINALLY got on the inside, we scrambled to find some great seats since:

A: The show was sold out, and
B: There was general seating

Thanks to my darling husband, he found us some FABULOUS seats, so I was able to capture some awesome pictures. The crowd was hyped, the DJ was on point, and you could feel the excitement in the air.

                                                           A Small Potion of the Crowd

A little clip I recorded right before the Show Started!


After Groovin to the music, and watching my beautiful sorors stroll in their seats, the show finally started with my 2nd Vice President, Soror Chelsea C. Hayes!

                          

                             She was later joined by the rest of the National Executive Board

   Soror Kym Whitley and Kappa Alpha Psi member "Uncle Tommy" were both Co-Host of the Stepshow. I felt they both did a phenomenal job!

Overall I enjoyed the step show, and I felt my sorors brought the HEAT! I have way too many pictures to post, so I will give you a small taste of each chapter.

                                         

                         ^^^^The Winners of the StepShow, The Mighty Midwest ROCKS!!!!
                    

In the Middle of the Stepshow, the "Uncle Tommy" one of the co-hosts asked the crowd who was the Oldest Delta in the Room. This YOUNG Lady was the "Oldest Delta Member" in the Crowd, and he was fantastic enough to present her with a $500 check!

When the show was finally over, My Boo and I hauled out of there as fast as we could to beat the crowd (Epic Fail) and headed back to the hotel to meet my Shippies! I was sad that I couldn't hook up with them at the step show, HOWEVER, we made plans to meet up back at my hotel after the show to go to Club Delta. My hubby was SO SWEET enough to allow us to have the hotel room, so they came up, we changed clothes, showered, laughed, reminisced and got dressed up to hit the club. 

Right before we hit the streets, my ships and I did a pose right in front of the elevators!

When we finally got to Club Delta, we ran into other Chapter Sorors, and it was GREAT seeing them as well. 

When we walked into the Renaissance Hotel (The Host Hotel/Club Delta) we were greeted by TONS of Greeks from All Organizations. (Kappas, Alphas, Ques, AKAs) It was lovely!  The Bar was featuring a special drink in our honor.

We ran into a few frat brothers who were from the South, and we had some GREAT conversation. Although we didn't have the opportunity to attend Club Delta since it was over by the time we got there, we had a great time conversating with sorors and people in the lobby.

We took the rest of the evening just to bond with each other.

My night FINALLY ended around 4 am. I needed to get in a quick "nap" because I needed to catch the shuttle to the convention center for our Opening Ceremony. I knew I was going to be tired, but hanging out with my shippies was priceless!

Next Post: Day Three!!!!!!!