My National Convention Delta Treasures

The rest of the convention was all about the business. It was refreshing to finally be able to sleep (FINALLY) and not worry about waking up at 4:30 am for early morning rehearsals. Although I enjoy connecting with sorors, singing the choir, and attending fun-fare events such as the Gospel Fest, Stepshow, Welcome ceremony, etc., the best part of the convention to me is the business. After getting dressed, I was able to connect with my neo again, and we headed to the central area for the business sessions. It was quite informative. When it was all over, we both headed to the vendor's area since I had to leave out and head home the next day. As much as I have enjoyed myself in Las Vegas, I was really looking forward to going home.

We walked around for a bit, as I started to check out the deals. Since the convention was coming to a close, vendors tend to put a lot of their items on sale, so they don't have to ship their merchandise home. (There were still two days left, but I had to get back home to prepare for school).  I usually only go to the vendors TWICE during a National Convention/Regional Conference; on the first day and the night before I leave. On the first day, I only purchase MUST HAVES. Must haves for me are items that are unique, and the vendor only has a few in stock.  Typically, these items sell out before the end of the first day. On the last night, before I leave, I will go back to the vendors to bargain shop and see what they have on sale. Most of the time, all the items that I purchased during this period is 30-50% off. I was able to find some great things!  After we casually browsed through every booth, we started back at the beginning to see if there was anything worth buying. I must admit that most of the paraphernalia that I purchased, was during this time. All of the items were on sale, and I was able to negotiate a few pieces. Here is a preview of my fantastic finds.

My Delta Treasures

I LOVE Jewelry 

I can never have too many Pearls

This set was only 10 bucks, YES! 

I can never have too many Delta Pins

I love this Delta/Alpha Necklace. 

I had to shop for my Darling Alpha Husband. He was SO thankful.

I am VERY proud to be an Alpha's Wife. 

I Love This Unique Delta Shirt. WINNER!

I received this shopping bag for free w/purchase. 


So while I was shopping, I stopped by this booth "Renee Marie" to inquire if they had what I labeled as the "Superwoman" bracelet.  I purchased the bracelet a month before, and I wanted to show my neo the bracelet. When I asked about the bracelet, the vendor looked confused and stated that I must have the wrong booth. I was then confused, and I pulled up my phone and pulled up my blog to show her a picture. I featured her items on my blog before. (She has some amazing stuff, check it out here --->(http://blackgreeklife.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-delta-treasures.html)
At any rate, when I showed her the picture and told her the I blogged about her items, she smiled and stated that they didn't bring any bracelets to the convention. I told her that I really wanted to show my friend the bracelet. She then reaches behind the counter and pulls out this BEAUTIFUL envelope clutch and says "Now you have something else to blog about." I paused for a second, and it took me a min to realize she was GIVING IT TO ME! I came across the counter to give her a big HUG. (Oh, and I failed to mention she was also a soror). HOW COOL IS THAT???? The front has a print of our Crest, and the back has our beautiful letters. I absolutely fell in LOVE WITH IT, and if she didn't bless me with this clutch, I would have bought it. She also blessed my neo with a free clutch as well.  Thank you SOROR CANDICE!!!!!!!!!

The back of the Clutch

The front of the Clutch

I ended up purchasing two more items from Renee Marie once returned home which I will feature on my blog at a later time.  Her quality of her merchandise is impeccable.  I am very pleased with my Delta finds, and my husband was grateful for the items that I purchased for him as well. He stated that he was more than prepared for the upcoming fraternity year. I told him that I need to buy a Delta Jewlrey box, JUST FOR Delta Items. After he saw my Delta items, he agreed! So now I am on the hunt to find a Delta Jewlrey box to store my jewelry. 

53rd National Convention (Interfaith Worship Service/Gospel Fest)

Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring. Dang, Didn't I JUST lay my head down on this pillow? I struggled to get out of bed for today's events.  After getting dressed in my White, I headed downstairs to catch the shuttle. I had to get to the Garden Arena (MGM Hotel) by 5:30 for choir rehearsal. 

We had a great rehearsal, and we were ready to SANG! As the venue started filling up, I realized that this was a perfect opportunity to take out my camera and start snapping away. One benefit of being a member of the choir, is you get premium seating. I was able to capture great footage from where I was sitting. Seeing a sea of Black Women dressed in white was a sight to see. The service started promptly at 7:00. Unlike on yesterday during our opening ceremony, on today, I was able to snap away like crazy as the NEB made their way to the front. 

We had excellent service, and our guest speaker, National Chaplain Vashti Murphy McKenzie did a phenomenal job. I was able to do a video collage from the service, as well as Friday's rehearsal from the Convention Choir. 


Leaving the service was not an easy task at all. It was sorors EVER-EE-WHERE!  While I was in line waiting to get on the bus, I ran into an FB friend that I connected with on FB but never met in real person. HOW COOL IS THAT! When I finally got on the bus, I must have gone straight to sleep. The next thing I remember was a soror waking me up saying "We're back at Mandalay Bay soror, wake up. I looked around and realized that I was the LAST person on the bus mind you, I was sitting at the very back. I guess I was tired. I headed back to my hotel to take a breather before heading back to our regional luncheon. My only disappointment was I had to attend my current region's luncheon. I was made in the Midwest, but I am currently in the far west region. Although I absolutely LOVE my fabulous Farwest Region, I also wanted to reconnect with sorors from the Midwest. The luncheon was great, and I was thrilled that our chapter picked up a few awards. When it was over, I made my way over to the Midwest Region's room to see if I would find any familiar sorors. It was then that I was able to hook up with one of my neo's. I was thrilled to see her. After we connected, we both rushed to grab a seat for the Public Meeting. A Public meeting is where all members of the Divine Nine is present to give greetings to the body of Delta Sigma Theta.  

National Presidents and Representatives from the Divine Nine

When the public meeting ended,  I headed BACK to my hotel to get ready for tonight's main event; the Gospel Fest featuring Tasha Cobbs, and Hezekiah Walker. So you know what that means right? Yup, it was back to the Garden Arena. The spirit of the place was incredible. It all started with announcing the winners of the Gospel Choir Contest. Congrats to the members of the Chicago Alumnae Chapter of being the winners. They sounded outstanding together as a choir.  Tasha Cobbs was up first, and she laid it down with her vocals. People were really feeling the spirit. Hezekiah Walker closed the place down with an altar call after his performance. I am so thankful I was able to attend this spirit-filled concert. We straight up had Church that night. 

Chicago Alumnae Chapter: Winners of the Gospel Choir Challenge

53rd National Convention (Step-Show)

Yawn! As much as I love being in the choir, I was beyond exhausted. Living off two hours of sleep was very hard. As I stumbled to get on the bus, seeing the beautiful faces of my sorors made it all worthwhile and woke me up. As usual,  the opening ceremony was incredible. I always get teary-eyed during the ceremony. We welcomed a new honorary member, Patience Stephens, Ph.D. to the sisterhood. (Google her).  When the ceremony was over, I grabbed some lunch and attended several plenary sessions.

 I then went back to the hotel, to change into some comfortable clothes (paraphernalia) and headed to the step-show. What a great time we had.  Generally, I would try to hook up with my chapter members to sit with them. However, I was on a mission to find a seat where I would be able to capture great photos and video footage. As I sat down, right to the right of me was chapter sorors. I guess it was meant to be for me to be sitting right across from them. After exchanging that good ole' fashion Delta embrace, I pulled out my camera and started snapping away. The DJ was spinning on the 1's and 2's and soror was in the aisle getting their "stroll on. " I was able to capture some great video footage and pictures from the event. The National Executive Board showed up and showed out.  Sorors were decked out in their crimson and cream and were anxiously awaiting to see which chapter would claim the throne of first place. Overall, I actually enjoyed myself. The judges included members of the Divine Nine, and they did a great job judging the show. 

When the show finally ended, the MC highlighted sorors who pledged from each decade. One, by one, each decade started to rep the decade that they pledged. It was so much fun. When it was all over, I began to follow a group of sorors "thinking" they were heading back to the shuttle bus to take us BACK to Mandalay Bay. Big mistake. I realized, they were all staying AT the MGM hotel, and they were just heading back to their rooms. After realizing that I had to make my way BACK to the Garden Arena to head back to the shuttle bus area. By this time I was starving! I grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel. Although I was tired as all get out, I had to transfer my photo/video images to my computer to clean out my card. I needed a fresh brand new card for tomorrow's events. (Really today's events since it was well past 2 am.) I was finally able to get into bed by 2:30 a.m. only to get up 2 hours later for our Interfaith Worship Service.