Fall 2009 is in full swing, even though that has meant snow for some Tri Sigmas, and flip flop weather for others. As always, it is a busy time for our national sisterhood as we greet autumn in states from Alaska to Florida. With the 2010 Convention right around the corner, it is more important than ever that our Sigma alumnae stay connected and informed. Hopefully this edition of “Alumnae Update” will help with that goal.

Lauren E. Moran, who received her undergraduate degree from Edinboro University of PA and was a member of the Gamma Rho chapter there, and has her Masters in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University. As Assistant Director of Student Activities at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, she has been involved with the recruitment of student volunteers and the organization of various community service events. She has worked with over a dozen fraternities and sororities on the university campus, increasing their membership, establishing an Alternative Break Program, developing new marketing programs and communicating and involving alumni. Lauren served as a Leadership Consultant for Tri Sigma following her graduation, and is presently working on several volunteer committees, as well as being the Chapter Advisor for Eta Tau chapter.


As Director of Alumnae and Volunteer Services, Lauren will be a busy woman! She will be managing development, implementation and execution of new and existing alumnae programs and services designed to foster a lifelong involvement in Tri Sigma. Coordinating programs and services designed to engage and maintain a national network of volunteers at the local and national level will also be on her “to do” list. She will also be working to assist with the development of programs designed to help collegians transition to active alumnae life.


This new staff position will provide Tri Sigma alumnae with someone who can devote her full attention to the business of working with our chapters, Key Alumnae, national volunteers, with women who want to support our national sisterhood financially and through service, with those who are interested in becoming initiated as an alumna, and with our young alumnae as well as our Golden Violets. We welcome Lauren, and wish her the very best. And she will be working with the best: Tri Sigma alumnae!

Annual alumnae dues for 2010 are now $45.00. This increase will help to cover the expenses that are necessary for, among other things, maintaining the work that is done at National Headquarters for alumnae mailings and publications, for upcoming programs that will be provided in Essential Sigma for Alumnae, and for the hiring of our new Director of Alumnae and Volunteer Services. Please know that your financial support is very necessary to maintaining a strong sorority, especially in these times of continuing financial concern. With only 4 % of Tri Sigma alumnae submitting their dues on an annual basis, it was sad to see that number drop even more last year. Consider that $45.00 per year comes to $3.75 a month...or less than one purchase at Starbuck’s! It is more important than ever that each and every alumna invest in our national sisterhood. Your help is needed...and appreciated.

Dues can be paid through an alumnae chapter, if you are a member. They can be paid online at www.trisigma.org , or they can be sent directly to National Headquarters by February 1, 2010.

Just south of Minneapolis, the Sheraton Bloomington North hotel is waiting for Tri Sigmas from around the country to celebrate our Triennial Convention, which will be held July 9-12, 2010. The spacious hotel has lovely meeting rooms, an indoor pool, and plenty of places where you can relax with old friends and meet new ones. From the Opening Session and Welcome Reception on Friday evening, to the inspiring and emotional Festival of Lights Banquet on Monday, this is the ultimate Sigma Sisters Reunion. Alumnae chapters are encouraged to send a delegate, so that there will be representation when important issues are voted on. National officers have the opportunity to be a part of the future of our sisterhood by their participation and dedication. All Tri Sigma collegiate and alumnae members are welcomed to be a part of this special gathering of our sisters. If you haven’t attended a Convention before now, start planning to make the trip north this summer. More information will be available on our web site soon, as well as in future issues of The Triangle. (And yes, the Mall of the America is about a 10-minute ride away from the hotel!)

More information will be coming in the next issues of “The Triangle” and on our web site. Do you have special memories of past Conventions that you have attended that you would like to share in the next issue of “Alumnae Update”? Please forward your experiences to me at sigmom3@aol.com, and we’ll be sure to publish as many as we can.

I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that each one of us has had a personal experience with breast cancer. Maybe it was a friend or family member who faced the challenge. Maybe the diagnosis was yours personally, and you lived- or are living- that chapter in your life differently than you ever thought you would. Many of our alumnae and collegiate sisters, either as a chapter or individually, recently participated in fund raisers, walks, relays, and other events, during October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Two of the Alumnae Coordinators in the Tri Sigma’s Alumnae Department are cancer survivors. Suzan Rome Bosarge, Gamma Mu, and member of the New Orleans Alumnae Chapter, shared the news of her cancer in September of 1998 with her Sigma sisters, and counts their steadfast support and prayers as one of the things that made her survival successful. She even continued her duties as the Chapter Advisor for Gamma Mu during her chemotherapy. Suzan, who is now 11 years cancer-free, has presented materials about breast cancer awareness at alumnae chapter meetings, and was part of the group of New Orleans alumnae who recently participated in the Suzan G. Komen Race for the Cure, as the chapter does annually.

Cindy Heimann Harms, Alpha Epsilon and Seattle Alumnae chapter, fought another kind of battle. After several years of questionable lumps on her chest, with various diagnoses by different doctors, it was finally determined that she had a rare form of skin cancer (DFSP). Surgery and a prolonged recovery did remove the cancerous growths. Like Suzan, she credits not only her family with their love and support in her battle, but also several of her San Francisco alumnae sisters (she was the alumnae chapter president at the time of her illness), as well as her Alpha Epsilon sisters.

Both of these women have made Sigma an important part of their lives, giving back to the sorority and their sisters, who helped them during a difficult time in their lives. We thank them. And it is not surprising to hear them credit their Sigma friends for their love and support. That’s what sisters do for one another.

Recently, I had the pleasure of presenting 2 Alumnae Chapter awards to Angie Yang Eaton, Epsilon Alpha, who is the president of the San Francisco/East Bay alumnae chapter. The Alumnae Chapter Web site of the Year Award, as well as the Sisterhood Award, was awarded to this enthusiastic group of women who actively support the Epsilon Alpha collegiate chapter, and who are busy with alumnae chapter activities as well. Angie submitted this advice about starting a local web site for alumnae chapters, something that can be an excellent resource in attracting and connecting with Sigma sisters. But it can seem like a daunting task at the same time.

“Does the thought of creating a web site overwhelm you? The hard part can actually be deciding where to start. Even though I am not experienced in web design, I do know how to use Google. So I spent 10 minutes searching on Google about how to create a free web site, and found many different avenues. Once you find a service that you like, then you can go forth to do what I call “plug and chug”. Look at the national web site, and those of other chapters, even other sororities and fraternities, to see what information you want to include on your site. Then you are ready to plug and chug into the web site’s template, and launch it with pride. Even if your chapter is not ready for a full-blown multi-page web site, you can always have just one page that displays your chapter’s name and contact info. Sigmas looking for a local chapter can now get in touch with you easily. Connection is the key! Without being connected on the web, you are limiting your chapter’s potential."

Angie has volunteered to help anyone who wants to meet the challenge of starting a new chapter web site...and then strive to be the next winner of the Web site of the Year! Her e-mail is eaton.angie@gmail.com. Thank you, Angie, for sharing your experience, and for leading your dynamic alumnae chapter.

Megan Moore Holland, Eta Rho and president of the Greater Savannah, GA alumnae chapter, has had success in having recent graduates of nearby Armstrong Atlanta State College remain active with Tri Sigma. She says, “Keep things interesting! We rotate our schedule: a meeting one month, then a social activity the next. Make sure the upcoming events are interesting to as many members as possible. Give young alumnae something to do, like helping to chair an activity or committee. Make sure that they know they are needed to keep the sisterhood and the chapter strong. Reply quickly to an e-mail from a new alumna in the area. Don’t let anyone feel “unwanted” or ignored by not getting back to them soon. Communicate in as many ways as necessary to reach all ages of alumnae: e-mail, Facebook, Yahoo groups, telephone trees, even periodic mailings. Make sure the word gets out to everyone.”

Thank you, Megan, (gabeachchic@yahoo.com) for sharing your positive strategies for involving young alumnae. If you are a young alumna, and do not live near an alumnae chapter, or choose not to join because of work or other commitments, always remember that Tri Sigma needs all her sisters to support our national sisterhood by keeping contact information updated, by providing financial assistance through the payment of national dues, or by volunteering on a local or national level. Go to the national web site, and complete a Volunteer Service Application. Tri Sigma needs you!

Another young alumna, Aray Montalvan, Eta Phi from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, has become a one-woman “steam engine” for the Alumna Initiate process. Aray knew women from the school who showed interest in joining Tri Sigma after they had graduated. And, even though her Tri Sigma experience had been a short one, as she was a senior when the chapter was installed, Aray wanted to share what she had discovered about our sorority. She wanted to have a strong group of alumnae to support the Eta Phi chapter, and, most recently, the St. John’s University colony. She saw the opportunity to provide continuing sisterhood for area alumnae, as well as advisors for the local collegiate chapters. Through her efforts, 10 women joined Tri Sigma as Alumna Initiates during a special weekend in Brooklyn this past July. Since then, several more women, who had not previously experienced the essential bond of sisterhood, have chosen to be added as new strong links in Tri Sigma.

Aray (aray.trisigma@gmail.com) has referred to her efforts in encouraging women to participate in the Alumna Initiate process as “paying it forward”. She wanted to take what she found in Tri Sigma – character, conduct and friendship – and share it with others, who, in turn, could pass these values on to other women. Several of these women are now serving as advisors to their local collegiate sisters. Thank you, Aray, for your enthusiasm and dedication in showing how effective the Alumnae Initiate process can be.

As you can see, Tri Sigma is fortunate to have special, dedicated alumnae who want to give back to our sorority, and make it stronger than ever. But we need every Sigma alumna to be part of this process. No organization, small or large, local or national, can remain successful without the full participation of its members. Don’t let Tri Sigma be part of your past. Keep your contact information current on Sigma Connect or through other social networks. Support the national organization by paying your dues. Join these dynamic young alumnae, and the dedicated women who have inspired them, by staying involved and in touch with what is going on with Tri Sigma nationally. Keep these words in mind: “Remember always, we who receive much, must give much”

Mandy Meehan Chocheles, Gamma Eta and New Orleans Alumnae Chapter

Alumnae Vice President