Welcome back!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I’m talking about recruitment season, of course!

School is back in session at UNLV which means the Iota Eta Zetas are hard at work. While we miss the long, lazy days of summer, we can’t wait to see what this school year has in store for us.

The collegiate Zetas had an event-filled summer, which included three of our sisters traveling to Louisville to attend the national convention. At the convention, Iota Eta was awarded the Founder’s Club Award for donating over $10,000 to our philanthropy. Sisters Katie Devlin, Sara Geary and Shardonnay Summerhays represented Iota Eta in Louisville and learned a lot!

The weekend of August 17, we had our annual sisterhood retreat. The three-day retreat consisted of an ice cream social with our alum, a visit from Phired Up! Vice President Jessica Gendron, recruitment workshops, and sisterhood bonding activities. Retreat helped prepare the Fall  2011 class for recruitment season and was a great way to bond after a long summer apart from each other.

Now here we are, only FIVE days away from formal recruitment! Where has all the time gone? Our sisters have come together to help craft and prepare for recruitment and we could not be more excited about the prospect of gaining some amazing new Zetas! Recruitment will take place September 21 to September 23 and bid day will be on Monday the 24. We can’t wait to show the potential new members why we love Zeta Tau Alpha and why they will love it, too!

Check back after recruitment for a recap of the weekend and an introduction to our new members!

ZLAM

Strike Out Cancer!

                On a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon, Iota Eta held its first “Strike Out Cancer” softball tournament. Laughter, letters, and a love of philanthropy filled the air as sisters, alum, members of other Greek organizations and non-Greek organizations filled the softball stands to cheer on their teams.

                As we all piled on sunscreen, drank gallons of water and crowded into little areas of shade, we were all reminded of how much we love our philanthropy and why all of our hard work is worth it.

 Sisters cheering on the teams and getting some shade

                Our director of philanthropy, Haley Findlay, worked on planning this event since January. She rented out two softball diamonds at Desert Bloom Park and all of the collegiate Zetas showed up bright and early to set up. Despite overwhelming heat and a lack of sleep, we were all excited to finally get our event started and showcase how hard we have all worked.

                We had multiple sponsors for the event, as well as dozens of raffle prizes. Amongst the prizes were tickets to shows on the Strip, tickets to zip line on Fremont Street, salon gift certificates, homemade gifts from our sisters, hotel stay at Mandalay Bay, and restaurant gift cards. Curbside Café, a popular food truck in Vegas, was at the event and donated a percentage of the proceeds to our philanthropy. The owner’s wife recently survived breast cancer, so our cause hit close to home for him. 

 Some of our beautiful alum who came out to support us!

 Sisters Chelsea Mitchell and Brandie Bradford showing off their cute philanthropy shirts!

                Teams were assigned playing times and competitors on two separate fields. As the day went on, teams were slowly eliminated and through heat and dehydration both fields were narrowed down to champions. The champions were given trophies and the honor of winning the first ever ZTA Strike Out Cancer softball tournament!

                It’s safe to say all of us Zetas would say this event was a huge success. Not only did we raise almost $5,000, but we reached out to more than just the Greek community and donated to a cause that impacts a huge amount of our sisters, peers, classmates, coworkers, family members and friends. We recently held a fundraiser at California Pizza Kitchen and after adding up all of our fundraising efforts for the semester, we are proud to announce that we raised $7,037!

 Sister Callie Chesser cheering on the teams

 

 Tiffany Jackson, Brandie Bradford and Christie Garland showing their Zeta pride

                 We are so proud to support breast cancer education and awareness and are very thankful for all of the members of the UNLV and Las Vegas communities that have supported us in raising money for a great cause!

 Alum Lauren Simons with her little sis, Haley Findlay, and grand-little Madison May

 

 Big sis Codie Hoffman and little sis Haley Sansom 

 

 Our chapter on the softball field after we crowned the champions

 Sisters spreading awareness on campus!

Zeta Days 2012

Hello again!

I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely weather and soaking up a lot of sun! (But remember, always wear sunscreen!) This past weekend a few of our sisters attended Zeta Days in California. I was not able to attend, but our amazing sister Brianna Weber was at the event and has written the following post recapping the wonderful time she had:

On April 13^th 2012, six UNLV Zetas and four Las Vegas area Zeta Alumnae ventured out through wind and rain to Anaheim, California to celebrate the founding of our beloved Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity. We drove through intermittent rain, too much fog and stop-go traffic ready with flower-print dresses and big, floppy hats to celebrate, Kentucky Derby Style! We arrived midday on Friday in time to shop at Downtown Disney for souvenirs and also to grab a bite to eat at Ralph Brennan’s New Orleans Jazz Kitchen. Although the Beignets and Jumbo were delicious, running through the rain from store to store (ultimately getting absolutely soaking wet!) will be the most memorable part of the afternoon. After checking into our hotel, wringing out our clothes and drying our hair, a few took a nap to recoup after the road trip and cold rain while the remaining Zetas drove into Riverside for a “Hospitality Sisterhood” and Mexicana dinner to mix and mingle with alumnae and other chapters including Theta Phi, Kappa Theta and Theta Omega. 

Due to California’s confusing highway system, ongoing construction complete with mindboggling detours, and forbiddance of U-turns, we were only able to spend a few minutes at the hospitality suite to meet some classy alumnae and hear the exciting news of a housing remodel at the Cal State Fullerton chapter as well as upcoming extensions on the west coast. The Zeta Sisterhood Dinner took over the back of the restaurant, Don Pedro, with our laughter and excited voices. It was great to see as many collegiate members as alumna Zetas attending! Several of our Zeta celebrities, most notably Dolores Gastineau and Deb Ensor, were in attendance as well. Of course, the ladies of Las Vegas (which were Victoria Matherly, Ramona Farley, soon-to-be TLC Lauren Simons and myself) had the most vivacious and spirited table! Or at least we were the loudest! It was so nice to catch up with another founding sister and talk about the next stage of our Zeta life, post-graduation with an Alumna. Talking with Ramona was just like talking with any other Zeta which proves that sisterhood is transcendent and I’m reassured in knowing that wherever we end up in the next stage of our lives, there will be Zetas waiting to welcome us.

We were up bright and early Saturday morning and off to the races! Zeta “Day at the Races” (Kentucky Derby races that is) was held in Anaheim Hills – a beautiful suburb of the city. We filled the banquet hall with hats, hats and more hats! After a quick registration, some coffee and a plate of fruit, we had a chance to hear about what the Southern California chapters have been up to. UNLV Iota Eta received some fantastic awards as well! We were proud to receive a Certificate of Excellence for Maintaining Total in 2010-2011 and a Certificate of Excellence for Meeting Quota in Fall 2011. To top it off, all three California chapters received the same certification. We were so happy to hear our province has been doing quality work! Our chapter also received recognition for Campus Involvement commending our ability to reach out into the Greek as well as non-Greek community during our philanthropy events and lending our efforts to organizations on and off campus. 

 Sisters Victoria Matherly, Cassidy Berglund, Brianna Weber, Alyssa Bowman and Lily Gillogly

We had a fantastic number of sisters recognized for their Academic Merit, receiving a 3.5 or higher during the previous academic year. Overall, in our province, we were proud to learn that 125 sisters fell into this category. We look forward to doubling it by Zeta Day 2013! The graduating seniors were all given thoughtful gifts to help prepare us for job hunting and career-life and also encouraged to join an Alumnae chapter as soon as possible. Iota Eta was proud to honor Victoria Matherly with the Outstanding Senior Award, which is very much deserved! We had a delicious lunch and break to buy raffle tickets in hopes of winning phenomenal prizes such as a Zeta merchandise or a movie night in basket. We all took a few turns in the Zeta Day Photo Booth with wacky props and silly poses – another memory to take home! We shopped for Zeta gear, some even homemade, from different Alumnae chapters and chatted with other sisters. We watched humbly to see our Alumnae advisors, Ramona Farley and Aimee Wise honored with awards and gifts. Our small but mighty table consisted of Sara Geary (our Iota Eta representative), Cassidy Berglund, Alyssa Bowman, Lily Gillogly, Victoria Matherly, Lauren Simons, Melissa Becht, Ramona Farley, Aimee Wise, and me. And yet another honor! our very own Ramona was featured in the Kentucky Derby Hat Fashion Show and was a finalist. In the end, we voted unanimously for a wildly decorated ZTA turquoise and silver tulle-decorated hat worn by a White Violet sister. And as always, we teared up listening to Deb Ensor sing “Feels Like Home.” 

 Iota Eta's seniors Brianna Weber and Victoria Matherly

Iota Eta's outstanding senior Victoria Matherly

           

 I am so glad I took the opportunity to spend more time with my sisters at Zeta Day. It was exciting to hear how well our other chapters are doing and I’m very glad to have spent more time with our alumnae and advisors; the clock is ticking and soon I’ll be joining an alumnae chapter! The weekend was exhausting and the weather was not always kind to us, but I wouldn’t change a single second of that trip. It was a sisterhood-filled weekend and I look forward to NLC and convention in the coming years. We celebrated our founding in style and I have never been more proud to wear the badge of ZTA.

 "Love, the greatest of all things"

-Brianna Weber

All of us collegiate members are hoping to attend Zeta days next year and are so proud of our girls that represented us! 

As of right now, we are busy doing last-minute preparations for our philanthropy this Sunday! It's supposed to be hot (100 degrees!) but we could not be more excited to "strike out cancer." Updates about how the event goes and how much money we raise will be posted as soon as possible. Have a fabulous week and weekend!

ZLAM!

Happy Spring!

Hello beautiful Zetas! Happy spring! I hope everyone has been enjoying the fabulous weather and is getting ready for spring break (well, at least for the collegiate members)!

During the month of March, we have been hard at work participating in Greek Week, planning our spring philanthropy, holding a fundraiser, and participating in other philanthropies.

The week of March 5^th was Greek week at UNLV, and we were paired with the fraternities Lambda Chi Alpha and FIJI. The theme for this year’s events was cartoons and we were given the show “Ahhh! Real Monsters” to work with. In order to be admitted to each day’s event, every member had to bring an item to donate to that day’s charity. 

Monday’s event was building a sculpture out of canned food! Our team took second place in this event and donated a ton of canned food! All of the food collected from each team was donated to the UNLV food pantry, which aims to help students and staff in need. This day was also National Badge Day, so all of our beautiful sisters dressed in pin attire and proudly wore their badges at school!

 Our sculpture! Our team created a character from "Ahhh! Real Monsters!"

Our sisters Tiffany Jackson, Kathiee Bote, and Cindy Yang sporting their pin attire and badges on National Badge Day

On Tuesday, we showed off our athletic side and participated in a dodge ball tournament! The donation for this day was art supplies. Our fabulous alum Kali Marsh donated a ton of school supplies to us and we had a great amount of donations!

On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of listening to Kyle Cease from Ten Things I Hate About You and Not Another Teen Movie talk to us about overcoming depression and anxiety. Cease told us all that despite what people tell us we can or can’t do, we should strive to reach our highest potential. The donation to get into the event was an unused, unopened pair of socks. Our team donated 642 pairs of socks, which was the most out of any team!

 Zetas with Kyle Cease after his presentation

Thursday was the night everyone was waiting for: skit night! The donation for this night was children’s books. Our skit team worked extremely hard to put a skit together in just a week. Our sisters and the brothers of Lambda Chi and FIJI filled rows in the Student Union Ballroom and cheered as our team took first place in skit! Thanks to Alena Kiki, Callie Chesser, Amber Clay, and Torry Cray for their hard work and dedication to the skit!

 Some of the members of the skit waiting to go on stage!

Alena Kiki and Amber Clay after we won first place!

 More of our skit members

To wrap up Greek Week, our members participated in the annual Greek Leadership Day. Events for the day consisted of resume building workshops and alcohol awareness classes. After the events were over, the winners were announced. We are proud to say that we took second place overall in Greek week! Thank you to all of our amazing sisters that put every ounce of sweat and blood they have into making this an amazing week! Weeks like this certainly remind us of how many amazing girls make up our sisterhood!

Our beautiful Zetas on Greek Leadership Day

On Wednesday, March 21 we had a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings. The restaurant was packed with Zetas, our parents, and a ton of other members of Greek life. It was nice to feel the support and know that we were raising money for a good cause. While we don’t know exactly how much we raised yet, 10 percent of the proceeds from each table that mentioned our fundraiser will be donated to our philanthropy! 

As far as our spring philanthropy goes, we will officially be holding our first annual softball tournament! Haley Findlay has been working extremely hard to get all of the details finalized and we are so excited to see her hard work unfold! Our tournament will be held at Desert Bloom Park on Sunday, April 22. If you would like to sponsor us/donate or know someone who would like to, please contact our VP1, Allie Singer, at asinger89@gmail.com or our director of philanthropy, Haley Findlay, at haley@easystreet.com. If anyone would like to form a team, Allie and Haley can help with that as well! It is $60 to enter a team of 8-10 people. We can’t wait to “strike out cancer” with our sisters and members of our community!

ZLAM!

Busy Zetas!

Hello, everyone! My name is Haley Sansom and I am the new Alumnae-Collegiate Relations chair for the 2012 school year. I am very excited about this position and can’t wait to update this blog all year!  Our chapter is continuing to grow rapidly and we are accomplishing great things.

Since the spring semester began, we have been hard at work with service projects, sisterhoods, fundraisers, and parent’s weekend. Our sisters have all done a fabulous job putting together these events and we have all been having a great time!

On Friday, January 27^th, we had our first service project of the semester. Our service chair, Brittany Nateece, organized a service project at Three Square Food Bank in Las Vegas. At the event, we helped the organization bag food for underprivileged children in Clark County. These bags of food are distributed on Friday after school gets out and contain enough food to sustain a child for the entire weekend. The children that qualify for this program are given these for free each week to ensure that children aren’t going home hungry. We had a great time at the food bank, and helped them prepare 2,500 bags of food! It felt great knowing that because of our efforts, children would be fed for the weekend. After we finished bagging, we got a tour of the facilities and learned about the impact hunger has on our community. This service project was an eye-opening experience for us all!

Following the service project, we had our first sisterhood of the semester! Our director of sisterhood, Shardonnay Summerhays, planned a “crafternoon” for all of our sisters. She purchased wooden letters of the first initial of everyone’s names and brought a ton of crafting supplies! Everyone had fun decorating their letters and bonding with sisters. It was fun getting to see the creative side of all of our sisters! 

On Valentine’s Day, our director of philanthropy, Haley Findlay, organized a “Kiss Away Cancer” booth to help raise money for our philanthropy. At the booth, we sold “candy grams” for $2 and gave away free baked goods. We had a great time spreading awareness about breast cancer and showing our love to the UNLV community. Our sisters baked all kinds of treats and brought them to the booth to give away! 

The weekend of February 19th, our parents all got together for our annual parent’s weekend! Our sister Katie Rose did an amazing job of organizing a weekend of events that was fun for everyone! On Saturday night, we all met at Firefly for social hour, where we served appetizers and mingled with everyone’s parents. We showed a slide show of pictures and video clips and played Zeta trivia with the parents. On Sunday, we had brunch at Gordon Biersch and did our raffle. Our prizes consisted of show tickets, lotion/makeup sets, yoga gift certificates, coffee/tea items and luxury blankets. We really enjoyed sharing our sisterhood with our parents and showing them why we love being in Zeta Tau Alpha as much as we do! Between the “Kiss Away Cancer” booth and the raffle on Parent’s Weekend, we raised $1,046 that we will donate towards breast cancer education and awareness!

And last but not least, we had a social with the gentleman of Sigma Alpha Epsilon last Thursday! Our external social chair, Lexie Rosa, planned a fun night at a local restaurant with delicious food! The theme was “dress to impress” and girls had to wear something pink and boys had to wear something purple. It was fun socializing with people we hadn’t met before and catching up with people we already knew. Plus, it’s always nice seeing our beautiful sisters get dressed up!

                So, as you can tell, we have all been busy Zetas, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! We are still determining what our spring philanthropy will consist of, but if you would like to sponsor/support us, please contact our VP1, Allie Singer, at asinger89@gmail.com or our director of philanthropy, Haley Findlay, at haley@easystreet.com. We hope to continue being this active throughout the semester and look forward to all of the wonderful events we have planned!

ZLAM!