February 2014

as House counsel to several

House Committees of West Vir-

ginia Legislature 1994-1997. She

was a member of the National

Association of Administrative Law

Judges, during which time she was

a member of the Board of Gover-

nors from 2009-2011. She also

served as a faculty member of the

National Judicial College Reno,

NV.

On January 25, 2014, a memorial

service was held at Ferrell Hall on

the campus of West Virginia State

University. Friends and colleagues

gathered to honor Soror Carter

as she had contributed so much to

her community and those that had

the privilege of knowing her. She

leaves behind her loving husband

of 33 years; Dr. Hazo Carter;

daughter and Delta Legacy, Angela

Carter; sister Shelia ( William)

Franklin; niece Chelsea (Dana)

Thomas; and great-nephew, May-

son Thomas.

In lieu of flowers, donations can

be made to the Judge Phyllis Hard-

en Carter Alpha Delta Chapter;

Delta Sigma Theta Endowed

Scholarship. To make a donation;

contact Cynthia Rakes of the

WVSU Foundation at 304-766-

3130 or [email protected]

On January 18, 2014, Soror Phyllis

H. Carter transitioned in the

Omega Omega Chapter. Since

being inducted into Delta Sigma

Theta Sorority, Inc. in 1979 with

the Chesapeake-Virginia Beach

Alumnae Chapter, Soror Carter

was an active and inspiring mem-

ber of our illustrious sisterhood.

In 1987, Soror Carter became the

“First Lady” of West Virginia State

University, when her husband, Dr.

Hazo Carter was named the ninth

President of the university.

After coming to West Virginia;

Soror Carter became a member

of the Charleston-Institute Alum-

nae Chapter and served her chap-

ter and state well. As a Golden

Life Member; she served as Presi-

dent of the Charleston-Institute

Chapter from 1990-1992 and later

went on to become the State

Coordinator for West Virginia

from 2003-2009. During the 2009

Regional Conference in Charles-

ton, WV; where she served as

Conference Co-Chair; she was

elected to the National Nominat-

ing Committee. Soror Carter also

served as a Primary Advisor for

the Alpha Delta Chapter at

WVSU.

Soror Carter served the state and

the Midwest Region well as a Cer-

tified MIT and DID Trainer, travel-

ing all over the state to educate

and encourage members of the

Sorority. During her tenure as

State Coordinator, she had the

honor of chartering Eastern Pan-

handle Alumnae Chapter in Mar-

tinsburg, WV.

As an advocate for justice, Soror

Carter, a lawyer, by profession;

continued her legal career serving

as an Assistant Attorney General

for the state of West Virginia.

Later Soror Carter became Judge

Phyllis Carter and headed numer-

ous positions in state government:

Commissioner, Department of

Human Services, Executive Direc-

tor of the West Virginia Division

of Juvenile Services; Director of

Federal State Relations and served

WV Mourns the loss of Soror Phyllis H. Carter

February 2014

Volume III, Issue1

WV Delta

Connect ion Special points of

interest:

Founders Day

Greetings from WV

State Coordinator

New WV State Fa-

cilitator appointed

WV Social Action

Committee holds

Poverty Simulation

WV Statewide

Founders Day

speaker announced

Inside this issue:

State Coordinator

Greetings

2

State Facilitator

Introduction

2

Social Action News 3

Greater Morgan-

town Alumnae

4

Huntington Alum-

nae News

6

Eastern Panhandle

Chapter News

7

Memories of Soror

Carter

8

The Honorable Phyllis H. Carter 1948-2014

I greet you with love and over-

whelming joy as we once again

take time to celebrate the anniver-

sary of our beloved Sisterhood.

Today is a monumental day for us.

101 years ago, 22 dynamic college

women decided that they wanted

to be more than a social organiza-

tion. These women of great forti-

tude wanted to confront the injus-

tices of their time and to become

agents of change for their commu-

nities. From their unified vision,

Delta Sigma Theta was born and

history was made. January 13th will

always be a day of celebration, not

only for Delta women, but for the

entire world.

As I began to reflect upon the

significance of 101 years of Schol-

arship, Sisterhood, and Service, I

thought of our Sorors who are

given the title of “Legacy”…those

women whose mothers, grand-

mothers, and sisters set the exam-

ple for them to follow to become

members of Delta Sigma Theta

Sorority, Inc. I meditated on the

definition of a Legacy in our Sister-

hood…Something received from the

past that remains from one genera-

tion to the next; A decedent of

change; A heritage; A family tradition.

The more that I meditated the

more I realized that we are all

Legacies just as we are all heirs of

God.

The illustrious 22 have entrusted

us with a rich heritage. We are

their legacy and with this title

comes an awesome responsibility.

I challenge you to ask yourself on

this day of renewal, “What have I

done to uphold the ideals and

virtues of this great Sorority?”

Happy Founders Day! We, in Del-

ta Sigma Theta, are truly blessed.

Sisterly,

Carla Hunter

Chapter during the fall semester

of 2011, and served as President

from 2011 to 2013. Upon gradua-

tion She plans on developing a non

profit organization that helps col-

lege athletes transition into pro-

fessional leagues by providing

mental, financial, and physical de-

velopment programs.

As State Facilitator for West Vir-

ginia, Soror Rogers has established

the following goals for the state

collegiate chapters:

STATE GOALS

The Mighty Midwest Regional

goals are to raise each chapter

GPAs to 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, by

having (3) Study Tables per semes-

ter/quarter. Hold at least (1)

Social Action program per semes-

ter/quarter by implementing the

D.I.V.A Movement, Delta RED,

Soror Carla Hunter announced

the appointment of Parissa Rogers

at WV State Facilitator. Soror

Rogers is from Baltimore, Mary-

land and a senior attending West

Virginia University, majoring in

Sport Management, and minoring

in Africana Studies and Sport and

Exercise Psychology. She was

initiated into the Omicron Upsilon

Gun Laws, The value of life in our

justice system, Prisoner re-entry

into programs and events. Also,

increase Delta Days attendance by

include expense in the budget,

asking for Alumnae assistance.

Collaborate with an Alumnae

chapter for at least (1) program

during the sorority year. Transi-

tion 80% of graduating chapter

members to Alumnae chapters by

visiting an Alumnae chapter meet-

ings. Participate and remain con-

stant with one (a) community

service organization throughout

the year by choosing an organiza-

tion under Project 13.

WV State Coordinator Founders Day Greetings

Parissa Rogers Appointed as WV State Facilitator

“Legacy: Something received

from the past that remains

from one generation to the

next; A decedent of change; A

heritage; A family tradition”

WV Delta Connect ion

Life on the edge is what more

than 19% of West Virginians live

on a daily basis. Could you survive

a month in poverty? Many more

have income above the poverty

line, but their incomes are still low

enough to qualify for programs

like Food Stamps and Medicaid.

The recent economic down turn

has seen unemployment rates rise

and the use of emergency food

pantries increase. Sometimes it is

difficult to imagine to truly under-

stand the situation that families

living in poverty experience every

day—the decisions that they have

to make and the fears and frustra-

tions they feel. That is why com-

munity leaders, college personnel,

students and everyday people

were invited to walk a mile in the

life of the in the life of a person

living in poverty.

The West Virginia Chapters of

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.,

West Virginia State University

Office of Student Activities,

WVSU Student Activities Council

and the TRIO Programs spon-

sored a Community Action Pov-

erty Simulation on Saturday, Oc-

tober 26, 2013 from 10:00 a.m.-

1:00 p.m. in the Wilson Student

Union located at West Virginia

State University. The Poverty

Simulation was a unique oppor-

tunity to help the community un-

derstand what life is like with a

shortage of money and an abun-

dance of stress. It was a powerful

learning experience designed to

create an insight into the state of

chronic crisis that consumes so

many working poor families. Par-

ticipants experience “one month”

of poverty compressed into a real

time simulation. Participants role-

played the lives of low-income

families. Family scenarios were

given out to groups of participants

who must decide how to seek

services and support, obtain finan-

cial assistance and determine how

to spend what little money the

family has in order to survive.

Some were TANF recipients,

some were disabled, and some

were senior citizens on Social

Security. They had the stressful

tasks of providing the basics ne-

cessities and shelter on a limited

budget during the course of four

15-minutes “weeks.” They inter-

acted with human services agen-

cies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill

collectors, job interviews, police

officers and others.

The power of the simulation was

further enhanced by a compelling

debriefing process where partici-

pants shared insights gained into

the unfamiliar world of living in

poverty. The Simulation was de-

signed to raise awareness of the

issues of people living in poverty

and most importantly, it moved

participants to action to make a

difference.

Although play money was used,

the Community Action Poverty

Simulation program was not a

game. It was a simulation that

enabled participants to look at

poverty from a variety of angles

and then to recognize and discuss

the potential for change within

their local communities. The simu-

lation was designed to sensitize

those who frequently deal with

low-income families as well as to

create a broader awareness of

realities of poverty among policy

makers, community leaders and

others. The Poverty Simulation

was facilitated by Mr. Reggie Jones,

executive director with Pride

Community Services of Logan

County. Ms. Carla Hunter, WV

State Coordinator of Delta Sigma

Theta Sorority stated “Delta Sig-

ma Theta Sorority, Inc. is commit-

ted to fighting social injustice. Just

two months after their founding

on January 13, 1913, the Founders

participated in the Women’s Suf-

frage March in Washington, DC.

As members of this great organi-

zation, it is our responsibility to

speak for those members of our

society who do not have a voice”.

WV Social Action Committee Sponsors Poverty Simulation

Volume I I I , I s sue1

“Delta Sigma Theta

Sorority, Inc. is com-

mitted to fighting

social injustice. “

Leadership Team with Reggie

Jones

The Huntington Alumnae Chapter

will be hosting the WV Statewide

Founders Day celebration on

March 19, 2014 at the Big Sandy

Arena in Huntington, WV. Dr.

Leslie D. Callahan, the first female

to be called to pastor the historic

St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Phila-

delphia, PA, will be the guest

speaker. A native of Gary, WV,

Dr. Callahan, currently serves as a

Commissioner for the Philadelphia

Housing Authority and in an active

member of the Philadelphia Alum-

nae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta

Sorority, Inc. In addition to her

ministry and scholarly pursuits,

Dr. Callahan enjoys traveling, golf-

ing, reading, movies, and sports.

For more information, you may

contact the Chapter President, B J

Murrell at the following address:

[email protected]

walk. The chapter presented the

American Heart Association with

a donation in honor of Soror

Cheryl Williams, Chapter Presi-

dent, as she continues to success-

fully battle heart issues throughout

her adult life. The Greater Mor-

gantown Alumnae Chapter is ex-

cited to continue this partnership

in 2014.

American Heart Association

The Greater Morgantown Alum-


Sorority, Inc. took part in the

annual American Heart Associa-

tion's Heart Walk 2013, as part of

our Project 13 Initiative. Sorors

graciously volunteered with regis-

tration, providing information,

encouragement, and assisted with

other activities during the 2013

WV Statewide Founders Day

Greater Morgantown Chapter News (cont.)

Greater Morgantown Alumnae Chapter News

every child and family de-

serves. The Hoss Foundation

provides financial support and

the Greater Morgantown Alumnae

Chapter shopped for the families

in need. This project takes place

every year at the I-68 Wal-Mart in

Morgantown, WV; this

was Greater Morgantown Alum-

nae Chapter's second year partici-

pating. The entire Monongalia

County community comes togeth-

er and it is truly an inspiring event

during the Christmas Season.


nae Chapter is excited about our

growth and advancing our pro-

gramming and planning contribu-

tions to the community for the

upcoming year!

The Gift Project


nae Chapter ended 2013 by part-

nering with the Hoss Foundation's

'Gift Project-Night of Shopping’ on

December 7th. This project assists

children and families in the Mo-

nongalia County of West Virginia

facing hardships due to traumatic

injury, illness, or financial crisis,

which hinders them from having

the kind of holiday and Christmas


Soror Florita Montgomery, Soror Rochelle Thomas, and

Soror Robyn Wade

Pictured: GMAC President, Soror

Cheryl Williams, Soror Terina

McDowell (Omicron Upsilon), State

Facilitator, Soror Parissa Rogers

mailto:[email protected]

Christian Help



Sorority, Inc. welcomed the op-

portunity to give back to our

community by helping Christian

Help of Morgantown with its Back

-to-School Drive in August 2013.

Christian Help, a non-profit Unit-

ed Way agency, aids the less for-

tunate in the community with

food, clothing, and comfort. Each

year, Christian Help hosts their

annual Back-To-School event to

provide elementary, middle and

high school students with new

backpacks equipped with school

supplies and clothing for the 2013-

2014 school year. Sorors sorted

and organized donated items, as

well as assisted families in back-to-

school 'shopping' for their chil-

dren.


turing experience that included

games, laughs, and memories.

Service awards were also present-

ed to Soror Robyn Wade, Soror

Towanna Gwynn-Johnson and

Soror Rochelle Thomas for their

commitment to Delta Sigma Theta

Sorority, Inc.. This event was the

epitome of the Delta Spirit.

Sisterhood & Service

The ladies of Greater Morgan-

town Alumnae Chapter hosted

their first Afternoon Tea in No-

vember 2013 to celebrate 25

years (or more) of service and

dedication of four of its members:

Soror Eveldora Wheeler, Soror

Kasey Statum, Soror Claudia Brooks, and Soror Claudette

Brooks. Sorors and friends were

treated to a variety of fine teas,

savory tea sandwiches, and sweet

pastries. The afternoon was truly

an unforgettable bonding and nur-



On Thursday, November 7, 2013,

the Huntington Alumnae Chapter

of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in

conjunction with the Theta Ome-

ga undergraduate chapter held our

annual Diabetes Awareness Day.

Our event, which was held at the

Marshall University student center

was designed to both inform and educate students, faculty, and staff

of the risk factors of diabetes.

As many may know, diabetes is a

chronic metabolic disease associ-

ated with abnormally high levels of

glucose (sugar) in the blood. Insu-

lin is a hormone produced in the

pancreas by cells. In type- 2 diabe-

tes (the most common form of

diabetes), your fat, liver, and mus-

cle cells do not respond correctly

to insulin.

When this occurs, blood sugar

does not get into the cells to be

stored for energy. When sugar

cannot enter the cells, a high level

of sugar builds up in the blood.

This is called hyperglycemia. Peo-

ple with type- 2 diabetes often

have no symptoms at first. They

may not have symptoms for many

years. This is why it is so im-

portant to educate our communi-

ty to help teach them ways to

decrease their risk factors for this

disease.

Statistics show that nearly 26 mil-

lion children and adults in the United States have diabetes and

another 79 million have pre-

diabetes and are at risk for devel-

oping the disease. Realizing these

outrageous statistics, we felt it

vital to use our sorority as a plat-

form in helping to educate our

community about this serious

medical condition. Our event,

which was well received by the

campus provided diabetic screen-

ings as well as on-site consulta-

tions provided by our own sorors’

husband, Dr. Leonard White, MD.

Individuals and passerby’s were able to obtain information, ask

questions, and have their blood

glucose measured. The event was

definitely a success and was timed

precisely with the month of No-

vember as Diabetes Awareness

month.

Huntington Alumnae Chapter News

“Diabetes is a chronic

metabolic disease

associated with

abnormally high levels

of glucose (sugar) in

the blood”


EPAC Sponsors Life Saving

Domestic Violence Clinic

On October 18, 2013, the ladies

of Eastern Panhandle Alumnae

Chapter (EPAC) held a Free Self

Defense Clinic for local families.

EPAC partnered with several local

organizations to make the event a

huge success. Partners included the Victim’s Advocate Offices of

the Berkeley County and Jefferson

County Prosecuting Attorney’s

Offices, as well as the Martinsburg

Boys and Girls Club. The Victim

Advocates provided information

about the event to known victims

of domestic violence who were

already involved in the criminal

justice system – individuals who

are often repeat victims of the

same violence by the same offend-

er.

EPAC brought in law enforcement

officers, Keith Sigulinsky and An-

thony Mancine, who are co-

owners and operators of Sigman

Tactical Concepts, to offer a 2-

hour life-saving clinic to over 25

attendees. The instructors have

over thirty years of law enforce-

ment experience and twenty years

assigned to tactical police opera-

tions. “Sig” holds the position of

SWAT Commander/ Team Leader and “Tony” is assigned to “Alpha”

team as a primary sniper/entry

team member during SWAT oper-

ations. Both are certified through

the FBI as instructors.

Attendees learned a series of eva-

sive maneuvers and tactical re-

sponses to stranger and acquaint-

ance attacks. Instruction included

the importance of understanding

your surrounds and being pre-

pared before an attack – noting

that offenders often look for weak

victim when targeting strangers.

Those in attendance partnered up

and practiced the maneuvers on

one another.

Sigman also discussed and demon-

strated at length defenses maneu-

vers that are often successful

against domestic partner. One

attendee commented afterwards

that, “[I] wish I had the benefit of

a class like this before my last

relationship. I have surgery on part of my skull next month to fix

the work of my ex.” The instruc-

tion was valuable and hopefully life

-saving.

The community response was so

positive the Chapter is considering

a Domestic Violence Series,

wherein Sigman will offer a series

of clinics on methods of fighting

back, fleeing when possible, and

barricading and hiding when there

is no other options.

300,000 residents in nine counties

in West Virginia were told they

could not drink, wash, or cook

with tap water after the chemical

4-methylcyclohexane methanol

spilled into the Elk River tainting

the water supply. The chemical,

which tainted the river and ulti-

mately the water supply to nine

counties, is used in the production

of coal.

The warning came after a 40,000-

gallon tank belonging to Freedom

Industries was compromised spill-

ing chemicals onto the ground and

into the water supply. State offi-

cials said they believe about 7,500

CLEAN WATER ANYONE?

Water. It is one of THE most

important resources on the plan-

et. It is essential to life. Have you

ever wondered what your life

would be like without it? What if

water could not come from the

tap? What if your ability to have

water was dependent upon your

ability to buy it bottled from a

store? What if, given its value,

bottled water was guarded by

gunpoint in the stores located in

the very town or city you live in?

On January 9, an estimated

gallons leaked from the tank, alt-

hough there is no way to accu-

rately determine the exact figure.

It is also unclear how long the

chemical spill occurred before

being reported. It should be not-

ed that Freedom Industries was

not the source of the report.

After the water crisis, the Eastern

Panhandle Alumnae Chapter an-

swered a call from its local legisla-

tor to provide bottled water,

paper plates, and plastic utensils to

the impacted residents - which

included hundreds of our Midwest

sorors. EPAC donated hours and

packaged items for delivery to the

Eastern Panhandle Alumnae Chapter News

Eastern Panhandle Alumnae Chapter News (cont.)

“[I] wish I had the

benefit of a class like this

before my last

relationship. I have

surgery on part of my

skull next month to fix

the work of my ex.”

Water: The most im-

portant planet resource


EPAC members with Keith Sigulinksy & Anthony

Mancine

(Clean Water Anyone? Contin-

ued)

Southern part of the State by the

WV National Guard. Donated

items included microwave meals,

ready-made baby formula, hand

sanitizer, and baby wipes.

At the time of the warnings, au-

thorities claim that the chemical,

even in its most concentrated

form, isn’t deadly; however, peo-

ple were told they should not

wash their clothes in affected wa-

ter, as the compound can cause

symptoms ranging from skin irrita-

tion and rashes to vomiting and

diarrhea.

Many West Virginia residents

were hospitalized, several class-

action lawsuits were filed, and

Freedom Industries has already

filed for Bankruptcy.

Weeks have gone by since this

incident, authorities have worked

hard to clean the water, and the

Governor of the state has lifted

the “do not use order.”

The local economy also suf-

fered during the water ban. Res-

taurants, day-care centers and

schools closed during the emer-

gency, and there were still ques-

tions about how the leak occurred

and whether Freedom Industries

took too long to tell state officials

there was a problem.

What is clear, is that every

Delta chapter needs an Emergency

Response Team. We need to be

our Sister’s Keeper!

Eastern Panhandle Alumnae Chapter News (cont.)

Memories of Soror Carter


\


Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

A Public Service Sorority Founded in 1913

Vibrant and visible chapters impacting the

communities of West Virginia”

WV Delta Connection

For Regional Conference updates: Like us on Facebook “Delta Sigma Theta Midwest

Regional Conference 2014” or follow us on Instagram @dstmwrc2014

Carla Hunter

State Coordinator

Parissa Rogers

State Facilitator

Marsha Lawson

State Journalist

February 2014

Documents

Transcript of February 2014