make me want to join in even more.

A big part of that joy is just working along with our Beta Zeta sis-ters. I can’t say it enough. We are a fun group of ladies!!! But here’s the secret. To get this passion for DKG-you have to be active. Join in the meetings and service projects. Be an active member of your committee and get to know your Beta Zeta sisters. And here’s an important one – try go-ing to the 84

th Texas

State Convention being held in June at the Ren-aissance Hotel in Aus-tin. (See more informa-tion in this newsletter.)

I promise your pas-sion for Delta Kappa Gamma will increase dramatically, and you will find another little spark to add to your life! Hope to see you all in Austin! Karen Loeffler

They’re back! The hummingbirds are back. I’ve been watching for them each day since March began. They came right on schedule, same time as every year. Now the work begins.

I have 7 feeders in my yard. It takes dili-gence to keep the feed-ers clean and full of sugar water and keep the cats away. (Sometimes I feel like I’m back on “yard duty”!) I don’t mind all the work because this is one of my passions. I get great pleasure de-spite the time and effort (and money) invested in this job.

That’s how it is when you are doing what you’re passionate for. What is your passion? Is it teaching or maybe gar-dening? Or maybe it’s your kids or grandkids? Or maybe it’s Delta Kappa Gamma???

Wherever your pas-sion lies, that’s where you will find your spark in life. It’s that little some-thing that gives you joy even though it may take some sacrifice and hard work. It’s all worth it.

That’s how I feel about our chapter Beta Zeta. That’s my passion also. It hasn’t always been, but the more I am involved with our society, the more my passion grows. Working on com-mittees and being in-volved in chapter projects takes time and some-times a lot of work, but the joy and excitement I receive in return just

Our President’s Message

Mission Statement: The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International promotes profes-

sional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education.

Vision Statement: Leading women educators impacting education worldwide.

FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS

March 2013

Volume 21, Issue 6

Editor: Tammy Vitek

vitek4@austin.rr.com

Guest editors: Jerrie Dooley and

Karen Loeffler

Next Meeting:

Monday, March 25, 2013, 6:00

Memorial Presbyterian Church

607 N. Milam Street, Fbg.

Hostesses:

Karen Loeffler, lead

Judy Mayo

Beth Luckenbach

Eileen Whited

Tisha Clements

Dolores Klussmann

Mollye Long

Abban Lastovica

Program: An Evening with Annie and Friends

Presented by Our DKG Founders

Facilitators: Helen Usener and Program Committee; Donna Itz

and Ceremonies Committee

Purpose #2: To honor women who have given or who evi-

dence a potential for distinctive service in any field of

education. Purpose #3: To advance the

professional interest and posi-tion of women in education.

Music: Red, Red Rose of Texas! The Delta Kappa Gamma Song

Service: School supplies for the

State Unifying Project, items

for B&G club, preschool books

for the Needs Council

Chapter website:

www.betazeta.weebly.com

State website:

www.alphastatetexas.org

International website:

www.dkg.org

Upcoming event:

84th Texas State Convention

Renaissance Hotel, Austin, TX

June 20-22, 2013

THE DELTA KAPPA GAMMA SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL

BETA ZETA BUZZ

. . .the more I am in-volved in our society, the more my passion grows. Karen Loeffler

An Evening with Annie and Friends by Dolores Klussmann

Come meet our 12 DKG founders and enjoy the fun and fellowship. IT’S NOT TOO LATE to RSVP for our Founder’s Day and Birthday Celebration on March 25, 2013 at the Memorial Presbyterian Church Hall beginning at 6:00 p.m. Don’t be surprised if you see Annie, Lalla, Cora and the others at our celebration. Did you know that Annie Webb Blanton and Lalla Odom organized Beta Zeta at the Nimitz Hotel on March 23, 1935 as the 54

th chapter of DKG?

This banquet is also our fundraiser for our grant-in-aid program for a student teacher. Cost is $7.50 per member but no charge for prospective mem-bers attending with you. Pay at the door or by mail to Janet Hext, 804 W, San Antonio St., Fbg, TX 78624. Click here: jhext001@austin.rr.com to RSVP for yourself and guests if paying at the door. A salad supper is on the menu. Come cele-

brate with us! If unable to come, please send your donation to Janet.

P A G E 2

Beta Zeta Lends a Helping Hand Special Olympics

Lending a helping hand is a core value of DKG, and for the 3

rd

year, a merry band of Beta Zetas will travel down the road to Marble Falls on Friday, April 5

th

to volunteer at the Spe-cial Olympics area meet in Marble Falls. We will leave at 8:00 a.m. from Tammy’s house (corner of Llano and San Antonio Streets), and return mid-afternoon.

Past volunteers say the smiles keep them going back to help again and again---the smiles from the children as they raise their arms in tri-umph, from their parents as they watch their chil-dren stand atop the po-dium to get their medals, and from the staff and volunteers as their hearts are touched by these special moments.

Let this be the year you join this group to help these special athletes achieve their goals. Click

here to volunteer: karen-jo56@gmail.com

Living Well College

Carrie and Lindsey Pyka and their mom Beth impressed members at the February meeting with their story of providing a learning place for intellectually disabled adults in Freder-icksburg. Beth gave background on the Living Well College, and Carrie and Lindsey shared their feelings on being stu-dents there.

Healthy living skills, community involve-ment, recreation and crafts are taught at LWC. Members were particu-larly impressed with Lindsey’s language de-vice that allows her to express herself despite her difficulty speaking.

Beth shared the need for volunteers to teach crafts, cooking, and enrichment short courses to the students. Donations are also ap-preciated as they receive

no federal or state funds. Beta Zetas collected $90 to give to this worthwhile cause. For more information, call Catherine Jeffrey, LWC board president at 830-456-4884.

Treats for Teachers

Tasty treats for teachers and staff were taken to all the Public Schools and St. Mary’s School during Public Schools Week. Says Karen Loef-fler who made the deliv-eries, “The teachers at all the schools were so ex-cited with our goodies. What a great way to show that we appreciate all they do!”

print and deliver it to a teacher, assistant, counselor, administra-tor or retiree (any cur-rent educator or retired educator). It’s an invi-tation to join us at the banquet on March 25

th.

Now’s the time. Founders’ Banquet is the place to introduce DKG to a special educator or retiree. So don’t delay, open the 2

nd attachment

with this newsletter now and either forward it or

Then invite them to join. Fill out the recommenda-tion form attached to this newsletter. Send to Jerrie Dooley, 611 Per-simmon Ct, Fbg., 78624. Help us grow DKG one

member at a time!

Give the Gift of Membership in DKG

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 1 , I S S U E 6

Beta Zeta Donations

for Children

By Janalee Hannemann

Ladies, you continue to

be generous in your giving

to support the children of

our community.

Items collected include:

For Boys and Girls Club

5 books

2 notebooks

For the HC Needs Council

2 coloring books

5 books

1 box of crayons

5 reward prizes

For the Food Pantry

$5 cash

7 jars of peanut butter

Thank you for your

generosity which knows no

bounds!

Andrea Hudson March 23

Elena Howard April 3

Nancy Stevens April 16

The BETA ZETA BUZZ

Collecting, producing, and disseminating information about

the goings on in the Beta Zeta hive.

Tammy Vitek, queen bee

Jerrie Dooley Dolores Klussmann

Carolyn Otto Janalee Hannemann

Helen Usener Barbara Heinen

(honorary worker bee)

The “Beta Zeta Buzz” is published seven times per year, September through April, ex-

cluding December. Send news items at least two weeks before the meeting to newslet-

ter editor Tammy Vitek at vitek4@austin.rr.com, or mail to 112 S. Llano Street,

Fredicksburg, TX 78624.

News Flash!

Jerrie Dooley will serve as Area 6 Coordinator for the 2013-2015 Biennium! Appointed by State President-Elect Nancy Newman, Jerrie will be a busy lady visiting all 20 chapters in Area 6 which includes 9 in San Antonio, 4 in the Hill Country, and 7 scattered across SW Texas. She will also coordinate the Area

Workshop in Fall 2014. “Being Area Coor-dinator is a huge honor, and I thank Joanne Davis and Catherine Davis for their support and encouragement to take

this next step,” said Jerrie.

Both Davis ladies and Patsy Hejl have been AC’s in the past. Jerrie will be looking for members to go with her on visits and assist with the Area Workshop,

hopefully to be held in Fredericksburg.

Hands On Central Texas

Karen’s Giving Tree displayed items needed for the “Back to School” State Unifying Project. Please bring items to the banquet. These items are needed: bilingual board books, washable markers, safety scissors, construction paper, school glue, kid friendly or classical music CDs, calculators, #2 pencils, map pencils, pens, white board markers and timer/stop watches. You can also make a donation to Beta Zeta to buy more items. We will continue collecting these items at the March and April meetings and until the Convention on June 20th.

Attending the DKG Leadership Seminar inspired me to do more in our organization. Jerrie Dooley

Legislators serving Gilles-

pie County:

Rep. Doug Miller

Sen. Troy Fraser

P A G E 4

By Jerrie Dooley

The Legislative Ses-sion is in full swing in Austin with critical issues being debated daily. Testing requirements, vouchers, funding, TRS— every education issue affects you as an educator, parent/ grand-parent and as a tax-payer. DKG members are staying informed and taking action.

Capitol Rally Day: TX Retired Teachers Asso-ciation (TRTA) members will rally at the state capitol on Wed., March 20

th in support of pro-

posed legislation affect-ing educators. Carpools from the Bethany Church parking lot will leave at 6:50 a.m. and return home mid-afternoon. Visits with Rep. Doug Miller and Sen. Troy Fra-ser are scheduled as well as recognition of TRTA members in both the House and Senate. An ice cream social on the Capitol lawn will con-clude the day. Mollye Long, Jerrie Dooley, and Karen Loeffler plan to join the rally and urge others to come too. Wear red so we can be seen! For more informa-tion, please contact Mol-lye Long, Legislative chairman at mlong002@austin.rr. com.

Letters and Calls

TRTA urges all teachers covered under TRS to call Miller’s office and urge support of these bills: HB 1353-to raise the state contribution to the TRS pension fund to 6.9% in FY2014 and 7.4% in FY2015; and HB 103-- to provide retirees with a supplemental pay-ment if the fund meets certain conditions. Also call Fraser’s office to urge support of SB 643, the companion bill to HB103. The purpose of

these bills are to help provide some financial relief to retirees who have not had a cost of living increase in 12 years. Use the TRTA Legislative hotline: 1.888.674.3788 to make these calls.

DKG Rally Day Beta Zeta members Joanne Davis, Helen Usener, Jerrie Dooley, and Karen Loeffler (accompanied by Beta Zeta Beau Billy Davis) attended the DKG Capitol Day on February 27

th. TRTA Executive

Director Tim Lee spoke to the group on the chal-lenges facing education in this legislative session and urged members to contact their legislators on filed bills. He said they need to hear the personal stories of

retirees as they struggle with the effects of having no increase in retirement pay and the threat of increased insurance pre-miums. Karen Loeffler forwards Mr. Lee’s news-letters to keep everyone informed.

Getting Involved. Making a Difference.

Karen, Jerrie, Joanne, and Helen listen intently as Tim

Lee, Ex. Dir. of TRTA explains the issues facing both re-

tired and current teachers in Texas.

Legislative Update

Fact about DKG:

150,000+ members in

United States (all states)

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Iceland

The Netherlands

Norway

Sweden

Canada

Puerto Rico

Mexico

Panama

Guatemala

El Salvador

Costa Rica

Japan

P A G E 5

Well, the SW Regional DKG Convention will be in Branson, MO on July 28-30, 2013 at the Hilton Bran-

son Convention Center Hotel. Meet members from all across the southwest US, Latin America, and Japan, while

also taking in the sights and sounds of Branson in all its uniqueness. Check out the website at: http://www.dkg.org/

site/c.meJMIOOwErH/b.8530049/k.FB93/Southwest.htm.

Don’t Miss This ‘Capital’ Convention

Ring the bells, sound the alarm! The registration form for the 84

th Texas State Or-

ganization Convention is on the website at http://2013tsoconvention.weebly.com/registration.html and in your Spring Lone Star News. Don’t miss this great opportunity to see a whole new side of DKG, meet amazing ladies from around the state, participate in out-standing sessions, and celebrate, celebrate, celebrate! It’s just an awesome experience! Carpool and share a

room at the Renais-sance Hotel in north Austin on June 20-21.

Twelve Beta Zeta’s are committed to going: Joanne Davis, Catherine Davis, Karen Loeffler, Jerrie Dooley, Leatrice Haley, Carolyn Otto, Helen Usener, Andrea Hudson, Tammy Vitek, Amy O’Neil, Beth Lucken-bach, and Evelyn Wein-heimer with 4 others seriously considering it. Why not join this happy group? We absolutely guarantee a great time. Click here to let Karen know you are going and if you want to carpool and share a hotel room: karen-jo56@gmail.com.

Registration for any part or all of the

convention is just $50 before May 6

th ($75 af-

ter May 6th). When you

fill out the registration form, don’t forget to check and pay for the Birthday Luncheon on Friday and the Foun-ders’ and Presidents’ banquet on Saturday. Active teachers can also get CPE credit for their workshops for a nominal fee.

There’s lots more information in the Lone Star News and on the state website at: www.alphastatetexas. org. Click “Convention Website” and “Convention Newslet-ters.” Let this be the year you experience first-hand the benefits of the state convention!

Still Need More DKG?

P A G E 6 V O L U M E 2 1 , I S S U E 6

Save the date for the final Beta Zeta meet-

ing—Saturday, April 20th. We’ll head on down the

road to Mason, TX, home of our members and hosts Glendene, Ann, Jan, and Vondell. We will meet at 9:15 on Orange Street by the playground across from Beckmann’s Funeral Home and return mid-

afternoon.

Helen Usener, program chairman, and the Mason members have planned an exciting Ladies’ Day Out. Mason is rich in the history of the early Hill Country settlers, so we will tour the Mason County Historical Museum and the Mason Square Museum. Then off to lunch at the Square Plate (formerly Engel’s Deli in Fbg—remember fruited

chicken salad and yummy pie?)

After lunch we will head on to the library to see the exhibit on Fred Gibson, Mason native and author of Old Yeller and have a short business meeting. After adjourning, members are free to shop the square (Don’t miss Underwood Antiques owned by our member Glendene and husband.), take a side trip to the Meusebach Cemetery, or re-

turn right home.

This meeting stands to be the highlight of the year! Many thanks to the Mason ladies for host-ing us. Click here to RSVP: husener@austin.rr.com so we don’t leave without you! Please let Helen know if you can take your car too. (Note: Tour will have a minimum of walking on sidewalks around

the square. )

Mason, Here We Come

BETA ZETA CHAPTER OFFICERS

President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Loeffler

First Vice President (programs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Usener

Second Vice President (yearbook) . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrea Hudson

Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Janet Hext

Recording Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Beth Luckenbach

Corresponding Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Amy O’Neil

Parliamentarian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tammy Vitek

Scholarship News

Wanted: a deserving woman who plans to stu-dent teach in 2013-2014! Finding a female student who is at the final semester or two of her college career is always a challenge. Please help Leola Mills, Scholar-

ship chairman if you know of anyone in that position.

Beta Zeta awards a $500 scholarship to a stu-dent who meets these requirements: must be female and either the student or her parents must reside in Gillespie, Mason, or Kimble counties. Applicant must be pursuing a degree in education with plans to stu-

dent teach during the 2013-2014 academic year..

Call Leola at 830-997-7896 for an application.

This just in: Another highlight of the Mason trip—Scott Zesch,

brother of Casey Zesch of Fbg, will be at the Mason Library to

tell us about his books, including Captured: The True Story of

Abduction by Indians on the Texas Plains. Watch for more in-

formation in the April Newsletter.

The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International

Beta Zeta Chapter Monthly Meeting

Feb. 25, 2013

The monthly meeting of the Beta Zeta Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International

met on Monday, February, 25, 2013 in the Fredericksburg Elementary School Library. The meet-

ing began at 4:20 PM.

Chapter President Karen Loeffler called the meeting to order. Members sang

“Make This Day” prepared by Marsha Pape. Lead hostess for the meeting was Evelyn Wein-

heimer. She was assisted by Carolyn Kuhlmann, Paula Ahrendt, Helen Usener, Carolyn Otto,

and Patsy Heijl.

Jerrie Dooley presented Ann Pfeiffer with her certificate for years of membership in Delta Kappa

Gamma. Need to keep in prayer Dolores Klussmann who fell and cracked her pelvis.

PROGRAM – Facilitators were Helen Usener, Amy O’Neil and Beth Luckenbach.

The program was Living Well College. It was presented by Beth Pyka and her daughters,

Lindsey and Carrie. Living Well College meets 2 days a week and gives developmentally de-

layed adults opportunities to learn, volunteer, and socialize. Beth Pyka talked about the history

of Living Well College and how her daughters have benefitted from the program, as well as the

history. Lindsey and Carrie both gave speeches about what they like about Living Well College.

APPROVALS – The minutes of the January 28, 2013 meeting were approved. Janet Hext pre-

sented the Treasurer’s Report. The checking account balance as of January 31, 2013 was

$2,149.00.

Amy O’Neil read a thank you note from a family who received gifts from our chapter for Christ-

mas.

Leola Mills reported that we are having trouble finding applicants for our scholarships.

Volunteers are needed to help with Special Olympics to be held April 5, 2013 in Marble Falls.

Jerrie Dooley reported 25 members and 3 guests present. The high winds and teachers that are

doing after school tutoring kept numbers low at the meeting.

Helen Usener talked about the March meeting at the Presbyterian Church and the April meeting

in Mason.

Andrea Hudson reported receiving the Early Bird Award for the yearbook.

A reminder about the state convention in Austin June 20-22, 2013. The unifying project

is Hands on Central Texas which provides school supplies to pre-K and middle school

students. Volunteers are needed serve as table hostesses, help with box lunches and

help with the opening ceremony.

The Week of Caring is March 3-8. Karen Loeffler received permission for Beta Zeta to

put goodies in school lounges for the staff. Those that want to donate a snack (finger

foods, please) should bring them to Tammy’s house Sunday afternoon and Karen will

distribute them to the schools.

NEW BUSINESS – Joanne Davis will be attending TSO Lobby Day on Feb. 27, 2013. If

you would like to go with her, please call her.

Jerrie Dooley attended the Leadership Seminar in Dallas. She is now Area VI coordina-

tor and will be visiting chapters in the area. She would like members to go with her to

visit other chapters.

The next meeting is Monday, March 25, 2013 at Memorial Presbyterian Church. The

meeting will begin at 6 PM.

It will be Founder’s Day Birthday Celebration. Meal is $7, 50 and you may pay at the

door, but need to let Janet Hext know you are coming.

The Brag Box was passed around, and the prize drawing was held. The meeting ad-

journed.

Beth Luckenbach Karen Loeffler

Recording Secretary President