I n te rna t i on a l P r es id en t M ary Breaux Wright jo ined Zeta Phi Be-ta Soror i ty , Incorpora ted, Ohio State Organizat ion for the 57 th Ohio State Leadership Conference in Cuyahoga Fal ls where Mu Rho Zeta chapter o f Akron served as th is year ’s conference host . Wi th more than 150 part ic ipants in at -tendance inc luding Sorors, Amicae and youth, the conference was held October 16 -17, 2015 at the Sheraton Sui tes Akron -Cuyahoga Fal ls . Great Lakes Regional Di rec-tor Michel le Porter Norman were

a lso in at tendance.

As Zeta Phi Beta Soror i ty , Inc. is veer ing c loser toward a celebra-t ion of 100 years of serv ice to the communi ty , the Ohio conference featured a Centennia l Launch par -ty on October 16, commemorat ing a k ickof f of events leading to the h is tor ical moment in 2020 where the founders of Zeta Ph i Beta So-ror i ty , Inc. wi l l be celebrated. In-ternat ional Pres ident Wright said, Soror i ty members in Ohio should be proud because they res ide in the home of two founders Vio la Ty ler Goings and Myrt le Ty ler

Fai thfu l . Great Lakes Di rector Nor-man along wi th Ohio Sta te Di rector Smi th a lso announced that p lans are underway to commemorate our two founders in 2018 as part o f the celebrat ion leading up to 100 -year anniversary celebrat ion. The Cen-tennia l Launch Party event a lso brought together s ix of the seven l iv ing past and current Ohio State d i rectors, an h is to r ical moment for the s is terhood. The past s tate d i -rectors in at tendance were: Mary Curt is , Chery l Chr is t ie , Susie Crawford, Rhonda Eberhardt and Annet te Ross -Gray. Each state d i rector received her own stamp which she used fo r Sorors ’

Centennia l passports .

Newsletter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, Ohio State Organization

2015 State Conference Edition

2015 State Conference : A Grand Affair

Ohio Z– Reader

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated

Mary Breaux Wright

International President

Michelle Porter Norman

Great Lakes Regional Director

LaRita MJ Smith

Ohio State Director

Ohio State Organization Executive Board

Isi Ikharebha

Chair to the Executive Board

Chamomile Ware

Graduate Member At Large

Adriana Green

Undergraduate Member At Large

VACANT

Secretary

Kellie Glenn

Treasurer

Angela Smith

Financial Secretary

Natasha Smith

Historian and Public Relations Chair

Monique Hall

Parliamentarian

Vikki Shadie

Nominating Committee Chair

Page 2

Dignitaries,Akron-Area NPHC Show Love to Ohio Zetas At Opening Ceremony

During the opening sess ion on October 17, 2015, Soror i ty mem-bers, Amicae, youth and guest re-ceived a warm welcome dur ing the Opening Session f rom Fr iend Bet-ty Connors, Ohio Amicae Pres i -

dent , Ohio State Di rec tor LaRi ta MJ Smith, Great Lakes Regional Di rector Michel le Por ter Norman, Nat ional Graduate Member -At -Large Patr ic ia Jones and Interna-t ional Pres ident Breaux Wright ,

The Soror i ty a lso re-ceived greet ings f rom representa t ives of the l o c a l N a t i o n a l P a n -Hel lenic Counci l organi -zat ions, inc luding Mi-chael Lef twich, pres i -dent of the local Del ta Rho Sigma Chapter o f Phi Beta Sigma Frater -n i ty , Inc. , John Wi l -l iams, pres ident of Al -pha Phi Alpha Fra terni -ty , Incorporated, Eta

Tau Lamb-da chapter and Stac i F r e e m a n , p r e s i d e n t of Alpha Kappa Al -pha Soror-i ty , Incor-p o r a t e d , Zeta Theta O m e g a chapter . State Graduate Member -At -Large Chamomi le Ware of f ic iated over the opening ceremony. Fr iend Bet-ty Connors, Ohio State Amicae Pres ident , del ivered the invoca-t ion.

Warrensville Heights Amicae Returns

Year of the Undergraduate: Ohio Undergraduates Showed Up, Showed Out At State Conference

Nat ional ly , i t is the Year of the Undergraduate and the state of Ohio is no except ion. Undergradu-ates f rom the state o f Ohio at tend-ed the s tate conference in Cuya-hoga Fal ls . They were v is ib le eve-rywhere f rom the Centenn ia l Launch Party to commi t tee meet -ings. Xi Gamma chapter of The Ohio State Univers i ty had the h ighest at tendance at the state conference whi le Gamma Epsi lon of Wi lber-

force Univers i ty had 100 percent of part ic ipa t ion among i ts chapter members.

Several Xi Gamma Sorors served on the scrapbook and chapter re-por t commit tee. Sigma Alpha chapter of Kent State Univers i ty received f i rs t p lace in the chapter report compet i t ion whi le Psi Epsi -lon of Bowl ing Green State Univer-s i ty p laced second. In the scrap-book compet i t ion, Ps i Epsi lon p laced f i rs t whi le Sigma Alpha placed second.

In an historic moment, the Warrensville Heights Amicae, sponsored by Nu Theta Zeta Chapter was reinstated at the

Ohio State Leadership Confer-ence. The auxiliary chapter is the first to have their ritual per-formed during the Ohio confer-

ence.

New OSO Officers Elected

Soror Isi Ikharebha of Sigma Iota Zeta Chapter of Reynoldsburg was elected to serve as the new Chair to the Executive Board while Soror Angela Smith of Gamma Zeta Zeta Chapter of Columbus was elect-ed to serve as Financial Secretary.

Thank you to outgoing Chair to the Executive Board Celeste Pickett and outgoing Financial Secretary Abbie Lang.

Page 3

Ohio Chapters Represent At State Conference

Mu Rho Zeta Hosts Successful State Conference

Mu Rho Zeta chapter of Akron served as the host chapter . And worked di l i gent ly to ensure that Sorors who at tended were wel l taken care of . Whether in b lue polos or wear ing scarves, Mu Rho Zeta Sorors were easi ly ident i f iable throughout the durat ion of the conference. Chapter Pres ident Kater i Hargrove could be seen everywhere f rom escor t ing our Inter-nat ional Pres ident Mary Breaux Wright to manning the regis t rat ion table. Chapter Soror Vikk i Shadie

serves on the execut ive board as the s tate Nom-i n a t i o n s C h a i r . T h e cha p t e r a l s o p la ced th i rd in the s ta te chap-

ter report compet i t ion.

Beta Zeta Zeta

For Beta Zeta Zeta chapter of Cincinnati, Soror Keisha Kemper served as the newly appointed Elections Chair. Chapter President Abbie E Lang served as outgoing Financial Secretary, Past Great Lakes Regional Director Doris Stokes stamped Sorors’ Centennial passports at the Centennial Launch Party. Friend Betty Connors, State President of the Amicae Auxiliary was also in attendance assisted Past State Director Susie Crawford's Centen-

nial stamping station.

Delta Phi Zeta

In Delta Phi Zeta chapter of Dayton, Soror Celese Pickett served as the outgoing Chair of the State Executive Board. The chapter’s Amicae auxiliary also received an award for its chapter report. Past State Director Annette Ross-Gray stamped Sorors’

Centennial passports at the Centennial Launch Party.

Gamma Delta Zeta Sorors Georgette Witherspoon and Kimberly King of Gamma

Delta Zeta of Cleveland served as Amicae State Coordinator and

Legacy Club Chair, respectively. The chapter’s Amicae auxiliary

also placed in the state’s chapter report and scrapbook

competition.

Gamma Zeta Zeta Gamma Zeta Zeta chapter of Columbus received several

recognitions at the state conference. The chapter was

recognized for having the largest graduate membership in

Ohio. The chapter also placed first in the state scrapbook

and chapter report competitions. Soror Arlene Taylor re-

ceived the State Zeta of the Year award. Soror Monique

Hall was appointed State Parliamentarian. Soror Chevon

Toler was appointed State Stork’s Nest Coordinator. So-

ror Tonya Thurman serves as the State Youth Coordina-

tor. Soror Felicia Ocdise serves as the State Scholarship

Chair. All of Gamma

Zeta Zeta’s last in-

take class attended

their f i rst state

meeting. Also all

members of Gamma

Zeta Zeta’s under-

graduate chapter Xi

Gamma attended

their first state con-

ference.

Page 4

Ohio Chapters Represent At State Conference Nu Theta Zeta Nu Theta Zeta chapter of Warrensville Heights was recognized as the second largest chapter in Ohio at the state conference while also having the most life members. The chapter placed third in the chapter report and scrapbook competition. Soror Chamomile Ware serves as the Ohio Graduate Member-At-Large while Soror Adriana Green serves as Ohio Undergraduate Mem-ber-At-Large. Soror Kellie Glenn serves as the state Tamias. Soror Leevie McCaleb serves as Time and Place Chair, Soror Ebony Boothe serves as Recommendations Chair and Soror Jacquelyn Remmer serves as Ways and Means Chair. National Graduate Member-At-Large Patricia Jones, Ohio Graduate Mem-ber-At-Large Chamomile Ware, Soror Tamara Manning and So-ror Wendy Horn also served as workshop presenters for the Pro-tocol Refresher, Undergraduate Advisors and Be Finer Work-shops. The chapter also made a spirited presentation as they will serve as the host chapter for the 2016 Ohio State Leadership

Conference.

Sigma Iota Zeta

Sigma Iota Zeta chapter of Reynoldsburg was recognized for assisting with the Centennial Launch celebration. Outgoing State Secretary and Chapter President Isi Ikharebha, State Historian and PR Chair Natasha Smith and Centennial Launch party chair Tennille Cooley received special recognition from State Director LaRita MJ Smith for their assistance with the conference. Sigma Iota Zeta’s undergraduate chapter, Gamma Epsilon of Wilberforce University, was acknowl-edged for having 100% attendance at the conference. Soror Jennifer Fowler served as the Evaluations Chair. The chapter also placed second in the chap-

ter report competition.

Xi Beta Zeta Xi Beta Zeta

Soror Susie

C a r t e r -

C r a w f o r d

s tamped Cen-

tennia l pass-

ports at the

Centennia l Launch Party as a past s ta te d i rector .

Thank You!

To All the Sorors, Amicae and Youth Who

Helped to Make This Conference

A Success

See You In Warrensville Heights in 2016!