Area students participate in National Piano Guild 

CHINA GROVE — Four piano teachers recently had their students participate in the National Piano Guild of Piano Teachers at First Baptist Church of China Grove.

The adjudicator for this area was Paula B. Wamsley of Sharpsburg, Ga. Students could participate in either the memorized or unmemorized classifications, performing between one and 20 pieces, in addition to scales and cadences for each piece.

Each student received a membership certificate, bronze, silver or gold pin, and a report card.

Teachers and students participating were as follows: Teacher/Charity Hamka (Statesville) and Riley Shoffner, Jaelyn Ward, Kalec and Kobe Hamka, Eva Parquette, Jill Castillo and Caden Ward;

Teacher: Tina Brown (Rockwell) with Carys Roberson, Corbin Elliott, Beau Hinson and Hannah Davis;

Teacher: Dawn Merrell (Salisbury) and Kaitlyn Burgess, Anna Everhart, Alexis Miller, Morgan and Abbey Deaton;

Teacher: Marsha Carter (China Grove) with Paul Faggart, Nate Cobb, Aden Castor, Ayden Basinger, Addisyn Keen, Sarah Johnson, Grace and Coleman Carter, Jordan Cline, Ally Cress, Logan Cheeseman, Molly Burgess, Claudia Utley, Ava and Drew Huffman, Kandus and Nathaniel Kimball, Victoria Pennington, Matthew, Jeremiah and Micah McNeil, Abby Rodgers, Cody Brown, Andrew and Kate Carter, Samantha Fleishaker, Nadiya Wilson, Carleigh and Preston Tadlock and Mason White.

 

Burgess earns Early Bach Award

Kaitlyn Burgess, daughter of Joel and Tonya Burgess, recently earned the Early Bach Award at the National Piano Guild auditions held in China Grove.

Adjudicator for the auditions was Paula Wamsley of Atlanta, Ga.  To earn the Early Bach Award, a student must memorize and perform fifteen Bach selections and also prepare the corresponding scale for each selection.  Burgess has participated in Guild for nine years and earned the Sonatina Award in 2014.  She studies piano with Mrs. Franklin Merrell of Salisbury.

Kaitlyn is Junior at East Rowan High School where she is a member of the Honors Chorus. She has participated in All County Chorus for three years, and was selected to be in the NC Honors Chorus in 2014. She has been selected as a Junior Marshall for 2015. She has been a Granite Quarry Civitan Scholar for three years and has received a Rowan Rotary Scholarship to attend Broyhill Leadership Conference. At East Rowan she is a Varsity Cheerleader and was chosen NC All Region cheerleader in 2015. She is a member of Junior Civitan where she was Miss Junior Civitan 2014-2015, Younglife, National Honor Society, and is Secretary of Sigma Phi Gamma. She has assisted at Rowan Helping Ministries, Nazareth Children’s Home, Special Olympics, and has sung the National Anthem at various basketball and baseball games. She is also a member of Union Lutheran Church.

 

Local AKA chapter stays busy

Sorority members attend conference

Members of Delta Xi Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, attended the 62nd Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference held in Richmond, Virginia, April 9-12, 2015.   Chapter members participated in workshops, meetings and activities on best practices and strategies for implementing the sorority’s international program “Launching New Dimensions of Service,” Leadership Development, Officers Certification Program, and Community Service Projects.

Chapter members Sh’Myra L. Moore and Stephanie Morgan completed Level I Graduate Advisor Certification Program and Carolyn P. Holt and Sarah S. Lightner completed Level II Graduate Advisor Certification Program.  Linda McCullough completed the Financial Officer Certification program.

Delta Xi Omega Chapter was recognized for its contribution as a Silver Level Contributor to the sorority’s Educational Advancement Foundation. The chapter also contributed backpacks of school supplies which were donated to four local schools in the Richmond, Virginia area..  Over 1600 backpacks were donated during the conference.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908, is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-trained women.  The sorority has a membership of over 283,000 and 983 chapters world wide.

Delta Xi Omega members attending the conference were Shelia Brown-Miller, Carolyn P. Holt, Fonda W. Kirk, Sarah S. Lightner, Linda McCullough, Sh’Myra L. Moore, Lovetta Ealy Moore, Drucie Moss, Lillian Morgan, Stephanie Morgan, and Vivian Ray.

Lillian Morgan is the president of Delta Xi Omega Chapter.

Chapter President, Lillian L. Morgan and Vice-President, Sh’Myra L. Moore, attended workshops on Membership Intake and Executing ASCEND to New Dimensions.  Carolyn P. Holt, Graduate Advisor Council Leader, attended the Graduate Advisor’s Institute, along with Sarah S. Lightner.  Linda W. McCullough received her Financial Officer’s Certification. Stephanie Morgan, Drucie R. Moss and Shelia Brown-Miller attended workshops and Protocol and Rituals.  Fonda W. Kirk and Lovetta Ealy Moore attended workshops on Effective Communications and Preserving Chapter Archives.  Members also attended the Celebration Gala on Saturday, April 7.

The conference ended Sunday, April 8, 2015 with a worship and prayer breakfast featuring Karen Clark Sheard.

Chapter celebrates 68 years of service

Members of the Delta Xi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. assembled at the Livingstone College Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts School on Saturday, April 18, 2015 to celebrate the chapter’s 68th Anniversary. The theme was, “Celebrating Sixty-Eight Years of Service and Sisterhood” in the Rowan-Salisbury and surrounding areas.

In 1947, ten Alpha Kappa Alpha members sought to begin a graduate chapter of the sorority in Salisbury. Granted permission by the International Office, a charter chapter was born.  Delta Xi Omega Chapter is listed as the one hundred twelfth graduate chapter in the sorority’s history. The charter members were Livingstone College’s professors, staff members and residents of the Salisbury community.

Since its chartering, Delta Xi Omega has been a constant presence in the Salisbury-Rowan community, providing many programs of service, including education, health, family strengthening, and the arts.  Since 1948 the chapter has awarded numerous scholarships to area high school seniors, donated monetarily to community service projects as well as countless volunteer hours.

The luncheon included a Welcome by Jewell W. Holland, a member of the sorority for over fifty years, as well as a Sisterly Relations Activity by the members of Alpha Xi, the undergraduate chapter from Livingstone College. Sarah S. Lightner was the recipient of the Chapter’s S.A.I.L. (Soror Actively Engaged in Leadership) Award for her years of dedication, leadership and unselfish service to Delta Xi Omega chapter. Mrs. Lightner has been an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for over fifty years. Lillian L. Morgan, chapter president, presented the award.

A huge display of the chapter’s artifacts and memorabilia was displayed. Artifacts included programs, pictures, newspaper articles and other mementos, which depicted the chapter’s numerous and various activities in the community.

L. Sh’Rae Moore is Chairperson of the Special Observance Committee.  The committee was responsible for the luncheon program as well as organizing the displays.

Sorority encourages environmental ownership 

Since its inception in 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. continues to provide service to all mankind through active community partnerships and participation.

Over the next four years, one of the sorority’s main target program areas is Environmental Ownership. Under this target, the sorority acknowledges playgrounds should be healthy and safe places for children. This year, the members of Delta Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. have secured permission from the Board of Directors of the Geneva I. Oglesby Community Center to “adopt” its grounds and playground to restore, refresh and renew. Chapter members are working to improve the aesthetic appeal of the grounds through landscaping, repairing and refurbishing play equipment.

As part of the sorority’s focus on education enrichment, students participating in the sorority’s signature mentoring program, ASCEND, will assist members in restoring, refreshing, and renewing the Geneva I. Oglesby Community Center.The ASCEND program focuses on Achievement, Self-Awareness, Communication, Engagement and Networking. The ASCEND program partners with Youth Development Initiatives, Inc., a non-profit organization, that provides mentoring, academic, and life skills programs for underprivileged and at risk youth.

Chapter members are asking community members and businesses to donate time or resources to help paint playground equipment and plant flowers and greenery. For additional information please contact deltaxi1947@gmail.com, Sh’Myra Moore at 704-636-1060 or Brenda Alston at 704-279-3436.

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