WS Chronicle

In above photo:(left to right) Soror Gloria Banks, Ivy Steward, Mary Jenkins, Marie Matthews, and Alma Joyce chat in the food line. (Submitted photo)

By Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.D.

Special to The Chronicle

The Phi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. (AKA) sponsored several events this summer and have several more ready to go.

On Friday, Aug. 7, the chapter will sponsor a Serious Day Matter Party at the Winston-Salem Hotel and Spa, formerly the Sundance Hotel, 3050 University Parkway.

This event is open to the public and is designed to benefit scholarships.

Also, the Family Strengthening Committee will sponsor a community day on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Carver High School from 1 to 5 p.m.

There will be a distribution of school supplies, dental screenings, vision and hearing screenings for school-age children, the WSSU Mobile Health Unit, educational displays, cultural exhibits, crafts, games face painting, and balloon fun. Soror Carolyn Parker and Rayna Minnigan chair this event.

Cheryl Harry is also assisting with the project.

The chapter held its annual summer social on Sunday, June 7, at a new lakeside events site off of Beeson Dairy Road.

Almost 100 sorors, friends and family members took advantage of this special gathering while relaxing under shade trees, enjoying fried fish, barbecue, salads and other homemade delicacies.

After a delicious meal, all eyes were on the stage by the lake where the sorors competed during the “Apollo By the Lake” talent competition.

The co-chairs of the event were Alfreda Harper Harrison and Joanette McClain, the owner of the new events site.

The competition began with a test of Old School versus New School steppin’ for the AKA Stroll war.

This year, the Old School sorors claimed the prize. The members of the winning team were sorors Katrina Brent, Basileus Kenyetta Richmond, Nicole Roseborough and Amber Harrington.

The bake contest also inspired creativity. Soror Lisa Glenn won first and second prize with her pound cake and her German Chocolate cake.

Third prize went to LaRue Cunningham and her daughter LaDessa, who teamed up for the competition.

Soror Sophia Russell was the emcee for the Apollo By the Lake competition.

Soror Felecia Piggott-Long won first prize in the talent competition with an original tribute to the fathers in the house called “My Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Soror Cassandra Lewis claimed second prize for her lip-synching and rocking to the beat of Chaka Khan’s “Feel the Fire.”

Soror Sophia Russell also claimed a prize for her selections and her special dance moves. Basileus Richmond was pleased with the outcome of the annual social.

“I was so glad the so many came out. We had a great time,” said Richmond. “I am loving the chapter and the direction we are going in.”

The Phi Omega Chapter Family Strengthening Committee sponsored a Clothing Give-Away and a Community Luncheon on Saturday, July 25, from 9 a.m. to noon at First Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, 700 North Highland Ave.

This event was free and open to the public.

Lunch was served on a first, come, first served.

Soror Carolyn Parker led this effort.

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated (AKA) is an international service organization that was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908.

It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African-American college-educated women.

It has more than 265,000 members in about 986 graduate and undergraduate chapters in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea and Africa.

For more information on Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and its programs, log onto www.aka1908.com.