WS Chronicle

Downtown Winston-Salem is awash in pink and green.

The ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. are in town for their 60th Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference. The four day gathering, April 4-7, is expected to attract more than 2,700 sorors from chapters throughout North Carolina and Virginia.

Attendees are expected to pump about $1.3 million into the local economy, but their impact here can’t just be measured in dollars and cents. The women of Alpha Kappa Alpha have long been trailblazers, the movers and shakers of their various communities. These women are our elected officials, educators, corporate executives, our doctors and lawyers. They set examples of excellence for our young girls.

The sorority encourages its members to reach back and give wholeheartedly to their communities. Alpha Kappa Alpha’s dedication to community service will be evident this week. An educational youth summit and a college prep seminar will be held during the conference for local students. Attendees are also donating gift cards and school supplies to Family Services, Inc.

“It is business not as usual, but to a higher degree,” Dr. Linda Gilliam, regional director of the Mid-Atlantic Region, told The Chronicle last month. “We are always ensuring that we are living out our mission, and that is service.”

Barbara Phillips

Of course we are perhaps a bit biased, but we feel Winston-Salem is the perfect place for such a grand gathering of esteemed women. This city, after all, has produced some of the most loyal and devoted AKAs that this world has known. Foremost among them is the late, great Dr. Barbara K. Phillips, who became the sorority’s International President in the late 1970s. Phillips took Alpha Kappa Alpha to new heights and she would be so proud of the work her sisters do each day to better the lives of others.

Welcome to Winston-Salem, ladies, and thank you for all that you do!