The Return Trip

I’m sitting at my gate at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor. I can’t believe it’s only been six days since I arrived. I feel like I’ve been here for two months, and I don’t want to leave.

Last night, after my previous post, we had the joint closing session. During the session, Alan Bonner (the National Executive Director) announced the 2011 National Convention location as Colorado Springs, CO. After several cheers, the last session of the convention was closed. We then walked over to the banquet hall.

While I was waiting outside the banquet hall with the brothers from Gamma Pi, Kelly Eidson approached us with a rose and five red carnations (one for each of the brothers). She gave us each one of our respective flowers and then asked to get our picture with her. The flowers were such a thoughtful gesture, and really show how she has always had our two chapters close to her heart.

The banquet was a blast—good food, good friends, and awards! Butler’s chapter of ΚΚΨ won the top chapter in the nation award. A good friend of mine, Alynn Rousselle, won the Delegate Distance Award for traveling the farthest to represent her chapter alone. And we got a plaque for being a chapter leadership award recipient! I’ll show it off at our first chapter meeting.

We concluded the banquet by singing the National Hymn. It was a very thrilling moment to stand in that hall with sisters from around the nation, united in our common bond. This biennium is going to be one of the best that ΤΒΣ has ever had, and I could tell from the passion for service that you could see on every face in that hall. I spent the remainder of the evening saying goodbye to the friends I made over the week and wishing them luck as they returned to their chapters to do the work of ΤΒΣ.

I strongly encourage each one of you to attend National Convention in 2011 in Colorado Springs, CO, and to run for our chapter’s delegate. This really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’ve grown so much in the past week, and I will never forget my first national convention.

Below: The ΤΒΣ chapters of the NCD gathered after the banquet.