Planning a Party of Presidential Proportions: The Idea

Bailey Edrington
Sep 29, 2016
2 min read

The Idea

This past summer I had the honor of being invited to attend Gamma Phi Beta’s international convention in Atlanta, Georgia. It was there I had the honor of watching an alumna of Psi chapter be installed as International Council President, the first alumna from our chapter to do so. There was a surreal moment when Ms. Annabel Jones was pinned by our former International President: I realized this legendary woman walked the same halls of the house I now live in.

I wished our entire chapter could have been there to watch her receive her President’s pin, to see thousands of Gamma Phi Betas from across the nation cheer her on as she stepped into her new role, to feel the sense of pride and united sisterhood as they looked around a room full of incredible leaders. I wanted to pack this moment in my suitcase from Atlanta and fly it back to our chapter.

After talking with our executive team, we decided to plan a celebratory dinner for Annabel so we could bring some of the magic from convention back to the chapter. Everyone was in favor and almost immediately the planning began.

(Convention video c/o Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority)

The Inspiration

There is something so humbling about gaining a bigger perspective on sorority life: it is more than just date parties and cute Instagram posts.

Sorority life extends far beyond the walls of each individual chapter house on a college campus; it is a sisterhood far larger, far stronger and far more dynamic than each one individually. I wanted to find a way to communicate this to our chapter.

In scenarios like the ones presented with sorority life, I have found that the best PR work is done from the inside-out. If women are genuinely having a fun, making precious memories and learning real life lessons, it will show. The genuine love and sisterhood will reveal itself in how girls treat each other on campus, during recruitment, in social media, through word of mouth. Synthetic sisterhood is obvious.

The best way to achieve a stronger sisterhood is to inspire it. When you’re working with nearly 300 women, inspiration is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal.

The motivation behind planning Annabel's dinner is really two-fold: primarily, we are truly beyond proud of her and all of her accomplishments, but we are also hoping to inspire our members to look beyond the superficial aspects of sisterhood and gain a more well-rounded perspective on what it means to be a sorority woman and a Gamma Phi Beta. We are both celebrating our fearless leader and investing in inspiration simultaneously-- and I have never been more excited to work on a project until now.