ESA Wonderful Wednesday - August 28, 2013

Happy Wonderful Wednesday Everyone!

I decided to look up the real meaning of Labor Day here in the U.S. Because Wikipedia is the “renowned” online literature resource in some circles, I went to see what it had to say:
“Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. It was first nationally recognized in 1894 to placate unionists following the Pullman Strike. With the decline in union membership, the holiday is generally viewed as a time for barbecues and the end of summer vacations."

When we hit Labor Day, the winter holidays are not far behind. While the weather may still be on the warm side, school has started, sales are increasing, wearing white is not done, football season has started, and I am beginning to plan for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas... we overlook New Year's Eve! Now one might ask, how does Labor Day coming annually affect Texas ESA? Well, first in my mind is the November Craft Fair associated with our November State Board Meeting. Second will be the First Holiday Sweater Contest during the have thought of some “rules”… Here they are:

1.   Safety first – no electrical supported sweaters; in other words, participants cannot be connected to an extension cord.

2.   Cordless battery operated designs are allowed.

3.   Sweaters must be worn by the participant, no hanging the sweater on a hanger and must be worn during the craft fair to allow those in attendance to view and vote.

4.   All participants must take their sweater home at the end of the competition… I have plenty of my own!

5.   Pictures taken may be posted on our Texas State Council Web Site, FaceBook Page, ESA Wonderful Wednesday Blog/Email, TESAN and/or Jonquil.

6.   Categories and prizes are under development. Just know that monetary prizes are not available…

We are looking for fun, creativity, cute, ugly, outlandish, colorful, and interactive between members… and so much more! PLEASE let me know if you are planning to enter the contest. Just send me an email with your intentions to wearing a Holiday Sweater. This will help me prepare for voting and results tabulation.

Care Connection is no longer being over-sighted by the Senior Past President of IC, which this year is our own Rose Pasillas. Apparently, this function of contact and communication is through ESA Headquarters. When submitting your request for assistance, please contact ESA International Headquarters at 970-223-2824. Ask for Tracy Swanson, Membership Director, or Charlotte Carloni, Philanthropic/Communications Coordinator.  When a request comes in, they will get you in touch with the State President or Care Connection representative for whatever state you are located. In our state for this sorority year, our Caring and Sharing Team Advocate for Care Connection is Monica Childs. Her demographic information is in our current State Roster.

Warm Welcome Advocate of the Caring and Sharing Team, Donna Carter is a Project Linus Blanketeer. A local McKinney Project Linus group is working on a special project to publish a recipe book for sale. If you want more information, please contact Donna. Give her an opportunity to respond, she does go camping for a few weeks at a time. So it may take her several days or so to respond. She did tell me that some companies do support Project Linus through donating money based on the volunteerism by their employees.

The November Board Meeting will be supporting our US Troops. With that said, our Caring and Sharing Team Advocate for the Hope for Heroes Program, Joyce Kotzur. When we have more information to share, I will post in my weekly Blog/Email. Stay posted.  

Convention City has asked me to pass along this directive when submitting your checks for May 2014 Convention Registration. Checks must be made out exactly like this – “Texas ESA State Convention”. The financial institution requires this to process the checks into the Convention City bank account. District Presidents, please pass this requirement onto the members of your district. A corrected form has been submitted for posting on the Web Site and in the TESAN.

Now for our IAWL Trivia Question: The actor played a police officer in the movie. Who is he and what was his character’s name? The same actor went on to play in a classic and popular television series. Can you name that show? He also, starred with John Wayne in westerns, war, and drama/romance (believe or not) movies. I know who he is… Do you?

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to the following sisters for the next week:

Joyce Kotzur – August 29 of Kappa Kappa, District 4. Joyce is our Caring and Sharing Hope for Heroes Advocate.

Vicki Huff – August 29 of Sigma Epsilon, District 6

Linda Bomar – August 30 of Theta Phi, District 11 and one of our Past Texas State Council Presidents

Renae Campbell – August 31 of Kappa Beta, District 1

Kay Guynes – September 2 of Lambda Nu, District 5

Kelley Miller – September 2 of Pi Delta, District 1

Please, everyone have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!

If you desire to get the blog postings sooner than later, please let me know by email at sueannesa@yahoo.com and I will add you to a mailing group list I have set up.

Remember, ESA's . . . A Wonderful Life!

Love and hugs to all Every Day Angels,

sue ann

(aka – susieQ) 

ESA Wonderful Wednesday – August 21, 2013

Happy Wonderful Wednesday Everyone!

Busy, Busy, Busy is what my life seems to be... Every evening, I am on my laptop trying to figure out District Visitations. I hope to get to every District this year.  It will be a challenge this is for sure.

It has been a sad week for a fellow workmate, Janette, due to the death of her mother. I was looking at the write up in the local East Texas online newspaper regarding Janette’s mother. Reba Rivers was a trailblazer as she was the first woman to work at the Tyler, Texas Pipe Foundry, where she was in charge! After her retirement, Ms. Rivers developed the Rivers Hill Rentals, home rentals, in her community of Omen; and, she was the first woman to purchase property on a County Road. Apparently, this trailblazing purchase made an impact in her community. That County Road changed to Reba Rivers Road. Ms. Rivers was a leader. I know her family is very proud of the legacy she has left in their family and their community. This made me think about the leaders as trailblazers we have in ESA, in Texas and worldwide. We all lead in different ways in our chapters, district, state, and international levels. When we lead in ESA, we leave a legacy for others. When we lead in ESA, we touch others in our life and our community. When we lead in ESA, we honor the traditions as we move into the future. Just some thoughts…

Last week I explained what I understand about my weekly Blog/Email. I asked Royce Walker, Social Media Chairman, to provide us information on our FaceBook (FB) page. Here is what she has to say to all of us:

“Social media is part of the information society in which we live.  Businesses, individuals and organizations now use this media to share information, build a fan base, encourage participation in events, change behavior, and publicize organizations and their work.

In the 2012 Nonprofit Social Benchmark Report, nonprofits said their top three goals of using social media were growing their base, engaging members and growing fundraising.

This year a social media chair has been added as an appointed officer to the Texas State Council Board. The members will see an increase use of social media this year as an outreach of the organization. In June, a FaceBook (FB) account was created for the state.  It is not for the purpose of replacing other methods of communication such as the TESAN, but the goal is to enhance the communication and recognition of our organization.

In the future, other aspects of social media will be explored for usage in our organization.

The FB account is Texas State Council Epsilon Sigma Alpha International. It can be accessed through FB or there is a direct link on the organization's website.  If you do not have a FB account, create one.  Go to FB and "Like" it.  You can make comments, send me info and pictures to post. Announce an upcoming event, publicize an achievement.  Be a part of our social media, do not be left behind in our journey into social media.”

Thank you so much Royce. This answered some questions for me as well and reinforced the “whys” to having an important social media avenue for the Texas State Council!

Now, for our IAWL trivia from last week... When George was joyously running through the center of Bedford Falls, he passes by the Bijou Theater. What film was playing? And a bonus, who starred in the film?

Then in my Thursday update, I added another bonus question – there is a dialog line in the film, stated from the Priest to Mother Superior. Can you give me that line?  Many of you guessed correctly – “The Bells of St. Mary’s”, which was released in theaters in December 1944. The actors were Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Interestingly, the wealthy gentleman St. Mary’s was trying to acquire the property next door was played by the same actor who played Clarence ASII in IAWL!  The famous line from the Priest to Mother Superior was, “Dial O for O’Malley.” Bing Crosby reprised his Academy Award role of Father Chuck O’Malley from the original movie released a year earlier, “Going My Way”, co-starring Barry Fitzgerald. Lastly, the cutest part of “The Bells of St. Mary’s”, in my opinion was Nativity Pageant, performed by Kindergarteners, was the kids singing “Happy Birthday” when Baby Jesus was gently placed in the manger. Gosh, I know way too much about some old movies. When one is the daughter of a Theater (Drama) and Art double major, one watches old movies many times over!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to the following sisters for the next week:

Cheryl Evans – August 22 of Epsilon Pi, District 5

Louise Lary – August 22 of Epsilon Pi, District 5

Gayla O’Neal – August 22 of Sigma Iota, District 6

Charlotte Foreman – August 23 of Lambda Alpha, District 8

Helen Burbank – August 24 of Sigma Iota, District 6

Leora Aaron – August 26 of Alpha Tau, District 6

Frances Jones – August 26 of Alpha Beta, District 10

Julie Fenton – August 27 of Sigma Phi, District 4

Karen Locke – August 27 of Lambda Alpha, District 8, one of our Past Texas State Council President, and currently on the Nominating Committee

If you desire to get the blog postings sooner than later, please let me know by email at sueannesa@yahoo.com and I will add you to a mailing group list I have set up.

Remember, ESA's . . . A Wonderful Life!

Love and hugs to all Every Day Angels,

sue ann

(aka – susieQ) 

ESA Wonderful Wednesday - August 14, 2013

Happy Wonderful Wednesday Everyone!

Well, our First State Board Meeting "Welcome to Bedford Falls" has come and gone. Let me tell you if you missed it, it was WONDERFUL! Rose Pasillas, our Leadership Seminar Chairman, and her able assistants from Sigma Iota conducted a FANTASTIC production of Leadership in ESA's version of Wonderland. While the audience, us, were Alice, Rose and crew were the characters of Wonderland.... There was the Mad-Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the Chesshire Cat (probably spelled that wrong), Floyd the Flamingo, and so many more. We covered the Educational aspects of learning what we are doing and how to access information, Service through projects like Warm Welcome, Hope for Heroes, Literacy for Life, Women in Crisis, and Care Connection. What a minute, that is our Caring and Sharing Team! We also were exposed to new ideas for Membership Rush as Choctober is back!  It was great! Thank you Rose, Sigma Iota, and all the presenters!

I had a few questions about my "Blog/Email". There is confusion as to how to access when I post the Email and that the Blog posting is not the same as the Email I send. First off, the Blog/Email are not the same, but they contain the same written information. What you see in the Email is EXACTLY the same as what you would see if you accessed the Blog. There are some differences. When I attach documents, I do that only in the Email. When I include photos, I do that only in the Blog. If you want to post to the Blog, everyone is able to see the contents of your postings. If you want to respond to the Email, you are only able to respond to me the sender and no one else can see your response. Otherwise, it is the same. Additionally, I send out the Blog/Email with everyone's address undisclosed. This allows you to print and share the Blog/Email without printing dozens and dozens of email addresses. So don't worry, you are seeing everything I post... just different ways to see it!

Remember if you have any corrections to the new State Roster we distributed last weekend, please contact Joyce Smith to post those corrections in an upcoming TESAN. So far we have had a very favorable review of the roster.  Information is easy to find and access for all levels of computer users. This is very encouraging as we moved from a paper roster to an electronic roster. Joyce still has a few CDs available to purchase for $2.00 each. 

Now, for our IAWL trivia for the week... When George was joyously running through the center of Bedford Falls, he passes by the Bijou Theater. What film was playing? And a bonus, who starred in the film? Let me know what you know!

Barbara Perales, Association of the Arts Chairman, announced at the Board Meeting the Craft Faire to happen at the November State Board Meeting in Bedford. She will be posting the table reservation form via The TESAN in the next couple of months. Therefore, it is time to start working on making those crafted items you will be selling in November and get your table reservation to Barbara! The Crafts Faire is always fun and fruitful!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to the following sisters for the next week:

Deanna Kriesman - August 16 of Beta Xi, District 6

Stephanie Rodriquez - August 17, I am not certain what chapter Stephanie is in as that was not given to me... Let me know! 

Debbie Gattenby - August 18, again, let me know what chapter Debbie is in as that was not on my list... Let me know!

Sharon Jones - August 18 of Lambda Nu, District 5

Sandy Wilson - August 19 of Chi Kappa, District 1

Suzanne Robinson - August 20, again, let me know what chapter Suzanne Robinson is in as that was not on my list... Let me know!

Barbara Atkinson, our Associate Member of PPACs - August 20 of Kappa Mu, District 3

Sylvia Casares - August 20, again, let me know what chapter Sylvia is in as that was not on my list.... Let me know!

Mary Brown - August 20 of Epsilon Pi, District 5

Yvonne Evans - August 20 of Epsilon Pi, District 5 and 

Gayla O'Neal - August 22 of Sigma Iota, District 6

Remember, this is my method of weekly communication to YOU, the entire membership, during the year. Please share the postings with those in your chapter who do not have computer access. Not everyone has a computer or access to one! We are trying to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to see the information. If you desire to get the blog postings sooner than later, please let me know by email at sueannesa@yahoo.com and I will add you to a mailing group list I have set up. Additionally, the Blog can be viewed at <http://esawonderfulwednesday.blogspot.com>. Previous postings are there to if you need to catch up!

Remember, ESA's . . . A Wonderful Life!

Love and hugs to all Every Day Angels,

sue ann

(aka - susieQ)

ESA Wonderful Wednesday – August 14, 2013 – Updates and Corrections on 8/15/2013

Happy Thursday Evening....

I have had some emails updating my birthday list.  I am so happy to see my Texas Sisters are keeping me honest. There are changes, additions, and corrections. I thought it was too large to wait until next week.... I will post the corrected information this coming weekend.  I also have to look at the link below.  Apparently it is corrupt or "bad" as they say.  It will take me a bit of time to figure this one out!

But, here we go to the correct Happy, Happy Birthdays this coming week:

Deanna Kriesman - August 16 of Beta Xi, District 6

Suzanne Dullack - August 17 of Beta Sigma, District 2 - our Texas State Council First Vice President/President-Elect and Membership Chairman

Cindy Mayfield - August 17 of Chi Rho, District 11 - our Texas State Council Membership Assistant to her partner in crime Suzanne Dullack and Digital Scrapbook Chairman (small world isn't it!!!)

Stephanie Rodriquez - August 17, I am not certain what chapter Stephanie is in as that was not given to me... Let me know!

Debbie Gattenby (formerly Debbie Truethardt) - August 18 of Kappa Beta, District 1

Sharon Jones - August 18 of Lambda Nu, District 5

Sandy Wilson - August 19 of Chi Kappa, District 1

Suzanne Robinson (formerly Suzanne Weber) - August 20 of Kappa Beta, District 1

Barbara Atkinson, our Associate Member of the PPACs and our Texas State Council State Project Director - August 20 of Kappa Mu, District 3

Sylvia Casares (reinstatement due to Choctober 2012) - August 20 of Kappa Mu, District 3

Mary Brown - August 20 of Epsilon Pi, District 5

Yvonne Evans - August 20 of Epsilon Pi, District 5 and

Gayla O'Neal - August 22 of Sigma Iota, District 6.

Now the IAWL trivia question has produced correct answers all around.  Even rec'd information that I had not expected, but I did know. So with that said, there is a line in the film listed on the Bijou Theater Marquee. This is really a HUGE bonus question if you can come up with the line from the Priest to Mother Superior!

thanks for your patience.... and love, sue ann

ESA Wonderful Wednesday - August 7, 2013

Happy Wonderful Wednesday Everyone!

I can hardly believe, but our First State Board Meeting for this new sorority year is about to happen in just a few days. Now that I have put the 2013-2014 Roster to bed, I was able to start preparing for this upcoming weekend. It seemed a bit disjointed, where items were being developed and sent out and others had to be delayed. I hope the upcoming Board Meetings will be less frantic!

Joyce Smith and I are excited about releasing our Roster in its new format. Cheree Harper assisted in entering data into spreadsheets I developed to provide the membership information. I worked on all the formatting, organizational issues, instructions, copying and pasting documents, label printing, etc. Cindy Mayfield graciously burned all the CD’s for us. Friday evening before the District Presidents pick up the CD’s, we will be applying labels and assembling for you. We hope you find the Roster useful in the new format!  Of course, if you have any questions, please ask either Joyce or myself.

Oh yes, IAWL trivia answer from last week. What was the question? When the distraught George Bailey came home to the Granville house, what tune is little Janie Bailey playing on the piano? Janie played “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” over and repeatedly!  Next week, I will have a new question to post. Several of you got it correctly!  Good for you! I am enjoying the responses I get.

Barbara Perales, Association of the Arts Chairman, will be announcing at the Board Meeting the Craft Faire to happen at the November State Board Meeting in Bedford. She will be posting the table reservation form via The TESAN in the next couple of months. Therefore, it is time to start working on making those crafted items you will be selling in November and get your table reservation to Barbara! The Crafts Faire is always fun and fruitful!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to the following sisters for the next week:

Kathy Worley – August 10 of Epsilon Pi, District 5

Kimberly Rodriguez – August 12, I am not sure what chapter and district Kimberly is in…. let me know and I will mention it next week

Grace Sinyard – August 13, here as well, I am not sure what chapter and district Grace is in…. let me know and I will mention it next week

Jimmy Lane – August 15 of Theta Alpha, District 7

Pat Wilson – August 15 of Lambda Alpha, District 8

Deanna Kriesman – August 16 of Beta Xi, District 6

Remember, this is my method of weekly communication to YOU, the entire membership, during the year. If you desire to get the blog postings sooner than later, please let me know by email at sueannesa@yahoo.com and I will add you to a mailing group list I have set up. Additionally, the Blog can be viewed at <http://esawonderfulwednesday.blogspot.com>. Previous postings are there to if you need to catch up!

Remember, ESA's . . . A Wonderful Life!

Love and hugs to all Every Day Angels,

sue ann

(aka - susieQ)