| July 18, 2013
Lambda Theta Alpha Concludes National Convention in New Orleans, LA |
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July 18, 2013 (New Orleans, LA) – The 38th Annual National Convention for Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. (LTA) concluded on July 14 after three days of educational and motivational seminars and activities that highlighted the sorority’s accomplishments for the past year. This year was a historic event and first of its kind as a partnership with Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. was set to co-host our respective national conventions together.
This year’s theme, “Honoring The Legacy: Viviendo La Visión,” celebrated continued excellence as well as reinforcing the principles, purpose, and vision for the organization. The National Convention offered programming focused on leadership development, philanthropic initiatives and academic excellence to 512 undergraduate and alumnae members including six Founding Mothers who were in attendance.
The National Convention started with a Kick Off celebration at the New Orleans’ House of Blues where more than 700 members of Lambda Theta Alpha and Lambda Theta Phi cheered on chapters presenting salute and LTA stroll performances. The following day, both organizations worked together in a community service effort to assemble 250 Hero Box care packages that were sent to military men and woman overseas. In addition, both organizations witnessed the keynote presentation given by David Stollman, co-founder of CampusSpeak, where he touched on renewing motivation for Greek life and personal responsibility to our organization and communities with his presentation titledBuy In or GET OUT!
During the weekend, Lambda Theta Alpha was able to celebrate and reinforce our commitment to philanthropy and social activism during the Philanthropic Luncheon featuring St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Voto Latino. Brett Collins from St. Jude presented the latest accomplishments of the hospital and fundraising efforts of LTA. In addition, LTA presented a $30,691.02 check to St. Jude, once again, exceeding the $20,000 annual goal. This donation reflects the year-long national campaign in the effort to battle childhood cancer and the lasting partnership between St. Jude and LTA. This past fall, LTA won Voto Latino’s Rep Ur Letters campaign by registering the most voters for the national elections among many other greek organizations. As a result of the hard work from LTA, Voto Latino sponsored a celebrity guest speaker at the National Convention. Wilmer Valderrama arrived to meet with the Board of Directors and Founding Mothers of LTA and went on to present to the membership on his commitment to energize the Latino community to learn and take action in politics. He encouraged LTA to stay involved, achieve our goals, and to be aware of our responsibility to our communities and country.
In addition to our philanthropic work, the National Convention took the time to recognized our over achieving chapters and sisters. This year the National Awards event was held in conjunction with Lambda Theta Phi at an evening gala on Saturday, July 13th as an opportunity to present awards of the highest caliber within our organization to members who have exceeded all expectations through scholarship, service, and sisterhood. The recipients of the 2013 National Awards were: Philanthropic Sister of the Year Undergraduate Sister of the Year New Sister of the Year Stephanie Marte Alumna Sister of the Year Beta Phi Chapter Alumna Campus Leader of the Year New Professional of the Year Professional of the Year Chi Chapter Alumna Lourdes Cortes Scholarship for Academic Excellence Cristina Padierna Universal Mother Award Marisol Cruz Alpha Delta Alumnae Chapter Alumna Entrepreneur Award Principles Award Delta Alpha Chapter Alumna Philanthropic Chapter of the Year Undergraduate Chapter of the Year
New Chapter of the Year State University of New York, Albany Alumnae Chapter of the Year New York Area of the Year Service to St. Jude Award In addition, the Board of Directors praised the 2012-2013 Leadership Team for all of their hard work through the year and welcomed the incoming 2013-2014 Leadership Team along with officers at all levels such as chapter, area, and national officers. The incoming officers to the Board of Directors include:
Vice-President of Administration Korina Gonzales, California Alumna Vice-President of Finance Eldris Despaigne, Florida Alumna Director of Risk Management Lena Orosco, California Alumna Director of Recruitment and Retention Marisol Cruz, Maryland Alumna To conclude, the National Convention also hosted the Omega Ceremony to honor our sisters who have passed away and induct those that left us this year into Omega chapter. These sisters were Luanda Cavaco, Beta Alpha chapter; Paty Vasquez, Beta Phi chapter; Mercedes Fabor, Mu chapter; and Stephanie Irene Murrel, Gamma chapter.
The Board of Directors would like to thank all who helped make this event a success. The sisterhood looks forward to the 39th National Convention hosted in Las Vegas, NV in July of 2014.
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About Lambda Theta Alpha
Lambda Theta Alpha was founded at Kean University in 1975 as the first Latina sorority in the nation. Lambda Theta Alpha strives to develop strong leaders that produce and engage in political, social, and cultural activities. Based on the principles of Unity, Love, and Respect, the Sorority was established for the unification of women through charitable and educational programs. Although Lambda Theta Alpha is Latin by tradition, the Sorority is inclusive to all women regardless of race, color, creed, sexual identity, gender expression, or religious beliefs. Lambda Theta Alpha is a proud member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations. |