History
Alpha Theta Omega Chapter was chartered on June 15, 1928 with nine of the most talented, scholarly, prominent, and determined women in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. They were chartered by the South Atlantic Regional Director, Vivian Mason and the International President, B. Beatrix Scott. Having been chartered just twenty years from our Sorority's inception, Alpha Theta Omega Chapter received the AKA torch and has passed it from generation to generation through our impressive legacy of mother and daughter members, exemplary members initiated into our graduate chapter over the years, and members who come to Alpha Theta Omega by way of the undergraduate experience. We are well-positioned to promote the principles, policies, and programs of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority®, Incorporated on a continuum: Service to All Mankind.
Stewardship and Service have been the mainstay of our primary goals from the early 1930's to the present. Despite adverse economic circumstances that affect the education and career choices of our black youth, Alpha Theta Omega Chapter has been able to pool resources. We have contributed to local community causes including the YMCA/YWCA, North Carolina Symphony Children's Concert Series, United Way, Autism Society, NAACP, Strengthening the Black Family, Shaw University, Saint Augustine's University, Central Children's Home of North Carolina, Educational Advancement Foundation-AKA, Dorothea Dix Hospital, Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee and a host of others.
The building of the first assembly house in 1975 and the current house in 1991 exemplifies the chapter's expansion and progress in response to increased membership. In 1967, charter member Susie Vick Perry, 6th President and her sister, Fannie Vick Latham united the membership and coordinated efforts that led to the purchase of our first property. In 1991 the members of Alpha Theta Omega Chapter were ready, willing and able once again, to purchase a new structure to facilitate chapter growth and program implementation. Under the leadership of the 34th President, Barbara T. Flood and the Executive Committee, construction of our new House began in June, 1991. The Building Committee co-chaired by Thelma H. Anders, 33rd President, and Mertie Batey maintained surveillance of the general contractors, Ward and Associates of Louisburg, North Carolina, as our vision unfolded. The first Chapter meeting was held in the brand new Sorority Assembly House on December 21, 1991. One-hundred and ten committed members added this tremendous accomplishment to our repertoire of success stories when we dedicated our House on December 13, 1992. Our one and a half-million dollar Chapter property Sorority Assembly House is located at 2325 Garner Road in the heart of Southeast Raleigh's African American community.
Alpha Theta Omega is a mover-shaker and a pusher and puller in our role as the architect of vigorous innovations through worthwhile school, church, community, and civic projects. In 1967, we were the first to award a scholarship to a male student. In the 1990s, the Walnut Terrace Program, spearheaded by Arnette G. Gambrell, bridged the gap between elementary school under-achievers and their counterparts. Our AKAs On Your Side Program presented a series of topics such as Parenting Skills/Discipline, Self Esteem, Hygiene and Proper Nutrition, Personal Money Management, and How to Help Your Child At Home for parents. We have been involved in projects that emphasize Strengthening the Black Family, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Breast Cancer, Teenage Pregnancy, and Political Action. At the turn of the 21st Century we were selected as a demonstration site for the Sorority's Ivy Reading AKAdemy. Delores W. Revis, the 27th President served as the Site Coordinator.
Alpha Theta Omega's signature program was the Debutante Scholarship Program. The year-long program offers a blend of cultural and educational enrichment activities that culminate in an Annual Debutante Ball that began on December 31, 1937. That program grew from presenting eleven young ladies to society in 1937 to over 100 during the 60s, 70s, and 80s, peaking at 121. The history of the Debutante Ball is stored in the North Carolina Collection of the Wilson Round Library on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A major purpose of the Ball is to provide scholarships to the Debutantes matriculating at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Over the years, in excess of 1 million dollars have been given in scholarships. Today, Alpha Theta Omega Chapter collaborates with ATO, Inc. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to sponsor the Debutante Program.
Alpha Theta Omega's programs and projects today are naturally wider and broader than those of yesterday; yet, past traditions are so intertwined with the present that it is impossible to divorce the two. Alpha Theta Omega continues to support international programs by contributing fund to the established Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® initiatives. We sponsor and mentor three undergraduate chapters on the campuses of Shaw University, Saint Augustine's University, and North Carolina State University.
Ours is a LEGACY of leadership. We hosted eight Regional Conferences: 1937, 1952, 1966, 1985, 1997, 2008, 2017 and 2022; four Northern Carolina Cluster meetings: 1983, 2002, 2017 and 2023 and the Undergraduate Roundup and Graduate Advisors Council, 1995 and 1999.
Hearts that are loyal and hearts that are true is evidenced by our Life Members:
Alpha Theta Omega members who have served above the chapter level: Elizabeth Schmoke Randolph, Mid-Atlantic Regional Director and Supreme Parliamentarian; Lillian S. Lee, NC/VA State Connection Coordinator and Mid-Atlantic Region Representative to the International Connection Committee, under Mid-Atlantic Regional Directors Caroline Lattimore and Ruby B. Archie; and Gale J. Isaacs, Northern Carolina Cluster Coordinator under Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Clara M. Hines*, Katherine Everett, International Representative to the Sisterly Relations Committee, Mary DuRant DesChamps, Mid-Atlantic Regional Representative to the International Reinstatement Task Force Committee, under Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Joyce Henderson.
In 2022, it was an honor for Alpha Theta Omega Chapter to have Nadine Vargas Stewart elected as the first Regional Director from the Chapter. The following Chapter members served under her leadership: Mary DeChamps, Co-Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, Chanda Branch, Mid-Atlantic Region Music Committee Chairman, Sonja Brown, Mid-Atlantic Region Financial Secretary, Linda Gill, Mid-Atlantic Region Spiritual Care Team Chairman, and Member, Leaves of Wisdom Book of Meditation Writing Team, L’Tonya Stewart, Mid-Atlantic Event Planner, Courtney Telfaire, Northern Carolina Cluster Co-Chairman, Alicia Wiley, Mid-Atlantic Parliamentarian and Mid-Atlantic Region Bylaws Committee Chairman.
A sampling of many noteworthy Mid-Atlantic Region achievements, including those of individual members include but are not limited to the following:
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Graduate Achievement Award (membership of 26 or more) -
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1963 to 1971;
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1973 to 1975;
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1987;
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Graduate Achievement Award (membership 76 and above)
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2007;
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First place Scrapbook Award
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1993;
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Regional Award contributors
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Susie V. Perry, for the Graduate Advisors Award
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Carolyn G. Ennis for Creative Expressions Award to undergraduates
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The Pauline C. Morton Alumnae Basileus of the Year Award
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1971, Carolyn G. Ennis
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2000, Barbara T. Flood
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2005, Linda B. Gill
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2008, Gale J. Isaacs, 39th President
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Annie L. Harvey Outstanding Graduate Soror of the Year Award:
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1971, Susie V. Perry
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1972, Marjorie Debnam
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1974, Carolyn G. Ennis
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1975, Minetta G. Eaton
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2000, Paula Smith-Sawyer
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2009, Gale J. Isaacs
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Regional Volunteer of the Year
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1977, Jeanette Hicks
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1978, Carolyn G. Ennis
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1979, Minetta G. Eaton
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Gale J. Isaacs received the Bernardine Stoneham Smith Bailey Award for Graduate Journalism in 1998 and the Helen Cauthorne Award for Graduate Advisor of the Year in 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2001.
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Susan Malone received the Helen Cauthorne Award for Graduate Advisor of the Year in 2003.
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Global Impact and HBCU for Life
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2022, runner-up
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The Regional Award for Man of the Year was conceptualized by Susie V. Perry in 1966 in the guise of an Outstanding Man of the Year presentation at the 13th Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Honorable State Senator John Winters was the winner. The award became a Mid-Atlantic Region custom in 1969. Alpha Theta Omega has presented several notable winners. In the early years, the recipients were Dr. James E. Cheek, President of Shaw University in 1969; the Honorable Clarence Lightner, the first and only African American Mayor in Raleigh, NC history, in 1975; and John H. Baker, Jr., the first African American Sheriff of Wake County, in 1978. The 1980s saw the honor bestowed upon Dr. Prezell R. Robinson, President of Saint Augustine's College; Vernon Malone, educator and Dan Blue, the first African American Speaker of the House, North Carolina State House of Representatives.
Of great historical significance is the continuous, extended years of service by three outstanding members: Docenia Hammond who served as Treasurer for 26 consecutive years, Lovieree L. Warren, who served as Financial Secretary for 19 consecutive years, and Barbara T. Flood, the only five-term President (34th and 36th) in the history of the Chapter; she served an unprecedented ten years.
At the dawn of 2008, Alpha Theta Omega Chapter's Founders Day Observance focused on the 80th Anniversary of its chartering. Adding to the significance of this observance was the recognition of the uninterrupted service and the unbroken sequence of the last thirteen (26th-39th) Chapter presidents (1970 - 2008), thus establishing The Order of the Basilei.
In acknowledgment of the Centennial Anniversary of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the chapter initiated a Preemie Project involving premature infants housed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh. Lovieree Warren was the catalyst that led to a massive donation of over 400 sets of preemie infant wear from the Carter Children's Clothing Company. This colossal effort received wide-spread media coverage as Gale J. Isaacs, Courtney M. Telfaire, and Lovieree L. Warren represented the Chapter in an interview on local CBS affiliate television station, WRAL-TV 5. In addition, the chapter celebrated the official retirement of all debt associated with the 1991 building of our Sorority Assembly House with a mortgage burning celebration on June 15, 2008. The mortgage was retired on February 24, 2008 over one full year ahead of schedule.
The Program Targets and Initiatives that Alpha Theta Omega Chapter has implemented since 2014 include but not exclusive are: Food donations to a local elementary school, tree planting, flower planting to a local elementary school and in the community, HBCU college tours, voter registration drives, donations of baby supplies, monetary contributions and clothing to the Salvation Army, winter wrap donations, contributions to the diaper bank and the Women’s Shelter, forums on heart health, mental health, black maternal health and economic wealth. The chapter provides tutoring sessions as it has done in previous decades to elementary school students.
During the COVID pandemic the chapter collaborated with Wake County Human Services to be one of the first organizations to distribute over 2,000 masks and hand sanitizers to the community which was documented by several TV stations. The chapter partnered with the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants to conduct virtual tutoring sessions to assist immigrants with obtaining U.S. citizenship and members made donations of household items to assist with housing needs. Hundreds of masks were distributed to area universities.
In 2023, the Chapter celebrated its 95th Anniversary with a reception and documentary presentation of a former basileus who is the oldest living member in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Diamond Member Virginia K Newell.
In recent years, Chapter awards have included runner up for the HBCU for Life and the Global Impact awards presented at the 69th Regional Conference. The Chapter obtained the EAF Platinum Level recognition in 2022 and 2024, was recognized as the Best of the Best for the number of sorors reclaimed during 2023 and received a Standards Award for successful operations at the 71st Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference and a $500.00 competition award for the best sneaker decoration.
In its 96th year, Alpha Theta Omega, led by its 43rd president, Gladys Walker, consists of over 110 members committed to serve “All Mankind” by implementing Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s program of Soaring to Greater Heights of Service and Sisterhood under current International President Danette Anthony Reed.
This accounting serves as an abbreviated look into the history of the Alpha Theta Omega Chapter. To learn about the history of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, please visit the international website www.aka1908.com.
*Deceased