Kappa Alpha Theta - Texas Tech University

Theta Techsan 5 A love of Theta was sparked when the women of Gamma Phi Chapter made Martha West Griffith '66 feel wanted during recruitment, and has stayed strong for a lifetime of Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity support and involvement. Martha was inspired to reconnect with Gamma Phi after the 2013 reunion. "It was so well organized and lots of fun. The best part was catching up with my pledge class and others who pledged before and after me." The reunion sparked a reconnecting of her pledge class, including many smaller reunions since then, and is proof to Martha that, "Theta truly is forever. Reconnecting years later is lots of fun." After the 2013 reunion, Martha became aware of the need for more space at the lodge and decided to support Gamma Phi with a gift to the capital campaign. "The members are grateful for the expanded and updated facility. I am grateful to Suzie Sterling King '69 and all the others who took on this project. I am so pleased the Greek system continues to be strong at Tech." Martha hopes her sisters will join her in getting involved with the campaign. "It is rewarding to make a contribution and be a part of the fundraising effort." After graduating from Texas Tech with a business administration degree and a major in retail, Martha found a retail job in Austin. Feeling the pull to stay connected with Theta, she became an advisor for the Alpha Theta Chapter as assistant pledge advisor and then finance advisor. This was when chapters were beginning to computerize their records, and Alpha Theta was one of the first to be given a computer and invited to train at Theta headquarters. This experience became the beginning of many years Martha spent as a Theta volunteer. She became a member of Theta's national finance committee and had the opportunity to visit more than 50 chapters, training chapter finance officers to correctly use Theta procedures for budgeting, billing, record keeping, etc. Martha and her husband, Keith, who was Greek at the University of Texas, live in Austin and have a son, Clark, who had a wonderful Greek experience at Washington and Lee University. She enjoys being a grandmother, and is still thankful for her many years spent as a Theta volunteer with the International Fraternity. E-mail: magri@aol.com Martha West Griffith '66, Lynn Snyder Hooker '66, Lynn Foxhall Badgwell '66, and Margaret Reeburgh Williams '66 at the Gamma Phi 60-year reunion in Lubbock. Longtime Theta Volunteer, Martha West Griffith '66, Supports Gamma Phi A s the first member of her family to attend college, Rita Williams '66 had to convince her parents that KAΘ was a worthwhile group to join. But Rita felt so strongly about being a member of Gamma Phi Chapter that she was willing to do what it took to join. "They were the best on the Tech campus. They had it all—brains, beauty, philanthropy, student government, etc. They were not pigeon-holed or known for only one thing; the sisters supported individuality. I was so proud to be a member, still am today!" Rita knows that the support of Gamma Phi helped her grow as a person and gave her the self-confidence to venture out of Texas to break barriers for women in TV news, and for that, she is giving back with a gift to the capital campaign. "I remember how important it is to have a place where you all gather, a place you are proud of and meets your needs. It seemed the active chapter had greatly outgrown its lodge and asked for help. It feels good to be able to give back so those who follow will have the same support and opportunities that helped launch us 50 years ago!" Rita feels the chapter continues to excel and still places emphasis in the right places—emotional growth, education, unconditional love, and support. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in political science, Rita went on to earn a master's in political science from George Washington University and embarked on a successful journalism career. As one of the first women reporters doing hard news on air in the early '70s, Rita covered politics, courts, investigative stories, breaking stories, and more on stations in Baltimore, San Antonio, and finally for 35-years at KTVU-TV in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rita started KTVU-TV's San Francisco Bureau and was bureau chief/ reporter for more than two decades, covering events, including the 1978 assassinations at SF City Hall, the memorial for Ronald Reagan in Washington, and personally broke nationally the indictment of SF Giants player Barry Bonds. She has won Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and Associated Press Awards, and is proud to be named an outstanding journalism graduate of Texas Tech. Now retired after 43 years of daily TV news reporting, Rita spends her time on four non- profit boards, and enjoys writing, drawing, refinishing furniture, hiking, and traveling. She lives with her husband of 39 years, Lindsay, in Portola Valley, California, and has one son, Brad, a lawyer and deputy district attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area. Connect with Rita via e-mail at ritach2@aol.com. Rita Williams '66 Gives Back to Gamma Phi It feels good to be able to give back so those who follow will have the same support and opportunities that helped launch us 50 years ago! " "

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