Pi Beta Phi - Texas Tech University

T e x a s G a m m a C h a p T e r o f p i B e T a p h i a l u m n a e n e w s l e T T e r Spring 2014 F rom a lovely but aging lodge of 40 years to a beautiful home that will meet the needs of our young women today and in the future, this is the goal of our From Roots to Wings campaign. With emotions flowing, packing up the lodge and moving out for eight months was quite a large undertaking! on December 3, Cowling moving & storage pulled up to #17 Greek Circle to move our belongings to their storage facility. having a pi phi daughter, owner Barbara Cowling, held a special place for us. she saw that we were out and moved into storage on our planned date. prior to that day, we not only had to clean out and pack to move, but each piece of furniture needed to be measured and photographed so we could plan the furniture layout. we are attempting to reuse our existing furniture and update pieces that will fit the new lodge design. The interior design is being coordinated by a very talented designer and Texas Delta sister, Nancy Callier Kritser '68. we knew she would be the perfect match for our new home interior with her vast experience with sorority houses in the Dallas metroplex and with the additional benefit of her living in amarillo near us! a big ring Ching goes out to Texas Gamma sister Tricia Doss '96 for finding a place for our baby grand piano. Her creativity flowed when she approached her church music director, Dean roy, at westmont Christian Church in lubbock and he agreed to house the piano in their fellowship hall. They can enjoy having a piano for recitals and music while we can be relieved the piano is in a safe and temperature-controlled environment. last but not least, many thanks go out to the circle of sisters whose hours of hard work before the move, packing, discarding, and rethinking each item, helped to make the move go smoothly. it would not have happened without the help of the active chapter officers along with alumnae Leslie Duckworth Ince '65, Mary Duckworth Ince '63, Robin Becknell Walker '78, Barbara McDougal '56 and Tracy Gilbreath Fenter '92. These women saved boxes, packed, taped and organized 40 years of accumulation. now the fun is beginning and our dream is becoming a reality! To date we have: • Been granted a parking variance by the city (after all, we are landlocked on all sides). • received aDa approval that required the addition of an elevator between the first and second floors. • Completed an environmental inspection that discovered asbestos within the house. • removed all interior asbestos. • submitted our architectural plan to the city. • received approval on our plans and now have our building permit. we have broken ground and are in full swing with construction, aiming to finish prior to recruitment. With final bids coming in at $1.3 million for the project, and with the announcement last fall of our $800,000 five- year campaign goal, we are proud to announce that we have exceeded our initial goal, reaching $849,475 in written commitments to date. as you can see, however, we have quite a way to go to help the lodge be debt free. Our five-year dream and goal is not only to reach the $1.3 million project cost, but also to have every Texas Gamma alumna join us in a circle of sisterhood to support our common heritage. Your gifts of any amount will help restore an important part of our lives so that future alumnae can embrace and enjoy the lodge, too. if you want to be involved with something positive where you can come see a direct outcome from your investment, this is the place to give. The benefit will not only be in a beautiful physical structure, but also in a renewed sisterhood at Texas Gamma. if you need more information or have misplaced your packet, please contact one of us and we will get more information to you. we will also continue to gather money through our era and class leader volunteers, so be watching or listening for more information from them. The challenge is on to see which classes will win with the most participation. from Bid Day to Golden arrow, come join us as we circle around this worthy project. From Roots to Wings, that is where we are headed— one feather at a time. Yours in pi Beta phi, Tracie Erwin Brooks '75 Campaign Chairman rafterb212@suddenlink.net Muff Moore London '75 Campaign Chairman mvlondon5@gmail.com A Circle of Sisterhood Progress Made in From Roots to Wings Campaign Leslie Duckworth Ince '65, Muff Moore London '75, and Mary Ann Duckworth Ince '63 pack up the Pi Phi house in preparation for the move out. Renovation at #17 Greek Circle has begun!

• Cover