Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
“The Alpha Tau Talk”
“Leading Women Educators Impacting Education Worldwide,
Honor, Learn, Lead through DKG
2017-2019 Biennium International Theme
www.dkg.org –International
Myrna Walker—Chapter President &
Newsletter Editor
myrnaLwalker@gmail.com
Myrna’s Message Due to
a cost for the brunch will be $12.00. (Please note that
funny
chain of events, I have the distinct honor of getting
to sit at the head table at the Missouri State DKG
Conference Celebration Luncheon on April 27th
AND introduce our new honorary DKG sister and
Missouri First Lady Teresa Parson!!
I feel so very honored to do this and to know the
First Lady since we were kids. She is a very special
person and truly deserves this honor! She will also
be speaking to us about the project dear to her
heart that she and Governor Parson have also
spoken to Alpha Tau about—JAG (Jobs for
American Graduates). She is certainly a key woman
of Missouri.
Speaking of key women, last newsletter I told
you about Annie Webb Blanton—one of the
founding sisters of DKG, who also wrote our song
that we sing every meeting. Another of our
founding sisters was Miss Mamie Sue Bastion.
Mamie was born in 1874 and it was said that when
she entered a room, laughter came in too because
she was the very picture of exuberant living and
optimism. See a picture of her on page 2.
She attended public schools, traveled
extensively in the US and Canada, taught in
Houston from 1895 to 1922, and was a principal
from 1924 to 1940. She also served on state
teachers’ associations and after being selected to
help establish DKG Society in 1929, she soon
became president of her state and organized 13
chapters and 6 state organizations.
It was Mamie who came up with the idea of the
Birthday Luncheon for the Conventions and who
encouraged lively DKG songs because she dearly
loved to sing. She always inspired others to join in
when she directed the singing!
Miss Bastion died in 1946 after a life devoted to
being a key educator.
www.dkgmissouri.com–State
Volume 2, Issue 4
Spring, 2019 p. 1
Next Meeting Information
Alpha Tau Chapter will meet at 9:30 a.m. at Church
House Banquets on April 13, 2019, in Halfway. The
this is a $0.50 increase.) Checks should be made to
Alpha Tau. If you are unable to attend, you must
please send e-mailed or written regrets to:
Myrna Walker
1355 S. Mission Ave.
Bolivar, MO 65613
myrnaLwalker@gmail.com
417-599-9958
by 2 pm on Wednesday, April 10th.
It is Alpha Tau’s policy that you must pay for the meal
if you do not send regrets in the allotted time.
Our program? *Deanna Robertson from Exodus
Ministries in Bolivar will be speaking on how they
help women transition from prison to a productive
life.
*For Project Hope, let's help Exodus Ministries
by having a "Paper Shower"! Bring TP,
pads/tampons, dryer sheets, or paper towels to help
the Exodus ladies! A handwritten note with an
encouraging word would be most appreciated too!
*This April meeting is also when we celebrate
Project Honor. Bring a guest that you might like to
invite to join DKG. Remember that you honor her by
paying for her brunch.
IN THIS ISSUE
President’s Message------------------------------- p. 1
Next Meeting Information ----------------------- p. 1
Previous Meeting Information ------------------p. 2
Dues Due in April ----------------------------------p. 2
New Chat Feature on Website -------------------p. 3
Sister Personal News ----------------------------- p. 3
Sister Professional News -------------------------p. 3
Spotlight on Education --------------------------- p. 3
College Students can be Members ------------- p. 3
Go to the State Convention -----------------------p. 4
Upcoming Conferences --------------------------- p. 4
Legal Brief -------------------------------------------p. 4
Pictures of Annette Fugitt’s Alaska------------- p. 5
Registration form for State Convention------- p. 6
 Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
The Alpha Tau Talk
Spring, 2019 p. 2
Dues are Due in April!!
Well, they are not really due until June30th,
BUT, it is to your advantage to pay them at the
April meeting. If you pay your dues then, you will
only owe $65 as opposed to $70. Cay will make
then deposit on May 1st. If you cannot attend, you
can mail them in with your regrets.
As was explained at the February meeting, our
International Bylaws have changed and our fiscal
year is now July 1- June 30. This will make things
make much more sense in the long run. For one
thing, the president can now plan committees
with the confidence that the membership is
established. Up until this point, this was not the
case.
This will make things a little more difficult this
year, but after that, we will adjust and just know
that we pay dues in April and if we have not paid
by June 30th, we are dropped. PLEASE, pay dues
promptly and do not make Cay send out
NUMEROUS reminders to get your dues paid. No
one has time for that! 😊
Miss Mamie Sue Bastion—a Founding Sister
If You Missed the February Meeting . . .
Sixteen ladies braved the cold weather on
Saturday, February 9th, to attend our February
meeting. They were not sorry that they did! It was a
great meeting!
As usual, we had a scrumptious brunch, and then
we carried out several matters of business. We voted
to move Mary Miller to reserve status due to her now
living south of Springfield, and we listened to Debbie
Agee give the report from the Bylaws Committee as
she had worked very hard to make our Bylaws align
with International changes and our recent changes.
Debbie explained some of those changes, and then,
after discussion, we voted to waive having new
members pay separate induction fees. For now, the
chapter will just absorb the $2.50 cost owed to State.
For those new members who join midyear in
January, we will also waive our local portion of dues,
so the member will only owe State dues and ½ of
International’s yearly dues. (State has not yet voted
on cutting their dues in ½ for midyear inductions.)
President Myrna urged all members to attend the
State Convention in Springfield on April 26-28th. More
about this on page 3!
THEN Annette Fugitt gave SUCH an interesting
program on “Living in Alaska”, which she did! Her
slides were amazing, so I have included a few for you
to see on p. ___. She also had some very entertaining
videos! All in all, we were glad we live in Missouri,
but the information about Alaska was pretty
remarkable!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the
World Fellowship Fund! We brought in $41.
Another big Thank You to those who brought gifts for
Project Hope to give to first year teachers! You all
were very generous! These will be distributed to
several schools in the area.
Something you need to know?
Look it up at alphataumo.weebly.com
!
The password for our yearbook
under Resources is dkgalphatau
 Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
The Alpha Tau Talk
Spring, 2019 p. 3
New Chat Feature on DKG Website
If you need an answer to a question
about DKG quickly, try the new Chat
Feature! Go to dkg.org and there will be a
little chat box on the bottom right of the
website that is available during business
hours—7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. CST. You can
just ask a question and someone will
answer it! If it is after hours, just leave a
message and someone will respond the next
day.
I have tried it, and it works really well!
You can ask about scholarships, forms—all
sorts of things. Chat monitors responded to
over 550 requests in the first month! They
are there to help, so use them!!
SISTER FUN NEWS
*Beverly Jenkins will be looking for the
birth of her first grandchild anytime around
March 30th!! She is a little excited. 😊 It is a
boy!
*Rita Legan brags that their THIRD
GREAT-granddaughter is due on April 30th.
*Myrna Walker recently just survived
got home from an 8-day mission trip to
Merida, Mexico. It involved hauling rocks,
painting, and working several Vacation Bible
Schools. It was a great experience!
College Students Can Now be Sisters!
A junior or senior college student
majoring in education can now be invited to
join DKG. She would pay the same dues as a
reserve member. This also pertains to
graduate students who have never taught.
If you know of someone who fits this bill,
please call Laurie Whitlock at 417-880-5743
or email her at dlwhit@windstream.net with
your nominations as soon as possible. She is
sending out letters to invite nominees to the
April meeting. It would be great to be able
to mentor some students in this way!
SISTER PROFESSIONAL NEWS
*Rhonda Agee, one of our newest members, is the
Halfway FBLA Adviser. Halfway FBLA recently attended
District Leadership Conference and THREE students
received top five finishes with TWO students advancing
to State competition in April!! How awesome is that??!!
*Thank you to Faye Peters for writing up the
nomination of Cay Sergent for State Individual
Achievement Award. She had to jump through a lot of
hoops!
Spotlight on Education
Have you ever wondered why supporting early
career educators is one of DKG’s major projects? We
know that education is challenging, and retaining
quality teachers is difficult in itself. According to
Richard Ingersoll, the rate in the U.S. of beginning
teachers leaving the profession in the first year is a
little more than 10%; with 33% leaving by the 3rd year
and 46% by the 5th year. (Is There Really a Teacher
Shortage, Ingersoll, 2003, p. 14)
In addition, around 15% of U.S. teachers overall
leave the profession each year. Schools that have
depended on a core of veteran teachers are seeing
those teachers retire. But this is really disheartening--
as much is expected of a new teacher on the first day of
school as is expected of a 30-year veteran. Teachers
supporting teachers is crucial.
Of the first-year teachers assigned a mentor in 2007
– 2008, around 8% left the profession in 2008 – 2009.
Of the first-year teachers not assigned a mentor in the
same years, about 16% were not teaching in 2008-
2009 and about 23% were no longer teaching in 2009 –
2010. (Beginning Teacher Attrition and Mobility,
Institute of Education Science, 2011, p. 3)
So, it is critical that we support early career teachers
in every way possible. Mentors are vital, continued
education of their fellow support staff is essential, and
the little encouraging things that we do to keep their
spirits up and help them financially and with their time
just might make the difference between them staying in
education or leaving it for another profession.
 Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
The Alpha Tau Talk
Spring, 2019 p. 4
Go to DKG’s Missouri State Convention
Since our 83rd State Convention is in
Springfield, everyone should go! AND since
there is no registration fee, everyone should go!
It is a fun time, and you will enjoy seeing so
many other ladies with common interests!
The dates are Friday night through Sunday
morning, April 26-28. The location is at the
Doubletree by Hilton on North Glenstone. There is
no registration fee, as stated, as long as you register
before April 13th (see form on p. 6).
Two of the major events (and the only ones
requiring reservations) are the Celebration or
Birthday Luncheon (costing $30) and the
Presidents’ Banquet (costing $40). Both of these
are on Friday the 27th. First Lady Teresa Parson
will be speaking at the Celebration Luncheon and
will be inducted as an honorary DKG member.
Friday night will be “Table Top Topics”—a
quick review about the workings of DKG. The
First General Session will begin Saturday
morning with State President Karen Evans
presiding and business taking place. The Second
General Session will be the Celebration
Luncheon.
Twelve workshops will then be offered which
include workshops about Society business and
informative workshops presented by
outstanding DKG members. Right after the
workshops will be a Health Walk for all who
would like to participate!
The Third General Session will be Saturday
evening –the traditional Presidents’ Banquet—
with an international speaker and state awards.
The Celebration of Life Ceremony will be held
Sunday morning followed by the Fourth General
Session including the Fellowship Breakfast and
guest speaker.
So, go to the State Convention—all or part of
it—to, as was stated in the Winter edition of
Deltagrams, Honor those who have shown
outstanding services, Learn from our fellow
members, and Lead by example.
In our every deliberation, we must consider
the impact of our decisions on the next seven
generations. Iroquois Maxim
Upcoming Conferences:
**Apr. 26-28, 2019
DKG Missouri State Convention
Doubletree by Hilton
Springfield, Missouri
See registration form on pg. 6
**2019 International Themed Conferences
(formerly Regional Conferences)
--June 27-29, Arts & Humanities, Ashville, NC
--July 10-12, Leadership, Des Moines, IA
--July 17-20, Technology, Costa Mesa, CA
--July 30-Aug 1, Global Awareness,
Mashantucket, CT
--July 25-27, Professional Research & Practices,
Reykjavik, Iceland
**TBA--2020 DKG International Convention
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Legal Brief
Did you know there were 23 school shootings
resulting in injury or death in 2018? Incidents of
violence increased 113% between the 2016 and 2017
school years.
With these instances of school violence on the rise,
we continue to address threat assessment protocols
and school safety standards. The 2018 legislative
session saw 43 states propose 392 bills related to
school safety, adopting 87 of them.
27 states proposed 65 bills related to emergency
response plans, of which 17 were enacted in 14 states.
47 bills in 21 states were proposed mandating
emergency drills, 8 of which were adopted in 7 states.
16 states enacted 21 of 72 proposed bills that updated
building standards.
Arming school personnel was a hot topic as 24
states proposed legislation, but only 2 states enacted 3
bills addressing this. School resource officers gathered
more attention by legislation asking to increase
training requirements including mental health and
cultural competency. Of the 84 bills from 29 states
regarding this, 16 were adopted.
School climate through positive behavioral
interventions and support, including suicide
prevention, was also addressed, with 15 states enacting
21 bills related to suicide prevention alone.
(from NCSL website, by Benjamin Erwin, Jan. 2019)
 Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
Alpha Tau Chapter
Spring, 2019 p. 5

At our February meeting, Annette Fugitt shared

with us an amazing glimpse into what living in
Alaska was like for her.

Beautiful Alaska!! These pictures were taken from

Annette’s slideshow.

Annette told us of the history of Alaska as well as of A day every Alaskan knows—the day of the horrible
its beauty. Remember Seward’s Folly? earthquake!

What happens when you swim in Alaska!! :-o

The amazing Aurora Borealis; On my bucket list!! How

about yours?
Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
Alpha Tau Chapter
Spring, 2019 p. 6