MONTROSE — Three new members from the Lackawanna Trail School District were initiated into the Beta Rho Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International at the October meeting in Montrose. The initiates include Donna Biglin, special education teacher; Janeen Nieratko, retired music teacher and Linda Zalewski, retired computer science teacher.
Co-president, Jeanette Saulo reported on the State Convention when Beta Rho member and past state president Rebecca Place was awarded the Alpha Alpha State Achievement Award. This is the highest honor bestowed on any DKG member at the state level. An album of photos was circulated among the membership, which recorded the prestigious event.
Members Mary Ann Cunningham and Kathy Fuller were awarded Enrichment Grants for travel at the convention as well.
A candlelight initiation ceremony was conducted by membership chairman and second vice president, Dr. Nancy Simon, and her committee Rachael Gilleran, Kathleen Hinkley, and Ann Marie Leber. Each of the initiates was escorted to the presentation table by her sponsor where Dr. Simon, her membership committee, and co-presidents, Jeanette Saulo and Sheri Wolfe conducted the initiation ceremony.
The backdrop for the ceremony was the quilted banner of the symbols of the society. The new initiates lit a red candle, signed the chapter register, and received their membership certificates and key pins. Their sponsor presented them with a single red rose, which symbolizes friendship, loyalty and helpfulness — the work of each for all.
The group sang “Symbols of Delta Kappa Gamma” and “The Delta Kappa Gamma Song” and welcomed each new member.
The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International is a professional honor society for women educators with more than 82,000 members in seventeen different countries around the world. It defines its mission as “promoting professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education.”
The Beta Rho Chapter is one of sixty-three chapters in Pennsylvania whose members are key women educators in Bradford, Susquehanna, and Wyoming Counties. The Society offers leadership training opportunities for women educators, such as scholarships for both active and retired members, stipends for educational projects and online courses for professional growth.
