MISSISSIPPI'S FIRST ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION GOING STRONG SINCE 1889

When you want to know what’s really going on, long-time active alumnae association member Jimmie Meese Moomaw (Class of 1958) is sure to tell you what’s what in her distinctive no-nonsense way. This issue, she addresses some of those questions you’ve been wanting to ask about the “new” historic alumnae association…

 

By Jimmie Meese Moomaw

About Our New Name:

Let’s make one thing clear:  no one wanted to change the name of our alumnae association.  We did so to comply with a mandate from the Mississippi State Supreme Court.  When MUW prevailed in court in disaffiliating us, we were given no other choice. An ad hoc Naming Committee floated a number of possibilities, none of which garnered widespread support, but at the winter Board meeting when Neely Woods Hunter moved that we name the Association “Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association” there was a lot of head nodding, an audible hum of appreciation and approval and the vote was unanimous.  We are now officially chartered under our new name with the Secretary of State’s Office. It is a name that both aptly names us and proudly identifies our position at the forefront of education for women in the state of Mississippi.

Moving On:

At no point during the years of disaffiliation > litigation  > re-affiliation > disaffiliation has the association wavered in its support for the W or failed to attend to all association business.   We have raised money to fund special projects and endow scholarships, assisted with mentoring and recruiting, put out professional quality newsletters,  taken a strong stand against changing the name of the University, continued to maintain viable chapters, written new by-laws to achieve greater diversity and broader participation in the association, restructured our election process to provide for email balloting, hosted appreciation receptions for faculty, and had a great party at the Lee Home at Homecoming 2008 for alums and students alike.  Applications for active membership have continued to increase and Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association is thriving.

Non-profit Status:

Without the financial support the university offered when the association was an affiliated entity, the Board is making plans to generate other sources of revenue.  At the winter board meeting association directors approved a plan to secure non-profit 501(c) 3 status.  Deborah Stockman Hodges, association Treasurer, chair of the Finance Committee, and a certified public accountant is handling the application filing process.  Next year, the Ways and Means Committee may begin to explore using a sub-committee of members with grant writing experience to investigate funding sources for programs with a strong women’s mission and emphasis on women’s issues and gender studies.  Members continue to give generously to the Association when called upon to help fund special projects.

Chapter News and Notes

While most internal association issues such as constitutional and by-laws questions and problems are deliberated and acted upon at the National Association level, there is no question but that the front-line of the association is the work done at the chapter level.  Despite the mediation and litigation issues of the past couple of years, our chapters deserve recognition and commendation for remaining loyal to the original and historic association, continuing their meetings and projects and scholarship fundraisers, and supporting the W even when they don’t support us.

The Arkansas chapter which includes 300 members statewide will hold their spring meet soon. For their latest project they recorded the oral history of Mary Hawkins Hall ’39, the first married student to attend the W.

The Lowndes County chapter which has raised more than $100,000 for scholarships, deviated from their regular lunch date in March to attend the MUW Theatre Department’s production  of “Why I Live At The PO.”

A newly emerging group of Denver alums meets from time to time for discussion of W issues.  This month they will attend a Bill Cosby performance.

The Jackson Chapter has been meeting for more than 10 years as a lunch bunch to talk about what is going on at the W.  They sometimes have a formal program with an invited speaker.

Beverly Koch  Jones ’57 reports that the Oktibbeha County chapter has a faithful core of members who have given one or two scholarships a year for 20 years.  This year their scholarship was awarded to Rachel Parrish an Honor’s W student from Starkville whose mother Marcia Boyett Neal ’83 and grandmother Faye Sanders Boyett ’57 are both W alums.

Metro Atlanta area alums met to revitalize the Atlanta chapter and make plans for the future.  They gathered as a lunch bunch group at the Landmark Diner on March 21 for their first organizational and planning meeting. Donette Dunaway Lee ’57 was asked to serve as contact person for the chapter.

The San Diego Alumnae Chapter has held two meetings recently, with new members and guests at each meeting.  They are to be commended for their rapid chapter growth and reputation for warm hospitality. 

Being in the Big Easy has its perks.  New Orleans chapter members report that they are frequently joined by alumnae guests in town for a visit and by Cheryl Jackson Cooper who meets with both the NOLA chapter and the Gulf States Chapter.

The Five County Delta Alumnae Chapter’s February meeting was widely publicized and well-attended.  A photographer came to take pictures of the outgoing President Joyce Holaday Kennedy ’53 and the incoming president Josephine Bennett Tierce ‘50.  In their business meeting the chapter voted to allocate funds for one or two scholarships to be awarded this fall, to expand their five county area to include two additional counties.  They also voted unanimously to continue their affiliation with and support for Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association.

Alums in the Golden Isles of Georgia have held a summer meeting on Jekyll Island for the past two summers.  Plans are to gather again this summer, possibly on St. Simons Island.

The Gulf States chapter recently met at the Public library.  Members on the coast are in the process of helping plan a Wretreat in the Gulf Shores area in July.

Bettye Hays Van Vulpen ’58  reports that the Mid-South chapter which includes Memphis and North Mississippi has developed a regular meeting schedule, with a different hostess choosing their meeting  places.