Thumbin' my way into North Caroline

The only thing I knew about Appalachian State before my visit was that they beat Michigan at home during the 2007 football season. Let me tell you, they still talk about it up in the mountains of Boone. The entire town can’t wait for the rematch in 2014. Only 3 years to go!

This was the last workshop weekend before formal recruitment for Lambda Beta so we buckled down from the get go. I ate dinner in downtown Boone with the membership director to smooth out any details and she had a great plan for the weekend so I was excited to get started.

Kidd Brewer Stadium - Home of the Mountaineers

Lambda Beta was lucky to have three neighboring chapters come over on Saturday to act as PNMs for recruitment practice. This seriously was one of the best ways to practice a real recruitment. The women from Gamma Gamma, Gamma Zeta, and Lambda Eta. (Or any non Greek terms--Queens University, High Point University & Wake Forest University) were so helpful in giving constructive feedback. They knew what was expected on both the sides of recruitment. I wish more chapters could do this because not only did Lambda Beta benefit, so did the other chapters. Before they left, I overheard some of the women talking about planning joint sisterhood events. Warms this CC’s heart to see the instant bond being a Phi Mu does to sisters.

All 4 chapters after workshop!

The women of Lambda Beta worked so hard over that weekend. CC Megan spent the next weekend with them for recruitment so I know they were going to do great with her as well! I’m sure by the end of the weekend they were tired of me telling them to smile and be peppy—but hey, a smile goes a long way. Especially during recruitment.

Lambda Beta's new letters!

The neat thing about the sorority dorm at App State is that it’s a little off campus and was an old Quality Inn. The lobby of the hotel is so nice and we even had one nice family that was mistaken and thought they could check into PHA. Sorry friends, just sorority women in this place.

It's understandable if you don't think this is the dorm lobby. But it is.

Before I left Boone to head to Lexington I ate dinner with their amazing Greek Adviser and the Lambda Beta president, Mary. I love meeting Greek Advisers that are so passionate about their job. 

App State’s enrollment is growing and so is Greek Life.

I actually met the Lambda Beta president a couple years ago at Leadership Academy – which was a program run by Phi Mu for presidents, emerging leaders and chapter advisers. It’s amazing to see how far Mary and I both have come since our small group experience in 2010. 

Mary (Lambda Beta president) & I after dinner
 with the Greek Adviser at Chili's

Phi Mu provides so many great programming opportunities for our chapter leaders like UIFI and Regional Officer Training to name just a couple. I can’t wait for Convention next year and for our mini UIFI called Impact.

Now, if App State beat Michigan football (regardless that it was 4 years ago and in Michigan) I think I knew EXACTLY where I wanted my Red Towel photo—outside Kidd Brewer Stadium. The nickname for the stadium is "The Rock; hence the rather large rock welcoming fans into the stadium to cheer on their Mountaineers.

I’m trying to catch up on all my school visit posts because I’m getting far behind—whoops. Spending time with the collegians or calling friends and family from home has taken precedence over my blog and I apologize. I’ll try to do better. 

Also, less than one month til I’m reunited with my favorite Phi Mu CCs in PTC for Mid Semester Training. Can’t wait to see those girls!

The one where they thought I was really, REALLY obsessed with horses.

Now as much as I loved my time in California and I would love to go back and visit more, once I landed back in the South I knew I was where I belonged. Couldn’t ask for a better place of the country to be for my birthday. I mean after all I was born in the Birminham hospital right across the street from Samford’s campus. (How many times did you tell me that Mike?)

Here‘s the thing. I had no plans of telling Alpha Gamma that it was my day of birth.

 A) That’s awkward when I don’t know them and B) it’s not really a big deal. 

Mike Wolf had other plans though I found out.

I visited Alpha Gamma for a recruitment workshop so during the day I usually had meetings with chapter officers and caught up on reports. They were so welcoming from the beginning. Look at that welcome basket!

My birthday morning I woke up to go to the gym (YES! No running outside in the heat!) and this is what I saw when I opened my door:

I had absolutely no idea they knew it was my birthday! Some of the girls had written me birthday cards and they even made me blueberry muffins. I felt so loved by these sisters I had known less than 24 hours. 

After a good indoor workout I came back to get ready for a meeting with the membership director followed by lunch with Mary Young. We worked together at Nu the week before so I was so excited to see her again! She lives in Tuscaloosa but her family owns a sports store in Birmingham so she offered to take me out to lunch for my birthday!

After lunch she insisted we go shopping. No really, she made me J I picked up a scarf at Banana with the following justifications-

1)      It’s pink—aka great for recruitment

2)      It’s lightweight so it won’t add really any weight to my luggage.

3)      It was 30% off the clearance price- SOLD.

After lunch with Mrs. Mary

Here’s how else they made my birthday pretty much the best-

A)     I got a campus tour—love those of course

B)      Photo for my project—check!

C) Took me to a local restaurant with crushed ice. #winning

After dinner at Momma G's: I feel like I have my own
Pi Chi group with all of them in matching shirts.

I loved my Bham tour guides for the day.

It's definitely more difficult to prepare for recruitment while classes are going on. But, the women of Alpha Gamma showed me once again that it's possible! Workshop at night could only last a certain amount time per Panhellenic rules so the MD made sure to use those few hours to the best of her ability. Each day they ended with a group doing a fun dance number or skit. Hey, recruitment is supposed to be a lot of fun-remember??

Beautiful and delicious cake! So thankful there is not a horse talking on an Iphone on this cake.
Call me for the full story. It's a great one.

Samford was the first to school I visited where there actually was time to tour the city. 3 sweet sisters took me to the Vulcan. Birmingham is known for Iron and we toured the little museum to learn more about the city. The man working at the museum made us start the exhibit over because he said we were talking too much...oops.

Red Towel Time!

This is Mr. Beeson

Mr. Beeson and his family have given millions of dollars to Samford over the years. Many of the buildings on campus are named after members of his family.Those are actually his real shoes that were bronzed and it's supposed to be a life size replica of Mr. Beeson.

"We got more bounce in California"

Oh my. I am getting behind. Hopefully I can catch up really quick because it’s about to get super busy here in Lexington as we start to colonize the Rho Iota chapter at University of Kentucky!  **Let’s note I wanted to send this before we started extension…whoops.

After my quick trip to Rome I headed it out to the west coast to Fresno to visit Eta Zeta at California State Fresno. Before we bee bopped it back to the house for dinner there was a quick trip to the local fro yo place. Of course I had no problem with that. They also sold grilled cheese but I passed on that. I think I’m the only person in the world that doesn’t like grilled cheese. Quesadilla- yes. Grilled cheese-negatory.

Fresno State students had already started classes so recruitment practice didn’t start til that night and they worked really hard on getting ready for House Tours. 

House Tour day went great! I think it’s so great for PNMs to get to see where they could potentially be living. The Greek Adviser also let me tour the other houses on campus as well and they were beautiful! I walked around with a Kappa Kappa Gamma consultant. Funny thing, she actually met Phi Mu CC Megan while they both were working with their University of Florida chapters.

Never had to worry about decorating the sun deck in Kentucky.

Eta Zeta made the dining room cute once again for Philanthropy Night with a Tiffany & Co theme. The craft included a coloring book and stickers to be donated to the local CMNH in the area! That’s the great thing about CMNH—the money that each of Phi Mu’s chapters raise stays in the same state. It’s not going off to some unknown spectrum. It’s possibly just going right down the road. 

With the MD and President on Preference

Eta Zeta Seniors before Preference

After a gorgeous preference ceremony all we had left to do was celebrate another Bid Day! Since recruitment was during the school year Bid Day fell on Monday night after class. While my studious Eta Zetas trekked to class in the heat I helped the MD put together these little baskets for the Rho Gammas (recruitment counselors). It was like Big/Little week all over again and we all know how much I have putting a good looking display of Phi Mu stuff out.

Exhibit A: Yep, I love a well displayed Big/Little Week basket.
Throwback to Madison's Big/Little Week in 2009.

Snuck over to the football stadium to get my Red Towel photo. I’m really concerned I may not get to a football game this season. If this is my biggest problem, I guess I can handle it. Good thing I called dibs on the Cotton basketball tickets come December.

Bulldog Stadium recently added turf and they are very very excited about it…and protective. I promised the man who came out of nowhere on a speedy little golf cart (ninja style) that I wouldn’t step on the turf. We kept our promise. Fresno State has a tough schedule this fall but they are sure to be great games.

Eta Zeta made quota once again and remains the largest chapter on campus! So proud of their hard work in a short amount of time! The Bid Day theme was Feels Like Home and every chapter member wore jeans shorts with red shoes to stay close to the theme. Swooped up the cute little shirt as well. 

Did I mentioned that I’ve never seen the Wizard of Oz? Of course not, because then I would have to admit to the long embarrassing list of movies I haven’t seen and I just don’t care to admit all that.

The Phi Director did a great job of planning everything out and we were grateful to have good food and time to relax at a nearby hotel where an alumna is a manager.

Here's the next picture in my little cheesy touristy photos with my Red Towel!

Bulldog Stadium is home to the football team since 1980. When you enter the stadium there is a dog house with little signs of the all the opponents for the season. This season will be the first without natural grass since they added FieldTurf this summer.