Deep in my Heart: Part one

First off, I know these posts are a little late but my wonderful nieces have been in town so I have been hanging out with them instead of blogging it up.

Deep in my Heart (I love my ADPi!) was the all too fitting theme for the 162nd anniversary Grand Convention of finally, Alpha Delta Pi.  I've said it once and Finally, I'll say it again, I am so blessed and proud to be a member of the oldest secret society for women.  To have such a rich and old foundation for our rituals, values, and organization is not something every person gets to experience.  Lucky for me I came home to Alpha Delta Pi in April 2010 and have been blessed with membership every since.  This was the first time I had the opportunity to attend Grand Convention which occurs biannually and is an ADPerfect event with all of the Boots and Bling!  I attended Grand Convention in a unique capacity as an incoming Leadership Consultant for 2013-2014 and had a wonderful time reigniting my love for Alpha Delta Pi and meeting my consultant gals!  I'll apologize in advance for the length of these posts but it was a fun-filled, information-packed week!

Traveling- Day one

After a flash rain during my drive to the airport, almost forgetting my straightener, and barely making my flight I hadfinally arrived in Dallas, Texas at the DFW (Dallas/ Forth Worth) airport.  Soon I found out that I had booked my shuttle from the airport to the hotel on the day I was leaving instead of the day I was arriving!  Lucky for me customer service representatives take pity on me and the nice woman changed the date for me.  A good 40 minutes later I boarded my shuttle and was soon joined by fellow Sisters of the Suitcase Caroline and Morgan!  

To say that I was nervous to meet these women would be a drastic understatement.  I've never had much luck with keeping good friends and have been working on this life skill for quite a while now.  However, these two women made the shuttle ride fun and helped ease my nerves.

When we arrived at the hotel we spied some more consultant gals Kashia and Logan and immediately ran over to give them both hugs.  Naturally, we all recognized each other due to the thorough social media creeping we had done (it happens).  I checked in and was surprised to find that not only would my roommate show up the next day, but I was placed in the Executive Suite on the 30th floor (talk about a VIP).  

Our adorable living room in the executive suite!

Our view from the VIP room.  LOVED  Dallas!

Dining

The first night all the incoming Leadership Consultant gals ate dinner with the outgoing Leadership Consultants at a local Mexican restaurant about three blocks away! Well.... since Grace had already locked herself out of her room (typical #graceprob, I'm working on it!), I walked there and back in heels.  Guess I had to break in the new shoes somehow!  

The rest of the dinner was fabulous and we were able to asked questions and get to know the outgoing LCs better!  We visited a local sight and took our first consultant picture minus one roommate Miss Katie Schaller.  

Front Row: Haley and Logan
Middle Row: Lauren, Caroline, and Courtney
Back Row: Kashia, Katherine, Morgan, and myself.
Photo courtesy of Logan

After a great meal, we met up with our boss for a little while and then decided  to hang out in the Executive Suite for some good 'ol fashion bonding. 

Training- Day Two

In the morning we were able to train with Ms. Lindy Lutz Cash, Panhellenic Director for District VI and former Grand Council member. 

Here are some of the most important things I learned during this training: 

Image is so much more than one's physical appearance 

The need to develop one's personal snapshot 

It is beneficial for chapters to reach out to our Panhellenic sisters 

Never leave a chapter visit without a goal and plan in place (preferably, a SMART goal) 

Work on developing a brand image statement with all of the chapters 

Develop a S.T.A.R. image ~ sisters to always respect 

Most importantly, when it comes to the hard decisions ask yourself do you want to be respected or liked?

After our first session of training the incoming Leadership Consultants had lunch with Grand Council and I was lucky enough to sit next to Ms. Pinkston and Ms. Jacks. It was humbling to have the opportunity to have lunch and speak with women who have spent the past biennium working for the betterment of our organization.

After lunch we had training with Ms. Mannle, former International President. Before convention we all took the Myers Briggs test and determined our personality types which will then be used to help place us at this chapters we will be helping with next year. I have taken this test my sophomore year at Jewell and was pleased to find out that my personality type has not changed since. I am type ENTJ or director commandants which fit me pretty well! We then shared more about ourselves and got to know one another on a deeper level and gained more confidence in ourselves for the year to come. Finally, she left us with the saying IALAC or "I am lovable and capable" for when we're not having a good day and need a reminder. It was a great session and we all cried just a little bit.

That night was the Welcome Banquet and the first dinner of Grand Convention. The incoming LCs and our Senior Leadership Consultant were movie stars in our very own photo shoot!  We'll be coming soon to your very own Adelphean (Alpha Delta Pi's magazine for members)!

Incoming Leadership Consultant's first official hug train!  A sorority classic.
Oh, and I wore cowgirl boots and didn't hate it (although loved it would also be a stretch)!
Photo courtesy of Courtney.

As you can see this is only two days and already a long post. I'll try to make the next posts a little bit shorter!