Florida State Leadership Conference
History
In
1948, the National Presidency of Soror Nancy B. Woolridge heralded a
new emphasis of identifying leadership in the states for the purpose
of rendering greater service to individual Zeta chapters within each
state.
In Florida, she found Soror Sue Jenkins. Soror Jenkins
served as the Associate Director for Florida. However,
there were no organized meetings of State Zetas and chapters.
Informal meetings and gatherings were held at the home of Soror
Marian Harris Shannon during the summer sessions of the Florida
State Teachers Association. Zetas in attendance would
congregate at Marian's to discuss possibilities for a conference
to take care of concerns for all chapters in Florida.
During one of these tete-a-tetes on the front porch of Soror
Shannon's home, the idea blossomed for a statewide conference
for Zetas.
With the appointment of Soror Lucille G. Coleman as Regional
Director in 1950, some action took place to present the idea of
a state conference to the national level. The regional
director was showered with too much at the regional and state
levels. Soror Coleman asked Soror Shannon to assist
chapters in Florida. In this position, Soror Shannon was
able to make the recommendations to Grand Basileus Woolridge.
The issue of the director within the state of the regional
director was not realized until the election of Dr. Deborah C.
Partridge as International Grand Basileus in 1955. Soror
Grace Walker Phillips was appointed Regional Director and Soror
Irene A. Morgan Matthews, Associate Director of Florida.
In 1955, the first organized meeting of Zetas in the State of
Florida was held in Tallahassee, Florida.
Source:
Soror Marian Harris Shannon, A History of the Florida State
Leadership Conference Florida Zetas and Florida Zeta Amicae
Auxiliaries "It's a Sad Frog Who Doesn't Praise His Own Pond" Soror
Margaret Singleton Staples, State Historian (2008)
