GATA

We have reached the close of week three of pledging with a quality group of 55 beautiful flames! GATA is beyond thrilled to have accepted such a large pledge class this year and we could not be more proud of these girls! We are excited to welcome them into the oldest club on campus and the legacy of red and white!

The new officer team has already been hard at work preparing for fall rushes and events! We are all so excited to be serving as officers and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for GATA this school year!

The officers for the 2013-2014 school year are:

President: Audrey Zinsmeister

Pledge Mom:Jessica Schmidt

Vice President: Heather Young

Treasurer: Courtney Richardson

Secretary/Historian: Katlin Sehres

Rush/PR Director: Bailey Gaspard

Social Director: Isabel Lee

Intramural Director: Greta Porisch

Chaplain: Morgan Beckmon

Join your GATA sisters for Homecoming Breakfast 2012
“How Sweet it is to be a GATA!”
Saturday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 a.m.
Hunter Welcome Center
$30 at the door

Online reservations are now closed, but you can still come to the big event! The cost is $30 at the door.

Email questions or comments to Amber at amber.peck@alumni.acu.edu

The officer team has been hard at work this year bringing new leadership and a new pledge class.

The officers for the 2012-13 school year are:

President- Sarah Kelly

Pledge Mom-Bailey McMath

Vice President-Megan Claycomb

Treasurer-Courtney Richardson

Secretary/Historian-Jenn Tashjian

Rush/PR Director-Taylor Edwards

Social Director-Morgan Roberson

Intramural Director-Kaylee McGee

Chaplain-Kelsey Woodbridge

We are coming to the close of our second week of pledging with a quality group of 20 beautiful flames! We could not be more proud of these girls and we are excited to welcome them into the oldest club on campus and the legacy of red and white.

The Flame officers are:

Flame President-Kasey Morgan

Flame social director-Isabel Lee

Flame Float Director-Miranda Palmer

Flame Intramural Director-Courtney Wendell

Flame Chaplain-Marina Durrett

As of Wednesday night, there are thirty-five beautiful new flamin’ GATAs! The girls were transformed from little baby Flames…

…to members of this long-standing sisterhood with the gift of their brand new jerseys:

You can see all the lovely new faces sing on the GATA fountain for the first time as members (glad to have their shoes on, in the freezing cold!) with their sisters on GATA Shayla’s Facebook page.

Jennifer Ellison, GATA sponsor, is a woman of many skills, not the least of which is her flair for event design. As ACU’s director of University Events, she makes miracles happen. Her success has brought her recognition from the National Association of Professional Women, which named her Woman of the Year.

“I’m thrilled to be named Woman of the Year by the NAPW,” says Jennifer. “It’s always exciting to be recognized by peers, but to be given this award by other professional women who value quality and integrity is truly an honor.”

The NAPW is an invitation-only association of female executives, professionals and entrepreneurs from across the United States, spanning almost every industry, according to their website.

Always humble, Jennifer hasn’t told many people – so of course, we want to shout it to the world! Congratulate her if you see her, GATAs! 🙂

The final count is in — thirty-seven girls have donned the red lipstick and white button-downs of the GATA Flame, joining us in our ninetieth year of rich legacy! A full afternoon of teas, four rockin’ rushes, and one crazy Bid Night later, these girls are revving up for pledging.

Meet the new pledge class officers!
— Flame President is the ever-energetic Corinne Morris.
— The position of Flame Secretary & PR Officer will be filled by the lovely Taylor Edwards.
— Flame Joanna Stewart will bring the spiritual enrichment, serving as Flame Chaplain.
— Miss Tori McFadden will serve as Flame Float Director. She’ll be working with GATAs Sara Morris and Stephanie Smith on the float for this year’s Homecoming parade.
— Heading up Homecoming Breakfast for the new pledge class is Flame Skye Mileger.
— This year’s Grub will be a smashing party thrown by Flame Randee Nelson.
— Flame Intramural Director, Shayla Herndon, will lead our Flames to victory on the field.

The current members and new Flames would all like to give a huge thank you to our GATA alums who have been so supportive with the influx of this new pledge class! The blog will keep you informed about all the awesome goings-on in GATA this year. If you’d like to add or update your contact information, email Sara Morris at sem06l@acu.edu.

Sophomore girls began looking for a sisterhood this Sunday as the rush season kicked off with 2010 Teas. GATA girls are bringing to rushes a renewed commitment to service, inviting these girls to join us in our involvement with several international mission efforts.

Bonnie Kellum, GATA president, was inspired this summer to join up with Jeremiah’s Hope, an organization that reaches out to the orphans and at-risk youth of Ukraine. She spent five weeks in a small village of about 200 people just outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, working as a counselor at a summer camp that brings love, attention and guidance to orphans and impoverished kids from all over the nation.

The organization is inspired by Jeremiah 29:11 – “‘For I know the plans I have for you,”‘ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” For Bonnie, it was an inspirational time.

“I had a camper tell me our camp was the best thing that has ever happened to him. Another said it was the first time she’d been told she was loved… These are the stories that make it worth going there and raising money for them. Seeing the looks on their faces when they received their first Bible and a teddy bear- two very common items in America, but to these kids it was a priceless gift,” says Bonnie. “The hardest part for me was saying goodbye, knowing what I was sending them home to. However, when the kids saw how upset I got when it was time to say goodbye, they said ‘We don’t want you to miss us and be sad, just remember us.’ So that’s what I plan to do.”

For the women of GATA, the inspiration to serve causes of social justice is only getting stronger as the semester begins. The club will be working to raise money to send those Ukrainian kids to the week-long summer camp run by Jeremiah’s Hope. It’s only $40 for a week, but it’s a week of empowerment and love that can completely change these kids’ lives.

But that’s only where the service starts. GATA Flames will be sporting red bracelets for the entire length of pledging in support of the Red Thread Movement, which partners with Eternal Threads to rescue young girls in Nepal from sex trafficking. GATA girls are also strong supporters of TOMS Shoes, which donates a pair of shoes to a child in need somewhere around the world for every pair that is purchased.

And GATA has strong ties to Big Brothers Big Sisters. Last year, GATA partnered with BBBS for Homecoming weekend, bringing their Littles for the day on a hayride parade float and inviting them to the GATA fountain after Homecoming chapel.

“I have had several lengthy conversations with sophomores about getting involved in missions. It seems to be a common interest among most of the girls – this is a very humble and socially aware class,” says Bonnie. “I believe our efforts to support and be involved in mission work this year will attract girls who see that this is another facet that other clubs may be lacking. We’re offering them a chance not only to be in GATA and make a difference in social clubs and on ACU’s campus, but to make a difference in the world – something that everyone at ACU should strive for.”