As I arrived at Beta Zeta (Kennesaw State University), the weather was beautiful, sunny, and hot. No rain in the forecast for days. Then, I glanced at the next place I was headed to - Zeta Psi (East Carolina University). A hurricane watch was in effect and was supposed to hit the North Carolina coast on Saturday morning. My flight into Greenville, NC was scheduled for 10am on that Saturday morning.
I kept checking all week, and it did not look too promising. On Friday afternoon, I got a call from the airlines that my flight had been cancelled. However, they only cancelled my flight from Charlotte to Greenville, not my flight from Atlanta to Charlotte. I thought I'd be stuck in Charlotte! Luckily, I called the airlines and had the nicest women on the other line - she let me choose my rescheduled flight! After speaking with Zeta Psi's adviser, I thought a Monday morning flight would work well, so I booked a flight into Greenville, NC on Monday. Some of the lovely women of Beta Zeta let me stay in their apartment for a few more days. I crossed my fingers that everything would work out well, and kept Zeta Psi and all the east coast chapters in my thoughts and prayers.
On Saturday night, I received an email from Zeta Psi saying that conditions after the hurricane were not safe. Many trees were down blocking streets, and they were expecting power outages for several days. Panhellenic recruitment had already been postponed and school was cancelled. After some phone calls and emails, it was decided that I would stay at Beta Zeta for another week. Celia Reed, NS-R for Network 5, graciously took me into her home - and southern hospitality was immediately felt.
I began setting up a few meetings and kept my days busy with officer meetings, (some for a 2nd time) a committee meeting, new member meeting, and a social event. It was great spending more time with the Beta Zeta ladies! We even toured Atlanta and had some food from the south - my favorite was the sweet potato souffle! We went to the CNN center, stopped by The Varsity, and checked out the grounds for the 1996 Olympics.
During my extended stay, I had a chance to develop such a strong relationship with all of the women of Beta Zeta - it was hard to say goodbye! And, I can now navigate through their entire campus and find all 5 of the enormous parking decks! I owe the members of Beta Zeta, the advisers, Celia, and all the network volunteers who worked around my change of plans a huge THANK YOU! You all make AOII such a great organization to be a part of and work for.
Roses,
Liz
The women of Beta Zeta!
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