The local chapter of an international sorority is living up to its founding principles with a flurry of activities this weekend to which the public is invited.

The guiding principles of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. are scholarship, service, sisterhood and finer womanhood, and the local chapter is checking all the boxes to fulfill those principles.

Nikeena Boyd-Kearsey represents the Phi Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and she spoke with John C. Rose about an event taking place on Friday, May 6 to celebrate the 72^nd anniversary of the local charter. Phi Zeta covers Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties.

The celebration will be held from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Tiffany’s of Henderson, located at 110 S. Garnett St. Tickets are $25 and attendees will enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres and the music of DJ MIC DUB.

“We are so looking forward to celebrating 72 years of being a chapter of Zeta Phi Beta,” Boyd-Kearsey said. The sorority was founded at Howard University in 1920; the local chapter received its charter on May 5, 1960.

The event is a time for dancing, fellowship and just being together, she said, as well as a time to remember the sorority’s founders and members. “We’re looking to have a good time with our community,” Boyd-Kearsey said. The event is sure to check the boxes of sisterhood and finer womanhood – the attire for the event is “dress to impress.”

This particular type of celebration is a first for the local chapter, which is active in volunteer efforts across the counties it serves. The women have participated in the March of Dimes, donated to Warren County Middle School to promote autism awareness and donated items to the Cancer Center at Maria Parham Health, among others, she said. The principle of service – check!

And on Saturday, May 7, the local chapter will join forces with the Fayetteville State University National Alumni Society to host a candidates’ forum for Vance County residents.

The forum will begin at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of E.M. Rollins Elementary on Rollins Ave.

Candidates will discuss important local issues like gun violence, crime and economic development and will have a chance to inform citizens of their platforms, Boyd-Kearsey said.

Organizers request that campaign materials – signs, brochures, shirts and the like –  be left outside the auditorium during the non-partisan forum. There will be a table for campaign materials located outside the auditorium for anyone interested in learning more about the candidates.

As for the principle of scholarship, the Phi Zeta chapter encourages any female who is graduating from a high school in the four-county area to apply for a $150 scholarship from the sorority. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 13. Boyd-Kearsey said winners would be notified by the end of May.

Tickets to the Friday celebration are available from any Phi Zeta member or through Paypal. Contact phizetapay@gmail.com to learn more.

Questions about any of the chapter’s events can be sent to phizetazpb@gmail.com.

 

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