We hosted our Founders’ Day celebration on December 9, 2017, commemorating the 121 years Alpha Omicron Pi has existed. Our celebration came just one day after Stella George Stern Perry’s birthday, the traditional day Founders’ Day is celebrated across the world.
To kick off the meeting, we read the Founders’ Day message from AOII National. We hosted a potluck luncheon and sisters brought a variety of goodies to share. We had roast turkey as the main dish and scrumptious sides of Brussels’ sprouts, cheesy potatoes and corn, mac n cheese, green salad, and a host of other goodies like deviled eggs and cheese and fruit. For dessert, we had chocolate cake, just plain chocolate, fruit shortbread pizza and, of course, cookies! Sisters ate and shared stories at panda-adorned tables. 
New this year, we had a raffle that included eight items. These items included a custom hand-painted sign, hand-made greeting cars, a bottle of wine, a wine tasting party, povitica, a Bill Self signed basketball, a $50 Well gift card, & resume-writing coaching. Through the raffle, we raised $171, $100 going to the Ruby Fund, and $71 going to the Arthritis Foundation in support of our Jingle Bell Run team.
Another fun addition to Founders’ Day this year came in the form of AOII songs recorded in 1960 playing from a CD. Cherie Smith’s son had the CD made from a record Cherie owns. The songs included Grace, the Epsilon song, a famous Recipe song, and many others.
Finally, as a precursor to the traditional Candle-lighting ceremony, President Kate Favrow read the story of AOII’s founding written by Stella. Many sisters hadn’t heard the story in years. All-in-all, a great way to celebrate 121 years of AOII!