Omega Gamma Omega’s History
In November of 2012, Marshalynn Morgan Franklin contacted then Regional Director, Mrs. Marsha Lewis Brown about the possibility of establishing a graduate chapter in the Blythewood and Northeast-Columbia Communities. Subsequent approval from the Regional Director, five Blythewood-area general members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated ®, Alvera Butler, Tracy Footman, Marshalynn Franklin, Yvette Graham, and Octavia Hamilton-Hankins, met on December 2, 2012 to further discuss establishing a charter for an Alpha Kappa Alpha graduate chapter in the Town of Blythewood, South Carolina. This initiative came about as a result of the need for advocacy and service in the Blythewood community and an acute awareness of the number of inactive members in the immediate area.
In January of 2013, these five members began sharing with other members of the sorority the idea of pursuing a charter for the Blythewood area. The idea was well received, and the Blythewood group grew from the initial five members to a membership of 40 in less than one year. The group’s goal was to further extend Alpha Kappa Alpha’s signature program initiatives in the Blythewood and Northeast-Columbia areas. An application for interest group status was therefore submitted in December 2013. In March of 2014, Lewis Brown sent notification to the group indicating that Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Board of Directors had approved the establishment of a Blythewood interest group. The then forty-member interest group held its first meeting Sunday, March 16, 2014. At that meeting, the name Blythewood Ivy League was selected as the group’s name and plans for infrastructure and a program calendar began.
The service programs orchestrated by the group during its twenty-one month interest group status were great both in quality and quantity. With attention to detail, the group worked diligently and cohesively to ensure its sponsored programs reflected the Sorority’s international program framework, while also being responsive to local needs and interests.
Being careful not to neglect the “sisterhood” aspect of the organization, group members participated in several sisterly relations events and workshops that were designed to reacquaint members with the Sorority’s expectations, procedures, and protocols. Additionally, members attended Sorority conferences at the local, regional, and national levels to further enhance the group’s knowledge and purpose.
In July of 2014, Mrs. Sharon Brown Harriott succeeded Lewis Brown as the South Atlantic Regional Director, and subsequently assumed the responsibility of guiding the interest group in its efforts to become a chartered chapter.
By January of 2015, the interest group had grown to 70 members and its presence in the community was highly evident. Brown Harriott presented the group’s Application to Charter at the October 2015 Board of Directors’ meeting. Under the leadership of International President, Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson, the Board of Directors approved the application, and plans for a chartering ceremony and celebration commenced.
On December 12, 2015, the Omega Gamma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. ® was chartered with 70 members. Omega Gamma Omega members began a journey as sorority sisters and evolved into friends who have an unwavering commitment to service and sisterhood. They are poised for greatness and continue to provide service in the Blythewood and Northeast-Columbia Communities.