History

The Rho Chapter was organized on April 19, 1986

Past Presidents 

1986-1988      Adah-Grace R. Vollmer

1988-1990       Barbara Blackwell

1990-1994       Agnes Szwec

1994-1998       Elizabeth Scandrol

1998-2000      Mary Ann Mironchik

2000-2002     Susan E. Grassi

2002-2004     Elizabeth Scandrol

2004- 2008     Mary Jean DiRoberto 

2008-2012      Pam Watkinson 

2012- 2016     Margaret Niemiec

2016- 2018     Pat Garay 

2018- 2019    Crystal DiBetta 

2019- 2020    Crystal DiBetta and Joanne Hyland 

2020- 2024    Joanne Hyland

Chapter History (1986-2012)  

When Gamma Chapter voted to relinquish its territory in Hunterdon County in 1986, it provided the way for the Alpha Zeta State Executive Board to form a chapter in the county.  It was unique to have the state Executive Board create a chapter.  Rho Chapter was conceived by Mary Ann Mironchik in her biennium as Alpha Zeta State President, with the help of Alberta Mount (Alpha) as Expansion Chair.  Adah-Grace Roberts Vollmer and Mary Elizabeth Young transferred from Lambda Chapter to lead the organization of the new chapter.  The county superintendent was asked to recommend names for membership.  An orientation meeting was held in February,  1986 at the Hunterdon County Library.  A planning meeting to establish the chapter took place on March 17, 1986 at the home of Adah-Grace Vollmer.  Adah-Grace described this first organizational meeting as being “like an initiation tea, since this was to be a whole new chapter.”  Officers and positions were selected at this gathering.  Mary Ann Mironchik recommended that someone experienced in the ways of Delta Kappa Gamma and the Alpha Zeta State Organization should become the chapter’s first president.  She suggested that Adah-Grace Vollmer (Lambda Chapter charter member and former member of Gamma) become president.  Mary Elizabeth Young, also a charter member of Lambda, transferred to assist Adah-Grace in the establishment of the chapter.  The new members were given a list of jobs and chose those they felt appealed to their talents and interests.  Liz Saylor was selected as vice president, Agnes Szwec recording secretary, Barbara Blackwell corresponding secretary, and Sondra Markman was appointed treasurer.  At an executive meeting a  few months later, Joan Johnson was appointed treasurer, as it was necessary to make financial deposits in a Hunterdon County bank.  Polaroid pictures of the group were taken by Adah-Grace for the scrapbook.

Rho Chapter was inducted on April 19, 1986 at the Alpha Zeta State Convention in Cherry Hill, NJ.  Nine initiates were welcomed as charter members at the convention:  Diane Alexanderson, Barbara Blackwell, Joan Johnson, Sandra Markman, Nancy Piero, Ruth Resnick, Elizabeth Scandrol, Agnes Szwec, and Shirley Wyatt.  Two more charter members were initiated (Susan Grassi and Liz Saylor) at the May 12, 1986 chapter meeting at the home of Mary Elizabeth Young.  The initiation and installation of officers was conducted by State President Mary Ann Mironchik, assisted by Alberta Mount and Adah-Grace Vollmer, with background harp music supplied by Mary Elizabeth Young.  At this meeting, the chapter charter was signed.  Dues of $35 were to be paid by October 1.  Attendance at meetings was expected.  Valid reasons for absence were illness of the sister or a close family member, or professional responsibilities such as meetings or class.  A reason for absence was recorded and sent to the State Membership Chair.

The fledgling chapter had great support from Lambda and Gamma Chapters.  Rho was invited to share two meetings with Lambda and Gamma.  Donna Kibbler, Lambda President, presented a $25 gift check from Lambda Chapter to Rho Chapter.  This was given at the October 23, 1986 meeting, at which the Honorable Richard Kamin, newly elected Assemblyman from the New Jersey 23rd District, spoke on educational issues and other concerns of women educators.

Two titles for the chapter’s newsletter were discussed:  Re.RHO and RHO Reachout.  RHO Reachout was chosen unanimously at the November 18, 1986 meeting, with the first edition was printed in January 1987.  In this premier issue of RHO Reachout, the names of eight initiates for 1987 and one transfer member from Gamma were listed.  The December cookie exchange was described as “delightful”.  A chapter project to make packages for young people at Hunterdon Medical Center was planned.

The first chapter banner was ready for the May 1, 1987 convention thanks to Liz Saylor, who had it made through her Artists’ Gallery.  Liz also framed the chapter’s charter.  Rho received a big handclap at the convention for having the largest percentage registered at the convention (98%).  By June following the Alpha Zeta State 50th Anniversary Convention in 1988, Rho’s membership had climbed from the original thirteen charter members to twenty-six.

Rho has been a service oriented chapter.  Regular donations have been made to local food pantries and the Toys for Tots program.  Monetary contributions were made to the Interfaith Hospitality Network to help homeless residents.  A shower for gifts was held at the Hunterdon County Youth Shelter.  Bingo prizes were donated to the residents of Rolling Hills Care Center.  Children’s books were donated to the Hunterdon County Library in recognition of babies born at Hunterdon Medical Center, and a brochure about the importance of reading to babies and children was distributed to new parents.  Activity kits were made for children hospitalized at Hunterdon Medical Center.  Project Storybook, a program developed by author Pat Brisson, continues to bring sisters to Edna Mahan Correctional Facility to record female inmates reading to the children in their lives.  Recently, sisters had great fun at a workshop making fleece “Blankets for Babies” to donate to Hunterdon Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  Each year, we provide a grant-in-aid award to a female graduate planning to pursue a career in education from each of Hunterdon County’s five public high schools.  Rho members contribute generously to their communities.

To provide funds for our grant-in-aid and activities, we have utilized an eclectic group of fundraising activities.  A cookbook of Rho sisters’ favorite recipes was sold at the 1989 convention.  A large basket bingo was held in Pennsylvania.  A percentage of the sales from Silpada Jewelry was donated to the chapter by one of our sisters.  We held a fundraiser at Dream Dinners.  Basket raffles have been frequently held at chapter meetings.   Bus trips brought sisters and their guests to the Sight and Sound Theater and the Millenium Theater in Lancaster, PA, where we enjoyed lunch and excellent shows while helping our chapter’s treasury. 

Throughout more than twenty-six years of its existence, Rho Chapter has enjoyed the presentation of many excellent programs.  Some of them were travelogues of members’ trips to other countries, women’s financial security, women’s health issues, and Maud Dahme’s presentation on “The Hidden Child”. The sisters have made excursions to Chef Tell’s Manor House in Upper Black Eddy, PA, the Off Broadstreet Theatre in Hopewell, a tour of the Pearl Buck House, and the house tour at Duke Estate.  Politicians have spoken at meetings about current legislation.  An informative meeting on culinary herbs was presented by the Master Gardeners of Somerset and Hunterdon Counties.  We have never ceased to be delighted by tours of the barn housing Bette and Don Scandrol’s extensive collection of antique toys.  Keeping up with technology has been a reoccurring theme.  Rho is proud that we have had our website fully operational for the past two years.  

A highlight of our programs was the chapter’s 25th anniversary luncheon on April 9, 2011 at the Amwell Firehouse in Ringoes, NJ.  Charter members Joan Johnson, Bette Scandrol, and Mary Elizabeth Young were in attendance.  Each shared their memories of the beginning of our chapter.  Charter member Agnes Szwec was unable to attend but sent her own remembrances of the start of Rho.  We all had a great laugh when Bette whipped out the dress she had worn to her initiation twenty-five years earlier at the Cherry Hill Convention.  We were honored to have in attendance Mary Ann Mironchik, the Alpha Zeta State President when the idea of Rho Chapter was conceived, to share these wonderful memories.   Roxanne Adinolfi and Mary Conover, President Elect and Second Vice President Elect, were our honored guests at this momentous occasion. 

As we approached the upcoming Alpha Zeta State 75th anniversary in 2013, life had changed in many ways, and yet certain things remained the same.  The chapter newsletter is now called Rho’s Garden instead of Rho Reachout.  Most of our communication is now done electronically rather than by postal service.  Joan Johnson had been our dedicated treasurer for the last twenty-six years, but she finally turned over the reins as of July 1, 2012.  The sisters of Rho continued to be busy, strong leaders in their professions and communities.  This made it challenging for some sisters to attend the meetings and fully participate, just as it had since 1986.  One perennial problem we faced is how to include educators from the many school districts in Hunterdon County, as well as secondary teachers and administrators, into our membership.  On the other hand, we celebrated the continuing fellowship with our sisters, who now include multi-generational members.  We welcomed Beverly Andresen, niece of charter member Agnes Szwec in 2009 and Rosemarie Royer, daughter of long-time sister Rosemarie Royer, in 2012.  Rho sisters are a hardy lot.  Other than a remembrance read in 2011 for Adah-Grace Roberts Vollmer, our founding president, we have been fortunate not to have had the sad duty of commemorating a sister at the state convention’s “Celebration of Life”.  We are blessed to count four of our charter members as active sisters of Rho (Joan Johnson, Bette Scandrol, Agnes Szwec, and Mary Elizabeth Young).  Through the dedication and wisdom they pass on to their newer sisters, our chapter will continue to thrive and be ready to celebrate Alpha Zeta State’s 100th anniversary.  

If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves! (Thomas Alva Edison).  2012-2014 Rho Chapter President, Margaret Niemiec, feels that over the course of her first biennium, this has been what her Rho sisters have proven.  While a small chapter with 35 members, we have accomplished much. Rho sisters serve our community through working with Project Storybook at the Edna Mahon Correctional Facility for women.  Even though our visits have been limited due to State budget cuts, we are able to provide service to the women inmates every other month.  As the Rho Sisters record, the inmates read books and share messages with their children, grandchildren and other young family members.  The books and tapes are then mailed to the children. This link with home through literacy enables the inmates to serve as role models in building literacy and enables the children to hear their mothers’ voices although they are far apart.

A new service project is our fledgling support of the Center for Great Expectations.  Through donations of toys, gifts, and clothing at holiday time, the Rho sisters generously provided materials that helped make the holidays joyous for the Center’s women and children who are rebuilding their lives.  The Center serves as a home to women as young as 14 who have committed themselves to beating addictions and tragedy and are actively seeking to become well adapted parents and members of the community.  Our plans for the future include volunteering in various capacities at the Center as well as continuing with providing needed clothing and gifts.

The Rho sisters are also to be commended for their continued support of women choosing to enter the field of education.  Each year, we provide scholarships to young women graduating from our five area high schools who plan to become teachers.  We have met some delightful, passionate young women who will one day be ready to join the ranks of our DKG sisters.

It is with sadness that we report on the death of one of our charter members, Mary Elizabeth Young in 2013.  Mary Elizabeth was very active in the early years of Rho Chapter, serving in a variety of leadership positions.  She was well-known for her beautiful harp playing and love of history.  Mary Elizabeth shared a most spirited reenactment of the founding of Rho at our 2th anniversary luncheon.

It is with gladness that we can report on adding an honorary member to our chapter, Miss Ella Haver – at 100 years young.  At our annual picnic in June of 2013, attended by then President Roxanne Adinolfi, we initiated Miss Haver into the ranks of our Rho sisters.  Ella gave us a thoughtful, insightful view of how education has changed.  And yet, she reminded us, we still serve the children.  Ella continues to be an active advocate for education.  She serves as President Emerita of the Jennie M. Haver Scholarship Fund.  During the 42 years she has volunteered to lead the fund, it has awarded over $1.5 million to Hunterdon County students and has expanded to be one of the largest private scholarship funds in New Jersey.

Much more can be written about the commitment of our Rho sisters to AZS and DKG.  Suffice it to say that with the support of our 35 members, President Niemiec's biennium has proven that AZS and DKG are significant forces for women educators.  And, that we do do all we are capable of – and more – and it is astounding!