Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University on January 16, 1920 by our five Founders: Arizona Cleaver Stemons, Pearl Anna Neal, Myrtle Tyler Faithful, Viola Tyler Goings, and Fannie Pettie Watts. Founded on the principles of Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood and Finer Womanhood, Zeta has continued to blaze trails for almost 100 years through programming and s
ervice initiatives that serve communities on a global scale. For more information on the national organization, please visit Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. national website at http://zphib1920.org
History of Delta Lambda Zeta Chapter:
Seeing a need for the presence of the Sorority in Southeast Georgia, Soror Matella Marie (Savannah, Georgia), a former Regional Director of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Southeastern Region, organized Delta Lambda Zeta Chapter in Tifton, Georgia. The first initiation (and official charter date) of Delta Lambda Zeta Chapter took place February 25, 1949 in Nixon Hall on South Park Avenue in Tifton, Georgia. Ten college educated women answered the call of Zeta to become the chapter’s charter members – Soror Oldknow H. Gray (who had become a member of the sorority as an undergraduate), and the newly initiated members of the Sorority: Annie Ayers, Millie Braxton, Ermagene Denson, Loretta Hamilton Grice, Beatrice Allen Highsmith, Lillian Ayers Lavind, Ellen W. After initiation, the newly installed chapter enjoyed a delicious meal at Denson Chicken Shack, with an enjoyable evening being had by all. Mack was elected the first President of Delta Lambda Zeta. The first official chapter meeting was held on May 27, 1950. It was at this meeting that Soror Mack was presented with the chapter charter, and an engraved silver tray for the chapter commemorating the occasion by Soror Matella Marie of Savannah, Georgia. For the past six decades, Delta Lambda Zeta has strived to promote the Sorority’s ideals of Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood and Finer Womanhood through its local programming and community service projects. The members of Delta Lambda Zeta Chapter enjoy not only participating in activities geared toward the National Programs and Partnerships of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (Z-HOPE, Get Engaged, March of Dimes, and American Cancer Society to name a few) but also participate in service projects and events in their local community and surrounding areas.
