AXO Weddings - #WeddingWednesday

Sarah Jean (Tallahassee native, '13 initiate & Delta flight attendant) married Alex this summer. She was so lucky to invite many sisters from many initiation years to her wedding!

 

Jen ('04 initiate & Naval flight surgeon):  Another beautiful wedding full of Alpha Chi Omega sisters!

Gator Football and Alpha Chi Omega - #GoGators #GoAXO

We are so pleased to welcome a new alumna to town:  Karen McElwain!
Yes, "Mrs. Coach McElwain" for the Gators is an Alpha Chi Omega.

 

Their two daughters from Alpha Upsilon chapter also share the lifelong bond of sisterhood!

 

We cannot wait to enjoy the society of our sister(s) in Gainesville and share the Gator Nation love! 

Go Gators:  Beat New Mexico State!

***

CSU coach Jim McElwain bringspast with him to CSU - Denver Post

The trappings were similar. NFL stadium. Big city. The feeling in Karen McElwain's gut was similar too. Maybe it should have been. The tension was just as high.

National championship last January versus her husband's head coaching debut Saturday.
"I'm really not that nervous," she said before her husband, Jim, debuted as Colorado State's head coach at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. "There's been a lot of excitement leading up to this. Normally when I'm calm there's good results."

Quick. Someone bottle Karen McElwain's gut feeling.
Her premonition came true. Her husband of 25 years, best friend for 28, beat Colorado 22-17 and became the first CSU coach to win his first game since 1970.

From his first job as a quarterbacks and receivers coach at Eastern Washington in 1985, Jim McElwain has waited for a day like Saturday. So has everyone who knew him as the charismatic, down-to-earth Montanan who loved nothing more than sitting around his lake cabin with friends.
So many were here for his head coaching debut: Dave Whittle, who coached with him at Eastern Washington and now lives in Loveland; Nathan Emmons, the McElwains' babysitter on their rare date nights as an assistant at Montana State; Pete McCartney, security guard for then-head coach John L. Smith when McElwain assisted him at Louisville.

They all remembered him. That's because McElwain, even while helping Alabama win two of the last three national titles as offensive coordinator, never forgot them.

"The great thing about the McElwains is no matter where I went or anybody that they know has gone, Jim always makes that phone call to stay in touch," said Whittle, an executive with the Norwegian wood stove company Jotul. "He's that kind of a person. He's a good man. Just out of the blue. Like he kind of goes big time. He's down in Alabama. He doesn't want to hear from me. I'm not coaching anymore. Boom! There's a call from Coach Mac. Just, 'Hey, I just want to say hi.' "

For the past few days leading to Saturday, McElwain went into game mode. He was coaching against the same Jon Embree who got the Colorado job McElwain interviewed for two years ago. His wife was in game mode too. She has spent time talking to the players who have been the lifeblood of her husband's career.

The couple still remember Super Bowl XXXIX when Deion Branch, his old receiver when he was a receivers coach at Louisville from 2000-02, called him from the Patriots' locker room. Branch just wanted some words from his old mentor to calm him down before the biggest game of his life.
Branch went out and won the Super Bowl MVP award.

These Rams didn't need that reassurance. Despite coming off three straight 3-9 seasons and being 6½-point underdogs, the Rams were ready.

"They said they've never been as prepared as they are now," Karen said. "They're very calm and believe in what Coach Mac has told them. That is if every play you're doing your best and follow through with every play, you're going to win."

True to his word, CSU won enough plays to win the game. As the gun sounded, reserve linebacker Jedidiah Teofilo lifted McElwain in a bearhug. McElwain took the Centennial Cup and handed it to his roaring players as they celebrated in front of their rollicking fans.

Long after his last interview, after his last words to his wide-eyed team, McElwain emerged from the locker room. Waiting for him were Karen and their three kids: Hanna, a senior at Alabama where she works for the sports information department; Lizzi, her Alpha Chi Omega sorority sister and sophomore at Alabama; and Jerret, a junior linebacker at Fort Collins' Rocky Mountain High.

His tie undone, his smile as big as the Rams' future, he hugged his old buds, Whittle and Emmons, like they were longtime assistants. They were all headed to the McElwains' house later that night for a little celebration.
Then he did something odd.

"Here," he said to his family, "I have your gum."

He handed a stick of gum to his three beaming kids and Karen. This is the postgame tradition he loves the most. It began when Hanna was born in 1990.

Before each game, he writes the name of his kids on three pieces of gum. On another he writes the name of his late father, Frank, a high school coach and principal in Montana. He carries the gum in his pocket during every game and afterward hands the three sticks to his kids.
He hands the one with his father's name to Karen.

"All the hours you put in, all the time you put in, you realize what it's for and what it's about," McElwain said. "It's about my family."

Then he and his family were gone. A rich past has turned into an even richer present.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299, jhenderson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnhendersondp

Bid Day 2015: A Garden Party with Gamma Iota Welcomes home NMC15!

We are so excited to bring 84 new members into the Gamma Iota family!

And a few photos from our gorgeous recruitment this year!

Thankful Our Alumna Bridget Anderson is Recovering!

UF alumna recovers after bike accident, remembers friend


Posted: Monday, August 31, 2015 12:45 am
           

Admiring a sunrise splashed across the Oklahoma sky is the last thing Bridget Anderson remembers before she nearly died.

Anderson, who graduated from UF in May, was riding across the country on her bike when she and fellow rider and UF alumnus Patrick Wanninkhof were hit by a distracted driver July 30.

"I turned around to tell him something, and I whipped my head back, and I didn’t even realize how beautiful the sunrise was," she said.

Anderson, 22, and Wanninkhof, 25, were riding past miles of plains, deep in conversation about Bike & Build, a nonprofit organization that plans cross-country bike trips during which participants build affordable housing.

Then they were hit.

Sarah Morris, 34, admitted to being distracted by her phone when she veered off the highway and hit them, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report.

Anderson said she remembers waking up on the side of the road, screaming in pain.

She said her only comfort was Kathy Fawcett, a driver who had witnessed the accident, telling her she would be OK.

"I put her phone up to her ear so her mom could talk to her, ‘cause I didn’t know if she was going to make it," Fawcett, 44, said.

As Fawcett stayed with Anderson, her husband, Roger Fawcett, was with Wanninkhof.

"He was breathing," Roger Fawcett, 52, said. "I put my hand on his chest to let him know that I was there. I don’t know if he knew or not."

Wanninkhof was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anderson was airlifted to Oklahoma University Medical Center, where they found she fractured her spine, damaged the nerves in her left foot and severed her left femoral artery, which supplies blood to the leg, among other injuries.

Anderson said Kathy and Roger Fawcett were her "roadside angels."

"There’s potential that they saved my life," she said.

• • •

Anderson underwent eight surgeries since the accident. The trip was the hardest thing she’s done in her life, she said, but also the best.

"You see beautiful things that you didn’t even know existed in the country, and you meet people from all different communities that are just so excited to meet you," she said.

She and her fellow riders promoted affordable housing as they rode from Maine to California.

Wanninkhof was passionate about alleviating poverty, Anderson said. He taught in the Bronx through Teach for America.

"He could tell the difference between a student who came from a supportive home environment versus a student who didn’t have a very stable home environment or maybe not even have a home to go home to, and he just hated how unfair that was," she said.

Wanninkhof graduated in 2012 with a degree in materials engineering, according to his Bike & Build online profile.

"Bicycling is in my blood," he wrote there.

Anderson said she didn’t know Wanninkhof before the trip, but she remembers him as a leader with a passion for helping others.

She said her favorite memory of him is when he stunned everyone with beatboxing skills at a bar in Springfield, Missouri.

"He was kind of full of surprises like that," she said.

• • •

Lizzy Shebanek, a UF business management graduate student and friend of Anderson’s, contacted her family about starting a donation page.

The GoFundMe page went up Aug. 24 and has raised $13,193 as of press time. The original goal was $5,000.

"I was really overwhelmed," Anderson said. "A lot of happy tears."

Too weak to return to Florida, Anderson will be transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Oklahoma.

• • •

Her sister, Ariel Anderson, said she is proud of her progress. Bridget Anderson was able to walk with assistance last week for the first time since the accident.

"She’s been positive and strong and resilient throughout the whole thing," said Ariel Anderson, a UF medical student.

Ariel Anderson, 26, is in Santa Barbara, California, today to represent her sister at Bike & Build’s wheel-dipping ceremony, where she said riders dip their back tires in the Atlantic Ocean before the start of a trip and dip their front tires in the Pacific Ocean once the trip ends.

Bridget Anderson said that although doctors told her she’d be able to walk again, she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to bike.

She said she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to be as active as she was before.

"I just have to put my full heart into it, and I’m fully ready to do that," she said.

Contact Alexandra Fernandez at afernandez@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @alexmfern

• • •

Bikers and Builders

Ashley Whitehead, 25, first year pursuing her DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine) at UF's College of Veterinary Medicine, Alex M. Sanchez,22, Graduated 2014 in Photojournalism from UF, Leah Sanchez,23, Graduated from FSU 2013 in Enviro Studies, Hannah Itzler, 23, Graduate Student, Masters in Urban and Regional Planning at UF, and Bridget Anderson, 22, Senior, public relations with a minor in disability at UF.

Posted: Friday, April 10, 2015 12:30 am

Cyclists prepare 20-Mile scavenger hunt to benefit affordable housing

Brigitte Stambury, Alligator Contributing Writer The Independent Florida Alligator

Gainesville cyclists will host a bicycle scavenger hunt Sunday afternoon, and all proceeds will go toward affordable housing.

The 20-mile race will have 13 checkpoints to represent the states cyclists will be crossing this summer as they raise money for affordable housing with Bike & Build.

The event will begin at 2 p.m. at Parisleaf, a local graphic design firm located at 107 SW Seventh St.

Justin Villere, Bike & Build’s director of operations and outreach, said cyclists typically ride 4,000 miles during a two-month period. Along the way, they help build homes with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together.

Villere said the organization donated more than $600,000 and built up to 100 houses last year.

This year’s ride will start in May, with routes that span from Maine to Vancouver, from Jacksonville to San Diego and more.

“The problem is everywhere,” Villere said. “It’s not just in your inner cities.”

Riders wishing to participate must raise $4,500, complete 10 hours of community service, have ridden 500 miles before the trip and have completed safety training provided by Bike & Build.

Ashley Whitehead, a first-year UF veterinary graduate student, is participating in Bike & Build for the first time. She volunteered in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and also volunteers every weekend she can for the Alachua Habitat for Humanity.

“I’m the kind of person that really likes to just go and do things and be in the moment, and I think Bike & Build is great for that,” the 25-year-old said.

Bridget Anderson, a UF public relations senior, will also ride this summer. She said she saw a lack of affordable housing options for those with disabilities while interning at the National Down Syndrome Society in Washington, D.C.

“I hope that, in a dream world, by participating in Bike & Build, I would create opportunities for those with disabilities to gain independence through being able to afford their own housing,” the 22-year-old said.

AXO Wedding Wednesday Glam

Jocelyn Lucier Blatchley's (2007) glamorous wedding was featured in a blog!

Can brunch weddings become more popular please (aka I’d really love an invite!) as I’m crushing hard on every bit of this Brooklyn celebration. But besides some fab brunch food, what makes this wedding an immediate winner for me is the Bride’s fabulously fun jumpsuit she donned for her reception. Isabelle Selby photographed my new style hero in all her glory and this gallery has me downright giddy.

Take the time to view the gorgeous photos!
http://www.stylemepretty.com/new-york-weddings/new-york-city/brooklyn/2015/05/19/chic-brooklyn-brunch-wedding/

From the Bride… As brunch fanatics the timing of the day was very important for our Brooklyn wedding at the lovely Aurora. In planning we envisioned our wedding to be an intimate romantic restaurant wedding, with a modern twist and I’m happy to say that we achieved that and more. Despite the rain during the ceremony (good luck, right?) we took everything in stride and had a day we’ll never forget.

We did away with a large amount of wedding “traditions” in our planning because we wanted the day to reflect us all the way (no cake, no color schemes, no favors, no bridesmaids/groomsmen etc). The day was filled with great Italian brunch food, the beautiful vined background of Aurora and a small group of our family and friends. We also wanted to include as much family as possible to make it all the more special so Phil’s uncle provided brunch entertainment and Grandpa Ted officiated the ceremony. With just a Maid of Honor and a Best Man, our small wedding party was exactly how we wanted to honor our two siblings. We also passed champagne during the ceremony because the party needed to start as early as humanly possible and I think our guests were fans of this as well! Our family members danced down the aisle with sunglasses because we don’t take ourselves too seriously and I think we pulled off the fun wedding we had hoped for! We kept our guests entertained in true Brooklyn style by hosting a Friday night Pig Roast at Radegast Biergarten and a Sunday Funday event at Brooklyn Bowl so that we could spend the whole weekend with all of our guests. All in all it was a wonderful weekend with our friends and family that mean so much to us.

Photography: Isabelle Selby Photography | Event Planning: Juliet Rose Events | Floral Design: Juliet Rose Events | Wedding Dress: Catherine Deane | Shoes: Valentino | Engagement Ring: Vintage | Hair: Beauty With Grace | Hair And Makeup: Beauty With Grace | Groom's Suit: Hugo Boss | Wedding Venue: Aurora| After-Party Venue: The Counting Room | Wedding Jumpsuit: BHLDN | Wedding Rings: Blue Nile

Alumna Jill Hornik from Miami

Great article about an old Miami/Coral Gables family. Jill initiated in 2004. We are so happy to report she is an active alumna in the Beta Omicron Beta alumnae chapter.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/community-voices/article46279200.html

www.nationaljeweler.com/independents/retail-profiles/With-70-years-comes-two-accolades-for-Fla-jeweler-8012.shtml

http://coralgables.com/index.aspx?recordid=1872&page=30

#AXODVAM - Peaceful Paths in Gainesville working to assist and empower.

We love this Panhellenic sign on Peaceful Paths page!

We are excited to attend this panel at our own UF as part of our effort to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Alpha Chi Omega's National Philanthropy.

JOIN US!

https://www.facebook.com/events/678902655539336/