Hill Country Pi Phi Leads Passion Walk Next Week

Our own Debbie Taylor Williams from Kerrville (TX Gamma, '72) will be hosting "Passion Walk: Stepping Into the Majesty of Prayer," a women's conference in Kerrville, October 5 & 6 at the Inn of the Hills Resort. The conference will not only refresh your spirit, but your mind will be quickened with practical ways you can live out your faith and prayers.

If you are interested in attending, CLICK HERE to read more and register.

Debbie's passion for Christ is evident in her energetic style and insightful teaching. Having been diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 29, Debbie brings spiritual maturity and biblical depth to her audiences. Her spiritual beauty and willingness to be led by God bring a relevant message to women of all ages, backgrounds, and denominations. Debbie is an authentic servant of Christ with a focus to encourage, challenge, and inspire her audiences to become women of passion, purpose, and prayer. Click here to read more about Debbie!

The early registration fee has been extended to Thursday, October 4. Scholarships are also available!

Pi Phis at the Pumpkin Patch, October 13

Catch the spirit of fall with the Pi Phis! We're going to Medina on Saturday, October 13 at 10:00am with our families to the pumpkin patch of our own Pi Phi sister, Carol Adams (TX Alpha, '51). She and her husband, Baxter, own Love Creek Orchards in Medina, and they are excited the Hill Country Pi Phis will be coming to their annual Pumpkin Patch event!

The Love Creek Orchard Pumpkin Patch & Harvest Celebration event includes hayrides, an orchard tour, a hay maze, farm animals, scarecrow building and much more. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday with the kiddos, doesn't it? Click here to see the Web site for more information: http://www.lovecreekorchards.com/.

Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under..."babes in arms" are free. Carpooling will be arranged from Fredericksburg and Kerrville to Medina. If you want to attend, please RSVP to me at president@ringching.com. Hope you can make it...the kids LOVE it and so will you!

Pi Phis After Five, October 5

At our last meeting, several of you expressed interest in getting together outside of our meetings, with spouses...so, we've planned our first "Pi Phis After Five" party for Friday, October 5 at Hondo's on Main in Fredericksburg at 7:00pm!

The Almost Patsy Cline Band is playing that night at 8:00pm (it's free), so we'll have time to visit before then and you can enjoy the band and stay late if you want to. Hondo's has great food and drinks and the atmosphere is laid-back and casual. You can check it out on the Web:

http://www.hondosonmain.com/

Please let me know if you're planning to come so I can reserve a spot for us. My husband and I will be coming from Kerrville, and we're happy to give you a ride (email me at president@ringching.com). Hope to see you there. Ring Ching!

First Meeting: Lots of New Additions!

Here are the major highlights of our first meeting of the year, held in Fredericksburg!

1. The group, through an overwhelming show of hands, agreed that it was time to get involved in our communities through a literacy project. We are going to work on a hospital "Book Nook" project. I'm working out some details and I'll get in touch with you soon. Let me know if you're interested in participating!

2. We started a group for those who are interested in walking in Fredericksburg. I will get in touch with those gals today and encourage you to get a monthly date planned so you can get started. Yea!

3. Carol Adams' Love Creek Orchards will be having their annual Pumpkin Patch pumpkin picking in October. I'm going to send out a note/email soon so you can sign-up for that and we'll carpool to the orchard. Kids and spouses included!

4. Several members also expressed interest in getting together after hours for socializing with spouses...I'll be setting a date for that soon and I'll let you know!

What a productive, exciting meeting it was! I am just so pleased with the turnout and with the enthusiasm everyone had. Thank you for making it so much fun to be a Pi Phi Alumna!

Name That Tune

At yesterday's club meeting, we sang "Ring Ching Ching," a song that has been important to Pi Phis for over 100 years. It's a fun song, and especially fun when you get to "ching" your spoon! Here is the history of this traditional tune, taken from the Pi Beta Phi Web site:

In 1889, Lulu Sawyer Linn, a student at Iowa Wesleyan, wrote the song which has belonged distinctly to Pi Beta Phi through the years: "Ring Ching Ching," sung to the tune, "When I Was a Student at Cadiz." It was not until 1915 that Mrs. Linn, living in Portland, Oregon, learned from Nina Harris Allen, Grand Vice President, that her song, written 27 years before, had become famous as a Pi Phi song.

Mrs. Linn then took from an old college album the yellowed piece of tablet paper on which the poem was written and presented it to Oregon Alpha. Mrs. Linn says, "I remember quite well my freshman year with school-girl enthusiasm I wrote some words, never dreaming that they would be sung beyond the walls of my own chapter, Iowa Alpha. If I had known that song was going to be preserved in the hearts of Pi Phis, I would have made an effort to write something more worthwhile. When I was told that "Ring Ching Ching" was sung at all National Conventions, I felt really like making an apology for its poor construction." No apology is needed. Today, "Ring Ching Ching" is the most popular of all Pi Phi songs.

A "Peach" of a Meeting

Today's club meeting at The Peach Tree in Fredericksburg was simply wonderful! I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time. A lot was discussed and shared, and I will post the highlights of the meeting tomorrow for those of you who could not join us.

We had many new ladies at today's meeting, most of whom are from Fredericksburg. And, Jan McNabb won the door prize, which was a 140th Anniversary Commemorative turquoise badge! Jan lost her pin 20 years ago, so she was very happy to have a new one.

Like I said, I will post meeting highlights tomorrow. Thank you to all who attended and those who assisted me with the meeting. It sure was fun!

See You in the Morning

Tomorrow is our first meeting of 07-08 year and I'm very excited! I've heard from lots of old friends...and, we'll have several first-timers attending as well. A great agenda has been planned, we're having a fun door prize, and lunch will be fabulous, of course (it IS The Peach Tree).

If you can't make the meeting, we will certainly miss seeing you. I hope you'll check back to our Web site later this week to read about how our meeting went.

I'd like to send special thank yous to Carol Adams and Deb Johnson for offering to carpool, who also assisted me over the summer alongside Lane Hutchins. And, thank you to Anna Osborn for sharing her love of Pi Beta Phi with me.

Any last minute RSVPs? Email me at president@ringching.com. See you tomorrow!

Carpool Available from Kerrville to Fredericksburg Meeting

Carol Adams has offered her minivan for a carpool from Kerrville to the club meeting on September 17 in Fredericksburg...thanks, Carol! If you'd like to grab a ride with a fun group of gals, email Carol at cbadams@stx.rr.com.

Please RSVP for 9/17 Lunch Meeting

Our first meeting of the year is fast-approaching. Have you let me know if you will attend? The meeting is on Monday, September 17 at 10:30am at The Peach Tree in Fredericksburg. We've planned a fun luncheon, from sharing Pi Phi info on literacy and heritage to a great door prize and singing a couple of Pi Phi songs. Trust me, we're going to have a memorable time!

If you haven't been to a meeting in a while, or if you've never been, please join us! Our group is a marvelous mix of women, from our 30s to our 80s, working professionals and stay-at-home moms and retirees, native and transplanted Texans...with our Pi Beta Phi friendship and tradition in common. Hope you will join us!

RSVP by emailing me at president@ringching.com. I can't wait to see you all!

September Birthdays

Hill Country Pi Phi Alumnae celebrating birthdays in September are Sharon Cannon, Jan McNabb, Nancy Nightingale, and Mary Wills! Also, our great friend, Beth Beatty in San Antonio, is having a birthday this month. Yours Truly is also turning one year older. Happy Birthday, Ladies!

Club birthdays are gathered from the information you provide when you send in your dues. If you have a September birthday and I haven't noted it here, please fill out your dues form and send it in. Thanks! Email me if you need a new form: president@ringching.com

Be There or Be Square! Monday, Sept. 17 Meeting

Mark your calendar, gals! Our first general meeting and luncheon is on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 10:30 a.m. at The Peach Tree in Fredericksburg (210 S. Adams). We will have a brief meeting full of great Pi Phi information, including a report on the June '07 Pi Phi Convention in Scottsdale, Pi Phi literacy efforts and lots of local club updates. Then we'll enjoy the delicious lunch The Peach Tree is famous for. We will also have a fabulous door prize...don't miss it!

There will be a carpool from Kerrville, so if you'd like to get a ride, please email me at president@ringching.com. Price per person for the luncheon is $12, payable at the door on the 17th. Watch your mailbox for your official invitation!

Click here for a map of The Peach Tree in Fredericksburg.