Founders' Day Ceremony Today Is The

Founders’ Day Ceremony Today is the Day Time: 10 minutes This ceremony lights a candle in remembrance of each our founders. Advance preparation: • Obtain six electric/battery candles • Arrange six members or alumnae to serve as speakers o The speaking parts should be practiced in advance Ceremony VPAR or president recites: “Today is the day set aside to commemorate the founding of Sigma Kappa ___ years ago. We honor our founders today, those five women whose names were among the first things we learned about Sigma Kappa. Each one of them made her own individual contribution in the formation of our Sorority, and in our present day, Sigma Kappa reflects something of them all. Let us remember that they were young women then, as our college members are now, a fact which makes even more impressive their maturity of ideas, organization and long-range planning. Let us remember Sigma Kappa was founded at Colby College, Waterville, Maine on November 9, 1874 by these five women who were the first five female students of Colby College.” Speaker one recites: “For two years, Mary Caffrey Low was the only woman student at the college. She was the first woman to graduate from Colby College, the first alumna members of Sigma Kappa, and the first on Sigma Kappa’s roll of membership. Her scholastic achievements were such that she led in scholarship all the 19 men in her class and won herself the distinction of being a member of Phi Beta Kappa. But she was not just a scholar. She was a gracious, talented, courageous woman who met life with joy and friendliness. I light this first candle for Mary Caffrey Low.” Light first candle. Speaker two recites: “Mary Caffrey Low was joined by four other women students who were soon to be her sorority sisters. Of these, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag was a slender, dark- eyed girl with a flashing smile and a sense of humor. Artistic in nature, she created the sorority’s first emblem. Her conversation was brilliant, her intellectual and musical talents have long been remembered though her happy life was short. She died at the end of the sorority’s second year. I light this candle for Elizabeth Gorham Hoag.” Light second candle. Speaker three recites: “Frances Elliott Mann was the life of the group in its early meetings. Her sense of humor, her beauty and her vivacity gained her a place of distinction in the world in which she moved. She gave to Sigma Kappa its secret symbolism. Several generations of her sorority sisters had the pleasure of knowing her in Washington, D.C. where she was a well-known teacher. I light this candle for Frances Elliott Mann.” Light third candle. Speaker four recites: “Ida Mae Fuller was a vigorous, vital, dynamic girl who developed into an inquiring, social-minded woman. Hers was the practical, materialistic voice in the early days of Sigma Kappa. Her constructive work in and for her beloved sorority continued throughout her life. I light this candle for Ida Mae Fuller.” Light fourth candle. Speaker five recites: “Louise Helen Coburn, daughter of a Maine lawyer who became governor of the state, made many concrete contributions to Sigma Kappa. She lent her judicial skills to the creation of our constitution and bylaws. She composed the ritual with which all of us are initiated. She spent an active and useful life in Skowhegan, Maine. She was deeply conscious of her civic duties and gave much of her energy and wisdom to the growth and development of her town, college and state. Her writing and poetry are well known. In 1949, she received the Colby Brick, the alumni service award. I light this candle for Louise Helen Coburn.” Light fifth candle. VPAR or president recites: “Thus we see that our founders were not just legendary figures, but real persons whose lives were guided by the same ideals and principles which we still hold dear.” Light sixth candle. Close with the Sigma Kappa grace, below. “Oh Thou who gives us every gift, To Thee our grateful praise we lift. Teach us to do Thy will today And find in Thee “One Heart, One Way. Amen” .

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