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Alpha Gams "in the news"
If this is a redundant thread please forgive me. But here is a place to post news articles about Alpha Gams. :)
University of Washington Alpha Gam crowned Miss Greek! Click Here For News Story |
WOW, that's wonderful! Red and buff roses to Jessica! :)
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Yea!!!
Congratulations to our sister!!:D
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Positive article on greek life featuring an Alpha Gam!
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Congratulations to Annie and Jessica for portraying Alpha Gam, and Greeks, in a positive light!
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Great!
This is a fabulous thread! I hope The Quarterly has this info also. :D
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Kristin posted this link in another forum and I stumbled onto it by chance. "Legally Blonde" is one of my favorite comedies...I had no idea an Alpha Gam was one of the screenwriters! :D
Blondes Do Have More Fun Screenwriter Karen Lutz makes sure of it IN LAST SUMMER'S HIT COMEDY LEGALLY BLONDE, THE JOKES ARE ON HARVARD, but the brains behind the wildly successful screenplay come straight from JMU. Take, for instance, the movie scene in which sorority president Reese Witherspoon asks her sisters to vote on whether or not to accept a switch to generic toilet paper. "That came from one time when ... we were denied our toilet paper [at JMU]. I offered my sorority sisters activity points for stealing replacement rolls from the administration building," laughs screenwriter Karen McCullah Lutz ('88). In fact, moviegoers benefit a great deal from Lutz's JMU experiences. "People who read our scripts always say that [my partner and I] write good guy characters. I think that's because of my time as a little sister at AXP fraternity. It's easy to 'write' cool guys when you know a lot of cool guys." Life has taken some dramatic turns for Lutz since her JMU days. She has moved from a 10-by-10-foot room in the Alpha Gamma Delta house (now the Alpha Phi house) to her 3,000-square-foot home in the Hollywood hills. She's traded studying and sunbathing on the "Hill" for writing screenplays while sunbathing by her pool. And the 1972 Plymouth Duster she used to drive up to Reddish Knob has been replaced by the black stretch limo that MGM Studios hired to escort her to the premiere of Legally Blonde. But the road to screenwriting success was not a straight one. After she graduated from JMU with a marketing degree, Lutz bounced from job to job at various Washington, D.C., companies -- five in all the first year. "It was horrible," she remembers. "The only thing that would get me out of bed in the morning was thinking, 'I can quit this job, too!'" When her husband, Walter Lutz ('86), was transferred to Albuquerque, N.M., with his job in 1992, Lutz tried a variety of jobs there until one day she picked up a book on screenwriting and something clicked. "I thought, 'Oh my God, this is totally what I'm supposed to do with the rest of my life. It sounds so fun.'" The next day she saw a newspaper ad for a screenwriting workshop in Santa Fe, and she was on her way. Soon she joined the thousands of amateur writers sending scripts to Hollywood. And, like most of them, she got no bites, although she did occasionally receive an encouraging note in response. Two years later, when her husband was transferred to Denver, she continued to send out scripts. Finally, someone took notice. Kirsten Smith, a reader at an independent film company in Los Angeles and an aspiring screenwriter, called after reading one of her scripts. "You're my new favorite writer," she told Lutz. After a meeting over margaritas, Lutz suggested they try writing something together. United in their mutual admiration of John Hughes, king of the teen genre in the '80s, they decided to try their hand at a teen movie. Four months later when the partners finished their script -- a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew set in a modern day high school -- Lutz sent it to a successful manager she often read about in Daily Variety. It was a good move. He called back quickly and said, "I can sell this right away!" Three weeks later, his prediction came true. Touchstone Pictures, owned by Disney, called with an offer. "All of a sudden everything changed," Lutz says. "Disney flew me first class to L.A. to meet with them, and we signed with William Morris, one of the Big Four agents." Five and a half years after her first screenwriting class, 10 Things I Hate About You hit screens nationwide on March 31, 1999. "I just kept telling myself, 'It's gonna happen, it's gonna happen.' And my twisted imagination was finally validated." The movie stayed in the top 10 for five weeks. With one success under her belt, Lutz quickly moved from being the pursuer to the pursued. Disney immediately signed the partners to a blind script deal, meaning they paid in advance for their next script, sight unseen. Lutz and Smith delivered Public Displays of Affection, a film about a dating school that has not yet begun production. The next call came from 20th Century Fox, which hired the partners to develop sitcoms. "They called me on a Wednesday and wanted me to move to L.A. by Monday," Lutz recalls. She did. Their first assignment was Getting Personal, which aired from February to October 1999. Lutz describes the 14- to 16-hour days on the set as "sit-com boot camp." "It becomes your whole life. You barely have time to take a shower, much less write an-other movie. When it was canceled, we did a dance of joy." The partners were then free to take on other feature assignments. After writing scripts for Paramount and Columbia, they started on Legally Blonde, which MGM rushed into production. The movie placed No. 1 at the box office on opening weekend, making it the studio's highest-earning nonsequel opener ever. Lutz's parents and sister flew in to join her as she walked down the pink carpet at the premiere, which included an after-party with an all-blonde wait staff and close to 3,000 guests. Two weeks later, the writing partners hosted their own party after taking 150 friends to see the movie on opening night. "At about 11 p.m., the director got a call on his cell phone, letting us know we'd already sold enough tickets to be No. 1 for the weekend. Most of the cast was at our party, and we all just went crazy. Lots of screaming and hugging." The next morning, the producer woke Lutz with a 7 a.m. phone call and even better news. "Everyone was shocked. The studio had expected us to open at maybe $12 million, but we opened at $20 million. It's [during] moments like that that I can't be-lieve this is my life." These days, Lutz has the luxury of picking and choosing the projects she'll take on. Her dining room table is piled with scripts that studios have sent, hoping she'll apply her magic touch to make the characters and dialogue more "hip." Next to them is a stack of foreign videos, which the studios want the partners to rewrite into American hits. They are currently working on a project for Miramax called Honey West, based on a series of 1950s books about a female private detective, which will reunite them with Blonde star Reese Witherspoon. They are also writing The Miranda Obsession, a project Lutz was especially excited to land. As producer and director on the project, Robert DeNiro put out a call for "A-list" writers only to contact him with their pitch for the project, which is based on a Vanity Fair article. Still beaming over the partners' work on Legally Blonde, MGM agreed to set up a phone interview. Lutz recalls, "So I'm lying on my bed in my tie-dye pajamas at 8:30 in the morning, talking to Robert DeNiro." Her agent called back that afternoon. He said, "I don't know what the hell you said on the phone this morning, but you got the job." Success on this scale has its rewards. The partners' scripts draw mid-six figures, and with the success of Blonde, their agent will now ask double that. Perhaps even more rewarding is the freedom it brings. "We don't take projects now unless we can really fall in love with them," says Lutz. And they will act as producers on future projects, including Honey West, which will give them more control over casting and other production decisions. "I'm definitely living proof that you don't have to be connected in Hollywood to be a screenwriter. When I graduated from JMU, I didn't even know that you could be a screenwriter. It never occurred to me. It was the '80s, all business and corporate America. I just thought that's what you did. I wouldn't change a thing, though," Lutz says. "I had a great time at JMU. ... And my movies are getting made and they're doing well." Just like her days at JMU, when she proudly bore the titles of AGD's "Most Laid-Back Sister" and "Biggest Partier" four years in a row, Lutz maintains her unique approach to life. "My basic mantra is that I've always, no matter what I've done, tried to make it fun. I remember my dad told me, 'Karen, the world does not owe you a good time.' And I was like, 'What? Yes, it does!' So, I've pretty much orchestrated my entire life so it's always a good time." |
That is *so* cool! I sure hope the Quarterly has info on her!!! I can't wait for that movie to come out! :)
Hmm, and she's in LA... we need to invite her to alumnae events!!! :D |
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I was able to pull her up on Sister Search, although the records still have Karen under her maiden name. Her address is not current, either. I hope IHQ can track her down...I would love to have her come to an LA event! tee hee ;)
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Very cool! Hannah Thomas, a sister at our chapter here at Florida State was named Greek Goddess for the 2003-2004 school year. WOOHOO! Go Alpha Gam!
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Congrats to KU Alpha Gams!
I have read about this for quite a while. Congratulations on finally getting approval for your new home!
Wednesday, July 2, 2003 City gives approval to sorority house plans The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday approved a site plan for a sorority house near Kansas University campus. Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority received approval for its plan, which includes space for 88 residents, at 1030 Avalon Road. Neighbors said they feared the sheer number of neighbors, as well as the proposed height of the building -- 47 feet. Commissioner Sue Hack made the motion for approval, seconded by Mayor David Dunfield. They were joined by Commissioner Boog Highberger in approval; Commissioners Mike Rundle and David Schauner opposed the plan. News Link |
wow - congrats to them!!! wish i knew what this house was going to look like!
marissa |
Way to go Hannah!
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I have the Chapter Advisor's email address if anyone wants to send on congratulations - please PM me! I know they've been working on this for over a year!
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AYE to AGD's Hannah!! AND to KU's new house!!
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Here is a more detailed news story on KU's battle for approval of their new home. Congrats again for all of your hard work! I can't wait to see what it looks like.
http://www.kansan.com/stories.asp?id=200307020019 Edited to add another article on the building of the KU house. http://www.kansan.com/stories.asp?id=200307090012 |
does this count?
Hi all :)
I'm not sure if this counts or not, but my likeness & a few quotes have been in a number of newspapers and website over the past few days following the announcement that Vancouver won the right to host the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games :D I have been volunteering for the bid for the past six months (about 285 hours) and had my face painted with a big Canadian flag at the big announcement event here. From what I've heard, in the US there was a small picture of me on the cover of Thursday USA Today, and I was also on the cover of the Seattle Times. In Canada I somehow ended up in about 7 or 8 newspapers ~ guess they aren't used to seeing such Canadian patriotism! Here are some links ... liEP, ~ Jennifer AGD - DZ '97 |
Wow, you must have used invisible paint cause the links don't appear, lol!!
Anyway, congratulations!! |
Jennifer that is great! I would love to see the links if you want to post them again. :)
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Jen, WOW! I didn't realize that was you! I never buy USA Today, but for some reason we purchased that issue last week. I have to go home now and see if we brought it back with us from AZ, so I can look at it more closely. Either way, I know exactly what picture you are talking about, lol! :)
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This is an article I noticed quite a while back. I hope that she gets the information on the centennial quilt. Her patch would be really special.
Full Text: Copyright Columbian Publishing Company Jun 5, 2003 Susan Simshaw, 52, never had a "master plan" for her life. But that's OK with her. Going with the flow led to marriage, fraternal twins, a passion for quilting and her extensive garden at her Cascade Park home -- all of which helped her survive breast cancer. "I've never planned my life in any way. When you allow your life to evolve in the way it does, you don't have any disappointments," Simshaw said. When she had breast cancer, "I just wanted to go to my doctor appointments and be a mom ... and be totally normal. I didn't go to support groups. My support was just being home and doing gardening, quilting and being with my kids." Born and raised in Great Falls, Mont., Simshaw joined Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont., in 1973. She went on to teach elementary school in Denver and Helena, Mont. for several years before deciding to be a stay-at-home mother after her twins were born. "It's the greatest honor and privilege to stay home," she said. "It took me about a minute and a half to decide" to quit work when her husband, Calvin, asked what she wanted to do. The Simshaw family moved to Clark County in 1989. Calvin, also 52, is a corporate attorney in Vancouver. Their 17-year-old son and daughter, Drew and Darby, will graduate from Mountain View High School this month. Susan adapted to life in the Pacific Northwest in two ways: gardening and quilting. "Gardening totally evolved. I didn't set out with a plan," she said. She became interested in gardening about four years ago but didn't know the first thing about it. So she followed around a friend who was a gardener and bought what her friend bought. Now she has a perennial garden and waterfall in her back yard that she works on year-round. The front yard boasts several rose bushes and other flowers. "Gardening is like quilting. I like putting colors together, moving things around ... and then you sit back and just enjoy it. It's such a pleasure," Simshaw said. During the past 17 years, she has taught quilting classes and has made 94 impressive quilts of all sizes. They adorn the walls, doors and shelves of her home. Her quilting award ribbons hang in their own space in her hobby room. "I've met my best friends through quilting ... who I know I'll have forever. And I was able to keep teaching that way." Her latest project is a quilt with 400 four-inch blocks. She has 56 blocks completed and admits it's a lofty goal. Another project with special meaning is the quilt Simshaw made to commemorate her five-year anniversary of surviving breast cancer. After a routine mammogram in 1997, she got the call later that week that every woman dreads. "The surgeon said I had cancer, have a good weekend and I'll be fine -- all in the same sentence," Simshaw said. "It's like when you get news about a death. You're stunned. You immediately think about your children and start imagining your children without you." Simshaw was supposed to see the doctor on a Tuesday. By the Monday before, she said, she was a basket case and went to the doctor to insist on more information. "I was sleep deprived and scared. All I knew was I had cancer. The lack of information in the beginning is the worst." At the doctor's visit, Simshaw learned she had a slow-growing, colloid carcinoma a bit smaller than a half-inch in diameter. Fortunately the cancer was in an early stage. "Once I saw it was in stage one, I knew I had a fighting chance. I started pulling myself out of my grave and could breathe again." The next step was surgery. Simshaw underwent a lumpectomy, which took half of one breast. For the next seven weeks, she drove to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland for five-minute radiation treatments six days a week. During the next five years, she took tamoxifen to block estrogen, since her tumor was estrogen driven. Fortunately she didn't experience side effects that can accompany the medicine. She also went in for mammograms every three months for three years, then every six months for the next two years. Now she's back to annual mammograms. Susan said her family was very supportive through the ordeal. She had a hard time talking about it, but things are different now. "Now I can talk about it. Last year I ran for Race for the Cure for the first time," Susan said. Susan treats her future with the same philosophy she always has: whatever will be, will be. "If something (the cancer) shows up again, we'll start over. I told my surgeon, 'I just want to see my kids graduate from high school.' Now it's happening." - Very inspiring :) |
I really hate MTV's Fraternity Life. But I was google searching. And there was a mention of our girls in Buffalo on the website. Shallow, but very complimentary. Check out question 10
Alex Chapter Pres |
"I'm kinda in the news...and cause it, "
Actually, I've been named Publicity Chair for the Atlanta Southern Crescent Panhellenic Assn...the one that Cele founded. So I get to send in announcements of our meetings and wonderful accomplishments...at least until next term, lol.
((I'll have to tell hubby about the Buffalo comments...he grew up there until he moved to Alabama, lol. )) |
Way to be a part of the news Lynn! :D
Sounds like a cool position! |
As you can tell, I do a daily search through the news. Usually an obit doesn't show up, and if one does I don't usually post it. But this one caught my eye. Maybe it is because of the theme of the last quarterly. And maybe it was this quote from the article.
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News story regarding fundraiser in memory of Christine Wilson one of our three Zeta sisters who died in the fire this past April at Ohio State.
5K run to be held in Christine Wilson's honor |
13 vie for crown at Iowa State Fair
Our girls are diverse :) . I know some sisters that have never even seen a live animal. LOL. But we have agricultural leaders just the same. Good luck to Jaclyne!
Tuesday, July 29, 2003 ANKENY, Iowa -- Thirteen girls will compete for the Iowa Dairy Princess title Aug. 6 at the Iowa State Fair. Jaclyne Hamlett, 19, Arlington, is the reigning Iowa Holstein Princess. Hamlett is in 4-H, FFA, District 1 Junior Holstein Association Reporter, ISU Dairy Science Club and Alpha Gamma Delta Women's Sorority. She attends Iowa State University. Her parents are Matt and Jana Hamlett. Click here for full story. |
Yea, lol!! Maybe next year, Miss Iowa!
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Speaking of Miss Iowa, wasn't she an Alpha Gam in 2001 or 2002? :)
Good luck, Jaclyne (from one of those sisters who has never really seen a cow up close)! |
Here's a sister writing news:
http://www.celeb101.com/movies/tombraider2.html Vicki is trying to break into writing, which she is just doing on the side for now. She also wrote the book "The ABC's of College Life." The book is very funny, by the way...it very much reflects Lafayette, where we went to school (she graduated a couple of years before I got there, though). |
I know this is kinda old, but I never even knew it got printed anywhere and I wanted to add it to the thread b/c I'm super excited! This is my first national "newsmaking" quote. Not a huge one, but it gets my name in someones eyesight :).
http://new.crosswalk.com/news/1186935.html Also, finding this made me do a google search on my name and I found this, not a big deal, but I'm getting somewhere :) just go here and search for Katey Aquilina. http://www.studentpeaceaction.org/pu...l-may03gro.pdf |
Hey Katie! When I clicked on your first link, there was a popup ad for something...couldn't tell you what it was for but it had a red rose! Too bad there wasn't a buff one!;) :D
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This year's homecoming King and Queen were announced last night for Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Ashley McCall of Alpha Gamma Delta's Alpha Sigma chapter will be crowned Homecoming Queen. Congrats to Ashley! :)
The Penn Online |
Congrats to Corey Bitzer :)
She is featured in the Chicago Tribune! Beyond the varsity drag Barry Temkin April 16, 2004 Corey Bitzer competes like Michael Jordan and spends up to 20 hours a week pursuing her love for sports. Yet most people wouldn't consider her a real college athlete. A real college athlete, after all, plays for a real college team against other real college teams in front of thousands of real college fans. Bitzer, an Indiana University senior, competes in obscurity on intramural teams. That relative anonymity ended when Sports Illustrated on Campus featured her in its April 8 edition with a cover story extolling her as "The Greatest Living (Intramural) Athlete." The story is a funny and flattering look at the hectic life of the 22-year-old former Naperville Central basketball and softball star, who has been named Indiana's female IM athlete of the year as a junior and senior. It's also a subtle reminder that there's life after high school sports, even for kids who were good enough to have played on "real" college teams but decided not to. Bitzer was that good. She started at point guard for Central's pre-Candace Parker basketball team and was, basketball and softball coach Andy Nussbaum says, the best defensive shortstop he has had. The 5-foot-4-inch Bitzer could have played intercollegiate basketball, probably at the Division II or III level, but she wanted to get the best education she could while sampling the activities a large university offers. "I wasn't sure if I would try to play basketball somewhere or just go to a big school and not even try to walk on, just be a student," she says. "So I wanted a place that offered a variety of other things too." Bitzer did try out for the women's basketball team as a freshman. She made the squad but began to realize participating in a Division I sport would devour her free time and offer little playing time in return. She left the team that October. "It would have been basketball, homework, bed," she says. "My parents said college is the best years of your life, and I didn't feel I'd enjoy them as much. "I just wanted to do other things." She didn't, however, leave basketball with a smile. "I was crying," she says. "Basketball had been my life to that point. It was a really tough decision." Bitzer's first foray into the intramural world was in coed basketball. Her team, the Diaper Dandies, won the league title. That spring she joined the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, and her intramural career really took off as she signed up for one AGD team after another. Her pursuits have included bowling, cycling, flag football, floor hockey, running, soccer, softball, Ultimate Frisbee, volleyball and Wiffle ball. She has competed in at least 40 IM events, winning 13 titles in seven sports. Bitzer is so competitive she had a contest with a college friend to see who could grow the best avocado, so it's no surprise she participates in coed IM sports when she can because guys present more of a challenge. She usually doesn't train for her sports. The exception is Indiana's famed Little 500 bicycle race, for which she lifts weights and rides during a good portion of the school year. She had not biked competitively before college but won the women's individual time trial last spring and hopes to lead AGD to the women's team title April 23. "It's pretty clear she has taken advantage of what a Big Ten university can offer," Nussbaum says. "She actually has gone out and done what she said she would do, and then some." The result has been a calendar that runs out of space, like when Bitzer hurries from a women's softball game to a coed contest in the same night. "If I have a rare day off, I'm bored out of my mind," she says. She certainly deserves the recognition the SI on Campus article has brought her. The reaction, Bitzer says, has ranged from hearing from people she hadn't talked to since high school to signing copies of the magazine for a Sports Illustrated collector. She realizes she probably isn't the No. 1 IM athlete in the country but is proud to be singled out for her achievements. "It's cool that people are recognizing the things I do and the sports I play and how much effort I do put into the things I do," she says. Bitzer will graduate next month with a degree in sports marketing and management. She wants athletics to be a permanent part of her life as both a vocation and avocation. "I don't want to sit behind a desk all day," she says. "I like to be out and be active." She will leave Indiana with no regrets about the intercollegiate athletic road not taken. "At first I was unsure if I had made the right decision," Bitzer says, "but since my sophomore year I haven't looked back. I've met so many cool people and am having a great time. "I think it's hard to beat my life now. I wouldn't want to live it any other way." ---------- btemkin@tribune.com Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune |
Chicago Sun-Times
July 20, 2004 JUDY BAAR TOPINKA, state treasurer and Republican Party chief, took time out of her "headache zone" of trying to make a decision on a worthy GOP challenger to go up against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama, spoke before her Alpha Gamma Delta sisters at their 100th anniversary and annual convention at the Marriott Sunday. Judy, Judy, Judy, you deserve a spa break! http://www.suntimes.com/output/foste...-stella20.html |
[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 7/28/04 ]
Send a Buzz item! WEDNESDAY PEACH BUZZ 'Big Adventure' for pantyhose exec By RICHARD ELDREDGE Atlanta entrepreneur Sara Blakely flew to England on Tuesday afternoon to meet one of her business role models, Virgin founder Richard Branson. Blakely, who has made her name in the business world by creating Spanx footless control-top pantyhose, will spend the next nine weeks with Branson and company as a contestant for the businessman's upcoming Fox reality series, "Branson's Big Adventure." "After today, we'll have no further contact with Sara until she comes back to Atlanta in October," Spanx representative Sharena Summerall told Buzz on Tuesday. Blakely got through several rounds of interviews prior before being selected for the series. The contestants will face "physical and business-related challenges." All Blakely was told before departing was to expect something "beyond her wildest dreams." Summerall said friends had initially coaxed Blakely to participate in Donald Trump's NBC reality series, "The Apprentice." While Blakely didn't gravitate toward the wispy-haired comb-over king, she vowed that if Branson ever did a show, "I'll pack my bags." While Blakely jets around the globe with Fox cameras, Spanx CEO Laurie Ann Goldman will be handling the business end of things in Atlanta. Said Summerall of Blakely's bag-packing technique: "She did a lot of shopping at REI [Recreational Equipment Inc.], and I know she packed plenty of Spanx. ((Sharena is from Gamma Tau!!!)) :cool: |
I got a free subscription to STUFF magazine and our lovely Amber graces the cover again.
I know some sisters didn't really agree with her first photo spread, but I thought both were very tasteful and she looks even more gorgeous in this one than she did the first time. Heck, I'm just jealous that a) I don't have a body like that, b) she has an extra million, and c) she has a fiance in hot Boston Rob. G-d bless you, Amber for choosing STUFF and not Playboy! |
i so saw that stuff cover coming back from california this month and i LOVED it! shoot, if i had her body i'd show it off too.
marissa |
Two Alpha Gams were in the Miss Georgia Pageant-
Miss Lake Lanier- TOP TEN Kristin Moye-Mercer University- Gamma Iota! Miss North Georgia Mountains Rebekah Rotton- Brenau University- Mu - http://www.geocities.com/missusamagicj/georgia2004.html |
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