Convention Sites
 

Do you know where your organization's Conventions have been held? If so, I'd love to see them! I'm betting we'll see some interesting trends.

Here's Theta Phi Alpha's:
1. Detroit, Michigan, September, 1919
2. Ann Arbor, Michigan, June, 1920
3. Champaign, Illinois, June, 1921
4. Columbus, Ohio, February, 1922
5. Athens, Ohio, August, 1923
6. Cincinnati, Ohio, August, 1924
7. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, June, 1925
8. St. Louis, Missouri, June, 1926
9. Estes Park, Colorado, August, 1928
10. Chicago, Illinois, August, 1930
11. Toronto, Canada, June, 1932
12. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July, 1935
13. Detroit, Michigan, June, 1937
14. Cincinnati, Ohio, July, 1939
15. State College, Pennsylvania, August, 1941
16. Swampscott, Massachusetts, September, 1946
17. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August-September, 1948
18. Syracuse, New York, August, 1950
19. Chicago, Illinois, June-July, 1952
20. Cincinnati, Ohio, June-July, 1954
21. Burlington, Wisconsin, June, 1956
22. Port Huron, Michigan, June, 1958
23. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June, 1960
24. Cleveland, Ohio, August, 1962
25. Detroit, Michigan, June, 1964
26. Chicago, Illinois, June, 1966
27. Cincinnati, Ohio, June-July, 1968
28. Lexington, Massachusetts, June, 1970
29. St. Louis, Missouri, June, 1972
30. Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, August, 1974
31. Akron, Ohio, August, 1976
32. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August, 1978
33. Chicago, Illinois, August, 1980
34. New Orleans, Louisiana, August, 1982
35. Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, June-July, 1984
36. Dearborn, Michigan, June, 1986
37. Chicago, Illinois, June, 1988
38. Orlando, Florida, June, 1990
39. Indianapolis, Indiana, June, 1992
40. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June, 1994
41. Buffalo, New York, June, 1996
42. Cleveland, Ohio, June, 1998
43. St. Louis, Missouri, June, 2000
44. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June, 2002
45. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June, 2004
46. Atlanta, Georgia, June, 2006
47. Chicago, Illinois, July, 2008
48. Nashville, Tennessee, July, 2010
49. Ann Arbor, Michigan, July, 2012
50. New Orleans, Louisiana, July, 2014

Alpha Sigma Tau's:

1. Detroit, Michigan 1925
2. Detroit, Michigan 1927
3. Buffalo, New York 1929
4. Denver, Colorado 1931
5. Cleveland, Ohio 1934
6. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1936
7. St. Louis, Missouri 1939
8. Cincinnati, Ohio 1946
9. Detroit, Michigan 1949
10. Chicago, Illinois 1952
11. Roanoke, Virginia 1955
12. Buffalo, New York 1958
13. Washington, D.C. 1960
14. St. Louis, Missouri 1962
15. Detroit, Michigan 1964
16. Cincinnati, Ohio 1966
17. New Orleans, Louisiana 1968
18. Toronto, Canada 1970
19. Virginia Beach, Virginia 1972
20. Detroit, Michigan 1974
21. Birmingham, Alabama 1976
22. Natural Bridge, Virginia 1978
23. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1980
24. Nashville, Tennessee 1982
25. Washington, D.C. 1984
26. St. Louis, Missouri 1986
27. New Orleans, Louisiana 1988
28. Richmond, Virginia 1990
29. Tulsa, Oklahoma 1992
30. Buffalo, New York 1994
31. Phoenix, Arizona 1996
32. Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor, Michigan 1998
33. Birmingham, Alabama 2000
34. St. Louis, Missouri 2002
35. Savannah, Georgia 2004
36. Orlando, Florida 2006
37. Chantilly, Virginia 2008
38. Birmingham, Alabama 2010
39. Indianapolis, Indiana 2012
40. Atlanta, Georgia 2014

And just announced yesterday: Our 41st Convention in 2016 will be in Jacksonville, FL

A couple interesting things to note:

- Even though we were founded in 1899, our first convention wasn't until 1925

- From 1925 through 1931, we held a convention once every 2 years, then there was a 3 year span, then back to 2, then after 1939 we didn't have another convention until 1946, then it was every 3 years, then in 1958, we went back to every 2 years, which is what we still do today

Alpha Phi Alpha National Conventions

Alpha Phi Omega National Conventions

Gamma Xi Phi's first national convention was in Newark, New Jersey in 2013. The second will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2015. They are still very small affairs.

I'm really curious about the 7 year gap. I'm assuming it's due to WWII, though AST doesn't appear to have had any other wartime gaps. Do you have any insight on this?

I thought Alpha Phi Alpha's list was particularly interesting--are they entirely moving away from having host chapters, or has that been coincidental?

Alpha Xi Delta National Conventions

1903 Galesburg, IL
1904 Alliance, OH
1905 Mt. Pleasant, IA
1907 Morgantown, WV
1909 Syracuse, NY
1911 Madison, WI
1913 Champaign, IL
1915 Berkeley, CA
1918 Boston, MA
1920 Excelsior, MN
1922 Lexington, KY
1924 Chicago, IL
1926 Glacier National Park, MT
1928 Bigwinn, Lake of Bays, Canada
1930 The Greenbrier, White Sulpher Springs, WV
1932 Pasadena, CA
1934 Swampscott, MA
1937 Yellowstone National Park
1939 Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC
1941 Troutdale-in-the-Pines, CO
1943 Cancelled
1945 Cancelled
1946 Cancelled
1947 Murray Bay, Quebec, Canada (50th Anniversary Convention)
1949 French Lick, IN
1951 Cancelled
1953 Pasadena, CA
1955 Swampscott, MA
1957 Gulfport, MS
1959 Glenwood Springs, CO
1962 Bedford Springs, PA
1965 Houston, TX
1968 Sun Valley, ID (75th Anniversary Convention)
1971 Hollywood, FL
1974 Chicago, IL
1976 Minneapolis, MN
1978 Denver, CO
1980 Arlington, VA
1982 West Palm Beach, FL
1984 Dallas, TX
1986 Oconomowoc, WI
1988 New Orleans, LA
1990 Baltimore, MD
1993 Scottsdale, AZ (100th Anniversary Convention)
1995 Tarpon Springs, FL
1997 Houston, TX
1999 Desert Springs, CA
2001 Washington, DC
2003 Orlando, FL
2005 Tucson, AZ
2007 Indianapolis, IN
2009 Denver, CO
2011 Atlanta, GA
2013 San Francisco, CA
2015 Boston, MA

I love this. French Lick is near where I grew up. The small Indiana town has quite an interesting history besides being the hometown of former NBA player Larry Bird. It had sulphur hot springs and a beautiful hotel and spa were built. In the 1920s, it was a bustling "resort" area. It had lots of visitors from nearby cities like Louisville and Chicago. It is rumored that well known figures in organized crime spent time there on occasion. West Baden which is what the spa was called is even mentioned in the Great Gatsby. The hotel fell into disrepair and was restored about 15-20 years ago and it's gorgeous. If you're ever nearby check it out.

I don't know the reason, but I can try to find out!

Since we were running on the 'once-every-3-years' system at that point, the next convention after 1939 would have been in 1942, which didn't occur. And interestingly...

Coincidence?

WWII caused rationing, among other hardships. Everyone stateside contributed to the war effort in ways that we just can't imagine. It makes sense that no conventions were held.

The 1943, 1945, and 1946 Alpha Xi Delta conventions were canceled because of WWII.

There are still host chapters. The person who edits the page probably didn't have access to a primary source which listed them.

However, in practice, I'd say the host chapters have little on-the-ground work to do for conventions these days, and they pretty much help where the national office and Director of Conventions asks (securing local vendors, planning the ladies' activities, etc).

I wish there was a link I could've posted like Sen, but alas.

I noticed no one (so far) has listed a conference in NYC. We have! I don't see us doing it ever again, sadly. How I'd love to be a host city!

A smattering of our Boules over the years. The gaps are the ones I couldn't find or remember.

2014 - Washington, DC (OK, DMV area - counting the days down!)
2012 - New Orleans
2010 - Palm Springs, CA
2008 - Detroit, MI
2006 - Dallas, TX (I think it was moved there from NOLA post-Katrina)
2004 - Memphis, TN
2002 - Miami
1998 - Las Vegas, NV
1996 - Houston, TX
1988 - St. Louis, MO
1984 - San Antonio, TX
1980 - Oklahoma City, OK
1978 - New Orleans
1974 - Los Angeles
1972 - Indianapolis, Indiana (Golden 50th Anniversary)
1965 - New York City
1963 - Denver
1961 - Philadelphia
1951 - Los Angeles
1938 - Houston, TX
1936 - Frankfort, KY
1935 - Richmond, VA
1934 - St. Louis, MO
1933 - Chicago (no 1932 Boule)
1931 - New York City
1930 - Gary, IN
1927 - Louisville, KY
1925 - Indianapolis, IN

No Boules hosted between 1941-44 due to WWII.

Interesting! I assume it would be cost prohibitive at this point? Syracuse and Buffalo get love, at least.

Today's Pi Phi blog has a post about the cancelled 1917 convention, Pi Phi's 50th anniversary convention. It was cancelled because of WWI. Many, if not almost all, fraternity and sorority conventions were cancelled during World War II. Some organizations put the funds towards "war work."

I, for one, am fascinated by the old hotels which were host to fraternity and sorority conventions. Someone mentioned French Lick. NPC met at the French Lick hotel as did Kappa Kappa Gamma at its Centennial in 1970. It is not the easiest place to get to. (I am reading Herman B Well's book and he talks about the railroad that took people to French Lick.) Kappa Alpha Theta had an early 1900s convention at West Baden Springs Hotel, which is on property adjoining the French Lick Hotel.

Chi Omega had a series of conventions at the Greenbrier, decades worth as I recall.

Pi Phi's Centennial Convention in 1967 took place at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. It was the site of the 1936 convention. The story I've heard is the hotel cashed our check in 1967 and promptly closed. It was torn down shortly thereafter.

I think I'm confused - did you mean no one has listed a conference in NYC?

I'm still waiting for us to have a convention in Boston.....

ETA: I asked around, and as expected, we didn't have a convention between 1939 and 1946 due to WWII.

Super cost-prohibitive. Many Sorors plan Boule attendance as vacation time - from work, but also as a trip with their families. Cost for the membership (specifically travelling to NYC) AND the organization is considered (though I'm sure this is considered for ANY conference).

Also, though the NE Region has the largest membership, I don't see NYC as a high-membership area for our organization.

Yes, that. LOL