first things first. you might have noticed i went back to the previous theme. the new one just wasn’t doing it for me and this weekend i had more than a few not so great comments about the layout so i decided to go back to this one until i find another one.
secondly, you may have also noticed i didn’t get to live blog the history conference like it’d hoped. there wasn’t a hotspot i could hop onto, but if i did do a live blog, it woulda looked like this:
9:51am – Round of intros. Bros get settled in, pulled away from the Sigma Museum. it’s great meeting brothers I only know online. Iota Rho Probate show tonight. Nice! glad we sent those undergrads on a breakfast food run for us.
9:59am – president jimmy hammock addresses the group. “You have an advocate for what you have done…I’m gonna be your advocate.??? nice to hear.
10:09am – Opening remarks done. “Why are we here???? Mallet asks. “Please ask questions…You’ll have a lot of info put in front of you…You have brothers who have lived the history…in the building today. That have personally known the Sigma icons you’ll hear about today…We want to create dialogue.”
10:20am – 1st presentation is on founder abraham langston taylor. mallet shows a 1909 graduate pic from Howe Institute that i’ve never seen before.
10:51am – For the next presentation, Kevin takes the stage and starts talking about charter members. he tells the story of getting in touch with SP Massie’s son (Kappa) that he’s told me before. he also spotlights JA Franklin and IL Scruggs.
11:35am – Mallet talks about the pictorial history book. Hey that’s my name on that slide.
11:42am – Charles I Brown! Nuff said.
12:15pm – Lunch. Yum. BBQ. More open mic questions. hey i just met the brother who invented the hand sign.
1:24pm – Afternoon session starts with Gerald on Sigma Giants: Bill Doar and Lucius Young.
2:23pm – Mallet’s asked about the bros on the history committee that were listed on the slide shown earlier and we’re introduced one by one. Mallet calls me an IT genius (not true). Remind me to send him a check. He mentions I run this site. Yay applause.
2:50pm – Special guest Adrienne Walker Hoard, granddaughter of AM Walker, takes the stage. His legacy was education. AM Walker’s parents. When he meets wife – Hauzie Jeter Johnson. Pic from 1920. 1920 Honeymoon pic in Virginia Beach. Floretta Yvonne Walker (Adrienne’s mother). Adrienne comes along. Only one to know her GF. Always wore a white shirt. Shows his obituary from The Negro History Bulletin (Feb 1953). Sharing personal childhood memories of summers with grandparents.
The rest of the day is still a big blur. I know there was much picture taking. The history committee got a pic together and we also took one with Ms. Hoard. Brothers running around getting folks to sign their programs. Packed up the Sigma Museum. Chatted with the history team and Ms. Hoard and Jimmy in the hotel lobby some more about AM Walker. Off to TGI Friday’s for a quick dinner before heading to the Probate show.
Bro. Kerry and I get to the show just as it’s starting. Really enjoying the positive vibe, particularly how every org in the audience was called out, music on blast and got their chance in the spotlight to do a lil stroll before the probates are brought out. hey they’re right behind me. wow this sure is a lot of greetings. hey they’re finally breaking line.
a few last minute meetings of things i’d rather not blog about, but it’s the last time we’ll see each other this weekend so we say our goodbyes and i’m off to write this blog.
To the Alumni & Collegiate Brothers in Orlando:
Outstanding job with the history conference this past weekend! You brothers put together a fantastic weekend and it was great meeting a number of my online brothers for the first time.