News release
Public Information Office
SLU 10880 Hammond,
LA 70402 phone:
985-549-2341 fax:
985-549-2061publicinfo@selu.edu
www.selu.edu/news
Contact: Christina Chapple
Date: 10/24/03
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SPIRIT FUND HONORS, AIDS GREEKS -- Southeastern Louisiana University staff, alumni and students look over dress for the “Paper Bag Princess Dress Sale,” one of the fund raising events being planned for the Spirit Fund, a new partnership that has been created to fund the Lisa J. Hill Greek Memorial Scholarship for Southeastern sorority and fraternity members. The scholarship honors Lisa Hill, a 1991 Southeastern graduate who died of Lupus. A jazz social kickoff for the Spirit Fund is planned November 7 at the Hammond Regional Arts Center. From left, are Kay Harrison, director of Student Organizations/Greek Life; student Jaclyn Broussard; alumnus Tará Burnthorne Lopez; students Megan Vesely and Raelene Dunaway; Southeastern Development Foundation Annual Fund Coordinator Sarah Schillage; and alumnus Pam Cali Bankston. SPIRIT OF SOUTHEASTERN SORORITY SISTER INSPIRES SCHOLARSHIP FUND HAMMOND -- In 1998 a group of Lisa Hill’s friends established a scholarship in her honor. They wanted the recipient to be a Southeastern Louisiana University sorority sister or fraternity brother who “typifies the spirit and morale of Lisa Hill.” Hill, a 1991 Southeastern graduate from Baton Rouge, died in 1996, after losing a long battle against Lupus. “Some may read ‘Lisa’s spirt’ and think of something soft and peaceful,” said Hill’s Phi Mu sorority sister Michelle Brouillette Chauvin, who initiated the scholarship. “But to those who knew Lisa, ‘spirit’ suggests enthusiasm, courage and determination.” For the past six years, Hill’s friends and family have contributed to the scholarship. Now, as part of a campus-wide revitalization program, they want to fully-fund the scholarship and make its annual presentation a major honor within Southeastern’s Greek community. Chauvin and other friends of Hill, such as Theta Phi Alpha members Tará Burnthorne Lopez (‘92), and Pam Cali Bankston (‘93) , are working with the Southeastern Development Foundation and the Office of Student Organizations/Greek Life to plan some creative fund-raising events. The goal is raise the scholarship endowment, which has been christened “The Spirit Fund: A Southeastern Community Partnership,” initially to $10,000 for partial scholarships and ultimately to $45,000 for a full tuition scholarship. The fund-raising ideas are complements of Lopez, a marketing professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her students came up with a marketing plan for the scholarship which was presented last May to Organizations/Greek Life Interim Director Kay Harrison, the Development Foundation’s Sarah Schillage, members of Hill’s family, and the presidents of Southeastern Greek organizations. All endorsed the ideas, which make fund-raising fun and rewarding for a spectrum of donors. Lopez’s marketing students estimated that the events could raise at least $20,000 for the endowment. Plans are to introduce the ideas to the campus and community at a November 7 jazz social reception from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Hammond Regional Arts Center (the Levy Building, 217 E. Thomas St.). Food and beverages will be provided by sponsors Dakota’s Restaurant in Covington and Delta Health Services, respectively. To get Greek students involved in the Spirit Fund, Lopez’s class proposed the “Paper Bag Princes Dress Sale,” a sale of those used party dresses that take up space in every sorority woman’s closet. The sale will be promoted to area high school girls. “They are always interested in being fashionable and many may want to save money on those rarely worn dresses,” Lopez said. The second fund-raiser, a combination raffle and prestigious event called a “Draw Down,” would tap surrounding communities. Throughout the festive event, which would include dinner, music and other fun, tickets are drawn for prizes, all leading up to the grand-finale – a $5,000 prize. Harrison sees a lot of pluses for rallying the Greek community around the Lisa Hill Scholarship. It provides a scholarship for one of their own, allows fraternities and sororities to show their commitment to philanthropy and to the community, and promotes a positive image for Greeks. It also goes hand-in-hand with a five-year Greek revitalization program launched last spring. “Enhancing the Greek Community: A Partnership for Success” aims to increase membership, improve leadership, foster academic excellence and encourage greater university and community service. For additional information about the Lisa J. Hill Greek Memorial Scholarship and the Spirit Fund, contact Schillage at 985-549-3771 or Harrison at 985-549-2120. |
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