Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.


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Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Central Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., was established in 1919 at the close of the second Boule held at the War Camp Community Center in Chicago. The Region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the southeastern portion of Missouri. The first Central Regional Conference was held in Indianapolis on May 23, 1931.

Central is the home of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Corporate Office, located at 5656 South Stony Island Avenue in Chicago. It is also the home of Founder Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, who hails from St. Louis. Two of the sorority’s oldest chapters – Beta (Chicago Citywide) and Gamma (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) – are in Central, having been established in 1913, and 1914, respectively, by Founder Beulah Burke. The region is also home to several other of the sorority’s oldest chapters: the original Eta (University of Minnesota), Kappa (Indianapolis Citywide), Tau (Indiana University), Gamma Omega (St. Louis alumnae), Eta Omega (Louisville alumnae) and Theta Omega (Chicago alumnae).

Central is also known for being the site of the publication and distribution of the Ivy Leaf (1921 Boule in Indianapolis) and being the home of the sorority’s first honorary member, Jane Adams, founder of Hull House. The capable and classy Sorors of the Central Region have served at every level in Alpha Kappa Alpha since its inception.


Central Regional Directors

Pauline Kigh Reed – 1919 to 1922
Frederika Brown – 1922 to 1923
Carolynne Payne – 1923 to 1925
Murray B. Atkins Walls – 1925 to 1927
Althea M. Simmons – 1927 to 1930
 Blanche Hayes Clark – 1930 to 1934
Alice McGhee Smart – 1934 to 1937
Arlene J. Washington – 1937 to 1940
 Blanche L. Patterson – 1940 to 1943
Maenell Hamlin Newsome – 1943 to 1946
Lucille B. Wilkins – 1946 to 1950
 Evelyn Roberts – 1950 to 1954
Maude L. Mann – 1954 to 1958
Annetta M. Lawson – 1958 to 1962
 Lee Anna Shelburne – 1962 to 1966
Ordie Amelia Roberts – 1966 to 1970
 Johnetta Randolph Haley – 1970 to 1974
Gloria E. Smith Bond – 1974 to 1978
Peggy Lewis LeCompte – 1978 to 1982 and 1997 to 1998
 Mabel Evans Cason – 1982 to 1986
Loann Honesty King – 1986 to 1990
 Yvonne Perkins – 1990 to 1994
Martha Perine Beard – 1994 to 1997
Peggy Lewis LeCompte – 1997 to 1998
Nadine Celeste Bonds – 1998 to 2002
 Dorothy W. Buckhanan – 2002 to 2006
 Pamela Bates Porch

Supreme Basilei

• Lorraine Richardson Green (2nd Supreme Basileus)
• Maudelle Brown Bousfield (6th Supreme Basileus)
• Maude Brown Porter (7th Supreme Basileus)
• Linda Marie White (26th Supreme Basileus)

First Supreme Anti-Basilei

• Carolyn Payne
• Maudelle Brown Bousfield
• Lucille Robinson Wilkins
• Linda Marie White

Second Supreme Anti-Basilei

• Frances E. Smith
• Nan Arrington

Supreme Grammatei

• Irma Frazier Clarke
• C. Elizabeth Johnson
• Carolyn Blanton
• Murray B. Atkins Walls
• Evelyn H. Roberts
• Lauretta Naylor Thompson
• Peggy Lewis LeCompte
• Linda Marie White

Supreme Tamiouchi

• Irma Frazier Clarke
• Gladys Bufkin Johnson
• Helen Cromer Cooper
• Loann Honesty King
• Yvonne Perkins (two terms)
• Barbara A. McKinzie

Supreme Parliamentarian

• Lucille Wilkins
• Gladys Chapman Gordon
• Helen Cromer Cooper
• Johnetta Randolph Haley
• Constance Kinard Holland

Undergraduate Member at Large

• Delta Irby
• Anita McCollum
• Erika Horton

Editor in Chief - Ivy Leaf

• Helen Kathleen Perry (the first)
• Althea Merchant Simmons
• C. Elizabeth Johnson

Executive Directors

• Carey B. Preston
• Barbara A. McKinzie
• Alison Harris Alexander

Former Supreme Basileus Arnetta G. Wallace moved to Central Region (Chicago) following her retirement and Central remains the home-away-from-home for Centennial Supreme Basileus Barbara A. McKinzie.

The region has been a popular location for Sorority conferences. The region has hosted several Directorate meetings, International Committee meetings, Leadership Seminars are 10 Boules:

Chicago 1919, 1933, 1944, 1961, 1998
St. Louis 1929, 1953, 2010 (tentative)
Indianapolis 1921, 1994
Louisville 1936