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URO Chapter History
Capturing a vision fair: the uplifting, remarkable and outstanding Upsilon Rho Omega Chapter – beginning as The Sisterly Connection interest group -- was chartered on Saturday, June 7, 1997, in Overland Park, KS in the sorority’s Mid-Western Region. Charter members are Versie L. Black, Sena L. Brewer, Climetine Clayburn, Mary C. Francis, Lucinda Herman, Ruby P. Ivy, Delores C. Lewis,
Gloria L. Mayfield, Kimberly A. McCauley-Mitchem, Theresa A. McLoyd, Theresa M. Newell, Gayle Newson, Thelma J. Simmons, Katie L. Washington, and Diann G. West.
A fellowship sincere and rare: Upsilon Rho Omega is the most recently chartered AKA chapter in the Kansas City metropolitan area. We maintain strong ties with our military sorors stationed at Fort Leavenworth, KS. More than half of our chapter members have the AKA legacy running richly through their families; two of our newest members are the daughters of sorors. With main and with might: in its more than two decades of service to all mankind, Upsilon Rho Omega has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to more than 100 high school graduates in the Kansas City metropolitan area, who then attend and graduate from historically black colleges and universities, Ivy League institutions and other prestigious academic organizations. The chapter guided these students to success via their participation in the sorority’s signature programs for youth, including HBCU for Life, ASCEND SM, Emerging Young Leaders, and Ivy AKAdemy. The Little Black Dress Soiree and Emerald Ball, annual fundraising events, inspire the community to support URO’s endeavors.
Things that are worthwhile: Upsilon Rho Omega is a 2014 winner of a Points of Light Foundation grant for a Sunday Supper honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, hosting a program for more than 200 community leaders, residents, students, and activists at Kansas City Kansas Community College. URO’s longtime partnerships with community advocacy and health promotion agencies like the Alzheimer’s Association, Harvesters Food Network, and the Second Baptist Church Community Garden and Playground demonstrate the chapter’s dedication to service to all mankind. Hearts that are loyal and true: regionally, URO shines as an annual awards earner for standards and operations and for program excellence, conference attendance, and scrapbook. Chapter members helm regional leadership roles: former chapter president Lenora A. Ivy served as the Mid-Western Regional Representative to the International Program Committee from 2010-2014 and served on the regional Evaluation and Investigation Committee; Janis Grubbs Cobbs was the Chairman of the Regional Spiritual Oversight Committee and Kelly G. Loeb was Editor-in-Chief of The P.E.A.R.L. Report, the regional newsletter. The chapter hosted the Mid-Western Regional Conferences in Overland Park, KS (2006) and Wichita, KS (2016) and the Cluster B & C Conference in 2018. The chapter hosted the 2020 Founders' Day Observation in Overland Park, KS.
Welcome to a legacy of sisterhood and service...
Former Chapter Presidents
1997-1998 Sena Brewer
1999-2000 Theresa M. Newell
2001-2002 Lenora A. Ivy
2003-2004 Betty Hunter
2004-2006 Rachel D. Inabinett
2007 Diann G. West
2007-2008 Susan Cotton Stephens
2009-2010 Climetine Clayburn
2011-2012 Clarinda Baker
2013-2014 Kelly G. Loeb
2015-2016 Diann G. West
2017-2018 Ashley Hall
2019-2020 Lenora Ivy
Charter Members
*Gayle Newson *Ruby Ivy
Versie L. Black Sena L. Brewer
Climetine Clayburn Mary C. Francis
Lucinda Herman Delores C. Lewis
Gloria L. Mayfield Kimberly A. McCauley-Mitchem
Theresa A. McLoyd Theresa M. Newell
Thelma J. Simmons Katie L. Washington
Diann G. West
*Currently active