Melinda Vance – President

Elected to the Board in 1975 from the Beta Phi Chapter, she has served  in all offices except Secretary/Treasurer.  Melinda served several terms as President from 1981 until 1992 and  as Convention Planner from 1985 until her “retirement” in 1999.  Melinda was re-elected to the Board as President in 2005. Melinda is a 1979 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and  has been employed with National HealthCare Corporation in Murfreesboro as an Administrative Assistant in the accounting department since October of 1997.  She is married to Ralph Vance and has two children – Katie and Ben.  Katie is also a Beta Phi alumni having served as an Outstanding Member and President her senior year. Melinda currently is on the state of Tennessee’s Alzheimer’s Association Board. In her spare time (if any!), she enjoys reading and sewing.

Betsy Stone Long – First Vice-President

Betsy is an initiate of the Omega Chapter. While active in Omega, she served as Recording Secretary, Assistant Pledge Mistress and Rush Chairman for two years. Betsy was voted Most Constructive Senior Member and Outstanding Member. Betsy was elected to the Board of Regents in 2005. She served two terms as Historian, one term as Parliamentarian and is currently serving her second term as First Vice-President. Betsy graduated from Arkansas State University in May 2009 and now teaches 8th grade English at Marion Jr High in Marion, AR and also coaches the Jr High cheerleading squad. She is married to Clifton Long, has two adorable dogs - Macy and Sydney and enjoys reading and being outdoors.

Whitney Waelder - Second Vice-President

Whitney is an initiate of the Lambda Chapter where she served as Assistant Pledge Mistress, Treasurer and Charity Vice-President. After her senior year, Whitney was elected Outstanding Member. At convention 2005, she was named National Outstanding Member and was elected to the National Board as Parliamentarian. Whitney currently serves as the Second Vice-Presdent and National Charity Chair, which she enjoys immensely. She can't wait to begin her teaching career this fall at Monte Cassino in Tulsa, OK as the 6th grade math teacher. She will also coach volleyball and basketball. In her free time, she enjoys watching University of Tulsa athletics and playing with her puppy Fletcher.

Millicent Shankle - Treasurer

Millie currently serves as the National Secretary/Treasurer. In June, 1992, she was elected to the National Board of Regents to serve as the Historian. Other offices held are Editor-in-Chief and Second Vice President. For several years, she  has been appointed as Convention Chairman. The Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs, AR nominated her as one of the Convention Planners to watch in the year 2005. Millie will be celebrating my fifteenth year on the board this summer in my favorite city of New Orleans.

In high school Millie served as the president of her chapter and represented the chapter as outstanding member. Convention that year was at the “grand” Peabody in Memphis and Millie will never forget how nervous she was during the presentation.

Millie is completing her tenth year as a Career/Technology teacher in the Mobile County Public School System and serves as FBLA advisor.

Millie’s undergraduate degree (BBA) is from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Five years ago she completed her masters in the Art of Teaching from Nova Southeastern University. This degree was completed online. Her advice is that you are never too old to reach your goals and that you can be a life long learner.

Millie has been a widow for eight years and her children and grandchildren live close to by. She has two grown daughters, one son-in-law, one granddaughter, and one grandson. Her granddaughter cannot wait to be a DBS. Millie  hopes Mallory will be a member and Brent will be a sponsor. Millie  and Brent  like to work in the yard, and Mallory and Millie  like to shop. In her spare time she  directs weddings and baby sits. She likes to travel, go to the opera, and go to tea parties.

Mary Dudley Hodges - Parliamentarian

Mary Dudley is a third generation Omega member. She served as Recording Secretary of her pledge class, Recording Secretary for the chapter and chapter President. Mary Dudley was voted Most Constructive Junior Member, Outstanding Member and as the recipient of the Jodi Lawson Sisterhood Award. Mary Dudley served as Board Assistant for one year before being elected as Parliamentarian in 2008. Mary Dudley graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in May 2009. She is currently in Graduate School at the U of A to receive her masters in Health Science.

Sloane Taliaferro –Historian and Custodian

Sloane is a recent alumni of the Tau Chapter in Monroe, LA where she served as President her senior year.  Sloane  was Tau’s Outstanding Member and was selected as Delta Beta Sigma’s National Outstanding Member in June 2006. Sloane was elected to the Board of Regents at this same convention and serves as Custodian. Sloane is currently a freshman at Rice University in Houston, TX.   

Rebecca Bedford - Editor-in-Chief

Rebecca is an initiate of the Lambda chapter where she served as Recording and Corresponding Secretary. She was voted Lambda's Outstanding member and received the honor of National Outstanding member in June 2007. At the same convention, she was elected to the National Board of Regents as Historian. Since then she has also served as Custodian and Editor -in-Chief. She is currently at the University of Tulsa majoring in Biochemistry. She is a member of Kappa Delta sorority and is currently serving as Vice-President Operations. After graduation, she plans to go to graduate school to pursue a career in research.