Message from the president

​Dear DKG MD Sisters,
Ladies, we are half way though the biennium and time is moving quickly.  Since seeing you at the conference in May, Sally Nazelrod, Omicron, Gwen Cooley, Delta and I have met with 2026-2028 state presidents for training on zoom. It was a good day and I hope that presidents and all members of your chapters will continue to contact me with your questions.   Thank you all for attending.  There were 12 of 18 presidents in attendance, but most of those who were absent had been presidents of their chapters one or more times already.
The other big event of the summer was attending the DKG International Workshop in Aurora, CO from June 29th – July 4th.  I was pleased to have 5 other DKG MD members in attendance; Dr. Terri Showers, Lambda, 1st Vice-President; Jean Marie Hofstetter, Omega, 2nd Vice-President; Sharon Darling, Nu (along with her wonderful husband, Ernie), Parliamentarian; Sally Nazelrod, Omicron, Executive Secretary; and Christy Mullins, Alpha Beta, Finance Chair. It was a great week full of meetings and shared time with friends.
Dr. Beverly Hall-Maughan, DKG President, chose her theme: Elevate Potential, Embrace Change and Empower All. At each event during the week, various members gave beautiful inspirations relevant to the theme. Each message was given in her native language and translated onscreen in English. At each meeting, there was a message for all of us to remember:  Membership begins with me. We even sang it.  The theme was apparent through all aspects of the convention. Dr. Beverly led all meetings with grace and passion. And that was not always an easy job.  During 6+ business meetings, most of the time was spent reviewing and voting on the Proposed Bylaws. It was a tedious task.  The Constitution and Bylaws were revised into one document so members spent time reviewing each line of the new document, the Proposed Bylaws.   There were some amendments to the document but for the most part, the entire set of Proposed Bylaws were approved as is. At the end of the week, DKG had a newly revised set of Bylaws.   The Mission Statement and Vision Statement were left unchanged.  There were some changes to the Seven Purposes as presented below;

The Purposes of DKG are:
1.to unite women educators of the world in genuine fellowship;
2.to honor women who have given or who evidence a potential for distinctive service in any field of education;
3.to advance the professional interest and position of women in education;
4.to initiate, endorse, and support desirable legislation or other suitable endeavors in the interests of education and of women educators;
5.to endow awards to aid members in pursuing professional and person development and to provide grants to non-member educators;
6.to stimulate the professional and personal development of members and to encourage their participation in relevant programs of action: and
7.to inform the members of current economic, social, political, and educational issues so that they may participate effectively to support a sustainable world society. 
 
DKG will provide the procedures for fulfilling these purposes in a new document; Guidelines for the Administration of Policies and Procedures (GAPP). Members of the DKG International Executive Board will be able to make amendments to GAPP.
Some of the changes include: In addition to Active, Reserve, Collegiate, State, and Honorary Members there are 2 new classifications of members; Global members and Affiliates.  Global members are individuals who join DKG International and are not affiliated with any state or local chapter.  Global membership is available to those residing in areas where there is no existing state organization or local chapter.  Affiliates do not meet membership requirements but are committed to the mission of DKG. The second major change in the Bylaws includes a convention during even years and a State Organization Leadership Training in odd years.  There will be no more conferences.   The first special event will be the Centennial Celebration in Austin, Texas (July 25 - 28,2029) Start saving your pennies for this special occasion, open to all members. 

During the week, there were some special honors awarded. Nita Scott, former DKG International Executive Director, was awarded the Achievement Award.  The 2026 Educators Book Award was given to Sue Stewart Ade, a 50 year DKG member from Illinois.  Her historical fiction book, entitled “Displaced: A Family without a Country” is inspired by the true story of a Lithuanian family who flee their country just before WWII. They fled to protect their children only to find that they may lose them again.                                                                                                                                                     New officers were elected during the week and installed at the banquet. Our dear Maryland sister, Sharon Darling, Nu, made a strong showing for Northeast Region Nominating Committee member but we are sorry to say that another was elected to that position. We are all so proud of you, Sharon!  
Some of the New DKG International Society officers include
 President                                                                Connie Rensink, Texas
1st Vice-President                                                    Carol Herzog, Indiana                                                                 (former 2022-2024 Northeast Regional Director)   
2nd Vice-President                                                    Teresa Cowan, North Carolina
Northeast Regional Director                                      Linda Adcock, Illinois
DKG Member at Large (2026-2030)       Christina Elisabeth (Beth) Scheiber, Oklahoma
Northeast Region Nominating Committee Member            R. Margaret Trybus, Illinois
DKGIEF Board of Directors                  Eileen Little, Pennsylvania
  Rachelle Tome, Maine       Emily Kelley, Louisiana              Donna Knoell, Kansas
 US Forum Steering Committee Chair                                     Dr. April Coleman
 US Forum NE Region Steering Committee Representative    Sharon Scheidigger, Ohio
At the luncheon, members made donations of more than $2000 to support the Emergency Fund.  It is never too early to begin planning for the next convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:  July 4 – 8, 2028 (almost in our own backyard).
 Let’s begin this second year of the biennium with fresh energy from our many newly elected chapter presidents.  We welcome each of you to the DKG MD State Executive Board on September 19th.  Together, we’ll build DKG MD State leadership that uplifts chapter members and leaders alike. The potential, the passion, and the spark for DKG Maryland chapter leadership continue to be present. Please know my door is always open to chapters and their leaders. Your chapters and DKG MD continue to ROCK!
 I’m looking forward to visiting all chapters. Contact me for a visit (or a second visit).

A special thank you to Xi and Rho members!  Your presence at meetings was always appreciated.  They offered many gifts to each of us during their time as chapters. I am hoping to see their members transfer to other chapters. My chapter, Alpha, is pleased to accept 3 Xi members.  Several XI members have also transferred to Mu and Omicron and several Rho members have transferred to Omega.
We are pleased to announce that the Convention Committee (Hostesses are Alpha, Zeta, Mu, and Tau.)  will soon be meeting in full force. Members of these chapters should soon be hearing from Jean Marie Hofstetter, Omega, the Convention Chair. The convention will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 5015 Campbell Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21236. It is just off I-95 (exit 67) at White Marsh.  Room costs will be $119 plus county and state taxes. Save the date: April 16-18, 2027.
Another save the date: Society Workshop, Saturday, November 7th at Oak Crest. If you are interested in presenting a workshop, please contact Dr. Terri Showers, Lambda.  She will be looking for presenters for both the Society Workshop and the DKG MD State Convention.
Let’s stay connected, lift each other up, and keep pushing for the progress our state, our chapters, our members, our profession—and our students—deserve. Many of you will be into the swing of the 2026-2027 school year very soon and I wish you a great year.  Thank you for giving your best to Maryland students.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at the Executive Board meeting on September 19th.   Welcome all, but especially new presidents.
Fondly,
Your DKG Sister
Janey Snyder

May 12, 2026
​

Dear DKG MD sisters,
​
The first year of the biennium is almost over. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed. 
Just wanted to offer a remind of some upcoming events.

Maryland Chapter began a new biennium on July 1, 2026. Training for officers was offered by Sally Nazelrod, Omicron, Gwen Cooley, Delta and me.  We offered  training to all new chapter presidents on Thursday, June 24th at 10 am on Zoom.  All chapter presidents are invited but we hope that new presidents will plan to attend.  There will be materials pertinent to your biennium that will be shared with you at that time and will be sent to you by email before that date. Reminders with a Zoom link will also be shared with you by email. We hope you plan to attend.
Presidents, mark your calendar now, September 19th is the date for your first executive board meeting. The state officers and committee chairs look forward to meeting our new and returning chapter presidents.

Chapter presidents, if you have not submitted Form 110, which lists all 2026-2028 chapter officers, please do so as soon as possible. Now that you have a little more free time, our state committees are always looking for additional members.  Please consider joining this team during the second year of the biennium.



I am hoping that some of you will still plan to attend the International Convention in Aurora, CO, June 30- July 4, 2026.  For more information, login to your DKG account at www.dkg.org and click on the event tab.  You will find registration information as well as hotel information.  As of today, in addition to me, we have 5 members planning to attend: Dr. Terri Showers, Jean Marie Hofstetter, Sally Nazelrod, Sharon Darling and Christy Mullins.  Please let me know if you plan to attend. I am looking forward to a great week, and we all know "the more the merrier," so consider planning to attend.



Thank you for a great first year of the biennium and looking forward to an even better 2026-2027.

Regards,
Janey Snyder, Alpha
DKG MD State President 2025-2027