Theta Mu Zeta members receive awardsThe Theta Mu Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority recognized some of its members for their many years of service during the Founders’ Day Awards Banquet on Jan. 15 at the Summit Club in Longview.
The keynote speaker for the event was Tunesia Benard, East Texas state director of the southern region of Zeta Phi Beta. She has been a member for 25 years.
Those recognized include Barbara Jackson, 50 years, Crystal Dove Award; Latitia Wilson, 50 years, Crystal Dove Award; Wilma Jamerson, 49 years, Pearl Award; Susan Moon, 45 years, Pearl Award; and Adrienne Newhouse, 38 years, Diamond Award.
Jackson pledged Zeta Phi Beta Sorority during the 1972 spring semester at Texas College in Tyler. After college, Jackson worked as a county extension agent for the Texas Agricultural Extension Service in Linden for five years. She spent 30 years in the classroom as a teacher and mentor in the Paul H. Pewitt and Mount Pleasant school districts before retiring in 2012. She later returned to the classroom and is a special education reading teacher in the Daingerfield ISD.
Wilson became a member of Zeta Phi Beta in 1973 as a charter member of the Alpha Epsilon Chapter at East Texas State University in Commerce. She has been an active member of her local graduate chapter, Theta Mu Zeta, in Longview for more than 35 years and has held various positions in the chapter. She has worked for Pittsburg ISD, Marshall ISD and Longview ISD as a teacher, instructional technology specialist, assessment coordinator and a director. She recently retired after 49 years of service in education.
Jamerson, along with four other sorority members – Grace Armstrong, Mavis Bailey, Evalonia Barrett Bolton and Nerline Faber, established the Theta Mu Zeta Graduate Chapter of Longview in June 1976. She retired from the teaching profession after 46 years of service as a teacher and administrator in the Longview, Marshall and Tyler Independent School Districts. She was field supervisor for East Texas Baptist University in Marshall and the University of Texas-Tyler.
Moon has served as president of the Theta Undergraduate Chapter at Wiley College and as president of the Theta Mu Zeta Graduate Chapter in Longview. She also served as the secretary of the Upsilon Zeta Chapter in Marshall. She has worked in the Marshall and Longview school districts as a math teacher, third and fourth grade teacher and as an elementary school counselor. She has received Teacher of the Year and Counselor of the Year awards. Moon recently retired after 42 years of service in education.
Newhouse became a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Theta Mu Zeta Graduate Chapter in 1984. After being employed with SWEPCO for 23 years, Newhouse pursued a certification in special education at Stephen F. Austin State University. She taught at Foster Middle School and later Longview High School and retired in May 2014. In the years since joining the Theta Mu Zeta chapter, Newhouse has served as treasurer, president and on various committees.
