We had the privilege of attending the 2015 Midwest District Convention March 27th-29th, 2015 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 6 members of the chapter were able to make the trip, and had a whole lot of fun! Laura Cooke, who is our current president, was re-elected the District Vice President of Special Programs for the new term! Also, our chapter came home with some awards! The chapter as a whole was awarded the Chapter Achievement Award, and Nicole McMorris was awarded the American Beauty Red Rose Award! We were able to participate in many different sessions, and we also sold Tau Beta Sigma spirit jerseys! It was a great weekend, and a great way to meet many sisters from across the district!

Our chapter has been working on earning our stripes for the Focus on Five Campaign. This past week, we earned our black stripe by posting a National Intercollegiate Band poster, snapping a pic of it, and tagging the National VPSP. We have also earned our red stripe, and are working on getting speakers to come and help us earn our others!

The stripes and how you can earn them are as follows:

White: Submit for Composing Our Future Competition

Blue: Host Women in Music speaker in our chapter

Green: Scouting for Music

Black: Post NIB poster on bulletin board, tweet it

Left Lyre: Hosting recording session for NIB

Center: Women in Music speaker to our chapter and have it open to the School of Music/others on campus

Right: 75% of chapter auditions for NIB

We are working our hardest to put our name out there and get as many of these parts collected as possible before National Convention in July!

The last few months have been very crazy for our core of officers, with the majority of the offices being refilled with new sisters. Here is our current core of officers! (Of course, after elections at the end of April, these are likely to change!

President: Laura Cooke

Vice President: Mary Beth Hawley

Treasurer: Miranda Schloman

Recording and Corresponding Secretary: Maddie Hirsch

Parliamentarian: Joe Hayden

Assistant Membership Educator: Adrianne Tucker

Historian and Alumni Liaison: Erin McCann

Our chapter has gone through many changes, but it is headed in the right direction!

Favorite memory as an active?

I had a blast when I got to lead fun night with the sweet sixteen pledge class. I loved getting to know all of the PMs better and share such a fun experience with them. My favorite part of that night was teaching them the Tau Beta chant.

Favorite college band memory?

My favorite band memory was going to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day with Marching Mizzou. It was so cool to go visit a different country with so many close friends and sisters. My favorite part of that trip was getting to visit Blarney Castle and explore the gorgeous gardens there.

Why did you join?

I joined Tau Beta Sigma because of the friendships I saw between active members. I also had a few active members talk me into going to a bowling recruitment night - I had a blast and never looked back.

When did you join?

I joined in Fall of 2011, with the 9.

Did you hold any leadership positions?

I was social chair for a year.

What was your favorite part of the PM process?

My favorite part was Mom Hunt and all of the bonding moments between the PM's and their moms. I loved that process both as a PM with my wonderful mom, Sara, and as a mom with my daughter, Rachel, and my son, Zach! I think that it is so much fun to reveal who the PM's moms are with a yarn maze.

What are you doing now?

I am currently teaching 5 sections of Geometry at Battle High School in Columbia, MO with the most amazing students in the world. I have also been volunteering at a variety of school events, including selling tickets at Battle football games and supervising the homecoming dance. I am also sponsoring a new Rubik's Cube club at Battle. In addition, I am currently applying to different online programs so that I can start earning my Master's Degree in Education.

Has TBS helped you in any way in the "real world"?

Tau Beta introduced me to several different people over the years and those experiences have definitely helped me relate a lot to my students. In addition, the sisters I gained from Tau Beta have helped keep my stress level at a manageable level throughout my first year of teaching.

What do you miss about being an active?

I really miss the social events. It was so nice to get to take a break from my other responsibilities to go hang out with my sisters for a while.

Website: zetaomegatbs.weebly.com
Location: 202 Loeb Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65201
Phone: 573-535-8572
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MUTauBeta?fref=ts
Twitter: @MUTauBeta