MOULTRIE — The Thomasville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. celebrates its Annual Founders Day Program on Sunday, Jan. 23, where Barbara Jones Stewart of Moultrie will be the guest speaker.

The program will be held at Silver Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Hwy. 319 South, in Coolidge, at 3 p.m., where the Rev. Warren C. Hope is pastor. The Christopher Roberson Gospel Choir of Mother Easter Baptist Church of Moultrie and the Collegiate and Chancel Choirs of First Baptist Church of Thomasville, Ga., will render musical selections.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is a private, non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide assistance and support through its established service programs in communities throughout the world. The sorority is a sisterhood of over 200,000 predominately black, college-educated women with more than 900 established chapters in the United States, England, Japan (Tokyo and Okinawa), Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Republic of Korea.

The history of the sorority dates back to 1913, when 22 bold and ambitious students at Howard University in Washington, D.C., founded Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Their fundamental principles were to promote academic excellence, promote scholarships, provide support to the under-served, educate and stimulate participation in the establishment of positive public policy, and to highlight issues and afford solutions to problems in their communities. These principles were to be carried out in the organization’s Five Point Programmatic Thrust: Economic Development, Educational Development, International Awareness & Involvement, Physical & Mental Health, and Political Awareness and Involvement. The vision of the founders paved the way for what has become the single largest African-American women’s organization in this country.

Being cognizant of the mind-set of Delta’s Founders, in 1976, five mission-minded Thomas countians (Carolyn Henry, Mae Frances Bailey, Annie Jewel Thomas, Frances Williams, and Willard Ward) collaborated to initiate and promote Delta’s principles in the Thomasville area. After many days of deliberation and investigations, two of the members joined the Tallahassee Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. and worked for two years to gain insight to establish a chapter in South Georgia.

With the assistance of the Tallahassee Alumnae Chapter, three Thomasville area ladies, Elizabeth Alderman, Juanita LaVerne McCant, and Helen Trutlin, pledged and became members of the Tallahassee Chapter with a mission in mind. Their goal was to attain a specified number of Sorors who were destined to establish a chapter in the Thomasville area.

On July 28, 1979, their aspiration came to fruition. The Thomasville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was chartered under the direction of KatWeen C. Wright, Southern regional director, and Alexis Roberts, regional representative.

The chapter seems to have been “very blessed” to have had enormous community support throughout its 32 years of existence. That is why the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, “A Sisterhood Called to Serve: Transforming Lives, Impacting Communities,” continue to pay tribute to their beloved founders.

Stewart, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Jones of Bainbridge, Ga., is a graduate of Paine College in Augusta, Ga., and Valdosta State University. She is a tenured educator, who served as a special education teacher,  coordinator and director. As director of the program, Stewart was responsible for 14 schools, which served more than 1,000 exceptional students and a staff of seven plus teachers and additional staff members.

She became principal of Stringfellow Elementary School in 1997 while the school was on the Needs Improvement List for Title One schools. Under her leadership, the school was removed and was recognized as a Distinguished School for making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). She and members of her staff were invited to a special recognition given by former State School Superintendent Kathy Cox in 2006.

Stewart is a member of Mother Easter Baptist Church, where she serves as youth Sunday school superintendent, sings in the Chancel Choir, and is past president of the Missionary Society. She has served as past director of the Miss Afro Scholarship Program, sponsored by Friendship Baptist Church; served on the board of directors for the American Red Cross and Colquitt County HIV Awareness Team; organized city-wide marches against crime and violence; and established a Citizen Patrol with Moultrie Police Department. These are but a few of her involvements throughout the years.

Because her work extended beyond the school system and into the community, she was named the 1997 Woman of the Year by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce.

Stewart is a member of the Valdosta Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she participates and is involved in many Delta projects. She currently tutors and works with students in small groups.

She is the wife of former coach, Samuel Stewart, The Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year for 2003.

The program will conclude with the traditional candle lighting ceremony and medley of Greek hymns.

Refreshments will be served in the fellowship hall of the church.