Betty Lou Wanderer has been an active, involved sorority alumna for almost seven decades. Initiated in 1948, she has been a Gamma Phi Beta—and a sorority woman—for 69 years. In those 69 years has been a lifetime of service. She has served the sorority on both the international and local levels, working with collegians and alumnae. She has served Panhellenic as a Philadelphia Area Alumnae Panhellenic officer, committee chair, and delegate. She has served the community through her church, the Girl Scouts, and many other organizations. What is most impressive is that she has done so consistently and faithfully for close to 70 years.

 

Betty Lou has been involved with sorority life as a collegiate, as a recent graduate finding friends in alumnae groups in unfamiliar cities, as a mother with young children who found time for volunteer work, as a working woman who balanced a career with a passion for the Panhellenic ideal of service to society, and as a retiree who has used her “golden years” to continue to take on leadership roles in Gamma Phi Beta, her church and her community.

 

Betty Lou has sustained Gamma Phi Beta’s Philadelphia West alumnae group. She has held multiple offices including president, vice president and treasurer. Her ability to reach out to and to relate to sisters both young and old has strengthened the chapter. Thanks in large part to her inspiration, enthusiasm, and unflagging efforts, Gamma Phi Beta Philadelphia West Suburban Alumnae chapter is going strong. She is the glue that holds the chapter together.

 

Like all of us, Betty Lou has experienced life’s ups and downs. Yet even in difficult times, her commitment to Gamma Phi Beta and her sisters has never wavered. And when any of her sisters is going through adversity, Betty Lou is there, offering her support. In good times and bad, she has been to each of us a true and constant friend.

 

Gamma Phi Beta international sorority has also recognized Betty Lou’s dedication. She is the recipient of many awards, including Gamma Phi Beta’s prestigious International Service Roll Citation given “for long, devoted and constructive service to the local alumnae chapter and the international sorority.”

 

Gamma Phi Beta's open motto is “To promote the highest type of womanhood.” Betty Lou Wanderer not only exemplifies the highest type of womanhood; she has exemplified the highest type of Panhellenic womanhood—for 69 years.