A Memphis trailblazer is being honored by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in response to her decades of history-making service.
On August 17, Ms. Velma Lois Jones was honored by Phi Lambda Omega Chapter members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. with a bench dedication and unveiling at LeMoyne-Owen College, WMC reports. The community pioneer was celebrated for her years of leadership, including serving as the former Alpha Kappa Alpha International Parliamentarian, the 13th South Eastern Regional Director of the organization, and the first woman elected President of the NAACP Memphis Branch.
While on the LeMoyne-Owen Board of Trustees, Ms. Jones was named Parliamentarian after becoming the longest-serving National Alumni President in the organization’s history. As an educator with Memphis City Schools, Ms. Jones served on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She was the first African American teacher elected President of the Tennessee Education Association.
Phi Lambda Omega Chapter members stressed the importance of honoring trailblazers like Ms. Jones for their groundbreaking contributions to the local community.
“This event is so important because it’s important that we understand the work that has gone before us,” a Phi Lambda Omega Chapter member told Local Memphis. “We wouldn’t be able to do the things that we do or stand where we stand had it not been for people like Soror Velma Lois Jones.”
“So it is important that we not only recognize their contributions but also make a permanent mark of their contributions. And we’ve done that at LeMoyne Owens College today,” she added.
The bench dedication comes one month ahead of Ms. Jones’ 90th birthday.
Bench dedications symbolize that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. has celebrated great service leaders by giving them their flowers for their respected contributions. Last August, the Psi Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. hosted a commemorative marker and bench dedication ceremony to honor Ms. Cynthia J. Finch, the 22nd South Eastern Regional Director. Sorors celebrated Ms. Finch’s outstanding work in the local Tennessee community and within the sorority.
