For the third time, New Orleans plays host to the Delta Sigma Theta National Convention; this year's 50th National Convention takes place July 29 through August 4. National Conventions were held in New Orleans back in 1979 and 1998.

"We are a city that knows how to take care of its guests and our members recognize that," said National President Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre. "Hospitality is key and definitely a part of our Southern charm; what's not to love about New Orleans?"

Delta Sigma Theta, a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African-American community, was founded on January 13, 1913, at Howard University by 22 young women. Today, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is the largest African-American Greek-lettered sorority in the world.

The event is slated to bring more than 10,000 attendees; giving a jolt to what is typically a slow period for tourism and contourism and conventions in the city.

"This great gathering will have a financial impact on this city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and an area now reeling from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico." Butler-McIntyre added.

"With the recent oil spill, there was some concern- initially," New Orleans Alumnae Chapter President Jacqueline T. Dennison said. "But we've assured our sorors that they won't notice a difference. The atmosphere, the food-it's all the same as they knew it from when they come before."

The event allows Butler-McIntyre, who is the sorority's 24th national president, to serve as hostess. She is a New Orleans native; a Dillard University graduate who is currently director of Human Resources for Jefferson Parish Public Schools.

"There's not one word that can describe what I'm feeling." Butler-McIntyre told The Louisiana Weekly. "It's one of the best feelings that anyone who holds the position of national president of any organization can have. To have an event of this nature in my own town; I'm so excited that 14,000 of my sisters are coming to my house! I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival."

Though there are several activities planned to keep sorors and their guests busy as the organization celebrates its 50th National Convention, the first priority, according to Butler-McIntyre, is the business agenda of the sorority.

"Once that's taken care of, however, we do know how to have a good time," she adds.

Actor/Comedian Bill Bellamy will host this year's Greek Step Show, and headlining the Signature Gala, is Funk/R&B legend Chaka Khan and Gap Band front man, Charlie Wilson.

The gala is dedicated to honorary member and former Commission on Arts and Letters member, Lena Horne, who died earlier this year.

The convention will also include a Gospel Gala, which will feature Mary Mary along with Smokie Norful.

"We are a sorority that's built on Christian principles and could not convene without giving honor and praise to God, who makes all things possible. So, we will lift our hands and hearts in praise." Butler-McIntyre said.

Giving back is near and dear to the hearts of the women of Delta Sigma Theta. Friday, July 30, the group will hold IMPACT Day, which stands for Inspiring and Mobilizing Public Service Advocates for Community Transformations. "We have set up 22 service projects that our members and community volunteers can participate in by sharing their time, talent and skills or through donating school supplies or tennis shoes for those in need or clothes for men and women to help them in their career efforts."

Butler-McIntyre explained. "There are also opportunities for them to make tax-deductible financial contributions to help a New Orleans non-profit group."

The local chapter, like chapters across the world, lives by the mantra-A Sisterhood Called to Serve-

In New Orleans, Delta Sigma Theta has partnered with several community organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and served as hosts for local political forums and health summits.

Known to most New Orleanians, the local chapter holds a Debutante cotillion, in which members sponsor young women who may not have the opportunity to make their debut with an established social club in the city.

"Many members of Delta Sigma Theta have donated shoes and gowns, sometimes from their daughters, so that these young ladies can come and choose a gown to wear,"  Jacqueline Den­nison said.

"I am very excited to gather with my extended sisterhood family," said Tenisha Stevens, a native and Dillard and Southern University grad. "I look forward to all of them flooding our great city with their warmth, love and of course service to our city which is still in the midst of recovery. "

During the national convention, Delta Sigma Theta will also host the EMBODI Conference, (empowering males to build opportunities for developing independence).

"EMBODI is my signature program that was launched in this first term," Butler-McIntyre told The Louisiana Weekly. "It targets 13 to 18 year old males. The focus of EMBODI is to prepare our young men for adulthood and to be proper partners for our young ladies by educating and enlightening them in the areas of education, healthy lifestyles and financial fitness. On Aug. 29, 240 young men will spend the day hearing and interacting with speakers and presenters here in the city. The conference will be simulcast to 22 locations throughout the country where alumnae chapters have partnered with us to provide the program to the young men in their cities."

A ceremony is also slated to honor beloved soror, the late Dr. Dorothy Height; attendees are asked to bring their favorite hats.

"All my life I'd heard her name through my mother's affiliation with the National Conference of Negro Women and then through becoming a Delta," Butler-McIntyre said. "Not only was she a great woman, a great leader and civil rights activists, she was a great Delta. She had to be the one to read me the oath of office. I felt a kinship with her that I will never forget."

What started as a vision shared by 22 ambitious Howard University students, has paved the way for what has grown to be the single largest African-American women's organization in the country. Since its founding in 1913, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has grown into a sisterhood linking more than 200,000 members operating in over 900 chapters throughout the United States and beyond-reaching women as far as Germany, Japan, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Korea and the U.S. Virgin Islands. During a time in which our nation was rampant with racial discrimination and gender inequality, these women; armed with a vision of sisterhood, scholarship and service, joined forces and provided support to the underserved, fueled participation in the establishment of positive public policy and began to provide effective solutions for issues impacting the Black community.

According to the sorority's rich history, Less than two months after the sorority's founding, the Delta Sigma Theta women began their political activism by participating in the historic 1913 Women's Suffrage March on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Reportedly, Delta Sigma Theta's 22 founders marched with honorary member Mary Church Terrell under the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority banner on the day prior to Woodrow Wilson's inauguration because they believed that Black women needed the right to vote to protect against sexual exploitation, promote quality education, assist in the work force, and empower their race.

"Deltas are dedicated, educated women who provide service and who hold the true meaning of "sisterhood" in their hearts." Tenisha Stevens told The Louisiana Week­ly. "The most important factor that helped me to decide if this was the right organization was service. Giving back to the community is very important to me; we must go back down that road we traveled and help our fellow brothers and sisters and offer words of encouragement and service to help them along their journey. I am truly blessed to be a part of this great sisterhood."

Standing on the shoulders of giants, the women of Delta Sigma Theta continue to innovate and make a difference in the communities in which they serve.

"I have been a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. since 1973," Butler-McIntyre added.

"I pledged the Beta Gamma Chapter at Dillard University as a sophomore when I was 17 years old. This sorority has helped shape me and mold me into the woman that I am now and into the woman that I am becoming through the virtues and values that are taught by this great sisterhood."

Noted sorors include Founder of the National Council of Negro Women, Mary McLeod Bethune, Political trailblazer Barbara Jordan, former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun, BET news anchor Jacque Reid and actress Keshia Knight-Pulliam of The Cosby Show. Noted local members of Delta Sigma Theta include former state Senator Diana Bajoie, Judge Linda Van Davis, Attorney Hattie Broussard, and Gloria Moultrie, Vice Chancellor of Southern University at New Orleans.

"This is also an opportunity for me to highlight and spotlight this great city to the world. Our membership consists of women from all over the world," Butler-McIntyre said. "Many were here with us when we hosted the convention in 1998 and this will be the first time, post-Katrina, that they will see it. And they'll know that we're still a city that cares about its people and its guests."

At the convention, CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien will feature the documentary "New Orleans Rising," a story of hope reignited in a landmark middle-class African-American neighborhood in New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Butler-McIntyre, along with National Treasurer Carolyn Elaine Lewis, will share personal stories about the city they call home.

"And as we move toward our 5th year and still see things undone, it can be disheartening but there's the other side, "Butler-McIntyre said,  "…the tenacity of the people who live in this great city; that just makes me smile."

For more information on convention events, go the national website: www.deltasigmatheta.org.

This article was originally published in the July 26, 2010 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper