Hundreds of people will converge on Clinton and the surrounding area this weekend as a national fraternity holds its annual district Council meeting locally.
The Sixth District of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity will be holding its annual Council meeting in Clinton March 15-17. The meeting is anticipated to bring 350 to 400 fraternity members to the community. Mayor Lew Starling has been asked to speak to the group on Sunday and will present a welcoming resolution expressing appreciation to Omega Psi Phi’s Kappa Rho Chapter for selecting Clinton as the site of its meeting.
The City Council approved the resolution in anticipation of the event.
“I look forward to that group and that engagement,” said Starling.
City officials noted that the meeting’s attendants will bring a positive economic impact to the community, as is already being seen with local hotels being filled up leading up to the event.
“The mayor’s been asked to speak to the group on Sunday morning, and we felt it appropriate for him to present a welcoming resolution to the group since they’re bringing so many people to our community to be here for the weekend,” said city manager John Connet. “I believe all the hotel rooms in the community are booked up here and also at I-40 near Warsaw. Through the (Sampson County Convention and Visitors Bureau), we’ll be providing information and gift bags to the fraternity.”
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. is the first international fraternal organization to be founded on the campus of a historically black college. Founded in 1911 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., the fraternity is composed of more than 700 chapters and approximately 13 districts.
Its impact has been felt across the country, including in the Carolinas and in Clinton.
“The city of Clinton will be honored to host the Council meeting of the Sixth District of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, which consists of chapters located in North and South Carolina,” the resolution states. “We recognize that the Sixth District of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity has contributed much to the youth of (the) City of Clinton, Sampson County and the surrounding area through such initiatives as a scholarship program, Boys’ Camp, Talent Hunt Program and other educational opportunities.”
Multiple Sclerosis Week
In addition to its resolution honoring Omega Psi Phi’s visit, the Council also adopted a proclamation declaring this week as “Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week” for the city of Clinton.
March 11-17 has been designated as MS Awareness Week by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The week serves as a national initiative to bring volunteers and communities together in recognizing the impact and challenges of the disabling disease of the central nervous system.
An autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, MS interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and the body.
With the adoption of the proclamation, Starling and the City Council joined many other municipalities across the state and nation in supporting the National MS Society and raising awareness of its efforts.
The National MS Society helps each person through its 50-state network address the challenges of living with MS by funding cutting-edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education and providing programs and services that help people with MS and their families move their lives forward.
“The National MS Society charges individuals to take action to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis in their communities,” the city’s resolution states. “National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now — to move together toward a world free of Multiple Sclerosis.”
Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 121 or via email at cberendt@civitasmedia.com.
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