An article my Churchill colleague, Casey, and I submitted to the national Chi Omega magazine, The Eleusis

For four years, the Chi Omega house on Monroe Street of the Oklahoma State University campus was where I called home. It was a home in every sense of the word – warm, inviting, full of loving friends, supportive people and warm meals. It was where I met some of my best friends, learned to challenge myself and discovered what I could overcome through the bonds of sisterhood.

Upon leaving that safe, secure home in Stillwater, Okla., I ventured to New York City where I wasn’t sure how warm I’d find my new surroundings or my new friends compared to my wonderful experiences as a Chi Omega, but I knew that my time in the Tau Beta house had prepared me for this challenge. Eight years later, I am a thriving New Yorker with a job in public relations and marketing for NBC Sports & Olympics.

My job has taken me all over the world, including to three Olympic Games in Torino, Italy; Beijing, China and Vancouver, Canada in addition to the traveling I do with the NFL for Sunday Night Football. However, it was my experience with the Kentucky Derby where I discovered my Churchill Downs counterpart was a fellow Chi Omega sister.

For three years, Casey and I worked together between Louisville, Ky., and New York City to successfully build a new and innovative marketing approach to NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby by forming partnerships with Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New York,” “Top Chef,” “Flipping Out,” NBC’s TODAY Show, Access Hollywood, CNBC and Weather Channel, among other large media properties. Casey also focuses on building the Derby brand through partnerships such as Mattel’s exclusive, limited edition Kentucky Derby Barbie doll, a Kentucky Derby slot machine, Taste of Derby event raising funds for world hunger relief and the Kentucky Oaks partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure which raised monies for breast cancer awareness. 

All of our work, and that of our colleagues, helped the 2010 Kentucky Derby become the most-watched Kentucky Derby in 21 years, with 16.5 million viewers, topping last year’s record of 16.3 million.

Recently, Casey and I met at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to discuss the upcoming Derby and throughout the conversation realized that we are both Chi Omegas. Casey is from the Lambda Chi chapter at the University of Kentucky. It took three years for us to discover this connection, but now it also seems vastly apparent from day one.  Our instant connection and ability to work well together over the years, in addition to our work ethic, positive attitude, and what turned out to be a sisterly connection enabled us to achieve more than what we each could have done alone or with another partner.

Eight years after leaving the actual Chi Omega home, I was able to find a piece of that home and sisterhood in the most unlikely of places – the male-dominated world of sports. Chi Omega sisters are everywhere, but no matter where, the identifying characteristics of a Chi Omega are always present.