Genesis:

At the 1953 Boule in St. Louis, Mo., members of the sorority voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that would realign the South Atlantic Region and the South Eastern Region. 

The South Atlantic Region, at the time, included Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The South Eastern region was composed of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. The 1953 vote reduced the size of the South Eastern region and created the South Atlantic Region that we know today, made up of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. 

A. Cathryn Johnson of Atlanta, Ga., had been elected South Eastern Regional Director, but was appointed to lead the South Atlantic Region after the vote, while Lois Daniels of Nashville, Tenn., was appointed to lead the South Eastern Region. 

Other directors who helped shape the South Atlantic Region’s early years include Maude Brown Porter, Carolyn Blanton, C. Russell Harris, Portia Trenholm, Collye L. Riley, Arnetta G. Wallace, Mayme E. Williams, and A. Cathryn Johnson (listed in order).

The First Report:

The first South Atlantic Regional report to the Boule was made in December 1954 in Nashville, Tenn., by Regional Director A. Cathryn Johnson.

She reported that the new Undergraduate Cup, named ‘The Mayme E. Williams Cup’ for the former South Eastern Regional Director, was awarded to Gamma Tau Chapter, Bethune Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Fla. The Graduate Cup was named ‘The Marie Woolfolk Taylor Cup’ for one of the sorority’s founders and was awarded to Delta Omicron Omega Chapter, of Orlando, Fla.

Directors who succeeded Johnson include Georgia Schanck, who was appointed to complete Johnson’s term. She was elected in 1958 and became an Ivy Beyond the Wall on April 29, 1959, while serving her term. International President Marjorie H. Parker asked Mayme E. Williams to serve temporarily until the appointment of Sujette F. Crank as the Regional Director. Crank was later elected by the region.

International Presidents:

The South Atlantic Region takes great pride in being home to three former International Presidents:  23rd International President Mary Shy Scott of Atlanta, Ga. (1990-1994);  25th International President Norma Solomon White of Jacksonville, Fla. (1998-2002), and  28th International President Carolyn House Stewart of Tampa, Fla. (2010-2014).