HAPA

Houston Alumnae Panhellenic Association

ANNA K. CHASE
HAPA President 1930-1932

 


Anna Kathryn Told Chase (Mrs. Carroll A.), Delta Zeta, served as the first President of the newly organized Houston Alumnae Panhellenic Association (HAPA).  In 1930, nineteen sororities were represented by the organization, known then as the "Houston City Panhellenic" or "City Panhellenic of Houston".  Anna K. Chase served two terms.

Under her leadership, Houston Panhellenic members raised money for the Children's Theatre by giving puppet shows, and distributed baskets of food and clothing to needy families.  Mrs. Chase was a founding member of the Houston Alumnae Chapter of Delta Zeta, and served as its President in 1928-1929.  She helped organize the undergraduate chapter of Delta Zeta at the University of Houston.

Every year the HAPA Foundation awards a scholarship titled "The Anna K. Chase Scholarship."  From 1987 to the present, over half a million dollars has been given in HAPF scholarships to collegiate women.

 

Anna K. Chase, taken in 1944, photography by Gittings

Anna K. Chase

Home Front Dynamo
By Frances Fair

 


Reprinted courtesy of The LAMP of Delta Zeta, May 1944

She is a slight, trim woman, quiet-mannered and unhurried, as she moves from one constructive activity to another in her daily rounds of service to her community and to her nation.  Few Houstonians need an introduction to Anna K. Told Chase because she is as integral a part of the community as the Chamber of Commerce of the Public School Board.  Modest and poised, always non-argumentative, Anna K. Chase is mistress of the art of persuasion.  Without fuss or fury, in the face of concentrated opposition and odds which would seem terrifying to a less determined soul, she gets things done!  There is a tensile strength to the fibre of this women that makes her every difficulty a challenge.

It is axiomatic that "if you want an important thing done, take it to a busy person."  Perhaps that is why so many matters of urgent character are brought to Anna K. Chase.  Her calendar is always full, yet somehow each detail is executed with care and precision.  A look at her typical day would suggest almost omnipresent powers.  She is Vice President of the Travelers Aid;  First Deputy Commissioner of Girl Scouts; a member of the Wartime Service Committee of O.C.D.; a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Harris County War Chest; she serves on the executive committee of Houston's Post War Planning Commission; she is on the newly-formed Red Cross Committee on Information Concerning Prisoners of War.  These are but a few of her many regular activities ... and today her most vital interest is a radio program created and broadcast weekly over Station KPRC, Houston.

Titled "The Home Front Speaks" and sponsored by The Houston Electric Company, this program came into being because Mrs. Chase felt strongly that war-time service on the home front wanted publicizing; that too many citizens were apathetic merely because the public-at-large was not informed of important work being done, or of the opportunities for service awaiting every man, woman and child in the community.  "The Home Front Speaks" is designed to do this job.  It is achieving incredibly successful results in recruiting persons of all ages, ranks and abilities for full or part time volunteer service.

The format of the radio show is extremely simple.  As mistress of ceremonies, Mrs. Chase brings before the microphone each week groups and individuals who describe their activities and invite the public's cooperation.  Booked many weeks ahead of the broadcast, each program fills a timely need.  During the Fourth War Loan Drive, disabled war veterans from McCloskey General Hospital, Temple, Texas, were invited to participate.  They were interviewed concerning their experiences on the battled front, and men made touching and eloquent appeals for support of the Bond campaign.

Other work covered by the series is the Red Cross, the March of Dimes, Boy and Girl Scouting, local and national organizations for youth welfare, service men and women, crippled and underprivileged children and many other agencies and groups devoted to social and civic activities.

Descriptions of the radio program and actual scripts have been circulated all over the nation, and Mrs. Chase is besieged with requests for appearances by individuals and organizations.  Anna K. Chase is proud of the program because of the influence the broadcasts are exerting in strengthening and organizing the home front for community betterment and effective service in the war effort.  In her words, "there can be no victory abroad, until there is victory at home."

 

 


Thank you to Nancy E. Brewer, The LAMP of Delta Zeta, and Delta Zeta
for the photograph, article, and other historical materials.