Editing Epsilon Sigma Alpha (section)

== History ==
[[Adelia Prichard]] of Oregon, a national president of [[Business and Professional Women's Foundation|Business and Professional Women's Clubs]] from 1923 to 1925, spearheaded the sorority's organization by proposing a national education and service sorority.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=1929-10-09 |title=Miss Adelia Prichard, Past National President of Business-Professional Women's Club, Talked |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-amarillo-globe-times-miss-adelia-pri/153564301/ |access-date=2024-08-19 |work=The Amarillo Globe-Times |pages=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1929, a group of community-oriented women in [[Jacksonville, Texas]] drafted an organization charter. With ten signatures, a national charter was issued to '''ΕΣΑ''' by the state of Missouri on February 11, 1930. The organization still functions under the original charter but is now incorporated in the state of Colorado.

Prichard was appointed the first national director and spearheaded the sorority's early growth.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=About ESA |url=https://esaphidelta17.tripod.com/id1.html |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=Epsilon Sigma Alpha Phi Delta}}</ref> She also designed the sorority's badge and selected its flower and colors.<ref name=":2" /> She asked prominent women from around the United States to serve as members of the Founder's Chapter and to act as advisors.<ref name=":2" />

The Founders Chapter included:<ref name=":2" />

* Daisy Birchfield; a teacher
* Florence Crawford of Pueblo, Colorado<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=1931-04-27 |title=New Sorority Plans Chapter in Richmond |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/palladium-item-new-sorority-plans-chapte/153562602/ |access-date=2024-08-18 |work=Palladium-Item |location=Richmond, Indiana |pages=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* Pearl Kinman
* Clara Leach
* [[Adelia Prichard]] of Portland, Oregon<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5" />
* Mary Redfield Plummer of Chicago, Illinois<ref name=":3" />
* [[Susan B. Rebhan]] of Cleveland, Ohio<ref name=":3" />
* [[Florence M. Sterling]] of Houston, Texas<ref name=":3" />
* Althea Terry, state president of the Business and Professional Clubs
* [[Phoebe Kerrick Warner]], author and national chairman of the Rural Women's Clubs

The society's first national headquarters was located in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], with a central states divisional office in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]].

Director Sybil Murphy Flaherty organized the first national convention in 1938. Two chapters in Kansas City hosted the convention with about sixty delegates attending. At that time, delegates set up a national advisory council and elected Irene Copeland Lugland of Kansas City as the first national president.

During [[World War II]], the national headquarters sponsored an “Empty Your Purse for Uncle Sam” campaign, one of the first nationally organized activities of the organization. In this door-to-door campaign, members collected metal for recycling into munitions. '''ΕΣΑ''' also collected books and other reading material for distribution to soldiers around the world. Local projects to assist the war effort were encouraged, and many chapters enrolled and sponsored [[Red Cross]] courses to combat local emergencies.

In 1948, a chapter was organized in [[Voorburg|Voorsburg]], [[Netherlands]]. The name of the national advisory council was then changed to the international advisory council. Since then, Epsilon Sigma Alpha chapters have been organized in Germany, Guam, Denmark, Peru, Australia, Mexico, the Philippines, and Scotland.

In 1988 the first collegiate chapter was formed, on the campus of [[Ball State University]]. 
[[File:The_logo_of_Epsilon_Sigma_Alpha.png|thumb|The revised logo now used by many Epsilon Sigma Alpha chapters]]