“Protecting, like the rock, those who enter our fold, a sure help in time of need, enduring to the end of time – this is the wish for Gamma Phi Beta of one of the Founders.” -Eunice Adeline Curtis, 1912 

“The Friend,” Eunice Adeline "Addie" Curtis graduated from Syracuse with a bachelor's degree in music and was an accomplished vocal and instrumental musician. She was the soprano soloist at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Syracuse for 33 years and had a son with her husband, Frank Curtis. Addie was described by others as kind and generous, cheerful, sympathetic and the most charitable person who ever lived. In a word: friend.  

It was Adeline who contributed one of the first symbols of the Sorority – our secret grip. As Addie lived in Syracuse all her life, she stayed in close contact with Alpha Chapter (Syracuse), attending banquets and ‘always taking an interest in the women of the chapter.’ At each Convention, the Sorority honors one chapter with the E. Adeline Curtis Award, honoring excellence in the consistent demonstration of sisterhood, cordial interaction and concern and consideration for others.