Convention 1915: Pacific Grove, California
The 30th Convention was the first to be held away from a college campus. August 25-28, 1915, sisters gathered at the YMCA Conference Center – now called the Asilomar Conference Grounds – in Pacific Grove, California. At this Convention, several important advancements were made by the Sorority, including the trademark for the badge being approved and the Endowment Fund being created.
A contest was put into motion during this Convention to select a crest for Gamma Phi Beta. Several designs were submitted for the competition and Gertrude Comfort Morrow (California-Berkeley, 1913), a graduate of the School of Architecture at the University of California and a Phi Beta Kappa, submitted the design chosen by the Convention body. This design, which Gamma Phi Beta now refers to as their crest or coat of arms, remains in use to this day.
The banquet was held at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco and on the last evening of Convention, Gamma Phi Beta held its first model Initiation. The first candidates ever to be initiated at a Convention were Jeanette Dyer (California-Berkeley, 1915) and Elender Wills (California-Berkeley, 1915); Kanena Mackenzie (Minnesota-Twin Cities, 1915); and Helen Humphrey (Colorado State, 1915).