Our History

Southwest Houston City Council was formed in 1971 with 7 chapters as a result of the dream of 28 members of Xi Iota Omicron to expand their circle of sisterhood to include members in other chapters with formation of a council for chapters in Southwest Houston.

At that time, as a member of Houston City Council the chapter attended meetings held in downtown for chapters from all over the huge city of Houston making it very difficult to form relationships outside the chapter.

Under the leadership of Chapter President, Winona LaBrant, a committee was formed to research which chapters had rosters with at least 3/4 of the membership residing south of Westheimer and west of South Post Oak Road. With the approval of Beta Sigma Phi's International Office and the membership of Houston City Council, invitations were issued to those chapters to attend a formation meeting.

The meeting was held at the home of Margaret Chesser and resulted in 7 chapters making the decision to join the newly formed Southwest Houston City Council.

Our Council was a success from the very beginning with Margaret Chesser serving as the President, Sweetheart Ball at the Shamrock Hilton Hotel, Founder's Day at the Meyerland Club, the Fall Social and Style Show and Grace Wallace as the first "Women with Something Extra".  The dream of those 28 sisters became a reality and the rest is history.

Today Southwest Houston City Council has 7 chapters and sponsors several functions throughout the year with the sorority year beginning in May.

The first council event is a summer social for incoming Presidents and Vice Presidents. Other events throughout the year include a Fall event, Sweetheart Ball, and Founder's Day. Events may include spouses as well as members. All participation is voluntary. Please click on the Calendar tab for more details for each event.

There are no age restrictions to join Beta Sigma Phi. Members are from all walks of life, all economic status, all age groups, single and married. The current one time membership fee to join Beta Sigma Phi International is $72 with annual dues of $48. Southwest Houston current annual dues are $55. The benefits of a world-wide friendship network cannot be adequately expressed. Many members will say that being in Beta Sigma Phi is a way of life. 

We look forward to helping you on your journey to celebrating "Your Forever Friends" as a sister in Beta Sigma Phi. If you have an interest in learning more about our organization, please contact us.