Clubwomen from across the state and the nation participate in ESO, the GFWC National Reading Society.
ESO stands for Epsilon Sigma Omicron and is an honorary educational society that is federation-supported and open to all GFWC club members. The North Carolina Alpha Eta Chapter of ESO was begun in 1961. To become a member, you join for $2 and then simply read and report! ESO is one of the benefits of belonging to a GFWC federated club.
The ultimate goal of ESO is to expand your knowledge; explore new horizons in reading; seek out new authors, go where you’ve never gone before!
The NC Chapter updated the reading requirements in an effort to reinvigorate both current members and those who may have fallen by the wayside and to entice new members who are interested but haven’t jumped on the bandwagon.
Our new reading requirements are: 4 books in 4 different categories (16 books) completes Member; 4 books in 6 different categories (not duplicating Member) completes Star (total now of 40 books, 16 + 24); 4 books in 6 different categories (not duplicating Member or Star) completes Torch (total now of 64 books, 16 + 24 + 24); 4 books in 9 different categories (can repeat prior categories) completes Century! (total now of 100 books, 16 + 24 + 24 + 36). So over the course of reaching Century you will have completed 100 books and read in 16 different categories.
Along with updating the reading requirements, we have also updated the method of which members books and reading levels are tracked. The new method utilized the wonderful world of Excel. Each member will have her own file, tracking the total number of books she is reading as well as keeping up with her levels. Each member will be given her own file so she can keep up with tracking her levels too. If you haven’t gotten your file yet, please be patient, we are still working on the transition.
New report forms are also available. There are two different forms. For members who are Pledge through 1st Century there is a form that has space for a brief “book report”. Please note that this is a brief report, not a novel or essay. Once the member has past 1st Century, there is a form that the member fills in with simply the book title, author and the genre (category). Both of these are found on the GFWC-NC website. They are also on the individual member’s Excel sheet.
ESO can be found on www.gfwcnc.org under the Membership tab. Just look for Epsilon Sigma Omicron on that tab.
We have a new ESO Chairman – Hilda Jernigan, who is also the Education CSP Chairman. Hilda’s information can be found in the Administration Book. If you are interested in joining ESO, the Pledge form is also on the website. Fill it out and send Hilda your form and the $2 fee.
If you have ANY questions about this transition from the old format to the new format, please feel free to reach out to Helen Richie, GFWC-NC 1st VP. She is in the process of making all the transitions for all members. Her information is also found in the Administration Book.
So Read on, Reinvigorate yourself and Jump on the ESO Starship. Go where you’ve never gone before!