The Key Magazine Summer 2009 : Page 38
Deedra Hayes Determan, Oklahoma State, left, and Melanie Bitner Henry, Tulsa, co-founded 918moms.com, a community Web site for moms living in Tulsa’s 918 area code. Soaring to New Heights Deciding she isn’t too old to learn something new, Judy Stanton, Hillsdale, recently learned to fly a helicopter and then went tandem skydiving. In February of 2008, Judy traveled to Houston where she received a scholarship from Whirly-Girls International. The scholarship was donated by Northeast Helicopters of Ellington, Conn. In October, she finished her training in Connecticut, hoping to eventually earn a Helicopter Instructor Rating. While there, she spied a Skydiving Kappas Create Web Site Geared to Tulsa Moms Melanie Bitner Henry, Tulsa, and Deedra Hayes Determan, Oklahoma State, co-founded a community Web site geared to moms living in Tulsa. Designed spe- cifically for, about and by moms who live in the 918 area code, 918moms.com offers forums, blogs, a photo gallery, calendar of events, directory with a customized ratings system, current weather, a daily Hot Topics and the popular 918 Coupon Queen. Before launching their business, which was a semi-finalist in the Mayor’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, Deedra held the position of director of strategic marketing at FOX23 News and consulted for Clear Channel Communications. Melanie’s background is in journalism with an emphasis on television news and new media, and was recently news director for a Tulsa television station. While working together at FOX23 News, they discovered that both are Kappas and became friends. As working mothers, they also discovered that mothers living in the Tulsa area did not have access to one local Web site with everything needed to plan their day or muddle through the challenges of mommy-hood. Realizing there was a void in the market, they spent about a year preparing to launch 918Moms in September and word of mouth has generated a flood of women visiting the site. Deedra feels the site took on a life of its own, expanding to radio, print and television partners. 38 • The Key • Summer 2009 • www.kappa.org School on the other side of the small airport. She says, “(the school) was calling me like the sirens luring the sailors in Homer’s Odyssey.” It wasn’t long before she was soaring into the air with her instructor in a freefall. Judy is a member of the Ft. Lauderdale Alumnae Association in Broward County, Florida. Judy Stanton, Hillsdale, sits in a helicopter during a series of lessons to learn to fly, compliments of a scholarship with Whirly-Girls International. accent on alumnae
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