Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, a leading women’s service organization, concluded its international executive board meeting in the Bahamas this month with the induction of Wynona Kidd as an honorary member.
Kidd is the daughter of Viola Tyler Goings and niece of Myrtle Tyler Faithful, two of the sorority’s founding members. At 95 years old, she is the oldest living descendant of the organization’s five founding members.
“As we celebrate 99 years of service today, and prepare for our centennial in 2020, we are delighted to welcome Mrs. Kidd into our sisterhood,” said Valerie Hollingsworth-Baker, Zeta international president.
Kidd, a native of Clairsville, Ohio, aspired to become a Zeta while a student at Wilberforce University, but was forced to drop out of college to help support her family when WWII began. She became a founding member of the local Jack and Jill of America chapter, but was not able to become a Zeta.
“I can’t believe it,” Kidd said of her induction. “I feel like Cinderella. … I am so happy to be a member of Zeta.”
Zeta members voted to induct her as an honorary member during its 2018 Grand Boulé in New Orleans, along with Louisiana state Sen. Regina Ashford Barrow. She was formally inducted during the executive board meeting at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas, on Jan. 12.
