Lady Fredda H. Witherspoon, Ph.D. is the distinguished Area III organizer and served as the first Area III Director. After her induction into TLOD, she began to crusade to organize more chapters for the organization. The first chapter organized was the St. Louis Chapter in 1973. In 1974, she contacted Lady Edna McClain Murray who organized the Chicago Chapter. At the time the Chicago Chapter was chartered, Illinois was in Area VI and Lady Marjorie Holland, Area Director, attended the ceremony and participated in the chartering services. Later, at the request of Lady Witherspoon, Illinois was added to Area III. With other changes, the states of Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota were added to the states to comprise Area III.

In 1975, Lady Witherspoon served as Area III Director. She convened the first Area III meeting at the Phi Delta Sorority House at 5239 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL. The first meeting was an organizational one at which the following officers were elected: Lady Edna Murray, Chicago, Area III Director; Lady Juanita Doggett, St. Louis, Assistant Area III Director; Lady Witherspoon, Area III Director-At-Large; Lady Jacquelyn Crawford, Chicago, Recording Secretary; Lady Genevieve Fisher, St. Louis, Corresponding Secretary; Lady Ruby Ford, Chicago, Financial Secretary; Lady Mamie Daniels, Chicago, Treasurer and Lady Rejesta Perry, St. Louis, Top Teens Advisor. Temporary by-laws were adopted to govern the operations of the Area and the Area III Top Teens officers were organized at this session.

Under the leadership of Lady Edna Murray, Area III received the Outstanding Area Award for two consecutive years and tied with another chapter the third year. She also made the initial contact for the organization of the Kansas City Chapter in Kansas City, MO.

In 1979, Lady Rejesta Perry of St. Louis was elected Area III Director. She chartered the Kansas City Chapter. During her administration the Area began awarding scholarships to Top Teens. The initial scholarship amount was $50. It was during her administration that the Area began reimbursing transportation fees for elected Area III officers to attend Area Conferences. It was also at this time that Area III was expanded to include the states of Iowa and Wisconsin bringing to nine the number of states in the Area. 

Lady Jacquelyn Heath Parker of the Chicago Chapter served as the Fourth Area III Director. The Area operated with three chapters until the election of Lady Jacquelyn Heath Parker in 1983. During her term of office, eight new chapters were chartered bringing the total number of chapters to eleven. Those chapters were East St. Louis, West Suburban, Champaign-Urbana, Quad Cities, Wichita, South  Suburban Chicago, Milwaukee, and North Shore Chicago. Lady Parker was the first Lady from Area III to be elected National President of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.

Lady Ruth Turner of the Milwaukee Chapter was elected Area III Director in 1987. During her tenure, Lady Ruth chartered two new chapters—Ebony Chapter in Maywood, IL and Cardinal Chapter in  St. Louis, MO. Lady Ruth also convened four financially successful area conferences resulting in a surplus, which she used to establish an area certificate of deposit in the amount of $5,000. This provided Area III with much needed financial stability. During Lady Ruth’s term, the state of Missouri was added, to complete the geographic boundaries of Area III.

Lady Marie H. Stellos of the Cardinal Chapter was elected National President In 1991. Lady Stellos was inducted into Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. in January 1973 as a charter member of the St. Louis Chapter transferring to the Cardinal Chapter in 1988. Cardinal Chapter was the youngest chapter in Area III to ever have a National President. Prior to her election, Lady Stellos served as Legal Advisor, National Parliamentarian and National First Vice President. During Lady Stellos’ tenure (7/1/1991 – 6/30/1995), the first TLOD business office was established to carry out the daily operations of the organization. The office located at 1408 N. Kings Highway - Suite 207B in St. Louis, MO housed the National President and National Recording Secretary and provided storage space for TLOD  documents and paraphernalia. Also, during her tenure, TLOD marketing brochures were initiated, the National TLOD Prayer, written by Lady Rita Franks Bell, was approved and sixteen (16) Chapters were chartered. Lady Marie H. Stellos was a Life Member of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.

Lady Peggy Lewis LeCompte of the East St. Louis Chapter was elected Area III Director in 1991. She chartered the Skyline Metropolitan, Kaycee, Rockford, and Madison Chapters. During her  administration the largest Teen Conferences and Top Lady Conferences were held. She initiated the Area III Summit for Ladies and Teens, the Community Awards Luncheon, the Prayer Breakfast, the Man of Distinction Awards, the Presentation Ball, the Mid-Western Cluster Founders Day Celebration, the Area Rededication Ceremony, the 1st TTA and Community Teens Summit, the Salute to the Arts Award and designed the Area III Presentation Ball Pin. Lady Peggy became the 10th National President of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., and the 3rd National President from Area III.

Lady Dorothy W. Buckhanan of the Milwaukee Chapter was elected Area III Director in 1995. During her tenure, Lady Dorothy chartered the Confluence Chapter in St. Louis County and increased area membership 20%. Under Lady Dorothy’s leadership, Area III was the first area to embrace the Franchell Boswell Foundation, generating funds for its first contribution of $500. Lady Dorothy organized and hosted three productive Top Teens Leadership Academies at Area Conferences; introduced diverse Area III Projects such as Books for Kids and the Area III Health Fair and spotlighted Top Teens in every aspect of Area III programming. Area III won the National Outstanding Area Award three of her four years in office, along with the Outstanding Media Portfolio Award. Area III’s Outstanding  Chapter President Award is named in honor of Lady Dorothy.

Lady Mattie Stanton of the Cardinal Chapter was elected Area III Director in 1999. During her administration the Area experienced a greater emphasis on the use of technology (electronic mail, voice mail and faxes) to carry on the business of the Area and communicate with members. Lady Mattie introduced the use of teleconference calls as a means of meeting with Chapter Presidents and Top Teens Advisors. Lady Mattie created several new awards and special recognitions – “Lovely Ladies” to honor active senior Ladies age 70+ years; the Lady Mamie Daniels “Lifetime Achievement Award”, Lady Marie Stellos “Humanitarian Award”, Lady Mattie Stanton “Outstanding Top Teen of the Year Award” and the first “Lord of the Year Award” to the Area’s outstanding Lord. Under Lady Mattie’s  Leadership, the “Silent Auction” became a permanent Scholarship fundraiser and the Area’s first Vocational Scholarships were awarded to Teens. The Lincoln Park Chicago Chapter was chartered during her administration.

Lady Drema Lee Woldman of the Lincoln Park Chicago Chapter was elected in 2003. The focus of her administration was communication, motivation, participation, and collaboration. Newsletters were published bi-monthly, membership increased by 25%, and the Cluster “concept” was totally embraced.

Lady Drema chartered three chapters: Evergreen Park Chicago, Midway Chicago, and Will County Cosmopolitan. The following awards were created during her administration: the Drema Lee Woldman Leadership Excellence Award, the TTA Alumnus Award, the Theresa Sanders TTA Advisor of the Year Award and the Lady Carol J. Harris Outstanding TTA Chapter President Award. The following initiatives were created: the Community Awards Public Meeting, Area Orchid Awards Luncheon, and the Leadership Breakfast. Area III won the distinction of “Five Star” Area during Lady Drema’s term of office; Area III was 1st Place for 2006-2007 Outstanding Area and 2nd Place for 2005-2006, 2004-2005, and 2003-2004.

Area III fully funded two Teens to take part in the Delta Sigma Theta HBCU bus tour; Area III Lords started the tradition of giving a “book” scholarship to the Area’s Scholarship recipients; and the first collaborative Health Fair was held under the banner of the North Cluster of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.

Lady Emily J. Jones, organizer of the West Suburban Chicago Chapter, was elected National Area III Director at the 2007 Syn-Lod. The theme for her administration was “Filling the Prescription for Premier Service” with a commitment to focus on increasing chapter membership, conducting viable community service, Top Teens mentoring, and to enhance knowledge of TLOD’s policies and  procedures. Lady Emily conducted a record number of inductions and inducted over 200 new ladies during her two terms in office. She introduced several new initiatives during her administration: established a HBCU Lord’s scholarship for former Top Teens attending HBCUs; acquired Life memberships in both NCNW and the NAACP; provided grants to Mayo Clinic’s Breast Cancer Foundation for breast cancer research; implemented “Mother’s Day Projects” honoring the 1st Grandmother, Mrs. Marian Roberson and the First Lady, Michelle Obama; designed a TLOD Trailblazer pin to honor trailblazers in Area III and implemented a first, at the Area level, a five-night, six-day Area III TTA Leadership Tour to Washington, D.C. with twenty- six Top Teens. Under Lady Emily’s leadership, four successful Area III Conferences - 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 with great attendance from Ladies, Top Teen and Lords were held. She introduced several new events to the Area III Conference agenda during these conferences: Completing a Service Project in the community immediately preceding the Area Conference; the Area III Lord’s Recognition Breakfast; the VIP reception for community awardees, the Blue & Silver TTA Breakfast for Top Teens only, and the TTA Brown Bag Luncheon to enhance mentorship and career development for Top Teens. Additionally, three new Area III Awards were established: The Emily J. Jones, Spirit of the Founders Award, The Area III Membership Challenge Award, and the Vivian Mays TTA Membership Award. Area III was also recognized with Awards at Syn-Lod 2009 and Syn-Lod 2011. At Syn-Lod 2009, Area III was the 1st place winner for Print Media, 2nd place for the President’s Award, Master’s Degree Literacy Project and recognized for 12 of the 16 chapters in the Area as “Five Star Chapters. At Syn-Lod 2011, Area III was the winner of the “National President’s Award” – first place for Outstanding Area Total Program for 2009-2011. Area III also boasted of having the highest percentage of chapters in any Area as five-star chapters.

Lady Dorothy J. Fisher of the Cardinal Chapter was elected National Area III Director at the 2011 Syn-Lod. Under Lady Dorothy’s Leadership, the Area Mission of “Impacting the Future Through Exemplary Service to Mankind Today” was directly connected to the National Theme, “TLOD Impacting Our Future Through Positive Interventions in the Lives of Our Youth, Our Community and Our Legacy with Effective Volunteerism” Lady Dorothy continued the traditional and impactful programs that had become commonplace in encouraging Five Star Chapters and leadership among youth, specifically those members of Top Teens of America. Annual Cluster meetings were held with records breaking attendance with an increased number of Ladies and Teens participating. The meetings provided direction, workshops and opportunities or collaboration. Each Cluster meeting weekend began with a TLOD induction and ended with an overwhelming among of donations to determined Community Partners, including Dress for Success. The activities at Annual Area Conferences continued to inform, celebrate excellence in service and showcase leadership. Each year, Ladies, Lords, and Teens participated in the Community Service Outreach projects that provide an abundance of blessings for those in need. Lady Dorothy created a platform to inform others about TLOD through marketing initiatives, including the public meetings, ultimately increasing the number of Community Partnerships. Following rave reviews and warm reception at Syn-Lod, one program specifically that was added to the Area III Conference agenda during Lady Dorothy’s administration was the Literacy Café – an opportunity for Teens, Ladies and Lords to comfortably enjoy genres of verbal expression. Additionally, new Awards were established for Area III – Dorothy J. Fisher Community Service Servant Award and Mavis Merritt TTA Mentoring Award. Lady Dorothy made sure that Area III continued to be the heartbeat of TLOD.

Lady Mary Leach Davis of the East Saint Louis, IL Chapter was elected the 12th Area III Director at the 2015 Syn-Lod. The theme for her administration was “Investing in the Future through Exceptional Leadership and Service” with a focus on Legacy Service - leadership that inspires, challenges, and elevates Ladies and Top Teens to engage fully in TLOD’s service philosophy for
greater community impact. Chapters embraced the Legacy model of TLOD founders and predecessors where history and experience are directly passed on to future leaders while building on those traditions achieving fantastic results.

Under Lady Mary’s leadership, the first cluster sponsored A-TEAAM, a National Mentoring Program for young males of color was launched graduating 15 ‘Ambassadors’ in 2016. That same year, Teen Cyan Simmons (Will County Black Diamond) was appointed to the American the Beautiful Youth Advisory Board; Area III TTA raised $10,000 for the Dred Scout Fundraiser qualifying for 3rd place; $24,000 was raised by the HBCU raffle; and there were 30 seniors in the Area III TTA graduating class. 

Lady Mary’s administration saw a surge in overall chapter participation in our national program and thrust initiatives. Over the four period, the following service hours were logged: Status of Women - 68,325 hours; Senior Citizens - 42,370 hours; Community Beautification - 7,750; Community Partnership, 3,625; Membership 3,035; NAACP 2,598; NCNW 51,475; Sickle Cell 1977; UNCF 896 (with 9 chapters reporting); Top Teens volunteer hours totaled 259,874!

Two Chapters were chartered under this administration - Will County Black Diamond on September 26, 2015, and Chicago West Loop, on June 16, 2019. Membership increased through an emphasis on Recruitment, Retention and Reclamation (the 3 R’s). Through this effort, the Area realized membership numbers exceeding 400 with 170 new Lady inductions. North and South Cluster meeting attendance increased as Ladies and Teens were exposed to collaborative innovative ideas on improving volunteerism and leadership. The area conference registration process was enhanced with the introduction of an online registration portal.

Lady Mary infused the 2015-2019 Area Conferences with new energy and excitement by engaging teens and ladies to invest in selecting their parade music (played by a DJ) and improvising the  choreography while energized by audience members at the Opening Session. Area III hosted the two Parliament-tops and the 2017 Syn-Lod National Awards/ Recognitions - Top Lady of the Year; Ruth Payne Smith TTA Speakers Tournament Award; and the TTA National President was a member of Area III; Area of the Year!

Lady Stephanie E. Dunn of the South Suburban Chicago Chapter ushered in the Technology Era in Area III as the 13th National Area III Director, in March 2019. Elected at the 43rd Area III Leadership Conference, Lady Stephanie was ratified as a National Officer at Synlod in June 2019. Lady Stephanie’s theme – Area III: Working Together with Excellence, Commitment, and Integrity to Enhance a Legacy of Service guided the work successfully completed during her tenure. The first Area III Leadership Conference under Lady Stephanie’s guidance in March 2020 was suspended onsite due to the onset of the worldwide pandemic. Subsequently, Area Conferences, Joint Cluster meetings, Founders’ Day celebrations, Rededications, Leadership Training Workshops, monthly Chapter President meetings and other events for Ladies and Teens designed to facilitate the business of TLOD for the 2021 and 2022 program years, were successfully held virtually. This was a first for Area III. During this period, the extensive use of technology was introduced and enhanced with the development of the Area III Technology Team. A TTA component was also included to facilitate TTA events, while  supporting the work of the Area III Technology Team, utilizing Zoom, Socio, and other virtual platforms. The TLOD and TTA Technology Teams collaborated at the in-person 2023 Area III Leadership Conference. Area III’s social media presence was also increased through Instagram, Facebook, and X (previously known as Twitter).

The Leadership Training Workshop Series for Ladies and Teens was introduced to support training and a better understanding of TLOD/TTA policies, procedures, thrusts, and projects. Topics included a variety of subjects identified in collaboration with the Area III Executive Board and included but were not limited to some of the following titles: Who’s That Lady - Membership Responsibilities, The Haircare Nightmare - To Lye or Not to Lye, Good Health WINS Preventive Health, Educating the Community We Serve, Financial Literacy, All In the Paperwork, The Completion of TLOD/TTA Documents, Healthy Choices- March of Dimes & Sickle Cell Awareness, College Preparedness for Teens, Preparing for Conference, Financial Aid Resources for Teens, and STEAM Workshop to name a few. Chapter Presidents took turns presenting Governance IQ at monthly meetings to review and refresh an understanding of the TLOD Governance.

The overall status of Area III remained exceptional during Lady Stephanie’s tenure. Membership increased by 40% despite the pandemic, with never before held virtual inductions for North and South Cluster Chapters. Fiscal management and responsibility were a priority for Lady Stephanie. All conferences were paid in full with a substantial positive balance transferred to the new administration at the end of Lady Stephanie’s tenure, along with a generous TTA Scholarship fund.

During the 47th Area III Leadership Conference, 50 Years of Exemplary Service was celebrated where it all began, in St. Louis, MO. During this conference, the Live Auction, was instituted and created an atmosphere of excitement and giving as Ladies enthusiastically donated monies for TTA Scholarships and Programs. A record amount was generated for this initiative in approximately 20 minutes.

The Area III Strategic Goals were established to ensure alignment with the National Goals and initiatives. Regular progress monitoring and reporting to the membership was shared by the Area III Executive Board at Cluster meetings and Area Conferences. Area III was recognized for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 program years with the First-Place Membership Recognition Award in the Franchell Boswell Educational Foundation Membership Campaign. Area III Boswell Ambassadors raised funds to support $3, 500 in scholarships for Area Teens.

Two new awards were created during this administration - The Lady Stephanie E. Dunn UNCF Chapter Award and the Lady Michele Davis STEAM Award. A Franchell Boswell Endowment was established in the name of Lady Stephanie E. Dunn by Area Chapter Presidents. 

Community Partnerships established include National Council of 100 Black Women (NCBW) Chicago Metropolitan Chapter Education Committee, Chicago Inter-Alumni Council of UNCF, and UNCF Walk for Education Steering Committee.