Friday, October 26, 2018

Chapter Update – October 2018

By Kay White
Chapter Development Director

Senior Chapter Development Officer Traci Payne and I, along with my fellow director Jami Prince, held a Growing Your Chapter event Oct. 20 in Chicago. This one-day intensive workshop had 16 chapter officers in attendance from chapters all over the United States. Previous workshops of a similar sort have been held over the last few years, but a move to a more condensed workshop on the weekend seems to have helped attendance and ease of travel for faculty and staff with busy schedules. The officers that attended were also a great mix of fairly new and more experienced officers, leading to fruitful conversations and brainstorming that may bring about some exciting developments on their campuses this year and beyond.

After the travel day, activities began with an emphasis on the basics of Phi Kappa Phi history and chapter management for those new to the organization. After lunch at the hotel and a break, presentations on Growing Your Chapter, focusing on chapter visibility and student acceptance, and Leading Your Chapter, focusing on chapter management and leadership growth, were given. A walk-through of the website and online resources was also given, with an emphasis on any new additions to make chapter management a bit easier.

One aspect that chapter officer attendees often find very useful is the small and large group discussions that are encouraged throughout the day. Also new to this workshop was the grouping of chapter officers into their divisions leading to more shareable ideas because of comparable institutional size. This seemed to bring both problems and solutions regarding Phi Kappa Phi on various sized campuses to the forefront, again making the small group conversations more engaging and rewarding.

Lola Norris, chapter president of Texas A&M International University, said, “I liked the walk-through of the website and the sharing by participants. The presenters were also great. This was all in all a very successful event.” California State University, San Bernadino chapter president Dorothy Chen-Maynard enjoyed networking with other officers, as well as hearing ideas for management of the chapter. Diana Elrod, chapter president-elect at Texas Woman’s University, commented on the excellence of the topics presented as well as the presentations.

Our hope is that we can continue to serve chapter officers with the most engaging and easy-to-attend trainings that we can offer. Please follow the lead of these officers and plan to attend our next training event in Baton Rouge, the home of our Society national office, on January 12. After the initial chapter fee of $150, travel and lodging are reimbursed, and meals are provided by the Society on the day of training. Click here for more details and to register.

To share your chapter’s events with the national office, email me at kwhite@phikappaphi.org.

Photo provided by Kay White – Phi Kappa Phi chapter officers gather during a Growing Your Chapter workshop held Oct. 20 in Chicago. Attending the event are, front row from left, Jean Cook, Elaina Koltz, Miranda Terry, Dorothy Chen-Maynard, and Teri Ternes; and back row, Minh Nguyen, Craig Bowe, Keyur Savla, Catie McCorry-Andalis, Romulus Godang, Ann Eisenberg, Brian Powell, Tabata Rodriguez, Diana Elrod, Lola Norris, and Monica Arroyo.

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