President’s Blog

Grand Council Updates from the National President

Jan 28, 2020 | Categories: Blog

I'd love to share a quick rundown of the latest Grand Council updates from the past six months. We've made a lot of progress and we look forward to much more to come before this biennium comes to a close!

Chapter Programming
Based on the needs of our members, we sought out and contracted for a mental health program to offer our collegians called, Behind Happy Faces. We will begin piloting the program with a few chapters this semester, and then take the lessons learned to roll out the program to all chapters at National Convention 2020. Thank you to the sisters who made this possible with their financial support through the Theta Phi Alpha Foundation!

In addition, Theta Phi Alpha purchased the Dignity U educational program. Dignity U is an empowering program that teaches how to identify and distinguish the essential elements of dignity. Collegians are asked to look into how dignity impacts a person’s own thoughts and actions, in both their lives and in their respective organizations. As a client to MJ Sorority Insurance, we received a discounted price for the program package. The remaining balance was generously donated by an anonymous donor and their employer match through the Theta Phi Alpha Foundation. Our Leadership Consultants have been trained as facilitators for the program and they've been sharing it with chapters since August. 

Extension
November was a busy month for extension presentations. We had three campuses that invited us to present! I was able to attend two of the three presentations which took me to New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Our newest emerging chapter at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire completed a successful opening weekend in January. Be on the lookout for future announcements!

Installations
The second half of 2019 carried the excitement of two installations. I had the opportunity to travel to Minnesota in August to install the Central Minnesota Area Alumnae Association and Michelle Porter, National Executive Secretary, installed the Madison Area Alumnae Association in December. Also in December, Alicia Palmisano, National Vice President-Extension, and I had the honor of installing the Delta Nu Chapter at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois.

Alumna Visit
Michelle and I had the opportunity to meet Frances Barnard, a 1944 initiate of the Eta Chapter, Boston University. We had the honor of presenting Mrs. Barnard with her Diamond Circle pin. Be sure to read the next issue of The Compass for the full article on Frances.

National Convention 2020
Convention planning begins as soon as the previous Convention is over. Your survey responses are important and we use your input in planning the next Convention. We work in conjunction with the Foundation and Board of Trustees to bring together a successful Convention.

Grand Council will meet together in Jacksonville Beach this February for final Convention preparations. All materials related to registration, schedules, speakers, elections, etc. are located on our Convention webpage (login required). Stay tuned for more information about the new Convention mobile app that we're excited to share with all attendees this year.

In October we held the Grand Council interest call for anyone interested in running for Grand Council. The webinar is available here if you did not get the chance to participate live. Consent to Serve forms are still being accepted in preparation for our elections this summer.

Officer Leadership Training
And finally, we completed three weekend gatherings of Officer Leadership Training (OLT) earlier this month. Our collegians are starting the new semester with more training, inspiration and connections. 

I wish you all an extraordinary 2020!