President of the year
STATE OF THE FRATERNITY
While the 191st Convention in Tampa, Florida began like many others, its message was different. “The state of the fraternity is strong”- was the prevailing message delivered by both President Steve Thompson, MIN 1995, and Steve Ehrfurth, MIN 2006 (Executive Director) in their opening session remarks. Buoyed by a year of membership growth and growing charitable contributions, the overall tenor of the opening session was one of strength.
In fact, the fraternity almost matched its record new member total set in the previous year and the addition of a new affiliate at the University of Iowa sets the foundation to smash the record in the coming year. Compared to the last two Conventions, where the message was one of recovery and optimism, this year solidified that the fraternity was heading in the right direction.
CHAPTER REPORTS
Following the state of the fraternity, the focus shifted towards the chapters, with each group updating the Convention about their past year. The messages ranged from ones of exceptional philanthropic endeavors, to updates about revamping and fixing their chapter collections. All in all, the updates corroborated what was said in the state of the fraternity- the organization is heading in the right direction. Some updates in particular stood out: the Florida State Chapter was a national fundraising leader for the Relay for Life, Kenyon worked to fix its collections rate and financial policy, and the Delta Phi Alpha Chapter at Duke University had the largest new member class with 54 new members! These updates helped to paint a more complete picture of the past year and helped to bolster the message that the fraternity is in a strong place.
MOTIVATING OUR BROTHERS
Following a memorable evening aboard the Yacht Starship in Tampa Bay, Friday’s session kicked off with Mike Ayalon , the CEO of Greek University. A mainstay at the past couple of Conventions, Mike’s work and insights have always proven to be valuable to both the undergraduate and alumni attendees of Convention. His first session on Friday was no different. Titled “HELP! My Chapter is Not Motivated”, the session focused around different motivational strategies and approaches aimed at maximizing chapter involvement. The concept of “motivating the middle”, namely, the idea that a middle third of the chapter holds the keys to success, was a centerpiece of the session as chapters learned to identify the key members that would dictate their success. With chapter morale being a listed area of improvement for many groups, this interactive and
informative session gave our chapters the tools needed to optimize their membership and get the most out of the chapter.
GROWING YOUR NETWORK
“This session was very informative. It provides the structure for you to become a better leader and learn the ways to incorporate motivational techniques for your peers within the fraternal environment and in everyday life.”
The second session of the day looked at ways to leverage one’s fraternal experience in the job market. With networking being a topic of interest for many undergraduates, this session aimed to equip attendees with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively navigate the current job market. Topics covered ranged from how to find your networks, to how to best conceptualize your “pitch”, and how to best describe the elements of your experience that are the most relatable to employers. With so many topics being covered and with this being such an important area, there was a good amount of questions and answers at the end that further enhanced the session. Most importantly, the session being held on Friday gave attendees ample opportunity to practice the skills they learned during the rest of Convention.
LEADERSHIP & ADVERSITY
After exploring the city of Tampa, the program built off of Friday’s productive sessions. Saturday morning got off to a great start with Trevon Bryant, also from Greek University.
LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS
Trevon, a former football player from the University of New Hampshire turned campus leader, led an interactive and inspiring session revolving around adversity. During his time at the UNH, he suffered a career ending injury at practice and was left on the field as the team played around him. This story became the driving force behind his message of resilience and how to bounce back from personal and organizational strife. Trevon, a fantastic speaker, delivered a captivating session that saw productive back and forth dialogue and was well-met by all attendees. The lessons learned in this session will prove invaluable as our chapter leaders return to campus.
“An incredibly interesting and inspiring speaker with a story to motivate anyone who wants to excel in a specific area. Trevon was truly an earnest and genuine person.”
Being the general governing body of the fraternity, it is impossible to recap a Convention without mentioning the new legislation raised. This year, there were a number of resolutions that prompted debate and will lead to some changes going forward. First, there was a resolution aimed at creating a task force to study changing academic landscapes and what that means for university recognition and expansion. The second piece of legislation that passed was a resolution that moved up the deadline to submit new business proposals at the Convention, in the spirit of giving chapters more time to discuss in chapter meetings prior to the Convention. Finally, a proposal designed to formalize the Board of Governors’ responsibilities was tabled and instead challenged the Board themselves to come up with their own guidelines. Along with the annual budget and reelecting three members to the Board of Governors, all three items passed and will be implemented in the coming year.
The success of the Illinois restart has been nothing short of remarkable and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. Rejecting complacency, the chapter instituted a robust brother development program that aimed to ensure career and job skills were learned at the chapter. In addition to their strong philanthropy and academic programs, the chapter has continued to actively involve alumni in their chapter operations and the strong bonds that have been forged have only strengthened both the chapter and their alumni.
MOST IMPROVED CHAPTER
NITTANY CHAPTER
MOST IMPROVED ALUMNI CHAPTER
ALABAMA CHAPTER
McKELVEY AWARD FOR ACADEMICS
ELIOT CHAPTER
BEST FINANCIAL MGMT. AWARD
ALABAMA CHAPTER
BEST FINANCIAL COLLECTION AWARD
MARYLAND CHAPTER
The Miami Alumni Association has continued to play a pivotal role in the continued success of the undergraduate chapter. With the chapter needing help to revise its new member education and programming, the alumni association played a vital advisory role in helping to reshape events and refocus operations. Their role in the new member process and operations allows for the undergraduates to forge important connections and learn from alumni. Additionally, a recent 1970s reunion at the chapter house saw large numbers of alumni reconnect and rekindle their relationship to the chapter.
POCHTER AWARD FOR PHILANTHROPY
MARYLAND CHAPTER
HEALTH & SAFETY AWARD
ROCHESTER CHAPTER
CHAPTER GROWTH AWARD
DELTA PHI ALPHA CHAPTER
LUDLUM LITERARY AWARD
KENYON CHAPTER
MOST IMPROVED FINANCES AWARD
DELTA PHI ALPHA CHAPTER
