Fraternity Update

Letter from Kappa Delta Phi National Fraternity

Statement from the Chairman of the Board: On behalf of the Brothers of Kappa Delta Phi, myself Jason Pettine, and Executive Director James Tormey, I want to thank the sisters for this opportunity to speak to you. We would like to welcome you to the 2020-2021 year and offer our best wishes during what has become a particularly challenging time. Some background on myself first. I am a brother from Alpha Chapter at Bridgewater State University (then Bridgewater State College), who joined the organization in the Spring of 2004. I have been a member of the Board of Directors, or Volunteer staff since 2009, serving these past two years as the Chairman of the Board. In my day job, I am a Client Support Supervisor for a company called Meditech, which is an EHR software vendor. I am passionate about this Fraternity and have endeavored for some time to work toward bringing the organization into a new age—bringing us out of, as I often called it, an operational mode, and into a sustainable, scalable model built for the future. This means looking at everything we do, in every way, and constantly looking at ways to innovate. This is a slow and grueling process, particularly with an all-volunteer staff, and change is incredibly difficult. But I feel strongly we’re on the right path. A large part of that confidence is due to my faith in our new Executive Director, James Tormey. His vision for where he sees our chapters growing to, and his dedication to helping them get there, is unquestionable. I will let him speak for himself in that regard, so the remainder of this address I leave to him. Jason Pettine Chairman of the Board, Kappa Delta Phi Fraternity

Statement from the Executive Director: My name is James Tormey, and since June I have been serving as the Executive Director of Kappa Delta Phi. I joined the Fraternity in 1998 as a member of Alpha Chapter at Bridgewater State University and served as a member of our Board of Directors between 2009 and 2017 before rejoining the board in March of 2020. Over the years I have had the opportunity to watch both of our organizations as they have grown and changed. The one constant we have always shared is a commitment to our members and to ensuring their well-being. This is especially important in these trying times as our activities have been forced to shift remotely, denying the direct in-person connections we have all come to depend upon. I have had countless conversations with chapter leaders amongst the Fraternity as they have worked to adjust to this “new normal” in which they cannot spend time together while ensuring the safety of their members. Considering this, it is inherently important that we focus on maintaining the relationships between our members. Taking a few moments to reach out and check in on one another, to make even a quick connection is becoming more and more important to ensure that the bonds between us remain strong. The simple act of inquiring as to how someone’s classes are going or asking how they are holding up day-today has become a necessity rather than a nicety. These small acts of kindness are how we will get through this together. As always, we seek to identify and recruit the highest quality candidates, both at campuses with an active chapter and at those without. In these uncertain times it is particularly important that we extend the hand of Brotherhood and provide the important connections that remote learning has limited. I ask that you consider helping us get in contact with the men you believe would make the best additions to the Greek Community, either at your school or otherwise. You can scan the QR code or simply visit https:\\kappadeltaphi. org\recommend_3 and fill out the form to let us know who we should get in contact with about becoming a member of Kappa Delta Phi. I know that I can speak for the Brothers in wishing you all a successful and healthful year. I look forward to the opportunity to engage with your leadership over the coming years and hope that we can find mutually beneficial ways to support one another as we seek to offer our members a value-added college experience.

MTSND, James Tormey Executive Director, Kappa Delta Phi Fraternity