Category Archives: Fraternity News

Call for District Governor Applications 2017-2019

Posted on by

Brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi:

The District Governors are key members of the National Leadership Team. These adult leaders serve as the administrative officers of their respective district and provide mentorship to the district and chapter officers. District Governors are expected to assist the district officers with the development of a vision for the district and build positive, professional connections with all students, alumni, and national leadership.

Each biennium your District Governors are appointed to serve for a two-year term. While we often have governors that return for multiple biennia, we also have times when positions are available. While a vacancy may not exist in all districts this biennium, please know that applications will also be used for future consideration for committees and special projects. This is more than an application for a Governor position; this is an opportunity to donate your time and energies to the students and work of Kappa Kappa Psi for the 2017-2019 biennium.

Applicants who meet the basic requirements will submit a completed application to the National Vice President for Colonization & Membership by Friday, May 12, 2017.

Applicant Requirements:

• Must be at least twenty-five (25) years old

• Completed an undergraduate degree

• Possess outstanding business or professional ability

• Resident of district applying for

• Be a Life, Alumni, or Honorary member in good standing of Kappa Kappa Psi

Governor Application Requirements:

• Letter of Intent – Highlight fraternity, band, and professional experience

• Resume/Vita

• Three Letters of Recommendation, one of which should be within the applicant’s profession

Please send completed applications to National Vice President for Colonization & Membership Evan Thompson (evan@kkpsi.org) by Friday, May 12, 2017.

AEA,

Evan L. Thompson
National Vice President for Colonization & Membership
Kappa Kappa Psi

National Council Announces Fall 2017 Colony Application Deadline

Posted on by

The National Council will begin accepting applications for Fall 2017 colonization starting May 15, 2017 and closing on June 30, 2017. This deadline window aligns with the summer meetings of the National Council. We welcome all interested schools and band programs to apply within the application window.

Applications sent before May 15th or after June 30th will not be accepted for review for a Fall 2017 process. Schools missing this deadline window will be encouraged to apply after November 15, 2017 for a Spring 2018 process.

Please visit https://www.kkpsi.org/membership/starting-a-chapter for more information on how to get started.

If you have any questions regarding Kappa Kappa Psi’s colonization program, please contact VPCM Evan Thompson at evan@kkpsi.org.

Have you reported your 2016-2017 Graduating Seniors?

Posted on by

Dear Brother President,

Before the end of the semester completely takes over your remaining available brain cells, I wanted to make sure that you were up to speed with what the Fraternity and the KKPsi Alumni Association (KKPsiAA) needs from you in regards to your end of year reporting of Graduating Seniors.

First off, each Graduating Senior MUST log into the OMRS and confirm that the contact information in their profile is accurate.  Combined with the Graduating Senior Report, this update is what is functionally the membership form for their complimentary year of KKPsiAA Membership.  No paper form is needed.  We highly recommend that Brothers use their professional email address, and not the student email address established by the college or university. We need to be able to contact you for years to come.  A school based email address isn’t reliable, and may be shut down by the school with no notice to the Alumni.

Next, I want to review which forms to use for reporting status changes to Alumni.

Each chapter with Graduating Seniors MUST complete the Graduating Seniors Report (GSR) at least twice an academic year. Submit as many of the GSRs in an academic year as you need to!  For Spring and Summer 2017 graduates, please submit the GSRs immediately.  If you have not submitted a GSR reflecting your Fall 2016 and Winter 2017 graduates, please do so ASAP!  If any of your Graduating Seniors are currently listed as officers in the OMRS, you will need to complete an Officer & Chapter Update before the GSR can be processed.

If a member terminates their affiliation with the College/University without graduating, please submit a Chapter Personnel Update (CPU) to report status changes to Alumni status.  Per the National Constitution, Alumni members of the Fraternity shall be those Active, Associate or Conditional members of the Fraternity who have completed their education or who have terminated their affiliation with their college or university. This report can also be submitted as often as necessary throughout the year.

If a Brother currently holds Inactive status, they cannot be submitted for Alumni status on either form.  There is a separate process for Inactive Reinstatement that is not associated with these forms.

From reviewing all of the reported Alumni to-date in the 2016-17 KKPsiAA membership year, we have 25% of those Brothers with the strong likelihood of having been incorrectly reported in the OMRS.  Almost 300 Brothers have potentially missed out on their complimentary first year membership in the KKPsiAA because the Graduating Seniors Report was not used.

One last point – get the Graduating Seniors Report under the noses of your Sponsor and/or Director of Bands at least two weeks BEFORE finals week.  If they have no reason to be on campus but for a final or two, checking their campus email account may be the least of their priorities. Don’t get your report stuck in approval limbo until late August!  The longer it takes for the report to clear all the necessary approvals, the longer it is until your future Alumni are marked correctly in the OMRS.  If they aren’t listed as Alumni, they are not granted membership in the KKPsiAA, are not permitted to join any Local Alumni Associations, and may not be eligible to become Life Members.  Also, incomplete Graduating Seniors Reports can affect the Annual Reports that each Local Alumni Association completes in the Spring. It isn’t fair to your Alumni to neglect or delay the submission of this report!

Thank you very much for tending to these important tasks this week.  Your Brothers deserve it.

Fraternally yours,

 

Alison M. S. Beidler
Chair/Membership Director
Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association
alison@kkpsi.org

—

KKΨAA Board of Directors

alumni@kkpsi.org

https://kkpsiaa.kkytbsonline.com

 

The Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association is dedicated to supporting the Fraternity. Recognizing that the college band experience should continue after graduation, the Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association will focus its efforts on connecting and enriching members from the past, present, and future of college and university bands; promoting lifelong involvement with band; and enhancing the long-term growth and financial viability of Kappa Kappa Psi.

Information for the upcoming MWD, SED, and WD conventions

Posted on by

Brothers of the Midwest, Southeast, and Western Districts,

Below you will find buttons that link to both the National Town Hall question submission form (labeled with the hashtag for your convention) as well as the Ritual Performance and Education Committee Focus Group sign up form. The National Leadership Team is excited to see you all this weekend!

Keep striving!
Zac

 

Podcast update for the week of March 27th

Posted on by

Brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi:

Due to some technical difficulties following the Southwest District Convention, there will only be one episode of “Kappa Kappa Psi Presents” this week as opposed to the double episodes I mentioned last week. The episode will be posted on Wednesday morning and will focus on the Curriculum Committee’s conversation that happened at SWDCon. It will have some updates for the coming week as well. The goal for next week and the week after will be to have double episodes each week following the remaining district conventions, with one focusing on the convention itself and the other focusing on that weekend’s Curriculum Committee conversations.

I apologize for the hiccup and I look forward to bringing the Brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi continued quality content with the upcoming episodes of the podcast. If you’d like to contribute to the podcast, don’t hesitate to reach out by visiting the podcast’s website or sending an email to kkpsipresents@kkpsi.org.

Thank you for understanding!

Keep striving!
Zac

Official Notice of KKΨ National Convention

Posted on by

In accordance with Section 3.403 of the Kappa Kappa Psi National Constitution, official notice is hereby given that,

The National Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi will meet in National Convention

July 18-22, 2017
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
1900 E. Buena Vista Drive
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

In preparation for our upcoming National Convention this summer in Orlando, Florida, the fraternity’s constitution requires that the National Executive Director and the National Vice President for Student Affairs publish any relevant information that our membership needs to be informed about the upcoming meeting. Below you will find a short summary of both an initial agenda and topics that will be discussed.

As with all national conventions, the commissioning of a new piece of band literature through the joint effort of the National Intercollegiate Band with Tau Beta Sigma, the review of our national constitution, the passing of a budget, and the election of officers are key priorities. As you know, the election process was changed in 2015 at our last national convention in Lexington, Kentucky. This will be the first implementation of that new process and a review will be done of its efficacy. In addition, many guest speakers and leadership development sessions are planned for the continuing education of all members in attendance.

At this national convention, the 10-year moratorium on changes to our Ritual expires. As has been mentioned for the past several months, this does not mean that the ritual will be rewritten. Instead, the focus of the Ritual and Regalia committee will be to ensure that any necessary updates are made with respect to changes made to our guiding documents (constitution, policies, and various statements).

There is also a goal to enhance the performance aspects of the ritual by providing better guidance within our ritual book itself. The Ritual Performance and Education committee was created this biennium to propose changes to the instructions and preparation pages of the ritual. This committee will be on hand throughout the district convention season to chat with brothers about their ongoing efforts. If you’d like to reach out to the committee, you can do so by sending an email to RitualEducation@kkpsi.org.

We will also discuss the implementation of a national curriculum, entitled “The Road to Wisdom,” that is the product of a multi-biennial effort to provide our chapters with a framework for educating new members. There will be plenty of room for chapters to retain their individual identities, the curriculum being proposed is focused on providing more structure to the overall process. It will do so by setting benchmarks on bringing in new brothers to the fraternity, with the focus more on what it takes to be a successful and productive active member. Members of the curriculum committee will be available throughout the district convention season to answer questions and have conversations on their ongoing work. If you would like to reach out to the committee, you can do so by sending an email to Curriculum@kkpsi.org.

Several constitutional changes will be reviewed.  One such constitutional amend would create an appointed member to the Kappa Kapp Psi Board of Trustees.  This additional voting member would fill a gap in expertise or experience as deemed needed.  Additional constitutional changes may be recommended as we approach national convention.  These will be published on the national convention website.

National Convention is taking place in the Buena Vista Palace hotel in Orlando, Florida. Registration for the convention is $140. If you have questions or need more information regarding the upcoming National Convention, please visit the convention website here: http://natcon.kkytbsonline.com/. You can also contact our National Headquarters with any questions you have by calling (405)372-2333 or email our National Executive Director Steve Nelson at nelson@kkytbs.org.

A short outline of the daily agenda for the convention itself follows:

  • July 18 – Opening Joint and Separate Sessions, Seating of Delegates, NIB Concert
  • July 19 – Committee Meetings and Workshops
  • July 20 – Free Day for Orlando parks
  • July 21 – Separate Session, Committee Meetings and Workshops
  • July 22 – Closing Separate and Joint Sessions, National Elections, Convention Banquet

If you have specific questions for your National Council, there are a couple ways to get in touch. You can visit https://www.kkpsi.org/vpsa/ and click on the button at the bottom that mentions leaving feedback and questions for the National Council. You can also send an email to any or all of the National Council:

President:  Jack Lee – lee.jack.d@gmail.com

Vice President for Colonization and Membership:  Evan Thompson – evan@kkpsi.org

Vice President for Programs:  Marco Krcatovich – mkrcatovich@gmail.com

Vice President for Student Affairs:  Zac Humphrey – zac@kkpsi.org

Vice President for Professional Relations:  Douglas Stotter – dstotter@uta.edu

Immediate Past National President:  Christine Beason – beasonchristine@kkpsi.org

Chair for the Board of Trustees:  Rod Chesnutt – rchesnutt@fgcu.edu

Vice Chair for the Board of Trustees:  Adam Cantley – adamcantley@kkpsi.org

Chair for the KKΨ Alumni Association BOD:  Alison Beidler – alison@kkpsi.org

Thank you for taking the time to read this and we look forward to seeing you this July in Orlando, Florida!

The opening Joint Session with Tau Beta Sigma is expected to begin on July 18th at 2pm.  The seating of delegates will follow.

Sincerely,

Zac Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs

Steven C. Nelson
National Executive Director
Kappa Kappa Psi & Tau Beta Sigma

—

Zachary T. Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity
zac@kkpsi.org

Steve Nelson
National Executive Director
Kappa Kappa Psi / Tau Beta Sigma National Headquarters
PO Box 849, Stillwater, OK 74076
ph: 405-372-2333 / fax: 405-372-2363
www.kkpsi.org / www.tbsigma.org / www.kkytbs.org
2017 National Convention / July 18 – 22 / Orlando, Florida

District Convention National Town Hall Update

Posted on by

Greetings from the Northeast District Convention in beautiful Lancaster, PA!

I wanted to take a moment to re-post the links to the online submission forms for the District Convention Town Halls. This, along with using your district specific hashtags, provides an alternative to standing at the mic and asking a question or sharing a comment or concern with the National Leadership Team. To that end, find your district's button below. Utilize the hashtags on the buttons to submit questions via Facebook and twitter.

We can't wait to see you all in the coming weeks!

Keep striving!
Zac
National Vice President for Student Affairs

Ritual Performance and Education Committee update!

Posted on by

Evening brothers!

On behalf of the Ritual Performance and Education committee, I hope this finds you well! As you may have heard, as part of preparing for National Convention this summer, our National President Jack Lee and National Vice President for Colonization and Membership Evan Thompson created the Ritual Performance and Education committee. The appointed me the chair of the committee. The committee's mandate is to review the performance instructions relating for the ritual and work towards creating educational materials that will work in tandem with the work that the Curriculum Development committee is doing.

To that end, as the committee has been working over the past 5 months, we wanted to ensure that the work we were doing was meaningful, useful, and helpful to our active membership in their execution of the ritual. To get meaningful feedback, we have proposed a two prong strategy.

1) We will be sending a survey to all chapter presidents. We request that either the chapter president or someone they designate fill out the survey based on the chapter's experience.

2) Performing 6 focus groups during the upcoming district conventions. We invite each chapter to send one representative of their chapter to participate in this in-person conversation on the work being done by the committee. Chapters can sign up now using the buttons below based on their home districts.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to the committee by emailing RitualEducation@kkpsi.org.

Keep striving!
Zac

The Kenneth Corbett Most Improved Chapter Award Finalists Selected

Posted on by

Brothers,

I am honored to announce the following chapters have been selected by the National Council of Kappa Kappa Psi as finalists for the Kenneth Corbett Most Improved Chapter Award.   These chapters were selected from among all chapters eligible in their district for this recognition of a biennium spent improving the chapter and their bands.

Remember that being eligible for next biennium starts TODAY with the steps you take to ensure paperwork and dues are submitted on time and that your chapter remains in compliance with all national rules and regulations.  This is every brother’s responsibility, but if you aren’t sure what you can do or want advice on how to be in good standing next biennium, contact myself or any member of the National Leadership Team.  We are here for you!

Please join me in congratulating these chapters for their hard work this biennium:

Midwest District – Gamma Delta chapter at Wayne State College (NE)

Northeast District – Epsilon Phi chapter at Clarion University (PA)

North Central District – Eta chapter at the Ohio State University

Southeast District – Alpha Eta chapter at the University of Florida

Western District – Alpha Alpha chapter the University of Nevada

—

Marco A. Krcatovich II

National Vice President for Programs

mkrcatov@kkpsi.org