Category Archives: Fraternity News

February/March Council Update, part 3: District Conventions 2017

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Tonight’s update is all about district conventions. So let’s get started!

District Conventions are starting up in a few weeks, here is a list of dates and locations:

NED – March 17-18 – Lancaster, PA
SWD – March 24-26 – Stillwater, OK
MWD – March 31 – April 2 – Ames, IA
SED – March 31 – April 2 – Tampa, FL
WD – March 31 – April 2 – Boise, ID
NCD – April 7-9 – Columbus, OH

Remember, in order to attend, you must have a valid membership card. That means your active cards for those who are active and either a life membership or alumni association card for alumni members. This is a hard and fast rule! If you are bring candidates, make sure to have a letter signed by your DOB or Sponsor on file with their names. Any questions regarding membership cards, call HQ at (405)372-2333 and ask for Debbie.

Did you attend district convention last year? If you did, you’ll remember that during the National Town Hall there was a way to digitally submit questions to be answered. We will be bringing that back based on the success we had last year. Be on the look out for an update in the next few weeks that will have all the details on the hashtags and links to the district specific forms.

Two national committees are going to be actively participating in conventions this year in preparation for National Convention in Orlando this summer. The Curriculum Development Committee along with the Ritual Performance and Education Committee (RPEC) will both be on hand to share the work they have been doing as well as answer questions regarding that work. In addition, the RPEC will be inviting one member of each chapter in attendance to participate in a focus group where they will discuss the work being done and get feedback on specific language that will be included in the final report of recommendations that get sent to the Ritual and Regalia Committee at National Convention. In addition to the focus group at convention, your chapter president’s should be receiving a survey that either they or their designate will fill out on behalf of the chapter. Both of these committees are doing vital work in the name of the fraternity and we want to ensure that our membership has every opportunity to ask questions and hear more information about the work they are doing so that come July, everyone in attendance will be able to make informed decisions. If you want to reach out to the Curriculum Development Committee, you can reach them via their committee email, Curriculum@kkpsi.org. If you’d like to reach the RPEC send an email to RitualEducation@kkpsi.org. See the committee members in attendance below.

Curious about the National Leadership that will be in attendance to your district, check out the following list to see who you can expect to see!

MWD:

Council: Evan Thompson, Doug Stotter
Board: Danny George, Rod Chesnutt
Alumni Board: Nick Bratcher, Sarah Casias
NHQ: Steve Nelson (Alaina Peters as CFR)
Curriculum: (Evan)
Ritual: Andy Melvin

NCD:

Council: Jack Lee, Evan Thompson, Marco Krcatovich, Zac Humphrey, Doug Stotter
Board: Malinda Matney, Christine Beason
Alumni Board: Alison Beidler, Sarah Casias, Jennifer Pitts-Taylor
NHQ: Steve Nelson and Robert Bratcher
Curriculum: (Evan and Jack)
Ritual: Preston Ramsey (and Zac)

NED:

Council: Jack Lee, Evan Thompson, Marco Krcatovich, Zac Humphrey
Board: Adam Cantley, Eric Morson
Alumni Board: Alison Beidler, Nic Rorrer, Daniel Miller
NHQ: Di Spiva (Alaina Peters as CFR)
Curriculum: Jessica Lee (also Jack and Evan)
Ritual: (Zac)

SED:

Council: Jack Lee,
Board: Board: Eric Morson, Christine Beason
Alumni Brent Cannon, Nic Rorrer
NHQ: Robert Bratcher
Curriculum: Ken Corbett (Jack)
Ritual: Chris Haughee

SWD:

Council: Jack Lee, Evan Thompson
Board: Christine Beason, Danny George, Eric Morson
Alumni Board: Alison Beidler, Nick Bratcher, Brent Cannon, Daniel Miller
NHQ: (whole HQ since in Stillwater) (Alaina Peters as CFR)
Curriculum: Jessica Lee, Ken Corbett (also Jack and Evan)
Ritual: Andy Melvin, Graham Delafield

WD:

Council: Marco Krcatovich, Zac Humphrey
Board: Malinda Matney, Adam Cantley
Alumni Board: Daniel Miller, Jennifer Pitts-Taylor
NHQ: Potentially Aaron Moore (Justin Chesak as CFR)
Curriculum: Yvonne Daye
Ritual: (Zac)

I think that about wraps it up for today!

Keep Striving!
Zac

February/March Council Update, part 2: Chapter Leadership Finalists!

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Today’s National Council Update is the official list of the Chapter Leadership Finalists! Please congratulate the 13 chapters named finalists for the William Scroggs Founder’s Trophy:

Gamma, University of Washington
Delta, University of Oklahoma
Nu, University of Michigan
Pi, Auburn University
Alpha Zeta, Indiana University
Alpha Omega, University of Pittsburgh
Beta Omicron, Arizona State University
Gamma Pi, Purdue University
Zeta Beta, Howard Payne University
Zeta Epsilon, Michigan State University
Iota Omega, Iowa State University
Kappa Beta, Clemson University
Kappa Upsilon, Marist College

These chapters submitted an application and materials after completing all required paperwork on time and maintaining active status throughout the biennium. Unlike previous years, the applications and materials were reviewed by multiple members of the National Leadership Team and their success this biennium was scored on a common set of attributes and aspects that we look for in all chapters:

– Leadership Development within the Chapter
– Leadership in the Band Program
– Chapter Planning and Strategic Planning
– Service to the Band Program
– Relationship with the Director of Bands/Band Program
– Band Program Recruitment
– Band Musicianship Improvement
– Chapter Recruitment
– Engagement in the District/National Fraternity
– Chapter Musicianship Improvement
– Alumni Engagement
– Membership Education Planning and Organization

Keep Striving!

Zac Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs

February/March Council Update, part 1: VPSA page on KKPsi.org

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It has been a while since I have penned an update for the website. With the weekly podcast episodes, I unintentionally neglected providing written updates as well. To remedy this, I will be posting a short update on a different topic each night this week. So let’s get to it, shall we?

Tonight’s update is all about the new VPSA page on the national website. There you will find a media player with Kappa Kappa Psi Presents episodes, as well as a link to the podcast’s website. You will also find RSS feeds with National Council Updates and Student Advisory Committee meeting notes. There is also a link to the national council’s online feedback from located at the bottom of the page. Going forward this will be the landing page for all things relating to VPSA and communication from the national level.

Keep striving!

Zac Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs

Board of Trustees is seeking alumni to serve on the Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association Board of Directors

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The National Board of Trustees is seeking alumni to serve on the Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association Board of Directors (AABOD).

The Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association Board of Directors is responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating the various facets and initiatives of Kappa Kappa Psi’s alumni program and for driving a strategic vision of alumni involvement in the Fraternity at the national level. Any alumnus who has a keen interest in and commitment to KKPsi and its alumni program should provide a one-page letter and resume by 25 March 2017 (postmark deadline) highlighting her/his qualifications and ideas.

Applications should address the following:
• the professional skills, talents and expertise of the applicant;
• suggestions for programs or programming for alumni;
• ideas and thoughts relating to a strategic vision for KKPsi’s alumni program.

There are a finite number of positions, but letters from everyone interested in this opportunity to serve are welcomed. If you are not an alumnus of KKPsi, but know of an alumnus who would be an asset to our Alumni Association Board of Directors, please encourage her or him to submit a letter. We are also interested in your nominations, and are happy to encourage all who are nominated to formally apply.

Any questions or nominations can be addressed to Danny George, Board of Trustees Member or Adam Cantley, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Please send all submissions to the National Headquarters at kkytbs@kkytbs.org.

Thank you for your time and interest.

Student Advisory Committee February 2017 Report

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Brothers,

Below you will find an outline of what took place during the February Student Advisory Committee meeting on February 12, 2017. Si Si Ni of the WD took notes for the meeting. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. You can reach me at zac@kkpsi.org or the whole committee at StudentAdvisory@kkpsi.org.

Keep Striving!
Zac

—February SAC – Minutes 2/12/2017—

  • Introduction/Attendance
    • Midwest: none
    • North Central: Danielle Francis – Sec/Treas
    • Northeast: Shanon Rubin – VP for Membership
    • Southeast: Evan Schlameuss – VP for Programs
    • Southwest: George Ishii – President, Arjun Jeetan – MAL
    • Western: Si Si Ni – Sec/Treas
    • National Leadership: Jack Lee, Marco Krcatovich, Zac Humphrey, Jessica Lee (Curriculum Committee)
  • District Updates
    • Midwest
      • no update provided
    • North Central
      • Block presentation
        • More attendance from the norther school
      • Large number of people registered for convention
    • North East
      • 2/3 precinct meetings
      • Central – end of January
      • Northern precinct – next week
      • Both had 150-200 people attend
      • Registration is up on the website!
      • The workshops for convention are being planned beautifully.
    • Southeast
      • DLC was at Vanderbilt

        • Attendance was higher than usual
      • Website for SED convention is up!
      • New chapter in the district! Iota Nu – Alabama A & M

        • 75% of Iota Nu
    • Southwest
      • Convention planning is under way
      • Workshop season began yesterday
      • Accepting submissions to the district publications
    • Western
      • DLC – UCLA helped the district council gain a better understanding of the district to better-prepare WDC.

        • Attendance was higher than previous years.
      • Presidents are working efficiently in their planning for WDC.

        • Website and registration are both up!
      • The guidebook app used for DLC will make its reappearance at WDC to be a more efficient form of communication and cut down the costs by not printing excessively.
  • SAC Topic #1: Curriculum Development Update with Jessica Lee, member of the Curriculum Development Committee
    • Now onto 2nd round of pilot chapters
    • Currently using Ed Moto – interface similar to Facebook

      • Posts for chapters to access
      • A way to communicate to VP of pilot chapters
    • The committee met in January for updates.
    • Now beginning the refinement process

      • Feedback from Dos is really important
    • Committee will meet in April

      • Weekly feedback form on each lesson
      • Review feedback
      • Something different this time
    • After the meeting in April, committee will meet in June
    • Candidate guidebook & Teaching manual format
    • Finalized draft in June, then sent to committees for review at National Convention
    • One member from Curriculum will be present at every district convention
    • Goal: Ask pilot chapters to speak during the Curriculum presentation time block
    • Feedback

      • Chapters actually have a lot of control of the product (MEP)
      • Curriculum Committee development the content guideline (minimum)
      • Activities (in alignment with their policies) are up to chapter discretion.
      • Understand the values of Kappa Kappa Psi as an organization
      • Misconception:
    • At TMEA – Texas Southern might pilot
    • Q&A

      • Portfolio/project option
      • Memorizing information isn’t conducive
      • Rubric for discussion questions
      • Tests are not the best way to measure success.
      • Live the values of the organization
      • More MC responses
      • Activities
      • Should recruiting members that have the qualities of a members
      • Recommended votes after every degree
      • Learning disabilities/Dyslexia
      • Values based education
      • Rubric for vice presidents for evaluations
      • Think about the qualities you want to see in a Brother
      • How do we “measure” the success of a membership candidate without tangible data (i.e. tests/quizzes)?
      • Why do we need a test to be a standard?
    • Listen to Zac’s last two podcasts!

      • Upcoming podcast: Membership Selection

        • Recruit quality members and then think of the MCs as Actives in training rather than probationary members.
    • Email Jessica at curriculum@kkpsi.org or Jessica@kkpsi.org for any questions you may have
  • National Council Updates
    • Homework for March Meeting:

      • Reach out to chapters that piloted the National MEP
      • Find out what their concerns are
      • What they like/dislike
      • This helps prepare the National Curriculum committee prepare for National Convention
    • Chapter Leadership Finalists

      • Chapter leadership finalists will be announced on 2/13/17
      • There will be a press release on campus announcing
      • There are leadership finalists in every district!
      • Let these chapters know they’re outstanding!
      • There will be feedback in town hall to be thinking about in the future.
    • If you don’t know which national officers are attending your district conventions, ask Zac for the complete list.
    • (Shamelessly) Plug the Kappa Kappa Psi Presents podcasts
    • Awards:

      • The national officers will present national awards at district conventions.
      • These are awards that students can apply for.
    • Three Colonies

      • Jarvis Christian College
      • Old Dominion  
      • Cal Poly – Pomona
  • SAC Topic #2: Alumni Involvement: What does it currently look like and what would you like to see when you become an alumni?
    • Western District shared that there is very little encouraged alumni involvement and that there is actually some exclusion happening. Would love for more positive ways for alumni involvement.
    • The NED shared that they have a good relationship with their district alumni association. They are used for presenters at conventions and NEDAA presents some awards at convention, but they would like to see more awareness in general re: alumni events on a local level.
    • The SED shared similar experiences re: district alumni involvement but would like to see more alumni focused events similar to active workshops
    • One issue that SWD noted that chapters frequently face is getting updated alumni info from their universities. A lot of time there isn’t good coordination between the chapter and university due to privacy laws. They were wondering if this is something that the national level could help out with?
      • Zac will reach out to HQ and find out if there is more that the national org can do

Student Advisory Committee January 2017 Report

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Brothers,

Below you will find an outline of what took place during the January Student Advisory Committee meeting on January 17, 2017. George Ishii of the SWD took notes for the meeting. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. You can reach me at zac@kkpsi.org or the whole committee at StudentAdvisory@kkpsi.org.

Keep Striving!
Zac

—January SAC – Minutes 1/17/2017—

  • Introduction/Attendance
    • Midwest: Sarah Person – Sec/Treas
    • North Central: Abigail Johnson – VP for Membership
    • Northeast: none
    • Southeast: Ariel Clouse – VP for Membership, Evan Schlameuss – VP for Programs, Jerome Hall – Sec/Treas
    • Southwest: George Ishii – President, Arjun Jeetan – MAL
    • Western: Alyssa Maher – VP, Jake Rocco – MAL
  • District Updates
    • Midwest
      • no update provided
    • North Central
      • Winter Council Meeting week and a half ago
      • Convention in Columbus, Ohio
      • Met all FOUR host Chapters (All chapters located in Columbus)
      • DLC is next Saturday, in Hope,Indiana
    • North East
      • n/a
    • Southeast
      • Winter Council MLK Weekend
      • SED Con 2017 Tampa Florida, University of South Florida
      • DLC at Vanderbilt February 11th
      • Iota Nu Colony at Alabama A&M will be installed
    • Southwest
      • Busy with convention planning
      • Workshop season is about to get underway
        • going to be hosting a signing competition
    • Western
      • DLC – UCLA MLK Weekend (200 People!)
        • Had guest presentations with some National Officers
        • Tailored workshops to the age of the membership
        • Used an app as a digital schedule
        • Carpool Karaoke district-wide compilation video
        • Workshop to help sec/treas plan certain projects, contact for more info
        • Music Leadership Building Project – able to bring up problems and solutions together
  • SAC Topic #1: Do chapters in your district have local dues in addition to national dues? What are they used for and when are they collected?
    • Reach out to Chapters in your District and find out how much their local dues are and what that money goes towards, report back to VPSA
    • How does your own Chapter handle local dues?
      • The total varies per chapter: $5, $40-$50, $100
      • Money goes to:
        • General Service Funds
        • Chapter Polo shirt
        • Buying stoles for graduating seniors
        • Sending Delegates to Convention
        • Candidate Scholarship (pays for dues)
        • Beginning of Year Startup Funds
        • Determined to Chapter Vote
      • Many chapters have payment plans and priority is given to getting national dues in on time.
    • How do you feel about local dues?
      • Chapters should vote to approve local dues
      • Guidelines for payment plans would be welcome
        • Could setup payment plans during the last meetings of the year
          • guidelines for how to set these up would be welcome
      • Service funds should be fundraised by Chapter, local dues are for personal Chapter expenses
  • National Council Updates
    • Met in Orlando, FL for Winter Council at NatCon Hotel
    • Marco and Zac are working on a budgeting tool with Headquarters to get Chapters to NatCon
      • Rough estimate for 4 people in a hotel room for week with registration is $125 for Convention and $132 for hotel room
      • Parking is  $16/day
      • More to be included in the tool
    • February 1st is date for NatCon Website to go live
    • Curriculum Committee
      • Recorded hour and a half of audio for the KKPsi Presents Podcast
      • Will be a part of the National Town Hall at District Conventions
    • 75-80% of the way through budget, on track
    • Due to growth of National Organization, discussion on whether to suspend the automatic dues increase at NatCon
    • KKPsi Presents Podcast to be reformatted into segments
      • Will be asking for submissions from all Brothers about their own stories
    • Awards
      • Jack and Marco have reviewed Leadership Funds
      • Solicitation for Boh Makovsky Award, for an outstanding conductor
      • Gold Star Recognition – Brothers who have served/passed away during Military Service
    • Chapter Petitioning Documents are being scanned into an online database for Chapters to be able to access
  • District Feedback/Concerns
    • Curriculum Pilot Chapter Feedback:
      • Candidates enjoy being able to plan and execute their own fundraiser and service project
      • Has given Candidates a more collaborative and inclusive experience
      • Western District got feedback that they felt they were growing as leaders, but were less sure of the identity of the fraternity
        • lack of focus on chapter, district, and TBS identities
  • Announcements and Wrap up
    • J. Lee Burke are open to all Brothers, not just District Presidents
    • A. Frank Martin given to someone with a regional impact
    • DSMM top award given to someone with life-long contributions to music

New Kappa Kappa Psi Colonies Announced

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Brothers:

The National Council is pleased to announce three new colonies for the spring semester. Jarvis Christian College (Mr. Brent Cannon, Colony Advisor), Cal Poly Pomona (Dr. Travis Cross, Colony Advisor), and Old Dominion University (Ms. Yvonne Daye, Colony Advisor).

Please send messages of welcome and congratulations to the Colony Presidents:

Jarvis Christian – Michael Cowan – cowanhaywoodmd@gmail.com

Cal Poly Pomona – Elizabeth Zita – ezita1996@gmail.com

Old Dominion – Jacob Himmelman – jhimm001@odu.edu

We wish our colonies success on their journey!

AEA,

Evan L. Thompson
National Vice President for Colonization & Membership
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity
evan@kkpsi.org

Installation of Iota Nu at Alabama A&M University

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Brothers:

I am pleased to announce the installation of the Iota Nu Chapter (#229) at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in Huntsville, Alabama. This is the sixth installation of the biennium.

Pi Chapter at Auburn University served as the Ritual Chapter, and brothers from Nu Nu at the University of Alabama were in attendance. Also in attendance were National Chapter Field Representative Justin Chesak, and Southeast District Honorary and Former SED TBS Counselor Crystal Hunter. Southeast District Governor Latrondrick Hunter served as the Colony Advisor and Installing Officer.

The elected officers of the chapter are:

President: Patrick Alsobrook
Vice President: Jason Holt
Secretary: Caleb Norton
Treasurer: Jacolbi Bascomb
Historian: Elijah Bennett
Parliamentarian: Jermaine McCord
Sponsor and Director of Bands: Mr. Carlton J. Wright

Please send notes of congratulations to the Chapter President Patrick Alsobrook at pda2012@gmail.com.

Congratulations to Iota Nu! Welcome to the brotherhood!

AEA,

Evan L. Thompson
National Vice President for Colonization & Membership
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity
evan@kkpsi.org

Student Advisory Committee December 2016 Report

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Brothers,

Below you will find an outline of what took place during the December Student Advisory Committee meeting on December 17, 2016. Michael Bradford-Calhoun of the SED took notes for the meeting. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. You can reach me at zac@kkpsi.org or the whole committee at StudentAdvisory@kkpsi.org.

Keep Striving!
Zac

—December SAC – Minutes 12/17/2016—

  • Introduction/Attendance
    • Midwest: no representative
    • North Central: Justin Jensen – VP for Programs
    • Northeast: Shanon Rubin – VP
    • Southeast: Michael Bradford-Calhoun – President
    • Southwest: George Ishii – President
    • Western: Mitch Mikuchonis – President & Alyssa Maher – VP
  • District Updates
    • Midwest: n/a
    • North Central
      • Finalizing Convention plan
      • Winter meeting here soon
    • North East
      • Still looking for location for convention
      • Winter Council MLK weekend in Lancaster, PA
      • Focusing on precinct meetings
      • Future discussion on how to get students more involved
    • Southeast
      • Convention Plan turned in
      • Winter Council MLK Weekend
      • DLC February 11th @ Vanderbilt
      • Moving to Convention Center system after this year for District Convention
      • Honda Battle of the Bands – Atlanta, GA Jan 28th
      • Big event for bands and KKPSI will have a table present
    • Southwest
      • Convention Plan in
      • MLK weekend for Winter Council
      • Spring chapter leadership workshops
      • Application for students to present at workshops
    • Western
      • Moving forward with DLC – 13-15th
      • District Officers getting to speak with prospective candidates
      • Marching Band setting for their music workshop block
      • NIB recording possibilities at district events
      • WDC planning
      • Western District Ensemble Clinic – inviting high schools to come sit with the reading band
      • Jazz Band – up and running
      • Seeking host chapter for 2018
  • SAC Topic #1: How can both the district and national levels better prepare and encourage students to get to national convention?
    • Getting people to NatCon
      • Bussing for NatCon
        • ZK Chapter – Texas A&M Commerce, hired chartered buses that would pick up other chapters to go to NatCon.
      • Start a savings plan
    • Evaluating the difference of District or NatCon for chapters to understand what they should go to and why
    • Make sure Districts are getting information about District and NatCon out now
    • RITUAL MORATORIUM is up
    • Circulation of ideas to get people to District Conventions and explain how it is different from a national convention
    • Rotating Facts about National Business to help Chapters know what will be discussed and have this regularly communicated in the lead up
  • National Council Updates
    • Alabama A&M Colony will be installed after the new year.
    • Submit any questions, comments, or concerns to be discussed at the National Council’s Winter Council Meeting by January 10th!
    • A lot of chapters missed the December 1st deadline! Redouble efforts to ensure deadlines are being met by your consitutent chapters!
  • District Feedback/Concerns
    • George asked about OMRS and how it is updated from one year to the next
      • This is largely on the chapters as there is not standard officer corps make up or way they can be reached.
      • George mentioned it would be nice having chapters with unified messaging accounts across their officers
        • Zac gave examples of how some chapters do this with officer email accounts and such. This comes down to effectively doing chapter transitions.
        • This is where district councils can focus on building and maintaining databases that can be leveraged.
  • Announcements and Wrap up
    • Applications for national office are due January 15th!

Feedback for the National Council

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Happy New Year Brothers!

I am excited to announce that you can now submit feedback to the National Council in a fast and easy way. Currently it is via a google form found here. Going forward we will be working to integrate it into the national website. As our annual Winter Council Meeting is happening in a week, now would be a great time to submit any questions, comments, or concerns you have for the Council’s review.

Are you curious about the status of the Membership Education Curriculum Pilot program? Maybe you want more information on the upcoming National Convention? Is there a recurring question regarding the National Constitution that is vexing your chapter? These are all examples of items that could be submitted.

While the form asks for identifying information like name, chapter, and email, the only required field is your question, comment, or concern. This is another way the Council is looking forward to hearing back from you, our Brothers!

AEA,

Zac Humphrey
Vice President for Student Affairs