Message from National Council on Revised Ritual Books
- Approved changes are being reviewed and formatted; a thorough review process will take place to ensure all changes are correct before printing.
- Once the edits and changes are made, seven (7) Ritual Books will be shipped to all chapters.
- Please check your chapter mailing address today and make sure it is valid and secure.
- Until Ritual Books arrive, continue to use the 2007 version of the Ritual Books for education and ceremonies.
- Once new Ritual Books arrive, you will receive directions on the proper disposal of out of date Ritual Books.
- Set aside a chapter meeting once new Ritual Books arrive to read through the foreword, instructions, and Ritual as a chapter.
- Questions regarding Ritual Performance can be directed to our Ritual Performance and Education Committee at RitualEducation@kkpsi.org.
Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year!
Brothers:
Welcome back to Kappa Kappa Psi for the 2017-2018 school year! The National Council and National Headquarters encourage all chapters to submit the Chapter Personnel Report, Member Dues, and Chapter Fee on-time by September 30, 2017. Schools on the quarter system should submit their report and fees by October 15, 2017. Reports and dues submitted after the above deadlines are considered late and will be assessed a 25% late fee. This report needs to be completed by the Chapter President and approved by the Chapter Sponsor and Director of Bands through the OMRS (online.kkytbs.org). Please make sure every member of the chapter logs on to the OMRS to update personal information if anything has changed.
The Chapter Personnel Report consists of the following parts:
- Chapter Fee: $75.oo (on-time)
- Member Dues: $100.00 (on-time per member)
- Completed online form in the OMRS (online.kkytbs.org)
- Summary Page (collect signatures of all Active, Conditional, Associate)
If you have any questions about the Chapter Personnel Report, please email National Headquarters at kkytbs@kkytbs.org or call at (405) 372-2333.
Have a great school year! AEA
Evan
Statement on Charlottesville, Virginia
Brothers:
Kappa Kappa Psi wishes to express its deepest sympathy to the community of Charlottesville, Virginia over the loss of life and injuries that occurred as a result of senseless acts of violence and hate. We offer our condolences to all who were affected.
The events in Charlottesville and at the University of Virginia have left our nation once again confronted with malicious acts of hatred and intolerance by white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. These terrible events that took place over the weekend make it clear that hatred, racism, and bigotry are still part of the mainstream culture. The goal of these groups is to preach a disgraceful and immoral message to every part of our country. Theirs is a message of hate, and it is wrong.
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity condemns the actions of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK who seek to tear our country apart with their hateful beliefs and rhetoric. There is no place for hate in our organization or our country.
We envision something better for our members, for society, and for college and university bands. We reaffirm our ritualistic vows and will continue to preserve the integrity and honor of Kappa Kappa Psi through ensuring an inclusive, equitable, and safe culture for all members. We are called to walk only in honorable and worthy ways and be an inspiration to others. On behalf of the National Council, I ask all Brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi to stand with us and reject hatred and intolerance in all its forms.
Strive for the Highest!
Evan L. Thompson
National President
Kappa Kappa Psi
2017-2019 National Leadership Team
Kappa Kappa Psi held the 49th Biennial Convention at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Florida. Part of the business sessions of the convention is the election of National Officers and Board of Trustees members. Kappa Kappa Psi is pleased to announce the elected and appointed leaders for the 2017-2019 biennium.
National Council
- National President: Evan Thompson
- National Vice President for Colonization & Membership: Marco Krcatovich
- National Vice President for Programs: Dr. Nicholas Bratcher
- National Vice President for Student Affairs: Jessica Lee
- National Vice President for Professional Relations: Dr. Douglas Stotter
Board of Trustees
- Adam Cantley, Chair
- Daniel George, CPA, Vice Chair
- Dr. Malinda Matney
- Eric Morson
- Ed Savoy
- Jack Lee, Immediate Past President
District Governors
- Anthony Falcone & Denali Pearce-Alt, Midwest District
- Jason Mlady & Tammi Ramsey, North Central District
- Marie Burleigh & Mike Napolitano, Northeast District
- Dr. Craig Aarhus & Latrondrick Hunter, Southeast District
- Toni Castle, Clint Wieden, & Kalem Graham, Southwest District
- Charlene Ronne & Erik Marrs, Western District
Alumni Association Board of Directors
- Daniel Miller, Chair
- Jennifer Pitts-Taylor
- Dr. Erin Cooper
- Brent Cannon
- Dr. Nicholas Rorrer
- Kelly Nellis
- Dr. Bret Zawilski
Kappa Kappa Psi Mourns the Passing of David Maslanka
Dr. David Maslanka passed away on August 6, 2017. One of the most prolific composers of wind band music, Dr. Maslanka’s works have been performed regularly in major countries around the world. He was the commissioned composer for Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma’s National Commissioning Program in 1995, and the National Intercollegiate Band performed his work A Tuning Piece: Songs of Fall and Winter. Other works commissioned by chapters of Kappa Kappa Psi include In Memoriam and Traveler.
Dr. Maslanka is an honorary member of the Delta Sigma chapter at the University of Texas at Arlington and the Gamma Phi chapter at Stephen F. Austin State University. David Maslanka’s memory will live on through his significant contributions to the wind band repertoire and the countless number of students, conductors, and musicians who will continue to perform his works and share his music. Kappa Kappa Psi mourns Dr. Maslanka’s passing, and we send our thoughts and prayers to his family. We also send our gratitude for a life well-lived and his positive impact on college and university bands.
Student Advisory Committee July 2017 Report
Brothers,
Below you will find an outline of what took place during the July Student Advisory Committee, pre-NatCon meeting on July 9, 2017. Lizzi Pineiro 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
—July SAC – Minutes 7/9/2017—
-
Introduction/Attendance
- Midwest: Jesse Granados – President
- North Central: Viet Nguyen – VPM, Jacob Boesch – VPP, Jason Filer – Secretary/Treasurer
- Northeast: Katie Kelly – President, Rebekah Franolich – Secretary/Treasurer
- Southeast: Frank Marzen – President,
- Southwest: Makenzie Darby – President, Lizzi Pineiro – VPM, Dino Cardenas – MAL
- Western: Lyssa Fukuhara – MAL
-
District Updates
- Midwest:
- We had a district wide T-Shirt fundraiser with Tau Beta Sigma, we have planned another district event which is our district days and we have nailed down a location and date, which will more than likely be announced to the district after national convention.
- North Central
- Summer Meeting happened discussing district goals; NatCon apparel fundraiser
- Northeast
- Discussed delegate fee reduction to less than $10 (maybe nothing!)
- Southeast
- Council is full now after extending deadlines
- Southwest
- Thinking of bringing a district fundraiser to NatCon
- Western
- No meeting held since last SAC Meeting
- Midwest:
-
National Council Updates
- Parking will be free for KKPsi and TBS members at the hotel
- 15% off food in the hotel
- 7 AM breakfasts with Zac (SAC Meetings to follow)
- Wi-fi will be available (no streaming) in the hotel for free in the business area
- Parks will have free wifi!
- Active and alumni membership cards are needed!
- Directions to local grocery stores and restaurants (less than 2 miles away) posted as a kkpsi.org update
- SAC: look at all info on Slack BEFORE attending convention (surveys will be on there too)
- SAC: Set up Slack accounts and tell Zac when you will arrive and leave
Last Council Update before National Convention 2017!
Happy Friday!
We are T-11 days until the opening session of the 2017 National Convention of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. Because we are now under two weeks away, the national leadership felt it was a good time to post some reminders about business to be discussed and about the logistics of the event itself. As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks, this year’s convention has a few big ticket items in terms of business, the national curriculum framework proposal, The Road to Wisdom, national officer elections, and the fraternity ritual being off its ten-year moratorium. But there are also a lot of other, more general reminders relating to national convention and the work of the national council. So let’s get started:
The Road to Wisdom
First up, the national curriculum proposal, The Road to Wisdom. The framework that the Curriculum committee has been working on this biennium will be presented to the Colonization and Membership committee during convention where it will then be debated and discussed.
Many of you have been asking to see more materials relating to this curriculum, and you’re in luck! The committee, working with our National Publications Manager, Robert Bratcher, has uploaded PDFs of the Vice President Teach Manual and the MC Guidebook on the national convention website here. These are up to date as of today, July 7, 2017.
In addition to those amazing resources, there are other documents for your perusal, such as a Rationale Statement and planning guides for the Spring and Fall semesters. I would also steer you to the fraternity’s podcast, Kappa Kappa Psi Presents, as we have devoted a number of episodes to the curriculum over the past six months. Specifically, I recommend the following episodes: 24, 26, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 52, and 52a. I would especially suggest you listen to both 52 and 52a as they are the most recent and 52a is filled with brothers from the pilot chapters who actually used the curriculum this year as part of the membership education process. You can find all those and more here.
And if all that still isn’t enough, you can always reach out to the committee itself by sending an email to curriculum@kkpsi.org.
Kappa Kappa Psi Officer Elections
As you know, the election process was changed at the last national convention, in Lexington, Kentucky. As such, the slate of candidates has already been announced by the nominations committee. You can find their report here. You can find a list of all of the candidates along with introduction video clips here. Episode 39 of the podcast also features the audio content of the introduction videos, you can find that here.
Kappa Kappa Psi Ritual
Next, the Kappa Kappa Psi ritual! As many are aware, National President Jack Lee and National Vice President for Colonization and Membership Evan Thompson created the Ritual Performance and Education committee this biennium. They asked me, your National Vice President for Student Affairs, to serve as chair. We were charged with reviewing the entire ritual book and compiling a list of updates with respect to the performance and preparation language. The committee submitted its convention report to Jack earlier this week, and I can say we were very thorough.
It was an humbling experience and I am excited to see the conversations that take place within the Ritual and Regalia committee in a few days. Due to the secrecy of the ritual, I cannot provide even an overview of the suggested changes on this platform, but know that our committee did not make any recommendations that altered content within the ritual–our work was about the performance of the ritual so that the lessons and values it teaches can be articulated in the best way possible!
Also, I want to get everyone excited for all of the ritual related content that will be presented at national convention. There were be a number of workshops centered on our ritual and I am excited to see the conversations that take place!
National Council Feedback
I also would like to remind everyone that the council has their summer meeting directly in front of national convention. So if there is something you want to be sure we discuss, please don’t hesitate to submit your feedback here.
Other Reminders and Updates
With the big items out of the way, here are some other reminders:
National Convention is happening July 18th-22nd at the Buena Vista Palace resort in Orlando, Florida. You can find more information regarding registration, schedules and workshop descriptions, along with any other information you’d need here.
Be sure to use promo code ZKDZP when booking your SuperShuttle to the Buena Vista Palace for NatCon and save 10% on your trip! For more information click here.
Remember that as this is an official fraternity event, our attendance policy will be in full effect. Please refer here for more information on what to bring to verify your status as a brother in good standing.
I am excited to also share the following information with you! This afternoon, our National Executive Director, Steve Nelson received confirmation from the hotel of the following:
– All attendees will now receive complimentary parking.
– Attendees will receive a 15% discount off food purchases in the hotel’s restaurants
– Complimentary wifi will be available in meeting rooms (for light use, not for streaming or downloading of large files/videos)
If you are interested in spending the free day on Thursday at a theme park, there are also discounts available to us through the national convention website. Click on the attraction tickets menu and follow the directions for whichever parks you are interested in visiting. Deadlines for those discounts are fast approaching.
Also, remember to plan for the weather! It will be the middle to end of July in Florida! It will be hot, humid, and will probably storm in the afternoons. And while your packing, make sure to include not only your swimsuit for the awesome lazy river. But also be sure to pack your coolest letters and your best school spirit gear (for the fight song competition after banquet on Saturday).
Also, for situational awareness purposes, I wanted to share the closest non-Disney Springs/Hotel food and grocery options. There is a shopping center just off I-4 and just outside the resort property where you can find a Gooding’s (grocery store), McDonalds, Taco Bell, Waffle House, Chevy’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, TGI Fridays, Sweet Tomatoes, and more. This is about a 2 mile or 30 minute walk, which I have done it before when I stayed at another hotel around the corner from the Buena Vista Palace. Directions/google map of the area can be found here.
Be sure to add the fraternity and sorority’s google calendar that is being updated with national convention events with date/time/room locations here.
If you have any other questions between now and then, please don’t hesitate to reach out! You can either send an email to myself at zac@kkpsi.org or you can call national headquarters at (405)372-2333.
Keep striving and seen you real soon!
Zachary T. Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs
The 2017 Scott Stowell Alumni Excellence Award recipient is….
Named for Past National President Scott Stowell, the Scott Stowell Alumni Excellence Award was designed to recognize those alumni of Kappa Kappa Psi who continue to serve our fraternity through their devotion of time, energy, and spirit while volunteering as advisors, mentors, and role models, their professional advice and networking support to other members of our fraternity, and their encouragement of active brothers toward greater participation and growth in band programs and as members of Kappa Kappa Psi. The service of these outstanding Brothers has often been unsung and overlooked, a situation that the Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association seeks to remedy.
Awarded once each biennium, with recognition made at the National Convention of the Fraternity, previous recipients of the award are Michael Napolitano (2013, Kappa Upsilon) and Michelle Turenne (2015, Eta Omicron).
The Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association Board of Directors is pleased to recognize Jennifer Costello of the Alpha Omega Chapter as the 2017 recipient of the Scott Stowell Alumni Excellence Award for her ongoing support and dedication. We would like to share the following from the Alpha Omega chapter:
“She serves as the volunteer videographer for the University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band and as a mentor, advisor, and friend to the Alpha Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi. She is unbelievably kind and helpful to everyone that she meets and helps to create a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere for all members, new and old…Jen is the most dedicated, selfless, and caring alumni from the Alpha Omega chapter. She truly embodies the pillars of the fraternity: musicianship, leadership, service, and brotherhood. Her sense of fellowship and love for the fraternity is more than just “l love you”, it’s “no matter what”.”
The Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association would also like to congratulate the other nominees for 2017. Your on-going service to the Fraternity continues to be an inspiration:
• Mark Bowers, Beta Sigma
• Christopher Carpenter, Omicron
• Dan Everard, Eta Omicron
• Sarah Fitzgerald, Iota Delta
• Kelly Miller, Omicron
• Ed Savoy, Eta Alpha/Eta Omicron
• Jessica Finlay-Schultz, Alpha Iota
Finally, we would like to thank our selection committee for their work on the difficult task of choosing a single recipient. Brent Cannon, KKPsiAA Outreach and Recognition Director, was assisted by Alexis Howell (Iota Pi), Daniel Ross (Iota), Carissa Vinovskis (Epsilon Omega), Reggie Wallace (Eta Gamma), and Michelle Wedster (Eta Delta).
Report of the Nominations Committee – 2017 Elections Slate Announcement
Brothers,
At the 2015 National Convention in Lexington, KY, there were several changes to our nominations process for National Council and Board of Trustees positions. One the most significant changes is that the Committee on Nominations now completes its work prior to National Convention. Sections 3.708 and 3.709 of our National Constitution prescribe the requirements and specific work of the committee. In addition to numerous on-line meetings and candidate interviews, the committee met in-person in Dallas, TX in mid-April.
The committee has fulfilled their duties and have created a slate of candidates that are automatically placed in to nomination for his/her slated office at our National Convention in Orlando, FL that occurs July 18-22.
On behalf of the committee on nominations, I am pleased to present the report and slate that was created by the committee. I encourage all Brothers to review this report. Additionally, Brothers attending National Convention will have the opportunity to interact with all candidates seeking to serve on the National Council and Board of Trustees. A full list of eligible candidates can be found by clicking here, or visiting the national convention website.
I want to thank Chris Haughee, as chair of the committee, as well as all members of the committee for their work and dedication to Kappa Kappa Psi.
I look forward to seeing many of you in Orlando, FL as we come together to advance Kappa Kappa Psi even further as the world standard of excellence for band fraternal organizations!
Jack Lee
National President
Student Advisory Committee June 2017 Report
Brothers,
Below you will find an outline of what took place during the June Student Advisory Committee meeting on June 12, 2017 Lizzi Pineiro 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
—June SAC – Minutes 6/12/2017—
-
Introduction/Attendance
- Midwest: Jesse Granados – President
- North Central: Viet Nguyen – VPM, Jacob Boesch – VPP
- Northeast: Kim Sulahian – MAL
- Southeast: Frank Marzen – President, Keith Pringle – VPP
- Southwest: Lizzi Pineiro- VPM, Dino Cardenas – MAL
- Western: Micky Welther – Sec/Treas, Lyssa Fukuhara – MAL
-
District Updates
- Midwest:
- Convention site set; CLC was a great turn out
- North Central
- 58 people for their first summer event
- Northeast
- Gaining contact info per chapters; fundraising ideas for conventions (national and district)
- Southeast
- ‘Slack’ is working well as a communication platform; updating emails per chapter; positions are filling up
- Southwest
- National convention push; Instagram revamp
- Western
- Joint meeting was a success; positions selected (waiting on announcements)
- Midwest:
-
SAC Topic #1: The Road to Wisdom and an update from the Curriculum Committee
- Robert is making it pretty- almost ready for printing!
- Teacher-like manuals (student view per page)
- Reviews and assessments will be available as an option
- Both manuals will be available at Nat Con to the delegates of that committee
- Candidates will be able to type AND SAVE!!!
- Lesson Four Content got cut (for the sake of good teaching and engagement)
- Keeps the things that matter more important over the others
- Recording of stop-motion ritual and lessons at Nat Con
- 3 different lessons will be taught at Nat Con (Wed, Fri, and Sat)
- Tons of extra materials will be available (PPT etc)
- There will be assigned Curriculum Advisors per chapter
- Kim: “How do we still implement tradition?”
- “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR?”
- Edmodo, Google Classroom, Slack for virtual learning communities (contact the curriculum committee if you have other options that may fit this need)
-
National Council Updates
- Deadlines:
- Letter of Proxy—July 4
- Registration—June 15
- Book hotel ASAP
- Colonization application May 15—June 30
- Gold Star Program – award for Military—July 1
- Outstanding Sponsor—July 1
- Help with podcast at NatCon—form on website
- Deadlines:
-
SAC Topic #2: Music and the Ritual
- Due to secret nature of our ritual, the notes are available on request to verifiable brothers.
-
District Feedback/Concerns
- Dino: ‘Conditional status (especially concerning fees) during internship semesters’
- Clarified you only have to REAPPLY after two consecutive semesters
- Jacob: ‘Pharm student status”
- Zac wants to create a communications team to keep cohesive outreach to the brothers
- Next meeting (briefly) 1 week before Nat Con
- SAC will be given applications and will pick Most Improved Chapter at Nat Con
- Dino: ‘Conditional status (especially concerning fees) during internship semesters’