National Council Connects – August 2016
Brothers:
Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year! The National Council is looking forward to an outstanding year of promoting and advancing college/university bands through musicianship, leadership, and service.
As we move closer to the 2017 National Convention in Orlando, the National Council will begin monthly communication with all members, directors, and sponsors providing important updates and information regarding fraternity business, committees, proposals, and the National Intercollegiate Band. The council will also provide general updates on programming, deadlines, and district events and recognize excellence within our chapters and membership.
As your National Vice President for Colonization & Membership, I will be sharing updates and information with you regarding our colonization/expansion program and the CFRs.
Colonization/Expansion
I would like to welcome our two newest colonies. They have already started the colonization process and should be done in November.
- Alabama A&M University – Normal, AL – Colony President Patrick Alsobrook-pda2012@gmail.com
- University of Texas at El Paso – El Paso, TX – Colony President Caitlyn Collette- cccollette@miners.utep.edu
Please send a note of welcome and congratulations to these outstanding band members! Many thanks to SED Governor Tron Hunter and SWD Governor Clint Wieden for serving as colony advisors for this cycle.
Chapter Field Representatives
Alaina Peters and Justin Chesak are busy preparing for their first visits as CFRs. Please welcome them to your chapters this fall and learn all you can to make your chapter the best it can be. Visit http://www.kkpsi.org/about/leadership/chapter-field-representative/ to access their schedule and contact information. Best of luck to Alaina and Justin as they hit the road!
Five Effective Ways to Recruit New Brothers
Live our values. This may seem cliché and overused in the college and fraternity world, but it continues to be said because it is true. Individuals are attracted to organizations with great people and great ideas. Kappa Kappa Psi promotes and advances college/university bands through musicianship, leadership, and service—your band members need to see you engaged in this work all the time. Our fraternity’s ritual calls us to become better band members and leaders. By treating our fellow band members with kindness and boosting morale, we become an invaluable part of the band program.
Build a strong professional relationship with your band directors. One of your greatest assets in the recruitment process is your band faculty and staff. Seek their advice on recruiting outstanding band members and discuss ways your chapter can help develop the future leaders of the program. It requires hard work, but every chapter is capable of building the trust and respect needed for excellence in membership selection. Including your directors and staff in the recruitment process gives them information they need to support your membership efforts and encourage band members to participate.
Create unique recruitment events and experiences. It is easy to organize a meeting at the band hall or in an empty classroom. Offer free food and you’ve got some folks hooked. While these meetings can be useful to disseminate important information, younger generations are requiring more engaging activities and meaningful dialogue regarding who we are and what we stand for. Your recruitment week and/or other events need to reflect what it means to be a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi and what the fraternity offers new members as they begin thinking about their future. You can share requirements and information about membership. Unfortunately, you won’t build passion and excitement unless potential members get an opportunity to experience it. Show potential members what it means to be a Brother and allow them to share in your service.
Market your chapter on social media and campus. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. They work extremely well. Create accounts and assign an officer(s) to make updates and share posts. Make sure you are following and mentioning your band’s accounts when chapter accounts are updated. Get involved on campus as well. Participate in homecoming festivities; form pep bands (with director permission) to travel around campus; organize band lunches in between classes. Allow band members to see you outside of rehearsal and contributing to campus life.
Seek out outstanding band members. Recruitment is about searching for and identifying your future leaders and brothers. While the recruitment process should be inclusive and welcoming to all eligible band members, many chapters wait for band members to show interest in the fraternity but never reach out to individuals that are truly outstanding. Reaching out in a personal manner demonstrates your willingness to connect and share your passion for Kappa Kappa Psi. It also demonstrates your desire to honor outstanding band members. Should we only recruit band members we talk to? No. Should we acknowledge band members who are going above and beyond for the band program and encourage them to attend events? Absolutely.
The National Council wish you the very best this school year. If we can ever be of assistance to you, do not hesitate to contact us.
National President – Jack Lee – lee.jack.d@gmail.com
National VPCM – Evan Thompson – evan@kkpsi.org
National VPP – Marco Krcatovich – mkrcatov@kkpsi.org
National VPSA – Zac Humphrey – zac@kkpsi.org
National VPPR – Dr. Douglas Stotter – dstotter@uta.edu
Alumni Chair – Ali Beidler – alison.beidler@gmail.com
Board Chair – Dr. Rod Chesnutt – rchesnut@fgcu.edu
Don’t forget that Chapter Personnel Report, Chapter Fee, and Member Dues are due by September 30, 2016!
AEA,
Evan L. Thompson
National Vice President for Colonization & Membership
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity
Student Advisory Committee Announcement & Summer Report 2016
— Student Advisory Committee Announcement—
Last year, as part of my work as your Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA), I met with your district officers on a monthly basis. During these online meetings, officers would provide updates on the work being done in their districts and I would provide updates on the work of the national council. Coming out of the national council’s winter council meeting in January, I started tinkering with the idea of rebranding this meeting and transforming it into an ongoing Student Advisory Committee (SAC). This committee has historically met only during national convention, but the current national council is looking to leverage our students as resources throughout the coming year in the lead up to the 2017 national convention in Orlando, FL. Per the national constitution, the committee will be made up of current district officers. I want to introduce the current members of the Student Advisory Committee for the 2015-2017 biennium:
CHAIR
Zac Humphrey
Floyd Pierce
Tenea Fabray
Sarah Person
Jordan Burgin
NCD
Jeric Tumang
Abigail Johnson
Danielle Francis
Justin Jensen
NED
Kylie Wolfe
Shanon Rubin
Miranda Cook
Emily McPeake
Helen Landers
Michael Bradford-Calhoun
Ariel Marissa Clouse
Jerome Hall
Evan Schlameuss
SWD
George Ishii
Robert Morris
Jayden Goeringer
David Cox
Arjun Jeetan
WD
Mitch Mikuchonis
Alyssa Maher
Shi Ya Ni
Jake Rocco
The committee will meet at least once each month to have ongoing work sessions. During these online meetings, at least one member from each district will be required to attend with the rest strongly encouraged to attend, if possible. Each month, a different district will be charged with drafting a report that will be shared with all Brothers via the website. Each session will include a brief update from each district. Following these updates, there will be conversation on a topic submitted by the district officers/active students. Following that first conversation, the VPSA will provide an update on the work being done by the national leadership. The meeting will wrap up with a conversation based on a topic provided by the national council. The session will end with final comments and announcements. These will happen monthly until national convention next summer where a final report will be submitted by the district officers of the 2017-2018 school year. Due to the overlapping nature of bienniums and academic calendars, the makeup of this committee may change due to who is elected in the spring of 2017 to district office.
— Summer 2016 SAC Report —
Brothers,
We held the first official session on Thursday, July 7th, 2016. The following committee members were in attendance: Sarah Person of the MWD, Abigail Johnson of the NCD, Shanon Rubin and Miranda Cook of the NED, Michael Bradford-Calhoun of the SED, George Ishii and Arjun Jeetan of the SWD, and Shi Ya Ni of the WD.
During the conversation, after initial updates by the districts, there was discussion on the upcoming Kappa Kappa Psi Presents podcast as well as the current state and functionality of the national website, www.kkpsi.org.
The conversation surrounding the podcast was both exciting and appreciated. This is a new endeavor, and one in which I am learning a lot. Feedback largely revolved around length and content. The committee members liked the content and were interested in what other areas/topics were in the pipeline for upcoming episodes. As the initial set of episodes erred on the long side, once the podcast rolls out on a more regular schedule in the fall, the goal will be to keep each episode to 20-30 minutes. We ended the conversation by saying that this won’t be the last time this topic is addressed as the growth and development of the podcast will be organic and ongoing.
Regarding the national website, www.kkpsi.org, the conversation was extremely productive. It provided a great look into how our active members make use of the website. Most of the issues brought forward centered largely on technical aspects of the website’s design: dead links, circular redirecting links, blank pages, and non-working aspects of the mobile interface. Content wasn’t an issue and when provided with a brief update on the goals of National Vice President for Programs Marco Kcratovich relating to upcoming content, the committee members expressed approval regarding the future of the website. As with the podcast, this will not be the final conversation as the national council is wanting to create a website that will be a useful tool for our brothers, both active and alumni, advisers and faculty, and the public.
I, as your VPSA, am looking forward to the work that is going to be done throughout the year. If you have any questions, comments or concerns or if you would like to submit something for the SAC to discuss, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself at zac@kkpsi.org or the whole committee at studentadvisory@kkpsi.org.
AEA,
Zac Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs
Joint Statement on Military Bands
To the Brothers and Sisters of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma,
The National Leadership of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma take great pride in the work our organizations do in service to college and university bands. We also take pride in the many members of our organizations who actively serve in the United States Military.
To that end, you may be aware of legislation making its way through the United States Congress regarding the funding of military service bands and their activities. An amendment attached to the version of the 2017 Defense Appropriations Act passed by the House of Representatives is currently awaiting action by the United States Senate. This legislation, if passed into law would severely reduce the permissible activities of said groups, removing parades, concerts, and other performances that do not directly support official ceremonial activities.
While our primary mission is the support of college and university bands, we as joint organizations feel it is important to inform our members when actions being taken impact the greater band community. If this is something that you feel very strongly about, we encourage you to reach out to your United States Senators and voice your support for bands of all kinds, including those that serve in the military capacity. If you are not sure how to contact your Senator (or do not know who that might be), please go here: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/.
—
Kathryn D. Kelly, M.D.
National President for Tau Beta Sigma
“We provide exceptional service to collegiate bands and promote equality and diversity, including empowering women in the band profession. We cultivate leadership, educational achievement, music appreciation and community development.” – Tau Beta Sigma Mission Statement
Jack Lee
National President for Kappa Kappa Psi
“Kappa Kappa Psi is a co-educational fraternal organization that advances college and university bands for the benefit of its members and society through dedicated service and support to bands, encouragement of musical growth, lifelong educational experiences, leadership opportunities, and recognition.” – Kappa Kappa Psi Mission Statement
Kappa Kappa Psi Presents goes live!
Good evening Brothers!
We are excited to announce that the first episodes of the new Kappa Kappa Psi Presents podcast are available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. If there are other platforms we should be posting to, let us know! These initial episodes act as a teaser for what is to come once the school year gets underway. The episodes highlight a couple of the different ways we’re looking to create content, focusing on educational topics as well as interviews with members of the fraternity.
We look forward to hearing your feedback as well as your suggestions for future episodes. You can get in touch by either emailing the podcast email, kkpsipresents@kkpsi.org or zac@kkpsi.org.
AEA,
Zac Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs
KKPsiAA Board of Directors Announcement
Dear Brothers,
On behalf of the Kappa Kappa Psi Board of Trustees, I am pleased and honored to announce the appointment of Alison Beidler as Chair of the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She replaces Mike Napolitano who is taking on the position of Northeast District Governor. Mike has done a terrific job as chair, and Alison is poised to continue the Alumni Association having served as co-Vice Chair. Her work with membership is particularly remarkable.
Please join us in congratulating Alison as she takes on this role and in supporting the Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association as they continue to “Strive for the Highest.”
AEA
Rod Chesnutt, Chair
Northeast District Governor Changes
Brothers of the Northeast District –
I wanted to take a moment to thank Marie Burleigh and John Leonard on their outstanding work this year as the governor team in the Northeast District. They have each continued a high standard of work and motivation for the active members of the district.
Unfortunately, John has notified the National Council that he is resigning his position as Governor of the Northeast District. It is exciting, however, that John is doing so to focus on future plans as he pursues his doctoral degree at Western Michigan University. We are thankful to John for his service to the district, and wish him the best as he continues to support the Fraternity through his work as a collegiate director.
Obviously, this creates a vacancy in the governorship within the district. After careful consideration and with input from the national leadership team, I am excited to announce that Mike Napolitano will join the national leadership team as a Northeast District Governor alongside Marie.
Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and should be a familiar name for many in the NED. Mike has recently served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, and was most recently serving as the chair. He was initiated in to the Kappa Upsilon chapter at Marist College in Spring 2002. For the past 12 year, Mike has served as the chapter sponsor while he serves as the Associate Director of Music and Operations manager at Marist College.
I am excited that Mike is joining the governor team in the Northeast District, and I know that he is going to be an exception example of leadership for the active membership.
Please feel free to send a welcoming and congratulatory message to Mike at mnapolitano@kkpsi.org.
As always, if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
AEA,
Jack Lee
National President
North Central District Governor Changes
Brothers of the North Central District,
I wanted to take a moment to thank Dr. Ishbah Cox and Jason Mlady on their outstanding work this year as the governor team in the North Central District. They have each continued a high standard of work and motivation for the active members of the district.
Dr. Cox has notified the National Council that he is resigning his position as Governor of the North Central District to focus on family commitments. We are thankful to Dr. Cox, and are reminded of the great musical leadership and passion he brings to Kappa Kappa Psi. We wish him the best in his future!
Obviously, this creates a vacancy in the governorship within the district. After careful consideration and with input from the national leadership team, I am excited to announce that Tammi Ramsey will join the national leadership team as a North Central District Governor alongside Jason.
Tammi is no stranger to the Fraternity or to the NCD. Tammi was initiated in, and is a life member of, the Zeta Omicron chapter at the University of Akron. She has previously served as a NCD President and as a colony advisor for Kappa Kappa Psi. I know that her passion for our Fraternity is great, and she is going to do an exceptional job.
Please feel free to send her a congratulatory message at tammi@kkpsi.org.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
AEA,
Jack D. Lee
National President
Statement From National President Jack D. Lee
Brothers,
I write to you today with a great sense of love and gratitude. I am thankful that I became a Brother of Kappa Kappa Psi. I am thankful that Kappa Kappa Psi is a place where all Brothers should feel welcomed and supported. I love that this Fraternity continually reminds me that we celebrate love over hate.
The recent events throughout the world, from Baton Rouge to Minnesota to Orlando to the Middle East, unfortunately show us that not everyone in the world shares the same views that I know our Brothers do. I encourage each of you to remember the tenets of our ritual, and to live by them. If you are doing so, you are making this world a better place. If you are doing so, you are showing the world that this organization makes you a better human being.
As we continue to move through the month of July, and we begin to travel back to our universities for summer band camp, review the purposes of our organization. There, you will find that Kappa Kappa Psi, and each of you, work to support our organization’s being: college and university bands. It is through participation in band that we all share a universal trait: we are musicians. Let us continue to use that skill to create beauty, joy, and inspiration to this world.
Please know that the entire national leadership of Kappa Kappa Psi stands, shoulder to shoulder, with our Brothers. No one should be treated differently or live in fear simply based on the color of their skin, a uniform that they wear, their religious beliefs, or their sexual orientation. It is not appropriate, it is not right, and it will not happen here in Kappa Kappa Psi because our Brotherhood is better than that. Because our Brotherhood spreads love.
AEA,
Jack D. Lee
National President
Kappa Kappa Psi
Kappa Kappa Psi Official Statement on Orlando Tragedy
The National Leadership of Kappa Kappa Psi is proud of the work of this fraternity. We are proud that we are a fraternity that is made up of diverse individuals. Individuals that commit themselves to the selfless service of college and university band programs. Individuals that are, each and every one, a family member; a brother. Our diversity is often celebrated among our members, and it is the love that we all share that allows us to join in fellowship to be embraced as a brother.
Kappa Kappa Psi stands with and supports our brothers and the people of Orlando. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and we will continue to support our own beloved fraternity members affected by this tragedy. As an organization, we embrace and celebrate our diversity – it is what makes us the great Fraternity that we are – and we empower our members to live with authenticity and courage. We stand with our brothers of the LGBT community and support their right to live and love without fear of hatred, intolerance, or violence. In keeping with our belief that music is a universal language and as we move forward with our mission to promote and advance college and university bands, we echo the words of Leonard Bernstein:
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
Closing Out 2015-2016 Announcements & Reminders
Brothers:
As we close out another school year, I want to share this friendly reminder with all of our outgoing and incoming chapter officers, active members, sponsors, and directors.
1. Initiate Registration Form – Please complete and submit all fees and paperwork associated with your Initiate Registration Form. This should be submitted within 30 days of initiation. Late fees apply to chapters who do not submit within the appropriate time. Remember that this form cannot be processed if you do not submit a copy of the signed summary page along with payment.
2. Officer & Chapter Update – If you have held elections that have not been reported, please complete this form as soon as possible so that National Headquarters has accurate contact information for your chapter leadership. If you have not yet started your Chapter Summary Report, please check that you officers are listed correctly before beginning the CSR.
3. Chapter Summary Report – This report is due by June 1st. Please begin working on this document now and remember to give time for sponsor and director approval prior to June 1st. We recommend completing this form prior to the end of finals week.
4. Graduating Senior Report – This reports allows us to document graduating seniors and provide recognition to them for their service to college bands. Graduating Seniors receive a one-year complimentary membership in the Kappa Kappa Psi Alumni Association if the chapter submits this form.
5. Officer Transition Meeting – The National Council encourages all chapters to hold a transition meeting between outgoing and incoming officers. Many discipline issues occur as a result of a lack of institutional knowledge of the larger fraternal responsibilities of the active chapter including reports and dues. Outgoing officers please take time to review these responsibilities with your successor. Set your chapter up success in the coming year.
6. National Programs – The National Council encourages all chapters and members to review the national awards and scholarships which can be found at kkpsi.org under the Programs tab. Due date for applications and nominations is July 1st. If you have specific questions, contact Vice President Krcatovich at mkrcatov@kkpsi.org.
If you have any questions, please let us know.
AEA,
Evan L. Thompson
National Vice President for Colonization & Membership
Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity
evan@kkpsi.org