no worries... just whenever you send it would be great!!!!!! thanks again!

We held Jewel Degree for Alpha Iota two weeks ago, and it was a delightful (although exhausting) experience! We held the ceremony in the Suite, then had a Alumnae Association meeting & Brunch at the Student Union. I wish I had gotten a picture of the cake - it was amazing!

But the best part was the reaction of the New Alumnae, the "Oh, I get it!" reactions. It was a terribly special day, and the sisters who planned it did a fantastic job!

Two down, one more to go!
 

Yeah!! Gamma Pi just had 6 seniors go thru Jewel!! I'm not sure where the 7th one was... I had a new NJ alumnae ass'n member come with me, which was very exciting. Two of the other advisors were also there. And, one of the D-III alumnae team! It was a small group but JD was really nice and one of the seniors cried.

Then, for FD, we had a tea party and it was just beautiful! Decorated in white and blue tulle with deep purple begonias (i think...) which they gave to me after, and which I'll be planting in my window boxes after my NAP! (I was up til 2 decorating the tea cakes and making cucumber sandwiches after being up til midnight before rolling out, cutting and baking the cakes! The girls loved them - and the seniors took pix of the graduation-cap cakes with their names on them! (guess they liked 'em!):D )

I'm *so* glad school is out for the summer! I know my sister advisors must feel the same!

Now, the NJ Alumnae will be holding a Founder's Day luncheon on 5/21 and we have 4 going thru Jewel....

We had 11 women go through at Gamma Theta a few weeks ago and then the rest of seniors (not 100% sure if it was all of the rest) went through a week later (18 seniors total). As for Beta Tau- I believe around 13 women went through.

I had to miss the Beta Tau Founder's Day and Jewel Degree because I was at Miami U for my sisters graduation.

Congrats to all! Now get out there Seniors and join your alumnae associations and house corps-- then in a few years become an advisor. :D

Yesterday I helped with San Diego's Jewel Degree - we had 21 women go through! It was also very exciting to have enough alumnae there that there wasn't double parts! :D

Re: Two down, one more to go!
 

Argh so jealous you're done, I still have another 2 wks and in those two weeks I have:

a formal to chaperone,
e-board, and
Jewel Degree

They love working me till the very end!

Re: Re: Two down, one more to go!
 

I feel you! I'm helping with formal this Friday, and I *think* I'll be done then, but we'll have to see how the next week plays out! :)

Thankfully we completed Jewel Degree yesterday! :cool:

Re: Re: Two down, one more to go!
 

Another advisor and I were planning to drop by their formal for a very short while - since we are not invited and it is closer to me than their school is! Plus, other advisor had a hideous bridesmaid dress to "wear again" - until I got a call from a member who told me girls, especially those wanting an office in the future, were crying, upset that I would be there, thus they couldn't have fun and be themselves.

Re: Re: Re: Two down, one more to go!
 

Wow youre nicer than I am. I dont even give them the chance to invite me, advisors all go no questions or complaining about it. I'm sorry your girls are being selfish and childish about this.

Re: Re: Re: Two down, one more to go!
 

Ours is Friday too!! What stinks is that its 10 minutes from work and it makes no sense for me to go home and change so a coworker has been kind enough to let me get ready at her place. Their theme (the actual name escapes me) is no black attire so while I was bummed since i have a great black dress to wear I went out and bought this FABULOUS gold dress!! I'll be sure to post pics!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Two down, one more to go!
 

I was always told at least one advisor had to be there for risk management purposes (we do not give them a choice)...we had 4 out of the 6 advisors in attendance this year.

But they do send us invitations and invite our significant others too. I went to my first formal this year as an advisor- it was not the best time for me since I had to go alone (fiance was working)- so I told him he has no choice next year- he will be there! haha

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Two down, one more to go!
 

Youre right as far as the risk management is concerned. I'm expecting 3 of the 5 advisors to show on Friday and our SOs are invited as well. But I dont think any of us will be bringing SOs this time, we all brought dates last formal and the guys didnt have as much fun. We have had far more fun when its a girls night out and meet up with the guys after the formal.

Wow! We always had advisers at our formal. I can't imagine anyone being upset at having advisers present at formal!!

That was SOP for us, too.

My chapter had no advisors at any parties or hte Christmas formal, but we DID for Black Diamond - and they brought their husbands. *MY* DH wants nothing to do with it - especially when the Yankees are on! ;)

The other advisor, new to them this year, sent an email to the EC expressing her disappointment in their leadership. Nothing was said at FD/JD and classes are out for the year. We'll take up the matter in the Fall.

How do you handle the finances? The chapter members pay for formals out of the social budget, thus their dues, and pay via passthru for dates & favors (& alcohol, of course). So, should the advisors be paid for from dues?

When it comes to paying for "entrance to formal" advsors should be able to go free, but like the actives, favors and dates should be paid out of their own pocket.

If this were a high school fieldtrip, the students fee would be a bit over the actual costs of airfare/hotel/all-inclusives to cover the cost of chaperones. It should be no different with a sorority date event.

Also, consider this: Advisers and their dates should be covered under dues as a matter of doing the right thing. The advisers volunteer their time all year for the chapter and put up with a lot of abuse, sometimes playing mom or housekeeper to some collegiate officers who neglect their duties; if they have to chaperone an event, then by all means the chapter should assume the cost of the adviser and their companion if they bring one. I can't imagine why an adviser would want a picture frame or t-shirt commemorating the event, but it seems to me throwing $40 out to give an adviser a date or a plaque is a very small price to pay for the 24/7 accessibility, retreats, meetings, mediation and training they provide to a chapter.

This is not a hard and fast rule. But it's a small price to pay to retain your advisers and show some appreciation for their support.

Just to agree with adpiucf's opinion, I know an Advisor (I'm fairly certain that FirstAndFinest knows who I mean) who actually was de facto Treasurer for the chapter she advised for two years! To my knowledge - and I'm fairly certain I would have heard - she's never even received a "thank you".

I think most collegians would be relieved to know that most Advisors would like to be invited to their formals, but don't necessarily plan to stay long (if at all). It's really the thought that counts.

I understand where you all are coming from, however, when I was an active, we had FIVE advisors. Paying for ALL of them plus their dates is taking away QUITE a bit money from the chapter.
Again, I know being an advisor is a time consuming job, but each advisor accepted the position knowing that it is a volunteer position. Asking advisors to pay for their dates (and any extras), in my opinion is not at ALL out of line.

I respectfully disagree. Yes, advisers are volunteers. But I have yet to be a member of any volunteer-based organization that does not show appreciation to its volunteers in the form of some gift, event or recognition.

It is giving back to the people who have given so much to the chapter. And it is not a chapter hardship if properly budgeted.

IE: Chapter of 50 members

5 advisers (plus 5 dates)

Formal costs $40 to attend

Total Cost to Chapter $400

$400/50 members equals $8 per member over the course of a 9 month school year. That averages out to less than $1 allocated per month per individual member dues paid to an account for advisers to attend an end of the year banquet.

Less than a dollar a month. Pennies a day. A very small price to pay to say thank you to advisers and give them some small sense of appreciation.... so they come back next year to continue their tireless efforts. In the end, it costs the chapter a lot less to make an $8 committment per member to the advisers-- the costs of constantly having to recruit new advisers and hope they remain costs the chapter far more in the long run. As we've seen time and again, consistent advisory supports contributes greatly to long term chapter health.

I have to agree with adpiucf, inviting your advisors to formals is a very simple way to say thank you. Plus not to get technical but in the Risk Managment manual it specifically states "Advisors should not be expected to pay any fees for attending the event."

Adelphean- how does your chapter do VLS and Convention? Do you expect your advisors to pay their way for those as well?

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction w/ the RM manual.

I think maybe we'll try going to the Christmas semi-formal first. Then they can't use the "its the seniors' last formal." (yep, heard that one)

The Garden State Alumnae celebrated Founders' Day on Sunday - our first one!! We had nine alums attend, four of whom then received Jewel Degree.

Now I'm cleaning out my Jewel Box and restocking it for next Spring...

No problem! Good luck with your ladies, as always I'm here if you need to vent.

Not to continue off topic, but I just recently read the RM manual and was suprised to see that it does not mention anywhere that an advisor must be present. I was under the impression (as we talked about before) that for RM an advisor must be present. Does anyone know?

I don't know, but that was written into our chapter bylaws. You can email the communications coordinator at EO; if it is not an explicit rule, then it sounds like grounds for an amendment proposal at the next Convention.

I actually LOL at the thought of proposing that to my girls for their bylaw revisions!! :D

I probably shoulda selected :rolleyes: 'cause there will be a WHOLE lotta :rolleyes: if we bring that up!!!

We send one sometimes, two advisors to both of these events. But I think you all are missing my point. No, advisors' should not have to pay to go to formal, but their dates should. And I'm not sure what type formals you all had at your schools, but at mine, 9 times out of 10 we had to pay for ourselves AND our dates simply b/c the budget was not large enough to support two fully-funded formals (plus date parties and mixers). So, while I agree that advisors should be able to attend completely for free I do not agree that their dates should go free. I see absolutely NO reason why dates should attend for free.
And in my complete honest opinion, I don't see any reason for an advisor to bring a date. THEIR formals are over, as are mine. As an Alumnae president I would never dream of bringing a date to a formal I was invited to and not paying for him. The dues' paying members of a chapter work hard for their money. Why expect them to shell out extra for dates when their advisors won't or don't have to.


-Lindsay


>quoted<
>HBADPi
>I have to agree with adpiucf, inviting your advisors to formals is >a very simple way to say thank you. Plus not to get technical >but in the Risk Managment manual it specifically states "Advisors >should not be expected to pay any fees for attending the >event."

>Adelphean- how does your chapter do VLS and Convention? Do >you expect your advisors to pay their way for those as well?

Adelphean, what years were you in school? If the chapter is making members pay for their own formal, then it is not a chapter sanctioned event-- it should have been in your budget.

HB-- correct me if I'm wrong b/c I've been out of the loop for 2 years on the manuals, but the social budget may be max 25% of total chapter budget, and chapters are limited to a set number of social functions, which must be approved via social form, have security present, etc. Isn't there some measure that official social functions must be paid out of the chapter budget?

Adelphean-- not picking on your chapter; just want to understand if I've misinterpreted a past policy. I've yet to see a chapter that operates at 100% compliance; it's not a matter of following the rules; it is getting caught that gets them up to speed!

Because I was accused of acting like a "know-it-all" recently, I want to make sure its understood that I am only stating what I know to the best of my abilities when it comes to policy. To be honest, I checked the manuals I have and I couldnt come up with anything that said there was a set limit on events. But adpiucf you are right that social budget can not be more than 25% and an ADPi sponsored event is one that is paid for solely by ADPi. Exec board approval and social forms are a must, we always hire security guards but I'm not 100% sure if that is mandated. (As a side note we had the BEST security officer at the last formal and I'm hoping we can hire him for the rest of our events from here on out).

Thanks HB! I wouldn't say you're a know-it-all-- you're in a position that gives you better access to most current information! I'd think that I'd ask an adviser or director to confirm something for me before I'd go quizzing members about policies! LOL. If I did everything that way, I'd probably get 100 different answers!

I pledged in 02. I'm currently an alumna and am president of the alumnae association. I've had to pay for myself at formal before, and I'm not quite sure what or how they do it now, but Beta Beta has always had a funny way of doing things. And we always had security guards at formals, but it's a waste of chapter money. They are there to X your hand and turn their back if they see anything going on. WASTE OF MONEY.

We've never had an adviser at formal.

This year, we were told by the LC that we should be charging everyone to attend formal. We of course were all sorts of confused about it, but excited to save some money. Then later, we got reamed by the PD because charging members to attend formal isn't allowed. So it sounds like there is some confusion all around!

The Social Budget must be less than 25% and net income must be more than 5% ( those are what my girls know as the "magical numbers" we must hit, financially speaking). The cost of sending a MEMBER to formal and parties (including dinner, DJ, transportation & security but NOT including booze or favors) must be covered in a chapter's dues, however the cost for a member's date and the cost for any favors must be paid in addition to dues, via Pass Thru procedures - as these are optional items.

Thanks F&F!!

HBADPi-- have to say i totally agree. I know we had some concerns when I was a Delta sister about ADPi sponsored events vs non sponsored events. everything you said is right on.

Not sure how I missed this thread up to now, but I'd like to add my 2 cents on several different topics that have been discussed.

First, it is my understanding that an advisor or approved alum chaperone must be present at every ADPi social function. I believe the approval for chaperones must come from the PD. The name of the attendee must be listed on the Social Event Planning form. If there is no one present and something horrible happens, our insurance company can deny coverage because of this.

Second, the official chaperone or advisor must be paid for to attend, but not her date. She can cover his cost, but if it's financially feasible it's a nice gesture to say "Thanks for taking your time to come help us out". Also, if financially feasible it's nice to cover any other advisor that is in attendance but not mandatory.

Third, the only alums that may attend a social function are advisors, approved chaperones and International Officers. Again our insurance does not cover them nor do we have any "authority" over them. Meaning, we can't call them into standards in the event of a problem.

The only exceptions are for specifically designated alum functions and must be spelled out on the Social Event Planning form. This may include events such as Parents Weekends, Homecoming Parties and Founder's Day celebrations. Though honestly, many folks may question whether it's appropriate to have a Founder's Day celebration where alcohol is available. Founder's Day should be a celebration of our heritage and the ideals our organization was based on. (FYI - this is not coming from me, rather the response I heard from an International Officer and DLC facillitator when the question was asked.)

Third, as already said the social budget is specifically limited to 25%. Members cannot be additionally charged for any known expense or one that should have been anticipated. All of those expenses should be factored into the budget and thus dues. I finally put a stop to the almost weekly "Everybody has to bring $1 to get into Chapter for XYZ reason/philanthropy." Now we add an extra $10-$15 to dues to cover these anticipated expenses. (BTW - I'm also the Financial Advisor)

There are a couple of exceptions though. Obviously any year where a major unknown expense(s) occurs then members can be assessed an additional fee. As I said though, this should be a rarity and it cannot be for a social. Members should be allowed to vote on these assessments, but sometimes that's not feasible if you know they will vote it down and the money is required to pay something like the electricity bill or Panhellenic dues. However if a vote is taken and it's voted down, the Chapter's only other option is to pay for that mandatory expense out the Social Budget because honestly those are the only "discretionary" funds a Chapter has. (Note, in my experience threatening to cut the Social Budget is usually a pretty good way to get members to change their minds, whether it be for an assessment or a dues increase.)

But a member's guest/date can be assessed for a social because our dues technically only cover our members. It is then up to the member to determine how she wishes to pay for it, whether out of her own pocket or ask the guest. A bonus here is it also provides a more accurate number of how many will attend. Again though, if this becomes a yearly thing the Chapter should really consider budgetting it in. At some point the CFD may even require it.

Fourth, security is mandatory at every social function. It is also strongly recommended that we provide our own even if the hotel/bar/whatever provides it. The reason being is those folks work for the establishment and not us. I have seen situations where the security's only interest was to make sure no damage was done to the property and no fights broke out. They couldn't care less about our risk management procedures such as guests needing to sign in, id's checked, wristbands distributed and enforced by the bartender. With our own paid for and contracted security we set the rules.