Alumnae Clubs
 

Hello friends!

I just graduated from college and am really excited about being an active Pi Phi alum. Unfortunately, when I checked out the members only side of the web site to find an alumnae club with which to get involved, I found that the nearest one to me is about 2 hours away. Yikes!

I did what the web site instructed me to do and e-mailed the Director of Alumnae Extension (I believe that's what the office is called), but haven't heard back.

What should I do? Is it too ambitious to want to start an alumnae club in my area? (Holland/GR/Kalamazoo area). I researched it on the web site and found that there are a LOT of alums in my area.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Thanks!

The nearest one to me is about an hour and a half away--IF traffic isn't bad. There's no way I could've gotten to meetings these past year with my job and family. I really wanted that fellowship since I'd enjoyed the 3 clubs I was in so I wrote the National Office about 3 years ago to start an alum chapter.

Unfortunately, there was all this work to do that I knew I'd end up doing alone and some money I would've had to front--for letters and phone calls and such--so I let it alone.:(

Your situation would be different since you're surrounded by alums!

There are alumnae clubs in both Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids MI (it's listed as Southwest Michigan). Contact information is available in the 'clubs contact' section of the website (members side). I can't vouch for how active the club is, but it does exist-- it may be dormant, in which case, the energy of you and some of your friends might be just what they need. If you don't get a response, contact Barbara Fay-- she is the Regional Alumnae Director for your area. You are correct, there *are* a lot of alumnae in that area, and you would not need to start from scratch to get a club going.

Carnation-- I'll talk to you after convention, but club structure is changing in recognition of the busy lives most of us lead. Starting a club/ pocket will be easier and clubs will determine for themselves how active they want to be. No more making alums in rural North Dakota fit the same requirements of Texas. (I will admit it, things here are a whole lot different from the rest of the country)

This is sort of related - our chapter never gave us usernames and passwords for the National website. I was initiated in Spring 04 and still have never seen the sisters only section of anything but our own chapter website.

Can someone look up the alum lists and PM me the locations of the NY alum groups? I guess when school starts up I better follow up on the whole PW thing.

Reslife never gave us the RA passwords either - had to get that from a current RA ;)

My chapter never did it either. I used a code from the Arrow. Will that still work?

Where should I look? I have a copy of the Arrow on my counter right now :)

There is a number on the label above your name. THAT is the password that you need to register. Your email is your username after you've registered. The subscriber number of the ARROW is the official number that HQ has you registered and is unique.

Bumping to ask a question.

I've e-mailed the alumnae clubs in my area, but none of them have responded! I also e-mailed some sort of alumnae director (a national office - it was a while ago and I don't remember exactly who) and never heard back. What else can I do?

I'm really bummed out about not returning to school, especially this week when all my friends have been going back to Hillsdale. (Many of my close friends are just seniors this year). It's really hard for me to think of them all together and me stuck in an area where I know next to no one and have few friends.

I'm hoping that getting involved in an alum club will help me "snap out" of my blues. :)

Also, the chapter at WMU (Michigan Epsilon, I believe) is about an hour from me and I would be completely thrilled to help them out. Am I too young to volunteer to help them with recruitment and such? How do I find out if they are looking for alumnae assistance?

Have you tried calling the president of the Alumnae clubs? It could beone of those situations where someone forgets to check/doesn't check email very often, and they just haven't received your email yet. It's usually better to talk to a live person anyway.

If you emailed an international officer in July, your message might have been lost in cyberspace. As you know, the officer structure changed at the international level at Convention. Our new emails weren't completely set up until late in July.

If you are interested in working with MI Epsilon, contact the Regional Operations/Advisors Specialist for Region 2 (operations2@pibetaphi.org) or the Collegiate Regional Director (crd2@pibetaphi.org). I don't know if their AAC is full, or how many are young (there are limits how many may serve in the initial 4 years after graduation, but since you'd be coming from a different chapter, a dispensation may be possible)

The Alumnae Regional Director (ard3@pibetaphi.org) will be able to help steer you to the nearest alum club. There was a club in Grand Rapids a few years ago... they may just not be updating their contact info at HQ. Yes, it is confusing but Michigan is Alumnae Region 3 and Collegiate Region 2

I am kind of having the same problem. I've tried to contact the alum club in Albuquerque(where I moved to after grad) and at the beginning of summer they contacted me but were switching presidents. Now its the end of summer and I haven't heard back so I sent another e-mail to the old president. Should I e-mail someone else or what?

I also really really want to get involved and meet more pi phis here.

Thanks!
Suzi

Suzi, if the club in Albuquerque is anything like my club in Plano, they are just getting mailings ready. In fact, I am working on our newsletter today and it will get mailed next week. It wouldn't hurt to send the incoming president an email to make sure they have your correct address and that you are on their mailing lists.

If you aren't sure if you have the correct information, you are in Alumnae Region 6, so your director's email is ard6@pibetaphi.org.

Hey all--I've been so crazy busy! I'm in Austin, TX going to grad school at UT... Now, are we supposed to receive letters automatically about alumnae club events? Or do I need to be pro-active and email someone myself?

If your address was changed at HQ by late July, the Austin Alum Club should have it. Try contacting the Region 4 Alumnae Membership Specialist, Cindy Svec (alummembership4@pibetaphi.org) to make sure they know you're there and want to be involved. Our newsletters went out last week but letters from the president went out in July with dues forms. Some clubs do that in May so their first communication is about now.

If you're interested in participating in initiation or other activities with the chapter, PM me, and I'll send you the AAC chair's email.

Thanks for the info! I don't think that my info was changed that early... I'll contact Cindy Svec ASAP... :)