Serving as a Chapter Advisor

[TN-TX ADPi]

Hey gals! This topic may already be on the forum, but I couldn't find it. If it is, I apologize for duplicating.
I got asked if I would be interested in being the social advisor for a chapter. What I am concerned about is how much time it involves, etc. I am in a very tough and busy graduate program, so time is usually precious to me. I really want to serve ADPi, but not if I can't give it my all. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and have a great week!

[ADPi Conniebama]

Well, I told my husband that it would only take 1 Sunday every couple of months . . . but, ha ha we were both fooled. It doesnt bother me but it does take more then that.

1 Sunday (or what ever day that chapter does) a month for exec board

1 weekend for DLC (which I loved) usually in February.

As recruitment advisor I expect (NOW) to have a work shop once every 2 months (hopefully the same day as exec)

And as recruitment 1 to 2 weeks during formal recruitment.

Then I have to deal with other advisors (panhellenic, pr, social etc) often. . . . but, mostly through e-mail.

But, as social I assume you will be contacted for each "social" event. . . . however, if you have a great chapter advisor they will take up alot of the "social" slack . . . meaning they can be the contact for some events so you wont be "responsible" for every one of them.

I am lucky that the chapter I work with has a "full load" of advisors" so not just one lady has to take care of everything.

I recommend, if you have any extra time to give and, if you think that chapter can use your specific gifts, that you look into it further. I have had a wonderful experience so far. . .

good luck and loyally

connie

[honeychile]

First, I'd ask how large is the chapter in question. Then, do they have a FULL and active Advisory Board? How far do you live from the chapter? That will make all the difference in the world!

If I were in your shoes, I'd ask the last Social Advisor about how much time she spent - then multiply by two. Not that I'm calling her a liar, I'm saying that, once you're out of the office, the amount of time you spent on it seems to diminish. Don't forget that you'll have Advisory Board meetings, too!

I've never been the Social Advisor, so I can't really put my finger on exactly how much time you'll need to spend. Has someone else been a Social Advisor?

[polarpi]

Not that I can speak from a social advisor standpoint, but as a new advisor this year....

Most of the time I spend with the chapter is so that *I* know what I am doing (never having held the position of FVP, I had no clue what to expect and what all had to be done!). That being said, I have one exec board meeting a month (usually the 3rd Sunday of the month) and (prior to grad school starting) 1 chapter meeting a month. Now, with a full advisory board, the chapter meeting requirement would be less, but our chapter only has 4 advisors (2 of which are in grad school and have class on the night chapter meetings are held). As an advisory board, we haven't really "set up" a meeting time to meet together, but we constantly email back and forth with one another about issues that we see arising (or we may try and talk with one another really quick prior to the exec board meetings).

In college, half of our advisors were never there (I didn't even know we had a standards advisor until she showed up for a exec board meeting, and then I NEVER saw the ME advisor or heard from her - even when I was MEVP!) and the two and a half (one advisor we saw at exec board, but that was because she lived about 2 hours away) we did see were very dedicated and we knew that we could call whenever we had a problem that needed to be dealt with.

With all that having been said, I'd *definitely* recommend being an advisor if you have the patience and heart to work with a chapter. I've gotten so much more out of my experience advising this chapter than I would have from my short time with my chapter in college. The struggles and time constraints definitely make life a little more stressful, but the rewards are just as great (if not greater!)

Good luck, TN-TX ADPi!

[HBADPi]

I always felt that Social and Standards were on a case by case/needed basis. Like others have said, depending on the chapter's social calendar you may be extremely busy or not that much.

I'm very close with the Social Advisor that I work with on the advisory board. I dont want to disagree with ADPiConniebama but as the chapter advisor I expect the social advisor to take care of ALL social related stuff from making sure the contracts are approved, filing the social forms, and attending events as a chaperone. Granted there have been times where I signed social forms when the social advisor couldnt make it to exec board but that was only if she called me and told me to and I have attended formals as a chaperone but those are fun so I'm not complaining about that. Speaking for myself, I have enough stuff to deal with concerning the chapter that there is no way I can tack on social on my to do list as well. So I would recommend being prepared to handle all that. I think it also depends on the social chair. If the collegiate is very strong in her position and organized, your responisibilities will be bare minimum.

I am also a grad student so I understand the time issue. However I think Social might not be a bad position for you (if the girls dont have an insane social calendar) since again its case by case basis in addition to the basic advisor duties.

Keep us posted!

[FirstAndFinest]

Originally posted by TN-TX ADPi
Hey gals! This topic may already be on the forum, but I couldn't find it. If it is, I apologize for duplicating.
I got asked if I would be interested in being the social advisor for a chapter. What I am concerned about is how much time it involves, etc. I am in a very tough and busy graduate program, so time is usually precious to me. I really want to serve ADPi, but not if I can't give it my all. Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and have a great week!

I'd highly recommend asking the Chapter Advisor (or whomever asked you to be Social Advisor) exactly what it entails.

At the Chapter I advise, it would "officially" entail going to one Chapter meeting a month, one Exec Board, possibly DLC (chapter budget permitting), and weekly phone calls or some type of regular communication (email is a blessing!) with your Officer. We advisors ALL receive the Chapter and EComm minutes by email, so I read and comment/question items therein. We are all invited to help with Recruitment as our schedules permit. Then, there is Nominating Committee and Officer Transition (two all-day events for us).

I advise 2 officers (FVP and DS&E) and go to the Chapter about twice a month for Chapter meetings (and have standards council or Team Meetings before or after). I get about 2 email questions per week that have to be answered promptly. I would think with something like Social, you'd do much less 'work' - 1 EBoard and 1 Chapter per month, plus regular phone calls/emails with Social Chair. You would need to sign the Social Forms, but that can be done via snail- or e-mail.

Loyally,
Leslie

[TN-TX ADPi]

Thanks ladies, for all the comments and insight. I am attending chapter meeting tomorrow night and will make a decision this week. I really want to do this, especially after hearing all of your comments. Again, thanks!

[honeychile]

FWIW, even if everything that can go wrong does, it's still such a great experience, I would recommend being an Advisor to every alumna! Some of the things that I experienced (on the down side) are things that have been corrected by IO & technology.

AND, IO is always a phone call away!

[HBADPi]

Originally posted by honeychile
AND, IO is always a phone call away!

Oh yes I can attest to that...I've got my PD on speed dial haha