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Wonderful Thread, Soror AKA2D'91!
This fall, my line was the first intake that my chapter has had in 7 years. To top that off, there were only two of us. The area that we live in is fairly small on the Cali central coast. My chapter has an intake only when it's decided that there are ladies worthy of membership. Many of the members that come through our chapter are Sorors whose spouses are in the Navy and come to this area to attend the Naval Post Graduate School. They may be stationed in the area for only a couple of years, but will affiliate with our chapter and work hard during that time. So, I see not only a need to emphasize reactiviting our lost pearls, but to encourage Sorors who may relocate often to stay active with a chapter and not just retain "general" status.
Also being in a small area, my chapter has a lot of "older" members. Many of the members of my chapter are the women that I grew up around. My mom is a charter member of my chapter and I grew up around all of these women and have the upmost respect for them. However, some younger Sorors may feel that the chapter is missing a "youthful vibe". After my LS and I crossed, one Soror who is financial but not always active, came up to us and said that now that we're members she will start being more active because the ideas that we're coming up with are fresh and new.
So, intake really is a good thing because it may add some "new blood" and "youth" to the chapter. However, we all know that AKA is a SERIOUS MATTER and we can't just jump up and let just anyone into our sisterhood. We must carefully screen interested women and make sure that they are AKA material - that they truly believe in the foundations that our Founders created; that they sincerely believe in the goals and targets; and that they want to WORK for AKA. I disagree that removing the "Pledge" process and implementing "MIP" takes away from bringing in dedicated Sorors, because I went through MIP and I am DEDICATED to AKA in absolutely every way.
I have to say one more thing....I just don't buy the whole excuse of not being active because of Dues. Quite frankly our dues are not really that much. If you think about how much you go out and spend on a couple of nice outfits and/or shoes for yourself, we can easily think about how to conserve some of that. When we dedicate ourselves to AKA we make a committment. Sorors all know how much their dues are and can plan for it throughout the year if it's really going to be a financial strain. Some Sorors have a separate bank account for AKA. That's a good way to plan. I'm just not buying that whole Dues issue, because I'm young (30), married, and have 2 kids. My husband and I both work hard. We've got the same financial burdens as everyone else. But I plan for AKA, just as we plan our budget and pay for our kid's private school tuition.
Sorry for the long post....but I just had a lot to say.
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