Are you an active alumni member?

[honeychile]

Originally posted by lauralaylin
Right now I'm a full time Alpha Phi. I don't know how women can work and volunteer at the same time, my hat is off to all of them. I guess I'm just not that organized! Currently, I am the VP Programming for my AC (although elections are tonight, I usually take whatever position no one else wants-was even president one year!), Chapter Advisor at Bentley College, and Recruitment Advisor at Tufts University. I also just volunteered to help with our Dartmouth colony just yesterday! Eek, I don't know how I'll fit it all in with a baby coming in 5 weeks!

I also pay my local and international dues every year and try to give a decent amount to the Foundation every year as well.

Laura, I agree with you! I see ladies who wear so many hats in sorority, I don't know how they do it - unless a heavy dose of speed comes with the jobs!

My hat's off to you and everyone who really live their sorority or fraternity's ideals!

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

Originally posted by honeychile
Laura, I agree with you! I see ladies who wear so many hats in sorority, I don't know how they do it - unless a heavy dose of speed comes with the jobs!

My hat's off to you and everyone who really live their sorority or fraternity's ideals!

Speed no, but an inability to say no sometimes. When it's something you enoy, often you don't notice how much you're doing.

What happens is usually one of two things:

1) They do nothing else but live, and breath their GLO (been there, did that for a few years).

2) They don't necessarily do as good a job as someone else with more time would have done and something suffers.

And before anyone jumps down my throat and tells me I'm insulting someone, I have direct experience with both.......

I have found that it's common for higher ups to not pay attention to what a woman is already doing before they offer her something else. And when a higher up asks, it's hard to say no.

[AOII*Azra-elle]

I haven't joined Life Loyal yet. I was waiting for my money to come so I can do that. But, I want to. I'm not active in an alum chapter yet. I've been in touch with our Denver alum, but that is still a 4 hour drive south of where I am. There isn't one here. Although, I've been in touch with a few Tennessee alum chapters, and I'm looking forward to being involved when I move back to Tennessee next year!

[orchid2]

I miss being around Phi Mu. Unfortunately, the nearest alumni chapter is about an hour's drive from my city. I try to keep in touch with my sisters through email and myspace, LOL If I lived closer to my alma mater (which is pretty far upstate) I would be a more supportive alum...

[Tom Earp]

What is funny, is that no matter how far you may be from Your Chapter, there is a still a connection there.

You need to work whether far or near, they are Your Chapter.

Do You stay in touch?

Does Your Chapter Keep in touch with The Alums?

While Alum Chapters are great, consider Your Home Chapter.

As I said above, do You and Your Sisters keep in touch with them?

Do You give donations to them? Do You work with them when possible?

God, I have been working on this for a long time and it is not easy. But The need whether close or far, They Do need Your support!

I'm involved with my organization whenever I have some free time. With work and family it can be hard to get and stay involved. But for your organization you have to do all that you can.


Dr. Kelvin A Barry, Sr.
Phi Sigma Chi Fraternity, Inc.

[BetteDavisEyes]

It's probably been asked before, but how many of you are actively involved with your GLO as an alum?
I'm involved more so now than when I first got out of college.

Are you involved in the local, regional or (inter)national level?
Local for now. I'm needed there so I am happy to serve there.

What do you do, specifically?
I am an advisor for the chapter by where I live. I also help out and volunteer when and if needed at special events.

Why did you choose this area of involvement?
I actually did it b/c I moved & really don't know anyone near me. All my friends & family are at least an hour or more drive away. I started getting bored & lonely when the lightbulb came on. There's a chapter of my GLO right by me so I inquired into it & now I have good friends right next to me. It's great! Because of my work schedule, it is easy to coordinate things around work. I'm fairly flexible during the evenings & weekends & it's not too demanding of my time.

Are you also a dues paying alumni member of your GLO? If so, does that mean you pay dues only to your local alumni chapter or you pay separate local and international alumni dues to be considered an active alumna? If you are not a dues paying alumni member, why not?
I am a dues paying member. I pay my dues for my local alumni chapter.

I know that AOP, DDD, DC and SC have Life Loyal programs and I'm sure there are more. If your GLO has a "Life Loyal" type program, are you a member? If not, why not?
I'll have to check into this one. I've never thought about it actually. I just figured that being initiated and paying my dues meant that I was a lifelong member of my GLO. Something to look into...

[Tom Earp]

This is very good to hear from so many people!

While there are two venues to look at and either one is a great help to the Organization.

1. National Level.

A. Working within the GLO.
B. Donating Money.

2. Local Level.

A. Working with the local in and advisory position.
B. Donating Money.

Sounds simple doesn't it?


Depending on how an IHQ works with field Represenatives it can be a big thing coming out of College. It usually is easier for the Fraternities to hire and work with them. They do travel a lot and for no more than two years. While the Pay is not great, the experience is fantastic!

One of My Alums Wife is a Reagional Director of ASA.
One of My Represenatives was a Regional Manager of KS.
A past National President is now Pesident of the Local Chapter House Corporation.

I have been a member of the House Corporation for 10 years and stepped down to start as first President of our House Alumni Association. I am the contact for building a email listing to keep in touch.

While I am a life member of My Fraternity, (Living Will), I still try to do many things for my Local Chapter. I buy LXA items for our Auction to bring money to the Chapter. I am a mentor for not only the Local but the National.

It is not easy for the new Alums who are starting out on their own and getting into a new job or a family, it is important to be just a member who stays in contact with the chapter but the members.

Any and all help is a Great Help!

Thanks to all of You Alums who do anything!

You are needed!

[FloridaTish]

It's probably been asked before, but how many of you are actively involved with your GLO as an alum?

Since I was initiated as an alumnae in 2005, I try to stay very active!

Are you involved in the local, regional or (inter)national level?
local

What do you do, specifically?

I am currently the Florida Tech staff advisor for our chapter (each student organization is required to have a member of the staff/faculty as an advisor). I'm also the president of the chapter's HCB and am active with the "Crescent Catchers" recovering our badges off of Ebay. I'm also the Alumnae representative on our campuses Fraternity/Sorority Housing committee, as we are in the process of bringing greek housing to our campus. Lastly, I am a member of our local Alumnae Chapter.

Why did you choose this area of involvement?

Being an advisor allows me to take a hands on approach with the chapter and since my full time job is on campus, I am able to provide support to the chapter with my accessability. I enjoy working on the committee to bring greek housing to our campus, as I hope to have my daughter attend Florida Tech one day. If she were to become a Gamma Phi Beta, it would be awesome to have her one day live in the house that I helped with!

Are you also a dues paying alumni member of your GLO? If so, does that mean you pay dues only to your local alumni chapter or you pay separate local and international alumni dues to be considered an active alumna? If you are not a dues paying alumni member, why not?

I pay both International dues and local dues to my AC.

I know that AOP, DDD, DC and SC have Life Loyal programs and I'm sure there are more. If your GLO has a "Life Loyal" type program, are you a member? If not, why not?

I don't know of a "Life Loyal" program within Gamma Phi, but I take to heart that Gamma Phi Beta is forever to me. People might not understand my commitment sometimes, but all that matters is that in my heart, i know it's for life.

[AOII Angel]

It's probably been asked before, but how many of you are actively involved with your GLO as an alum?
I have not been active for the ten years since I graduated from college. I have a decent excuse...no local alum group and medical school. You can't do everything!

Are you involved in the local, regional or (inter)national level?
Local. I just moved to Maryland and am joining two local alum groups.

What do you do, specifically?
I am trying my best to get involved. I'd like to do a lot more. I'm trying to help with recruitment at one school and recolonization at another.
I've also signed up to have an alum meeting at my house. Baby steps!!

Why did you choose this area of involvement?
You have to start somewhere. My job doesn't allow much time off for travel so international involvement would be difficult.

Are you also a dues paying alumni member of your GLO? If so, does that mean you pay dues only to your local alumni chapter or you pay separate local and international alumni dues to be considered an active alumna? If you are not a dues paying alumni member, why not?
I am a dues paying member. Our alum dues include local and international fees (which pay for our To Dragma subscription.)

I know that AOII, DDD, DC and SC have Life Loyal programs and I'm sure there are more. If your GLO has a "Life Loyal" type program, are you a member? If not, why not?
No, I'm not. I find it a little annoying that you have to pay extra for a little pin to tell you that you're "Life Loyal." I know international needs extra funds for things, but I'd prefer they just come out and ask for it in a straightforward manner. That's just my personal opinion. I'll just keep paying my international dues each year (you're exempt if you're Life Loyal) and remain Life Loyal in my own way.

[modorney]

> but how many of you are actively involved with your GLO as an alum?
I'm 60 years old, retired at 57 from the dot-com boom, and have an easy "retirement job" driving a subway train. Last month my son won the Natiional Spelling Bee, was awarded a scholarship from Sig Ep (thanks, dudes!) and I realized the immense value of greek life for gifted and talented young men and women.

I'm Acacia, I contacted my national, and updated my contact info. I'm chasing down the local house (Cal Berkeley), my 13 year old son is involved there, and I'm seeing what alum stuff is done locally.

Are you involved in the local, regional or (inter)national level?

Locally, I'm seeing what kind of alumni involvement exists, or needs to be started up. Acacia is a small house (42 chapters), so I may seek out a couple other small houses to do things together. Greeks have a lot in common with other greeks, so that might work.

On the other side, with the homeschool and GATE groups I'm in, I'm creating awareness of greek life. On the west coast, the only press greeks get are campus problems on fraternity row, usually at Cal or U Washington. I want to be a positive voice. Homeschoolers and GATE kids are often "late bloomers", and greek life (especially houses with mentor programs like "Balanced Man", "True Gentlemen", "Membership Development Program", "LEAP",...) fits perfectly with the paradigm.

I'm also an "evangelist" for other houses, encouraging alums to get involved. I'm part of a wave of boomers who are retiring early, and doing fun stuff while we are still in good health. We remember the good days of greek life in the sixties, and see that it is coming back. A different style, but a good style. A different type of student, too.

Nationally, Acacia already has a "pre-post" infrastructure with informal ties to Masonic institutions (Demolay and lodges), I am exploring that path.

What do you do, specifically?

Right now I am just beginning. Exploring resources, looking for people. My college - Rensselaer - is a regional school, there are only four RPI Acacia alums in Northern California, out of 800 alums.

Why did you choose this area of involvement?

During the boom, I worked as a pre-sales tech support engineer, and we brought organizational behavior out of HR and into the field sales force. I picked up a lot of mentoring and training skills, these will translate well into mentor programs in "greekspace". Also, did a lot of work with real estate, this may be helpful.


Are you also a dues paying alumni member of your GLO? If so, does that mean you pay dues only to your local alumni chapter or you pay separate local and international alumni dues to be considered an active alumna?

Both - just getting that cranked up. Acacia is separate, but I'd like to see the two systems integrated - one bill for both local and national.

If your GLO has a "Life Loyal" type program, are you a member?

Ironically, in 1971, I received my alum magazine, and left it open to the Life Loyal page, intending to apply the next day. The next day I got in an accident and was in the hospital for three months, but no brother visited me there, even though the hospital was 3 miles from the house. Vietnam was raging, my chapter was in turmoil, and I can look back and see how it happened. I came home from the hospital, saw the Life Loyal form on my desk, and decided this wasn't what I wanted to do at this time.

Looking back, a mentoring/life skills program would have been good. Nowadays, we have them.

I'm not sure if we still have Life Loyal, but I would do it.

[Tom Earp]

You are some what from My era and I am a Life member as I beleive in what My GLO is doing and truely want it to continue for other new members way after my time!

I did it a different way as a Founder and I have never forgotten what it took to get to where we are.

There are so many Brothers that I am proud to say I know them and are close with them and their families. Well, let me say just from My Chapter but also the many who are at others that I now know!

That is what We are!

[yalenole]

As I have been involved off and on the past 17 year, it makes me sad that so many alumnae right here with a major university and housed chapter that won't be bothered to attend a function or help out when asked. I guess they forgot they are lifers!!

I am the President of the HCB nad have been for 3 years. The first year I was the HCB!! I love being involved with the collegians. The way I look at it is that someone was there for me when I was in college so I need to return the favor for current chapter members.

[lstorey]

I am very active....I was the chapter advisor for 12 years (only resigned because I was getting married and needed a break) and have served as several regional officers. I help the local collegiate chapter and am involved with a local alumnae association. As someone once said to me, it is for more than 4 years, it is for life! shame that not everything thinks that way

[Tom Earp]

Now 42 years and President of the Alumni Association!