What you missed from NatCon2013

From California to Connecticut, brothers from all over the United States joined hands in an amazing event, National Convention 2013. This biennial event is one of the greatest moments of fellowship offered to brothers of the fraternity. As you engage in workshops, leadership development, the occasional Red Sox game, and interaction with your fellow brothers, you become a better person and brother for your chapter. If you were unable to join the revolution this year, we want to bring you up to speed on the various changes and new additions to the fraternity.

National Council:

Here are your newly elected national officers for Kappa Kappa Psi.

President - Christine Beason

Vice President of Colonization and Membership - Jack Lee

Vice President of Programs - Adam Bates

Vice President of Student Affairs - Kelly Nellis

Vice President of Professional Relations - Travis Cross

Board of Trustees - Rod Chesnutt, Eric Morson, and Daniel George

Congratulations brothers!!

Honorary Membership:

As the highest honor you can bestow upon someone from this fraternity, honorary membership has had a few changes to increase its value. The reasons behind these changes are that some chapters have been handing out honorary membership to individuals or inanimate objects to replace active membership. 

Honorary membership is no longer allowed to be given to undergraduate students.

Honorary membership cost has been raised to $50 from $35.

Style Guide and Brand:

How many variations of the crest, flag, or other fraternity symbols have you seen floating around the Internet or on t-shirts? We are one fraternity and should all be using the same designs. To ensure this, a committee of brothers were assembled to create the brand and style guide for Kappa Kappa Psi. They narrowed down the variations to the crest, created a new brand, and a new way of presenting our letters!

National Convention 2015 will be held in Lexington, Kentucky!! Begin planning for your trip now. The rewards are countless when your chapter attends National Convention. If you want a better chapter, here is a place to help you get there. Fundraise and get as many brothers there as possible. 

Here is a video presented to the brothers during a separate session. It is very strong and is something we all need to pay attention to. Where do our values come from?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNF-_JdaLtA

Have a great time in your various band camps and enjoy the start of school. Love you, brothers.

AEA,

Allen

Thriving and Striving: A glimpse of Steph

Hello Brothers, Sisters, and miscellaneous!

My newest Littles!

I'm Stephanie McCullough, 2013-2014 SWD Secretary/Treasurer. I'm a Brother of Lambda at the University of Arkansas and will graduate in May 2014 with a B.A. in both Music and Psychology. I rock the glorious trombone and fool around on ukulele. I love Jesus, sports, crafts, games, cooking, learning, camp, reading, dancing, hammocking, biking, and bright colors... among many other things. I consider myself a person of intense passion and drive, and I'm incredibly thankful for all in my life that has blossomed that within me. For a bit more about me, click here to go to my personal blog.

Strive is one of my favorite words. Envisioning it paints a picture of an individual pushing relentlessly up a muddy mountain, in a huge thunderstorm, while carrying a heavy pack of necessities for those waiting at the top. I see this person gazing with much focus on the road ahead, eyes constantly upward, not wincing in pain but set firmly in determination.

Though graphic, such versions of striving are not common in my daily life, KPsi or otherwise. For me, striving is necessity. It's important to move onward and upward with much purpose, even when lacking specific direction. Now, at the end of my undergraduate career, I face a certain and heavy lack of clarity when it comes to future things. I don't know if I'm going to grad school and if I do, to which one. I don't know if I want to apply for some major national awards to do international things. Honestly, I have no dream career, just a mix bag of things that all sound awesome. I'm at a point where many college kids begin to worry and freak and lose it beneath the dark cloud of uncertainty.

But me? No. I refuse.
And instead I choose.
I choose to strive.

The lack of a 5 year plan does not affect my ability to work, to do, to make a difference. We're often told otherwise, but that is all wrong. I love the definition Josh posted earlier about strive meaning to "struggle vigorously". It truly is a struggle to swim through the unknown, but it's one I deem worthwhile.

It's worthwhile to strive. To push. To go. To keep on keepin' on.

My own little sub-definition of strive is to give. To give oneself, as others have done for us. For me, it's strongly tied to my faith and the example Christ made by serving others with complete humility. It's so beautiful. To give all of oneself: time, resources, abilities, love, everything. Giving is tops because it is something meant to be outside of ourselves. We strive for bands. We strive within this fraternity. We strive as we serve that about which we care deeply. We strive when we're at our best. We strive for greatness in our commitments.

And just so you all know, I'm committed. I want to better the SWD in my own small way, whatever it may be, in the coming year. There's a lot going on in life right now, but I'm dedicated to making it all amazing. With dependence His strength and assistance from the rest of council and the wonderful Brothers and Sisters at home, I'm confident it'll be great.

Nah, not great. Excellent.

Preparing for CLC

Kappa Kappa Hi!

I know for many of us, things are starting to pick up for both school and our chapters. If you are preparing for Chapter Leadership Conference tomorrow, I just want to say "thank you"!

(Don't know what I'm talking about? Check it out! https://www.facebook.com/events/141226959394998/)

 CLC will give us a unique opportunity to come together as existing and future leaders in our chapters and share our ideas with each other. As you are traveling to Stephenville, keep some of these things in mind and I'm sure you will have a beneficial day!

1. Be open-minded. We all come from different backgrounds and we all certainly have different ways of leading. Be open to both listening to others and sharing what you've found beneficial to your chapters.
2. Take notes. 'nuff said. We're human and we forget things. Some hand outs will be provided, but we often internalize things better if we see them in our own handwriting. Not required, but just a thought.
3. Engage. There will be opportunities for both hands on and verbal interaction. Remember, you are now the LEADERS of your own chapter. Don't be afraid of "Branching Out". (Thanks Beta Alpha and Iota!)
4. Meet. I challenge you to meet atleast 5 brothers/sisters that you don't already know. The people in attendance will be leaders that you can use to network and share ideas with long past our workshop. Make connections and friendships and I guarantee you will grow from them.

And with that, I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow in Stephenville! Feel free to contact any of your district officers if you have questions about CLC.

Josh Stickney
SWD Co M@L
405-315-4151
SWDCoMAL1@kkpsi.org