Starting on the Left Foot

Well, its back to the ol' grind! A month of school has already past like the speed of light. After CLC, I rapidly prepared to work the Ozona High School band camp in west texas. It was a small school with a band of about fifty people. I love getting the chance to help out high school kids and help give a glimpse of what music is like. Plus, I am a complete marching band freak!

After I taught the camp, I had two days to pack all of my stuff and head back to start summer band camp for the Howard Payne University Yellow Jacket Band. We gained almost twenty new band members to hold our band at around seventy people (which is pretty good for a university of our size). Marching fundamentals, early mornings, stand tunes, and show music ran my life once again. Oh, how I missed it! Once our band camp ended, we had a few days of relaxation and then school began on the 19th of August.

This semester, for me, will be one heck of a ride. With my senior recital, being president of the Zeta Beta chapter, and a full load of classes, I am pretty busy. Plus, I have the multitude of certification examinations this semester and next semester. However, things are not as bad as I would have suspected. I am having a great time thus far and am so happy to be where I am.

Here is a picture of me in the first performance of our DCI Hits show for the 2013 season.

Yesterday, September 14th, I had a fantastic opportunity to experience. After being invited by Josh Stickney, Helen Moore, Vanessa Delgado, Erika Pope, and I all traveled to Norman, OK to experience what it is like to be in the Pride of Oklahoma. We were their guests for Game Day and I cannot express how much fun I had. This was my first Division 1 football game, first large college band performance to watch, and I had an amazing time in fellowship with my brothers and sisters. You can't really ask for more. Both Delta Chapters were welcoming and very hospitable. I have now become a sooner fan. :)

I hope you all are off to a great start to the year. Keep remembering what our fraternity stands for and hold yourself accountable! Hope to see you all soon. 

AEA,

Allen Andrus

SWD Vice President

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

Hola from Vanessa!

                                                  (Above: My little Brother and me after she crossed)

Hello Brothers of the Southwest District!!! This is my first post to this blog, actually a blog in general, so I'm new to this but I am super excited to document my experiences,travels, and much more during my time on council this year.

First off let me tell a little about myself. I am a Senior Music Education and Clarinet Performance major and I attend Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma, otherwise known as windmill country. I crossed into this great fraternity in Spring 2011 and since have been extremely active within my chapter as well as within the Southwest District. I served as SWD Co-Member-at-Large during the 2012-2013 year and I now once again have the opportunity to serve my District for the 2013-2014 year. Aside from serving bands, I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, reading, writing, and playing with my cat, Mackey. (Yes, I named him after John Mackey, ha)

To strive, has several meanings for me personally and being a member of this fraternity has shaped the meaning for myself throughout these past few years. Now as I come to know it and going through certain experiences, I believe to strive means to first, better one's self and to achieve their greatest possible potential. Working and being apart of this fraternity allows for us to to reach this potential. Each one of us can do great things if we "Strive for the Highest" in all that we do.

The upcoming year is one going to be awesome and I can't wait to get the ball rolling. Also, I hope to see you all at CLC this Saturday!!

AEA Vanessa Delgado

District Caucus

Take a look at the SWD Caucus at the 2013 National Convention.

We gather again as a district for the last time! The wonderful Toni Castle, our district Governor, has supplied us all with delicious chocolate and we are already ten minutes ahead of time. 

Tonight we will be voting, reviewing national candidates and finishing up our business for the year. These representatives have done a great job this week. Thank you for all of the brothers who have attended this amazing convention. Take everything you have learned back to your chapters and continue to make the Southwest District the best district in the fraternity. :) 

Chapter Leadership Conference is only about a week away! We want ALL of you there. You do not have to be an officer to attend. We will have workshops for everyone while you are here. It will be held on August 3rd at Tarleton State University. If you live a far distance away, we have housing for you. To reserve your spot, contact me (swdvp@kkpsi.org) or Scott Sergeant (swdvpcm@tbsigma.org). There is not a lot of space, so contact us early!

We're the BIGGEST, we're the best, we are the Southwest! AEA

SWD Goals

Your SWD Council has had the opportunity to share and explore our goals with the Student Advisory Committee!

Take a look at just a few of our goals - what are some of the goals that you have for you chapter? For your office?

We're having a great time at National Convention! We are proudly representing the Southwest District!

Josh