Chapter Histories

What...I thought we were done with Chapter Histories for the semester? Chapter Histories for the Spring Semester were due on July 1st...if you haven't sent them in yet-send them on-better late than never!
I wanted to talk to you about collecting information about the Chapter History all year long. Many of your chapters are now doing online histories with programs such as Picaboo and Scrapblog. I think this is great-way to embrace technology and also to save your chapter some money. Plus, almost all pictures are digital these days anyways so it is easy to get the pictures to your computer!
Another way to help you document throughout the year is to start a Chapter History Blog...that is what the LA Alpha chapter has done. Check their blog out at http://louisianaalphachapterhistory.blogspot.com/ . This would be great project for your Fraternity Heritage Committee! An added perk to doing this is that it can be shared with alums and used as alum communication-it is always great to get two things accomplished at one time!
Remember, when writing a History Blog you should focus on the things going on in the chapter. You can look at the Chapter Historian's Guide on the Pi Phi website for an extensive list of what to include but basics would be:
Your chapter:highlight officers, pledge classes, NMs
Membership:recruitment, NM program
Chapter Scholarship: scholarship program, banquets
Fraternity Heritage: Founder's Day, Cookie Shines
Philanthropy:events you attend, events the chapter plans
Senior Programming
Values Programming
Important Visitors: LDCs, Regional Specialist visits
Campus Life: important people on campus, campus traditions like football for the fall
Chapter Brag Sheet: has your chapter received an award-tell us about it

You don't have to wait until after events happen either-tell about them before hand and you might even get some extra people to show up at your Founder's Day or Philanthropy Event!

Another blog to look at would be the MO Alpha Chapter Blog. I know they aren't in our region but this blog is another great one to look at!

VPP Ideas

Wow-you girls are doing wonderful things in your community and University's. What a giving group of girls! Don't forget to track all of your service on the Community Service Report that is due December 1st!

AR Alpha has begun plans for this fall’s Speed Read, which will take place on the evening of Sunday, November 9th in coordination with our annual Spaghetti Supper fundraiser. In brainstorming for campus and local community participation, Arkansas Alpha members are going to recruit Razorback athletes to join in on the fun that evening and participate in the Speed Read. Greek members and chapters will be encouraged to give donations on the Razorback athlete they think will read the most words. Once all the final arrangements are made, the VP Philanthropy and committee will market the event with the student newspaper, local television and radio broadcasts, etc. The VP Philanthropy has contacted the local Borders and Build-a-Bear, both sponsors of First Book, to assist in marketing as well as provide donations to be raffled off as door prizes at the event.

Burgers for Books, LA Alpha's annual philanthropy event will be taking place on October 24th. This has been the focus for a few weeks on making this event spectacular. We are getting free value meal coupons donated from Rally’s to give out to the winning group that brings in the most money and books. We will also be raising money by letting people pay $5 to participate in our “Pie a Pi Phi” contest. All of the proceeds will go to First Book and the children’s books we collect will go to local New Orleans schools. We will be selling burgers and people can get a free burger if they donate a book.

LA Beta's Pi Burgers and Phries is tentatively set for November 7 from 11am-3pm. This fundraiser will donate money to First Book and also to implement a reading program to help students at a local area school raise money to go to Washington DC. The speed read is set for the day of Pies Burgers and Phries.

MS Alpha members have been successful in getting business in the area to purchase ads for the program and even enter a team into our bowling competition. -a great idea to reach out to the community to enter your event!

MS Beta's main fundraiser each year is the Pi Phi Chili Cook-Off. This is a competition where fraternities compete against one another to cook the best pot of chili. This will be held on November 12th this year and we have begun the process of marketing designs, looking for a band and recruiting fraternities for the event. We have begun to search for sponsors both in the community and from SYSCO and US Food Groups to donate items like bowls, spoons, napkins, chili, etc.

OK Alpha is currently planning a community service for the new members and the members to participate in that will give back to the Norman community. On Saturday October 4, all of the new members and sophomores will be volunteering at a children’s carnival for one and a half hours each. The carnival will be hosted by St. Joseph’s Family Life Center. The various activities the members and new members will be doing are: taking tickets, setting up and taking down the carnival, working concession and other miscellaneous tasks.-this is a great idea for the NM and sophomores to bond and potential find their big sis!

This month OK Beta VPP attended the new member meeting where I explained my duties as the VP of Philanthropy. I tried to find a way to help them remember all of our philanthropies and showed them how exciting a speed read can be!-Speed Reads at NM meetings are an innovative way to show them what to expect when your chapter holds its BIG Speed Read!

On September 27, 2008 TN Delta participated in the Soul to Soul 5k Race benefiting First Book-Midsouth, located at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. Six chapter members and Suzanne Malone ran in the race, while other members stood at given locations to cheer runners on. Also, we had three members dress up in a Cat in the Hat costume, a Franklin the Tortoise costume, and a Madeline costume-see the picture below in an earlier post!

TX Alpha members signed-up to participate in the Zavala After-School Program (ZAP). Members teach classes such as dance, soccer, basketball, crafts, and cheerleading to students. ZAP will also begin the first week of October and continue until Christmas.

On December 4th TX Beta will hold our annual Be an Angel cookie decorating tea Christmas party. Members and guest will decorate Christmas cookies to be delivered to the Ronald McDonald house

TX Gamma created a volleyball tournament, ArrowSpike, which we raised money for First Book. The tournament was a huge success and I think we will continue to use it in the following years. During the volleyball tournament, we performed numerous speed reads. We had the referees do speed reads with the various team captains. Everyone seemed to enjoy them!

The Texas Delta chapter will host their 3rd Annual Dodgeball Tournament on November 9 from 12pm to 5pm. All proceeds will be donated to First Book. To kick-off the Dodgeball Tournament their will be a Speed-Read to determine who gets to pick which side of the court.

For the month of September, TX Eta members have started going to Helping One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) which is a program where we go to the local middle schools and help the children read for 30 minutes every week.

On September 19th, we held TX Epsilon's 10th annual “Mr. Pi Phi” Pageant. Every fraternity on campus nominated 2 men to compete in our pageant for the title of “Mr. Pi Phi” as well as other various gifts and prizes. The proceeds from “Mr. Pi Phi” benefited the Pi Beta Phi Foundation as well as our partnership with FirstBook. In order for to attain as much participation in our campus Speed Read as possible, we chose to incorporate it with our fundraising event. During intermission of the pageant, I explained the importance of literacy today and why we value our partnership with FirstBook so much. The idea of a Speed Read was introduced and then executed. All contestants lined up along the stage and took turns reading as much “Oh the Places You Will Go” as possible in 10 seconds. The winner was awarded a 4 pack of Dallas Stars Tickets and Parking Pass-Great way to work your Speed Read into an event that was already established!

TX Zeta will host a Speed Read during our Teacher Book Dedication in November. This way, members will invite their favorite teachers and form teams to compete in the Speed Read. We did this last year and it made the Teacher Book Dedication very memorable and enjoyable

VPFD Ideas

We have a full slate of VPFD ideas from last month as well. It looks like ya'll have come up with some great ways to educate your chapters.

The AR Alpha Balfour Celebration was held on September 21, 2008. Chapter Archivist, Allie Welty, refurbished several of the individual scrapbooks and they were on display for all visiting alumni and family members. This was such a great way to allow our alumni, current members and family to see they history of Arkansas Alpha in an informal setting.-you could use this idea at any gathering you have. Pull those old histories out for Founder's Day, Alum Events or Cookie Shines!

LA Alpha has a cookie shine planned for the first chapter meeting that we are allowed to be back in our house. They are going to tie it into the Values Refresher Workshop-way to mulit-task!

LA Beta made up a rap to do at the new member meeting to help the new girls start memorizing the founders

MS Alpha so far brought the seniors in and had them dress up as the founders, to help the girls associate the names with faces. We have also taught songs about Pi Phi facts. We are also using the NM CD a lot. We hook a computer up to our TV, and have the girls go through the CD along with the VPFD. We think that the NM have really benefited from using the CD

MS Beta has been sending weekly FH facts through our “Pi Phi” Facebook group.-What a wonderful way to reach all members!

OK Alpha planned a formal meal on Thursday, September 25th at 6:30 p.m. for the new members. The purpose was to teach the new members the etiquette of pi phi formal meals and show them how it works

Throughout this month’s chapter meetings, OK Betas have continued to play “Heritage Cup”. The VPFD tests the knowledge of the chapter through asking questions about history, founders, symbols, and more. The first person to exclaim or to find the answer gets a point for her New Member class. At the end of the semester, the New Member class with the most points will win a prize and it will be announced at a Cookie Shine

After meeting this coming month TN Delta plans on holding a “Ring-Ching” night where every member decorates a silver blue cup and learns the Ring-Ching song. We will then have an ice-cream social.

According to the module, I have been focusing on Texas Alpha’s chapter history. Our archives has a book that contains notes and information from 1902, when Texas Alpha was founded, to the 1950s. I have read excerpts from the first hand account of how our chapter was founded

TX Beta has held two training sessions with the new censors in order to hold productive, quiet meetings and picture shows. They have definitely improved and our last slide show was quieter and ran more smoothly with their help-having training with censors will help all chapter meetings run smoothly

TX Gamma educated the chapter on some of the history behind our initiation ceremony because we are getting close to initiation had the madrigals sing Pi Phi songs to practice for the initiation banquet

TX Delta's charter was shown to the chapter and explained during meeting. Also those who wore their pins to meeting received a reward.-you would be surprised at how many of your chapter members probably don't know where the charter is. What a easy way to educate them. Also a great idea to give a small reward for wearing the pin!

TX Eta has gone over more chapter histories. This month we went over the beginning of our chapter. We looked at pictures from the first recruitment and and talked about charter members

TX Epsilon used the story “Ignorant Children” from the New Member CD, a few members of our chapter created a video reenacting each part of the story with narration in the background. They dressed up as the 12 Founders and even added in little interviews including one on why the Arrow was chosen as our official symbol. The video was very funny and our members loved it because it was more interesting than just reading the story to them from a piece of paper. The video was also shown to the New Members at their meeting.

TX Zeta has been practicing “Ring Ching” as a chapter in every meeting of September/October as a refresher for the older members as well as for the newest members who may not have known it before.-this is a great idea to get older member involved. Younger members might not know Pi Phi songs and during chapter you might have a group of seniors lead the chapter in songs!

Way to go VPFDs! I am so proud of all of the history and heritage you are teaching your chapters

VPMD Ideas

Wow! I got a great ideas for VPMD from every chapter. Way to go girls! I am going to post everyone's ideas

On September 24th AR Alpha had a “Sit with your majors” no-TV dinner, which allowed members of all ages to meet and talk with girls who are working on the same major or area of study.

LA Alpha continues to implement the “Smarty Panties” program at every chapter meeting as an incentive for member to, one, achieve scholastic excellence, and two, share their successes with the chapter. Recent winners have included two seniors – one received an A in both Organic Chemistry I and II, the other just earned acceptance to medical school.-it is great that LA Alpha is recognizing members on achievements other than just grades on test!

LA Beta has made the Pi Phi scholarship applications accessible to everyone by having copies in the house. I feel it is best for them to get a head start on it now since it is such a long application

MS Alpha watched the Sam Spady video together in the chapter room, and we distributed the Sam Spady wallet cards to the new members

This semester MS Beta joined the Adopt-A-Cop program. The goal of this program is to improve relationships between local law enforcement and Greek life. Each chapter “adopts” a law enforcement member who we can contact in case of emergencies or to inform us on current campus crimes and other issues

In order to promote Intellectual Development, OK Alpha is overseeing the campus program of “Adopt-a-Prof”. We have recently received our professor, also a Pi Beta Phi Alumni, and I am in the works to plan programming with this Professor

OK Beta contacted the men of Sigma Phi Epsilon about the TAKE Defense seminar on September 23rd. Members helped to pass our flyers to advertise the event, and also helped collect donations from other participants before the event started. Many members said it was their favorite seminar they ever attended. Members were required to attend.-would you like more info on take-contact your Programming Specialist!

TN Delta introduced the “Academic Olympics” to the chapter. Girls will receive 2 Points for making dean’s list, 2 Points for A’s, 2 Points for completing all study hours, 1 Point for B’s, 1 Point Pi Society, 1 Point for going to tutoring/attending an academic program, and1 Point for putting your name in the no skippy jar (not skipping any classes one week).

TX Alpha is having competition between classes to see who can earn the most A’s. The winning class will receive a party at the end of the semester

TX Beta members who achieved semester GPAs of 3.7 or better were invited to the Panhellenic Scholarship Reception, held at the Meadows Museum on October 7. Faculty and university administrators attended the reception and were present to see Pi Phi win one of three Panhellenic academic awards (Most Improved).-what a wonderful way to award members and give them recognition in front of the Greek community and their professors.

Texas Gamma is putting together a cookbook called “Angel Food”, where members can email me recipes.

TX Delta has a Pi Party after meeting. Pi Party is where members, who received a 3.14 or better Spring ’08 GPA, are able to enjoy pizza and pie for their academic success

TX Eta put a wellness and safety program together that turned out really well. We made a presentation of general tips and unknown facts about different health topics. The overall idea was to talk about taking care of yourself daily through sleeping well, exercising, eating well, and preventing stress. A funny power point presentation was made a presented to demonstrate these health facts. In addition, the whole chapter dressed up in “80’s aerobic” gear and we all did jazzercise. It was a fun way to get everyone involved.

TX Epsilon is planning a new member game as an incentive to get good grades. There is a point system and the teams get points based on study hours and other school related activities. The team with the most points at the end of the semester gets a prize

As an incentive to motivate more girls to come to study sessions, TX Zeta is going to provide "food for thought" in hopes that more girls will attend.

Way to go Region 6 VPMDs!