January/February/March 2008 Communication from the Office of the Eastern Province Polemarch
Dear Brothers:
I trust that you all had a wonderful Holiday Season and took some time to spend with your family and loved ones. As we sometimes get busy with Kappa, we can forget the ones that allow us to do the work that we do for Kappa. As we prepare to start the second half of our 2008 fraternal year, we must keep in mind the vision of the 31st administration of “Creating Inspiration” in our families, our schools, and our communities. Listed below are several items that require your immediate attention. Please share them with your chapters.
EASTERN PROVINCE WEBSITE
The website is still a work in progress. The site is to be a communication tool for all chapters to post events, information, and other important information for the Province to know. A Members Section is forthcoming to house the forms and other information that we would like to convey to members only & keep among the members. Please feel free to send “all” information and articles to brothers Hill and Arnold. I usually perform a final review before the material is posted to the web.
CHAPTER CERTIFICATION
The 2007-2008 Chapter Certification is in progress. Your Regional Board Member should be setting certification dates. Special sessions will be accommodated. As all chapter Polemarchs should know, all chapters must be certified by Province Council in order to participate in intake. All chapters participating in Spring 09 intake should be certified by the 2008 Province Council.
MEMBERSHIP INTAKE
The Spring 2008 MOIP is scheduled for Feb 22-24, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza in Richmond, Va. The MOIP Team will provide more information to the chapters that are eligible to participate in the MOIP. To participate in the MOIP, the chapter must complete the chapter certification program and receive approval from the Province Polemarch. Paperwork and money for the Spring 2008 intake is due this Saturday January 26th at the Crowne Plaza in Richmond, Va. Forward questions related to Membership Intake to Andre Gladden at . The dates for Fall initiation have not been determined.
ACHIEVEMENT AND AWARDS
The Province Achievement and Awards Committee will meet on Saturday, February 16, 2008.
KAPPAS ON KAPITAL HILL
The date for Kappas on Kapital Hill has been changed due to a conflict. As soon as I get the date, we will post on the Website for your planning. I would assume it will be in April, 2008 as always. Brothers as always, this is a National Initiative, however the Eastern Province is expected to have the brothers out in force. Chapters are asked to send representatives from all over the country, however with this Initiative being in the East, I would like to see us get the brothers out to support this event. I am asking each chapter in the East to send a representative and the Metro Chapters to send at least 10 representatives to this event. Brothers, lets make this happen.
KAPPA ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMY
The Achievement Academy of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. seeks to promote the development and advancement of undergraduate members into graduate and professional schools through effective mentoring and advocacy. Brothers who are interested in attending graduate or professional school should contact Eastern Province Coordinator Nathan Fletcher at @ .
ST. JUDE – SUNDAY OF HOPE
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity has committed to raise $500,000 in five years to donate to St. Jude Hospital. To achieve this goal, St. Jude Hospital and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity have created a program call Sunday of Hope. On one Sunday in January, Kappa members will attend and ask for a “love offering” for St. Jude from their church. This program is designed to be implemented in churches across the country. Each alumni chapter is asked to secure at least one church to participate in the Sunday of Hope program in January. The goal for each church secured is to raise at least $1,000. At this printing, the Eastern Province Sunday of Hope Chairperson Neil Hudgins, Chesapeake Va Beach Alumni has indicated that the Eastern Province has about 12 churches signed up. Initially, our due date was to have them all done by January, but if you have a church interested, please let Neil know as soon as possible. Neil has done an outstanding job representing the Eastern Province. If you see Neil, please thank him for all he has done on this project. As you know, success breeds longevity. The St. Jude project will be an ongoing project and the chapters will again next year be asked to participate. I am requesting that brothers begin preliminary discussions with your Church Pastors to determine if your church would be a participating in this project next year. Also, I am asking chapters to organize fundraisers or budget for participation next year. Let’s help Kappa keep it’s commitment to the St. Jude Hospital. For more information, contact Brother Neil Hudgins at .
St. Jude—3rd Annual Golf Tournament
The St. Jude 3rd Annual Golf Tournament will be held again this year. The details have not been set, but be on the look out for further information. Our goal this year is to get started on this event early to allow more participation. For information, please contact Neil Hudgins at and Tommy Walker @ .
UNDERGRADUATE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
The 2008 Undergraduate Leadership Institute (Gamma Class) is scheduled for June 7-14, 2008 in Orlando, Florida. The Undergraduate Leadership Institute is a highly structured and intense leadership experience designed to increase undergraduates’ capacity to lead in multiple contexts—in the fraternity, on campus, and in their communities. The fraternity will provide travel and lodging accommodations to the accepted candidates. To apply, the following items must be submitted to the International Headquarters, ATTN: André G. Early, Director of Undergraduate & Affairs, no later than February 29, 2008:
Brother Undergraduates, please take advantage of this opportunity.
♦ A completed Kappa Leadership Institute Application with the appropriate signatures (on the website).
♦ An official transcript (sealed and addressed to the attention of André G. Early: Director of Undergraduate & University Affairs).
♦ A current résumé.
♦ A black and white or color photograph – at least 4” X 6” (for submission to the Journal).
♦ Submit a response to the question, “What constitutes leadership?” Essay should be word processed and double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins around; essay should not exceed three pages.
♦ Three letters of reference referring to your leadership potential: One from your chapter advisor, one from the Director of Greek Life, and one from a professor in your field of study.
EASTERN PROVINCE COUNCIL
The Eastern Province Council is scheduled for March 13-16, 2008 in Bermuda. The PCPC is diligently working to make this Council a historic success. We currently have several Kappa Dignitaries coming to share this historic event with us. The Grand Polemarch will be the keynote speaker for the Closed Banquet. We highly recommend that if you don’t have a passport to start that process now as there is a backup at the Federal Passport Office. The registration packet is located on the Eastern Province web site (http://www.epkapsi.org)
2008 EASTERN PROVINCE FOUNDERS DAYS
The Virginia Chapters Founders Day was hosted by the Charlottesville (VA) Alumni Chapter on January 12, 2008.
The Metro Chapters Founders Day was hosted by the Columbia (MD) Alumni Chapter on January 19, 2008. Kudos to both chapters on very successful programs!
CARE/GLAD
The Credit Abuse Resistance Education and the Greeks Learning to Avoid Debit program is a national program to educate people to avoid debit. We need at least 10 Undergraduate Chapters in the Eastern Province to volunteer host a program then IHQ will send someone out to do the educational program. Please view the CARE web page at http://www.careprogram.us/.
NATIONAL INITIATIVES
As indicated at the C.Rodger Wilson, the expectations of this administration are very high. The Grand Polemarch is expecting each province and chapter to participate in the goals of this administration at a very intense level. I would like to remind you of 3 benchmarks the Grand Polemarch wants us to assess by the Province Council
1. Each Province reclaim 100 brothers
2. Each member of the Province donate $100 to the Kappa Foundation
3. Each chapter donate 100 hours of community service in the areas of reading, math and science to young people in your area. Brothers I will appoint a person to compile this information to be included in a report to be given at the Council
Congratulations go out to our own William B. Croom. Brother Croom was elected as President of the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation. Here’s to brother Croom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See his article on the website.
Brothers, it truly is good to be a KAPPA!!!!!!!! Thanks for all you do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yours in the Bond,
John T. Lanier, Sr.
Eastern Province Polemarch
“ Creating Inspiration!”