Shield and Diamond Summer 2011 : IFC

From the Supreme Council RecRuitment, the Key to SucceSS by Matt Buckhalter (Florida State, Delta Lambda ’07) AddReSSing ApAthy thRough LeAdeRShip by Nate Summerfield (Nebraska-Kearney, Iota Gamma ’07) ust about everyone can remember his first memory of Pike. Whether it was at his respective chapter house or maybe his first interaction with an older brother lobbying for his fraternity, there will always be that first recollection of Pike. It is these experiences, these interactions, that mean the most and truly set the stage for that individual to join our Fraternity. J Matt Buckhalter Supreme Council Vice President Nate Summerfield Supreme Council Vice President s chapter leaders, it is our responsibility to engage members and develop the next generation of leaders. Unfortunately, apathy often deters such efforts from occurring. Our initial reaction to apathy places blame on the inactive, lackluster members. After all, they are the lazy ones. This answer, albeit quick and easy, does not fix the problem. The first time you approach a potential new member, you are portraying the brand of Pi Kappa Alpha and everything it should be. Though representing yourself as a scholar, leader, athlete, and gentleman should already come naturally, you must be sure to reflect these standards at all times and especially when it comes to recruitment. Though we may not realize it, the potential members are sizing us up as much as we are evaluating them, and it is key that we put our best foot forward with each and every recruit. Recruiting a great pledge class takes a lot of work, not all of which should be placed on the rush chairman. I am a strong believer in the use of a rush team (members who live, breathe, and die recruitment), but that too is not enough. It takes the full effort of a chapter to build a great pledge class. Every member in your chapter should be excited about recruitment and strive for improvement and positive growth with each semester. From bringing incoming freshmen from your hometown to check out the house, to talking to that guy who sits in front of you in economics, to using your alumni resources and receiving top notch legacies, recruitment is a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year event. Selling yourself and selling your chapter to a potential member who will grow from this experience and who will make our organization even stronger is the responsibility of chapter members and alumni alike. It is impossible for me to understand the many complaints that brothers have during recruitment week. This is the time that counts the most for your chapters to succeed. Every member should be ecstatic. A good analogy to think about is how recruitment is very reminiscent of national signing day: All the work and effort that you have put in over the past year comes down to this one week and anyone can tell you how much a last minute phone call or a sit down lunch can influence a person’s decision. Also, when it comes to recruiting for success, bigger is better, there is no arguing it. Having more men allows for more competition in more areas and sets our name apart from the rest. But, it is also important to understand whom you need when it comes to recruitment. If you are lacking continued on page 4 In some cases, apathy is a result of unresponsive or misguided leadership. Identifying apathy is easy – low meeting attendance, increased conflicts among members, low community service hours, etc. – eliminating apathy, on the other hand, can be rather difficult. Initial efforts to solve the problem might send you to conventional methods. For example, we might address low meeting attendance by passing strict bylaws mandating attendance – backed by threat of fines or J-board sanctions. But where does that get us? Members showing up who do not want to be there? This “band-aid” may make the low attendance temporarily go away, but it will not fix the problem at its roots. If apathy is an issue at your chapter, challenge yourself and other leaders to reassess how you engage members. Have an innovative mindset when developing solutions. Do not make members attend events. Make them want to attend events. Innovate Meetings If meeting attendance is low, find out why. Reinvent the style and purpose of your meetings. Add value and participation opportunities by discussing/deciding substantive fraternity issues. In 1868, full chapter meetings were necessary to report information. Times have changed (Bob Dylan called it). Utilize technology such as email, bulletin boards, and social media to update the chapter on non-pressing matters. Use precious in-person time to increase member buy-in. Instead of spending 30 minutes every meeting reporting the day-to-day efforts, replace that from time to time with goal setting exercises, strategic planning, or issue resolution. These opportunities to steer the chapter, usually given to the Executive Board, might be the ticket to keeping the average member engaged. Use Incentives Reward good members and motivate those on the fence. Use a variety of incentives to encourage effort and recognize the contributions of hard-working members. For many of continued on page 4

From The Supreme Council

Matt Buckhalter

RecRuitment, the Key to SucceSS Just about everyone can remember his first memory of Pike. Whether it was at his respective chapter house or maybe his first interaction with an older brother lobbying for his fraternity, there will always be that first recollection of Pike. It is these experiences, these interactions, that mean the most and truly set the stage for that individual to join our Fraternity. The first time you approach a potential new member, you are portraying the brand of Pi Kappa Alpha and everything it should be. Though representing yourself as a scholar, leader, athlete, and gentleman should already come naturally, you must be sure to reflect these standards at all times and especially when it comes to recruitment. Though we may not realize it, the potential members are sizing us up as much as we are evaluating them, and it is key that we put our best foot forward with each and every recruit. Recruiting a great pledge class takes a lot of work, not all of which should be placed on the rush chairman. I am a strong believer in the use of a rush team (members who live, breathe, and die recruitment), but that too is not enough. It takes the full effort of a chapter to build a great pledge class.Every member in your chapter should be excited about recruitment and strive for improvement and positive growth with each semester. From bringing incoming freshmen from your hometown to check out the house, to talking to that guy who sits in front of you in economics, to using your alumni resources and receiving top notch legacies, recruitment is a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year event. Selling yourself and selling your chapter to a potential member who will grow from this experience and who will make our organization even stronger is the responsibility of chapter members and alumni alike. It is impossible for me to understand the many complaints that brothers have during recruitment week. This is the time that counts the most for your chapters to succeed.Every member should be ecstatic. A good analogy to think about is how recruitment is very reminiscent of national signing day: All the work and effort that you have put in over the past year comes down to this one week and anyone can tell you how much a last minute phone call or a sit down lunch can influence a person’s decision. Also, when it comes to recruiting for success, bigger is better, there is no arguing it. Having more men allows for more competition in more areas and sets our name apart from the rest. But, it is also important to understand whom you need when it comes to recruitment. If you are lacking Other on-campus leaders be on the lookout for potential members. If your basketball team was a little weak last year, go to the school gym and play in a few pickup games, allowing you to scout out the best players.Also, do not ever be afraid to approach an older student, a sophomore or junior, because a lot of fraternity men, some of the best, do not even know coming into college that they are in fact fraternity men.Great pledge classes, great brotherhoods, are built on recruiting new members that truly exemplify all four cornerstones and illustrate the qualities of a strong brother. Though it only happens a couple times a year, recruitment is the true lifeline of a chapter. One outstanding pledge class can lead to another, and eventually to years of success. Unfortunately, the opposite is true for a bad pledge class; one bad bunch can ruin a chapter’s name and reputation in less than a semester. When it is all said and done, recruitment is an ongoing event that should be happening every day for every chapter.Building a bigger, better chapter based on the foundations of strong brotherhood And the four cornerstones should be the ultimate goal of every chapter because great recruitment will lead to great success. In ööêá Matt Buckhalter Supreme Council Vice President AddReSSing ApAthy thRough LeAdeRShip As chapter leaders, it is our responsibility to engage members and develop the next generation of leaders. Unfortunately, apathy often deters such efforts from occurring. Our initial reaction to apathy places blame on the inactive, lackluster members. After all, they are the lazy ones.This answer, albeit quick and easy, does not fix the problem. In some cases, apathy is a result of unresponsive or misguided leadership. Identifying apathy is easy – low meeting attendance, increased conflicts among members, low community service hours, etc. – eliminating apathy, on the other hand, can be rather difficult. Initial efforts to solve the problem might send you to conventional methods. For example, we might address low meeting attendance by passing strict bylaws mandating attendance – backed by threat of fines or J-board sanctions. But where does that get us? Members showing up who do not want to be there? This “band-aid” may make the low attendance temporarily go away, but it will not fix the problem at its roots. If apathy is an issue at your chapter, challenge yourself and other leaders to reassess how you engage members.Have an innovative mindset when developing solutions.Do not make members attend events. Make them want to attend events. Innovate Meetings If meeting attendance is low, find out why. Reinvent the style and purpose of your meetings. Add value and participation opportunities by discussing/deciding substantive fraternity issues. In 1868, full chapter meetings were necessary to report information. Times have changed (Bob Dylan called it). Utilize technology such as email, bulletin boards, and social media to update the chapter on non-pressing matters. Use precious in-person time to increase member buy-in. Instead of spending 30 minutes every meeting reporting the day-to-day efforts, replace that from time to time with goal setting exercises, strategic planning, or issue resolution.These opportunities to steer the chapter, usually given to the Executive Board, might be the ticket to keeping the average member engaged. Use Incentives Reward good members and motivate those on the fence.Use a variety of incentives to encourage effort and recognize the contributions of hard-working members. For many of Us, public or one-on-one praise does the trick; for others it takes financial rewards.Either way, incentives provide positive reinforcement by recognizing the good rather than dwelling on the bad. Another incentive-must is having a quick turn around between act and reward – the more immediately gratifying the better. Create Momentum Good chapters build and thrive on momentum. Getting that momentum started can prove difficult, but it follows one basic rule – everyone wants to be a part of a successful chapter. As a leader, define success for your chapter and outline a short-term, tangible goal to get “the big mo” on your side. Win Homecoming or Greek Week, have a well-developed recruitment drive, or create a fulfilling community service trip. Break the monotony of traditional events and amp up effort for a week to jumpstart member buy-in. As leaders, we have an incredible opportunity and obligation to leave our Fraternity better than when we found it. Embrace change, develop chapter members, and innovate to take your chapter to the next level. Fraternally, Nate Summerfield Supreme Council Vice President Our Readers Respond Brothers, Among my many fond memories while a field secretary in the late 1960s was a visit to Lexington, Kentucky. Having concluded visits to chapters at the University of Kentucky and Transylvania I had the opportunity to visit with an icon of PiKA, John U. Field (Transylvania, Kappa 1904) , at his home outside of Lexington. My life experience had largely been in the northeast; I earned my undergraduate degree at Syracuse University and was initiated into AX chapter in 1964. Meeting John U. Field was one of the highlights of my time with the Memorial Headquarters. During my visit John presented me with two old copies of the Shield & Diamond, May 1924 and March 1926. I recently retired from over 40 years of work in higher education and in the “cleaning” that accompanies retirement I came across these very well preserved copies of the Shield & Diamond. I would now like to share these “vintage” editions of the Fraternity’s magazine with the Memorial Headquarters. During my time with the Fraternity, the Memorial Headquarters was still located at 577 University Boulevard, but I am sure that the new building’s museum may have a place for these classic editions. Please accept this gift in memory of John U. Field, the personification of Pi Kappa Alpha. Fraternally, Anthony J. Felicetti (Syracuse, Alpha Chi ’64)

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