Relax, Discuss, Envision: Executive Committee Retreat January 2013

A view from the river.

My husband Bob and I love to entertain at our house on the Homosassa River in Homosassa, Florida. My husband started going to that area of Florida for fishing trips and we loved it so much we knew we wanted to make it our home away from home. We love to allow people the space to relax and unwind allowing for deep and open conversations. It was for these reasons that the NPC Executive Committee decided to have our January 2013 retreat at the river.

The NPC Executive Committee in Homsassa, Florida.

While at the river we laughed a lot and made some great memories, but we also envisioned much for the Conference to accomplish over the next 10 months. We plan to work on marketing, branding and College Panhellenic services along with ongoing board and volunteer development. Being an authentic leader means letting people see the real you. It was a lot to think about and digest, but being at the river allows for those meaningful, thoughtful discussions.

It is my hope that my fellow Executive Committee members walked away with a better sense of direction for the next 10 months but also some peace from time spent with friends in a serene location.

My Hopes for us in 2013

Last year at this time I shared that I don’t do resolutions in January because I believe we should all, as my momma told me, “Do your best every day.” When I began thinking about the New Year and some pearls of wisdom I might share, I kept coming back to a conversation I had on New Year’s Eve with my dear friends about our hopes for 2013.

Here are my hopes for us in 2013:

I hope that we have the opportunity to serve someone else. Our world is in constant turmoil and people are in constant need. There is always an opportunity to serve another and I personally have found those opportunities and experiences when I have been in service to someone else to be the most rewarding for me. Service to another also puts your own situation in perspective.

I hope each day we find something to give us joy. Whether it be a visit from a blue heron at the river house or a phone call from an old friend, finding the joy in the small things in life will shed light on the dark times.

I hope that we are able to deal with the issues that are presented to us using our values and experiences. We can never live drama-free lives but it is how we deal with the drama that builds our character. Drawing upon the strength within us to deal with these issues is all we can hope for.

All we can do is our best every day and HOPE that the New Year brings as much joy as sorrow and humility with success.

SORORITY LIFE AND REALITY TV

In the past year, the National Panhellenic Conference has been approached by more casting directors, producers, and film crews than ever before - all in the quest to sweet talk us into soliciting our members for participation in reality TV shows.

All claim to be tasteful, well thought out and non-exploitive. The approaches range from simple and sweet to swagger-filled promises of only putting the sorority brand in a positive light.

Dare to say it, but we're doubtful. And to each, we've declined or simply advised our member groups to proceed with caution.

Unfortunately, the solicitation often doesn't stop there. It frequently goes through levels of social media searching for collegiate members on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and other sites looking to land a single hopeful with TV stars in her eyes.

For anyone who has been a consumer of reality TV, it's clear that positives are in short supply, especially when involving the depiction of young women. Often, the female gender is tortured into the most exaggerated stereotypes that defy description.

Ohio State researchers writing for Psychology Today conducted a survey on the viewing habits of consumers and found that fantasy is the fuel that lights the fire.

"Reality TV allows Americans to fantasize about gaining status through automatic fame. Ordinary people can watch the shows, see people like themselves and imagine that they too could become celebrities by being on television. It does not matter as much that the contestants often are shown in an unfavorable light; the fact that millions of Americans are paying attention means that the contestants are important. . The message of reality television is that ordinary people can become so important that millions will watch them. And the secret thrill of many of those viewers is the thought that perhaps next time, the new celebrities might be them."

This is a sad statement of our world today - that fame is not achieved through hard work and perseverance but rather by chance.

Those of us in sorority know better. Fame and fortune are earned, rather than spotlighted in an exaggerated drama. And the fleeting moment of TV fame is often not the kind that most of us would want cited on a resume.

Of course, all choices are personal ones. We cannot say that a sorority woman would never win the Powerball. And we cannot say a sorority woman might never find fame through reality TV. But we know the odds aren't good.

My Holiday Decorations

Visions of AFA Dance in My Head

A few of my holiday decorations.

I’ve almost got my house decorated for the holidays. Each year I put up the ribbons and garland inside and out and I’m reminded that it is a labor of love. I love decorating my home and making it a warm and inviting place for friends and family who will come to share their holidays with us. It makes me happy to think about the fun-filled days, late night conversations and wonderful memories that will be made with some of my favorite people. This is also how I felt as I thought about the people I would see at this year’s Association of Fraternity and Sorority Advisors (AFA) annual meeting. Certainly I would see my NPC family and my dear Executive Committee friends but the other group of people I love to see each year is the NPC Fraternity/Sorority Advisors Committee members.

This committee was created to provide a warm and welcoming environment for thoughtful conversation (and some laughter) with one of our key constituent groups, our FSAs. This group provides us with great feedback on programs, educational pieces we are developing and general feedback on hot topics affecting their campuses. This information is tremendously beneficial to me as the NPC chairman. I can’t be everywhere and I certainly don’t get back to campus as much as I would like, so knowing that we have subject matter experts available to us is a tremendous blessing.

This year we had the opportunity to have lunch with our FSA Advisory Committee and true to form there was some great conversation and laughter, but above all there was a tremendous respect for the work of the committee and NPC and the collaboration and memories we are creating together.

A Global Conversation for Women

You may have seen this movie or overheard us talking about it.

“Half the Sky,” a film that debuted on PBS, is based on a book that reviewers have called a “passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.”

With the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation, we partnered to organize more than 75 viewing parties across the country for the film’s fall premier. The hashtag #sororityview was repeated on Twitter more than 2,000 times as sorority women picked up the thread of conversation and started to share what they were seeing and feeling about the global issues presented to us.

The film also was a multi-part experiment in social media, of which the National Panhellenic Conference decided to take part by engaging our 26 national/international member groups.

Tweets about “Half the Sky” generated 1 billion impressions in early October and the hashtag #halfthesky trended during film viewings.

But NPC groups don’t tackle issues that affect women just once a year. In fact, many of our member groups harness the power of women to change outcomes and attitudes.

• The Confidence Coalition was imagined and created by Kappa Delta in 2009 to inspire all women to their personal greatness, asking them to pledge online or at in-person events focused around International Girls Day and International Women’s Friendship Month events. The coalition also began awarding grants in 2011 for educational campus events discussing topics ranging from health relationships to body image.

• In June 2012, Gamma Phi Beta announced its new philanthropic focus, Building Strong Girls. The group’s mission to build strong girls began in the 1920s as Gamma Phi Betas identified a desire to provide underprivileged girls a retreat from their daily circumstances, and a place to learn about themselves and to build character for facing life’s challenges.

• Fat Talk Free® initiatives, launched by Tri Delta as Fat Talk Free Week in 2008 as an international, body activism campaign, raise awareness about body image issues and the damaging impact of the "thin ideal" on women in society. This innovative undertaking is expanding into the Body Image Manifesto, which will encourage individuals to be healthy in mind, body and spirit.

• The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation’s “By The Numbers” page also provides an impressive list of contributions and work done on the behalf of young women in 12 countries on four continents.

If you have not read our recently published 2011-2012 annual report, we can also share that 427 College Panhellenics reported donating 639,021 hours to community service efforts and raising more than $2.8 million for various philanthropies.

Our Alumnae Panhellenics also generously raised more than $330,000 for 297 scholarships.

Sorority groups are never at a loss to engage, both in their local campus communities and on the larger scale for global good. We always want to be part of a network that serves women who are helping other women.

So ask yourself this December, a month when we tend to appreciate our friends and families more than ever and pull them ever closer, are you doing all you can to uplift girls and women in your community?

Enjoy your holidays and remember that there’s always more that we can do!

Election Day 2012

On this Election Day, I put a call out to all members of NPC to vote. Here are some of the reasons why I vote:

• It’s my responsibility, my civic duty to my country. 
• My “sisters” before me fought for me to have this right. (I direct you to “March On” posted on the Alpha Gamma Delta blog for more information.)
• My fellow brothers and sisters put their lives on the line serving our country, so I can enjoy the freedom and right to vote as an American.
• I want my voice to be heard.

I hope that each of you stands up and shouts by voting today.