Hi Brothers,
Like Kevin, I have been enjoying a surge of questions and contact from Brothers at many different Chapters. Unfortunately, that cold I was trying to keep at bay during Convention with all the orange juice only got worse when I got home, and so my email response time has been slightly slower than usual. I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much better now--just in time for the majority of Spring Breaks to be over!
A lot of Chapters are inquiring about the potential for hosting a colony. My advice to all of you is to make sure that you can take on this responsibility without weakening the strength of your Chapter. Now is a great time to be doing extra recruitment, fundraising, and Brotherhood building to shore yourselves up for a potentially exciting year next year. (Spring is a good time to be doing all those activities anyway!).
On a side note, I left my cell phone charger in North Carolina, so until I receive it in the mail, email will be the best way to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!
Chrissy
NVPCM
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Viral Networking
Julie has invited me to participate on the blog, so I thought I'd share a little bit with what's been happening on the electronic frontier.
Intranet Profiles
The new intranet profiles were a big hit at Convention. In fact, I gleefully took notice of the fact that even during Legislative Council there were several people online playing with their profiles.
By far the most favorite feature is the family trees. I think we scored a big hit with how easy it is to navigate the trees, and how (relatively) simple it is to add people to your tree. It's gratifying to see them getting so much use so quickly. In fact, we went from just under 1500 "sibling" records to over 1800 just since last Friday! That type of viral networking builds on itself -- I think we're well on the way to seeing an uptick in interaction via the Brothers Intranet.
Just when you thought it couldn't get busier...
I spent the week before Convention frantically finishing all the features required to make the profiles work. The whole time, I thought of how nice it would be to sit back and watch it work afterwards. Silly me.
With the upsurge in intranet usage comes an upsurge in user questions, which means the Helpdesk has really been hopping lately. As a result, I had to put that little laurel resting on hold -- not necessarily a bad thing! All the support requests have motivated me to write a tool for merging duplicate accounts (now complete), and next I need to work on new tools for registering placeholder accounts and activating placeholder accounts.
I'm very grateful for all the suggestions and bugs that have been identified -- I want the intranet to be as useful to everyone as possible, and your feedback only helps make it more so. Keep it up!
Work/Life Balance
The next month is shaping up to be just as busy as the previous few have been. I'm out of town on business next week, my last graduate class (woo!) is winding down, and the dedication date for the parish center project I'm chairing at my church is rapidly approaching. One of these months I need to find time for an actual vacation!
Intranet Profiles
The new intranet profiles were a big hit at Convention. In fact, I gleefully took notice of the fact that even during Legislative Council there were several people online playing with their profiles.
By far the most favorite feature is the family trees. I think we scored a big hit with how easy it is to navigate the trees, and how (relatively) simple it is to add people to your tree. It's gratifying to see them getting so much use so quickly. In fact, we went from just under 1500 "sibling" records to over 1800 just since last Friday! That type of viral networking builds on itself -- I think we're well on the way to seeing an uptick in interaction via the Brothers Intranet.
Just when you thought it couldn't get busier...
I spent the week before Convention frantically finishing all the features required to make the profiles work. The whole time, I thought of how nice it would be to sit back and watch it work afterwards. Silly me.
With the upsurge in intranet usage comes an upsurge in user questions, which means the Helpdesk has really been hopping lately. As a result, I had to put that little laurel resting on hold -- not necessarily a bad thing! All the support requests have motivated me to write a tool for merging duplicate accounts (now complete), and next I need to work on new tools for registering placeholder accounts and activating placeholder accounts.
I'm very grateful for all the suggestions and bugs that have been identified -- I want the intranet to be as useful to everyone as possible, and your feedback only helps make it more so. Keep it up!
Work/Life Balance
The next month is shaping up to be just as busy as the previous few have been. I'm out of town on business next week, my last graduate class (woo!) is winding down, and the dedication date for the parish center project I'm chairing at my church is rapidly approaching. One of these months I need to find time for an actual vacation!
Convention Reflections
Brothers,
I really enjoyed convention this year. I thought things ran smoothly for the most part, and I'm already excited about next year's convention.
Today, I will be working on compiling the minutes from Convention. I will nag you if I still need reports from your chapters. I'm hoping to get the minutes completed ASAP so that I can focus on the end of the semester rush.
Upcoming Deadlines
April 30th is the next big deadline. Log in to the intranet in order for the links below to work.
I really enjoyed convention this year. I thought things ran smoothly for the most part, and I'm already excited about next year's convention.
Today, I will be working on compiling the minutes from Convention. I will nag you if I still need reports from your chapters. I'm hoping to get the minutes completed ASAP so that I can focus on the end of the semester rush.
Upcoming Deadlines
April 30th is the next big deadline. Log in to the intranet in order for the links below to work.
- Chapter By-Laws in electronic format due to NS (I currently do not have any electronic copies of your By-Laws, so this is very important)
- Chapter Informal Initiation Rituals due to NS (The informal initiation rituals that I currently have are pretty out of date. Please send me your current practices.)
- Alumni Reports (Spring graduates) due to NS
- Initiation Reports (Spring initiates) due to NT
- Summer Address Lists due to NS (Download the address list and make any changes)
- Link to Academic Calendars for 2008-2009 due to NS (Just email me the link to your college/university's academic calendar)
- NCCM Quarterly Report due to NVPCM
- Quarterly Pledging Report due to NVPCM
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Convention is Coming!
I've been working on MBPsi business lately, and I thought I should keep you posted.
Convention 2008 Schedule
NP Andrew and I have been working on the schedule for Convention 2008. We have created a joint to-do list on google docs, and we have a lot to prepare before Convention. You will be hearing a lot more from me in the coming weeks as we begin the preparations.
National Officer and BOT Reviews
I will be posting the National Officer and BOT reviews in an online survey format this year (using Zoomerang). We will be reviewing all officers not up for re-election as well as one of the BOT members. Your feedback is critical to improving our performance.
Shingle Orders
Alpha and Omicron had a little bit of a backlog of shingle orders, so I handled that over the break, and shingles should be in Brothers' hands by now. If your chapter has missing shingle orders, please email me at secretary at mubetapsi dot org, and I'll get it straightened out.
Work-Life Balance
We started classes this week. I'm teaching two sections of Organizational Behavior and one section of Team Dynamics. I'm also the new advisor for SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management), and I'm trying to help Omicron chapter as much as possible. Finally, I'm planning a wedding--I'm getting married this summer.
That's it for now. Hope you have a great semester.
Convention 2008 Schedule
NP Andrew and I have been working on the schedule for Convention 2008. We have created a joint to-do list on google docs, and we have a lot to prepare before Convention. You will be hearing a lot more from me in the coming weeks as we begin the preparations.
National Officer and BOT Reviews
I will be posting the National Officer and BOT reviews in an online survey format this year (using Zoomerang). We will be reviewing all officers not up for re-election as well as one of the BOT members. Your feedback is critical to improving our performance.
Shingle Orders
Alpha and Omicron had a little bit of a backlog of shingle orders, so I handled that over the break, and shingles should be in Brothers' hands by now. If your chapter has missing shingle orders, please email me at secretary at mubetapsi dot org, and I'll get it straightened out.
Work-Life Balance
We started classes this week. I'm teaching two sections of Organizational Behavior and one section of Team Dynamics. I'm also the new advisor for SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management), and I'm trying to help Omicron chapter as much as possible. Finally, I'm planning a wedding--I'm getting married this summer.
That's it for now. Hope you have a great semester.
Deadlines!
Brothers,
It seems like I only write when I want to remind you of some deadlines, but I guess that comes with the territory.
Next deadline: February 15th
1) NCCM Quarterly Reports, due to Chrissy
Chrissy is tweaking this form and will let NCCM reps know via the NCCM-listserv when its available to complete. Please check to make sure that your NCCM reps are receiving emails with the subject line [nccm-l].
2) Initiation Reports, due to Abra
One check from each chapter, covering all initiates, is due along with an initiation report, which can be found at (must be logged into intranet to view): http://intranet.mubetapsi.org/portal_mods/knowledgebase.php?page=file&aid=26&gid=9&kcat=National%20Documents
The fee is $34/each = $20 national dues + $10 initiation fee + $4 shingle fee
3) Updated Address Lists, including new Brothers, due to me
I have a format (.xls) for submitting the updates. Please email me (secretary at mubetapsi dot org) if you would like the latest version I have for your chapter. Alternatively, you can download the most recent address list from the knowledgebase, make changes to your chapter's info in excel, and email me the attachment. It's your call! Here's the latest address list:
http://intranet.mubetapsi.org/portal_mods/knowledgebase.php?page=file&aid=313&gid=1&kcat=National%20Documents
4) Alumni Reports for Fall 2007 Graduates, due to me
If any Brother (active or inactive) at your chapter graduated in Fall 2007, please submit an Alumni Report to me. The Alumni Report can be found at:
http://intranet.mubetapsi.org/portal_mods/knowledgebase.php?page=file&aid=25&gid=9&kcat=National%20Documents
We use information from this report for our database of Brothers as well as to remind newly graduated Brothers of the opportunity to participate in the Alumni Association.
If you have questions about where to mail these reports, please consult the master address list (available on the knowledgebase section of the intranet) or me.
Thanks!
It seems like I only write when I want to remind you of some deadlines, but I guess that comes with the territory.
Next deadline: February 15th
1) NCCM Quarterly Reports, due to Chrissy
Chrissy is tweaking this form and will let NCCM reps know via the NCCM-listserv when its available to complete. Please check to make sure that your NCCM reps are receiving emails with the subject line [nccm-l].
2) Initiation Reports, due to Abra
One check from each chapter, covering all initiates, is due along with an initiation report, which can be found at (must be logged into intranet to view): http://intranet.mubetapsi.org/portal_mods/knowledgebase.php?page=file&aid=26&gid=9&kcat=National%20Documents
The fee is $34/each = $20 national dues + $10 initiation fee + $4 shingle fee
3) Updated Address Lists, including new Brothers, due to me
I have a format (.xls) for submitting the updates. Please email me (secretary at mubetapsi dot org) if you would like the latest version I have for your chapter. Alternatively, you can download the most recent address list from the knowledgebase, make changes to your chapter's info in excel, and email me the attachment. It's your call! Here's the latest address list:
http://intranet.mubetapsi.org/portal_mods/knowledgebase.php?page=file&aid=313&gid=1&kcat=National%20Documents
4) Alumni Reports for Fall 2007 Graduates, due to me
If any Brother (active or inactive) at your chapter graduated in Fall 2007, please submit an Alumni Report to me. The Alumni Report can be found at:
http://intranet.mubetapsi.org/portal_mods/knowledgebase.php?page=file&aid=25&gid=9&kcat=National%20Documents
We use information from this report for our database of Brothers as well as to remind newly graduated Brothers of the opportunity to participate in the Alumni Association.
If you have questions about where to mail these reports, please consult the master address list (available on the knowledgebase section of the intranet) or me.
Thanks!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Upcoming Deadlines (please handle before break)
Brothers,
Before you start your exam cramming and before you pack your bags for Winter break, please take a moment to comply with the deadlines below so that you can be in good standing (and Chrissy will be pleased).
DUE: December 15th
Due to Chrissy Bischoff, NVPCM
1. Pledging Report (1 page form) Note: to follow the link, you need to be logged in to the intranet
2. NCCM Report (1 page form)
Your NCCM rep or your MAL should handle these submissions. Be sure to bug them to make sure it's done!
DUE: February 15th
Due to Abra Hill, NT
Initiation Report (1 page form) from Fall 2007 initiations
+ Initiation Fee and Shingle Fee (one check, made out to Mu Beta Psi)
Don't wait until February 15th. Get this handled now! The sooner you turn in the form, the sooner shingles get ordered.
Your MAL is ultimately in charge of these submissions but will need input from the Pledgemaster(s) and Treasurer. Be sure to bug them to make sure it's done!
Here is how to get to the forms in stepwise fashion: 1) Go to www.mubetapsi.org. 2) Log in to the intranet. 3) In the knowledgebase section (lower right hand corner), go to "National Documents" folder --> "National Office Operations" folder.
If you have trouble finding something, I'm happy to chat with you. Email me at secretary@mubetapsi.org.
Before you start your exam cramming and before you pack your bags for Winter break, please take a moment to comply with the deadlines below so that you can be in good standing (and Chrissy will be pleased).
DUE: December 15th
Due to Chrissy Bischoff, NVPCM
1. Pledging Report (1 page form) Note: to follow the link, you need to be logged in to the intranet
2. NCCM Report (1 page form)
Your NCCM rep or your MAL should handle these submissions. Be sure to bug them to make sure it's done!
DUE: February 15th
Due to Abra Hill, NT
Initiation Report (1 page form) from Fall 2007 initiations
+ Initiation Fee and Shingle Fee (one check, made out to Mu Beta Psi)
Don't wait until February 15th. Get this handled now! The sooner you turn in the form, the sooner shingles get ordered.
Your MAL is ultimately in charge of these submissions but will need input from the Pledgemaster(s) and Treasurer. Be sure to bug them to make sure it's done!
Here is how to get to the forms in stepwise fashion: 1) Go to www.mubetapsi.org. 2) Log in to the intranet. 3) In the knowledgebase section (lower right hand corner), go to "National Documents" folder --> "National Office Operations" folder.
If you have trouble finding something, I'm happy to chat with you. Email me at secretary@mubetapsi.org.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Compiled Contact Information & Calendar
The current contact information for Brothers at each of the chapters is located in the Knowledgebase section of the intranet. Go to National Documents --> Addresses --> and you'll see two files of note:
- "Address List - Fall 2007" is an excel file with one tab for each chapter. If your contact information is missing or incorrect, please email me at secretary@mubetapsi.org
- "Contact Info - NOs, BOT, and MALs" is a single page PDF file with contact info for the national officers, BOT members, chapter presidents, and MALs. You can print this out for easy access!
I have also created two google calendars for National Deadlines and Chapter Academic Calendars. Email me if you would like me to add you to the google calendar or send you the link to view it.
Hope everyone is doing well.
- "Address List - Fall 2007" is an excel file with one tab for each chapter. If your contact information is missing or incorrect, please email me at secretary@mubetapsi.org
- "Contact Info - NOs, BOT, and MALs" is a single page PDF file with contact info for the national officers, BOT members, chapter presidents, and MALs. You can print this out for easy access!
I have also created two google calendars for National Deadlines and Chapter Academic Calendars. Email me if you would like me to add you to the google calendar or send you the link to view it.
Hope everyone is doing well.
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