Awards?! YEAH!

So I know Regionals (in November) is much more pressing of a topic than Sectionals (in April), but doesn't mean we can't already get excited about it! ... and about the banquet... and about the awards presented at the banquet.... just saying. ;) Look for info from me later in the semester about how to apply to Section awards for the Sectional Conference!! :D

But not just the typical Section awards...

If any member of the section has any suggestions of new awards (even new "superlatives"), please let me know! Totally open to new ideas. Or even Section-wide competitions in which you might want the winner announced (this is already in the works by one of your fellow brothers, BTW)...

Lastly, I'm your brother and your friend. If you ever want to chat, need an objective/unbiased brother's (or leader) opinion, I'm totally here for YOU. Don't ever be scared to contact me, or any other Section Staff, when you need help, advice, whatever! :)

LOVE!!

Brittany (Devine) Coffey

This is Why Reporting Matters

Not for profit groups ("non-profits"), like Alpha Phi Omega, are among some of the least regulated groups in America. Think about it. Chapters, for example, must file a tax "postcard" with the IRS each year. In some states they must also register with the Attorney General's office in order to solicit donations. Otherwise, for most chapters, there is little more to do to keep right with the government. However, some states are beginning to crack down to ensure non-profits are completing what few requirements exist. The article below discusses recent developments in state enforcement of non-profit regulation with the help of the IRS. (It's also a shameless plug for my future employer, but that's beside the point.)

http://www.dinslaw.com/files/Publication/5d66e1aa-137d-47e4-b03a-0c6ef28d2f76/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/cb7bb74c-b232-42d1-9005-0d350978a878/BNA%20-%20Christopher%20%26%20Callan.pdf

One other word of caution to all the chapters out there. Be sure to file your tax "postcards." The IRS recently began eliminating tax-exempt status of non-profits that had failed to file the proper return at least three years in a row. To see if your group was eliminated, head to the following: http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=239696,00.html?portlet=7

YiLFS,

Josh

Section 67 Finance Chair

Fundraising!

Hey everyone! My name is Mark Huffmyer and I am the section 67 Fundraising chair! As the fundraising chair it is my duty to assist with fundraising throughout the section. For our section fundraiser, we are going to be selling Camo-letter tee shirts at regionals this year! So that will be very exciting! Besides that I am here to assist with any of the chapters fundraising related needs. I know that fundraising can be one of the hardest tasks for a chapter to accomplish. So if any chapters have any questions about anything they are more than welcome to ask! Til next time!

Mark Huffmyer

Questions and Answers

Hi everyone! I'm the Section 67 Member at Large, which really just means that I'm around and available for whatever needs to be done. That also means that I don't have an area of expertise to write about here. For that reason, I'd like to leave my part of the blog open for question and answers. Namely, you ask me questions, and I'll answer them. It doesn't matter what the question is, I'll do my best to answer it. Either send it to section.67.at.large(at)gmail.com, or post it in the comments below!

So, until next time, stay wonderful, 67!

~Mika

Kentucky State Petitioning Group

I do not have much to say, but more will be coming in later post. I am visiting Kentucky State this Tuesday for their meeting!

The new website was just recently launched and I wanted to briefly mention and encourage everyone to use the new feature. On the Kentucky State Petitioning Page at the bottom there is a place where everyone can send encouragement to them during their chartering process! It can be anonymous.

This is a great way not only to help them stay energized along the process but also to build that brotherhood that we, as section 67, excel at. That's all for now. More updates will be coming your way soon.

YiLFS,
Danielle Lillie
Section 67 Vice Chair

"OMG GUYZ LOOOKAT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!11111 (Writing E-mails That People Actually Read)

Courtesy of Kittikun Atsawintarangkul
freedigitalphotos.net

Ah, e-mail.  We all use it, but do we use it well?  Juanita Ecker, corporate image and business etiquette consultant, makes the point that "having great e-mail etiquette means little if people aren't even reading your e-mails".  She goes on to expand upon the following tips for writing engaging e-mails:

• Subject lines should inform
• Get to the point
• Write an action summary
• Provide background information
• Create well-structured content
• Avoid spam language
• Include an e-mail signature

Okay, well, by the time you get to the signature, the e-mail has already been read, and thus you have succeeded.  But including a signature is still an important way to make sure your recipient can identify you as the sender and contact you in the appropriate manner as needed.  It also adds an additional level of professionalism, which is especially important when communicating with external parties, such as college faculty and staff and potential new members.

Also make sure to proofread your message!  If your typing or spelling skills are below average, you should consider drafting your e-mails in a word processor with automatic spell check.  But remember that won't catch all your errors.  You could mistakenly type "cats" instead of "cast", for example, and your typo would not be flagged.  So read through your message carefully before hitting send.  Nobody wants to embarrass himself or herself (or worse yet, the fraternity) just because he or she didn't take the extra two minutes to look over a message.  We're all busy, but effective communication is worth the effort.

For the full "Writing E-mails That People Actually Read" article, visit http://www.professionalimagemgt.com/business-etiquette-articles/writing-e-mails-that-people-actually-read/.

For more e-mail tips, check out the following resources:

• E-mail Charter
  http://emailcharter.org/
• Etiquette Still Matters in E-mail
  http://www.professionalimagemgt.com/business-etiquette-articles/etiquette-still-matters-in-e-mail/
• E-mail Etiquette Tips
  http://farmnet.osu.edu/resources/emailetq.pdf

--

Jessica Szweda

Section 67 Communication Chair

Leadership!!(!!!!!!!!)

Sooo, I was informed last night a 10pm that my 'job' today was to post in the blog.  

1.  I really don't know what a blog is (I mean I know WHAT it is, but I have never done one)

2.  I have no idea how to 'do it'.  Somehow I managed to create my own blog, unattached to the Section 67 website.  Clearly I eventually figured it out, because you are reading this, but wow...I feel old now!

3.  I truly have nothing insightful to share with you today....But here goes!!

Anywho- I figured the most important information to you currently would be about Leadership in the section and what we as Section Staff have planned.

1.  Brandyn and I have been working feverishly to coordinate with the National Office to get at LEAST him and I trained as LEADS presenters.  We are hoping to have the 'Basic Skills' course completed in the next month or two which would open the door within the section to additional training opportunities.  Of course I will let the Leadership VP's from each chapter know as soon as we are trained. (YAY, I am VERY excited about this!!!)

2.  Until we have LEADS instructors readily available and even after if you all want, I would be willing to come to your chapter and conduct mini 'leadership workshops'.  I could work with your chapter on how to be an effective leader, how to network, how to step up in organizations and team building (to name a few).  Discuss this amongst your chapters and report back to me with a few dates- ranked in order of preference.  I will then work with you all to provide a hopefully valuable workshop.  I have not done this type of workshop for college students, but I am confident that many of the principles and ideas can easily be translated into activities for APhiO chapters.   That being said, because I have not done this type of workshop before, it is very flexible...you can make it what you want it to be.

3.  I live and breathe leadership.  I am always looking for new organizations to become a member of to help serve in leadership roles.  You don't always have to have the title of 'VP of Leadership' to be a leader.  Just stepping up in ANY capacity makes you a leader.  I CHALLENGE EVERYONE THIS WEEK TO 'STEP UP' AND BE A 'LEADER' FOR ONE 'THING'.  Even if it is only for 5 minutes.  Just let your voice be heard and your leadership abilities shine. (DO IT, DON'T FORGET!!)

4.  Let me know what your chapters would like to see/do/would be useful and I will do my best to make it happen.  Also, have an idea for a blog post? Shoot it my way!  Either comment below or email me:  Section67Leadership  at  gmail.  (avoiding those dreaded spam bots)

YiLFS,

Laura

Need a Chapter Website?

I'm going to take off my Communication hat and put on my Webmaster hat for a few moments.

Brandyn and I have just finished creating this awesome website for the Section--well, we hope you agree it's awesome!  Google Sites made the process much easier than it otherwise could have been, and we worked hard to prove that a professional-looking website can be created for free and without any coding knowledge.  I did use a little bit of html to clean up some of the funny things Google Sites kept trying to do, but the website absolutely could have been made without that knowledge (and really, a lot of that knowledge came from quick Google searches).

Any chapters who have considered putting together a new website should really give some thought to utilizing Google Sites, and I would be delighted to help you with the endeavor.  Please let me know if you have any questions about how we did something on the Section 67 website or how to get started creating your own Google Site:  section.67.webmaster@gmail.com

YiLFS,
Jessica Szweda
Section 67 Webmaster