I have been dealing with a terribly hard situation in my classroom. Over the Christmas holiday, two of my little students were in a car crash, and one died.  They were twin brothers and had just turned seven years old.  Thankfully the surviving brother had little physical injury. 

I am sharing this to let you know about the amazing reaction the rest of my students have had to this situation. 

I work in a small community and so, by the time school was back in session, some of my students had already heard of the tragedy.  But I had to tell the rest of my class.  We had a counselor on hand, just in case.  The reactions of my “littles” were varied, but if any one of them cried, others came immediately to hug them and pat their back.  My students were comforting me, my aide, and each other.  They were also concerned about their classmate who survived.  Without any prompting, the children agreed that they had to “be nice” to him, hug him, help him calm down if he became angry, help him with his classwork, etc. 

The next day, my students designated a basket in the classroom for gifts and homemade cards for their classmate AND the brother that died.  This was all on their own.  Amazing. 

The surviving twin finally came back to school this week.  My students enveloped him with love.  They proudly presented him with the things they had brought and made for him and his brother.  And, they demonstrated a touching amount of love and kindness.  I am getting emotional just remembering this. 

I just wanted to share with you all the immense love, kindness, caring, and support provided by a group of little children for someone they know who is hurting.  Again, AMAZING!!

My biological Sister is in heaven…she has been there for over 18 years BUT I have many Sisters that I can rely on.  Being part of Sigma Phi Gamma Sorority has been rewarding as it has been both emotional and sustaining for me.

I joined SPG 10 years ago.  I have not met a group of women who have been more loving, compassionate, and understanding.  They have supported me and encouraged me as a Sister.  We laugh, cry, complain, and argue together…but always with respect for one another.  

Our Chapter meets twice a month.   I so look forward to the time we spend together.  We work for the good of the community, which makes us better people…it is an amazing feeling.  

Last year we tried a new event, a Tea Party.  All my Chapter Sisters were so supportive.  Each took up a job and kept at it.  There was not a dishwasher at our location, and we used glass dishes for all 70 guests.  When one Sister’s back or legs gave out, a cry went up “CHANGE,” and another Sister stepped in to keep the clean dishes coming.  Everyone worked together to make our first Tea Party a huge success.  It was wonderful and heartwarming!  Now it will be an annual event.  That is why I love being a Sister in Sigma Phi Gamma Sorority.

Pat Herweg

Eta Sigma Chapter (Buffalo, NY), Omicron Province President

While the weather outside my window this afternoon was cold and snowy – my heart was full of pride as we participated in the organization’s very first training webinar! Shari Pash, our Membership Strategist and consultant, provided a great training session for us all.

Shari shared with us that she is working with local, state, national, and international organizations on the topic of membership. She started the webinar by saying that she’s so impressed by Sigma Phi Gamma that she is going to start her own local Chapter! WOWSER!

My notes from the webinar follow. I hope you’ll take a moment to review and think about your role in membership growth for SPG!

Recruitment and Retention: A great resource is author and public speaker Simon Sinek and his work with WHY. What is ‘the why’ that women seek by being a member of SPG. 

The ABCs of Members: A members might be a daughter of a current member – which is often a sustainable member, someone who joins and stays! The B member is a person who stays with SPG because of relationships or active service. The C member comes for a short time and then leaves. Knowing your members is important. We need to think about membership in a more intentional way – a way to recruit with purpose.

Relational, Friendly, and Strategic: Think about the things you need to know about your Sisters and potential Sisters – What are their current cause involvement; how do they spend their extra-curricular time; how do they socialize – is it in groups, one-on-one, or via technology; what does family mean to these women. The idea is to learn more about women we approach so that we know how to talk with them from their center of interest aligning it to specific aspects of SPG.

What are the benefits of SPG:

• Lifelong friendships – We are united through friendships and dedication to community service. We are just as busy as the busiest person you know, but we each believe that we can make a positive difference and united … we do!
• Sisterhood – We are women of all ages and circumstances – single, married, widowed, and divorced. Some have children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, aging parents, and fur babies!

Reaching Goals: Setting and reaching goals – short and long term (for example, an increased number of members and Chapters). What are the activities and outcomes – what are the intentional activities that we’re planning and doing to reach those short and long-term goals. Make sure there are strategic activities to help us reach our outcomes/goals.

Relationships: Is what we’re doing transactional or relational? It’s about the personal relational things we do in our communications and interactions that will make the biggest positive difference. Providing the high-touch with care in our relationships around membership will yield the biggest and best results.

Relevance: What is the value proposition in being an SPG member? Members aren’t buying a membership, they are really seeking connections/friendships and opportunities to serve. What’s an example of a value proposition: Our meetings are in the evening? Do all members have availability to attend meetings in the evening? Are we meeting our members’ needs?

SWOT – Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats exercise to help you learn more about what’s happening, what can be improved, and how to go about making improvements comes from doing this exercise. Use the tool in Shari’s PPT (PowerPoint presentation) to walk through membership goals and activities, or anything your Chapter does. If you want to know more about this exercise let me know and I’ll send you a copy of the PPT where you can learn more about SWOT.

Research: We need to target the best membership prospects, this is a strategy for membership growth. When we use Membee, SPG’s new database, we can collect information on members AND potential members (leads from the SPG website, for example). Knowing more about members and potential members can help Organizers know more about the connections that can be made. For example, Sue is a nurse at the local Children’s Hospital and has an interest in a skating club for exercise and fun – how can we help Sue know how to talk about SPG to her skating friends to consider membership in SPG.

Results: Measurement and accountability. What do we need to be doing? What are our recruitment activities and our goal for membership growth? Intentional membership growth takes planning and execution of strategic activities.

Written goals often result in a higher success rate (40%). Written goals and weekly accountability to those goals results in a higher success rate (80%).

Resources: Think about the use of interns, even at the Chapter level, to help with meeting planning at the Chapter or Province levels; technology assistance; marketing and social media; etc. and remember this is an opportunity to allow a young professional to get some experience in planning and working with our service sorority. Imagine inviting a young woman into the fold as an intern – she is likely to become a member because she is so impressed with our friendship and service to community.

Remember you don’t have to reinvent the wheel – there are resources already available with SPG (website; database/Membee; handbooks and guidebooks, seasoned leaders, etc.). Using existing SPG tools and new strategies and tools we have with Shari is a win-win.

Recognition: By recognizing what motivates our members is the path to knowing what will be the most meaningful ways to recognize their service and commitment to SPG. Much like our new awards represent. Recognition, however, should be consistent and intentional. Who in your Chapter is your Recognition Cheerleader? Make it a priority. Consider a written plan for recognition or at least a few guiding ‘rules.’  We have the new Hidden Champion and New-Found Treasure Awards. I hope you will honor Sisters in your Chapter. My Chapter, Xi Xi, has already submitted our honorees to Sandy Morris, International Vice President. You can’t believe how honored our Sisters were to be recognized.

New membership tools are being developed by Shari and the Advisory Committee and will be introduced in the coming months for use by all members at the Chapter, Province, and International levels.

Shari is open to hearing from SPG members with questions and ideas: 517-285-7127 shari@sharipash.com

So, our first webinar was pretty great. This was another milestone in our history! There were 50 members who registered for the webinar, and 39 participated. Not bad for our first webinar. Watch your email for information about two more webinars in the coming weeks – you won’t want to miss a thing!

I’m just loving that we are working on the strategies outlined in our Strategic Plan, we are making progress and moving ahead! Hooray for all of us!

Hugs to all,

Donna

Donna Collins

Past International President

 

January is the time for thinking of new beginnings and starting over.  But for Sigma Phi it is the time to start thinking of Province Meetings.  Our Province Officers are working hard to get ready.  Some of these Officers are nervous because it is their first time serving.  Others are veterans ready to help.  No matter in what capacity we are serving, we are all here to serve our Sigma Phi Sisters and our communities.  

As I think about what Sigma Phi means to me, I think back at one of my early Province meetings.  Liz Oleksak was our visiting International Officer.  This is Liz Cochran for those of you who may not know.  She taught us how to say her name phonically.  Just a small thing but a big memory.  I remember thinking about how I could do that someday.   (I mean serve on Council, not sound out her name.)  In my early years in Sigma Phi many Officers and members were much older than I was and sometimes I wondered how I fit in, especially at International.  Liz was a young face and someone that I could relate to.  Liz probably never knew how she influenced me many years ago.  You may be that person to someone else.  Find that new face in the crowd and sit down with them.  Share your love of Sigma Phi with current and potential Sisters.  It may make a big difference to someone.  It did to me.

You probably have your own fond memories of Province time with your Sisters.  Many of your Sisters would love to hear your stories of what sorority has meant to you.  Potential members might find your stories interesting as well.  Please share them in a Blog post or at your next social events.  The more we share sorority the more we grow.

Women join Sigma Phi Gamma International Sorority for countless reasons, and underneath it all most members are motivated by what they get to do when serving others. When members know their time and energy are appreciated, and that they are valued by other Sigma Phi Gamma members, they really commit themselves to the ideals of the organization. SPG members also want to know that their service is helping the greater good for individuals and communities —that together we make a huge positive impact in other people’s lives. And, through our mission we are changing the world for the better. Therefore, member recognition is one of the most powerful ways we can highlight all that is good and thank our members for their efforts.

Several years ago, realizing that 25 years is a LONG time to wait to be recognized, the International Council added 5, 10, 15, and 20-year certificates to our member recognition program, to be presented at the Chapter and/or Province levels. (You’re taking care of these recognitions each year, right?!) So, why not think about other ways of recognizing strong and hardworking members!

The International Advisory Committee acknowledged the need for recognizing the impact of our members’ service work during the development of our strategic plan. We wanted to honor members, no matter how long they have been with SPG. We created two new awards:

The New Found Treasure Award recognizes the efforts of a member who is new to Sigma Phi Gamma and has hit the ground running! This woman’s performance is so outstanding that it merits recognition at the Chapter, Province, and/or International levels.

The Hidden Champion Award recognizes the efforts of a member who embodies the Sigma Phi Gamma principle to help where needed. The member is available to provide above and beyond support for special projects, ongoing tasks, and supports Sigma Phi Gamma projects at the Chapter, Province, and/or International levels. The member’s outstanding service has a positive impact on Sigma Phi Gamma and merits recognition.

Each Chapter may nominate one member for each award every year. The nomination forms, with the full criteria, are available on the Sigma Phi Gamma International Sorority website and are due by April 15 to the International Vice President. 2019 will be the inaugural year for these new awards … help make history and recognize your Sisters! Who will your Chapter nominate?

We look forward to recognizing a large group New Found Treasures and Hidden Champions at our International Convention in Wichita, Kansas! 

SPG International Advisory Committee

Deb Juracich, Chair; Donna Collins, Liz Cochrane, and Cindy Stath

My journey back into teaching this school year has been a rewarding whirlwind.  Times have changed since I taught seventeen years ago.  Teaching at Metro Early College Middle School is a dream come true.  Metro is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) school.  As a requirement, the students participate in a Design Challenge.  This year the Challenge is focused on Smart Columbus. Students are challenged to use their imagination to create a transportation system that provides access to everyone.  Students use the Stanford Design Thinking Process to prepare a written component, build a prototype, and create a presentation of their solution.  Students have to understand empathy, putting themselves in the shoes of those who have no access to transportation, and develop an authentic solution.  

WOW!  I have been blown away with their imaginative, creative solutions to providing smart transportation for everyone!  The students problem solve freely, are open-minded, and have no constraints.

This got me thinking.  What would happen if we as SPG members thought like middle schoolers to provide and implement authentic solutions to the membership and growth of our organization?  What would Sigma Phi Gamma look like in the future?  If our responses to the questions are anything like the solutions generated from the Design Challenge at Metro, I bet SPG would be thriving!  Let’s try to tackle our growth and expansion with an open mindset.  Like those imaginative, creative, problem solving middle schoolers!

Fire has always been a positive and beautiful element in my life. I love the little dancing flame on a candle and was forever ruining my mom’s candles because the wax was so fun to play with. Growing up, a fireplace was our singular source of heat in our foothill home. Many winter days started and ended with cozying up to the fireplace. Going camping and getting to sit around the fire at night was the best way to spend a summer night. Fire is the perfect blend of useful and beautiful. Even after evacuating our home when I was 9 for a forest fire threatening our little mountain town, fire never scared me. I had respect for it, but not fear.

Last month I woke up early on Thursday, November 8th and drove my sick kitty to the vet across town. The sky was a bizarre dirty color and it looked like fire in the distance, but not too bad and certainly not close. I was more concerned about my little fluff ball than a distant burn. After settling my sick kitty at the vet, I came back outside and saw that the sky was starting to look apocalyptic and it was starting to worry me. When I returned home, a neighbor stopped me to chat and said that having been a wildland firefighter for decades, he was very concerned about what he was seeing. That jolted me out of my little world and I started making calls. My first call was to my friend M, who I knew had a great fear of fire which had only increased with the recent devastating Carr Fire in Redding, CA earlier this year. She was already packing to evacuate. She sounded frazzled but focused so I encouraged her to hurry up and only get the important stuff. M could see the sky changing and knew she would need to leave very soon. She was frightened because she was by herself as her husband was out of town. In talking about it later, I found out that she doesn’t even remember our conversation because her anxiety level was so high. When M and I hung up, I immediately called Gayle, our Chapter President, my long time treasured friend, and adopted extra mom figure. No answer. I called again, no answer. Eventually, we got to talk, and she had a plan and was already packing. I was satisfied that these 2 of my loved ones were going to be safe, so I returned to getting ready for the day and worrying about my sick kitty. I called my partner and we discussed the situation. Plenty of his coworkers were getting notices that their homes were in the rapidly expanding evacuation area and people all over were starting to get frantic.

As the fire burned my friends’ homes, and my sick kitty got worse over the next day, our whole town shut down. Businesses closed, people were trying to find places to stay and missing loved ones. Everyone was glued to the TV and social media trying to get new information and find out where their friends were. I was in constant contact with a friend who’s husband and young son were missing for too many hours. The next week is a little blurry in my memory as I grieved for my kitty who didn’t make it and all the other pets and people who were trapped by the fire. Concentrating on anything that wasn’t fire related seemed ridiculous. Did a world outside of what was happening in Butte County still exist? I saw the most incredible examples of generosity and kindness. People donated time, money, a HUGE amount of items, and opened up their homes to evacuees. My friend found her husband and son and their family came to stay at our house until they found out if they still had a home. Volunteers poured into our town and the surrounding areas to set up shelters, bring in equipment, crews, and supplies. My own parents still have people staying with them and on their property, and likely will continue to for some time. Now as I look around, I see people struggling. People who lost their homes struggling to find a new home or a temporary home until theirs can be repaired/rebuilt. People struggling to find jobs. People struggling to agree on how to best clean up and rebuild. People struggling to deal with the population increase and all that comes with it. People struggling to put on a brave face for work. I have seen people crying in the middle of the grocery store, people having meltdowns on the phone as their insurance adjuster gives them more bad news, parents struggling to calm their children who have lost all sense of stability. People struggling to feel “in the holiday spirit”. I see students struggling to deal with the class interruptions and worrying about being able to graduate this year. I have seen first responders struggling to help us in the best ways they know. So many people struggling to wrap their minds around what happened still. One day, I don’t recall which, I had been exhausted beyond all reason and was just sitting there crying because I couldn’t figure out what I was doing. Do you ever get so overwhelmed with all the work to be done that you struggle to find a place to even start? Well, that was me that day. Do I grocery shop? Do I clean the house? Do I try to reach out to more friends? Everything I picked up to do seemed so trivial. Who cares if my dishes are dirty, plenty of people don’t have a kitchen anymore! I kept asking myself, “What are you doing?” and I had no answer, so I sat down and cried. After I was all cried out, I remembered a particularly overwhelming day at the Bridal Store I used to work for. I was still learning my job and it was just crazy busy that day. I was sitting at the welcome desk trying to make sense of things and one of my coworkers walked by as I frustratedly muttered to myself, “This is a disaster! I don’t even know what I’m doing!” My coworker stopped, looked me dead in the eye and said in her Australian accent the most mind-blowing thing to me, “Your best, you are doing your best” and then walked away to help her bride. It was such a simple thing to say, but that moment stuck with me.

As I have been moving through the past month and a half in the aftermath of this disastrous fire, I have had to remind myself that I am just doing my best and that I can’t fix everything for everybody. We are all just doing our best. It is not the end of the world if this Christmas is different than usual. Life is going to be weird for quite some time and we are all adjusting to “the new normal”. It is perfectly acceptable to have hard days, as long as I do my best that day. So, as I prepare today to have a “Friend-mas” celebration, I will do my best to provide a fun day for my friends. I will do my best to make sure each of them feels loved in my home. I will do my best to not turn into a puddle of tears as each one arrives and I get to hug them. I will do my best because that is all I can do.

December 9, 2018, was an exciting day in SPG History!  It was on that day that our first Virtual Group became an Active Chapter!  Before today, they were a Petitioning Group.  They are now Omicron Epsilon Chapter!  They are 11 women scattered across the country, who come together via an electronic connection, to have monthly meetings and socials.  They work on community service projects, pay Per Capita, LFHF, and FP assessments just like the rest of us.
Coming together via electronic connection works for them.  They may have moved or simply reside in an area where we don’t currently have an Active Chapter.  Maybe they don’t have consistent transportation available.  Or perhaps find connecting online the best option for their lifestyle.  But each of them wants to be involved in service to their community and are looking for friendship.  SPG provides opportunities for both service and friendship.
The Installation of the new Chapter was the first ritual performed. Next came the Initiation Service for four ladies who have been learning about sorority and are now our newest Sisters!   After Initiation came the Installation of Chapter Officers and then it was all official!  Four beautiful new Sisters.  Three Sisters with their memberships reinstated.  Three Sisters transferred their memberships, one from an Alumna Chapter.   At least two members are hoping to maintain a dual membership with their previous Chapters – more on that later.
Omicron Epsilon Chapter members have been individually assigned to the Province closest to their address.  So while Omicron Epsilon is one Chapter, the 11 members currently belong to 8 Provinces.
Please welcome Omicron Epsilon Sisters to your Province Meetings.  Invite them to Roundtable and  Chapter socials.   Send them your Province newsletters.  Include them so they grow to feel a part of SPG by meeting other Sisters in their regions.
It was exciting to witness and participate in this event!  A big thank you to Girl Responsible, Sharon Hilton, for her diligent efforts in making Virtual Chapter a reality!
Have a GREAT first year Sisters of Omicron Epsilon!  Your 1,200 Sisters can’t wait to meet you in person!
Hugs in SPG,
Linda
International Organizer

I have been busy reviewing and updated the International files with copies of your Chapter bylaws.  Sadly, I am missing quite a few Chapters and just want to remind everyone that International Bylaws say that revisions must be submitted to the International Vice President by December 1st.  If there are no changes, then you must still notify the International Vice President by that date.
So just email me at smorris.spg@gmail.com even if your Chapter has no changes in your bylaws.  If you retype your bylaws, please send the International Vice President a copy.
I hope all Sigma Phi Gamma Chapters and Sisters have wonderful Holiday Celebrations!

The invitations to attend the Installation of the first Virtual Chapter of Sigma Phi Gamma International Sorority have been emailed.  Sunday, December 9th will mark the official beginning of Omicron Epsilon Chapter.  It is fitting that the gathering for the traditional rituals will be conducted virtually.  All Sisters are welcome to attend.

Are you ready to Zoom?  Your virtual Sisters have found Zoom to be a handy web-based video conferencing tool, and a great way to bring us together, no matter the distance.  Just imagine, a tool that brings all of our Sisters together with the use of technology.  That’s Zoom!

So how does one Zoom?  Find the invitation in your email and click on the https://zoom.us secure link, or copy and paste the link in your web browser.  If this is the first time you are using Zoom on your device, you’ll be directed to install a small download or app (don’t be afraid).  Once the download is complete, follow the prompts.  If you’ve done this in advance, you may leave the site and come back a few minutes before the event starts by using the same invitation link.

If you have used Zoom in the past, you may join by opening the app and click Join a Meeting.  Enter the 9-digit webinar ID found at the end of the https://zoom.us link in the invitation and click Join.  Enter your name and email address if requested. Click Join Webinar.

That’s all.  More instructions than any one Sister will likely need.  You’re ready to Zoom.  I welcome you to join in and celebrate with the Sisters of Omicron Epsilon Chapter on Sunday, December 9th, 7pm Eastern, 6pm Central, 5pm Mountain, 4pm Pacific.