In the 2017-2019 biennium, the Northern Virginia Alumnae Panhellenic won the Harriet Macht Outstanding Alumnae Panhellenic Award. We asked them to reflect on their association's purpose, programming and events that led them to this prestigious honor.
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| The Northern Virginia Alumnae Panhellenic accepting the Harriet Macht Award at the Annual Educational Conference in 2016. |
1. As an award-winning Alumnae Panhellenic, do you have suggestions for keeping records
for your Alumnae Panhellenic?
It is important to always maintain
historical records for the alumnae Panhellenic. During conversations and planning,
questions always arise as to how various projects were planned and executed,
whether it be a fundraising event programming, a scholarship program or a
recruitment information event. Periodically reviving some previous activities
with a fresh approach is helpful. The ability to have access to the previous
activity and the details is important and to accomplish that, files need to
maintained using several methods so that things are not “lost”.
One way to maintain the files is to have a
good transition meeting which can be either individuals getting together and
sharing the knowledge and files of the previous year. They can do this based on
their own schedules and then the incoming officer/chairman can share
information with their committee and the officers. An alternative is to hold a
transition meeting of the outgoing board and the incoming board, providing time
for the individuals to chat and share and then the outgoing board may leave,
allowing the new board to continue the meeting, set goals and share the
information received through conversation and files received.
Files can be shared in several ways – via
email, notebooks, flash drives and through archives (such as scrapbooks). The sharing of information via email that
includes emails sent during the year, documents created and saved. There are
cons to this method – computer crashes, people moving and there is no further
and the information is lost. The pros include the portability of the files and
information.
The sharing of notebooks is also a mixed
bag of successes and failures. It is not helpful if an officer/committee
chairman does not keep good records, update a notebook with information, having
notebooks that are cumbersome and information is extremely outdated. The good
is that there is information in one place to be passed along. Unfortunately, at
times the notebooks don’t go to the next person due to inability to meet and
the information becomes lost. We have found that the most important files are
those of the Vice President of Finance and hard copies of documents, as well as
soft copies, are best shared in several ways – notebook, flash drive, and uploaded to a site – especially EIN information and IRS filings!
soft copies, are best shared in several ways – notebook, flash drive, and uploaded to a site – especially EIN information and IRS filings!
Flash drives are easily misplaced and not
labeled. The result of this is that they are not passed along to those who will
need the information and it is not shared with others who might need some of
the information contained on the drive.
A couple of successful ways to keep records
is to have a Google drive with folders containing detailed information
pertaining to specific positions that officers/committee chairman can access
via a password. A second method of
keeping records is to have an historian whose responsibility is to provide a summary
of the year and including rosters, awards, governing documents, minutes plus
details of each month’s activities. This, too, can be kept on a drive for easy
access. Documents can also be uploaded
to the alumnae Panhellenic database account that the National Panhellenic
Conference hosts through FSCentral.
Record keeping and file exchanges are
important to the success of an alumnae Panhellenic and using several methods
has been very helpful to us as we have immediate access to information and can
continue to move the alumnae Panhellenic forward with planning each year. We
have the ability to continue to grow our organization in many ways and build on
the past.
2.Since being selected as the award winner, how
have you sustained Panhellenic excellence
through this new biennium (2019-21)?
One of the goals for the new biennium for
our alumnae Panhellenic is to continue the forward and upward momentum we have
experienced throughout our history. It is important to evaluate the
programming, fundraising efforts, scholarship program, and our communication to
determine how we can improve on what we have been doing.
This year we have established the “Year of
Changes” as our theme. Looking at the changes within the National Panhellenic
Conference we believe that we, too, should look at how we can push ourselves to
make changes. We are not happy to continue to do things in the same way as in
the past and the last several years are great examples. New social events, new
program ideas to provide information to our members about topics relevant to
today’s Panhellenic women were developed. These included a presentation on
Generation Z giving information on what to expect for the newest employees in
the workforce and volunteer organizations; NPC 101 providing what is the
National Panhellenic Conference, how the changes will affect operations and
focus plus how an alumnae Panhellenic fits into NPC; programs for our members
to learn about topics that are non-Panhellenic in nature; and programs to help
our members enhance their personal lives.
Sustaining excellence in our organization
through community service/philanthropy has been paramount. We do, as alumnae
women support each other with fundraising and volunteer opportunities for
individual alumnae chapters. In addition, the Northern Virginia Alumnae
Panhellenic Association has established three specific organizations that we
support annually – Ellie’s Hats, Women Giving Back, and Circle of Sisterhood.
Two are local to our area and one is a national endeavor. We, as a Panhellenic, continue to find ways
to grow our support of these organizations using innovative giving
opportunities.
Fundraising for our scholarship program is
constantly being improved whether it be using new technologies to help collect
funds, finding new and fresh ideas for our long-standing fundraising event which
continues to increase interest and interaction between Panhellenic women, their
friends and family, and support our scholarship program.
The ability to provide scholarships to
outstanding Panhellenic women is one of the cornerstones of our alumnae Panhellenic. This year, we have totally changed our
application, our process, and emphasized the message to the campuses with NPC
chapters in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We were not satisfied with the status
quo as to the number of applicants nor with the method for submission of
applications. We are starting to see early success that we attribute to the new
processes we have embraced and are excited to see the final result.
Our communication both internal and
external is constantly improving through social media usage, email, personal
outreach, and publicity regarding our alumnae Panhellenic awards to the
community and stakeholders is one of our goals. Our messaging is being
refreshed and we look forward to continuing to find new ways to share the positives
of sororities with those outside of our alumnae Panhellenic.
The Northern Virginia Alumnae Panhellenic
Association members are excited to plan and discuss how we can continue to stay
the course of excellence as we continue to focus on the “Year of Changes!”
3. Do you have any words of encouragement or
suggestions for Alumnae Panhellenics
across the country who are striving towards excellence?
As Panhellenic women, we strive to continue
to grow and improve how we operate and how we can inspire future members to
stay involved and engaged in Panhellenic life.
It is important to not be satisfied with the status quo, but to try to
attain higher goals for your organization. This takes work, cooperation,
communication, and dedication to the ideals of the National Panhellenic
Conference and Alumnae Panhellenics.
In looking through our historical files as we
are in the process of looking at previous decades’ worth of scrapbooks, finding
and keeping pertinent historical information, scanning documents, awards, and
pictures to organize and house in a specific, safe “place,” we have found a
wealth of information. Of particular note, we found previous award certificates
that showed how our alumnae Panhellenic has historically been recognized for
our successes and with each year or biennium, we have continued to improve upon
what we had done previously. Our
words of encouragement would be to keep on improving how you do things by
discussing your goals and thinking of new ways to live the vision, mission, and
values of the National Panhellenic Conference in all that you do. It does not matter the size of your alumnae
Panhellenic, where you are located in the country, whether your membership is
alumnae chapter-based, individual members or a combination, but what does
matter is the vision you have for your organization, providing value to your
members to keep them engaged, and how you advocate for the sorority experience
in all that you do! Panhellenic women are phenomenal and can do anything!
