Brothers,
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2026. As I write this email we are in that annual transition period as an organization where, broadly speaking, our Chapters begin to be less Marching Band focused and host membership education classes while finding new and exciting ways to provide service to their college and university bands. While our Chapters operations start to shift, our National organizations begins to shift as well into more of a mode of outreach. This semester we are excited to bring multiple engagement and development opportunities to our members, both online and in-person, to truly strengthen the Brotherhood that is Kappa Kappa Psi. Throughout the rest of this newsletter you will find some short reminders about Fraternity programming and resources for you and your chapter to use.
The Semester Ahead. As we move into the Spring semester we are excited about the plethora of opportunities that will be available to our members. Up first will be the National Month of Leadership this February with our Founders Circle team leading a series of workshops focused on Leadership Development and how you can bring some of those concepts back to your Chapter. We hope that this series of workshops will help our members continue to talk about and develop as leaders. As a reminder, having a Chapter member attend one of these workshops will fulfill one of the Chapter Crown Pearl Goals, so we hope to see a bunch of you there!
In addition to our online offerings this Spring, please be on the lookout for expanded offerings from your District Leadership Teams in the lead up to District Convention. These smaller engagement opportunities are the perfect opportunity to meet up with Brothers while fostering a spirit of Fellowship and Collaboration. Excitingly, March and April will also bring us our District Conventions across the country to provide our Chapters the opportunity to have their voices heard by our National and District Leadership Teams. Once again, sending a delegate to your District Convention will earn your Chapter another Crown Pearl Goal. It is never too early to start planning for District Convention. More information for District Conventions can be found at events.kkytbs.org . We hope to see you there!
Crown Pearl Goals and Paperwork Reminders. As mentioned above, there are plenty of opportunities for your Chapter to earn Crown Pearls this spring and it is not too late for any Chapter to be considered a Crown Pearl Chapter by earning ten goals by the end of this year. As you plan out your spring semester, consider planning on how your Chapter will achieve the following goals:
- Have at least one Chapter Member attend an online Founders Circle Session in the Month of Leadership
- Send a Delegate to District Convention
- Submit your chapter’s Graduating Senior Report
- Have at least one of your Chapter Officers complete the Level I certification for the Founders’ Circle
- Initiate at least five (5) people
- Submit your chapter’s Initiate Registration Form(s) On Time
A full list of Crown Pearl Goals can be found here and you can always submit your Chapter’s Crown Pearl Goals using this form.
As a lot of the Crown Pearl Goals are also related to paperwork and as such we encourage Chapters to start their paperwork early. As a reminder, a curriculum calendar must be turned in two weeks prior to starting recruitment and the membership candidate registration (MCR) form must be submitted within seven days following first degree. Additionally, the MCR must be turned in, with all acknowledgements completed by the membership candidates, prior to creating an initiate registration form which is due, with dues paid, within 30 days following third degree. Please let us know if you need help with paperwork or have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Chapter Resources and Grant Opportunities. As we start the spring semester, we wanted to remind Chapters of our Chapter Resource Folder. This folder has links for Road to Wisdom lessons, chapter officer resources, and more. If your Chapter is looking at a place to start, we recommend starting here.
Another great resource our Chapters have is our Chapter Field Representatives. This semester, CFR Ari Wright will be planning a few chapter visits in the SWD and a larger loop in the WD. We are timing this up with other anticipated travel for the spring, as Ari will also be attending the WD, SWD, and SED conventions. We are looking forward to Ari being on the road to provide in-person support for our active members and will be announcing their schedule shortly.
Additionally, we also want to remind you of the grant opportunities we have to help grow your Chapters and support your band programs:
- The Chapter Development Grant Program provides up to $1000 to promote leadership and chapter operations training. Spring semester applications must be postmarked between January 1 and June 30.
- The Leadership Grant Program provides up to $1000 to leadership development and skill training to Brothers and band programs; applications are approved on a rotating basis.
- The Matching Grant Program provides up to $1000 to support obtaining guest conductors and performing artists for college/university bands. Spring semester applications must be postmarked between January 1 and June 30.
We hope you will take advantage of our Fraternity resources and let us know what else you need for your Chapter to be successful!
January is just the beginning to our exciting spring semester. As a National Leadership Team, we look forward to interacting with our Chapters across our many engagement opportunities. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you all for the service you provide to your college and university band programs and advancing the mission of Kappa Kappa Psi every day.
AEA, Always,
Dr. Nicholas A. Rorrer
Kappa Kappa Psi National President 2025-2027