Happy Friday!
We are T-11 days until the opening session of the 2017 National Convention of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. Because we are now under two weeks away, the national leadership felt it was a good time to post some reminders about business to be discussed and about the logistics of the event itself. As always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks, this year’s convention has a few big ticket items in terms of business, the national curriculum framework proposal, The Road to Wisdom, national officer elections, and the fraternity ritual being off its ten-year moratorium. But there are also a lot of other, more general reminders relating to national convention and the work of the national council. So let’s get started:
The Road to Wisdom
First up, the national curriculum proposal, The Road to Wisdom. The framework that the Curriculum committee has been working on this biennium will be presented to the Colonization and Membership committee during convention where it will then be debated and discussed.
Many of you have been asking to see more materials relating to this curriculum, and you’re in luck! The committee, working with our National Publications Manager, Robert Bratcher, has uploaded PDFs of the Vice President Teach Manual and the MC Guidebook on the national convention website here. These are up to date as of today, July 7, 2017.
In addition to those amazing resources, there are other documents for your perusal, such as a Rationale Statement and planning guides for the Spring and Fall semesters. I would also steer you to the fraternity’s podcast, Kappa Kappa Psi Presents, as we have devoted a number of episodes to the curriculum over the past six months. Specifically, I recommend the following episodes: 24, 26, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 52, and 52a. I would especially suggest you listen to both 52 and 52a as they are the most recent and 52a is filled with brothers from the pilot chapters who actually used the curriculum this year as part of the membership education process. You can find all those and more here.
And if all that still isn’t enough, you can always reach out to the committee itself by sending an email to curriculum@kkpsi.org.
Kappa Kappa Psi Officer Elections
As you know, the election process was changed at the last national convention, in Lexington, Kentucky. As such, the slate of candidates has already been announced by the nominations committee. You can find their report here. You can find a list of all of the candidates along with introduction video clips here. Episode 39 of the podcast also features the audio content of the introduction videos, you can find that here.
Kappa Kappa Psi Ritual
Next, the Kappa Kappa Psi ritual! As many are aware, National President Jack Lee and National Vice President for Colonization and Membership Evan Thompson created the Ritual Performance and Education committee this biennium. They asked me, your National Vice President for Student Affairs, to serve as chair. We were charged with reviewing the entire ritual book and compiling a list of updates with respect to the performance and preparation language. The committee submitted its convention report to Jack earlier this week, and I can say we were very thorough.
It was an humbling experience and I am excited to see the conversations that take place within the Ritual and Regalia committee in a few days. Due to the secrecy of the ritual, I cannot provide even an overview of the suggested changes on this platform, but know that our committee did not make any recommendations that altered content within the ritual–our work was about the performance of the ritual so that the lessons and values it teaches can be articulated in the best way possible!
Also, I want to get everyone excited for all of the ritual related content that will be presented at national convention. There were be a number of workshops centered on our ritual and I am excited to see the conversations that take place!
National Council Feedback
I also would like to remind everyone that the council has their summer meeting directly in front of national convention. So if there is something you want to be sure we discuss, please don’t hesitate to submit your feedback here.
Other Reminders and Updates
With the big items out of the way, here are some other reminders:
National Convention is happening July 18th-22nd at the Buena Vista Palace resort in Orlando, Florida. You can find more information regarding registration, schedules and workshop descriptions, along with any other information you’d need here.
Be sure to use promo code ZKDZP when booking your SuperShuttle to the Buena Vista Palace for NatCon and save 10% on your trip! For more information click here.
Remember that as this is an official fraternity event, our attendance policy will be in full effect. Please refer here for more information on what to bring to verify your status as a brother in good standing.
I am excited to also share the following information with you! This afternoon, our National Executive Director, Steve Nelson received confirmation from the hotel of the following:
– All attendees will now receive complimentary parking.
– Attendees will receive a 15% discount off food purchases in the hotel’s restaurants
– Complimentary wifi will be available in meeting rooms (for light use, not for streaming or downloading of large files/videos)
If you are interested in spending the free day on Thursday at a theme park, there are also discounts available to us through the national convention website. Click on the attraction tickets menu and follow the directions for whichever parks you are interested in visiting. Deadlines for those discounts are fast approaching.
Also, remember to plan for the weather! It will be the middle to end of July in Florida! It will be hot, humid, and will probably storm in the afternoons. And while your packing, make sure to include not only your swimsuit for the awesome lazy river. But also be sure to pack your coolest letters and your best school spirit gear (for the fight song competition after banquet on Saturday).
Also, for situational awareness purposes, I wanted to share the closest non-Disney Springs/Hotel food and grocery options. There is a shopping center just off I-4 and just outside the resort property where you can find a Gooding’s (grocery store), McDonalds, Taco Bell, Waffle House, Chevy’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, TGI Fridays, Sweet Tomatoes, and more. This is about a 2 mile or 30 minute walk, which I have done it before when I stayed at another hotel around the corner from the Buena Vista Palace. Directions/google map of the area can be found here.
Be sure to add the fraternity and sorority’s google calendar that is being updated with national convention events with date/time/room locations here.
If you have any other questions between now and then, please don’t hesitate to reach out! You can either send an email to myself at zac@kkpsi.org or you can call national headquarters at (405)372-2333.
Keep striving and seen you real soon!
Zachary T. Humphrey
National Vice President for Student Affairs