2011-2012 National Officers Reports Were Given by the Following Board Members

KTE National Convention 2012 – Drexel University
Saturday Meeting Minutes from April 21, 2012
Compiled by Alexander Cabinian, National Secretary

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1. Meeting commenced at 10:04 EDT on April 21, 2012 in Pearlstein 308 classroom at Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.

1. 2011-2012 National Officers Reports were given by the following Board Members
2. Dave Schick (2011 President)
3. Communication was a big challenge for the 2011-2012 year.
4. In addition, getting the checkbook from the former Treasurer was long and drawn out. This was finally accomplished after 3 years.
5. Meetings were held each month after 2011 Convention at Northwestern University. These meetings increased to once every two weeks as 2012 Convention approached.
6. Main message was that the foundation was laid for the organization to move forward. The communication roadblock was largely removed.
7. Jamie Lyons (2011 Vice President)
8. Attended all meetings possible given work schedule.
9. E-mailed inactive chapters after being given complete list of KTE chapters. Three schools mentioned in particular during this report.
10. Widener
11. Rutgers – turnover in Career Office resulted in new leadership there not knowing a thing about KTE
12. University of Illinois
13. A female sorority with the same KTE designation also exists.
14. The topic of trade marking the KTE/Kappa Theta Epsilon name was brought up.
15. The process was investigated but never executed after legal consultation determined that this may not be necessary.
16. A request was put out to the group for anyone with additional legal knowledge and experience to determine if we need to trademark our name (and variations?).
17. Put simply, we do not want to change names!
18. Tommy Zimmerman (2011 Fundraising Chair)
19. Started off strong with new ideas for going to individual chapters for raising money.
20. Attempted to spread the 50-50 raffle idea championed by Holy Family University to other active chapters. However, this failed because of local gambling laws.
21. Encountered family matters which required full attention, resulting in KTE being put off to the side.
22. Active in helping Lauren Nestel with recruitment, including documentation writing and answering questions.
23. Was available as much as possible via e-mail and also by telephone.
24. Lauren Nestel (2011 Recruitment Chair)
25. Discussed reactivation and attempted creation of chapters, in particular at Widener University and Lehigh University.
26. Communication with inactive and new chapters was initially promising, but declined. Schools would respond to the first couple of e-mails, but then cease all communication afterward.
27. New documentation created to send to new and inactive chapters to encourage creation or re-activation of a chapter. Each document includes a cover letter which is modifiable for each school and situation.
28. Participated in e-mail communications and meetings.
29. Alexander Cabinian (2011 Webmaster)
30. Discussed continued usage of the Box cloud-based file storage system for all KTE documentation.
31. Acquired ownership of the Kappa Theta Epsilon LinkedIn page from previous owner.
32. Created new Facebook fan page for Kappa Theta Epsilon after previous group page was offlined due to termination of all Facebook group pages.
33. Web hosting services with GoDaddy renewed through 2015.

1. Chapter attendance was taken. The following represents all chapters (inactive and active) and who was present at the meeting.

Alpha / No / Beta / No
Gamma / No / Epsilon / Yes
Zeta / No / Eta / No
Theta / Yes / Iota / No
Kappa / Yes / Lambda / No
Mu / Yes / Nu / No
Xi / No / Omicron / Yes
Pi / No / Rho / Yes
Sigma / No / Tau / No
Upsilon / No / Phi / No
Chi / No / Psi / No

1. Officer elections were then conducted. This was done due to Ohio State students needing to leave after lunch to catch their flight back to campus.
2. The election process was discussed and clarified with all chapters. No questions were raised in regard to this process.
3. Elections were done from the President position down the list.
4. Included are the candidates, whether they accepted or rejected the nomination and questions asked

1. Election of President
2. David Schick – accepted (0 votes)
3. Jamie Lyons – accepted (6 votes)
4. Questions
5. What do you see happening in the next year with plans and goals?
6. How much time do you see spending doing KTE work?
7. Winner: Jamie Lyons

1. Election of Vice President
2. David Schick – accepted (0 votes)
3. Christine Rettew – accepted (6 votes)
4. Questions
5. Is there anything that you can do to get inactive KTE chapters active again?
6. What is your game plan for ensuring that National Officers are handling their required action items?
7. Compare the amount of time spent in your current role (National or chapter level) to what time you would spend as the National Vice President?
8. Winner: Christine Rettew

1. Election of Secretary
2. Erin Mastenbrook – accepted
3. Alexander Cabinian – accepted
4. Questions
5. Besides secretary responsibilities, what else can you bring to the Executive Board?
6. What other Executive Council experience do you have?
7. Winner: Alexander Cabinian

1. Election of Treasurer
2. Elizabeth Schweizer – accepted (6 votes)
3. Questions
4. No questions were raised.
5. Winner: Elizabeth Schweizer

1. Election of Webmaster
2. Daniel Iannuzzi – accepted (6 votes)
3. Questions
4. What would you improve on our web site?
5. How do you plan to keep track of content and move the site forward?
6. What other ideas do you see yourself bringing to KTE?
7. Winner: Daniel Iannuzzi

1. Election of Fundraising Chair
2. Erin Mastenbrook – accepted (6 votes)
3. Alexandria Phillips – declined
4. Questions
5. How comfortable are you reaching out to people you don't know?
6. Do you have any specific ideas for fundraising events?
7. Winner: Erin Mastenbrook

1. Election of Recruitment Chair
2. Alexandria Phillips – accepted (1 vote)
3. Lauren Nestel – accepted (5 votes)
4. Questions
5. Do you believe your current job will allow travel to potential schools?
6. What ideas do you have to get new schools interested in KTE?
7. How much time would you be able to put into the position?
8. Winner: Lauren Nestel

1. Election of National Advisor
2. David McMahon was selected as the National Advisor and accepted. Nominees for the position could only come from Texas A&M, current KTE national headquarters.

1. Election of Society Administrator
2. Similar to the National Advisor, this position was opened only to students from Texas A&M. Discussion and selection of the new Society Administrator will take place with a decision to be rendered at their next KTE chapter meeting 04/26/12.
3. The 2011-2012 Society Administrator was Cole Ulrich, who replaced Grant Stein when he graduated.

1. Election of Presidential Advisor
2. Requirements for being elected the Presidential Advisor were discussed.
3. David Schick – accepted (6 votes)
4. Tommy Zimmerman – accepted (0 votes)
5. Questions
6. There is no clear defined role for the Presidential Advisor – what do you think your role would be in this position?
7. Winner: David Schick

1. Lunch was then served to the group. At the beginning of lunch, the winner of the KTE Scholarship was announced. The winner was AmiraBereksi from The Ohio State University.

1. The speaker scheduled for lunchtime was Mark Loschiavo from the Baiada Institute at Drexel University. This was tabbed as a 'lunch and learn' session to help foster and discuss ideas for improving the organization and moving it forward. Mark specializes in strategic management, especially with small businesses, and had a fresh pair of eyes on the organization. His biographical information is located in the Registration Packet and his contact information is below.
2. Main topic – How can we run a better and more effective organization?
3. Why were a majority of our goals for 2011-12 not accomplished? Mark stated that looking at the issue from a “blame everyone else or not yourself” perspective was not worthwhile and would not fix the root cause of the problem.
4. He mentioned going on the KTE site and reading our mission statement.
5. Asked if anyone knew what it was… eek! Awkward silence!
6. A discussion took place on why co-op is unique. Some reasons given:
7. Finding out what you want (or don't want) to do in your career.
8. Provides a large and willing base of employees to employers.
9. Provides life skills which can be applied both personally and professionally.
10. Idea: change from using the term “co-op” to saying “Experiential Learning.”
11. Idea: Universities need to remain “relevant.” He predicted a “university bubble” in a number of years—an idea university administrators aren’t dealing with yet—after which many universities will just become too expensive and fail.
12. The consolidation of Universities was discussed, centering around the fact that this is inevitable and will occur very soon.
13. According to Mark, those Universities that remain will be the ones that are “relevant.”
14. These Universities will provide a fulfilling, personal education, allowing people to become more “well-rounded.”
15. Question: how to we ensure that co-ops are relevant and enriching to the student?
16. A comment was given by Texas A&M on their KTE chapter's main mission. Due to the high turnover rate of students joining the organization, they use the organization to promote and encourage students to pursue co-op opportunities.
17. A university like Drexel, on the other hand, has no need to promote co-op because 95% of students at the university already do it.
18. Overall message here was that objectives for each KTE chapter at each University will be different.
19. There are two subtypes of universities within KTE (those that require co-op or internships and those that don’t but still offer those opportunities), and our mission should reflect this.
20. A discussion was then started on why people joined the organization, besides the numerous social opportunities.
21. Mark's message here was that the organization needs to have a deep sense of purpose around an experience or experiences that are beyond just having social contact with other members.
22. Strategic Management was then discussed. Three questions form the basis for Strategic Management, according to Mark:
23. Where am I now?
24. This seems obvious but is not necessarily so. A leader who does not first show that they understand the state in which their team currently is will not gain the respect of the group and cannot really proceed.
25. Mark related an anecdote about being in presentations where the leader speaking in the front does not seem to understand where the company currently “is.” Someone leans over to him and says “Are they crazy? They don’t know what it’s like in our position!” This is what we want to avoid by knowing “where we are now.”
26. Our vision needs to be tangible and measurable.
27. Mark suggested that KTE has a vision statement that is specific and clearly states where we are, along with objectives that are targeted for the next year.
28. Where do I want to go?
29. How am I going to get there?
30. This process is going to appear difficult, but can be done. Defining set time period and end-points for goals can ease the difficulty.
31. Create the organization's vision statement based on the three questions asked above.
32. Communication during this entire process was emphasized repeatedly. Also, Mark emphasized the need to communicate before, during and after while following this process.
33. Communication is the #1 problem of all organizations.
34. The idea of change was then discussed
35. Change is the most difficult thing for people to accept.
36. What does change mean to me?
37. It is vital to communicate the magnitude and need for a change.
38. When communicating this, appeal to the person's sense of purpose and achievement.
39. It is also possible to appeal to a person's own self-interest(s), as long as doing this helps the overall “good.”
40. When things appear “good,” it is the most difficult time to implement (and maybe even bring up) change.
41. The last message Mark left us with was: Wanting to make a difference vs. doing the things necessary to make that difference are two totally different animals.
42. Mark Loschiavo contact information:
43. Office: Baiada Institute, Drexel University

3225 Arch Street, Ground Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Phone: 215.895.0301

Email:

1. The afternoon portion of the meeting was then started. David Schick led a discussion of new ideas for the organization based off of the past year's events
2. Idea 1: The Checkbook
3. Having not had the checkbook for the past 3 years, who should have the checkbook in their possession and who should write the checks was discussed.
4. The group proposed that David McMahon be the “owner” of the checkbook.
5. The group also proposed that the National Advisor, National co-advisor, Society Administrator and Treasurer have check-writing powers.
6. The “National Co-advisor” position does not exist in the KTE Constitution, and no such position exists at Texas A&M. By a 5-0 vote, the “National Co-advisor” was removed from having check-writing powers.
7. By a 5-0 vote, Bylaw III of the National Constitution was amended to reflect this using the following text:
8. “The Treasurer, Society Administrator, and National Advisor shall have the authority to issue disbursements for the Society.”
9. The possibility of changing banks from our current bank, Bank of America, was then discussed. This will be explored more in-depth once Texas A&M has full possession of the checkbook and check-writing powers.
10. Chase Bank is opening a new branch at the TAMU campus, near (if not next to) TAMU's Career Center.
11. By a 5-0 vote, Section 6 of the National Constitution was also amended with the following regarding internal financial audits:
12. “The financial records of the Treasurer/Society Administrator/National Advisor are subject to audit at any time by the President.”
13. Idea 2: Assigning National Officers a local chapter (or chapters)
14. This idea centers around having each National Board Member be assigned a local KTE chapter. The Board Member would then be responsible for staying in contact with that chapter, its advisors and student members.
15. This was envisioned as a better way of fostering communication between the chapters and National, providing help and support when requested and allowing chapters to provide feedback to National on how they can be better served.
16. The need and importance to clarify contact information for each chapter was discussed.
17. The intention for the national officer mentor/liaison to pass along and problems, questions, etc. of the chapters to the appropriate national officer was also discussed.
18. Idea 3: Alumni Database
19. This database would contain a list of past KTE members from all chapters that have graduated and are now working.
20. Some (if not all) chapters have this information stored locally at their school. Can we tap this data to start the National Alumni Database?
21. The new National Webmaster, Daniel Iannuzzi, developed specialized software to handle a database of Drexel students who are/were KTE members. This could possibly be applied to the National Database.
22. KTE alumni are being tapped as a potential (and willing) resource of money donations.
23. It was decided that the National Fundraising Chair would take on this responsibility for the 2012-13 year.
24. At the 2013 Convention, a new National Board position could be opened up for this specific purpose.
25. Idea 4: Documentation Updates
26. The need to update recruitment documentation was made well known.
27. Must include in this documentation “What does KTE have to offer?”
28. Testimonials can also be included in this documentation. The Theta chapter has already done this for their web site.
29. Information about the KTE Scholarship has to be made more prominent, both by word-of-mouth and on the Internet.
30. Two scholarships are normally awarded; but, this year, only one was awarded due to the CHECKBOOK.
31. The need to advertise this more to current chapters was also raised.
32. Erin Mastenbrook offered to look into and start the process of registering the organization as an official non-profit.
33. A “HOWTO” on hosting a KTE National Convention was also discussed.
34. Drexel will begin working on this, and then consult with Northwestern and OSU who hosted the convention the past two years.
35. Master Checklist
36. List of people at your university to talk to
37. Sample corporate sponsor letter
38. Detailed sample schedule (with explanations as to what works, what doesn’t)
39. Excel budget template
40. Sample Gantt Chart
41. Expansion of the Box online file storage service to local chapters was proposed. This will be followed up on.
42. Expansion of meetings to include “everyone” (any member from an active KTE chapter) or a representative from each school + National was also brought up.
43. These could be less frequent than the national officer conference calls (once every few months?) but would foster better communication between chapters and nationals
44. Improved conference call services will be investigated to replace the FreeConference service used in 2011-12.
45. Idea 5 (not included in David’s PowerPoint, but discussed): Visiting schools for recruitment
46. This came up numerous times, first during elections and later throughout the day
47. The idea is that when contact defunct chapters and certainly when contacting potential new chapters, simply emailing or even calling is insufficient. Human interaction is needed
48. Presentation to the career services officer
49. Presentation to students
50. Meeting with willing faculty, etc.
51. This will be difficult to implement right away, as it requires some basic tools we don’t yet have b
52. Funding to send officers to schools (need to get through sponsorship)
53. Promotional materials (new PR chair?)
54. Solid message about why their campus needs KTE (revised mission statement)

1. A request was put out to the group for a host for the 2013 Convention. No decision was made or required. However, an important comment regarding full support from the local chapter membership + advisors to organize and run a successful convention was given and stressed.

1. A discussion of the creation of a Mission Statement for the organization was then discussed.
2. The Mission Statement should contain the following:
3. What is the role of the National Board in the overall organization. This will be required documentation for non-profit certification.
4. What are the best practices that chapters should follow for fundraising, resume critiquing, service activities, career fairs, team building and social events?
5. What best practices should the National Board follow?

1. Assigning hard dates for specific tasks given to a National Officer was stressed. Doing this will prevent one from procrastinating and hold each officer accountable for tasks or goals assigned to them.

1. The final portion of the meeting involved a Question and Answer session with the group.
2. The first question dealt with how the National Board approaches companies for funding. The simple answer is, at the moment, this does not happen.
3. Currently, new member and annual dues provide the majority of our funding.
4. However, it was said that we do not have to wait to contact companies/corporations for funding (why?).
5. Before we approach companies with these funding requests, we need to have our Mission Statement vetted out and completed.
6. The second question dealt with the potential creation of a PR/Marketing Position at the National level.
7. This was successfully implemented by the Theta Chapter.
8. This person would be responsible for organizing and running events, creating awareness of the organization and creating a “brand” for the organization.
9. Chapters which have engaged in this activity could be tapped for knowledge and HOWTO for the National PR/Marketing chair.
10. It was decided to create this PR/Marketing position on a “trial” basis for the 2012-13 year by a 5-0 vote with none abstaining. Afterward, an election was held for this trial position.
11. Alexandria Phillips – accepted (4 votes)
12. Tommy Zimmerman – accepted (1 vote)
13. Questions
14. What are the challenges of creating a new role that was not previously defined?
15. What are examples of specific PR/Marketing events/tasks that you've done?
16. What would your first step be to get the position off the ground?
17. Winner: Alexandria Phillips

1. The last topic of the Saturday meeting was a presentation with the past 55 years of KTE history.

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