Update June 22, 2005 - We see that the email addresses have been added to the HQ web site. Kudos to HQ For a good response.
If I want to contact my Senator or Congressional Representative I can go to his or her web site and get a laundry list of ways to get my opinion or question voiced. They have telephone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, snail-mail addresses, all kinds of channels. They want to hear from those people whom they represent. Now in truth, I may not be able to get Sen. Blowhard on the phone or have him read my email. But a well trained flunky staffer will read or listen to my input and respond with an appropriate piece of non-offensive boiler plate. There is at least a chance in hell that he may be between fund-raising dinners or 'fact-finding' golf junkets to Scotland and actually see it himself.
On the other hand, our duly elected leaders on the National Board of Directors have seen fit to go to some effort NOT to be reachable. There is a page on the HQ web site with their names, pictures, chapter affiliations and graduation dates. What is missing? Contact Information! Nowhere on the entire website will you find any way to get in touch with your elected leaders. Try the 'members only' directory? Nope. They, or someone acting on their behalf, has checked the "Hide contact information" flag for every alumni member of the NBD. The undergraduate members apparently didn't get the memo - their information is visible.
If you want to contact an NBD member you must send a message to HQ and hope it gets forwarded on. (Can you say "Mother May I?" I knew you could) The implication is that they are all Very Busy Men and cannot be bothered by the likes of the unwashed peasantry such as us. Besides, what do we know about running a Fraternity?
OK, let's drop the bluster for a bit. These people are our elected leaders. We should be able to give them our input on issues affecting our Fraternity. As the Web page states.
"The National Board of Directors provides experience and expertise in leading the Fraternity. This body is given the authority of the Grand Chapter between Conclaves and is responsible to the Grand Chapter for the satisfactory operation of the national Fraternity."
They meet officially at least twice a year to transact business on our behalf they hire and fire - or at least are notified and approve of - Chapter Counselors, District Governors, Regional Directors, and the staff in Richmond. They approve Chapter expansions and closings. In short, they run the show, and they do a pretty good job of it most of the time. So why is it so hard to get hold of them? I don't know, and if I think about it too much my tinfoil hat starts to chafe. It does seem like it would be very little trouble to set each board member up with a "sigep.net" address similar to the HQ staff. If there is a conflict of interest in doing that there are several brothers who would be glad to send each NBD member a "G-mail" invitation.
So here is what we are going to do. After extensive research we have managed to acquire email addresses for each of the members of the National Board of Directors. The list below has links to each one. We are not encouraging harassment, simply communication. (Here are some guidelines.) If you have an issue, comment, or question that should properly be addressed by a Board member, here is where to find him:
- James F. Robeson, Grand President
- Chris Bittman, Grand Treasurer
- Roger vanHoozer
- David O. Chang (undergraduate)
- Phillip Cox
- Bert J. Harris
- Garry Kief
- Jeffrey D. Prouty
- Matthew C. Rodrigue (undergraduate)
- Elliot A. Silver (undergraduate)
- Yeatts, Archie
You may want to let the HQ staff know how you feel too. Craig Templeton, Executive Director - Sigma Phi Epsilon Headquarters
Perhaps some enterprising delegate to conclave would like to draft legislation that calls for contact information to be available for all of our Volunteer Leadership whether NBD, DG, AVC Pres, CC, or National Committee members. Oh, Right, One more reason to keep those cards and letters flowing.
- From an undisclosed location, I am Diogenes and I approve this message.
