Austin City Limits - CLA day 1

I got to Austin a bit after 6. It seems like everyone in both Houston and Austin decided they had to go somewhere just as I got on the road. Traffic tie-ups in two cities on the same day - no fun.

Anyway I came in late to the faculty dinner. I say that advisedly because I am not sure you can call what we had - a wrap that looked, and tasted, like it came from the day-old markdown shelf at Kroger - "dinner". But hey it was free, right? Greg Barra is in the middle of going over the talking points for the weekend and the expectations and such. We are "Thinking Big!" this weekend. We are also heavily into year-round recruiting and are supposed to work it into every presentation because hey, its everybody's job. We discussed how it worked into the various sessions. He only stuttered a little bit when asked about how that could be worked into the Chaplain session on proper use of the ritual. (answer: ritual focuses on the principles and the principles are what make us the best. Not bad for off the cuff). Phil Cox told us that the Housing Corporation has been using Limeted Liability Partnerships (LLCs) to partner with Alumni boards (aka AVCs) with some success and they are thinking about doing more of it.

The Opening session was well received with Gary Huff setting the tone of "Think Big!" He told the crowd "we are still great but the others are gaining on us. We have to keep doing better. Tom Barton followed with "Dare to Dream". He pointed out some outrageous successes that chapters in the region have had in recruiting, in philanthropy, in grades, and so on. He introduced a member from WA Beta (as in the "Today" show) and gave a dynamic speech finishing with "what we do as a fraternity is no less than to "turn boys into men".
We were then treated to a replay of Grand Prez Yeatts Conclave speech where he guaronteed to fix our alumni volunteer issues. The capper was Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speach.

We then did chapter evaluations and adjourned until tomorrow.

I can't wait to see what breakfast is. Cold oatmeal? Green eggs and ham?

Tags: CLA, SigEp, fraternity