Get your major chapter event in the SigEp Journal

Is your chapter holding a large alumni event or anniversary celebration? For our spring issue of the Journal, we want to include as many major alumni events as we can under the "Save the Date" section. If you have an event that will occur between May 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014, please email communications@sigep.net by Monday, March 24, with the following information: Name and date of your event. A web address or contact with email for RSVPs or additional information.        If you would like to have your chapter's alumni event profiled with an article in the Journal or on The SigEp Blog, please email communications@sigep.net with the contact information for a confident writer who can draft an article and take or obtain photos. Once you provide confirmation of your celebration date and a contact, we will follow up to provide more guidance on the article and photos. Celebrations will be considered for the Journal depending on the space and timing of submissions. The following chapters have a milestone anniversary during the next academic year. If you have information on these events, please let us know at communications@sigep.net. 2014-2015 Anniversaries 100th Lawrence, Wisconsin Alpha, February 17, 2015 Pennsylvania State, May 8, 2015 75th Wake Forest, April 19, 1940 50th Cleveland State, November 21, 1964 Michigan Tech, May 8, 1965 Nebraska-Kearney, May 15, 1965 Thank you! Sincerely, Jan Brammer Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Brothers come together to help end homelessness across the globe

We met Donald through the LinkedIn Sigma Phi Epsilon Group. The work he is doing is inspiring, to say the least, so we asked him to send us some information to post on the blog. Be sure to visit his web site at www.reach4children.org 

Winchester, Virginia, December 16, 2008: In 2004, a tsunami ravaged South East Asia leaving little hope and many without shelter. A fellow SigEp, Donald Stevens, was motivated into action to help rebuild and provide relief to those affected by the storm. After spending time serving the citizens of Sri Lanka, Donald founded Reconstruction Efforts Aiding Children without Homes (REACH), an organization that brings environmentally friendly and sustainable buildings to children affected by natural disaster, poverty, and war around the world.

This mission has ignited and spread among many through various projects and networking tools such as Linkedin.com and Facebook. Among those around the world drawn to the work of Donald and REACH, were two fellow SigEps, Christopher Ellis (Virginia Iota) and Deryck Boulanger (New Hampshire Gamma). Both found Donald through the professional networking site Linkedin.com, and were brought on board as action advisors to help REACH accomplish its mission of aiding those in need.

Banding together and reestablishing your connection with the fraternity has never been easier. Through the internet, brothers have been able to reach across borders and strengthen the brotherly love that holds this fraternity together. These SigEps have proven that with every graduating generation, this fraternity has succeeded in their mission of “building balanced leaders for the world’s communities.”

Living the life of a balanced man doesn’t stop at graduation. The lessons taught in undergrad propel you into being successful in balancing work, life, health, family, and much more. The ancient wisdom that guides the ideas and values of SigEp can be seen in use by its members serving their communities and the world. These ideas of existing to contribute to making the world a better place, and being a part of something greater than ourselves, can also be found in the building blocks of REACH.

Helping Donald see his vision become reality is a huge motivating factor for both Chris and Deryck. Both played prominent roles in their respective houses, but have had difficulty finding the kind of fulfillment that comes from serving others. With what Donald, and REACH have accomplished already it is no wonder why so many are drawn to aid in their efforts. With the help of more SigEps, REACH could grow to new levels, providing more and more children around the world with the opportunity to develop into the leaders of tomorrow.

About: REACH is a Virginia based non-profit, charitable organization filing for 501(c)3 Federal Tax Exemption status with the IRS under application EIN# 33-1211165.

Please visit www.reach4children.org and find out how you can work with fellow SigEps and others to help build chances for children around the world.

New Regional Directors Announced

We received this announcement from HQ by way of Gary Huff:

Sigma Phi Epsilon eBlast

Brothers: With summer recruitment well underway across the country, the 2008-09 Regional Directors are on board and have gone to work. As described in my earlier Year-End Report, we are making changes to improve the delivery of chapter services from the Headquarters with two Directors of Chapter Services, dividing the country East and West. Please use the following link to view the 2008-09 region assignments and introductions of the Regional Directors. www.sigep.org/communications/061808-1-rd.asp You should be hearing from your new Regional Director soon as he gets acquainted with you and his region. Craig. SigEp│Wisdom begins in wonder-Socrates Craig D. Templeton, Executive Director 310 S. Boulevard Richmond, VA 23220 804-612-1414 direct

There is quite a bit of good information about the new RDs and their territories on the linked page.

UNK Sigma Phi Epsilon Chapter Earns Top National Award for Third Time

Publicity - better late than never.

This is a good recap of the chapter's accomplishments. The article not only points out the Bucannan Cup, but goes on the note various community service projects and other related honors and awards.

This is the third year the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity has received one of the highest ranking national awards for their chapter.

The UNK Chapter has been awarded the Buchanan Cup, which is given to those Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities that rank in the top 10 percent in the nation. Sigma Phi Epsilon is the largest college fraternity nationally with more than 14,000 undergraduate members at 260 chapters across the United States. Of the seven fraternities on the UNK campus, the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter is one of the largest.

If your chapter has someone who is good at putting this type of PR together you have a valuable asset. If not you should look into finding or training someone.

UNK SIGMA PHI EPSILON CHAPTERS EARNS TOP NATIONAL AWARD FOR THIRD TIME

UCA fraternity wins national Outstanding Chapter Award - UCA Today

Here is an excellent example of how a well written press release can get "good ink" for your chapter.

UCA fraternity wins national Outstanding Chapter Award

The Arkansas Zeta Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at the University of Central Arkansas was awarded the highest individual chapter honor during its 52nd biannual Conclave in Atlanta, Georgia. The Buchanan Outstanding Chapter Award recognizes chapters that excel in all areas of chapter operations, including academics, recruitment, finances and member development.

SigEp has consistently ranked first in academics and membership among all UCA fraternities. Most recently, the chapter's cumulative grade point average was 3.25, which exceeds by 0.4 points the University’s interfraternity council average of 2.85. With over 100 members, the chapter maintains active campus and community involvement, serving in active roles with student government, with the University’s new student orientation program, and in philanthropic efforts to raise money for the Fraternity’s national charity, YouthAIDS.

Founded in 1901 in Richmond, Virginia, Sigma Phi Epsilon is the largest collegiate fraternity with more than 14,000 undergraduate members at 260 chapters nationwide. With its commitment of "building balanced leaders for the world's communities," the national fraternity devotes nearly $1 million annually to support its educational and developmental programming.

Note how the specific reason for the notice is first, followed by more general information about the chapter, and finally the standard "boilerplate" - one paragraph of the history and distinctive characteristics of the national fraternity.

UCA fraternity wins national Outstanding Chapter Award - UCA Today

FraternityLive Features Private Network at 50th Sigma Phi Epsilon Conclave

I had a chance to visit with the FraternityLive people for a few minutes at Conclave. The service looks like it has all the right "hooks" to work well in a campus or alumni environment. They put out this press release about their presence. (They also were at the Teke, Pike, and Beta Theta Pi conventions.)

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) August 26, 2007 -- Sigma Phi Epsilon's 50th Conclave was recently held in Atlanta, where attendees were invited to explore the free FraternityLive.com communications network. As the largest private online Greek community in the world, FraternityLive is attracting attention as a tool to strengthen chapters in their organization, communication, and overall success.

With this year marking their 50th Conclave, over 1400 members of Sigma Phi Epsilon gathered to commemorate this milestone in the Fraternity's history. Both undergraduates and Alumnae were in attendance to celebrate the continued strength of their Fraternity, and discuss initiatives in chapter leadership and management. In line with these initiatives, the FraternityLive network presented their online applications which promote chapter organization and communication. Designed specifically for the Greek community, the free online applications offer social features combined with financial tools, demonstrating a powerful means of further strengthening Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters.

With their landmark 50th Conclave, Sigma Phi Epsilon is gearing up for a busy Recruitment season this Fall. However with the powerful social and financial tools offered by FraternityLive, which already serves over 200 active members of the Fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon stands ready to take their chapters to new heights of excellence.

For copy, demo or additional information about FraternityLive contact Corina Newby or visit www.tsotinc.com.

About TSOT Inc.:
TSOT is the owner and manager of the innovative online applications FraternityLive and SororityLive. These applications are designed for the Greek community, helping chapters all over North America to stay organized and connected while maintaining the privacy and integrity of their network.

Contact:
Corina Newby
TSOT Inc.
305-14 Prince Arthur Ave.
Toronto, ON M5R 1A9
Phone: (416) 640-6144 ext.229
http://www.tsotinc.com

I have a few general concerns, not just about FraternityLive but about the growth models used by so many of the new networks. Like many of the social networks that are springing up like mushrooms after a rainstorm this one is insular and there are few if any connections to the outside.(They have announced a Facebook connection applet, though.) That means that one must be a member to get any benefit. The other side of that is there is little "connection synergy" until a sufficient subset of the target group has signed up. If an IFC decided to champion this for a campus so all the chapters could share information it could be awesome. They would still need to get a 'critical mass' of members signed up, though.

FraternityLive Features Private Network at 50th Sigma Phi Epsilon Conclave

The Official Story

We posted names of Conclave honorees earlier, but here are links to the releases from HQ:

• Order of the Golden Heart
• Sigma Phi Epsilon Citation
• New Grand President

Dartmouth announces BMS awards.

NH Alpha (Dartmouth) has announced their Balanced Man Scholarship award for this year. According to their press release(PDF file - use Adobe reader):

National Merit Finalist, National AP Scholar with Honor, and nationally ranked freestyle skier Reed Boeger ’10 (Sun Valley, Idaho) won the 2006-2007 Balanced Man Scholarship at Dartmouth awarded by Sigma Phi Epsilon’s New Hampshire Alpha chapter. Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson presented the scholarships at the chapter's annual Balanced Man Scholarship ceremony.

The Scholarship honors Dartmouth freshmen who “exhibit academic excellence, demonstrate leadership skills, and commit to health and well-being.” Andrew Kim ’10 (Richmond, Va.) and Brendan Lynch-Salamon ’10 (Minneapolis, Minn.) were also named Balanced Man Scholars, taking second and third place, respectively.

More detail about the winners, the finalists, and the Dartmouth BMS Scholarship is in the well-crafted press release file.

Set your Tivos, it's Spelling Bee time again!

Once again, Sig Ep is a major sponsor of the National Spelling Bee.

WASHINGTON, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee will begin Wednesday, May 30, in Washington D.C., featuring top spellers from across the U.S. and including competitors from Europe, Guam, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, American Samoa, Canada and New Zealand.

The 286 champion spellers, ranging in age from 10- to 15-years-old, will be competing for the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship, which will be determined during the semifinal and championship rounds of the competition Thursday, May 31.
[...]
The national champion [...] receives an engraved loving cup, a $5,000 cash award from Franklin Electronic Publishers, a $5,000 cash award from LeapFrog Enterprises Inc., a $5,000 scholarship from Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation; from Merriam-Webster, a $2,500 U.S. Savings Bond, a reference library, and a $5,000 cash award and 50 reference works to the school or library of the champion's choice; and from Encyclopedia Britannica, reference materials valued at more than $3,800.

Don't miss a single nerve-wracking moment of this edge-of-your-seat live action drama!

The ABC Television Network will provide live coverage of the championship rounds from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., EDT, on Thursday, May 31. Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts will host the ABC broadcast.

Information about the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee can be found online at http://www.spellingbee.com/

2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee begins May 30 in Washington D.C.

How to write a blog post - publicity version

We get publicity information from many SigEp chapters here at S&P Central, and we try to post as much as is possible and reasonable. However, we don't have a staff that can create a timely and interesting post from a skeletal email such as "The SigEps at Farmer State really kicked ass in the hay bailing contest last month! Can you put it on the blog, Bro.?"

The S&P folks are not journalism majors (most of them, anyway) and do not claim to know all the tricks of good writing, but these are our unprofessional suggestions. If you want to get posted, here are a few guidelines to help you and us get your story on the blog.

• How Generally interesting is it? Consider if you were reading the blog and saw the story. Would you care? Campus-wide honors for a chapter or a brother Chapter of the year, of the student body) are good info for other chapters. It lets them compare their achievements and may inspire them to step up. Good GPA numbers are interesting if there is other context, but not so much by themselves.
• What are the details? One or two lines about winning "Skit-Night" is not enough. What was the skit about? Who else was competing? Did someone fall off the stage and carry on regardless?
• Is there a link? A story in the campus paper, town paper, or TV websites gives us a way to piggyback onto someone who actually CAN write. They often have pictures we can steal use too (we do try to credit all sources). Multiple links are even better. Pictures and Video are great.
• Local angles. A big story - like VA Tech - is going to have lots of coverage. If there is a SigEp side to it that has not been heard we will want to get it out. In the case of VA Tech, the SigEp chapter was trying to make sure all were accounted for. They were, but it took several hours to be sure. We sent updates as we had them.
• Timing - If an event is coming up, let us know in advance. Friday night is not the time to send a release for the bake sale on Saturday. Give it at least a week - longer if it is a big deal or there are celebrities involved. If you send after the fact, the sooner the better.

A good way to make chapter information available is to have a good press release. This one from Dartmouth details the election of a Sig Ep brother as Student Body President and is very well done. We would have used it but we already covered that story. It was so well done, however, we want to keep it as an example - thus it inspired this post.

Thanks everyone. Keep those cards and letters coming!