From the VPAR
Beta Mu Spring 2015 Newsletter
WHAT’S INSIDE What We’ve Been Up To….. 2 Regional Leadership Conference……………….. 2 Financial Policy….………… 3 Intramural Basketball……….3 Upcoming Events …………. 4
From the VPAR Hello lovely ladies, I’m Allison Barratt and I’ll be serving as 2015’s VPAR. I wanted to say a quick hello before we dive into the first newsletter of the year. I received a ton of help from multiple sisters putting this one together and want to say thank you to them! I look forward to having an amazing year, serving as the tie between actives and alumnae. Feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] or via Facebook. LISK, Allison Barratt
l
What We Have Been Up To We gained four new sisters this spring with our Continuing Membership Events. We hosted four events at the house including Wii Game Night, Homework and Snack Night, Game Night, and a Crafting Party. We had a great turnout of both potential new members and actives. -Ashley McGoldrick
Regional Leadership Conferences Recently, the executive board took a trip to Oklahoma, where they attended a weekend training convention. It was a few days of very educational sessions, with everything from general sessions, individualized sessions for the positions you hold within Sigma Kappa, and sessions where you choose what you wanted to learn more. As we worked through a handbook, we learned many things including the Athena model and more about the topic of risk management. In between all of the learning, the sisters had the opportunity to meet sisters from district 6, enjoy great food, and have other fun in their individual parts.
This year, the VP of New Member Education and the VP of Alumnae Relations have introduced a new program to allow the alumnae to take an active role in the new member’s experience. Dove Sisters! Dove sisters will have the opportunity to be a new member’s first line of communication with the alumnae community, buying and sending cute gifts for them throughout their journey. This semester, we had four amazing volunteers for this new program, Amy Shirey, Dakota McKee, Amanda Eisele, and Sarah Dowell Davenport. If you are interested in being a fall Dove Sister, please
The most constructive part to me was the individualized sessions, where new member educators from district 6 had two very knowledgeable mentors answering questions about our positions. It was interesting to see how larger schools were the same as our rather small school in regard to Sigma Kappa business and they shared many great ideas to share with us. Although it seems like it was all business and no play, sisters had the chance to dance with 200 plus other sisters and meet the National President of Sigma Kappa. Rebecca Tarr and I had the chance to meet her and 'throw what we know'. In all, RLC really was a great opportunity for the ladies to focus on the importance of their role to Sigma Kappa, not just as individuals but the house as a whole. LISK –Kayla MaGraw
LISK
2
Financial Policy The actives of Beta Mu would like to share our new policy for reimbursements and donations. From this point forward, any sister (active or alumna) will need to have approval from the Vice President of Finance, currently Tyler Frump for all reimbursements. Our Code of Conduct states, “All expenditures must be approved by the Vice President of Finance at least one week in advance. Failure to do so may result in the member making the purchases being responsible for the bill. Any expenses over $20 must be approved by the officer’s advisor.” This is a step torward financial responsibility for Beta Mu, ensuring that budgets are more appropriately supervised. If you buy something for the chapter and do not receive approval from the VP of Finance, it will be considered a donation and will not be reimbursed. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!
Intramural Basketball Our IM basketball team had a great season. Our team consisted of Miranda Raevsky, Melissa Kackley, Ceara Flowers, Bri Wisecarver, Ashley McGoldrick, Tyler Frump, Allison Barratt, Adriane Long and myself. We played several games, only winning once, but we have grown personally and had a ton of fun in the process. As the captain, I saw so many improvements in each girl and a greater boond of sisterhood being formed. There was a bunch of support from all the sisters at every game. Beta Mu plans on having an IM softball team in the spring. -Madison Henke
3
Upcoming Events Saturday, April 11 – Order of the Triangle: Our seniors become alumnae Saturday, April 11 – Spring Formal: Our theme this year is a masquerade Sunday, May 10 – Scholarship House Cup: Harry Potter themed scholarship program celebration Saturday, May 16 – Graduation: Our seniors celebrate their hard work
House Mother, Sister, Friend, Confidant Verna “Mom” Simmons, our house mother from the late 80s into the 90s, passed away a few days after her birthday in January surrounded by her loving family. Several of our sisters were able to attend her visitation and/or funeral. Mom’s family wanted every one of us to know how much Mom loved us and continued to talk about us after she left Culver-Stockton College. We were definitely “her girls” as seen by the numerous scrapbooks filled with pictures, articles, and other mementos and most importantly her family telling us she loved us greatly and how we gave her a new adventure in life after raising her children to which they were extremely grateful. I wanted to share a bit about Mom with our sisters who did not have the privilege of having Mom during their time in Sigma Kappa at Culver. Mom was the best. She was definitely a huge part of what made Sigma Kappa home for me and many others all those years ago. From the moment you met her she made you feel you were one of her own... her love knew no bounds going beyond her children and grandchildren and opening up her family to include each and every one of us. Mom's smile was infectious, her laughter contagious, and her spirit gentle. Her talent of making delicious goodies could make the whole house arrive in the kitchen at a moment’s notice. She would give us a slight nod of her head with a twinkle in her eye when she caught us doing things we shouldn't have been doing. Mom loved Swing-a-thon and always supported us with going singing at the fraternities to even joining us at some of the mixers, to sisters' sporting events, intramural sports, theater or vocal productions, and many other things too numerous to mention. She challenged each one of us to grow and become young women and to chase our dreams. Some of the best times were spent with Mom just talking with her about her children and her grandchildren. She loved them dearly and was very proud of each and every one of them. I am forever grateful to the Simmons family for graciously sharing their beloved mother. Mom was greatly loved and will be immensely missed. She was my mother in every way that counted. Her lovely spirit will ever be a part of Sigma Kappa at Culver-Stockton College. Loyally in Sigma Kappa, Susan Byrd Mitchell
4
WHAT’S INSIDE What We’ve Been Up To….. 2 Regional Leadership Conference……………….. 2 Financial Policy….………… 3 Intramural Basketball……….3 Upcoming Events …………. 4
From the VPAR Hello lovely ladies, I’m Allison Barratt and I’ll be serving as 2015’s VPAR. I wanted to say a quick hello before we dive into the first newsletter of the year. I received a ton of help from multiple sisters putting this one together and want to say thank you to them! I look forward to having an amazing year, serving as the tie between actives and alumnae. Feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] or via Facebook. LISK, Allison Barratt
l
What We Have Been Up To We gained four new sisters this spring with our Continuing Membership Events. We hosted four events at the house including Wii Game Night, Homework and Snack Night, Game Night, and a Crafting Party. We had a great turnout of both potential new members and actives. -Ashley McGoldrick
Regional Leadership Conferences Recently, the executive board took a trip to Oklahoma, where they attended a weekend training convention. It was a few days of very educational sessions, with everything from general sessions, individualized sessions for the positions you hold within Sigma Kappa, and sessions where you choose what you wanted to learn more. As we worked through a handbook, we learned many things including the Athena model and more about the topic of risk management. In between all of the learning, the sisters had the opportunity to meet sisters from district 6, enjoy great food, and have other fun in their individual parts.
This year, the VP of New Member Education and the VP of Alumnae Relations have introduced a new program to allow the alumnae to take an active role in the new member’s experience. Dove Sisters! Dove sisters will have the opportunity to be a new member’s first line of communication with the alumnae community, buying and sending cute gifts for them throughout their journey. This semester, we had four amazing volunteers for this new program, Amy Shirey, Dakota McKee, Amanda Eisele, and Sarah Dowell Davenport. If you are interested in being a fall Dove Sister, please
The most constructive part to me was the individualized sessions, where new member educators from district 6 had two very knowledgeable mentors answering questions about our positions. It was interesting to see how larger schools were the same as our rather small school in regard to Sigma Kappa business and they shared many great ideas to share with us. Although it seems like it was all business and no play, sisters had the chance to dance with 200 plus other sisters and meet the National President of Sigma Kappa. Rebecca Tarr and I had the chance to meet her and 'throw what we know'. In all, RLC really was a great opportunity for the ladies to focus on the importance of their role to Sigma Kappa, not just as individuals but the house as a whole. LISK –Kayla MaGraw
LISK
2
Financial Policy The actives of Beta Mu would like to share our new policy for reimbursements and donations. From this point forward, any sister (active or alumna) will need to have approval from the Vice President of Finance, currently Tyler Frump for all reimbursements. Our Code of Conduct states, “All expenditures must be approved by the Vice President of Finance at least one week in advance. Failure to do so may result in the member making the purchases being responsible for the bill. Any expenses over $20 must be approved by the officer’s advisor.” This is a step torward financial responsibility for Beta Mu, ensuring that budgets are more appropriately supervised. If you buy something for the chapter and do not receive approval from the VP of Finance, it will be considered a donation and will not be reimbursed. Thank you for your understanding and continued support!
Intramural Basketball Our IM basketball team had a great season. Our team consisted of Miranda Raevsky, Melissa Kackley, Ceara Flowers, Bri Wisecarver, Ashley McGoldrick, Tyler Frump, Allison Barratt, Adriane Long and myself. We played several games, only winning once, but we have grown personally and had a ton of fun in the process. As the captain, I saw so many improvements in each girl and a greater boond of sisterhood being formed. There was a bunch of support from all the sisters at every game. Beta Mu plans on having an IM softball team in the spring. -Madison Henke
3
Upcoming Events Saturday, April 11 – Order of the Triangle: Our seniors become alumnae Saturday, April 11 – Spring Formal: Our theme this year is a masquerade Sunday, May 10 – Scholarship House Cup: Harry Potter themed scholarship program celebration Saturday, May 16 – Graduation: Our seniors celebrate their hard work
House Mother, Sister, Friend, Confidant Verna “Mom” Simmons, our house mother from the late 80s into the 90s, passed away a few days after her birthday in January surrounded by her loving family. Several of our sisters were able to attend her visitation and/or funeral. Mom’s family wanted every one of us to know how much Mom loved us and continued to talk about us after she left Culver-Stockton College. We were definitely “her girls” as seen by the numerous scrapbooks filled with pictures, articles, and other mementos and most importantly her family telling us she loved us greatly and how we gave her a new adventure in life after raising her children to which they were extremely grateful. I wanted to share a bit about Mom with our sisters who did not have the privilege of having Mom during their time in Sigma Kappa at Culver. Mom was the best. She was definitely a huge part of what made Sigma Kappa home for me and many others all those years ago. From the moment you met her she made you feel you were one of her own... her love knew no bounds going beyond her children and grandchildren and opening up her family to include each and every one of us. Mom's smile was infectious, her laughter contagious, and her spirit gentle. Her talent of making delicious goodies could make the whole house arrive in the kitchen at a moment’s notice. She would give us a slight nod of her head with a twinkle in her eye when she caught us doing things we shouldn't have been doing. Mom loved Swing-a-thon and always supported us with going singing at the fraternities to even joining us at some of the mixers, to sisters' sporting events, intramural sports, theater or vocal productions, and many other things too numerous to mention. She challenged each one of us to grow and become young women and to chase our dreams. Some of the best times were spent with Mom just talking with her about her children and her grandchildren. She loved them dearly and was very proud of each and every one of them. I am forever grateful to the Simmons family for graciously sharing their beloved mother. Mom was greatly loved and will be immensely missed. She was my mother in every way that counted. Her lovely spirit will ever be a part of Sigma Kappa at Culver-Stockton College. Loyally in Sigma Kappa, Susan Byrd Mitchell
4
