DWYSYWD

It can be really fun to plan! Getting excited about an event or a calendar typically energizes a chapter, an officer team or an individual. This is particularly true when it is the beginning of the year. Remember when you were in elementary school? Each year on the first day of school everyone was excited to be there, new Trapper Keepers and lunchboxes, all the pencils had erasers. The possibilities were endless! But how do you sustain that momentum? How can you keep sisters, officers and the community as engaged throughout the entire year? 

One acronym to keep in mind is: D.W.Y.S.Y.W.D. This is a term learned from our ZTA National President at National Leadership Convention in 2011. D.W.Y.S.Y.W.D. stands for "Do What You Say You Will Do". It has been a great guide and constant reminder to strive to complete goals. As you plan activities and meetings for your chapter, think about all the pieces of the planning process. How will you complete this goal? For example, are you having a general membership meeting then think about who will present at the meeting, who will print the minutes, who will make the nametags, who is bringing the food? Each event has many parts and the team of officers in each chapter should participate in each of those event planning moments in a significant way. As a leader, you want to keep in mind that you should never ask someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself. A surefire way to lose members, potential new members and officers is by not allowing them to have any ownership or connection to the group. It would be the same for most of us, if we had nothing to do then why would we spend our time, energy and talents on that activity? 

Emotional Connections are the single most important reason that people stay active in the alumnae world. Are you providing a way for them to be engaged? Here are some easy ways to connect with members:

• Offer to carpool or take public transportation together.
• Nametags! Knowing other people's names allows them to engage more easily.
• Follow up within 48 hours with a phone call, email or other message with everyone who attends an event. (Even those who have been members for years, it is nice to feel included) 
• Encourage everyone to take on a leadership position. This can be as small as collecting Yoplait lids for their neighborhood or as much as Zeta Day chair! 
• Continuously survey your members about what they want to do. 

Remember, D.W.Y.S.Y.W.D. and reap the benefits of a stronger sisterhood! 

A Brand New Zeta Year!

Fall is coming....it's time for some ZTA fun! 

A fun fall sisterhood idea from the Northern NJ chapter! 

Pumpkin spice lattes, changing leaves, wearing boots;  there are so many things to look forward to in the fall. Fall is one of my favorite times to refocus and has always felt more like the beginning of the year as you have time without the rush of the holidays to distract. Possibilities are the name of the game this season. A few things to think about as you look towards the fall: 

Goal Setting

How do you plan your year? Get the most out of your time and efficiency? The best way to do this is to set goals for yourself. One of the most effective ways to set plans is by using the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting method. 

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Achievable

R: Realistic

T: Time-targeted 

In your personal, business or ZTA life this method of goal setting allows you to purpose your planning and your time. It can also be a way to better fit in fun and work to every part of your life. 

September Fun in Maryland and Washington, DC

It's time to get together! All over the state, ZTA sisters are having lots of fun this September. Each chapter has a Facebook group and an excited group of officers who want to meet you! Here's what's happening this month: 

9/6: Washington DC Kickoff in NW DC 6:30pm

9/8: Baltimore City "Zeta Date on the 8" at Red Star in Fells Point 11am

9/12: Northern Maryland Kickoff at Crush in Belvedere Square 6:30pm

9/12: Washington DC Zeta Date at New York Avenue Beach Bar and Grill 5:30pm

9/13: Silver Spring Dinner and a Movie in Rockville 6pm

9/15: Frederick Coffeehouse Kickoff at Dublin Roasters 10am

9/19: Baltimore City Yoplait Collection Kickoff Night 6pm

9/19: Washington Nationals (MLB) Greek Night 7:05pm (contact the DC chapter)
9.22: Salisbury "ZTA Fall Fling" Kickoff 12pm

9/24: Silver Spring Wine and Cheese Night 

9/29: Silver Spring Think Pink Bakesale 

How do you get involved? Just show up! All information about being a sister in good standing of any chapter is available through each individual group. If you have questions, please feel free to contact any officer or me! 

Prepping for Convention!

Every two years, our sisterhood comes together to learn, visit and celebrate with each other. The National Council, with assistance from many other sisters, plans a fun-filled and packed schedule at Convention. This year we will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, home to the Kentucky Derby and one of our newest ZTA collegiate chapters at the University of Louisville.

In doing some research about the city, I learned that it was founded in 1778 and named for King Louis the XVI. It has over 600,000 residents and sits on the Lower Falls of the Ohio River. Due to its proximity to Indiana, Louisville is one of those cities that has pieces of North, South and Mid-Western American culture all mixed together.

While we might not say the name the same way twice, Louisville looks to be a fun spot for 700 sisters! There are tons of things to do in Louisville, from the Louisville Slugger museum to Churchill Downs, Historic Frankfurt Ave to Cave Hill Cemetery, the Muhammad Ali Center to the Louisville Mega Cavern. Take your comfortable walking shoes because it looks like Louisville is high on the interesting things to see list. Food seems to be plentiful and interesting all over town also. There is a 15 scoop ice cream food challenge at "The Comfy Cow" (Man vs. Food taped there). "The Brown Hotel" boasts a traditional "hot brown" sandwich, full of turkey, bacon, tomato, cheese and Mornay Sauce. 'Lilly's' on Frankfort avenue boasts "modern southern" cuisine and Louisville has a thriving food truck nation. "San Diego Sandwich Works" even makes their California style fare out of a turquoise truck! (Someone better get a picture of that one.) For everyone's sweet tooth, you can't go wrong with "Cake Flour" on Market St. where they are serving up a flour-less chocolate cake loved by Food Network chef Aaron Sanchez.

The nuts and bolts for Convention 2012 are located on the ZTA Fraternity Convention blog, updated regularly. Looking forward to reporting each day's events, programming and award winners!

Seniors moving into the alumnae world

It's that time of year again... Graduation! 

With graduation from college, comes the shift in many parts of a collegian's life. The easiest transition (on paper) is the one from collegiate to alumnae chapter membership. Unfortunately, we lose many of our potential alumnae members each year in this transition. It is my hope that all Panhellenic organizations retain and encourage all of their newest alumnae members this year but particularly my sisters in ZTA. Some great ways to encourage your new graduates to join are:

• Send them a congratulatory card for their graduation with contact info for the chapter
• Put them on your email/evite listserv
• Seek them out on Facebook and invite them to events
• Call them personally to invite them to an event
• Survey the new grads to see what they want in the alumnae world
• EDUCATE! Many of our recent graduates have no idea what they have to do to be an alumna, and don't see the possibility of spending the same amount of money or time when they are job hunting. The time and monetary commitment to ZTA is a fraction of the cost of what it was in the collegiate world. 
• Network with them professionally: with the job market so tight these days, helping a ZTA sister out with an internship or providing them with a job opportunity can really help
• Always have ZTA something on (even if it's just a pink ribbon). I'm always amazed how many sisters notice my lavalier or stop me when I am carrying my strawberry and crown printed bag. A conversation starter is the first step to membership recruitment and retention! 
• Once you have their email or they have come to an event, don't stop contacting them! Invite them to bring friends, maybe a discount on the event if they bring someone who pays dues. 

It's so exciting to see our newest alumnae sisters get involved, and we look forward to welcoming each and every one of them to one of our Maryland/DC chapters. If you are moving out of Maryland, just let the District President, alumnae chapter President, advisor or go through the ZTA website to find a new chapter in your new town! One of my favorite stories is of a sister I met at convention who told me she made it clear to her husband that no matter where they lived, it had to have a ZTA alumnae chapter in the area. Now that's alumnae dedication!

Great ideas come from everywhere...

With the Pinterest explosion, I've been noticing that great ideas really can come from anywhere. As I work on my annual report lauding the greatness that is Maryland and DC ZTAs, it's amazing to see what everyone is doing. I would love to use this blog as a platform to share ideas more efficently and to become better aware of what alumnae chapters are doing in Maryland and DC. So as my inaugural post, I would like to present (to the best of my ability) the May/June calendar for the District!

May
6th: 3pm Iota Omega (University of Maryland) Senior Initiation Ceremony
        6pm Northern Maryland Dinner at Bill Bateman's in Towson
        8pm Iota Delta (Towson University) Senior Initiation Ceremony


8th: 7pm Baltimore City goes to the Orioles game


9th: Annapolis calendar planning meeting and dinner at Panera in Annapolis
        Silver Spring "Dine on the Nines"


12th: Northern Maryland Brunch and shopping


June
2nd: Northern Maryland invite-only Annual Tea 


8th: Baltimore City year-end dinner at Bay Cafe in Baltimore


10th: Northern Maryland year-end BBQ in Forest Hill (Harford County)