The Piper - September 2016

TheP i p e rAlpha Omicron Pi | September 2016

Members of Kappa Tau
(Southeastern Louisiana U) get
ready to welcome potential new
members to AOII recruitment 2016!

Recruitment and Retention Resources & Reminders
Join AOII’s Jingle Bell Run Team!
AOII Strike Out Arthritis! MLB Game Dates... and more!

SAVE THE DATES BoaErxdeMcutievsesage

SEPTEMBER MLB EVENTS Gayle Fitzpatrick
September 10
(Alpha Rho/Oregon State U)
New York Yankees
September 11 International President

Toronto Blue Jays Greetings to all my AOII sisters! With most
September 17 schools back in session and recruitment
season in full swing, this academic year
Boston Red Sox is already bursting with energy and
Cincinnati Reds excitement.
Philadelphia Phillies It is a particularly exciting time for our
September 18 Fraternity as our organization is growing
Atlanta Braves significantly. We are beyond thrilled that
Baltimore Orioles our collegiate chapters are reporting
Kansas City Royals outstanding results during recruitment and equally excited over the recent
September 21 installation of a new alumnae chapter in central Louisiana. Finally, we are
Miami Marlins enthusiastically preparing to colonize new chapters at five universities this fall.
September 24 All that adds up to tremendous growth and the potential to provide amazing
Cleveland Indians membership experiences to both new and current AOII sisters. It is, indeed, a
Houston Astros remarkable time to be an AOII!
Milwaukee Brewers Whether you are welcoming new members into your collegiate chapter or
Minnesota Twins engaging with sisters in your alumnae chapter, I encourage you to reflect
Pittsburgh Pirates back on the excitement you felt as a new member of our organization. With
San Diego Padres that love for AOII in mind, I hope you take advantage of every experience
Tampa Bay Rays and opportunity you have to grow as a member in this organization, to create
September 25 lifelong friendships, and to positively impact the lives of others.
Detroit Tigers This issue of the Piper is full of back to school reminders, but perhaps the most
Los Angeles Dodgers important reminder I can offer is to live each day with our Ritual -- and your
love for this organization - in mind.
OCTOBER MLB EVENTS
October 1

Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
St. Louis Cardinals
October 2
Seattle Mariners

Have a great year!

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Recruitment &
Retention Resources

With many of our chapters moving into the most exciting time of
the year, formal recruitment, we want to make sure every Executive
Recruitment Committee is feeling equipped to educate their sisters using
our new membership selection criteria. The IMSP materials, accessed on
Fulfilling the Promise, now include scoring categories that better reflect
our ritual and perpetuate a values-based recruitment. Please be sure your
Data Administrator is using the new spreadsheet from 2016 and you are
integrating this education into your spirit/work weeks.

Once Bid Day hits, the New Member Educators will be readying the
new members for initiation, and this comes with much responsibility.
Members of Xi (U of Arkansas) on Bid Day 2016! New Member Educators can lean on the information in the ORL to
find out how to add a new member in AlphaLink, track weekly quizzes, and retain their new members. The New
Member Lesson’s Facilitator guide and updated New Member Quizzes were presented to our New Member Educators
at Leadership Institute. Our favorite new concepts include: exploring the purpose of AOII policies, service vs.
philanthropy, and officers on the clock. Researching several chapters’ new member plans, it was determined new
member meetings needed a more formal introduction and standard closing, so those pieces are also included. In a
6-8 week time period when it sometimes seems like you are cramming information in, the most important thing you
can do is provide structure and you can find that in the new facilitator guide! Check it out under the “New Member
Education” tab on the ORL.

Reminders:

• New Member Educators: Set a reminder for yourself to complete
the Bid Day Statistics form within 24 hours of Bid Day and
remember to have your new members register with Alpha Link
after you add them into the database so they can get started on
their badge forms.

• In the midst of your celebrations, please remember to
share photos so your chapter can be featured on our AOII
social media!
Please send photos to [email protected].

Does your chapter have new officers/advisers?

As a new academic year begins, we want to make sure all officer and adviser lists are up to date! Updates to Fulfilling 2
the Promise should be submitted to your ADCE. To view your current officer list on Fulfilling the Promise, select “All
Contacts” on the left hand side of your home screen. Updates to Alpha Link should be made through your Chapter
President and Chapter Adviser. You can find instructions on how to add/remove roles in Alpha Link on the
Officer Resource Library under the “Operations” tab.

AOII Foundation News 12 3

1 How to submit your Chapter Donations to the AOII Foundation:

Checks from your chapter event should be made out to the AOII Foundation and submitted
with the event report form or a cover letter stating the intention of the funds within 30 days. The
Foundation will designate the donation to whichever fund (arthritis, loyalty and scholarship funds,
etc.) mentioned on the check memo line or cover letter from the chapter. Any checks made payable
to organizations other than the AOII Foundation (i.e. Arthritis Foundation) will be returned to the
chapter and no credit will be given to the chapter until the check is re-cut.
All chapter donations are appreciated and benefit our sisterhood and arthritis research and
programs. The guidelines above will ensure your chapter receives the credit you deserve for your
donation.

Please mail your donation to:
Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation

5390 Virginia Way
Brentwood, TN 37027

2 Follow us on Instagram!

We’ve made it to the wonderful world of Instagram! If you haven’t already, come follow us
@aoiifoundation.
If you have a chapter or individual photo to share with us, contact us at
[email protected] and we may feature you in an upcoming post!

3 Schedule a visit from a Foundation Ambassador!

Foundation Ambassadors are available to visit your chapter this semester! Ambassadors are a great
way to educate your chapter on the Foundation and learn more about the programs we support and
how chapter and individual donations benefit our sisterhood. Contact Jana Adkins at
[email protected] to schedule an Ambassador visit.

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Volunteering for AOII

The Human Resources International Committees
Committee always accepts Human Resources Committee Member
volunteer applications. To Network 1
speak to a member of the Human Resources Ambassador
HRC team about which Network 2
position is right for you, Human Resources Ambassador
please email Network Specialist-Finance
[email protected]. Network 3
To complete a volunteer No vacancies
application, visit www. Network 4
alphaomicronpi.org/ Network Specialist-Development–Phi Alpha/East Tennessee State U (Fall 2016 colonization)
volunteer-opportunities1 Network Specialist–Leadership
and click on the link at the Network 5
bottom of the page. No vacancies
Network 6
The positions listed here Network Specialist- Development–Phi Delta/U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
are currently open - HRC Network 7
is actively recruiting to No vacancies
fill these vacancies as of Network 8
September 1, 2016: Network Specialist–Recruitment

AOII Career Center

Alpha Omicron Pi is excited to have launched a new career center for all members! This database, accessible
through a link on the AOII website main toolbar (www.alphaomicronpi.org) will provide alumnae and
collegiate members with a safe and easy place to:

• search for potential employment
• feature internships or jobs
• upload resumes for employers to view
• find employment positions within AOII
• search for potential employees
Another added bonus to the new career center is our partnership with FinLogic and Lorman Education
to provide resources for continuing professional education for alumnae at a 10% discount!

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Join Our JBR Team!

As you know, AOII International President Gayle Fitzpatrick is serving as the 2016
National Jingle Bell Run Chair with a $150,000 fundraising commitment! The Jingle
Bell Run is a festive 5K with a 1-mile option event for the whole family. More than 100
JBR events will take place in cities all across the U.S. during November and December.
Funds raised for JBR benefit arthritis research - so AOII encourages every chapter to
get with the spirit and create or join an AOII team! If an event is not being held in your
area, or that event conflicts with school schedules, you are invited to join another AOII
Team of your choice or select the “Franklin, TN Jingle In Your Jammies” JBR team at
jbr.org.
• For all collegiate and alumnae chapters registering a team and participating, we will

publish your school name (and potentially a photo) in the Spring To Dragma.
• For all collegiate and alumnae chapters raising over $1000 will receive additional

recognition in the magazine.
• For all collegiate and alumnae chapters raising over $500, a “Hot Chocolate Sisterhood” gift box

will be sent to the chapter in January so the chapter can host a sisterhood “thank you” event. Besides hot
chocolate and marshmallows, the kits will also include custom printed AOII coffee sleeves as our way of
saying thanks.

Mark Your Calendars!

Fall 2016 Colonizations

Missouri State U (Springfield, MO) - Sept. 16-18
East Tennessee State U (Phi Alpha, re-colonization; Johnson City, TN) - Sept. 23-25
U of Connecticut (Storrs, CT) - Sept. 23-25
Texas A&M U (College Station, TX) - Sept. 20-Oct. 2
U of Michigan (Omicron Pi, re-colonization; Ann Arbor, MI) Oct. 19-23

Stay Connected:

AOII’s social media outlets are the best way to stay up-to-date on AOII news. From recruitment results
and photos, to Strike Out Arthritis! and other philanthropic events, to notes of congratulations to
exemplary members and chapters for accomplishments and good works in the community, we are
always sharing the latest information. If your chapter has news or photos to share with us, please send
them to [email protected]! Photos to be considered for To Dragma should be sent to
[email protected] and must be 1MB or larger in size.

facebook.com/aoiifraternity Instagram: @alphaomicronpi
twitter.com/alphaomicronpi apieceofthepiblog.com

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Ritual Moments

Spend some time with AOII’s Founders! The Rituals, Traditions and Jewelry Committee
(RT&J) has recorded and developed a monthly podcast series called “Ritual Moments,”
where members can learn, understand and reflect on AOII’s rich history. A new podcast
will be released on the AOII Facebook page on the second Monday of each month. August’s
recording is excerpts of a letter from Stella Perry to Virginia Berry from 1936. Watch for
a new “Ritual Moments” installment on the second Monday of each month! Members
can also access a transcript of each recording in the Ritual section of the Officer Resource
Library on Fulfilling the Promise (edu.alphaomicronpi.org > Officer Recourse Library >
Ritual > Ritual Moments & Ritual Moments Transcripts).

Chapter Archives
Every Chapter Needs One!
If you attended the archives presentation Learning Path
during LI 2016, you learned why every chapter needs a chapter
archives. Every AOII chapter has a unique history and while
AOII maintains a Fraternity Archives and Museum, there are
many records that chapters should be preserving locally. To
learn more about the process, you can download our Chapter
Archives Book, also called Your Chapter’s Story – Past, Present
and Future, from Fulfilling the Promise ORL under the
Resources Tab.

Strike Out Arthritis with AOII!
Since 2010, Alpha Omicron Pi has partnered with 25 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams across North America to
host fundraising events in support of the Arthritis Foundation through our Strike Out Arthritis! initiative. Each year,
ticket sales and attendance grow, which allows for our donation to our international philanthropy to increase significantly.
In addition to these Fraternity-wide SOA! events, our collegiate and alumnae chapters host local SOA! events that also
contribute to AOII’s overall mission to Strike Out Arthritis! This year, the Fraternity’s goal is to host fundraising events
with all 30 individual MLB teams in our ongoing effort to secure an AOII/Major League Baseball
partnership. This will become a reality with the help, support and attendance from each of our
collegiate and alumnae members. We hope to see you at the ballpark!

To find an AOII sponsored MLB event near you, please visit 6
www.alphaomicronpi.org/soa-with-aoii-and-mlb

or contact Alex LeForge at [email protected].

NPC Information

5 Things to know about your College Panhellenic at
the start of the new academic year:

1. Values-based recruitment is about improving the experience of the potential new member during your primary
recruitment period. Instead of lamenting that the new policy calls for the elimination of skits, let’s focus on how AOII’s
can make better, stronger, and deeper connections with potential new members during recruitment. In research NPC
conducted regarding recruitment practices, very, very few potential new members listed a chapter’s skit as one of the
reasons why they joined their chapter to begin with; most couldn’t even remember what the skit was about. What potential
new members do remember is the connections they make with the chapter during those hectic, crazy days. That feeling of
connection and belonging has nothing to do with songs, dances, or dialogue that doesn’t reflect our values or membership
experience. If we are in the relationship business then connections need to be made beyond inside jokes and catchy lyrics
set to popular music. Use the time to get to know your PNMs and share some laughs. Show them what the true AOII
experience would be like by speaking from your heart, genuinely, about your experience and what it has meant to you. Stop
worrying about how the elimination of skits adds to the other long-standing NPC policies regarding uniform dress, the
elimination of gifts for PNMs, and not involving men in recruitment activities. Give your PNMs a real reason to join AOII.
Questions about how to implement Values Based Recruitment should be directed to your Network Specialist–Recruitment
and your NPC delegation liaison.
2. Review, as a chapter, the Manual of Information (MOI) before recruitment. Honestly, a review of the MOI should be
something your chapter leadership does after they take office. It’s not just for recruitment. However, the MOI has a wealth
of resources and helpful information that help to inform practices throughout recruitment. The current version that your
chapter and Panhellenic should be using is the 20th edition. It contains such wonderful information and guidance for
things like the role of alumnae during recruitment (pages 117-119), when chapter members can be in contact with PNMs
(pages 118-119), definitions for things such as strict silence (pages 96-97) and more. It’s also important to review your
Panhellenic recruitment rules that you voted to support to see what guidance is given. If your local rules conflict with NPC
rules it is important to notify your NPC delegation liaison, especially if you are cited for a recruitment infraction before
attending your mediation session. Equally important, send your recruitment rules the moment they are distributed in
Panhellenic to your NPC delegation liaison so that they can review them. Which leads into #3…
3. No College Panhellenic is perfect. There, we said it. The delegation knows that it can be difficult to work with your
college Panhellenic and fraternity/sorority advisor when your AOII advisors and NPC delegation liaison are telling you
they’re not following NPC protocol. It can lead to some awkward and difficult situations. The worst thing you could
do is choose to ignore what is going on or not keep the lines of communication open. The earlier you can tell your
NPC delegation liaison what is going on the better. Advanced lead time allows us more opportunities to try and engage
our NPC partners and fraternity/sorority advisors as appropriate. What can you do on the local level? Talk with your
Panhellenic leadership. Help educate them on the Manual of Information. Build relationships with the other Panhellenic
chapters on your campus before there is an issue so you can better work together when things seem to be going off the
rails. Seek out coalitions amongst other chapters and Panhellenic leaders prior to a vote or big discussion in Panhellenic to
speak with one voice on shared concerns. Living in a democratic society means we don’t always get what we want or what
the policies say we should be doing, but we are at our best when we engage all partners across the board (AOII, NPC, and
campus) to try and identify the best way forward.

7

4. Total should now be set twice on your campus regardless of whether your primary recruitment period is in the fall
or the spring. Resetting total twice a year allows for chapters to have the best chance of achieving parity and creates a more
level playing field headed into your primary recruitment period. Your Panhellenic should have established a standard in
your bylaws regarding the reset of total that addresses both the fall and spring semesters. NPC revised its guidance on
which standard to use in October 2015. NPC now advises campuses to automatically reset to median chapter
size, unless you are on a campus with 3 or fewer chapters, at which point you should reset to largest chapter
size. Once this standard is established in your bylaws there is no need to vote on total. It should be a simple announcement
made at Panhellenic. Let your NPC delegation member liaison know if you have questions!
5. Panhellenic should not be holding votes on extension, rules, bylaws, or any other major change over break periods
when the chapter is not meeting. Some Panhellenics have not fully addressed issues during the regular academic year
and continue the work through the summer or winter break months. Simply stated, if you and the other chapters cannot
convene to discuss the business put forth by Panhellenic in a formal chapter meeting then you should not be voting on it.
Panhellenic business is not meant to be done over email or social media. If your Panhellenic is attempting to hold a vote
over break please notify your NPC delegation liaison immediately.
As the 2016-17 academic year begins it can be easy to quickly get caught up in the back-to-school mode. Please engage
your NPC delegation liaison early and often so that we can do our best to assist you. Take it upon yourself to be familiar
with the NPC Manual of Information so that you are prepared to lead on your campus! Good luck!

Did you know that all AOII merchandise must be
purchased through an official, licensed Greek vendor?

The Greek Licensed Product seal is an indicator that companies are an approved
vendor by our partner Affinity Consultants. In collaboration with Affinity, AOII
is committed to raise awareness for our protected trademarks. Affinity has
launched the Official Shopper Program to help protect AOII's trademark and
ensure all products are being purchased through licensed vendors. It's easy to

participate and be rewarded for doing so! Chapters and members
can turn in receipts from any Greek-related purchases from
licensed vendors and earn merchandise credit for future purchases.
The more receipts you submit, the more merchandise credit you
can collect!

For more information visit:
https://greeklicensing.com/official-shopper-program or email
[email protected].

IRS Tax Form 990 Reminder 8
In order to maintain tax-exempt status, all non-profit organizations, like AOII, are required by
the U.S. Government to file annual tax returns using IRS Tax Form 990. This form will be filed
on your chapter’s behalf, but in order for us to do this, we are asking that you please fill out the
worksheet that has been sent to each chapter, and email it to Tom Swafford
([email protected]) and Andrea Theobald ([email protected])
by Thursday, September 15th. Please note, this means your chapter does not need to submit
the Form 990 to the IRS directly.