To my 10,000+ fellow Zetes who receive our monthly UpZete newsletters: Happy Holidays and best wishes for a very successful year in 2007! If you are like me, you enjoy the busy month of December with year-end gatherings of friends and family, and a lot of warm feelings centered around the holidays. It is also a month to offer thanks to those who make an organization like Zeta Psi a great experience for all who feel what I do: blessed by the many benefits that a fulfilling fraternity experience like ours can and does offer.

There are many Zetes reading this message that have a profound impact on the success of Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America: The First International Fraternity! Many of you have spent time working to make your own chapter as good as it can be on its campus. Many of you have offered your financial support to your local chapter, the Zeta Psi Annual Fund, or (hopefully) both. Some of you expend countless hours serving Zeta Psi as chapter alumni board members and/or as members of the International Fraternity Boards. To all who participate in the success of Zeta Psi, please accept my sincere gratitude at the end of this year.

To say that 2006 saw a huge transition in Zeta Psi’s operations would be an understatement. We saw a complete turnover of the Zeta Psi senior staff at our International Headquarters; there were a number of changes at the International Board including new officers in every position; we returned to a more traditional fee structure at the chapter level; and we committed ourselves to a significantly higher level of service and communications with the Active Chapters and our Elder membership. We are a better and stronger organization as a result, and I express my gratitude to all those who helped so much in what has been a challenging, but ultimately highly successful, year for Zeta Psi.

To follow up my message of last month, I wish to appeal to many of you who, like myself, choose to make charitable gifts at year end to benefit causes, some of which you have supported for many years. In the case of Zeta Psi, gifts to the Educational Foundation are tax deductible, so making an online contribution before the end of this month is a good time to make your Zeta Psi Annual Fund gift. Please CLICK HERE to make a secure gift through PayPal. If you’ve already made, or are planning to make, a donation online or in response to an earlier mailing, let me thank you again now for your continued & generous support of Zeta Psi!

Zeta Psi looks towards its 160th anniversary celebration on June 1st in the New Year ahead with a supremely optimistic view to the future. Our organization is strong on both sides of the US- Canadian border, the IHQ staff is strong and dedicated to servicing our more than 25,000 living members, and I and my fellow Zeta Psi Board leaders are committed to improving the stature of our great Fraternity for many more generations of Active Zetes yet to come. I hope you will join us in that journey in 2007 and beyond.

Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season in Tau Kappa Phi, Gregory E. McElroy, Phi Alpha CXXXI

2006 has come to a close - a year that saw a lot of change – both for me and for Zeta Psi. I began the year as your volunteer Phi Alpha and am ending it as your Executive Director. We have a new set of officers and a new staff from one year ago. We’ve also adjusted our focus to visiting chapters, engaging Elders, and streamlining processes.

This fall the staff visited 35 chapters and 3 colonies in the U.S. and, with the help of our able volunteers in Canada, 7 chapters in Canada. We’ve implemented the new chapter fee and initiation fee structures, introduced Zetebook, and are set to introduce our online pledge registration process. And most notably, we’ve begun forming Regional Alumni Clubs (RACs) across North America with events in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, and New Orleans.

On January 20, Zeta Psi hosts a very special occasion as we grant a Charter to the Beta Sigma Chapter at the University of Georgia. We’ll also host an Atlanta alumni event on the 19th to coincide with the Mid-Winter meetings of the Fraternity and Foundation boards.

2007 looks to be a great year for our fraternity. Along with the UGA group we’ll install two other chapters as well as see past chapters at Bloomsburg and Wisconsin come back on the rolls. Our Alpha Beta Chapter is up and running once again - congratulations to all of you! And, if things fall into place, we’ll make efforts to once again emerge on the campuses of Stanford, Cal-Davis, and Texas. Our goal is to have 50 viable, steady, active chapters by the 2008 convention in Montreal.

From all of us on staff at Zeta Psi, we wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season and all the best for an Outstanding 2007!!!

Jan. 19-20: Zeta Psi Mid-Winter Board Meeting in Atlanta

• Board Meetings will be held Friday 1/19/07 - Saturday 1/20/07
• FRIDAY, 1/19 - Atlanta Local Alumni Reception
• SATURDAY, 1/20 - Chartering Banquet for the Beta Sigma Chapter at the University of Georgia

SPRING LTI CONFERENCES

• Saturday, 02/10/07 - Canadian LTI at Theta Xi/Univ. of Toronto
• Saturday, 02/17/07 - Kirby Foundation LTI at Tau/Lafayette College
• Saturday, 03/24/07 - Midwestern LTI at Nu/Case Western Reserve Univ.

Upcoming Regional Alumni Club Events
We've had a great year with Alumni events in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington DC - and we're looking forward to more events in more cities the coming year! stay tuned to the UpZete for upcoming events throughout the US & Canada!

Since beginning my term on staff in mid-September my stint has been extremely intense in terms of travel. A quick glance at my travel log puts me at over 20 of our chapters from coast to coast and the poor car has the odometer to prove it.

I have genuinely enjoyed every day on the road; meeting, strategizing, and socializing with actives and elders alike. And I thank you all for making my visits as welcoming and entertaining as possible.

Organizationally, I have enjoyed the success that Zeta Psi has been experiencing through increased chapter development, international commitment, and communication. I am trying to stay firmly down to earth with my evaluation but, even so, the potential for growth seems to be only limited by the goals we put forth. I am very excited to see what will progress in 2007.

While I may not be certain on the future of either myself or Zeta Psi, I can say that thus far, the direction for both has been extremely encouraging and positive. I hope that success is to be had in all regards and would like to thank everyone; my bothers, elders, coworkers, and family for the support you have given and your trust in the future. Y’all will never know how much I appreciate your trust, although, I will always try to tell you. However, I think a better way will be in action over the next year as I hope to continue the growth, development, and positive direction Zeta Psi is taking.

Like I said earlier, at this point we are only limited by our goals. So let’s set them high and see where we top out. I look forward to seeing y’all soon!

2006 has been a great year for the Alpha Beta Chapter at the University of Minnesota. We rejuvenated our Elder Chapter, now The Alpha Beta Elder Society, and restarted our undergraduate chapter with 5 young men that have very bright futures. After the restart of both organizations we’re at a new stage in our rebirth: continuing to build! If any of you have gone through this or about to go through this, you’ll be able to relate to this new and exciting challenge.

My name is Chad West and I presided over the restart initiative. There was a ton of work to do from finding old by-laws and reinstating them to actually finding young talented men. I think the biggest challenge was planning the whole restart initiative. We weren’t very sure how many pledges we’d get at a certain event so it was hard to communicate to other elders on what we needed from them and when. Thankfully, there was a group of us that could react quickly to a newly found rush. I felt like I was running a guerilla operation: using any method to meet people and get the word out, giving spontaneous presentations on our mission to restart, setting up a rush event three days in advance, etc. We didn’t have the presence of our house on fraternity row or the marketing arm of IFC so we knew we had to be nibble. Through this strategy we got the job done on time. Restarting Alpha Beta has honestly been the most rewarding accomplishment of my whole life, and I highly encourage all you to help out when you can in an effort such as this. If you’re an elder just stopping by during a rush meeting to briefly tell young men how Zeta Psi has benefited you helps immensely. If you’re an undergraduate, tell another student how much you’ve learned at Zeta Psi so far.

After our “guerilla” restart, the elder chapter’s next task is to become more streamlined and calculated. We now know what works; we’ve established traditions, and created a buzz with the undergraduate chapter restart Now we need more hands to bring us to the next level. To help in doing so the elder chapter had one of the best recruiting tools available to us. That would be (drum roll please) elections! With elections we were forced to find those brothers who have been mulling over ideas for improvement with the energy to carry them out. After some discussion and a little bit of asking around, we found the right successors to our elder organization. Now we have a generation of officers and chairmen who’ve “been there” and some new blood to continue the move upward.

We just had the elections, but let me tell you, it’s been just great! I know that my brothers are going to take what we built and run with it. We’re going to have a strategic meeting on January 10th where we’ll go through all the planning and goal setting for both the undergraduate and elder organizations. I can’t wait! I know that the person succeeding me, Brother Nathan Kegel, will improve upon what I accomplished. I think that should be an individual goal for all of us.

Zeta Psi's Wall Street Scholars Program is seeking additional intern placement opportunities for Summer 2007 in NYC. The WSS Program provides companies with a top notch undergraduate intern who has been pre-screened to meet the company's requirements and, through the generosity of Zeta Psi donors, is provided at no cost to the host company.

WSS interns are the best of the best from our top- tier schools. These exceptional candidates are held accountable not just to our host companies but to the WSS Program and donors through a strict reporting requirement of their work - we make sure they are not just doing their jobs but are outperforming any other intern. The WSS also provides a broad extra-curricular training program that makes our interns far more valuable than a plain- vanilla intern.

If you have questions or might be able to assist with placing a summer intern at an NYC host company please contact Doug Donaldson, Greg McElroy or Dan Backer soon.

• Doug- 860-645-7419 or dpdonaldson@cox .net
• Greg- 845-735-3278 or Mcelroy174@aol.c om
• Dan- 202-210-5431 or dbacker@zetapsi.o rg

There have been lot's of changes within Washington Scholars as they approach the new year and new opportunities. Brian Phillips [Texas/Iota Alpha ‘02] has finished a VERY SUCCESSFUL 2-year term as Chairman and will be relieved this month by Andy O'Brien [Maryland/Phi Epsilon ‘01], who has been serving as Vice Chairman. Darren Littell [Washington/Phi Lambda ‘06] is taking on the daily operations and management of Washington Scholars as it's first Executive Director.

The logistics & liaison involved are now well-along for the Winter/Spring 2007 Class [Feb. - April]. Still room for a couple of seniors graduating early. Also NOW is the time to begin to work your application and plans for Summer Internships, since those fill up rapidly.

we have a GREAT new opportunity for our Canadian Brothers at the Canadian Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC, working with both the U. S. & Canadian Govts. this Spring & Summer. Also, Lots of Congressional opportunities opening up with the recent elections and two new Spring & Fall positions for WS at the Heritage Foundation.

So - any ?'s or interest, NOW is the time to contact Darren Littell !

For those seeking information on the Debutante Cotillion and the National Deb Ball held in Washington, DC each November or the DUB BALL in June, CLICK HERE to visit the info hosted by Past Phi Alpha James J. Carey.

Be aware that Zeta Psi and the Washington Scholars are now well-involved and well-placed within the National Debutante Cotillion organization and structure in Washington, DC, with special thanks to Brothers Jason Murphy & Mark Williams for their mature leadership and dedicated commitment to making that happen for both Zeta Psi and the Washington Scholars. Zeta Psi owes these two young leaders a debt of gratitude for "making this happen" within this prestigious organization of Washington, DC's finest families and national capitol dignataries.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS GREAT 'ZETE' BENEFIT! Zeta Psi brothers benefit from the counsel of older men – those who have succeeded in life and their chosen fields, and want to help their younger brothers do the same. As students and young alumni, you’re constantly learning about the world and what you want to do in it, and having the opportunity to talk to a professional in a field you’re interested in can offer you tremendous insights – what you need to know and do, and whether it’s the right field for you! Zeta Psi’s online Career Mentor’s list helps you do that. Alumni in various fields have agreed to take your calls and emails with questions about their fields. Take advantage of this incredible resource!