Lambda Kappa Sigma

February 2017

In This Issue

New Region Supervisor: Stephanie Mrozek

Goal Setting

Bylaws and Policy & Procedures 101

Chapter Files

LKS Trivia

Chapter Birthdays

LKS Trivia

The first 5 collegiates who answer the question correctly will win a prize! (Sorry, you cannot win more than once a year.)

Just email your answer to GVPCollegiates@lks.org.

Here is the question...

LKS has had the most dedicated and distinguished women serve as Grand President. How many sisters have served LKS as Grand President?

Upcoming Dates

February 15, 2017
Deadline for submitting Chapter Reports

March 15, 2017
Hygeia Day Learn More

March 24-27, 2017
APhA Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Come see members of your Grand Council!

April 30, 2017
Deadline for submitting Officer Roster Forms

August 3-5, 2017
LKS Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Mark your calendars! Visit lks.org/Convention17 for all the latest.

Chapter Birthdays

February 21--Alpha Sigma and Beta Beta
March 18--Tau
March 23--Alpha Theta
March 30--Alpha Omicron
April 4--Lambda and Omicron
April 18--Delta and Beta Alpha
April 20--Chi
April 24--Nu
April 25--Alpha Phi
April 27--Alpha Psi
April 28--Alpha Lambda

LKS Contacts

Grand President

Sandy Mullen

Grand VP for Collegiates

Amanda Higgins

Region Supervisors

Northern New England

Eastern Atlantic

Northeastern

Mid-Atlantic

Northern Lakes

Midwestern

Southern

Western

Greetings from your Grand Vice President for Collegiates!

I hope you all had a Happy New Year! The new year always brings about a sense of renewal and change. This is the perfect time of year to start thinking about what you want to improve in your chapter.

Goal setting is an important tool to use to ensure you are setting your chapter up for success! Below we have provided many tools to help you set your goals and achieve them. Take some time to reflect with your sisters and see where you want to take your chapter in the future!

This semester we also want to focus on some housekeeping for chapters. Last biennium, Grand Council did an extensive review of our policies and procedures. Every year at Convention, we also take the time to look at our bylaws for updates. Now, we want chapters to take a look at their own bylaws and policies and procedures. Below you will find resources to help guide you through the process. You should also familiarize yourself with our Fraternity's documents on our website. This can be a daunting process, but we are here to help! Reach out to your Region Supervisor with any questions.

Before you know it, the school year will be coming to an end, and you will have new officers who will be leading you into fall semester. Take some time now to ensure that you have a smooth officer transition by updating your chapter files. Set your sisters up for success so they can pick up right where you left off! (And remember, updated Officer Roster Forms are due by April 30th!)

If you are attending APhA's annual meeting in San Fransisco, come by the LKS booth to see your Grand Council. I'm excited for my first trip to the west coast and to see all of "ewe"!

I hope you all enjoy this edition of LinKS. Please keep in touch!

Fraternally,

Amanda Higgins, PharmD

Grand Vice President for Collegiates

GVPCollegiates@lks.org

Mid-Atlantic Region
Has New Region Supervisor

We are pleased to welcome Stephanie Mrozek as the Region Supervisor for the Mid-Atlantic Region (Epsilon, Pi, Alpha Alpha and Alpha Phi Chapters).

You may recall that Stephanie served as a Region Supervisor during the 2012-2014 Biennium.

We encourage members of the Epsilon, Pi, Alpha Alpha, Alpha Phi Chapters to reach out and welcome Stephanie at stephanie.mrozek@lks.org.

Goal Setting

Goal setting is an important step in growing your chapter. Each chapter should be setting two types of goals:

1. Short-term goals that can be accomplished in the next semester or year
2. Long-term goals that can be accomplished in the next 3-5 years

A good starting point can be to perform a SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It's a tool that can be used to analyze your chapter to figure out where you can improve and what you have control over. Use this template to help guide you in figuring out your goals.

Once you determine your goals, form them into SMART goals! SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (or Realistic) and Time-bound. Use this set of standards to make sure your goals are realistic and achievable. Check out this SMART goals worksheet, and you are sure to be set up for success!

After you have your SMART goals, you need to act upon them. Action plans are a set of tasks to be accomplished in order to achieve your goals. They also help leaders delegate responsibility to others while keeping track of the entire project. Use this template to help put your goals into action!

If you're having trouble setting goals for your chapter, contact your Region Supervisor for some guidance.

Bylaws and Policy & Procedures 101

Where do we start?

Revising your bylaws and policies & procedures can be a daunting task. So let's start at the beginning!

Bylaws establish the structure of an organization. They serve as the framework for conducting meetings and enabling the organization to function efficiently. They identify officers and their duties and also outline membership categories. Bylaws are more rigid than policies and procedures and require time and effort to change. Bylaws require a 2/3 vote from the entire voting body in order to pass.

Policies & procedures define the operations of the organization. They are more detail-oriented, and the process to change them is easier. Policies and procedures may be changed by the voting body or the E-board and only require a majority vote.

Bylaws	Policies & Procedures
Structure of organization	Operations of organization
Overview	Detail-Oriented
Shorter	Longer
Rigid	Adaptable
2/3 vote of the entire voting body	Simple majority of the E-board or voting body
Take precedence	Must be in harmony with bylaws

Take a look at your bylaws to evaluate where your chapter is. Every chapter will be in a different place. Start by asking yourself if you currently follow your bylaws and work from there.

If you need to start from the beginning, use our sample bylaws as a start.

Once you're ready to change your bylaws or policies & procedures, follow Robert's Rules of Order. For more information, check out this handout.

If you need guidance, reach out to your Region Supervisor or the Bylaws Committee.

Chapter Files

Chapter files are an important part of ensuring the success of your chapter. They should include all necessary information to run the chapter in an officer's absence. Each officer or committee head should have a file that contains information pertinent to that position. Chapter files should include (but are not limited to):

Chapter and Fraternity bylaws and policies & procedures
Officer and member rosters
Officer job description and duties
Goals for the upcoming term
Fraternity and chapter calendars
Fraternity and officer-related due dates
Event timelines
Meeting minutes
Information on past events, including how to recreate them and the resources needed

Another useful addition to officer binders is the Event Evaluation Form.This form helps chapters evaluate whether an event was successful or not. By keeping this form in your chapter files, you provide inspiration and feedback to future sisters who are looking to plan events.

One question that gets asked a lot on chapter visits is, "Does this information need to be in a binder or can it be kept by electronic means?" The answer is whatever is best for your chapter! Some chapters find it easier to have a physical binder to pass along to the next officer. Others find it easier to hold all documents on a zip drive or on a website such as DropBox. The main goal is to pass along important information to the next officer who can easily pick up where you left off.