Major Ideas presented in Alumni Relations

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One of the most important aspects of the second edition of CLE is a more in depth look at key positions within your chapter. The first postion I go into is the role of Alumni Chair. This in my opinion is one of the most important positions for a chapter. Your Alumni Relations chair is supposed to be the gate keeper between the chapter and the Alumni, and the different alumni groups. In the first phase of Alumni Relations I present a handful of key ideas, and a the start of a foundation that will be later built upon.  The key focus of it is all about how to make an alumni needed and respected. This is the most important thing a chapter can do. In Committed this is accomplished in ways such as communication and a decent homecoming. Do not stretch yourself to thin during this stage, and always plan for the future. This section is not one that can properly be done in one semesters time, nor can it be done adequately by yourself, you need to bring other people into help you. Also a a large part of this phase is dedicated to becoming friends with your local Alumni Association.

Lastly this portion starts to explore the internet and all of the different social networks such as facebook and Google. Utilizing these social platforms will make your life as an Alumni Relations chair that much easier. 

After the Jump is the introduction to the Alumni Committed To Lives of Excellence.  

"As I mentioned earlier on Alumni are the third part of the Holy Trinity of Greek Life. Alumni play a huge role in a solid chapter. Most chapters have a large alumni base, you might not have great connections yet, but in the following pages I will give you tips on how to fix this. 

The best chapters I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with all have one thing in common active alumni. No matter the letter, fraternity or sorority the best chapters always have strong alumni. These chapters have active alumni because of three very important things; solid communication, a strong alumni advisory team/council/network and  a variety of alumni programing. The most fundamental and most important part of any good relationship, Greek or otherwise, is good clear communication; this is the same with the relationship between your chapter and your alumni. If you do not have good communication with your alumni, and other alumni in the area, you will not be able to adequately complete the other two aspects of alumni relations. When you do not have solid communication with your alumni, your chapter misses out on many great opportunities to improve your chapter. At the most basic level better communication leads to more money for your chapter to improve with. Some of the less tangible benefits of alumni communication are a sense of purpose, a broader perspective on what the fraternity really is, and a solid group of guys to bounce new ideas off of. 

Good communication leads to more active alumni. Having a strong alumni presence is in my opinion the number one thing that makes an alpha chapter an alpha chapter.  I will go more in depth about how to create a strong alumni team later on. Having alumni around and involved in your chapter for more then just the three days of homecoming will make the alumni feel needed, respected, and that they are still part of their chapter, despite the fact they are no longer undergraduates. By satisfying the basic needs of an alumni, they in turn will help your chapter in many ways. Always remember the golden rule,  treat alumni how you wish to be treated, because one day very soon you will be on their side of the fence.

The final aspect of Alumni relations the alpha chapters have are a diverse collection of alumni targeted events. You can not focus all of your energy on Homecoming, while like I said before this is a very important weekend, it only comes once a year, and alumni are around all year. The best plan for alumni events should be at least one of varied size every three months. These can range from a weekend craziness such as Homecoming, to something as low key as an alumni workday at your house. Other ideas that have been thrown around are a wine night at a local restaurant, open to all alumni, not just those from your chapter, or a golf tournament in the spring, and a night out on the town in a central city where you have a large group of alumni. If you have a strong team of alumni you can give most of this responsibility over to them, this way you as a chapter can focus on other things, like some Homecoming events, and improving your Alumni newsletter. 

So how does this fit into the overall Committed to Lives of Excellence Plan? In many ways. Being committed to lives of excellence does not end with graduation, nor does being a Delt. If your chapter is struggling maybe it is time to reach out for help, from older more mature versions of your active brothers. If the alumni are invested into your chapter then they will fight to keep it going, and in turn do what they can to help you as much as they can. Let’s look at the Committed to Lives of Excellence Plan with alumni in mind, and what your Alumni Relations chair needs to be doing during the three stages. "

Thank you for reading, I look forward to your comments and feedback!

j.