Delta Kappa Gamma began a new biennium in July with the completion of the international convention. Our new international president, Dr. Jensi Souders, has been working hard to prepare for the upcoming training and orientation session to be held in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has a blog up and soon will lead regional directors and committee chairs in new directions.
I thought it might be informative to share with you, our members, what takes place at the international level for this transition to occur. We met with Jensi in Austin during the first week in August. Our job here at headquarters is to help her with what she needs to have a successful orientation and training meeting in Little Rock. Each staff member has a different role to play as we offer suggestions, advice and answer questions. The international president has a big learning curve in spite of her vast knowledge and experiences within the Society. Jensi came to Austin with lots of notes and ideas. She asked questions about each agenda and the process for the preparations. Each day was long and mind-boggling but when she left Austin, Jensi had agendas almost finalized, materials set in motion and much homework. I have known Jensi for a long time since I am from Tennessee and had the privilege of entertaining her while she was here. Once our work was done, we managed to run a few errands and have a relaxing dinner at Chuy's ( an Austin Tex-Mex tradition).
After Jensi left Austin, we started preparing for Little Rock in addition to daily activities keeping Society business moving forward. My role is centered around information and the production of that information. So we began re-working a document from Jensi's arsenal of ideas. We updated the format and improved its appearance, printed and cut pages to size for a productive activity she plans. Meanwhile, we work on the September/ October News, assist the new Bulletin editor with the fall the edition and develop the next month's home page stories for the Web site as this is changed weekly, minimally. In between all this activity we are preparing the new international directory, beginning the process of formatting the upcoming Constitution, installing software upgrades and answering phone calls and emails. We stay busy here making sure everything runs smoothly.
Next week the four administrators travel to Little Rock for our first full sessions with the new board and committee chairs. For some this will be their first international committee experience while others have been on the board before or worked on a committee. We want everything to be wonderful as we meet at the Peabody Hotel to learn, grow and design the future of the Society together. This will also be a first experience for me in my new role. I know some of the members we will met and some will become new friends. I spoke to Peggy McCall on the phone the other day and this is her first committee adventure. I could hear the excitement in her voice as she said, "I'm so excited about this experience and coming to Austin." Peggy is one of those friends I already know and I too am looking forward to seeing her. Watch the Web site for updates on these experiences. I'm taking pictures so be a web watcher and find someone you know.
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