Sigma Alpha Iota

PERPETUATING FRATERNITY LIFE EXTENSION continued from page 16 any fledgling interest group will tell you. "The most difficult situation our group has experienced is membership." Wolf said. The group currently has 9 dues paying members and Wolf adds, "The 15 [required members] needed to charter feels so far away." The Raleigh Durham Alumnae Interest Group has been trying to increase membership and meet the other requirements to petition for a charter for the past four years. The chapter has been inactive for close to 20 years. "Membership in SAI is for a lifetime, not just your time in college," continues Wolf. "Active alumnae participation is the key to giving back to the fraternity that has given so much to its members. College only lasts four years which dims in comparison to the years you could spend as an active alumnae member." Many alumnae chapters, especially those that are further removed from collegiate chapters include a healthy number of patroness members in their roster. This facet of SAI allows for more diversity in membership and of course, more room for growth. With any interest group, educating potential members about the benefits of joining SAI can be difficult. "The biggest challenge is that there is always so much to do and people are pulled in all different directions between community choirs, work, kids, church obligations and more," Christy Walker, a patroness member with training, said. She continues to say that if people are not educated on what SAI is, it can make it harder to get them interested in the group. The Raleigh Durham group is involved in multiple fundraisers and holds highly publicized, well received instrument petting zoos in conjunction with the Wake County Public Library System year round. "Our group is small but mighty and dedicated to the cause," boasts Walker. "My college SAI experience was more about the work we did inside the school, not so much the philanthropy work we do now for the general public as an alumnae group," says Raleigh Durham Interest Group President Lindsey Sweetwood. "As an alumnae group we strive to spread music education to the community." Aside from keeping music in your life especially if you have a career in pharmaceuticals like Sweetwood or Special Education like Wolf, an alumnae group is an extremely flexible asset to your hectic schedule and not a hindrance. "As alumnae," explains Sweetwood, "You can 32 PAN PIPES SPRING 2011 sai-national.org Alumanae Fraternity Extension tips 1. If there isn't an SAI chapter in your area, start one! 2. Obtain a copy of the current version of the SAI Alumnae Chapter Extension Guidelines from the NVPEFD, Marcie Richardson. Work closely with her, as she will help you to complete the fraternity extension process in a timely and efficient manner. 3. Contact SAI National Headquarters to obtain a zip code list of SAIs in your local area. Contact other SAIs, and put together a group of at least 15 sisters and patronesses with training 4. While the process for organizing or reactivating an alumnae chapter may be difficult, it is completely worth the effort in the end. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today! be as involved or uninvolved as you would like to be as long as you are still in good standing. In college, it seemed you didn't have a choice because your life revolved around SAI. Now it is more of a portion of your life that you can still benefit from." Wolf elaborates that there are minimal requirements to remain in good standing as an alumna member such as paying national alumnae association dues and local chapter dues and attending one meeting or event per year. Alumnae chapter meetings, in general, are held on a monthly basis and many chapters rotate what day or evening of the week and location to best accommodate everyone's schedule. "It's not the same amount of work involved," comments Walker, "and there's usually food involved!" "No note is needed if you can't attend and all events are voluntary," Wolf added. 'You can choose whether or not to participate. Now if you don't attend a function, a sister may call to ask if you're OK, but that's what sisters do!" While the Raleigh Durham Alumnae Interest Group strives to continue its noble quest to charter, which would make it the only active alumnae group in a state with many active collegiate chapters and the home of our National Headquarters, the sisters constantly remind themselves that despite the frustration in membership fluctuations, the ultimate goal is worth the trials. Sweetwood notes how exciting it would be to be rechartered by the next triennial convention. She was in the first pledge class at Kappa Gamma and hopes to be a founding member in the re-establishment of the Raleigh Durham Alumnae Chapter. Sweetwood has noticed that she is personally close to her alumnae sisters. "They're more like the type [of girls] I would hang out with as friends anyway," she said. "There's more of a balance and understanding ... because [as adults] we're all going through the same challenges with work and life in general." Walker looks forward to SAI alumnae events as an escape from the workweek's doldrums. "It's great to bond with like-minded individuals and to practice your craft through musicales while benefiting the community." The patroness adds, "It's also a great time to get away and not think about work and family obligations, just have a good time." If your instrument has not left its case in the closet for years or you are simply looking for a new friend to share a cup of coffee with, check out your local alumnae chapter. No matter your level of commitment, it is always a pleasure to see a sisterly face. Members of Sigma Alpha Iota who wish to organize or reactivate an alumnae chapter in their community should contact the current National Vice President, Extension and Fraternity Development (NVPEFD), Marcie Richardson, for the most recent version of the Sigma Alpha Iota Alumnae Chapter Extension Guidelines. These guidelines will help the interested members through the process from Pre-Petition through Affiliation and Installation. Alumnae chapter extension is quite different from collegiate chapter extension, so members who have gone through the collegiate chapter extension process may be quite surprised to discover what those differences are. However, don't delay. The hard work is all worth it in the end! Kelly O'Neil Hood was initiated into Theta Kappa at William Paterson University in New Jersey in 1999. Upon graduation she moved to Tennessee where she joined the Nashville Alumnae Chapter. After a time in Florida where she was both active in the Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando Alumnae Chapters, Kelly now resides in North Carolina where she is the vice president of the Raleigh Durham Alumnae Interest Group and is the National SAI Yearbook Directory Chairman.

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