Preliminary Assessment: Convention Attendees Offer Mostly Praise, a Little Constructive Criticism

After the Society gavel had been passed from outgoing Phi Kappa Phi President Robert B. Rogow to incoming President William A. Bloodworth, Jr., at dinner last Saturday, it was time for chapter delegates, chapter officers, board members past and present, and others who attended the 2010-12 Phi Kappa Phi Convention, “Traditions & Transitions: Responding to a World of Change,” in Kansas City, Mo., to reflect on the proceedings.

Fuller reactions will emerge in the coming weeks and months as surveys are returned. Initial responses, gathered informally right after Saturday’s closing ceremonial dinner, were by and large appreciative and otherwise positive.

Here are excerpts from random takes, arranged in the chronological order that members were interviewed:

Found beneficial: “I got recharged and developed a new level of enthusiasm as a chapter officer. ... I talked with other folks at chapters to see what we have in common and where we were different. … The highlight for me without a doubt was the student awardees (who had won Phi Kappa Phi grants and who spoke at last Friday’s dinner); they’re the epitome of what Phi Kappa Phi is all about.”

Constructive criticism: “We were stuck here at the airport hotel. We were not close enough to downtown to be able to explore a great American city.”

— Richard L. Ford, Weber State University chapter president

Found beneficial: “I’m a new initiate. It was so exciting to work with people across the country. I had no idea how impressive the Society is. … I came here to learn how to bring my chapter out of hibernation. I’m excited to get back to campus and get to work.”

— Danae Davis, student vice president at the University of New Mexico chapter, and a senior chemistry major

Found beneficial: “I’m most excited about the new student involvement on the Board of Directors. It’ll give a new perspective. … I also like what President Bloodworth said about including members on the board who aren’t affiliated with the academy.”

Constructive criticism: More help on getting chapters involved in events beyond initiations and on otherwise harnessing volunteers.

— Peggy Rosson, University of the Pacific chapter secretary

Found beneficial: “I learned more about the inner workings of the Society. … I picked up ideas to try to activate my chapter more.” She also enjoyed meeting with chapters close by perhaps to partner up with.

Constructive criticism: “We will never build ourselves up by tearing ourselves down. Several times we spent too much time talking about other folks. The emphasis should be on us, a lot more on us.”

— Stacy Jones, coordinator of chapter initiation ceremonies at University of Alabama

Found beneficial: “I liked all of the training I went to with Partnering For Success. I liked the sharing of ideas to increase visibility,” for instance, physically handing invitations to initiates in front of classmates.

Constructive criticism: Hold the convention earlier in the summer because many attendees are academics needing to prepare for fall classes

— Carolyn Maidon, Campbell University chapter president

Found beneficial: How to get students involved.

Constructive criticism: No Phi Kappa Phi merchandise available to buy.

— Kathryn Cava, student vice president at the Campbell University chapter and a senior education major

Found beneficial: “It was inspiring to hear what awards recipients are doing.”

— Robin Straka, Elon University chapter president

Found beneficial: “I’m very new to Phi Kappa Phi and my role in this chapter. The convention gave me ideas about how to grow the chapter, induct honorary members and incorporate international students.”

— Mikhelle Taylor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University vice president-elect

Found beneficial: “Partnering For Success was very helpful, particularly in sharing chapter success stories,” such as teaming with undergraduate research conferences to help advance the cause and holding initiations in the fall as opposed to the spring to be able to host more activities for student members.

Constructive criticism: More interactive events, especially before the excursion “because I didn’t know anyone.”

— Lisa Root, Bowling Green University chapter treasurer

Found beneficial: “The idea sharing. The importance of social networking. And we have not adopted student officers yet (at University of Tennessee-Knoxville) but after seeing their input and openness, we need to move on this at a chapter level.”

— John B. Riley, past president of the chapters at University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Kansas State University

The 2010-12 Board of Directors for The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

Diane G. Smathers is President-Elect of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

“I look forward to honoring the traditions and leading the transitions of the Society as we continue to make heroes out of scholars,” she said minutes after election results were made public last Friday.

Her quote alludes to the 2010-12 biennium theme, Traditions & Transitions: Responding to a World of Change.

Voting took place on Friday morning, Aug. 6. Nearly 150 people (137 delegates and 2007-10 board members) cast votes in the elections.

Smathers, Associate Vice Provost and Director of the Emeritus College at Clemson University, had been serving as Society Vice President. She has been a Phi Kappa Phi member since 1980.

“I’m eager to work with Diane, with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working on the board the past three years,” said Society President William A. Bloodworth, Jr. “She’s committed to the Society and diligent in all the work she does.”

“And she’s a good poet,” added Bloodworth, an English professor by training, referencing the verses Smathers traditionally composes that summarize Society board meetings.

Past President Paul J. Ferlazzo, who headed the nominating committee, announced the results a bit earlier than originally scheduled: at the end of last Friday morning’s governance session, after the 2010-12 budget and bylaws changes were approved with little discussion from delegates. The original intent was to announce results at the end of a festive lunch celebrating the 2010-12 Phi Kappa Phi Scholar, electrical engineer Sarah Rajala (Mississippi State University), and the 2010-12 Phi Kappa Phi Artist, classical pianist David Northington (University of Tennessee-Knoxville). Things got moved up after a call from the floor requested election results, and outgoing President Robert B. Rogow turned to Ferlazzo, his board colleague, accordingly.

Here is the 2010-12 Board of Directors of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi:

• William A. Bloodworth, Jr. (Augusta State University), President
• Diane G. Smathers (Clemson University), President-Elect
• Robert B. Rogow (Eastern Kentucky University), Past President
• Curtis D. Black (University of Toledo), Vice President for Finance
• William J. McKinney (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), Vice President for Fellowships and Awards
• H. Ray Sylvester (University of the Pacific), Vice President for Marketing and Member Benefits
• Timothy L. Hulsey (Virginia Commonwealth University), Vice President for Chapter Relations
• Yaw A. Asamoah (Indiana University of Pennsylvania), Vice President at Large
• Judy A. Highfill (University of Missouri-St. Louis), Vice President at Large
• Jeff Harrison (Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville), Vice President for Students, a junior business administration major
• Rodney Hughes (Pennsylvania State University), Vice President, for Students, a second-year doctoral student in higher education
• Perry A. Snyder, Society Executive Director

Convention delegates also voted on members to represent their respective regions on the Society’s Chapter Relations Committee. The five regional representatives who will comprise the committee are:
• Michael F. Bassman (East Carolina University), Southeast Region
• Christopher J. Frost (San Diego State University), Western Region
• Rick Shale (Youngstown State University), North Central Region
• David J. Silva (University of Texas at Arlington), South Central Region
• Timothy L. Hulsey (Virginia Commonwealth University), Northeast Region*
*Hulsey was selected by his peers on the Chapter Relations Committee to serve as the Vice President for Chapter Relations on the Society Board of Directors.

Tuk-Tuks, Preparatory Academies, Weather Reports, Risk-taking, and Sheep Sex--Or, What Was on the Menu with Dinner with Phi Kappa Phi Award Recipients

Though the dinner on Friday, Aug. 6, was delicious – barbecue chicken, turkey and brisket, and cherry and apple cobbler – attendees at the gala ate up the most the speeches by Phi Kappa Phi awards recipients. The well-dressed crowd laughed heartily, wiped away tears and applauded enthusiastically.

Here’s why:

• Brianna Randall, a junior marketing major at University of Georgia, charmed the rapt audience with anecdotes about and video clips from her recent trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, partially funded by a Phi Kappa Phi 2010 Study Abroad Grant.

She learned how to haggle with vendors with whom she didn’t share a common verbal language, so that meant pursing lips and raising eyebrows. Randall discovered that children who lived on floating villages kept boa constrictors for household pets; a 4-year-old boy, who knew little English other than the term “double dare,” helped her overcome a fear of snakes. And she jostled as if on a tiny roller coaster when transported on a three-wheeled “tuk-tuk,” a golf cart-type of mini bus pulled by a motorcycle.

• Darris Means, who runs the college-preparatory Elon Academy for talented but undeserved 10th-12th graders in Alamance County, N.C., reported to impressed listeners how his 2010 Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Grant underwrote a Book Jam to help students develop a love of reading.

The year-round institute, which will receive another Literacy Grant for 2011 for its collaboration with Elon University and its chapter, seems to be working. It combines three intensive four-week residential experiences at Elon University for high schoolers with financial need and/or no family history of higher education. One hundred percent of the first graduating class of 22 headed off to college.

• Oluseun Idowu declared to captivated attendees that his 2009 Love of Learning Award for educational pursuits “gave me the confidence of being able to compete with peers in the U.S.”

And compete, he does, Idowu explained. The husband, father of four and Nigerian weathercaster is pursuing an interdisciplinary doctorate in geosciences and mathematics at his chapter campus, University of Missouri-Kansas City. He applied his Love of Learning Award to attend a meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Washington, D.C. Idowu, whose research involves, among other topics, the impact of aerosol on the climate, said some of his numerous additional awards partly came about because Phi Kappa Phi “carries a lot of weight.”

• Rebecca Wettemann, a Fellowship recipient in 1995, and vice president of research and cofounder of Boston-based Nucleus Research, a software market analysis firm, urged people to take risks. The payoff is worth it, she declared.

She should know. Before Wettemann and team were around, there was no equivalent to Consumer Reports in the software industry, she explained. Now, there is. In fact, Nucleus Research is so trusted in investigative and financial analysis of technology that a few years ago Wettemann was billed as the most hated woman in the field, she revealed with a smile. Take risks like she did, Wettemann insisted, whether you’re 20 or 80. That’s how professional innovations occur, not to mention personal satisfactions.

• Taralyn Tan, who has just started a doctoral program in neuroscience at Harvard, provided spice for the regalement by proclaiming her interest in the “repertoire of reproductive behaviors in nature.” She can pursue her investigations further as one of three inaugural winners of a $15,000 Marcus L. Urann Fellowship this year.

Tan, whose chapter affiliation is Oregon State University, confessed that she has “sex on the brain.” What she meant: looking into the molecular events that prompt procreative activities. Pheromones play a part, she pointed out. What plays a part in her ongoing education is the Fellowship, she said, thanking the Society “for seeing potential in me.” Some of that potential? Understanding homosexual sheep. But that was a subject best left for after-dinner tete-a-tetes, she said.

What Do Delegates Want to Hear from Candidates?

To win positions on the board of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, candidates must motivate members, energize chapters, promote the mission, and otherwise support the Society, Convention delegates said on Friday afternoon. Polls will open for the 132 voters (121 delegates and 11 board members) at 7 a.m. CT on Saturday in Kansas City, M.O.

Candidates should suggest ways to “target involvement from faculty as well as students to increase activity,” said Mary Cooper, chapter president at Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne. “Involvement in the community is important too” because members may not realize the good they could be doing, she added.

Mohamed Samir Hefzy, University of Toledo chapter president, said almost the same thing. He wanted candidates to identify strategies to “increase more involvement from students and faculty.”

Those who offer creative solutions for doing this might get the vote of Michelle Gerdes, chapter treasurer at the United States Military Academy, she said, especially candidates “who are motivated and excited to lead.”

Malinda Sloan, chapter secretary at Colorado State University, echoed these thoughts. She called membership in Phi Kappa “a full circle” from initiates to members to supporters to donors. “How to embrace that?”

One focus for Anita Welch, chapter president-elect at North Dakota State University, is getting would-be members interested in the Society at a chapter and national level. “How do we make Phi Kappa Phi meaningful for students to join in the first place,” she wondered, “with all the competition out there with other honor societies?”

The question Ronald L. Wirtz, University of Nebraska at Kearney chapter president, posed for candidates concerned getting the word out about Phi Kappa Phi. “How are we going to promote growth of the organization?” he asked. “I’m hearing from other chapters in our small group (Partnering For Success) meetings that there is some apathy on students’ parts to join. We have to do a better job at marketing.”

Julia Lusk, chapter secretary at Clemson University, also considered promotion the No. 1 topic for candidates. “It’s hard for us to get the word out for potential student members,” she said. “They think it’s a scam. And we’re not as well known as Phi Beta Kappa.”

Cheria Vonique Dial, chapter vice president at The Ohio State University, seconded outgoing Society President Robert Rogow’s point from his “State of the Society” speech on Friday that while it’s commendable that Phi Kappa Phi distributes more money annually – $700,000 – than any other organization of its kind, bestowing $1 million annually in grants “would be great.”

Fiscal responsibility is also important for her to hear about from candidates. The Society has weathered the financial storm of the past few years well, she said, and Dial is looking for leaders who demonstrate similar sound fiscal policy.

“My interest,” said J. Sunita Peacock, Slippery Rock University chapter president, “is in reviving chapters because I’m in one of those chapters needing to be revived. That’s why I’m here.”

“The State of the Society”: Good Shape, Important Challenges

“The State of the Society,” the final official speech by outgoing Society President Robert Rogow, contained positive results and important mandates.

He addressed more than 200 people who had gathered in Kansas City, M.O., on Friday, Aug. 6: Convention delegates, chapter officers, current and past board members, headquarters staff, guests, and more. Rogow devoted much of his speech to summarizing how the Society has fulfilled most of the five goals related to the 2007-10 triennium theme, Connecting Communities: Students, Scholars and Society:

Increase awareness of the Society’s awards programs
Rogow described recent promotional efforts, outreach opportunities and new fellowships. He challenged the Society, which awards more money each year – $700,000 – than any similar organization, to increase its annual grants to $1 million.

Monitor and strengthen chapters
Society headquarters hired a third Chapter Relations director, enhanced communication with chapters, created a chapter recognition program, and allocated travel funds for training workshops for chapter officers. He challenged Phi Kappa Phi to continue strengthening chapters, particularly since some wither away, become inactive and have charters withdrawn, since some schools seem more interested in research than in honor societies, and since discipline-specific honor societies pose a threat to Phi Kappa Phi.

Increase enrollment of new members
The Society launched a public relations campaign, upgraded the Phi Kappa Phi Web site, expanded online enrollment, and revamped the Phi Kappa Phi Forum quarterly magazine partly to attract new members. Rogow challenged the Society to increase the percentage of eligible students who become members.

Retain more active members
The Society increased the retention rate of active members by more than 1,600 during 2009-10. Social networking opportunities, a Mentor Match program, various renewal option rates, the creation of a Council of Students that is involved in Phi Kappa Phi governance, and the revamping of the Phi Kappa Phi Forum quarterly magazine may account for this. He challenged the Society to gain new members.

Enhance the Society’s name recognition
A “Great Minds Think Alike” advertising campaign debuted in numerous forms, from print to electronic media to beyond (for instance, merchandise). One challenge, Rogow said, is to capitalize on this push by continuing it and related efforts.

Rogow felt proud of the strides made during his presidency and confident that new leadership would continue to carry the torch and make the Society shine all the brighter as the 2010-12 biennium theme unfolds, Traditions & Transitions: Responding to a World of Change.

R.O.C.K in the Phi Kappa Phi Convention – Society Honored to Meet John Mellencamp

Just a “Lonely Ol’ Night” at the 2010 Convention? Not when John Mellencamp, famous for that pop tune, checks into the same hotel as The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

For anyone who might think venerable Phi Kappa Phi isn’t cool, “Check It Out,” as one of the rocker’s song titles puts it. Mellencamp came to town with his wife and father to root for his 16-year-old son Hud in the 10th annual Ringside World Championships amateur boxing competition at the KCI EXPO Center, Maria Davis, the Society’s National Marketing Development Manager, found out when meeting the proud papa and family on Thursday night. Of course Phi Kappa Phi, now instant fans, hopes it “Hurts So Good” for the young slugger, in the 138-pound weight class, to borrow from another of Mellencamp’s hits.

Phi Kappa Phi headquarters staff doesn’t include “Jack & Diane,” perhaps the entertainer’s biggest smash. But Database Administrator Tammy Gates confirmed that John Mellencamp is, in fact, his name, even though early in his career he went by Johnny Cougar, among other appellations. Gates sleuthed this out by holding the elevator for Mellencamp when it was about to close, after realizing who was approaching and realizing she was about to have a celebrity encounter. Carting some dinner, he wound up missing his floor while Gates chatted with him for a bit.

“Minutes to Memories,” as Mellencamp sings in another number, applies not only to Davis and Gates but also to San Jose State delegate Gus Lease, who spent some leisurely time with Mellencamp in the concierge lounge on Thursday night. Lease filled Mellencamp in about entertaining American troops in the Orient and Europe in the mid 1960s with his variety show. When asked for reactions about rotating in a star’s orbit, Lease couldn’t offer any trivia or dish, however. Turns out that he had no idea who the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member was.

Mellencamp cancelled a gig with Bob Dylan in Kansas City to root for his boy, news outlets report.

Partnering For Success, Potpourri

Random reactions to the Partnering For Success meetings on Thursday, Aug. 5:

1) Money talks.

Some attendees smiled and a few were audibly thrilled (“Wow!”; “Impressive!”; “Gasp!”) about the exponential growth in applications for the 80 $500 Love of Learning Grants that the Society awards annually for post-baccalaureate and professional development. In 2007, about 280 entries. This year, more than 1,200. Phi Kappa Phi distributes $700,000 in grants each year in one category or another.

2) You can never go wrong with sweet snacks.

Attendees munched on – no, gobbled up – decadent brownies and chewy chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter cookies on breaks. By 4:30 p.m., all were gone.

3) Welcome to the World Wide Web, 2.0

The upgraded Web site earned plaudits for being user-friendly and helpful.

4) Certified smart! Certified smart?

Various people weighed in on the new Great Minds Think Alike advertising campaign. Most liked the initiative, and some campuses have personalized the promotion for their given school. One constructive criticism was that the first three words – Great Minds Think – did the job but that the last word – Alike – should be crossed out.

5) Where’s my Phi Kappa Phi merchandise?

A number of people were disappointed that there was no Phi Kappa Phi gear on sale at the Convention (because historically, the amount of money brought in didn’t offset the expenses involved). Time-sensitive coupons for free shipping for purchases by attendees were distributed, however. Suggestions for new merchandise included Convention tee-shirts, Phi Kappa Phi flip-flops and women’s dress scarves.

Delegates Call Partnering For Success a Hit

Take these developments with a grain of salt, perhaps. Or maybe, if you must, call this blog entry a conflict of interest. But even though this reporting comes from a staff member of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and even though participants in the Partnering for Success workshops are members of the august family, preliminary results indicate that the sessions are a resounding success.

Convention delegates and chapter officers informally surveyed during a break in the afternoon meeting on Thursday, Aug. 5, raved about how instructive, helpful, and upbeat Partnering For Success was.

“We’re revitalizing our chapter,” said delegate Rebecca Lynne Kiely, treasurer at Rochester Institute of Technology, “and I really appreciate the wealth of information available to get students involved.” Emphasize networking opportunities, she gave as an example.

Delegate Emilie Anne Kudela, treasurer of the State University of New York-Cortland chapter, discovered other proactive ways of attracting potential initiates. Reach out to stellar freshmen about Phi Kappa Phi, for instance, and invite outstanding underclassmen to listen to speakers brought in by the chapter. Also, explore collaborations with student government associations, she learned, not only to entice new members but also to raise more funds.

Delegate Christine James, president of the Valdosta State University chapter, pointed to the many corporate partnerships as incentives. An even shrewder business decision was to move initiation ceremonies earlier. Previously, they had been held in April and graduation took place just a month later. “It’s better to induct initiates in the fall,” she realized as a result of Partnering For Success, because students remain on campus for many months afterwards.

Chapter Officers Look Forward to Partnering for Success

By lunchtime on Thursday, Aug. 5, roughly 90 of 130 chapter officers had arrived to Kansas City, M.O., and registered for this afternoon’s Partnering For Success workshops, the first in a series of two such gatherings prior to the 2010 Convention. It’s anticipated that more delegates will arrive throughout the day and pop into the group meetings, with the remainder making it for Friday’s morning session.

Headquarters staff, led by the Society’s chapter relations department, will facilitate discussions about how to increase acceptance rates of those invited to join Phi Kappa Phi, about ways to raise student involvement on the campus level, and about what constitutes a healthy chapter. Additional presentations span the numerous awards programs the Society offers, the importance of customized invitations, the ins and outs of online enrollment, and the best practices of chapters.

“I’m looking forward to picking up lots of ideas about how to get faculty and staff and students engaged,” said Convention delegate Marveta Ryan-Sams, president of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania chapter, an hour or so before Partnering for Success was to begin. She also wanted suggestions on viable fundraisers and service opportunities to keep a chapter flush and motivated.

“I’d like ideas to involve more faculty participants and to generate activities for student members,” echoed delegate Gary Greer, University of Houston-Downtown chapter president, who ate a boxed lunch next to Ryan-Sams at a small table in the hotel lobby. “Once they join, they ask, ‘What can I do?’”

One student who probably could answer that question was delegate Rodney Hughes, a second-year doctoral student in higher education at Pennsylvania State University and one of 10 student vice presidents on the Society’s new Council of Students. He interrupted his lunchtime to mention that he was concentrating on “making connections with institutions whose characteristics are similar to ours,” that is, finding common ground between, in his case, large schools and chapters and proliferating tactics and pooling troubleshooting accordingly.

Delegate Eileen Prouty Patton, president-elect of the University of Maryland Baltimore Campuses chapter, was focused on the basics: more new members and more participation by members for a chapter that had been installed on May 6. She added, “As a new chapter, we’re really interested in promoting the campus more and making the receptions more memorable.”

Staff Arrives in Kansas City, Mo.

Most of the 13 headquarters staff attending the 2010 Convention arrived in Kansas City, Mo., on various late morning or early afternoon flights on Wednesday. What did they do once they got there?

Began to organize and unpack upwards of 40 boxes of supplies that had been shipped from Society headquarters in Baton Rouge, among other things.

And bragged that a big digital sign at the Kansas City airport welcomed Phi Kappa Phi to town.

After a quick check-in to their hotel rooms and lunch for some at the hotel restaurant, staffers took a tour of the maze that the Kansas City Airport Marriott turns out to be: Meetings and meals and other gatherings will take place on multiple floors in numerous rooms that aren’t necessarily connected. Particularly special events, like grand dinners, will occur in a massive, outdoor, air-conditioned, enclosed tent on the hotel grounds overlooking a lake.

Most staffers wound up in one of two workrooms the hotel had assigned to Phi Kappa Phi. One of them contained the many boxes. Despite itemized lists explaining what was in what box, some things got shipped afterwards last-minute, and so it took awhile to find the “banner hanging kit.” It took even longer to negotiate with the hotel administration where the Society would be allowed to hang its 15’ x 4’ welcome banner.

Some staffers wound up putting lists of people attending the Convention into folders that attendees will receive. Others perforated and alphabetized nametags for attendees, then affixed various signifying ribbons and other markings to them. Pop rock from the early 1980s, heard from a colleague’s iPod, helped set an upbeat atmosphere for a bit.

Posters were unpacked. Requests for more easels for the posters were made. Projectors were tested. Binders were sorted for Partnering for Success meetings for chapter officers meeting prior to the Convention. Chapter Relations Officers coordinated who will go to what roundtable breakfast. Wi-Fi was located for Internet hookup for computers.

All this, and more, before a late dinner with some board members in a hotel banquet hall.

The 2010 Convention “By the Numbers”

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi’s 2010 Convention, Traditions & Transitions: Responding to a World of Change, involves 13 staff members, 138 chapter delegates, 206 hotel rooms, and 1,400 ordered meals.

Those aren’t the only numbers for the gathering that will take place Friday and Saturday at the Kansas City Airport Marriott, Kansas City, Mo.

In addition, from a technological standpoint, six computers, five projectors, and one printer will make their way from Society headquarters in Baton Rouge, La., to the Convention. So will 150 Partnering for Success binders for chapter officers attending training sessions preceding the Convention and 300 Phi Kappa Phi tote bags, created especially for the occasion, for all. Staffers shipped such materials in 40 boxes, the most and biggest 20” x 20” x 20”, using four industrial-sized rolls of packing tape to do so.

Here are other numbers that make up the Convention:

• 1 welcome banner, 4’ x 15’
• 7 former board members attending
• 13 walkie-talkies
• 18 dozen cookies and brownies and 20 gallons of coffee for breaks
• 25 non-delegates attending
• 26 miles, the shortest distance a chapter delegate is traveling (from University of Missouri-Kansas City)
• 28 bottles of wine for Saturday’s wine-and-cheese social/reception
• 120 buffalo chicken eggrolls, 200 meatballs, and 250 petite sandwiches for Friday’s “meet the candidates” reception
• 8,237 miles, the longest distance a chapter delegate is traveling (from University of the Philippines)
• 25,000-plus sheets of paper photocopied for Convention-related materials