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Friday, August 10, 2012

"We're in Really Good Shape"

“We’re in really good shape,” declared Phi Kappa Phi President William A. Bloodworth, Jr., in his “State of the Society Address” on Friday afternoon to kick off the 2012 Convention.

“In a national economy that’s nothing to brag about,” and “as higher education is increasingly on the defensive,” “we’re in really good shape,” he reiterated to chapter delegates and other chapter personnel, present and past board members, headquarters staff, and guests who gathered at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch for the Society’s 42nd Convention.

Phi Kappa Phi has gained more members, chapters, money, democracy, and awards over the last two years, he continued, and then summarized key developments:

·         Active membership increased from 108,000 in 2010 to 114,000 currently.

·        Five new chapters have been installed, and a sixth is in the offing.
 
·       Society assets grew from $32 million in 2010 to $40 million presently.
 
·       Conventions occur biennially now instead of triennially as in the past to allow for more responsiveness. On a related note of inclusiveness, the board of directors for the first time included students (two) -- in the 2010-12 roster. It also included for the first time vice presidents at large (two) who were elected by active members -- to the 2012-14 lineup . (The board will be comprised of 15 members total; chapter delegates vote for most of them.)
 
·        The fall 2011 edition of Phi Kappa Phi Forum, theme of “9/11,” earned a Grand Award at the 2012 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence; only 100 entries, about three percent of some 3,400 applicants, earned this top prize, including 14 magazines.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to regional meetings for chapter officials, candidate speeches, and governance issues.

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