by suzanne mclaren

First on the order of business is to congratulate the wonderful group of people that became Phi Theta Kappans in February! We are proud to welcome you to Beta Beta Psi and cheer you on in your daily pursuit of excellence. Your achievements are applauded as we recognize all that goes into becoming a member; it's not easy to attain the 3.75 and above grade point average, work, and have a family life all at the same time. Your individual stories are as unique as each of you and if you take the time to compare, you'll be amazed at your fellow achievers; the journeys they have made and are making still. Achieving Phi Theta Kappa status is serious business fraught with sacrifice and determination. And it portends great things and boundless futures for those who stay the course.

As so often stated in this column, becoming a member is a superlative achievement. But becoming an involved, participating member is a journey unto itself. Our chapter is involved in many community and global efforts that span saving the environment to aiding the fight against cancer and promoting cancer research; from bringing experts-in-the-field to MATC to lecture on topics of prison reform, the Middle East, and healthcare in the United States to gathering food, clothing, and books for those in our own community who are desperately in need. Phi Theta Kappa is about academic excellence and it's also about the world around all of us. It's about lives becoming richer through giving time, effort, and care.

Becoming active in our Beta Beta Psi chapter also affords opportunities to travel to regional and national conferences on leadership as well as the annual International Convention which this year is being held April 12-14 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Becoming an active member of our chapter is synonymous with assuming a leadership role which is one of the four Hallmarks of Phi Theta Kappa. Beta Beta Psi is in the process of obtaining approval from National to amend our Chapter By-Laws and add a new officer position: VP of Public Relations. But over the past academic year, the officer positions of VP Leadership and VP Fellowship/Scholarship have remained vacant despite repeated effort to persuade members to assume these roles.

Currently, our chapter is focusing ahead; planning the projects for 2007-08: Hospitality House, Olbrich Gardens, YWCA, Salvation Army, Spencer Black, Satellite Series, and "Inconvenient Truth" are among those being considered. And there will be even more officer positions to fill since several of the current officers will be graduating in May. This is not to say that being a participating member means assuming an officer role. Our membership contributes in meaningful and appreciated ways continually without necessarily stepping up to fill vacant officer positions. Rather, we interject an informative statement that these roles have been and will be seeking members who wish to take their participation to the next level. And this is meant to resonate with those of you who may be considering such a step.

Again, congratulations to all our Spring Inductees. Talk to us about becoming involved!