The AFA Executive Board is committed to keeping our membership informed of association progress and to helping you maximize your potential as a servant leader in our association. One manner in which we will facilitate this commitment is informing our volunteers of board progress on a monthly basis. The following is a brief update on some work by our board and the AFA Foundation since the last issue of The AFA Volunteer.

• Dan Bureau, Amy Vojta and Sue Kraft Fussell represented AFA at a meeting coordinated by university and college presidents to discuss the recently unveiled Call for Values Congruence and the development of uniform standards for the fraternal world. Representatives of the four umbrella associations were invited to participate. NASPA Fraternity and Sorority Knowledge Community representatives were also in attendance. At the gathering, the NIC and NPC presented alternatives to the proposed document to best meet the needs of their respective membership. The event yielded exciting conversation on the facilitation of a standards movement, how it would happen, who would be the leaders, and what AFA can do to progress a common vision. Stay tuned for more details as we take the next steps. One thing is sure; when university and college presidents get involved you know that there is a commitment to reform.
• The AFA Foundation met in Chicago prior to MGCA. This was an exciting board meeting to examine progress related to AFA members’ understanding of the role of the Foundation as well as numerous business items. The Foundation continues to make great advancements in its operations and, although barely eight years old, is becoming a premier opportunity for people dedicated to not only AFA but the fraternal movement to give back to their profession.
• Nathan Thomas, Andrea Miller Pound, and Todd Sullivan recently attended the ACPA Mid-Manager’s Institute thanks to grants from the AFA Foundation. Donations to the foundation can be made in restricted gift formats if you would like and you can assist in sending more of our professionals to such important development opportunities (general theme in this update – donate to the foundation J).
• If you were at MGCA, you were hopefully able to participate in the Professional’s Pathway coordinated by Jon Hockman (http://www.dreamdaredo.org/). We hope you enjoyed this professional development opportunity. Jon did amazing work and we are pleased that AFA was an invited partner in this effort.
• Look for a heightened presence of AFA at the regional student conferences this spring. Greg Mason, Vice President for Membership, and the entire team of Regional Directors and Area Coordinators are promoting AFA in various ways at each of the conferences. In addition, the AFA Foundation will also be making itself known – volunteers at NGLA will even be selling Because You Believe stickers. As we seek to recognize our colleagues for their good work, wouldn’t a donation in their name be more meaningful than another pen set (to steal one from Mike McRee)?
• Greg Mason attended parts of the Association for Student Judicial Affairs (http://asja.tamu.edu/) on behalf of the executive board. Conversations with ASJA leadership indicate that there is a possibility for important partnerships between our associations with respect to how we address hazing and also research.
• Are you going to NASPA? Dan Bureau and Stephen Rupprecht, AFA’s NASPA Liaison, will represent AFA at the Fraternity and Sorority Knowledge Community. Stephen is also coordinating a Dutch treat luncheon for any AFA member. If you are attending NASPA, please contact Stephen at rupe@drexel.edu.
• AFA has agreed to serve on the advisory board for an NIF/NASPA research initiative on hazing. This is one more step that we as an association have committed to the area of hazing. Look for more information in the upcoming months on efforts by a workgroup to provide resources, education and other opportunities for AFA to involve its members in aggressively tackling this epidemic.
• We’re still recruiting volunteers! We value our volunteers, but we value volunteers who are committed to their AFA work even more! Unfortunately, we have lost some volunteers due to other time commitments or changes in job status. We have been able to recruit other members with great energy to take their place. Hopefully we will all continue to work with the same vigor and zest that we sought and accepted our appointments.
• We have several workgroups in place. Three workgroups are analyzing potential membership recruitment strategies for Regular, Graduate and Affiliate membership categories. The Annual Meeting workgroup is wrapping up their evaluation of the future as we prepare to hold our Annual Meeting separate from the NIC.
• Our board meeting will be March 14-16 in Indianapolis, IN. We are working diligently to host this meeting while exercising fiduciary responsibility to our membership. Jeffrey Cufaude (http://jeffreycufaude.blogspot.com/) will spend a half-day assisting the board in efforts to think strategically. As you hopefully know, we are in the last year of our five-year strategic plan. Laying the foundation for the next plan is an important priority for our board this year.

OH MY GOSH, we are busy. We are very excited about the progress we are making on board initiatives and we want to thank you for the progress you’re making on your committees, within your regions, and in every role in which that we have a dedicated volunteer. We have some great newsletters coming from our Area Coordinators! We have exciting ideas coming from our conference committee. Our Member Service Committees are hard at work on many projects. All around we’re seeing commitment. Thanks!