Tidings of Music and Joy! (DLC/SED Information)

Hello Southeast District of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma,

The 2013-2014 Joint SED Council is pleased to officially invite you to the two largest SED events of the year- the District Leadership Conference and SED Convention!

The 2014 DLC will be held in Chapel Hill, NC at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill on February 8, 2014. You can find information regarding area hotels, dining, maps, and registration on their website here (seddlc2014.webs.com).

In Chapel Hill this year, the fraternity will be breaking down chapter functions to establish effective and accomplished practices throughout the Southeast District. Each hour, brothers will have the opportunity to learn from not only district officers, but also chapter officers from around the SED.

At the same time, Tau Beta Sigma has chosen to enlarge the basics of DLC to include information for membership candidates, recent initiates, chapter officers, and everyone else! For the Sisters, the day will be broken into 4 the facets of our new TBS SED Mission Statement: Music, Leadership, Service, and Sisterhood. During each of the 4 blocks, attendees will be able to learn and experience the bond in new and different ways than ever before!

Attendance typically runs smaller at DLC than at SED Convention, allowing the workshops and activities a more personal touch. The 2014 DLC will have a lot to offer everyone- from membership candidates to chapter presidents (and everyone in between)! I hope you will join us on February 8, 2014 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill! And here’s the best part- THERE IS NO CHARGE TO ATTEND!!! Just register and show up!

Go ahead and mark your calendars for the 2014 SED Convention! It will be held in Atlanta, GA at the Georgia Institute of Technology- March 21-23, 2014. Details to come soon!

Both of the SED Councils, as well as both host chapters, have been hard at work to get their respective websites up and running as soon as possible. The schedule for both events will be available to you, as soon as they are completed (which hopefully will be very shortly).

So, for your travel and planning purposes, IT IS TIME! Take a look at the DLC website now, start planning your trip, and we will see you in Chapel Hill on February 8, 2014. The complete information regarding the 2014 SED will be out soon and we hope to see you in Atlanta on March 21-23, 2014.

If you have any questions regarding either event, please feel free to contact a member of your district council or either host chapter.

MLITB,

Belinda Baker
SED President
Tau Beta Sigma

Kyle Sullivan
SED President
Kappa Kappa Psi

Greetings from the Treasury…

Hello SED,

I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season, and are ready to enjoy ringing in a new year. I have a few things I want to make sure everyone is aware of, as they are rather exciting!

First off:
Did you know that your chapter is eligible for two awards by shear generosity of donation!? That’s right! Your chapter can earn the SHELLS Full Participation Certificate by donating just $1.00 per active member in your chapter to the Rainy Day Fund. The amount of active members that will determine your participation status will be however many are reported in the online system at the beginning of SED. Also, your chapter is eligible for the SHELLS Full Participation Award, and you need to be the chapter that donates to most money to the Rainy Day fund. The form to use for these donations can be accessed by clicking here.

Second:
Speaking of the Rainy Day Fund, this is just a reminder that it is accessible to chapters who are in need of financial assistance. Just fill out the form here, attach all other necessary documents outlined, and send it to me. Everything you need should be there, but just in case you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.

Third:
I am proud to remind you about the recent announcement (in the last SHELLS) of the SED Logo Competition. This is a new venture we are trying out to get more diversity in the SED Store. We want to see more than just t-shirts, but we also want you to be the designer! The form, with all necessary information, can be found here.

Fourth:
Don’t forget about the SED Merchandise Page for all the TBS SED gear we have to offer. Make sure to stock up before DLC and SED Convention!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and have a great new year. Safe travels to all, and good luck to those of you in the bowls!

SHELLS, Winter

Greetings SED,

The recent edition of SHELLS, from the your TBS SED Council was sent out to the SED Chapter Presidents earlier this week. However, we wanted to get it into as many inboxes as possible! SOOOO, without further ado, here is the TBS SED Council’s Publication – SHELLS, Winter Edition.

I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas (Or Happy Holidays, if you are not a Christmas celebrator)!

A round of applause is due…

Southeast District of Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi,

Thank you.

No really, thank you. From the district officers, to you, we applaud every late night, every early morning, and every sweat stained t-shirt in service to the college bands here in the SED and beyond. This school year so far, we have seen an enormous amount of effort from chapters of BOTH organizations to turn in paperwork on time, to contact and bond with chapters and ITB around you, and lastly, and most importantly, to serve your bands to the best of your ability.

We are thankful.

We are proud.

And we are the SED- Strength, Excellence, Diversity.

We could not possibly recognize all the accomplishments of every single chapter in the SED- there are too many. However, we do want to spotlight 3 individual chapters who have gone above and beyond, and continue daily to work for the SED.

This year’s Eighth Note host, began working immediately after being awarded the bid. You will be getting information from them soon concerning the BRAND NEW “rolling submission” process for Eighth Note articles, as well as an updated Eighth Note look! Please join us in congratulating and thanking the Alpha Omega chapter of Tau Beta Sigma and the Gamma Nu chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi from THE Florida State University for hosting the 2013-2014 SED Eighth Note publication!

The next chapter and event we would like to proudly announce is the 2014 SED District Leadership Conference. We had an INCREDIBLE amount of interest in hosting this event this year, and after much discussion, the Joint Council has selected the Iota Lambda chapter of Tau Beta Sigma and the Mu Eta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi from the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill! We are excited to announce the 2014 SED DLC will be hosted in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on February 8, 2014. Please add this event to your calendars for it is one you certainly will not want to miss!

Last, but certainly not least, we cannot thank the next chapter enough for their continued work on the biggest project the Southeast District has… Southeast District Convention. The brothers and sisters of the Iota chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and the Epsilon Theta chapter of Tau Beta Sigma have been diligently working since the 2013 SED Convention to make this year’s convention the best yet! Without their hard work and expertise of the Atlanta area, the 2014 SED would be nothing. However, since they have put in spectacular work so far, we would like to again announce the 2014 SED Convention will be held in Atlanta, GA from March 21-23, 2014.

Again, thank you for all of your hard work this fall, for your individual chapters and schools, and also for the betterment of the two national organizations. If you are ever in any need of assistance, we are always reachable at the below email addresses.

MLITB, always!

Belinda Baker
Tau Beta Sigma
Southeast District President
sedpres@tbsigma.org

Kyle Sullivan
Kappa Kappa Psi
Southeast District President
sedpresident@kkpsi.org

Service in Music Month!!

Greetings SED!

It’s time to get ready because Service in Music Month is right around the corner!!!

Every year, the Southeast District participates in Service in Music Month during the month of October.

How it works:

The 4 weeks of the month are divided into 4 service categories that fall under one related theme. If your chapter chooses to participate, you would do 1 service project each week, under that respective category. At the end of the month, have your VPSP or Service Chair log how many or which service events you participated in and send it to me.

This is a great way for Tau Beta Sigma to raise music awareness and interest in your community! This is also a great way to get our name out there!

This year’s SiMM Theme is “Serving All Ages

———————————————————————————————————————————–
Week 1 (September 30th-October 6th): Musically Influence Children
Connect with a pre-school or an elementary program and do something to get children interested in music.

Here are some ideas:

  • Do an instrument petting zoo.
  • Hold a concert.
  • Do homemade instrument building project (read my SHELLS article for suggestions).
  • Help your local Girl Scouts earn a music related badge.

————————————————————-
Week 2 (October 7th-13th):Keep Teens Musical
This week, move up to middle school or high school age youths and keep them interested in music!

Here are some ideas:

– Go to a Middle School and:

  • Help the band program raise money.
  • Clean their band room.
  • Volunteer to help the band at a performance.

OR
-Go to a High School and:

  • Help recruit middle school band students to high school band programs/marching band.
  • Volunteer at a marching competition or a high school football game.
  • Help the high school band program fund raise.

————————————————————-
Week 3 (October 14th-20th): Support Your Peers
Other young adults are working just as hard as you, show them we are here to support them!

Here are some ideas:

  • Do a musical service event for your band program or the whole music department.
  • Consider supporting a different school (not your own) or even work with a neighboring chapter of TBS!
  • Partner with a chapter of TBS, KKY, or any of the other musical organizations to raise money or complete a service event.
  • Clean your band facility.

————————————————————-
Week 4 (October 21st-27th): Give Back to Your Elders
It’s time to show your elders how much you appreciate them!

Here are some ideas:

  • Stuff music folders for your local community band.
  • Host an event for your own band’s alumni.
  • Visit a nursing home or assisted living facility and perform a musicale.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

This guide is not set in stone, you can deviate from the above model, so be creative! Participation is not mandatory but if you do want to participate, please fill out our SiMM log. You can find that document HERE. Log each project that you do onto the document and email it back to me: sedvpsp@tbsigma.org in an attachment by Monday, November 4th!! You do not have to complete a service project every week to receive recognition, so please send a log if you participated!

The council will review all of the logs, looking for membership participation, creativity, and musical impact. All chapters who participate in the 2013 Service in Music Month Movement will receive recognition at SED Convention in March! However, the chapter who best serves ALL THE AGES will be given an award at convention!

Any Questions, need help thinking up a project, or just want to chat??
Email me! sedvpsp@tbsigma.org

Did You Know????

As we begin looking for potential candidates for membership in Tau Beta Sigma, we always need to be aware of one of the reasons our chapters get suspended and shut down… that dreadful ‘h’ word.

Keep up with the conversation this week and really think about what your chapter does and how it educates its members.

Here are some ways to get involved:
1. Join the Facebook group- “Take a Stand for Tau Beta Sigma.” Founded by Kathy Godwin, past National President and current Board of Trustee, this group is a hotbed of conversation, not just about hazing, but instead about Tau Beta Sigma’s image. We always remember, “it is an honor to be selected to serve.” But that spans beyond just our work with the organization. This group has posts concerning social media abuse, drinking, etc. I highly encourage viewing and joining this group!!! https://www.facebook.com/groups/18218985852/

2. Use the hash tag #4Gr8rAwareness this week on your social media to join the conversation that Tau Beta Sigma is starting. How can we get involved in hazing prevention week and show the world how sororities and fraternities, especially our own, are working to end hazing!

3. Kathy Godwin asks the following from all of us, get involved and participate!!!
“I’m asking that everyone think of doing at least ONE of the following next week:
a) participate in a Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Facebook, etc. discussion or post once, next week.
b) Discuss hazing with your chapter and membership candidates. The easiest way we can start to work on this is to openly talk about it
c) Discuss/watch any of the videos or posts with your chapter and share it with all of us!
d) Ask your student affairs office or club office or whomever on campus if there are some workshops they offer on risk management or hazing (some of you may already know). Find out the cost and availability. Let them know that you’re doing it as part of Hazing Prevention week
e) Find one “tradition” you have in your membership education program OR in your band. I want you to audit that tradition. What in the WORLD am I talking about? Every chapter has traditions…some really are MANY years old and some are surprisingly new. I’d like you to look at one of them and consider everything about it: Why does it exist? What’s the purpose? Does it fit with the Tau Beta Sigma purposes? Would you be willing to explain all the details to your director, someone’s parents, the president of the university, to me, to a lawyer? I’m not trying to find your problems…to me a big part of this is education and understanding. SOOO…take a look. If this is what you want to do and you want a walk through, hang on. I’ll post more later.
f) Take pics and videos of activities for your band and chapter that DO promote our ideals and are what we should be posting on social media to help promote Tau Beta Sigma. Post them and tag them with our hashtag of #4gr8rAwareness. IF you are AT ALL concerned that it’s not the right image, ask!!! This could be a service project. It could be talking to your membership candidates about hazing or service. Think through it…if I asked you to submit pics so we could show a director or school how amazing TBS is, that’s what you should be doing.”

If you ever have any questions or doubts about the image your chapter or any individual may be releasing, let’s talk about it. If you have any questions or want more information about Hazing Prevention Week, feel free to contact any member of your SED Council for more information! Let’s get ready and Take a Stand for Tau Beta Sigma!!!

Introducing National Council Office Hours

Hey SED:

Below is an e-mail that Amy Bovin Dauphinais via the Listserv. If you’re not a member of the SED Listserv, I’ve put the e-mail below for you to check out. : )


Greetings Tau Beta Sigma!!

Need advice on something? Have any questions needing answers? Or simply want to get to know the sorority better? Members of the National Council will be holding office hours at various times throughout the months! During these times, sorority members will have the chance to interact with the council members one-on-one through various means of social media and technology (faceboook, twitter, gmail chat, etc.) I will post times that each council member will be holding their office hours so be on the look out for these times!

In addition, our monthly student chats will also be held for you to interact with other sisters throughout the nation! Next one is Thursday Sept 19th at 8PM EST. In order to be a part of these chats you need to be a member of the Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/114095288697778/ so be sure to click the link so that you can join in on the fun!

Hope all is well with everyone!
MLITB,
Amy

5 Reminders on the 4TH Day of the Week. : )

Greetings Sisters of the Southeast District!

I hope your school year/football/marching band season is off to a spectacular start! I wanted to take a few minutes on this lovely Wednesday to remind you of a few things that are upcoming…

#1- Eighth Note bids are due to myself (sedpres@tbsigma.org) and Kyle Sullivan(sedpresident@kkpsi.org) on September 20th! See previous email, Facebook, or either organization’s website for further guidelines and details!

#2- Chapter Personnel Reports and National Dues are due to National Headquarters via the Online Membership & Reporting System (report) and via mail (dues) on September 30th! If you have any questions, please see me or any other council member. Please remember, any report submitted is not counted as “on time” unless approved by both your Sponsor and Director of Bands by the aforementioned deadline (September 30th)!!!

#3- Service in Music Month occurs every year during the month of October. Your SED VPSP (Shannon Matthews) will be releasing the details of the month shortly, however, start looking at your calendars and brainstorming different service projects you can accomplish for your band, music department, university, and community! As a service organization, we should take pride in the month of October, as it is based fundamentally around one of the Tau Beta Sigma pillars.

#4- DLC bids are due to myself (sedpres@tbsigma.org) and Kyle (sedpresident@kkpsi.org) on October 4th. See previous email, Facebook, or either organization’s website for further guidelines and details!

#5– The details and information regarding the 2013-2014 Concerto Competition have been sent out, posted on our website, as well as posted on the SED Facebook groups. Please support this project by advertising in your music department as well as in your chapters! Applicants do NOT have to be members of Tau Beta Sigma or Kappa Kappa Psi to apply, nor will membership boost the possibility of winning. Please contact Shannon Matthews (sedvpsp@tbsigma.org) with any questions you may have!

That’s all I have for today. I hope you are as excited about this year as I am— for I KNOW the Southeast District is going to SHOW UP AND SHOW OUT!

If you ever need anything, my phone is always on (334-663-0979) and my email inbox (sedpres@tbsigma.org) is always open… and I like Facebook 🙂

Have a great day!

PSA: Active Membership Requirements — PLEASE READ.

Greetings SED members,

Tonight, I am going to be the bearer of bad news and warnings…

As we started this year, it has come to my attention that several Southeast District chapters have been committing a serious TBS crime.

The National Constitution of Tau Beta Sigma has certain rules and requirements for active membership, and they must be followed.

The requirements for active membership are as follows:
1. You must be a college or university student.
2. You must be enrolled and actively participating in the band 

3. You must pay current active membership dues for the year ($85, due Sept 30)

So, looking at the second requirement, you must be enrolled and actively participating in the band. If you are a member of Tau Beta Sigma, to be an active member, you must be enrolled in a band course, every semester you are active.

However, in the event a member of the Sorority is unable to enroll and actively participate in band, the person may continue as an active member for the academic term provided chapter members and sponsor so desire. This action and exception must be approved by the National President, Nicole Sanchez.

I am going to type it again, please understand it is not because I do not think you are capable of understanding, just that if you and your chapter are found to be making your own exceptions, you can and will be suspended!

If you are an active member in Tau Beta Sigma, you must be enrolled in a band course. ANY exceptions must go through the National President, Nicole Sanchez.

This includes color guard, dance line, majorettes, ALL active members of TBS. Your options if not enrolled in a band class include: getting permission from National President (Nicole Sanchez), going conditional for the semester (keeping in mind the conditional requirements in the National Constitution), or going inactive.

We do NOT want to see an influx of members becoming conditional or inactive, however the rules of the National Tau Beta Sigma organization apply to every member and every chapter. If you are an active member, you MUST be enrolled in a band. Updates concerning procedures for being granted an exception are coming soon, so stay tuned.

If you have any further questions, DO NOT HESITATE to contact a district council member or a national council member with questions. We want to help any chapter this applies to sort through this and get on track with all national requirements for membership.

MLITB <3
Happy Labor Day!