In August, the National Council approved several grant requests to the Alpha Sigma Tau Foundation that are critical to the educational programming offered by the Sorority to its members.  In addition to submitting grant requests to the Foundation for the 2013 Project Impact Service Immersion trip and the Four Year Member Development Program, the Sorority submitted a request to fulfill the gift by the Foundation of the Education Connection classroom at Headquarters.  This room, which Convention attendees were able to tour, is a state-of-the-art meeting and training space which can be used for numerous purposes.  The National Council and guests met August 16-19 and used the technology in the classroom to communicate with the Sorority’s financial advisors, record a video message to the membership, and facilitate discussion and training.  The Council was joined by Beth McOsker, National Panhellenic Conference and Kris Haskin, National Foundation 2nd Vice President for the meeting.  Alli Miller, the first undergraduate member of the National Council, was enthusiastically welcomed to her first National Council meeting!  The National Officers participated in an “Ask the National Officers” question and answer session hosted by Kris Haskin with questions from members that came in on Facebook, Twitter and by email.  To view the video and learn more about the National Officers, visit Meet the National Council and NPC Delegate

The National Council meeting participants discussed three primary areas of focus over the course of the weekend:

- Ensuring adequate financial resources and setting membership engagement goals

- Ensuring that the Sorority’s new leadership structure is in place according to the business of the 2010 and 2012 National Conventions

- Reviewing the status of the Sorority’s membership development programs such as the 4 year program and service immersion project

The Council, guests and headquarters staff met with Patricia Wachtel, president and CEO of Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis, for an interactive discussion about the work of Girls, Inc. and their mission, “Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.”  Ms. Wachtel engaged the group in conversation about the importance of giving young women opportunities to develop leadership, social, and professional skills.  She also covered topics such as volunteer recruitment and maintenance, curriculum development, and non-profit management.  For more information about Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis, visit www.girlsincindy.org.  Erin Fischer, Director of Training Services for the Leadership Institute: Women With Purpose, worked with the Council and guests to practice communications tactics and to discuss relationship building and how to apply these skills as leaders of Alpha Sigma Tau.  For more information about the Leadership Institute, visit http://theleadershipinstitute-wwp.org.

What’s next for the National Council?  The National Council is looking forward to attending chapter installations this fall and spring 2013 at Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Southern Indiana, respectively, seeing our exceptional sisterhood grow through recruitment activities across the United States, and celebrating Founder’s Day.