It's going be a great 2016!

Wow!  The new year is off to a big start and promises to be exciting!  Did you know that Society Headquarters will be open longer each day?  We have staggered our work times to allow for extended hours in the early morning and late afternoon:  You can reach us by phone now between 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. every day.  We look forward to hearing from you soon!

The new website is also coming within a few days:  after a little more testing this week, we hope to launch the new site around the middle of January.  Some member benefits will only be available after log in (remember to use your member ID as your username and the default password - ask your chapter president to share the Presidents' Page info with you!).  However, the main parts of the website will be public and will not require a log in. Remember, online registration for convention will require a log in.

With these changes and other
exciting happenings, 2016 promises to be the best ever!

Keeping in Touch

My husband and I travelled a little last week to places we had not visited in a
while. It felt good to reconnect with old friends and make new ones in the process.

As we survey dropped members, we are finding that approximately two-thirds found the DKG membership experience to be satisfactory and would consider reinstatement in the future.  So, take some time during the holidays to reach out to former members in your chapter.  Ask them to join you at the holiday social event or even at a meeting.  Or just chat on the phone or enjoy a cup of coffee together.  Reconnecting can lead to reinstating!

For more ideas, check out the blog on the membership committee page at www.dkg.org or look for more in the Making Members Matter column in each issue of the DKG News.

(For the full dropped member survey report, contact me at nitas@dkg.org) 

Coming up: The Future!

A group of young members met recently at DKG Headquarters in Austin, TX, to focus on DKG and the future.  Out of that group grew DKGnext! Even the name makes me stop to think about what may be next for DKG.

I was honored to be included in some of the discussions that took place during that meeting. How inspiring, challenging, exciting, energizing and magnetizing it was to hear them talk about their hopes and concerns for our great Society. As one member wrote in a follow up to the meeting,

We want to create a group of forward thinking members to explore and analyze the best ways we as a Society can recruit, retain, and support our membership. We want to find ways to merge our traditions with new innovative ideas and diverse opinions to create a culture that attracts key women educators.

You can read her thoughtful words at www.dkg.org by clicking on the Rotator item "DKGnext!" (https://www.dkg.org/content/dkgnext-0#node-7749)  I encourage you to check it out - I think you will be inspired, too.  And, after you think about it, post a comment here and tell me what you would hope to be next for DKG!

The Difference One Member Makes

I was honored to visit Iota Upsilon Chapter in Priddy TX yesterday.  I was invited to share with them about the DKG Girl Scout Patch Project. They invited two Girl Scout troop leaders to join us and by the end of the evening, we were all excited about the possibilities.

I am particularly excited about the DKG Girl Scout Patch for two reasons.  One is because a relationship between DKG and the Girl Scouts is so natural... both organizations focus on growing leadership in women and girls. However, it also so exciting for another reason that has nothing to do with the mission of either organization! It is a project that began as one member's vision and has gained momentum with chapters throughout the country.  It truly shows the difference one member can make within an organization.

What will be your contribution to DKG?  How will you make a difference as one member?  Share your vision for DKG and the impact we can have on education, for women, in the world, in your community.

It IS what YOU make it.

 My late mother always said "you get out of something what you put into it." I believe she was right. I just expanded my exercise routine to add a little interest and step up the intensity.  I spent quite a bit of time researching the wide variety of programs available on CD, TV, DVD, at the Gym, in my home or even live streamed from somewhere else I may never go.  If I had spent this much time
exercising, I would be fit again by now!

However, I realized suddenly that the most important factor is ME! I am, quite simply, going to get out of any program about what I put into it.  It is not really as much about the program itself as it is about my commitment to it.

And so, I think, it is with DKG. Are you committed to the Purposes and mission of DKG?  Would you count the women in your chapter as professional peers and friends?  Do you want to impact education worldwide in a positive way?  Do you work alongside dedicated educators who care about the success of their students, whether young or adult?  Then, what are you waiting for?  Ask a fellow educator to join DKG.  Get engaged in whatever way suits you best.  Volunteer for the next project, step up to a leadership role, or  log in to the communities through the DKG website or APP and network globally.

DKG is what you make it - so make it count for you today!

Moving Forward - Together!

If we are not moving forward on our journey in DKG, we will either stay where we are or go backward.  So, perhaps the basic laws of motion will lead us all to agree that we want to move forward in our journey. The question, however, is how?

As a member of DKG, you have a voice - use it as effectively as possible.  Talk to the leaders in your state organization about what you envision for the DKG of tomorrow.  If you are an officer or chair in your state organization, bring those ideas to the international boards. The conversation has already begun, so take part - have a chapter discussion, participate in a poll, or Tweet about it!

Remember, however, your voice speaks loudest when you vote as a member at international conventions. At the 2016 International Convention in Nashville TN,  your state organization president's votes on behalf of the members will elect the next International Administrative Board.  Candidate nominations are due to the International Nominations Committee by October 15, 2015, and can be submitted by any member, even yourself! Recommend a member you feel is qualified to lead DKG forward. Inform your president how you would like her to vote when the slate is published.

And your most effective voice?  The vote you cast when you attend convention in July where the International Standing Rules will be amended. Amendment proposals are due by October 1 and come from any committee, chapter, state organization or member - that's You!  And then be present to vote again in 2018 (in Austin TX ) when the Constitution is amended.

Make your plans to be in Nashville and be heard!

A Tool for All Seasons (And Many Reasons!)

Have you downloaded the new DKG App yet?  If you attended a regional conference this summer, you may have downloaded it for use during the conference.  It provided easy access to the event schedule, session information, maps and more.

However, the DKG App is so much more than just an event app.  It provides you easy access to news, website features, blogs, DKG social media sites, the DKG Store, meeting schedules and many other items of interest.  For fun, use the "postcard" feature and take a selfie or a chapter photo.  Access information about Society projects and view videos.  Use the "My DKG" icon to access your personal profile and information in the DKG database and social communities.

Download the DKG App through the Google Play Store (android smartphones) and the Apple App Store (iPhones, iPads can use the iPhone app).  After all, even though there is so much to see and do now, we will all be heading to Nashville for the 2016 International Convention before we know it!