Foundation Focus Winter 2025
January 9, 2025108th National Convention Proposed Constitutional Amendments
April 8, 2025
For the third consecutive year, over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, over one-hundred-fifty Brothers gathered for the 2025 Winter Conclave. The purpose of the Winter Conclave is to educate the new Chapter or Colony officers on their duties and responsibilities. This year, the Fraternity held virtual sessions on Thursday, January 16 for chaplains, treasurers, and public relations chairs. Then Chapter presidents, vice presidents, recruitment chairs, and risk management officers gathered in person in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from Friday, January 17 to Sunday, January 19. The topics covered included mental health, communicating with Graduate Brothers and Chapters, recruitment, retention, effectively organizing committees, marketing and social media management, and avoiding burnout.
During the Conclave, Brothers were highly encouraged to donate canned goods and non-perishables to the local South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP) Food Pantry. At the conclusion of the event, the staff delivered the fifty-five pounds of gathered goods and donated them.
On Thursday, Chaplains treasurers, and public relations chairs all received opening words from members of the National Council before separating into their individual sessions. Chaplains learned vital skills to market BetterMynd and how to better facilitate mental health support for fellow Brothers. Treasurers learned proper budgeting techniques, cash flow processes, and had candid conversations on the costs of operations in today’s economics. Finally, public relations chairs learned how to increase their post engagement, follower / following ratio, and how to handle crisis management.
On Saturday, the educational sessions began with opening words from National president Joshua Brodsky (Mu Chi Phi, 1993) and Educational Foundation president Michael Giardinelli (Lambda Chi Phi, 2007). Joshua discussed the importance of accountability of undergraduate leaders as Brothers may not understand that their actions do have ripple effects for the greater Chapter and community. Michael gave a refresher on how Chapters, Colonies and individuals can benefit from the Educational Foundation.
The in-person component of the Winter Conclave had four specific tracks for Chapter / Colony presidents, vice presidents, recruitment chairs, and risk management officers. Risk management officers were certified via the American Red Cross in general First Aid, CPR, AED, and NARCAN. Overall feedback on the Conclave was positive. Many Brothers appreciated the ability to connect with fellow officers and learn from each other. Some specific feedback from Chapter officers included, “The session on organizational change was the most effective for me as it gave real, relatable examples of Chapter issues and how to improve those issues through a comprehensive plan.” Another said, “The session on pre-close/closing was very informative as this is an area of recruitment that is often overlooked by my Chapter in terms of how important / effective it is.”
Many of our Brothers enjoyed the curriculum and networking opportunities of the Winter Conclave and left Gettysburg ready for the spring semester. The National staff and Council would like to thank Brothers Alexander Lydell (Theta Chi Phi, 2022), Emmanuele DeCicco (Phi Mu Chi, 2022), Matthew Dapiran (Theta Chi Phi, 2022), Steven Lydell (Theta Chi Phi, 2024), and Chance Foster (Phi Mu Chi, 2025) for their help in facilitating at the Winter Conclave. The National Council and Educational Foundation Board of Trustees are very thankful to all who attended and their aptitude for learning best practices to take back to their Chapters.