Walking in Memphis for the District XV Leadership Conference - September 21, 2013

This year the District XV Leadership Conference will be held at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law 1 North Front Street Memphis, Tennessee 38103-2189 on Saturday September 21, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all Conference Attendees and the attire will be Business Casual (no jeans). The District Confernece is MANDATORY for all Chapter Officers from District XV.  Howecer, all PADs are encouraged to attend what will surely be an informative and fraternal weekend regardless of whether you are a member of a Pre-Law, Law, and/or Alumni Chapter and regardless of whether you are from District XV. More information can be found on the Facebook Event Page (https://www.facebook.com/events/589641414419352/?context=create#!/events/589641414419352/) so please check back there periodically as additional details for the District XV Leadership Conference are finalized.

As in years past, the Host Chapter (McKellar Chapter at UofM)will host a Social Event on Friday night and a Post Convention Dinner for Saturday night.  These events are still in the planning stages, but this information will be updated once the details for these events have been finalized.

A PAD with reliable inside information has advised that a trip to Beale Street will be part of the weekend's festivities so this is surely an event you will not want to miss! Please RSVP to District Justice Nicole Grida (nicole.grida@gmail.com) no later than Monday September 16, 2013 if you plan to attend so she can make the appropriate arrangements.  Any other questions should be directed to DJ Grida. 

District XV Leadership Conference - Saturday September 22nd

It's that time again...District Conference.  This year's will be held at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law on Saturday September 22, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all Conference Attendees and the attire will be Business Casual (no jeans). We are also planning a Social Event for Friday night and a Post Convention Dinner for Saturday night so check back here as those details become available.

All Members (law/pre-law/alumni) are welcome and encouraged to attend.  Please RSVP to District Justice Nicole Grida (nicole.grida@gmail.com) no later than Wednesday September 19, 2012 if you plan to attend so she can make the appropriate arrangements.  More information can be found on the Facebook Event Page (http://www.facebook.com/events/329404220488474/)

2012 P.A.D Biennial Convention

Mark your calendars for the 59th Biennial Convention to be held in Scottsdale, Arizona from August 1-5, 2012 at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort. Follow the link above to complete the registration form. Law and Alumni Members who register before May 1, 2012 will receive $50.00 off per attendee!

2011 Award Winners

Sorry for the delay, but I am proud to announce that our Alumni Chapters both received awards at the recent Summer Meeting of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Inc. held in Scottsdale back in July.

The Nashville Area Alumni Chapter won an award for the Most Improved Alumni Chapter. Thanks to Justice James Rose and his entire Executive Board for their hard work in getting the center of the State of Tennessee back on track. For more information on the Nashville Area Alumni Chapter, contact Brother Rose through his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/jamesrosenashville

The Knoxville Area Alumni Chapter won the Best Professional Program by an Alumni Chapter for their yearly event whereby they move the admission of new attorneys to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Click here to see pictures from the event http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.443172685770.241587.603890770

For more information on the Knoxville Area Alumni Chapter, please see their Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/326243335348/

District Conference - October 1, 2011 - Cincinnati

This year's District Conference will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio co-hosted by Chase Chapter at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and Hoffman Chapter at Northern Kentucky University School of Law. Details regarding where the Conference will take place is forthcoming.

The Conference itself will take place on Saturday from approximately 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. An Agenda will be forthcoming. All District XV Chapter Officers are required to attend and all Chapter Members are encouraged to attend. We also welcome any other alumni members (and law student members) who might be in the area. There also will be a Social Event on Friday night and a Post-Conference Dinner on Saturday night.

Please see the Facebook Event and District XV Facebook Group for further information and updates. If you have any questions, please email me at nicole.grida@gmail.com.

District Conference - October 15-17, 2010 in Knoxville

Our 2010 District Conference will be held the weekend of October 16th in Knoxville and will be hosted by McReynolds Chapter at The University of Tennessee College of Law. All officers from each chapter in District XV are required to attend and all chapter members are welcome. A day long meeting will be held on Saturday October 16th and a social event will be held on Friday October 15th and dinner will be planned for Saturday night as well. I have a number of fresh ideas to pass along to all chapters at our upcoming District Conference and am happy to report that Kim Gallant (former DJ for District XVII) will be our representative from the International Executive Board! A tentative agenda will be posted soon. Please email District Justice Nicole Grida at nicole.grida@gmail.com with any questions. Also, please RSVP for this "Event" on Facebook at

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125638540816058

58th Biennial Convention

I just got back from Convention last night and am bursting with PAD energy.

I am happy to report thatDistrict XV was well represented with Clay Chapter sending 4 students, Hoffman Chapter sending 6 students, McKellar Chapter sending 1 student, McReyonlds Chapter sending 4 students (plus 1 recent alumni member), and the Knoxville Alumni Chapter sending 3 alumni members!!! Including DJ Grida, this amounted to 19 total PAD members present on behalf of District XV. Additionally, several other alumni members who were initiated into Phi Alpha Delta at one of the Chapters in our District were at Convention as well including Honorable Richard McCully (McKellar Chapter), Rick Pearson (Chase Chapter), Brigham "Brig" McCown (Hoffman Chapter), and Larry Crigler (Hoffman Chapter). Please join our Facebook Group to see pictures from Convention at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/?sk=2361831622

Alumni Chapters

There are presently two active alumni chapters in District XV - the Knoxville Alumni Chapter and the Nashville Alumni Chapter. Although there is a chaptered alumni chapter in Memphis, it is presently inactive. If you are interested in assisting in efforts to reactivate the Memphis Alumni Chapter, please contact DJ Grida.

We Are on FACEBOOK!

Please send DJ Grida (Nicole, ESQ - Tennessee/Temple) and ADJ White (Stephanie White - N. Kentucky) a friend request on Facebook. Also, please join our Facebook Group Page - Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International - District XV!

2010 District Conference

We are presently finalizing details for District Conference. It will be held sometime in September or October at McReynolds Chapter at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. All Chapter Officers are expected to attend and the date will be finalized within the next two weeks.

58th Biennial Convention - August 4-8, 2010 in TAMPA, Florida

It is not too late to register for the 58th Biennial Convention. Remember, every chapter is expected to send at least one delegate to Convention. Please email DJ Grida or ADJ White with any questions regarding convention. If you have already registered for convention, please let DJ Grida know your travel arrangements as soon as possible.

I have also copied a recent post on the Phi Alpha Delta Yahoo Group from Stephen J. Savva, who is the current International Advocate, as to why you should attend Convention.

HAVE YOU REGISTERED FOR CONVENTION YET?

TOP 10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND:

10. PAD's Biennial Convention (August 4-8 in Tampa, FL) is the
single-best networking event PAD offers for law students and alumni to meet, share
information and create a nationwide list of contacts.

9. PAD pays certain travel and registration expenses for one delegate
from each eligible law school and alumni chapter to attend.

http://www.padcommunity.org/page.php?page_id=9920_


8. American Airlines is offering a special discount on all U.S. flights
to Tampa!

http://www.padcommunity.org/page.php?page_id=9920_

7. Our Biennial Convention is where delegates elect our International
Officers and vote on matters of importance to the Fraternity.

6. At Convention you will learn more about the Fraternity, learn about
legislative procedures, participate in professional programs and learn about
national events such as the Mock Trial Competition and PAD Day at the
Supreme Court.

5. You will have an opportunity to meet this year's Keynote Speaker and
recipient of the Barbara Jordan Award, The Honorable Diane P. Wood
http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/wood-d_


4. Our Convention is being held at the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel &
Marina - a recently renovated AAA Three Diamond Hotel Resort. The HOTEL IS
CURRENTLY SOLD OUT FOR EVERYONE BUT PAD MEMBERS ON THESE DATES!

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/travel/tpamc-tampa-marriott-waterside-hotel-and-marina/


3. Convention is where many of PAD's future leaders are cultivated.

2. You will learn more about the history of the PAD by meeting highly
distinguished members of the bench and bar who have supported the Fraternity
for decades.

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON why you need to visit PAD.org right now to
register is....

1. We work hard at Convention, but we play even harder!


If you have any questions about Convention or are still not sure whether it's worth attending, please contact DJ Grida (nicole.grida@gmail.com), ADJ White (stephanien_white@hotmail.com) or International Advocate Savva (SJSavvaPC@aol.com).

District XV Fall Calendar

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International
District XV Fall 2008Calendar


August
MCK Thursday 14 1L Orientation Welcome at Newby’s
CHA Tuesday 19 Recruitment Presentation to 1Ls
MCK Thursday 21 First Bar Review at Celtic Crossing
HOF Friday 22 Happy Hour at Skyline Tavern: First Round on PAD
VIN Friday 22 Executive Officers Meeting at 12PM
MCR Monday 25 Membership Drive Starts
HOF Tue/Wed 26 & 27 General Interest Meeting/Intro Question Panel, noon (26) &
5:30 (27)
VIN Tuesday 26 Recruitment/General Meeting at 12 noon
VIN Wed/Thur 27 & 28 1L Outlining Workshop 27/08 at 5pm and 8/28/08 at 12:10pm

September
HOF Monday 1 General Meeting, 5:30
MCR Wednesday 3 Chapter/Interest Meeting (dues by Sep 10)
CHA Thursday 4 Bar Tab at Woody's for interested 1Ls and current members
VIN Tue/Fri 2-5 Wii Fundraiser at Student Activity Center from 10-2
HOF Friday 5 Cornhole Tournament
MCR Friday 5 Membership Drive Ends
HOF Tue/Wed 9 & 10 Supplement/Study Guide Session, noon (9) & 5:30 (10)
VIN Friday 12 Rush Event Mini Bambi Walk on Bardstown Road (time TBA)
VIN Friday 12 Deadline for upperclassmen to turn in outlines for outline bank
HOF Saturday 13 Philanthropy Event
MCK Saturday 13 Habitat Build Day
CLY Mon/Wed 15-17 Recruitment Table
HOF Tuesday 16 Guest Speaker
MCR Thursday18 Fall Induction (reception to follow- location TBA)
HOF Friday 19 Red’s Game, 7:00
CLY Monday 22 Chapter Meeting
MCR Tue/Wed 23 & 24 Outline Library
CHA Tuesday 23 Initiation of new members
HOF Thursday 25 LOCAL DUES DUE
HOF Thursday 25 Chase Bowling League Begins
HOF Friday 26 Party for a Purpose Every drink you take benefits the
American Cancer Society!
VIN Friday 26 Rush Event Tailgate – UofL vs. UConn
MCK Saturday 27 Picnic and Children’s Book Drive at Audubon Park
HOF Sunday 28 Initiation, 6pm, dinner following at Montgomery Inn
VIN Sunday 28 Initiation (tentatively)
MCK September 30 Deadline for fall recruitment applications


October
VIN Wed/Tue 1-14 Kentucky Harvest Can Good Drive 10/1/08 –
10/14/08 (bring a can don’t get called on in class)
MCK Thursday 2 Initiation, 6 pm, Shelby County Courthouse
HOF Monday 6 General Meeting, 5:30
CLY Monday 2nd Meeting/Induction 5:00/6:00
MCR Wednesday 8 Regular Chapter Meeting
HOF Saturday 11 Keeneland Tailgating Trip
CLY Saturday 11 Keeneland Tailgating Trip
MCK Fri/Sat 10-11 U of M Reunion Weekend
HOF Tuesday 14 Professional Event
HOF Friday 17 LaRosa’s Dinner Night benefiting charity
Saturday 18 PAD District Conference in Memphis, TN
HOF Saturday 18 MPRE Review with Bar/Bri
CLY Thursday 23 MicroMash Bar Exam Informational 12:00-Courtroom
(lunch provided)
HOF Friday 24 Bobby Mackie’s Social Outing, 9:00
HOF Saturday 25 Walk-a-thon
MCK Saturday 25 Habitat Build Day
CHA Mon 27-Fri 30 Service Day (Hopefully participation in a "safe Halloween"
event)
HOF Tuesday 28 Halloween Bake Sale
VINSON
Guest Speaker TBA
Additional Academic Program

November
CLY Sunday 2 Ambulance Chase 5K Run
HOF Monday 3 General Meeting, 5:30
CLY Wednesday Speaker- Professor Lawson: Overcrowded Jails
HOF Thursday 6 Apprenticeship Dinner
HOF Friday 7 Theme Party
CLY Monday 10 3rd Meeting
MCR Mon/Tue 10 &11 Outline Library
MCR Wed 12 Regular Chapter Meeting
HOF Sunday 16 2nd Initiation, 6:00
MCK Monday 17 Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive
HOF Wed/Thur 19 & 20 Exam Prep Session, 6:00 (19) & noon (20)
VINSON
Second Wii Fundraiser (tentatively first two weeks of November)

December
CLY Monday 1 4th Meeting (tentatively)
MCR Wednesday 3 PAD Study Breakfast
HOF Friday 12 Christmas Party, 9:00

VINSON
Christmas Gift Fundraiser (tentatively first two weeks of December)

Donation Letter

The following is an example of a donation letter used for silent auction items. I will be posting the letterhead template on the District Yahoo Group shortly.

Chapter Leadership

Leadership

Leadership ability is not made of magic. Leadership skills are made up of observable, learnable practices. There are five basic practices common to most great leadership achievements:

(1) leaders challenge the process,

(2) leaders inspire a shared vision,

(3) leaders enable others to act,

(4) leaders model the way, and

(5) leaders encourage with the heart.

Leaders Challenge the Process

Leaders think creatively and refuse to accept the status quo. Leaders learn from what has occurred in the past and look for new ways to approach situations. Just because something has always been done in a certain way does not necessarily make it the best way to do it now. Leaders recognize a void and search for a way to fill it. Leaders experiment, take risks, and learn from their mistakes. The best leaders recognize that people excel when they have a chance to put their own ideas into action. An effective leader embraces change and views challenges as an opportunity for growth.

Leaders Inspire a Shared Vision

Leaders have a clear mental picture of the future, and the desire to implement that vision. Leaders must have the ability to inspire others to help attain that vision. To move others to share their vision, leaders must appeal to a common purpose, communicate expressively, and sincerely believe in their vision.

In Phi Alpha Delta, every leader shares a vision guided by our declaration of purpose:

“The purpose of this Fraternity shall be to form a strong bond uniting students and teachers of the law with members of the Bench and Bar in a fraternal fellowship designed to advance the ideals of liberty and justice under law; to stimulate excellence in scholarship; to inspire the virtues of compassion and courage; to foster integrity and professional competence; to promote the welfare of its members; and to encourage their moral, intellectual, and cultural advancement; so that each member may enjoy a lifetime of honorable professional and public service."

Given our goals, leaders must be able to effectively communicate not only the broad purpose of Phi Alpha Delta, but their Chapter’s specific vision of how its greater goals will be accomplished as well. Because our leaders truly believe in these goals, they are able to communicate them with the passion necessary to effectuate Phi Alpha Delta’s larger vision and breed excitement for those ideas among Chapter members.


Leaders Enable Others to Act

Leaders, having inspired a shared vision, make their volunteers feel strong, capable, and committed. They emphasize the importance of teamwork. Leaders immediately get new members involved to make them feel like a vital part of the Chapter. They show their support by offering assistance and advice whenever possible. The best leaders delegate – they don’t abdicate.

Leaders know that their strongest tool is their index finger. They point it at someone and ask them to do "just one thing." Leaders go beyond the Chapter Officers and they get the Chapter members involved. Leaders realize that involving members from the start – giving them the tools and the power to act – will prevent apathy from developing.

Leaders Must Model the Way

Leaders practice what they preach! They set an example by behaving consistently with their values, aims, and vision. Leaders don’t expect others to make their ideas work – they know they have to pitch in and help in order to make things work. Leaders serve as a representative of the Chapter. Their attendance at events is noticed, and their absence is noticed even more. Leaders take the time to set an example.

Leaders Must Encourage the Heart

Leaders know that attaining any shared vision is difficult. They recognize that members may become exhausted, frustrated, or disenchanted. Leaders celebrate others’ accomplishments regularly to combat apathy. They recognize volunteers publicly – thanking those who worked together to make an event happen. Leaders encourage their members to take on greater roles and they help to cultivate future Chapter leaders. They know that cream always rises to the top!

Never Forget You Are Dealing With Volunteers

As a leader in Phi Alpha Delta, it is important to remember that you are dealing with volunteers. They have given you a commitment to do "a little work." Therefore, keep the "little work" motto in mind – give them small, definite, and manageable assignments. Don’t overload them and they’ll be willing to help out again in the future. Also, keep the following items in mind:

Thank and praise volunteers. When things go well, make sure to recognize the people who made it possible. Recognize volunteers in a public fashion – and make sure to include everyone who helped!

Admit your shortcomings. Everyone makes mistakes – leaders are no exception. So, if you make a mistake, own up to it. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. As a leader, you can’t be helpful to the Chapter if you don’t have an accurate picture of what is going on. Finally, be willing to expect and accept criticism – as a leader you will not be able to please all of the people all of the time!

Realize you are working with colleagues. Always follow the chain of command within the Chapter. The other officers are your colleagues – don’t let personal feelings (friendships or disagreements) interfere with your working relationship. Recognize that people are going to make mistakes, but with teamwork and understanding, the Chapter can overcome them.

Develop the ability to say “No!” Being up front with people from the beginning, even if it is difficult, is for the best. Just be tactful and as nice as possible when delivering your response. As a leader, it’s very important to avoid promising what you cannot deliver.

Act in a timely fashion. Late action, in many instances, is worse than inaction.


One of the greatest benefits of Phi Alpha Delta membership is the opportunity to hone your leadership skills. These skills will open many doors for you throughout your career. Make the most of your time as a leader in your Law School Chapter by developing and expanding your leadership abilities.

SKILLS DEVELOPED BY A STRONG LEADER

Communication
Leaders are only as powerful as the ideas they communicate. Effective communication is one of the most important tools an attorney can have. Communication with Chapter Officers First and foremost, Chapter officers must communicate with each other. Hold officer meetings at least monthly. Invite your Chapter’s Committee Chairs and your Advisors to the meetings.


ORGANIZATION & PLANNING
Upon entering law school, a young first year student was advised by a long-time practicing attorney that the “simple trick” to law school and law practice is organization. Effective leaders are always good organizers. To organize, you must plan ahead. Professors admonish their students to “look at the big picture”. If you focus on the “big picture”, you see how small details fit. The “big picture” for your Chapter is your Calendar of Events. Plan ahead and follow through! How Can Our Chapter Get Organized?

VISION AND CREATIVITY
Without vision, your Chapter will perish. In examining successful leadership, it becomes apparent vision means creating a focus. Officers must create a focus for their Chapter’s members. When focus or direction is clear, it inspires confidence from the membership.

COMMON ERROR:
Officers conduct a general meeting, expecting that members will spring forth with a wealth of ideas and direction for the Chapter. When they do not, the wheels of progress screech to a halt.

SOLUTION:
Never wait for a mandate from the general membership before the officers take action. Members depend on the leadership to provide direction. As a leader, you should be attuned to programming desires of your membership. Ask your members for suggestions, and consider any suggestions that are made. Do not wait for your general membership to create a focus for the Chapter. Creating a focus and direction for your Chapter is the sole responsibility of the Chapter’s officers. Every successful attorney knows alternatives always exist. Think creatively and develop alternatives.

Overcoming The “Our Law School Does Everything” Syndrome
Leaders assess their members’ needs and strive to meet them. Look at the needs of your law school and its student body. Critically analyze each need you identify. Examine what you, as a law student need that you are not getting. Assess which needs are met by other groups; then examine the needs not currently or adequately being met by other organizations. This will let you think about programs your Chapter could pioneer to meet student needs. Visit your Deans or Faculty members. Tell them your dilemma, i.e., “There is nothing for our Chapter to do. We want something to do, but we just can’t find anything.” When the Deans finish laughing, explain what resources your Chapter has in terms of members and finances. You will not leave empty-handed.

TIME MANAGEMENT
Developing good time management skills is an important aspect of your professional development. Time is your most valuable commodity as a law student and as an attorney.

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY
The old adage, “if you want something done right, do it yourself” is not true for effective leaders. If you find yourself doing all the work and handling all the details of every program in your Chapter, then you are doing something wrong. You may be lacking the ability to delegate.

Successful delegation of authority has three major components:
1. Get things accomplished at the lowest possible level.
2. Assess the talents and areas of interest of each member and delegate tasks accordingly.
3. Check each member’s progress periodically. Delegate, don’t abdicate! Delegation ensures that everyone participates in your programming. This allows future Chapter leaders to emerge and develop a track record for themselves. When you delegate, make sure everyone understands the desired result, the means of achieving this result, and the time frame. People take pride in what they have a stake in achieving.

How to Win PAD International Awards Checklists

The above checklists are from the Nuts and Bolts of Chapter Awards. They should be printed out and used throughout the year in planning events.

Example Calender

Below is what an award winning calendar looks like. Notice that this calender has at least one event from each of the categories of events that are necessary to achieve Chapter Merit Status and Chapter of the Year. Please review this calendar. If you have any questions call me or e-mail me.

Nuts and Bolts of Chapter Awards

OK here's the nuts and bolts that you need to know if you want to win international awards. This is the very bottom line basic stuff, so refer back here if you need to refresh your memory:

CHAPTER MERIT AWARD

Before you can even think of applying for Most Outstanding Law School Chapter, you have to qualify for the Chapter Merit Award. You will need to do the following:

• File your Spring and Fall Reports with the International Executive Office (heads up Chapter Clerks!)
• File your Roster of Officers within 10 days of elections (or any other changes in leadership)
• File your Form G's within 10 days of initiation (and if you really want to be outstanding, file it BEFORE initiation)
• Have an officer transition meeting after elections (and pass along those Officer's Manuals)
• Have a Faculty Advisor (be able to describe who they are and why you selected them)
• Have an Alumni Advisor (ditto, as well as what they have done to support you)
• Give an Outstanding Service to the Chapter Award to a member of your chapter
• Give an Outstanding Service to the Chapter Award to an alumni
• RUSH more new members than the year before
• Run new programs that you did not run the year before
• You also need a minumum of the following programs:

Four Professional Programs (PP)
One Fundraising Activity (FR)
Three Social Activities (SA)
Two Community Service Programs (CS)
One Alumni Activity (AL) or Inter-chapter activity (IC)
Rush Progams (no amount is specified)
One Academic Program (AP)One Specialize Program (SP)

OUTSTANDING CHAPTER AWARD (KOHN AWARD)
On top of all that, you will have to do all of the following in order to meet the minimum qualifications for Outstanding Chapter. OBVIOUSLY you want to do all this and more so you can not just qualify but WIN!

• have chapter bylaws (If you don’t have them already. I can give you model chapter bylaws, adapt them and adopt them)
• have regularly scheduled membership meetings
• have regularly scheduled officer meetings
• keep written minutes of meetings
• have a treasurer's report at every meeting
• have a written calendar of events
• form committees (you will have to list what committees you have, how many members in the committees, and what events these committees have run)
• maintain a separate account for initiation fees (DO NOT PUT THEM IN YOUR ACCOUNT WITH CHAPTER FUNDS!)
• have a written chapter budget(If you need help writing a budget call me and we’ll come up with one for you)
• initiate faculty members (for free) into your chapter
• create local chapter awards
• put announcements in your school newspaper about your events

The two forms attached below are to be filled out and maintained to assist in filling out the application at the end of the year.(Both can be e-mailed to you upon request in Word format.) One was adapted from the Kohn Award to be used in the planning of the event. The other is the programing information section for the Kohn Award. It is in your best interest to fill these out as the year progresses. I would also appreciate receiving a copy of the forms so that I know what’s going on with your chapter. Its easier to brag abou y’all if I know what’s going on.

ANY QUESTIONS? You know where to find me.

(Borrowed from Pam Nash, former District 21 DJ, with changes from me.)

Here is some stuff you should call your DJ/ADJ about:

1. Your Dean/Administration/SBA is giving you a hard time.
If you run into any snags at your school, give me a call. First we will brainstorm some solutions. If those solutions don't pan out, then Plan B I will get on the phone and give your dean a call or I will get an alumni from your chapter to do so.

2. The IEO is ignoring you.
If Frank, Byron, or Andrew are not answering your emails, sending you your Rush stuff (pins, certificates etc.), or otherwise generally not helping you, let me know and I’ll find out what is wrong. This comes with some caveats though... Whatever you have asked them for has to be reasonable. I am not putting in a call to Frank because you called him two days before initiation and asked him to FedEx you some pins. Also, they have to be legitimately not responding to you. I am not going to bug Byron on his cell phone because he hasn't answered your email within an hour. But if you have sent two or three requests, and have received no response, let me know and I will put in a call for you.

3. You have a rush question you can't answer.
You never know what some random wiseguy at your school is going to come up with, and if you don't know the answer, don't worry about it. Tell them you will make a call and get back to them with the answer. And then call me.

4. You have ANY question you can't answer.

5. What you are doing is interesting to me.
I want to hear how your chapter is going. I want to know how school is going. I want to help you with anything that I can. Seriously, I would NOT volunteer so much of my time to this organization if I didn't care about you.

Communication is key to making your chapter successful. I’m here to help you in any way I can. There may be times I won’t know the answer to you questions, but I’ll find the answer and get back with . So call me with questions, comments, just to chat, whatever. I’m here for you guys!

Branding, Marketing, and Advertising

Branding, Marketing, Advertising

If you want to win international awards then you have got to make sure EVERYONE knows who you are. How do you do that? See below.

BRANDING: the average law school chapter bills itself around school as Phi Alpha Delta. Those of you who have attended convention are well aware that you are more than just Phi Alpha Delta. Each chapter should strive to develop its own identity within the school community and within the fraternity at large. Now this is not to say that you should focus your efforts exclusively on one type of programming in order to establish some sort of "branding". All award winning chapters have to have balanced programming, and meeting the requirements of chapter merit award will insure that you do.

MARKETING: I am not going to get into a debate about the exact definition of marketing vs. advertising, so for the purposes of this post you will have to accept that marketing means getting new members to join your chapter by making them aware of what all you are doing and how great it is to be a member of this amazing organization. This is more than just posting flyers around the school. Here are some ideas: get all members to wear PAD t-shirts one day per month it promotes bonding among current members, and it inspires other people to want to be a part of that in-crowd.

ADVERTISING: You do have to do some flyer posting, so that people know what you are doing and when.

PADLAW yahoogroup. Sign up for PADLAW yahoogroup (on the front page of www.pad.org) What you want come June 1 is for Board members to be sitting in their offices, rubbing their hands, pacing the floor and WAITING for your award application to come in, because they have been following your progress all year. Get it?

PAD REPORTER. Free advertising extraordinairre. Send pictures and a one or two paragraph description of the event to andrew@pad.org and let the whole entire fraternity see how awesome you are.

School Newspaper. If your school has one, or a newsletter, or a docket, get your events in there, along with a random little announcement from the chapter every month. Here are some examples: a congrats message to newly initiated members, a thank you to outgoing officers, a happy bday to all the PAD members with birthdays that month, or a follow up to tell the the school about a particularly successful event, with recognition to all members who helped organize the event. (save copies of all this stuff to include with your award application).

Bar Journal. Put announcements about upcoming events in the local bar journal. Make sure you put a prominent statement that ALUMNI FROM YOUR SCHOOL are welcome to attend. (save copies of all this stuff to include with your award application).

Chapter Calendar. Make sure everyone you can think of gets a copy of your chapter calendar. Post it on the padlaw and District 15 yahoogroups, email it to the DCO, pass it around your school, and to any of your members who graduated last year.

The Vice Justice is in charge of Communications and Branding/Marketing/Advertising. The best way to make sure they do this, is to make sure the rest of the E-Board is doing their job so the Vice Justice has time for this stuff. Chapter Justices, with the exception of officer training YOUR job is to make sure your E-Board is all doing their jobs. Also think about creating a position for publications and another for publicity/advertising. The Vice Justice would oversee these positions since the Vice Justice is in charge of all forms of communications.

(Borrowed from Pam Nash, former District 21 DJ, with a few changes of my own.)