Executive Board And Tri-Board August Meeting Recap
by Gayle Fitzpatrick, Alpha Rho (Oregon State U), International President
The Executive Board just wrapped up an exciting few days of meetings at AOII Headquarters with our staff leadership team and the Tri-Board (Executive Board, Foundation Board and Properties Board)! On Thursday, August 24, our full team came together to begin the work of our Fraternity as the 2017-2019 Executive Board. Our meeting consisted of a robust agenda as we tackled items such as new communications vehicles and technology, laying the groundwork for Task Forces 2 and 3 that resulted from Convention resolutions, and various chapter updates. We devoted significant time to discussions regarding NPC. We are in the throes of preparation for the upcoming meeting in late October where Carole Jones, Alpha Delta (U of Alabama) will step into the role of NPC Chairman. This is truly AOII’s time to shine in the NPC world, and we are looking forward to demonstrating incredible support for Carole at the meeting in Denver.
One of the most important items on our agenda was the joint session of the Executive Board and our staff leadership team to discuss our strategic plan vision. Our current strategic plan is designed for 2015-2019, so we are currently at the midway point of this plan. As a governance board, setting the strategic vision of Alpha Omicron Pi is one of our most important duties. We are fortunate that we have incredibly candid and trusting relationships between our Executive Board and our staff leadership team, so we enjoyed a great discussion on refining and focusing our work for the 2017-2019 biennium.
On Friday, we were fortunate to spend the entire day with Rick Barnes, a well-respected facilitator in the inter-fraternal community with expertise in governance and leadership. He guided the Executive Board through conversations and exercises which challenged our status quo and inspired us to carefully consider where we are in our governance journey. At the end of the day, our staff leadership team joined us for further conversation. Our biggest takeaway from the day was that we must base all of our decision-making and policies in fanatic discipline – and in the case of an organization such as ours, that fanatic discipline is our Ritual.
On Saturday, we gathered with the Foundation Board and Properties Board to spend another day with Rick in our first Tri-Board meeting of the biennium. Rick shared the perspective of fanatic discipline with the rest of the boards and staff, and encouraged us to consider the “why” in all we do. We told our AOII stories, and we shared the AOIIs who had most inspired us. We had spirited discussions both as a large group and as our respective boards.
Overall, it was an incredible kickoff, with all three boards gathering individually and with all of us coming together as a Tri-Board. We left the weekend with a firm commitment to determine the areas of intersection in our work and to continue leading our beloved organization as One Red Team. Cheers to a wonderful biennium! #InspireAmbition