Ready, Set, Convention — The Member’s Role In Governance

by Ashley Dumat, Rho Omicron (Middle Tennessee State U), International Vice President

Can you believe it’s almost time for AOII International Convention 2021? AOII’s Convention—scheduled for June 23-26—is a wonderful time for AOII sisters to gather, celebrate our sisterhood, and share our accomplishments. Perhaps most importantly, Convention is a time for all members of Council to play a key role in Policy Governance and in the future of the Fraternity by voting on amendments to our Governing Documents, in addition to selecting the Executive Board and Foundation Board members for the next biennium. Although this Convention will be a virtual experience, it still promises to be an exciting and impactful time for all attendees!

If you are a member of Council attending Convention, you may be wondering how best to prepare for this experience. Here are a few ways to make sure you are ready to go:

• My number one piece of advice? Make sure you read the Call to Convention! The Call is a document that contains pretty much everything you need to know: Convention schedule and rules, proposed amendments to the AOII Constitution and Bylaws, proposed 2021-2023 budgets, ballots and candidate information for both the Executive Board and Foundation Board, and more. Initiated members can access The Call through logging in to AlphaLink, entering Fulfilling the Promise and clicking on AOFILES in the top toolbar.
• Once you’ve read through The Call, make sure you consult with the collegiate chapter members, AAC members, or alumnae chapter members you’re representing in order to discuss how best to represent them in your votes during business sessions.
• Learn how to vote on our virtual platform. AOII will be hosting training sessions in the coming weeks to help all attending members of Council learn how to vote. This training will help all of us understand how to do our part during business sessions.
• Tune in and view the upcoming short pre-Convention training videos AOII will be releasing. These videos will contain even more information to help voting members of Council, as well as all attendees and sisters, have the best virtual experience possible!

All of this said, now for the FUN! By now, Convention registrants should have received AOII’s email entitled, “You’ve Registered… Now What?” This email has some great tips to help our members convene in small groups for business sessions, education sessions, PIP storytelling, and more, all in a safe way. AOII also encourages sisters to host “watch parties” for Awards Night on Saturday, provided it is in a safe and healthy environment for sisters to gather, and all sisters follow local and CDC guidelines for gatherings. We hope our sisters will be able to dress up and enjoy sharing their excitement in celebrating the many achievements of AOII collegiate and alumnae chapters and individual members!

I hope all of our Convention attendees find themselves inspired, enthusiastic, and invigorated by their experience. See you all in a few short weeks!