Over 40 alumnae are Getting Back to Zeta! in Wisconsin

I am so excited to be hearing DAILY from my alumnae sisters throughout the state of Wisconsin! I'm encouraging this core group of women to reconnect with Zeta and with each other! Go out for a cup of coffee, form a professional network, or just make a new friend. I can't wait to see what 2009 holds in store for our Wisconsin alumnae as together, we Get Back to Zeta!

Wisconsin Zetas join us on April 18, 2009

Zetas from Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa will meet in the Chicago area for Tri-State Zeta Day on Saturday, April 18, 2009. We'll try to solve the mystery of "Who Stole the Crown?" as we welcome former national president and current National Housing Corporation president Julia Hill as our guest speaker.

Collegians and alumnae will enjoy brunch, a raffle and auction to raise money for ZTAF, special breakout sessions, entertainment, and a chance to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!

Mark your calendar now and make plans to join us next spring! Look for more information and registration details after the first of the year!

Yoplait Lid Deadline is Dec. 15

The goal this year is for ZTA to collect 300,000 lids as part of the "Save Lids to Save Lives" partnership with Yoplait. You should contribute your lids to your local alumnae chapter, or you can send clean pink lids to Zeta Tau Alpha, Attn: Lid Collection, 3450 Founders Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. For every lid collected, 10 cents stays with the local Komen affiliate, and 5 cents benefits the ZTA Foundation. For more information, visit the ZTA national website.

Election Day! Get out and vote!

Election Day 2008 is finally here, so don't forget to get out and vote! Every voice counts!

Happy Halloween!

Happy haunting to all my Zeta sisters and friends in District 15B! These are some of the jack-o-lanterns my family carved...I am the "Oh No!" face! Enjoy the weekend, and don't forget to "fall back" in time overnight Saturday.

Alumnae Themis Reports are due Nov. 15

The spring issue of Themis traditionally features the Alumnae Themis Reports. This is your chapter's one guaranteed opportunity to be published in the magazine. All submissions received by the Nov. 15 deadline will be included, but we cannot guarantee inclusion of reports received after the deadline. High-quality photos will be printed as space permits.

Themis Reports should be about your chapter's unusual, wildly successful, beloved, innovative and brand-new activities. Be specific and give as much detail as possible. Complete the fill-in form from the ZTA Web site. Save a copy to your hard drive or to a disk, and send a copy to: communicationsdept@zetataualpha.org as an attachment. Subject: ATR and your chapter name (ATR Twin Cities Alumnae).

Additionally, this year's topic is it's not just what your alumnae chapter can do for the Fraternity, but what a chapter can do for its members! We would like to know what your chapter does to meet the needs of its members and how it incorporates sisterhood into activities. Please include information on planning, participation and results. Subjects include:

• How you learn the needs of your membership.
• Ways that your chapter serves its members individually
• An activity your chapter does that promotes sisterhood and what makes in a great program.

Photo Guidelines

• Turn off your camera's date stamp.
• Don't try to cram everybody into one photo. Go for five or six rather that 25 or 26.
• Keep your background and foreground uncluttered. Watch for things like dirty dishes on the table and trees that look like they are growing out of heads.
• Be sure your picture shows your chapter in a positive way. We love great photos of members wearing ZTA letters.
• No crown fingers!
• We do not print photographs that show members, collegiate of alumnae, with alcoholic beverages.
• Watch those necklines when posing. Stand up straight rather than leaning in.
• Only send crisp, clear photos. We cannot use blurry or out-of-focus shots.

For more helpful hints on emailing photos and mailing photos, visit www.zetataualpha.org, log in, and go to Download Forms, Themis Forms.

NFL THINK-PINK!® Event with the Minnesota Vikings

Wow! What a fantastic event on Sunday as the Twin Cities Alumnae Chapter teamed up with the Minnesota Vikings to host a fabulous NFL THINK-PINK!® game! Alumnae were joined by members of Kappa Lambda Chapter from UW-OshKosh as well as friends and family. The event was co-branded all the way down to the great volunteer tee shirts with both ZTA and the Vikings logo. Check out the jumbotron! ZTA alumna Cynthia Courtney was honored as a hometown hero and ZTA alumna Karen Collier, a breast-cancer survivor, served as honorary captain for the game. Here are just a few photos, and I will post more great pics and details later! CONGRATULATIONS on another fantastic event!

Sept./Oct. Alumnae newsletter

Today you should have received a message from ZTA containing your link to the newest alumnae newsletter. If not let me know and I'll make sure you get it. All officers should be receiving this email notification if your officer lists are current (which they are!!)

Convention 2010

Start planning now for Convention 2010 in New Orleans, La., July 7-11. Keep an eye on the ZTA website for more details as they come available. It is important for alumnae chapters to send at least one voting delegate, so start planning now. Funds can be raised from the membership to help offset costs, which will run approximately $1,000 including airfare, all meals and lodging for the length of Convention. Remember, any funds raised from non-Zetas should be part of your ZTAF donation!

Alumnae Reminders Oct. 1, 2008

Look for important dates/deadlines in the left column of the blog! I will try to keep them updated! Remember, you can visit the ZTA Website, www.zetataualpha.org, for all kinds of alumnae information, forms and programming ideas. To access the alumnae newsletters,

• Go to the website and log in to the Sisters Only Section (Need help? Contact me!)
• Pull down the "Officer" menu
• Select "For Alumnae Officers"
• Enter your last name, first name, chapter and password (Need a reminder? Contact me!)
• Click "Submit"
• It's as easy as that!

Check out the alumnae programming ideas under the "Programming" pull down menu on the home page. Pull down to "Fifth Link/Alumnae Programming" for new ideas that are being posted as part of the fifth link of the New Member Education Program.

Great news! The new Guide for Alumnae is being printed and should be available to your chapter soon!

Historian Reminder: Zetas with Zest and Zeta Data are now featured exclusively on the ZTA website, and are updated on the 10th of odd numbered months. HISTORIANS: I encourage you to submit photos and stories at any time during the year, in addition to the Themis report due in November. Be sure to review the photo guidelines online, and download forms by logging in, going to the "Download Forms" pulldown menu, and selecting "Themis Forms."

Treasurer Reminder: An updated GML must be submitted to IO electronically when Operating Fees are submitted.

• Complete fields AB (Updating Record?) and AC (Dues Paid) to the far right of the spreadsheet by designating a “Y” to indicate changes in membership information and dues paid. Make any appropriate changes in membership information and save the document. Please DO NOT highlight changes in the document or submit changes in another fashion.
• If you are submitting dues for a member NOT LISTED on you GML, please add them to the bottom of your GML, keeping all the fields the same. In the iMIS ID field please type Add-in.
• Electronically submit your revised GML list to IO when mailing the check for Operating Fees (OF) in the Fall and Spring. Send to zetataualpha@zetataualpha.org with subject line: ATTN: E. Rozzi ALUMNAE O.F. (YOUR CHAPTER NAME)
• The Fall Operating Fees and GML are due November 1st. Spring OF and GML for new members joining after the first deadline are due March 1st.

THINK-PINK!® in October

Zetas are gearing up to THINK-PINK!^® in support of the Fraternity's philanthropy.

The goal in the Save Lids to Save Lives partnership with Yoplait is to collect 300,000 pink lids, with $30,000 going directly to local Komen affiliates, and $15,000 going to ZTAF. For more information, visit the ZTA website. You can also join the "Official ZTA and Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives" Fan page if you are a Facebook user! So eat that yogurt and save those lids!

The Twin Cities Alumnae Chapter and the Minnesota Vikings are once again teaming up as part of Zeta's partnership with the NFL. Congratulations to Lisa Dierbeck and her alumnae for securing a fully co-branded event with the Vikings under Zeta's trademarked THINK-PINK!^® campaign. On Oct. 12, Zeta volunteers will hand out over 25,000 pink ribbons as the game, all while wearing a cool ZTA/Vikings custom shirt (see graphic!) I can't wait to post more info/pics from this fantastic event!

Finally, the Komen Race for the Cure was held in Milwaukee last weekend. Thank you to Trixy Brill and Tina Gotter for representing Zeta there!

ZTA Celebrates 110th Founders' Day!

Join your collegiate and alumnae sisters on Oct. 15, 2008 as the Fraternity celebrates our 110th Founders' Day! Be sure to visit www.zetataualpha.org to listen to the podcast of the 2008 Founders' Day Proclamation.

Welcome to our District Blog

Hello to all my ZTA friends in District 15B! I hope this blog will be a good way to communicate with you all to keep you posted on what's happening in the Zeta world and in our district. It will be a place for me to share important info with you to make your volunteer job in Zeta easier and more rewarding. Let me know what you think and welcome!