It’s that time of year again! The 2023 Epsilon Theta brothers are so excited to be back and size up to another successful school year. They have never been more ready to take on new challenges, new members, and develop new business opportunities to reach the chapter’s highest potential. Most of all, the brotherhood is beyond ecstatic to have reunited with each other after a busy summer.
Between project planning, E-Board meetings, summer jobs, internships, and some even traveling out of the country, the brothers have all been intently preparing for the new semester and sharpening their business skills to better themselves and PSE as a whole.
To recap, the Executive Board has been meeting over Zoom two-three Wednesdays each month since the last semester wrapped. Their main topic of discussion was preparing for their upcoming Fall recruitment. After brainstorming how to improve this process, the members came up with the idea of making a change by eliminating interviews with potential new members like in the past to make the chapter more inviting and welcoming. Each VP additionally had their own projects to work on and take accountability for.
Collin Spies, VP of Human Resources, has been making it a priority to work on a new recruitment plan by potentially creating a campaign to develop ideas and plans that will draw people in. Additionally, to make the transition from first entering the chapter to settling into it a little easier, Spies has come up with a better way for the new members to connect. Instead of a new member only having one mentor, they should have two, and the mentor and mentee should be matched based on time availability rather than random.
VP of Public Relations Rachel Stephany’s main concern was to keep Epsilon Theta’s Instagram engaging over the summer, which, without any events going on, could be viewed as a challenge. However, Stephany came up with some refreshing ideas to keep their audience engaged: a few of the members shared their summer experiences by providing a “day in the life” conversation on the Instagram story throughout the day and making a series entitled “Summer Spotlight” to shed light on what some of the brothers have been learning during their summer internships.
Meanwhile, Dalton Timmerman the previous VP of Administration wrapped his summer goals around working with his director, staying on top of important dates, and planning for nationals. His main focus was centered on writing a top gold entry for this last semester as a reflection and a way to help Epsilon Theta as a chapter get ready for the real deal.
VP of Finance, Sophie Schmit has been getting ready for top gold as well by strategizing and organizing the budget plan for the chapter. Knowing that most of the funding for Epsilon Theta has already been accounted for thanks to last semester, Schmit has been looking into more fundraisers to help with the cost of regionals as her main summer project. Another prime focus was collaborating with her director.
Kellie Feldkamp, VP of Marketing, has been working hard on keeping the upcoming projects on track by checking in with the project managers and their committee and offering her assistance with anything that needs to be resolved. Coming up with new ideas for projects the chapter can build upon and potentially run yearly has been Feldkamp’s priority to keep Epsilon Theta’s drive and overall community in Cedar Falls and to inspire more business creativity.
VP of PD, Hunter Nielsen, has also been busy this summer with lots of planning. His top priority was making a calendar of speakers for general membership meetings. Using feedback from the chapter as a whole, Nielsen discovered that more members would like to visit with more speakers and hear more about being a salesperson, advice for the job, and tips to excel. With that information in mind, he also put together a business tour day in Des Moines for members that are seeking an opportunity to see day-to-day business in action. Getting together activities for the brothers to do during general meetings, and thinking about a S.M.A.R.T. Goal Seminar were two other objectives in mind.
The President, Jadilyn Franco, focused this summer on helping all of the VP’s with their tasks to make sure everything is working soundly to make for an awesome semester. Scheduling various meetings, and gathering together the responses from the chapter’s one-on-one meetings from this past semester was essential to what the Executive Board can do to better certain areas of the chapter and what they should focus on this semester. Making sure the chapter is staying on top of their goals is very important when competing to be top gold, so Franco was always on top of everything furthering the chapter’s success.
Along with the Executive Board, two project committees have been taking the time to meet with one another to continue their planning of two upcoming events: the Car Show and the Golf Outing.
Mason White, who has been a member of PSE for four semesters, is the project manager for the Golf Outing. This is the first time he has taken on the responsibility of leading a project, “So far, it has been what I have expected it to be. Everything has been running smoothly thanks to my great team and we have worked very effectively together just like I imagined,” White says.
With every project, there is a unique set of challenges. The only challenge the Golf Outing Committee has faced is trying to align everyone’s schedules with one another over summer break to meet over Zoom and discuss. White explains, “It can be tough when everyone has different work schedules, but we worked through it. Meeting over Zoom has its benefits as it is very convenient for everyone, but I prefer to work in person.”
The Golf Outing Committee as well as the rest of Epsilon Theta would love to see everyone on Friday, September 15th grab a hold of all of the business opportunities they can, along with a golf club. “I am most excited to see everyone have a great Friday afternoon and I would love to see some students gain internships from this event. It is a great way for students to learn more about the type of people that work in their desired profession,” White says. “I also love golf so I am very excited about it!”
Max Goetz, who has only been a member one semester, decided to courageously take on the role of the project manager of one of Epsilon Theta’s recurring events, the annual PSE Car Show. Goetz says, “Being the manager of the car show has been a much greater challenge that also offers far greater experience…it is very different from any assignment or work I have done in the past.”
When first jumping into the project, Max and the rest of the Car Show committee did lots of their research and preparation over the summer, similar to the Golf Outing committee. They agreed with White that meeting on Zoom was the most convenient and helpful option, but wishes to stick with in-person meetings.
Goetz explains, “It was difficult as we had to find a consistent time that worked for everyone. Because so much of the team was outside of Cedar Falls, reaching out to sponsors and going to local car shows became very difficult.”
However, the committee worked through it with determination and held themselves accountable to the committees of this even in the past. Goetz certainly feels so fortunate to have had great leadership to forge the way, as well as his current committee, that really made the event what it is today, “I am so thankful for the previous committees and project managers for the hard work they have done in the past. The car show would not be possible without my committee members and they deserve as much if not more praise than I do.”
The Car Show committee is super excited to show off their hard work to the community and peers. Goetz says, “I am most excited to benefit the community. The primary goal of the Cedar Valley Honor Flight is to send veterans to Washington D.C. to see historical monuments and war memorials. The idea of making such a large impact on someone's life is my favorite part of the project…There will be fun for everyone at the car show as we will have cars, music, food, raffle events, and an award ceremony. Attendance for those not showing a car is free and everyone should come and support PSE and the Cedar Valley Honor Flight.”
The brothers of Epsilon Theta 2023 have a great semester prepared and are looking forward to continuing their business-savvy adventures.