Executive Director’s Message
By Tyler Boisvert (Nu Sigma ’10), Executive Director – Zeta Psi Fraternity
Brothers,
It is my honor to work on behalf of the noble society that is Zeta Psi Fraternity. I have dedicated the past ten years to working for the organization and am humbled to become its Executive Director. I am learning from some of the greats and am following in their footsteps: M. Lauck Walton, Dave Hunter, Greg McElroy and everyone who has ever held this position of service. It has been as valuable to my growth as anything else that I’ve ever experienced. Gentlemen, I thank you. I look forward to holding the torch high.
William A. Comstock (Xi, 1899) was elected the Delta Alpha of Zeta Psi Fraternity at the Annual Convention of Zeta Psi in January, 1909. The visionary leader’s three-part plan helped transform Zeta Psi into the organization that it is today. The three parts included[i]:
- The creation of a salaried secretary, whose business it should be to visit every chapter at least once a year
- The publication of a magazine, now known as The Circle
- The systematic organization of Zeta Psi’s alumni information so that we can raise finances and subsequently invest them into a general Fraternity Fund
Today, this vision can be seen with the implementation of a dedicated staff whose tasks are to fulfill the mission of Zeta Psi Fraternity and communicate with both our active and elder members with the goal of helping our undergraduate students. It is remarkable how well Brother Comstock’s vision has been sustained and it is as important now as it was in 1909.
Our staff works extremely hard dedicating time and resources to the success of our active chapters. With 51 active groups spanning five countries (and one colony in London, England), it is no small feat to help every single organization. I strongly believe that the weekly one-on-one videos our staff has with our chapter presidents help them with their paths forward. We’re always looking to improve and enhance our efforts, so if there is something your active chapter needs or if your elders would like to get more engaged, just let us know. We are happy to have you.
As you can see, The Circle is still going strong. Now that it is an online publication that will make it easier to reach all of our 35,000+ living members, we’re hoping to make The Circle available to everyone. If you can reach out to your pledge brothers, to your chapter members who you are still in contact with or to anyone in the circle who you may know, we’d love to get updated information for them so everyone can share in Zeta Psi Fraternity’s successes.
The final focus of this article is on the systematic organization of our alumni associations. We are in the midst of a global pandemic and the fall of 2020 is unlike any semester we’ve ever seen. Our undergraduate students need our elders’ help more than ever. Zeta Psi has opportunities for our elder groups to get involved and are looking for your engagement in a number of ways:
1. Become part of your local alumni association. Speak to your elder president and find out which areas of operations they need help in. If necessary, Zeta Psi is here to help connect you with your alumni association.
2. Help students with internships and job opportunities where and when you can. Many of our members have been very successful and your positive input to a potential employer would be extremely helpful.
3. Zeta Psi is offering MemberPlanet to keep our alumni associations organized as and to help bring funds to your local organization. In the first couple of months since working with MemberPlanet, Zeta Psi has a number of chapters that have been successful in communicating with its membership and fundraising.
4. Get involved in one of the many areas and volunteer committees that the Zeta Psi Fraternity board has created to help our students and alumni succeed.
As we approach the 175th anniversary of Zeta Psi, I truly hope that we will be able to create interactive alumni associations that believe in lifelong brotherhood. I also hope that we have the largest showings ever at our international Convention in 2021 in New Orleans and at the 175th in New York City in 2022.
Humbly yours in Tau Kappa Phi,
Tyler
[i] Page 18 of The Double Diamond Jubilee, Zeta Psi Fraternity 1997