First Exec Retreat
Writer: Caroline B. / Editor: Savannah T. / Photos submitted by chapter / Photos edited by Olivia E. / Graphic Designer: Savannah T.
This semester Kappa’s executive board went on their first ever executive council retreat. These women were initially attempting to plan a weekend trip to Jacksonville. COVID-19, however, altered those plans, and their planning weekend ended up as a sleepover at their VP of Membership’s apartment. While a minor setback, it did not stop these sisters from having an incredible weekend together.
“Getting to know these women I would be working closely with for the rest of the year was so much fun because we grew closer as leaders and as friends.” shared VP of Internal Affairs Madison P.
When asked about her favorite memory from the weekend, VP of Membership Clara T. recalled an unplanned adventure on their first night together. Prior to their dinner reservations in Thomasville, one of the sisters decided to lead them to some famous big tree there and she was convinced they were going to get lost.
To everyone’s surprise, they successfully navigated in the total darkness of Downtown Thomasville. This experience required trust among the sisters and demonstrated their ability to work together, despite the old tree ending up being just that -- an old tree.
The sisters experienced another bonding moment on the last morning of their retreat. Following a breakfast of pancakes and coffee, the team set off on a trip to St. George Lighthouse for a sunset picnic, a final celebration of their retreat weekend together. They faced a slight bump in the road when a GPS miscommunication resulted in their two-car convoy being split up, leaving the two halves of the team an hour apart in different locations. Working as a team, they found their way back together, and the women experienced an incredible sunset and lots of laughs as they got the time to enjoy each other's company.
“The sunset was absolutely gorgeous. I was overcome with this emotion of comfort and peace knowing that I would be working with these amazing people” explained VP of Finance, Ashley G.
While much of the retreat was spent developing stronger connections and encouraging sisterhood among the women of Kappa’s executive council, the retreat was also about aligning as a team around what these women refer to as “Kappa Business.”
Catherine S., Head of Standards, explained that as a result of the retreat the women “all know that everyone on exec has similar goals and [they] are all there to help each other achieve those.”
That unity will play an important role in leading their chapter in the coming year. Two of the main goals the executive council has chosen to focus on in the coming year are accountability and communication within their chapter.
Hollyn S., Kappa’s President, emphasized the importance of women within the chapter remaining accountable throughout the pandemic. “We have to step up and recognize that even if they don't feel scared of the virus, there are a lot of other people who are,” she explained.
Along with the encouragement of honesty among sisters, Kappa is also establishing a point system that encourages collaboration and support of the sisterhood. Sisters can recieve points for attending a variety of smaller events held within the chapter. These include scholarship, philanthropy, and sisterhood events. These points allow sisters the opportunity to attend some of Kappa’s bigger formal events or date functions in the future. This system will hold sisters accountable and ensure they are actively engaging with programs which they hope will bring the sisters closer. Just as team building and time together strengthened the bonds of the leadership team, the women of the executive board found these activities to be crucial this semester to the sisterhood as a whole, as morale is much lower due to COVID-19 restrictions.
VP of External Affairs, Holly W. shares that Kappa’s “first date function was finally approved, but, [they] can't bring dates to it, so it's a lot of trying to encourage people to still go and understand that now [they’re] gonna focus on our sisterhood.”
A huge way that the Executive board is encouraging communication among their sisters is through the implementation of small group Zoom sessions.
When asked to elaborate, Korrin S., VP of Operations explained that their “All Member Experience director is putting together small groups of around 7-8 of us throughout PCs and grades.”
The first few minutes of Kappa’s chapter will be spent sharing concerns and experiences among the women within the chapter. The sisters are super excited about the opportunity to mix and match girls of different grades and pledge classes. Their hope is to work to dissolve any barriers between friend groups and create an overall more inclusive chapter.
In the same way that the executive board is dissolving barriers throughout the chapter as a whole, the same can be said between the women of the board themselves.
As a member of a different pledge class than the other exec women, Kelsey M., VP of Membership Development shared what it was like coming together with her sisters. She described her relationship with her fellow sisters on the exec board as not super close but after this retreat, she felt like she bonded with them. This helps ease her nerves as she feels like she needs to be close with them to perform her position well.
When reflecting upon the retreat, the women of Kappa’s executive council expressed an overall satisfaction with the activities and planning that took place throughout the duration of the weekend. Building understanding of each individual's leadership styles and trust makes the job of the executive council that much more cohesive. Establishing sisterhood among themselves was an important first step in establishing it among their chapter.