I know I've set it a lot already, but let me once again say thank you and congratulate you on a job well done last night. New members, the excitement you brought to the evening was palpable. Current members, you looked the part, and you were fantastic models for what will be expected for our junior members next year.
It was a strange day in the life of our chapter. I know that behind the scenes I was dealing with a bit of crankiness amongst the ranks of our senior members. I heard the complaints you were lodging with the officers. I was aware of the grumbling you were directing to your advisors and teachers. The sentiment of "I just want to be recognized and be done" was the attitude that I was addressing when I drafted the words I spoke on the stage...
And then we pulled off a complicated yet professional induction. 90 kids pulled together to throw a party for 113 kids. I loved watching you have the evening you had: The ushers that were jokingly offering programs to everyone in sight, the Kate and her team of Seniors who ran the inductee check-in table being my go-to resource for knowing if I could cue the night to start, Rachel running down the line of inductees with my laptop at 6% battery power to sort everyone out, Joe, Abby, Emerson and their reception crew bracing themselves for the throng of cake-eaters that rushed them faster than they could slice it up, and many more moments that I missed.
Waking up early to go to school an hour before everyone else does is the worst, I know. I hate it, too. I've already decided I'm sleeping in tomrorow (no optional meeting). But, we signed up for this, and the reason we signed up for this is because we get to have experiences like the one we just had. You can't tell me that you don't feel good about what you did. You can't tell me that you didn't have fun. Yeah, it was hard work, but it was
worth it.
Here's my last piece: I want to build on this because in one sense induction is kind of lame. After all, who benefited from our performance last night? We did. We did all that work for ourselves. Our next target is to do an event this big for our community and our school, for people other than us. I am definitely pushing for a big weekend of service and celebration that we plan and run in the spring. I bet it will be worth it.
Speaking of service, we need to get you guys your hours for you work last night. Open t
his folder and find the team you joined last night. I made chapter forms for the following teams and their leaders:
- Nolan, et al: Set up & Take Down Crew
- Joe, et al: Reception
- Anli & Sean: Letter Writing
- Kasea & Amanda: Booth
- Sarah & Kate: Ushers & Sign-in Table