Written By: The Emerald 
This issue of the Sigma Pi Quarterly marks the second year of publication, and we hope that it has been a valuable resource for our alumni and friends, to stay updated on the advancements within Sigma Pi. With nearly 30,000 quarterly readers, we thank you for your continued enthusiasm in our efforts to provide a safe, transformative and value-added experience for members to grow, both personally and professionally. As we look to 2019, there are several exciting initiatives that are currently evolving and have already transpired as we enter a new year that I would like to share with you.
In December of 2018, we launched the rebranding of Sigma Pi in order to enhance our visual identity. This process took several months of research and discussion with both our staff and key volunteers in diverse industries, who specialize in brand recognition. Thanks to these efforts, we have received positive feedback, from undergraduate and alumni members, who see the redefined look as establishing our identity in the Fraternal marketplace. In addition, we have effectively aligned our Fraternity and Foundation, to advocate organizational synergies. This unification is instrumental to our philanthropic initiatives to bolster our educational aspirations – providing a world-class fraternity experience, where men can learn and grow in a spirit of fraternalism.
MYLC 2019 Facilitators
The 2019 Mid Year Leadership Conference, that convened in Kansas City, MO from January 3rd – 6th, marked the first time in the history of the program in which we comprehensively overhauled the educational curriculum. In 2018, we partnered with a professional firm, Plaid, to help us reimagine the program to more effectively provide leadership characteristics training for our undergraduate officers. The reconstructed program allowed our Curriculum Development Task Force, chaired by Matt Smith (Valparaiso ‘01), to capture valuable feedback that will assist in the continued development of undergraduate officer leadership training. In addition, the Task Force is concurrently reimagining the Tony Siress Leadership Summit, that in July 2019, will be transformed to an enhanced Emerging Leaders program. This particular program has been reimagined for rising sophomores and juniors seeking to develop their leadership skills and utilize them within their chapters and the overall campus community. We thank our brand ambassadors who collaborated with our staff in Kansas City to provide advice, mentoring and instruction to our undergraduates – we look forward to your continued support.
Undergraduates analyzing their Birkman Assesment Results at MYLC
In the immediate future, one of the items we are focusing on is the development of an online repository of educational webinars and modules, including but not limited to: Health & Safety Awareness, Membership Education, Pathways to Organizational Success, Senior-To-Alumni Transition, and Financial Planning for Life After College. Over the upcoming 6-24 months we will be investing into readily available educational resources thereby providing our members the opportunity to utilize them in the time frame they require. These educational initiatives are being developed with an emphasis on effectively ensuring a value-added learning experience for our members.
As we assess the horizon, please know that we have already initiated the process as of December 2018, with the introduction of a new Undergraduate Officer Transition learning module for Executive Council members across North America. Further Undergraduate Officer Transition education will be provided on January 31st with the introduction of the Undergraduate Officer Transition webinar. Concurrently, we are on schedule, for summer 2019, to launch a new Volunteer Training Module, that will provide coaching to our volunteers to aid them in understanding how to effectively support our undergraduate members and implement training on the policies that impact Sigma Pi. In addition to these initiatives, this August, we will launch required online training modules for undergraduate members that will cover a variety of Health & Safety topics.
If you would like to support these and other educational programs, please consider a philanthropic gift to our Educational Foundation by visiting http://sigmapiedfund.org/.
Past Grand Sages Join Grand Sage Palazzolo at MYLC 2019
From left to Right: PGS John Kitch (Purdue ’70), PGS Dennis Day (Missouri State ’72)
GS Joe Palazzolo (Monmouth ’00) and PGS Steve Lawler (Iowa ’78)
John Donne said it better than I ever could – “No Man Is An Island Unto Himself.” Sigma Pi would like to thank PGS Dennis Day for hosting the Alumni Reception in Kansas City, MO during MYLC 2019. Thanks to his philanthropic support, over 30 alumni had the opportunity to enjoy an evening of networking and brotherhood. We look forward to collaborating with other alumni and friends, across the globe to host receptions, as we continue to find opportunities to intersect our supporters and provide updates on what is happening across the Land of Sigma Pi. Years of experience has allowed me to reflect deeper on the context of John Donne’s words – we are only as strong as the people we have engaged and involved with us. Your professional and personal wisdom provides critical and valuable insight, to help us improve as an organization, and ensure our efforts to provide men with a world-class fraternal experience.
If you would be interested in supporting our initiatives by hosting an alumni reception in your city, setting up a CEF, grant, scholarship and/or being involved as a brand ambassador, please contact us at info@sigmapi.org and we would enjoy helping you find the opportunities for you to join in our efforts. Thank you for all that you do to promote and support Sigma Pi. We look forward to meeting you throughout 2019.