MEMBERSHIP MESSAGE
The Gift of Sustaining Membership
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By Mary Johnson, Ontario Psi, North Central Membership Chairman
hapters are the heart and home for A∆K members. Members support and encourage one another in their chapter roles and responsibilities and in their professional and personal lives. When a chapter disbands or a member moves away from their beloved chapter, there are options. One is to transfer membership to another chapter nearby. Sometimes, there isn’t a chapter close enough to join, so becoming a sustaining member is the answer. Sustaining members have all the rights, privileges and obligations of a member affiliated with a chapter. The missing piece in their membership is the connection to a home chapter and the close connections with chapter sisters. The Membership Analysis for February 2022 recorded 549 sustaining members. Limited members without affiliation to a home chapter were also recorded on the International sustaining list. An International Membership Committee (IMC) work group was formed to take a closer look at services across the regions in support of sustaining members. For obvious reasons, the numbers fluctuate from month to month. An important step in supporting our sustaining sisters is monitoring contact information for accuracy. As sisters age and move away from their home area, they sometimes forget to send their new addresses to International Headquarters or to their state, province or nation. The usual monitoring procedure is for treasurers to keep track of sustaining members when collecting dues. Many groups have a designated person, often the VP for Membership/Consultant or Corresponding Secretary, who is responsible for communicating with these members through newsletters, telephone calls, greeting cards and invitations to Founders’ Day celebrations and chapter events. A suggestion is that the names and contact information be shared with chapter presidents so they can invite these members to meetings and events. They might even consider adopting a sustaining sister. Many organizations invite sustaining members to join them at their conventions, regional conferences and international conventions. How wonderful for a sustaining sister to receive a call and be invited to join her sisters on a road trip. Several “actively engaged” sustaining members contributed to this article by phone, Zoom or email. I also heard from officers responsible for contacting these members. Let’s hear some of their voices and hopefully, they will encourage others to become more involved. Julie Ditton said, “As an International sustaining member 2
living Down Under so ‘far from the madding crowd,’ I feel a close liaison with A∆K sisters in various S/P/Ns. I have been invited to attend many Zoom meetings, been actively involved on the World Understanding Committee for C.H.E.A.R., adjudicated applications for chapter projects and hosted a holiday celebration Aussie-style on Zoom with my SW sisters. I have also been invited to write articles for the KAPPAN. I have been an A∆K member for over 40 years and have attended regional conferences and International conventions where I have met and made special friends in our sisterhood. I hope to continue to kindle these wonderful friendships for many years. We are all kindred spirits although thousands of miles apart.” Ev Kemp has been a member of two chapters in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Both, unfortunately disbanded. Her sustaining membership has allowed her to keep in touch with other educators. Ev loved the altruistic projects of her chapter and also loved working with younger members and hearing their ideas and suggestions. She enjoys being invited to A∆K events, including Founders’ Day and fundraisers. She loves reading her KAPPAN and receiving the Ontario newsletters by mail. Ev says that this communication keeps her current on what’s going on in A∆K. Judith Gilberti is a NJ sustaining member, currently serving as the Northeast Region Altruistic Chair. She is presenting a learning session in Atlantic City in July with two other sisters from New Jersey. Virginia Seymour was an A∆K member for over 70 years and served as KS state president. She became a sustaining member when her chapter disbanded. At 97 years old, she joined Omega chapter. She had written this lovely reply note to KS IPP Barbara Corder, who was responsible for contacting and keeping in touch with the KS sustaining members. “Barbara, you have been so faithful to send A∆K state letters, get well cards and wishing me well notes on a regular basis and how I have enjoyed each one. Thanks so much for your special kindness.” Virginia Retabess Ling, also a KS A∆K member for 70 years, wrote the following note to Barbara Corder. “Barbara, thank you for the neat St. Patrick’s Day card. Knowing that others are thinking about you makes the long journey with the pandemic a little easier to cope with.” Retabess Jennie Tomas, WA State Treasurer, was contacting her sustaining members regarding state dues and invited Bev Winther
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