President's Regional Conference Speech

Greetings, dear sisters. I cannot tell you what a delight it has been to attend these regional conferences. At each one, we feel the Alpha Delta Kappa Spirit ~ the love of our sisterhood. The opportunity to come together in person to celebrate each region’s good works is priceless after more than two years of Zooming. Thank you to all of the International Vice Presidents of the regions and to the conference chairmen and planning teams. Congratulations to all of the newly installed regional presidentselect. You are blazing trails and strengthening our organization.

As we near the 75th anniversary of Alpha Delta Kappa we reflect upon the vision of our Founders. Agnes herself, in 1959, said, "We realize that during the coming years, many adjustments will be necessary to meet the growth of Alpha Delta Kappa and the changes in our profession, as Internationally there are changes. Chapters also will have to make adjustments. We know that it is impossible to become permanently well-adjusted.”

How wise Agnes was. I don’t think anyone could have imagined the world in which we live today. Change is hard, but it IS inevitable. The reality is - if we, as an organization do not change to meet the needs of early career educators, we will not survive. We MUST adapt as we move forward, so this is my message.

We CAN do this. The this, of course, is GROW Alpha Delta Kappa. It will not happen overnight and it will not happen without ALL of us. You are here I believe because you love Alpha Delta Kappa. You believe in the good we do and you want it to continue. So do I. So does Executive Director Christi and every member of the International Chapter. We are all working for the same purpose - to recognize and support outstanding women educators and to give of ourselves to make our world a better place.

After I was installed as International President, I asked Each One to Reach One and I know many of you have - we have initiated over 600 new members and reinstated 140 members since June 1st of 2021. We ARE initiating new members.

We are also losing members - we cannot do anything about those who join the Omega chapter. But we CAN do something about those who are choosing to resign. We need to double down on retaining members. Each One Reach One includes reaching those members in our own chapters who are not as engaged as we’d like them to be. Many of us know there are times when we can do more to reach out to those sisters. Our organization is built on relationships and we must invest in building those relationships in order to survive. Communicate with those sisters you haven’t seen for a while. We know many youngers prefer texting or some form of social media. Find the members in your chapter that can help navigate the ever changing waters of technology today and enlist their help. Others love to hear your voice, so call them. We must do whatever it takes to build those relationships, because it is the sisterhood that keeps us connected and coming back. This is the gift we want to continue to give our fellow sisters. It is the gift outstanding women educators out there deserve as they face the challenges of being an educator today. Some say we have always faced challenges as educators and that is true, but I venture to say that out of the past 75 years, these past two and half years have been some of the most challenging of years ever for active educators.

Outstanding women educators are out there and they need Alpha Delta Kappa, today more than ever. They will benefit from our support, our scholarships, our altruistic work, our love. It is up to each one of us to reach out and find them and Share the Love of Alpha Delta Kappa. For those of us who have been retired for more than a few years, it may be that we look to those who are educating our grandchildren, our nieces, our nephews and our neighbors. We belong to many different communities - our neighborhoods, houses of worship, those with whom we gather to enjoy common interests. Reach out. Build new relationships. Invest time in getting to know potential members. Invite them to activities - not so much the business meetings, but the altruistic activities we all love where we bond because we have a common desire to do good. Allow time for both your chapter members and the potential members to determine if this is a good fit. It is important because I would bet that most of us have learned the hard way that if we don’t invest time in getting to know potential members, it is more likely we will lose the member in the long run, which brings me to reinstatement. Reach out to our Headquarters staff and ask for a list of sisters that have resigned in the last 10 years - we have that information. Ask the sisters in your chapter who have had a relationship with them to contact these previous members. Circumstances change. Many are hungry for personal connections now. Welcome them back with open arms.

Each One Reach One. Reach MORE than One. We will be stronger if we strengthen our relationships with each other. We will be stronger if we reach out and build new relationships. We CAN do it. We just need to Share the Love of Alpha Delta Kappa. Thank you.

And Many Bags of Peanuts

From Fresno, California to Honolulu, Hawaii, back to California for the flight to Wichita, KS to Jacksonville, FL, to Frankenmuth, MI, to Atlantic City, NJ to Wilmington, NC and finally home, International President Mollie Acosta logged over 17,000 miles this summer attending the regional conferences. She was on the road and in the skies for the entire month of July. She checked two bags, one weighing almost 50 pounds, packed with clothes and accessories for every climate and to fit every theme, including boots and a cowboy hat, and carried on a small bag and her backpack. “Sisters,” Mollie said, “were so welcoming all along the way. I was greeted at airports, driven to sisters’ homes and given untold welcome gifts. It was an incredible journey.”