Archive for January, 2007

Phi Beta Sigma on CBS

Saw this posted on a message board

On Sunday February 4th

The Theta Rho Sigma & Rho Sigma chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (Miami, Florida) will be stepping, Live On The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

The Show airs Nationally on CBS directly after the Superbowl at 12 midnight.

As well, on Monday February 5th they are bringing us back for a double take on the Craig Ferguson Show airing his regualr time

Tune in to CBS and check out the Men of PHI BETA SIGMA as we do our thing.

The Seven Years of Jubilee Resolution

On last Thursday (Jan 18), the members of Tri-Sigma Chapter adopted the “Seven Years of Jubilee” resolution to be forwarded to the General Board and the Conclave. The purpose of this communication is to outline the reasons for the resolution and to request the co-sponsorship of member chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

History is the foundation upon which all people and organizations rest as they project themselves into the future. Phi Beta Sigma has a rich history; but unfortunately, much of the documentation of our history is seriously lacking. And every day we are losing elders who have not been exhaustively questioned to record the memories of events and personalities of the past about which our future generations must have knowledge. We recently lost Bro. Francis Hall, the last remaining author of the original Sigma Light. Brother Hall knew all of the Founders and had in his memory countless stories; many of which are now lost forever.

The Seven Years of Jubilee Resolution is designed to intensely focus the efforts of all chapters and units of Phi Beta Sigma on the researching and documenting of our history – at every level over each of the next seven years. Ancillary to the resolution, and not a direct part of the resolution is the construction of an electronic Phi Beta Sigma Family Tree which will document the chartering and development of each and every chapter in our fraternity beginning with the Founders and built upon the two senior chapters (Alpha Chapter for undergraduates and Alpha Sigma Chapter for graduates) as the trunks of our Sigma tree. In order to construct the family tree as well as to prepare the background and source material for an Anniversary history, it will be necessary for every chapter of the fraternity to fully document its founding and its developmental history. Also required will be the recording (both on video and audio) of the most senior members of our fraternity in every area. Over the past few years we have lost elders such as Bro. Oscar Morgan, Oliver Eastman, Bill Doar, and others; men whose very visual presence would serve to both inspire and instruct our future generations. We must not continue to lose our vital history.

The chapters of Phi Beta Sigma are the basic unit of the fraternity and the natural source of the policies and programs that should guide our organization. Over the past few years, an apathy has grown within the fraternity and much of our action seems aimless. This resolution is also designed to stimulate chapters to become cosponsors as a way to introduce them to the process by which they can begin again to have their Conclave delegates structure the business of our bi-annual legislative meeting to give both direction and energy to our future development.

I am urging member chapters of Phi Beta Sigma to adopt this resolution, either in a chapter meeting or by executive committee, and to forward their agreement and co-sponsorship to the Executive Director by certified mail (return receipt requested) for presentation through our General Board (if received in the National Office before February 6th) and to the Conclave (if received in the National Office after February 6th and before the Conclave).

If we set this item of business before the Conclave in the proscribed manner (and other resolutions and amendments in the same manner) we will quickly be able to restore the regular order left to us by our Founders and the Ancestors of Sigma who have left us with the responsibility to carry out the precepts to which they have left us as guardians.

I look to your chapter for your agreement and co-sponsorship and I await actions that you will forward to us for our consideration.

Godbless.

An Open Letter to the President – #1

Dear Mr. President:

Today is the day we celebrate the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King; a day which has always had special meaning to and for me. For the twelve years that I served as the Executive Director of Phi Beta Sigma, I always worked in the office on this special day. In fact – I always worked on all holidays (derived from the term holy days), Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.  However on MLK Day, I always worked extra long as a tribute to a man who gave all that he had to make America live up to the ultimate goals of its founding fathers.

On this special day, I rededicate myself to the fulfillment of the ultimate goals of our Founders – the Founders of our great fraternity. Phi Beta Sigma is not great because of what it does – because it really does not do very much of what it was created to do. Phi Beta Sigma is great because of its ultimate goal-purpose.  The Founders of Phi Beta Sigma established a new fraternity on the campus of Howard University in the winter of 1914 because they did not feel that any organization existed which properly bound college trained men to the communities from which they had come. Our Founders developed a very simple and straight-forward formula. They said that the ultimate goal-purpose of college-trained men should be “Service” to those from whom they had come – to all humanity. To be able to give the proper “Service”, our Founders believed that college-trained men should pursue the necessary “Scholarship” – to gain the specific knowledge required to provide assistance to the community. And to be properly oriented and organized, our Founders believed that men should be bound together in a fraternal “Brotherhood”.

As I sit and write this letter to you today and over the days that it will take to complete it; any honest Sigma will have to admit that we are far from the goal-purpose of our Founders. There are specific reasons for our being off track. I wish to share those reasons with you; and to share those reasons with the general membership beyond you who, like you, may not be aware of the reasons for our being so far off track.
Read more…

LinkedIn Sigma Group

With the support of Bro. Dr. Ernest Miller, Western Regional Director, I’m pleased to announce the launch of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. Group on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the leading professional network tool online, used by over 3.4 million professionals worldwide. A simple search shows over 100 LinkedIn members whose profile lists “Phi Beta Sigma”. Through the members-only Phi Beta Sigma Group, you can:

• Leverage the power of the Phi Beta Sigma network to find and reach the new business contacts you need
• Accelerate your career through referrals from Phi Beta Sigma Group members
• Know more than a name – view rich professional profiles from fellow Phi Beta Sigma Group members
• Let other Phi Beta Sigma Group members know what you have to offer to them and their contacts
• Connect with secondary and tertiary contacts to open up new career opportunities

Access to special Phi Beta Sigma Group features on LinkedIn is free and is available to Phi Beta Sigma Group members only.

Whether you use LinkedIn already or you’re new to LinkedIn, please join the members-only Phi Beta Sigma Group.

Not sure yet? Here’s a great blog post on the benefits of LinkedIn.

from HQ staff

Happy Founders Day to All Members of Our Great Fraternity from Your International Executive Director and the Headquarters’ Staff. Our Founders established a fraternity based upon “Brotherhood, Scholarship and Service”
Let us all do them proud by living in the model that they have left to us.

Donald J. Jemison – International Executive Director