"Nos Vemos, Brother Network..." by Xavier Romano
This is an exciting time of change and evolution for our community as we formally bid adieu to The Brother Network on the 17th of this month. I could not be more excited about ushering in a new era and fraternal experience for the Fraternity with GreekTrack as our new operating system for Sigma Lambda Beta. This has been nearly two and a half years of negotiation with GreekTrack after a review of the marketplace. Based on ongoing feedback from collegiate members, they hoped for a system that was intuitive, easy to navigate and dare I say fun. This system is also comprehensive allowing amazing customization for chapters, alumni networks, and associations and a fundamentally new platform for collegiate and Alumni Brothers. Yes, we thought of you as well!
So here we go. Being the resident technological dinosaur, I am anxious and nervous, but very excited for us all. I only ask for a little bit of patience as we are about 50% through our data transfer and migration. So far it has been ideal and I cannot thank the Executive Office crew enough as this has been and is our operational priority for quite some time. The Brother Network will be no more on the 17th of this month and our website will go "dark" until the 1st of the year. During this "dark" period there will be endless testing, retesting and endless conversation between the Executive Office and GreekTrack (BTW - GreekTrack is exceptional to work with & has excellent customer service). At that time, only collegiate members will be able to access it as this is an intentional phased roll-out as recommended by GreekTrack. You as Alumni will have access to GreekTrack on the 15th of January around Noon CST. If you are curious about the range and functionality of GreekTrack please visit their website here. and have a look around. More information will be coming forward regarding the roll-out on the 15th I assure you!
This has been a rather special journey on my part. We listened to our membership, learned a great deal, found a product that we believe would take us to the next operational experience for the membership, and worked for nearly three years to bring it to fruition. We look forward to welcoming you all to THE STALLION NETWORK in 2022...January 15th...Noon CST (more or less!)!
And to the Brother Network, we thank you for your time with us.
From the Executive Office, we wish you and yours a safe and joy-filled Holiday Season!
Fraternally,
Xavier Romano
Executive Director
GreekTrack Comes to SLB!
Brothers,
We are excited to announce that Sigma Lambda Beta will be transitioning to a new data management system called GreekTrack and will be implemented in early January of 2022. This will be replacing the current “Brother Network” website and will be able to house all Brotherhood information. At the Executive Office, we are so happy and excited to see the impact that this will have on our entire membership be it Alumni or Collegiate Brothers. It will have the capacity to make communication seamless among the entire membership for any possible events, updates, and deadlines. GreekTrack comes ready with major implications for daily tasks, be it for automatic invoicing for dues or for entity-specific resources that can be found by a few clicks of your mouse.
The Executive Office has heard the concerns about the Brother Network and rest assured we believe this move will impact our entire community for the best interest of the Fraternity. A major contributor to the reason behind moving platforms is how user-friendly the website will be to help any entity or Brother in the long run. Having a more autonomous system will allow for more engagement with our membership in a variety of different ways be it recruitment tactics, job boards, or even tracking events within a regional calendar and website! Once again we are excited to share this great news with you and we look forward to more engagement among all of our Brothers in the future.
Fraternally,
The Executive Office Team
"The EBOD Visit to Puerto Rico" by Jorge Perez de Jesus
The Executive Board of ΣΛΒ International Fraternity, Incorporated met in San Juan, Puerto Rico last weekend, November 19-20, for their second face-to-face meeting for this year. The EBOD
discussed a variety of topics including the Alumni Intake Process, the status of our entities, and BETACON 2022. The EBOD recognized and applauded the hard work of the Regional Directors and all of our entities in the March to 400 campaign.
Although we, as a Fraternity missed the goal of 400 inductions, we did reach 248 for the fall semester and will be repeating the campaign again during the spring semester. Many of our entities have begun initiating their respective Associate Members ensuring the growth and strength of our beloved brotherhood.
The highlight of the weekend was meeting with the Brothers of the Puerto Rico Alumni Network in Ponce. Most of the Brothers of the PRAN, led by Brother Edgardo Lugo, are alumni Brothers from our Delta Chapter. Our Chairman, Roberto Ceballos, commended the Brothers on organizing themselves into a network and taking the first steps to begin the Alumni Intake process. Brother Brian Castro, Chairman of the Chicago Alumni Network, was also present and
has volunteered to assist the PRAN in their efforts to conduct alumni intake.
The goal of reestablishing a chapter in Puerto Rico is one step closer thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Brothers of the Puerto Rico Alumni Network.
Click here for the Spanish version.
A step-by-step guide to build a personal financial plan … from your friends at Principal
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Omega Fund Update, by Jason Smolka
As the calendar year comes to a close so too does the first year of existence for the Sigma Lambda Beta Omega Fund. Our first year of existence was spent spreading the word about who the Omega Fund was, and what services we are looking to provide for the Brotherhood. Members of the Omega Fund board spent time visiting with each region, the Alumni Caucus, and over half of the Alumni Associations that exist. Our efforts have been fruitful as we now have over 25% of our chapters who have submitted a “Phase 1” contribution.
Unfortunately, we had a total of four additional brothers enter the ranks of the Omega Chapter this past year. We take a moment to recognize Brothers, Tyler “Polisco” Marquez, Tau Chapter, Daniel “Philosopher” Cabrera, Eta Gamma, Dominic “el Fuego” Olivas, Iota Chapter, and Leonardo “Dynamiko” Suarez, Xi Gamma Chapter. As a 501(c)3 organization, the Omega Fund will provide a cost-free fundraising source for the family of any Brother who passes away, and we were able to do so directly for three of these Brothers’ families. In the future, should a Brother of your chapter pass away you need only reach out to the Omega Fund at info@sigmalambdabeta.com or contact the Executive Office and we will initiate outreach to the impacted family and fundraising.
As part of our ongoing endeavors, we continue to raise funds to ensure that at the moment of a Brother’s passing the Omega Fund is able to send financial support to a Brother’s family without relying on in-the-moment donations. If you’d like more information on how you can support the aims of the Omega Fund please visit our website here. If you would like to contribute to the Omega Fund directly, you can do so here. Finally, if you happen to notice that information about a Brother who has passed is missing or incomplete, please submit updated/corrected information here.
Alumni Caucus Update, Jason Smolka
Last year, through the passing of a proposal at the House of Delegates, the Alumni Caucus was formed into existence. Since that time the Alumni Caucus has worked to provide a space for Alumni Networks to find common ground, share best practices and work to leverage our collective voice and strength. This past Summer, the Alumni Caucus put together an Alumni track that took place during the Leadership Institute and looks to continue this type of activity with this year’s upcoming BetaCon.
One area that the Alumni Caucus is looking to continually engage in, is the amplifying and celebrating of the work that our Alumni Networks are already engaged in. If you as an Alumni or your Alumni Network are helping to move the good work along and looking to increase the size of the audience you are reaching, allow the Alumni Caucus to help.
The REC has approved the alumni intake process which is now moving forward and has been vetted by the REC and Chairman. More information to come shortly.
Finally, the Alumni Caucus is currently seeking candidates to take on the role of Chairman and Vice-Chairman. If you have any interest in taking on a position of leadership with the alumni movement, please reach out to me at jason.smolka@gmail.com.
