Convention Bid: A Love Note

by Biz Carson, EA

While getting handed the four bound editions of our convention bid to send in the mail, I felt several things all at once. The first was the desire to cough because I had bronchitis. The second was to pass out because I had pulled an all-nighter working on the budget. The third was a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in Alpha Zeta.

The initial work on the convention bid occurred before I even knew what KKPsi was. Cassey Crowell and her convention committee had worked to submit a bid the year before. Lacking the full support of the chapter, it never went beyond the initial planning stages

A year later, I held bound copies of 69 pages of plans, budgets, maps, restaurants, etc. Looking back on the experience of producing a convention bid, it was more than just compiling a list of restaurants and budgeting how much money would be spent on bagels for breakfast. The most rewarding part was looking and evaluating our own chapter.

We do a lot of service in Alpha Zeta – stand tightening, water bottle, uniforms, cleaning Hundred Hall, music filing, etc. It all blurs together in the time of a year, as service just becomes part of what you do. To prepare for the bid, we had to list everything and put it in a positive light. It was great to see how much we do, but also where we need to improve. We could easily identify our strengths and weaknesses. The bid became a self-evaluation, a presentation of our chapter, and a chance to reflect on our work.

The same evaluation happened with every aspect of our chapter: joint relations, sponsor relations, membership education, and finances. It was nice to take a step back and look at the chapter from an outside perspective. What would people think of our chapter as they flipped through our bid? Would they think we’re on the decline because of our low PM classes? Would they think we’re financially unstable since our budget isn’t in the tens of thousands?

Regardless of their answers, I’m proud of our bid. The feedback from the committee and our brothers was really good and beneficial. We’ll continue to rework the bid and submit it for convention 2012. Watch out North Central District.