2006 - 2007 Projects
The 2006 - 2007 New England Regional Officers chose two main focus areas for their programming: Improving communication and supporting service work.
Communication Projects
Since communication between the region and its chapters needed extensive improvement, the 2006 - 2007 officers created three successful new methods for sharing important information with chapters, members, and advisors.
The first major project was the launch of the regional newsletter, which was published three times during their terms. The officers included information from International Headquarters, details on regional projects and programming, and announcements of chapter and member accomplishments. They also started the “Chapter in the Spotlight” feature, which allowed chapter officers to submit their own articles for publication.
The second project was the creation of the New England Regional Communication Group, or the NERCG, on Yahoo! Groups. This mailing list allows the regional officers to send messages to all chapters in the region with one click. The NERCG was very successful in spreading news quickly to officers and advisors.
The third project was the creation of the new regional website, neptk.org. The website provided a forum for keeping current information about the region available to members and advisors around the clock. It also gave the officers a place to upload important files, like meeting minutes and the newsletter, for others to view. The website was later resigned by the 2007 - 2008 officer team, which continued all three projects.
Download: Summer 2006 Newsletter
Download: Fall 2006 Newsletter
Download: Winter 2007 Newsletter
Tree-Planting Initiative
The 2006 - 2007 Regional Officers conducted a tree-planting initiative, which was developed to support the goal of the 2006 - 2007 International Officers of having chapters plant 2,007 trees by the start of the 2007 International Convention. The New England Region offered free saplings, donated by then-member of the Regional Advisory Board and Beta Alpha Epsilon (Landmark College) advisor Dave Mulholland, to any chapters that wanted them. The chapters could then plant the trees themselves or give them away in exchange for suggested donations. By the conclusion of the project, the New England Region was responsible for the planting of well over half of the entire International goal.
Host Community Volunteer Drives
The New England Region also organized two successful event-based service projects. Attendees at the 19th Annual New England Regional Convention in Newport, Rhode Island were asked to bring at least one non-perishable food item to donate to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. This was intended to be a way for the attendees to thank the Newport area for being such a gracious host location. The officers had set a goal of collecting 250 items; almost 600 were later donated to the Food Bank.
Previously, at the Northern Leadership Conference in Concord, New Hampshire in September, attendees raised more than $100 to support a Hesser College student whose young son had been struck by a vehicle and was receiving very expensive treatment at a Boston hospital. The money was donated by attendees through the sale of raffle tickets at the conference, which was co-hosted by Alpha Upsilon Omicron (New Hampshire Technical Institute) and Alpha Nu Upsilon (Hesser College).
The idea of thanking the host community was continued by the 2007 - 2008 Regional Officers at the 2007 Regional Leadership Conference in Brockton, Massachusetts, where attendees supported the Alpha Kappa Upsilon (Massasoit Community College) Project Graduation drive.