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Jan/Feb 2024 | Vol. 81 No. 1

From the Desk
DEADLINES
of the Director

February 1 ommunication is often defined as
Scholarship Application C an exchange of information between

February 1 individuals. When plural, the definition
Educators Book Award Nita R. Scott, CAE broadens to include a system or network
Submissions Executive Director for such an exchange. And it has been
February 15 the focus of many conversations at recent Inside International
Arts & Humanities sessions and Town Halls, as well as a concern identified in the
Submissions for Spring Gallery research conducted during the recent Avenue M membership
March 1 project.

International Achievement As I have listened to the discussions, I have recognized a pattern
Award Recommendations emerging throughout the dialogues: Members are not aware of the

March 1 many resources and benefits available to them, yet committees
DKGIEF Project Application and boards feel they have shared all the right information via
March 1 a variety of channels. Because many members believe that the

Bulletin: Journal Submissions breakdown in our communications is a key “barrier” to a rich
membership experience, it is critical that we find ways to bridge
any perceived communication gap if we wish to strengthen DKG
HQ CLOSED for future growth and build a better member culture.
Here is a little background from the international perspective

December 20 - January 4 that may help frame your strategic thinking: Members all have
Winter Holiday direct access to their contact information and member accounts
via the MyDKG area of the DKG website. This allows members
January 15 to provide us with and regularly update their email addresses.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
(US) However, most members do not regularly visit the DKG website

February 19 because dues are submitted at the chapter level rather than directly
to international. You see, we are a “bottom up” organization.
President’s Day (US)
Most other organizations are “top down,” and members must
visit the organization website to pay dues. Thus, it is easy for
those organizations to contact members and send notifications
or information to them via email. For DKG, the large number of
missing or inaccurate emails restricts the organization’s ability to

send emails to our members. In fact, trying to do so in the past has
placed our organization’s cyber reputation at risk and threatened
our ability to conduct business by email at all!
So, this brings us back to communications – a network
or system that allows for that exchange of information. Most
information sent directly from International is sent to state
organizations, most often the presidents. See DIR p. 5

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