Ensuring You Get Emails from DKG!

It has happened to everyone. You send an email and it doesn’t get to the person. It isn’t in their junk/spam folder. It doesn’t come back to you. It can’t be found. What is happening? 

A blocked bounce indicates that something on the receiving end is preventing the email from being delivered. Often this happens with addresses that are delivered to secure companies, such as banks or schools—but blocking can happen to anyone. Some internet providers are known to block all bulk mail (i.e., a message you send to a number of people on one email) and prevent emails from coming through or even only have an "allowed" list that causes every other address to be blocked.  

In addition, the tier or level of your provider can cause problems. There are currently three tiers. The first tier includes the major providers such as AT&T, Comcast, Spectrum, etc. Companies that pay level one providers for access are considered level two. Companies that pay level two for access are considered level three. Level three companies frequently cause issues for email delivery. Think about it: an email sent to a level three provider must go through level one and level two to get to the address. So if your email address is suzy@mainstreetlibrary, chances are high that your provider is level three. 

What can be done to circumvent this problem? Anyone currently using a school address or an obscure provider should consider setting up a Gmail address. It is simple to do. Complete directions are HERE.  

Share your Gmail address with your chapter/state/International. Make sure you are getting all of your DKG email! 

 

Moments of Member Appreciation

We are well into the DKG year and busy with chapter programs and projects. Our work is very important, yet how can we ensure that every member knows she is needed and valued along the way? Here are a few ideas:  

• Ask members attending meetings/projects infrequently how they would like to contribute to the chapter. 
• Maintain and encourage active participation in workshops, conferences, and/or conventions at all levels, for all members, not only officers.  
• Engage members who have received scholarships, traveled, etc., to speak about their experiences at a chapter meeting. 
 
• Provide opportunities for members who do not attend events beyond the chapter to know about those meetings and to assist members who do. 
 
• Assign a member, or group of members, to reach out to members who are not attending meetings to let them know they are missed and make sure they are well. 
 
• Send certificates, cards, or an email to recognize membership anniversaries. 
 
• Recognize one or more members for professional service and/or service to DKG at chapter meetings, in your newsletter, and/or with a chapter achievement award. 
 
• Nominate members for state organization committees and awards, or recommend them for a Member Spotlight.
 

When we utilize member’s talents and recognize their contributions, they learn and grow and are more likely to stay engaged. When members are connected, our chapters get stronger. For more ideas see our new resource, Strategies for a Positive Chapter Environment. 

How do you keep members engaged in your chapter and the Society? 

The Leadership Puzzle ... and You

A main reason Delta Kappa Gamma was founded is still valid: women teachers need the support of each other. Chapters provide a haven of support and encouragement for women educators. Helping each other to build confidence, to feel the strength of combined voices, and to develop courage to speak out to and for each other is essential. DKG chapter leaders must feel the support of their members.  

When chapter members do not support each other to develop as educators, community members, and leaders, the chapter is weakened. That makes me wonder how it happens that a chapter with 24 members dissolves because no one wants to be the president? How can a chapter with six members continue? What is the difference? I think the difference is mindsets such as I’ve-been-there-and-done-that-and-it’s-not-my-problem and I’ve-been-there-and-done-that-and-it’s-my-opportunity-to-foster-the-potential-of-another leader-AND-of-my-chapter. Both mindsets are valid and likely result from several factors that affect the chapter culture. 

Consider your chapter: 

1. Do members encourage each other? OR do members create cliques and wait for others to do what they see needs to be done (enliven programs, make personal contact, explore the chapter relationship to the state organization and international)? 

2. Do members support the officers and each other with attention and courtesy? OR do members criticize the officers and each other in private and in public?  

3. Do chapter leaders foster potential personal and professional growth of members? OR do chapter leaders “possess” their positions and keep them long term as they fail to encourage and train others to test and practice their skills?  

4. Do members really listen to each other about what they want from chapter membership? OR do a few members make all the decisions ignoring time constraints and other responsibilities of the others? 

Do you do all you can to help others? Of course, you do: that’s what educators do. We chose to be and continue to be educators because we know we can help others develop their potential and to experience accomplishment. YOUR chapter needs your positive attitude to lead the way for leaders and followers. 

As chapters consider the election of their 2018-2020 officers, YOUR understanding of “leadership” is crucial. Is yours a chapter that successfully fills each office with someone who seeks the challenge of her responsibility? OR is yours a chapter that hears the discouragement—stagnation—of “I’ve been president twice. Nobody wants to be president, and so I guess we’ll have to dissolve.” Those words, that sentiment, are not rare. Why is that? What circumstances lead to this giving up on something that you value? 

Is the responsibility of inviting new members—growing new leaders—overwhelming? Are you wary of taking a leadership role?  I encourage you to set a personal goal to enrich your chapter. YOU can lead small to lead large when you use the best in you to enhance the best in a budding educator and in a veteran educator. What “safer” place is there to do that than in your DKG chapter? Who can do this better than you?