Greetings from Binghamton, NY! It is the end of day 6 on the road and I am starting to feel it. This is the end of my first day at SUNY-Binghamton. Operationally, they are the worst performing chapter in my region. I swear I have gone over chapter reporting, submission of reports, and deadlines about 100 times with these guys and they just don't get it. Yeah, its pretty much a train wreck here. I thought that the chapter had 18 men, but when I showed up today I found out that due to inaccurate reporting the chapter only consists of 10 men. The campus has about 12,000 students and about 40 fraternities. Some I have never heard of. The campus doesn't get what a "values based fraternity experience" is, unfortunately. The men know that they have to recruit this year or else they are going to fizzle, but I just don't know if they are organized enough OR understand the amount of work it is going to take. When you are only 10 men strong and haven't really recruited for 2-3 years, you have no visibility on campus. Why would I join Beta at Binghamton when there are 39 other options, and most likely they are more organized and offer a better experience. We'll see what happens, I'll be back in 15 days to do training for the advising team.
Last night I drove 2 hours north to meet with the District Chief, Bob Burwell. I had dinner with him and his wife at a famous place called "Dinosaur BBQ". Wow was it good! It definitely reminded me of Kansas City. I had ribs and pulled pork.....so good! Then I drove two hours back to my Motel 6. I was encouraged to find some man getting arrested for drug possession when I pulled back into the Motel 6 parking lot and I thought to myself,"...that's about right."
Tonight I'm staying with Binghamton's chapter counselor, Tom Bucker. He is a dentist and works in town. As soon as I'm done with my last meeting tomorrow, I am going to head out to Boston. I'm hoping to get a good portion of my trip out of the way. Friday is supposed to me my one "Day Off" for the week, but as seems to be the norm, I will spend the entire day in a Starbucks getting my reports submitted, because I literally have not had time this week. Saturday I'm heading to Maine with Ben Swartz, the District Chief there. It should be a good time.
That's all for now!
-T
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Good Morning from the Southern Tier of New York!
As I woke up this morning I realized that I'm definitely back in the Northeast. Of the 5 days I've been out on the road this is the 2nd day of rain I have experienced. I can count on one hand the number of rainy days we had in Oxford this summer. While all my peeps back in Missouri are getting thunderstorms, I am remided that I forgot my umbrella when I went on the road.
This morning I'm sitting at one of my favorite places--Panera Cafe & Bakery. For those who are not business travelers, I will fill you in on a little secret. Finding a Panera, to me, is probably what finding the "new world" was to Christopher Columbus. Great food, great coffee, and FREE WIRELESS internet. I'm in heaven right now.
Today is the one year anniversary of Hurrican Katrina. I was reminded of it as I was watching the Weather Channel this morning (I think the years of my dad sitting and staring at The Weather Channel rubbed off on me--seriously!). Anyways, its funny because I remember exactly one year ago sitting in my hotel room up in Canton, NY watching the weather channel as Hurrican Katrina hit New Orleans. I am thinking of my brothers down in Florida right now as Hurricane Ernesto gets closer to FLorida. For some reason, Beta loves doing expansions in Hurricane ridden areas. Last year, we had our entire expansion team down in Miami working at Florida International University as Hurrican Wilma hit the state. This year, our team is down there prepping for our expansion at the University of Miami. As if expansions aren't hard enough--we just seem to like the challenge of adding a hurricane to the mix. Good luck, bros!
Today, is day two for my visit to Cornell. The chapter is in much better spirits than it was last year. Last April, the chapter was so down and drained that even I was depressed when I left the chapter. Yesterday was VERY busy. I had back-to-back meetings from 10am until about 8pm. I was able to go and visit the Graduate Admissions office for the Industial & Labor Relations program. It is a beautiful building with its very own library. Its no wonder that it is the top HR program in the country. Now if I can just get in! Ithaca is beautiful. It is nestled in the rolling hills and flowing gorges of the Southern Tier of NY. Today, I'm meeting with the Greek Advisor at Cornell and I have one more officer meeting with the chapter. Tonight I'm heading to Syracuse to meet with a District Chief.
This afternoon I'm going to clock-in for several hours and try and get my reports written for my Bethany and Cornell Visit. Each one will probably take me 2-3 hours. One thing about being on the road is that there is never enough time in the day to get what you want to get done. When you are in the office, you can leave and go home and somewhat enjoy your evening--but when you're on the road you are always doing something. Either follow-up reports from the past visits you just completed, doing officer meetings and presentations for the current visit you are at, or you are prepping for the visits you are about to make. Thank goodness I'm organized! Some people don't get what I do and I think they often times perceive my job as a cop out or "escape from the real world". This is by far the best job I could have gotten out of college. My challenge is to now be able to communicate what I have learned to future employers.
Well, I need to get some emails written and head out to Ithaca. Hope you are doing well wherever you are!
-T
As I woke up this morning I realized that I'm definitely back in the Northeast. Of the 5 days I've been out on the road this is the 2nd day of rain I have experienced. I can count on one hand the number of rainy days we had in Oxford this summer. While all my peeps back in Missouri are getting thunderstorms, I am remided that I forgot my umbrella when I went on the road.
This morning I'm sitting at one of my favorite places--Panera Cafe & Bakery. For those who are not business travelers, I will fill you in on a little secret. Finding a Panera, to me, is probably what finding the "new world" was to Christopher Columbus. Great food, great coffee, and FREE WIRELESS internet. I'm in heaven right now.
Today is the one year anniversary of Hurrican Katrina. I was reminded of it as I was watching the Weather Channel this morning (I think the years of my dad sitting and staring at The Weather Channel rubbed off on me--seriously!). Anyways, its funny because I remember exactly one year ago sitting in my hotel room up in Canton, NY watching the weather channel as Hurrican Katrina hit New Orleans. I am thinking of my brothers down in Florida right now as Hurricane Ernesto gets closer to FLorida. For some reason, Beta loves doing expansions in Hurricane ridden areas. Last year, we had our entire expansion team down in Miami working at Florida International University as Hurrican Wilma hit the state. This year, our team is down there prepping for our expansion at the University of Miami. As if expansions aren't hard enough--we just seem to like the challenge of adding a hurricane to the mix. Good luck, bros!
Today, is day two for my visit to Cornell. The chapter is in much better spirits than it was last year. Last April, the chapter was so down and drained that even I was depressed when I left the chapter. Yesterday was VERY busy. I had back-to-back meetings from 10am until about 8pm. I was able to go and visit the Graduate Admissions office for the Industial & Labor Relations program. It is a beautiful building with its very own library. Its no wonder that it is the top HR program in the country. Now if I can just get in! Ithaca is beautiful. It is nestled in the rolling hills and flowing gorges of the Southern Tier of NY. Today, I'm meeting with the Greek Advisor at Cornell and I have one more officer meeting with the chapter. Tonight I'm heading to Syracuse to meet with a District Chief.
This afternoon I'm going to clock-in for several hours and try and get my reports written for my Bethany and Cornell Visit. Each one will probably take me 2-3 hours. One thing about being on the road is that there is never enough time in the day to get what you want to get done. When you are in the office, you can leave and go home and somewhat enjoy your evening--but when you're on the road you are always doing something. Either follow-up reports from the past visits you just completed, doing officer meetings and presentations for the current visit you are at, or you are prepping for the visits you are about to make. Thank goodness I'm organized! Some people don't get what I do and I think they often times perceive my job as a cop out or "escape from the real world". This is by far the best job I could have gotten out of college. My challenge is to now be able to communicate what I have learned to future employers.
Well, I need to get some emails written and head out to Ithaca. Hope you are doing well wherever you are!
-T
Friday, August 25, 2006
Hello Everyone! Welcome to my first attempt at a blog. I'm hoping to shed a little insight into my life on the road as a consultant for Beta Theta Pi.
I'll start off with a little introduction about myself. My name is Travis Fischer and I am a Senior Leadership Consultant for Beta Theta Pi. I advise 14 chapters and 1 colony in the northeast of the United States and southeast of the providence of Ontario. I graduated from the University of Minnesota in May of 2005 with a B.S. in Human Resource Development. I grew up in the beautiful foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Southwest Missouri (Lebanon, MO). When I was 15 I moved to the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area and graduated from Blue Springs High School. I am now starting my second year traveling for Beta Theta Pi and I am very excited to be on the road for a second year.
Today was my official first day on the road for year two. I left my sweet new apartment in Oxford, Ohio at 7:45am this morning and started my journey to Bethany, WV for my first visit with one of our newest colonies at Bethany College. As I drove on I-70 across Ohio, I was pleasantly reminded of how theraputic the long drives can be. It is a great opportunity to clear you mind OR to fill it with all kinds of ideas. I'm not sure where I land on the spectrum--but I think that I land somewhere in the middle. I usually use a long drive to get really pumped up for my next visit--as was the case today. It was great pulling into Bethany today. The chapter house is beautiful. The founding fathers have finally moved in, there is new carpeting, shades, furniture, and it feels like a home. I was greated with the Beta grip by my Psi colony brothers whom I spent almost 12 weeks with this spring. It truly is great to be back!
Today's drive also gave me a chance to think about my graduate school applications and all the requirements they want submited--I'm surprised they don't need a blood sample. I spent almost two days this week working on applications, essays, personal statements, and ordering transcripts. And what do I have to show for it? Not much, but I'm getting there.
I had dinner from a Greek restaurant that one of the Psi brother's parents own. It was so good. I love Greek food. I got settled into on of the vacant rooms and spent some time catching up with the brothers. They are such a eclectic group of men. I couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for Beta Theta Pi these men may have never come together in friendship. To me it was a perfect example of why the concept of fraternity is so awesome.
After dinner I drove to Washington, PA (where I am now) at a Starbucks. I needed access to the internet and cell phone service. On the way over I stopped to fill up for gas..yeah it was $2.46 in Oxford this morning....I just filled up for $2.78. I however was pleasantly surprised to find that I got 40 mpg on my way here! (I have a new goal this year to actually drive the speed limit because of the amount of money you save on gas.)
Well, I am going to prepare for my day of meetings tomorrow. Hopefully I will get everything done before Starbucks closes at 11pm!
I'll start off with a little introduction about myself. My name is Travis Fischer and I am a Senior Leadership Consultant for Beta Theta Pi. I advise 14 chapters and 1 colony in the northeast of the United States and southeast of the providence of Ontario. I graduated from the University of Minnesota in May of 2005 with a B.S. in Human Resource Development. I grew up in the beautiful foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Southwest Missouri (Lebanon, MO). When I was 15 I moved to the Kansas City, Missouri metropolitan area and graduated from Blue Springs High School. I am now starting my second year traveling for Beta Theta Pi and I am very excited to be on the road for a second year.
Today was my official first day on the road for year two. I left my sweet new apartment in Oxford, Ohio at 7:45am this morning and started my journey to Bethany, WV for my first visit with one of our newest colonies at Bethany College. As I drove on I-70 across Ohio, I was pleasantly reminded of how theraputic the long drives can be. It is a great opportunity to clear you mind OR to fill it with all kinds of ideas. I'm not sure where I land on the spectrum--but I think that I land somewhere in the middle. I usually use a long drive to get really pumped up for my next visit--as was the case today. It was great pulling into Bethany today. The chapter house is beautiful. The founding fathers have finally moved in, there is new carpeting, shades, furniture, and it feels like a home. I was greated with the Beta grip by my Psi colony brothers whom I spent almost 12 weeks with this spring. It truly is great to be back!
Today's drive also gave me a chance to think about my graduate school applications and all the requirements they want submited--I'm surprised they don't need a blood sample. I spent almost two days this week working on applications, essays, personal statements, and ordering transcripts. And what do I have to show for it? Not much, but I'm getting there.
I had dinner from a Greek restaurant that one of the Psi brother's parents own. It was so good. I love Greek food. I got settled into on of the vacant rooms and spent some time catching up with the brothers. They are such a eclectic group of men. I couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for Beta Theta Pi these men may have never come together in friendship. To me it was a perfect example of why the concept of fraternity is so awesome.
After dinner I drove to Washington, PA (where I am now) at a Starbucks. I needed access to the internet and cell phone service. On the way over I stopped to fill up for gas..yeah it was $2.46 in Oxford this morning....I just filled up for $2.78. I however was pleasantly surprised to find that I got 40 mpg on my way here! (I have a new goal this year to actually drive the speed limit because of the amount of money you save on gas.)
Well, I am going to prepare for my day of meetings tomorrow. Hopefully I will get everything done before Starbucks closes at 11pm!
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