After asking audience members to remove their "cool caps" and gain perspective through various audience involvement activities, Pete Smithhisler, president and CEO for the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) attempted to motivate audience members to lead.
Around 60 greek community leaders met Thursday night in the Prindle Institute for Ethics to hear Smithhisler's presentation. Smithhisler focused on motivating those in attendance to support St. Jude's Children's Hospital by using their leadership roles to motivate others.
Towards the beginning of his presentation, Smithhisler asked the group what time it was and soon after offering his question he answered the question himself.
"For some of you, it's time to lead," Smithhisler said. "You've got to figure out what it is that you're going to bring to this table."
Smithhisler proceeded to explain the ways in which each individual could use his or her position in a greek chapter to benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital, specifically through Up ‘til Dawn's letter writing campaign. He asked each individual to remember being selected to join a greek chapter as he or she contemplates supporting Up ‘til Dawn.
"Someone saw something in you, now it's your time to give back," Smithhisler said. "Decide tonight what it is that you believe in."
Mark Fadel, co-executive director for Up ‘til Dawn, said he believed the presentation succeeded in the group's intentions to increase support.
"The main reason we did this was to gain fuel for the letter writing campaign, and I definitely think this was very effective in contacting the biggest leaders on campus and making sure that they're motivated to motivate others," Fadel said.
Philanthropy Chairman for Sigma Chi fraternity Hunter Goble said that Smithhisler delivered a presentation that profoundly impacted and motivated him.
"Now I feel like I just want to find something that I am as passionate about as he is about this," Goble said.
Goble continued that he plans to follow Up ‘til Dawn in the future as a result of the presentation.
"Now that I know more about Up ‘til Dawn and who it benefits, I think I'm more likely to look out for their events on campus and be a little more aware and certainly promote the cause," Goble said.
Smithhisler's presentation ended with a challenge to audience members. He encouraged them to raise as much money as possible to support St. Jude's.
"My thanks comes now, my applause will come when I see your dollar total," Smithhisler said.
Later Smithhisler spoke individually to chapter leaders saying that chapters with 60 members should aim to raise around $7,500 while chapters with 100 or more members should raise over $15,000 through the letter writing campaign.
All attendees were asked to fill out an index card before leaving in order to receive further information about motivating greek chapter members to raise funds.