The Shield- Edition 02 - 2022 : simplebooklet.com

3The ShieldAfter a very trying two years, it is refreshing to see some positive developments as we move (hopefully) out of the pandemic. I am pleased to report that we have been able to have an onsite Convention in all states, except for one, and it has been wonderful to see students and sponsors in person again! Most of our Leadership Summits have also been able to meet in person and the positive impacts on students who attended have been immeasurable. I am very happy that we will also return to Greeneville, Tennessee in July for the Junior Summer Leadership Camp after a two-year hiatus, and for the rst time, we will have our Senior Summer Leadership Conference at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida! Summer Camp and Conference prove to be some of the most impactful opportunities our organization provides to our members, and we can’t wait to see students from all over the country meet in Tennessee and Florida in July!The National Convention will be held at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee this summer and we have an amazing experience planned for the attendees. If you haven’t attended a National Convention in the past, please make plans to experience the energy and excitement as students from all over the country showcase their talentsin Nashville. For the rst time, we will also offer the Shield Summit during the convention whichallows students the opportunity to attend a special session with one of our best leadership speakers to further engage and motivate Betas to Lead by Serving Others.Thank you for your continued support of Beta and please let me know if there isanything I can do to make your Beta experience even better!Bobby HartChief Executive OfcerNational Beta ClubFrom the CEOI’ me o hocaeyor alent o heNaoal tage! LEARN MORE& REGISTER HERE!

Page 4

A moment with Ashley McCollum BRAND BUILDER TEAM LEADER MEDIA MASTERMIND ONE THING THAT MAY BE DIFFERENT ABOUT ME IS THAT I SEE NO OBSTACLES I DON T SEE OBSTACLES I ONLY SEE OPPORTUNITIES E nter Ashley McCollum Senior Vice President of Revenue and Par tnerships at Westbrook Media the multimedia firm launched by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith If you re looking for the posterchild of goal setting and goal getting look no fur ther Her drive and determination have propelled her throughout her career in the media industry From an intern at NBC News to climbing the ladder within Buzzfeed from Chief of Staff to CEO Jonah Peretti to General Manager and Vice President of Buzzfeed s Tasty Ashley has been amongst some of the greatest changes taking place within the world of media and online branding 4 Spring 2022 The kicker She began her career much like many of you She was a Beta member in her small South Carolina town and attended a small liberal ar ts college Despite her small surroundings this southern belle had BIG ambitions These have led her to recognitions such as Forbes 2017 30 under 30 and Holly wood Repor ter s 35 Rising Executives 35 and Under And she s just getting star ted

Page 5

By taking on her newest role at Westbrook she s able to be a par t of the business from scratch Ashley admits one of her superpowers is growing new business and in order to do that she must also grow her team which in turn helps to grow the business Photo credits Jon Premosch Courtney Simpkins As someone who has always thought outside the box and is now responsible for hiring outside of the box thinkers Ashley suggests that anyone trying to find their oppor tunity should be creative of how to break through and get the attention of people in power Building and supporting teams and driving business results are the exact same things and the more we realize that serving our teams being a servant leader to our team is actually helping the business By listening to your team by supporting them by understanding what motivates them that s really serving them and their careers By doing that business will grow Outstanding is an Understatement Ashley wins the Outstanding Young Alumna Award at Presbyterian College October 2019 The Shield 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

8Spring 20222022 National BetaUNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESOrtLeadership ConferenceJuly 9-13, 2022lead serve achieveSUMMER LEADERSHIPCONFERENCE2022 National Beta Leadership Conference will be like no other. Literally. We are thrilled to introduce a brand-new location with even more interactive opportunities for our Senior Beta members with the move to Universal Orlando Resort. This is the ultimate way to mix training sessions and tours with rides and adventures. Who says learning can’t be fun?Be the ﬁrst to take advantage of this immersive experience to lead, serve and achieve!“The senior leadership conference is nothing short of life changing. I always leave this leadership conference refreshed and reassured that these future leaders have the skills to make a positive impact on the world.” Becky DanielsMO Sponsor

Page 9

9The Shield2022SUMMER LEADERSHIPCAMPWe are thrilled to welcome you to Clyde Austin 4-H Camp where you’ll explore your leadership style and experience the adventures of traditional camp life. Speakers and s’mores. Leadership sessions and ultimate lawn games. Group service and swimming. It’s everything you want out of camp with an added beneﬁt of personal and professional growth…oh, and new best friends!"Attending Leadership Camp allowed me to visualize the true deﬁnition of leadership. It expanded my horizons and established the foundation for my future.”Dylan Mayo8th GradeArkansas

Page 10

10Spring 2022BETA MET - BETA MARRIEDWhat happens when two Beta members become Beta besties, and eventually Beta Sponsors in close-by schools? Well, in the case of Andy and Jennifer Jackson, they end up Beta married with a few Beta babies!These extraordinary Sponsors from Tennessee have National Beta interwoven through almost every signiﬁcant event of their lives with no sign of slowing momentum in sight!Andy: Jennifer and I originally met as students at Seymour High School in Seymour, TN. We were both members of the Beta Club, becoming close friends on a trip to National Convention in New Orleans in 2005. However, we graduated and went to dierent colleges. Fast forward 6 years. We are both sponsors from dierent schools at the Tennessee State Beta Convention at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Our former sponsors and Tennessee Beta Club legends, Charles Ogle and Rob Ailey, decided this was a perfect time to play matchmaker and asked us to meet them for dinner after a session. I was taking a picture of the 6-story Christmas tree when I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Jennifer. We have now made it a tradition to take a picture in front of that tree every year at the Beta Convention. We have been pretty much inseparable since. We will celebrate our 9th anniversary in May with our 3 awesome sons. The oldest of whom will be joining Beta this coming year. TELL US WHERE YOU MET

Page 11

11The Shield“If one servant leader can change the world, imagine what a generation of them can do.”WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT BEINGINVOLVED IN BETA…BESIDES EACH OTHER?We both love how it gives kids purpose and goals. It gives kids without direction something to work towards and gives students who are already excelling new heights to reach. I know how much Beta shaped me as a student, providing me opportunities to improve my academic and leadership skills and teaching me the importance of servant leadership. I love that I get to share those same things with a new generation of students. If one servant leader can change the world, imagine what a generation of them can do?Beta is central to our story and an organization we are both passionate about. Some of our fondest memories from high school together took place in the Super Dome in New Orleans with National Beta. We met at Beta Convention as adults, and we have both been sponsors throughout our careers. At points in both of our careers, there have been times when being a Beta sponsor has been a dicult challenge. Jennifer moved to a new school, and they didn't need a sponsor. At my school, we lost 7th and 8th grade so they were going to do away with Beta Club because those had traditionally been the most active grades. We both overcame those obstacles through perseverance and convincing our respective schools how important Beta was in our lives and how much we believe it can make a dierence in the lives of students. Like most married educator couples, our evenings are spent discussing what happened at school that day, but for several months out of the year, it is a lot of Beta Club talk day in and day out. HOW DOES BETA WORK INTO YOUR STORY?I would argue we are more collaborative than competitive, stealing good ideas from each other's clubs. Jennifer is deﬁnitely more competitive in nature than I am and always likes to compare my clubs' plaque haul to hers, but it is in the spirit of friendly competition for sure. Funnily enough, we have never directly competed. Our students have entered some of the same contests, but we have never run a candidate against each other or had one competitor beat out another for ﬁrst or something like that. We deﬁnitely cheer each other on and provide feedback. ARE YOU COMPETITIVE IN HOW YOU RUN YOUR CLUBS?DO YOUR CLUBS EVER COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER AT CONVENTIONS? IS THERE SMACK-TALKING INVOLVED? WHAT ABOUT BETS?

Page 12

12Spring 2022I started out in 2011 as a Spanish teacher and a sponsor of Seymour High School's Junior and Senior Beta Clubs and have been a sponsor of a club since then. I am now the Assistant Principal and Head Beta Sponsor at Pi Beta Phi Elementary School in Gatlinburg, TN. Jennifer started out as a 7th-grade Math teacher and Beta Sponsor at Lincoln Heights Middle School in Morristown, TN, and moved to teach 8th-grade Math and be a Beta Sponsor at Sevierville Middle School in Sevierville, TN after we got married in 2013. She is now an Assistant Principal and Head Beta Sponsor at Sevierville Middle School. Jennifer: Getting to work with a great group of kids outside the classroom setting. We get to see kids volunteer and do great things for their school and communities. As sponsors, we get to see kids compete and excel in academics and creative arts during conventions.Andy: As a school administrator, I spend so much of my time dealing with kids who have made bad choices or are struggling. My time working with my Beta kids is like a bright spot in my day. I love watching them come up with ideas to help people and to make a dierence in their community.Jennifer: My favorite are: that ﬁrst dinner with Mr. Ogle and Mr. Ailey, taking our yearly tree pictures, and bringing AJ on his ﬁrst beta trip when he was a baby. Also attending National Conventions as a student (New Orleans and a sponsor (Mobile).Andy: At National Convention in New Orleans in 2005, a small group of us students, including me and Jennifer, decided to stay up all night the last night before coming home. We went up to the rooftop overlooking the Superdome and watched the sunrise. It was weeks before Hurricane Katrina and I will never forget the fun we had and the memories we made. Just don't tell our sponsors we did it... I love taking our yearly tree picture and looking forward to experiencing Beta together every year, even when it is just passing each other in the halls with our separate clubs. We really cheer each other on in everything and always have each other's backs. We share good ideas and what things not to do. We volunteer to judge each other's competitions.Andy: Jennifer is immensely hardworking and hyper-organized, which are critical ingredients to being an awesome sponsor. She is also very good at pushing kids to do their best and try their hardest, which helps her club be successful every year. Jennifer: Andy loves what Beta stands for and what it can do for kids. He is great at ﬁnding what kids are interested in and what they are good at and helping them be successful in those areas. He is motivated, driven, and has hyper-focus when workingon projects.WHAT DO EACH OF YOU TEACH?HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TEACHING?HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SPONSORS?DESCRIBE EACH OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT BETA!DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BETAMEMORY TOGETHER? INDIVIDUALLY?HOW DO YOU SUPPORT EACH OTHER AS FELLOW BETA SPONSORS?WHAT QUALITIES DOES YOUR SPOUSE HAVE THAT MAKE THEM A GOOD BETA SPONSOR?BETA MET - BETA MARRIED cont.

Page 13

Page 14

14Spring 2022AROUND THE WORLDStarted by a Beta in Kentucky, Beta Around the World is an initiative to send our Beta shield to people all over the globe. This project provides an opportunity for Betas to make connections with individuals in new areas, while showing their Beta pride.There is one student in particular who has made it her mission to send the shield to the furthest stretches of the Earth. Thanks to Grace Probst, a Beta member from Pennsylvania, she’s provided some helpful tools to encourage others to do the same!Hawaii. London. Antarctica. No, this isn’t a geography pop quiz. It’s just a short list of the many places the Beta shield has traveled through Beta Around the World.Beta Around the World is a fantastic opportunity to connect people from all over the world with the Beta Shield. Seeing the Beta Shield being held by my family, friends, and my parent's colleagues from all over the world was a motivating and engaging experience, especially considering the pandemic has kept so many people apart. This experience allowed me to reach out to people globally and share my excitement and enthusiasm for the Beta Club with its remarkable focus on leadership and service.Receiving the images and information about the respective locations was enlightening and educational. I learned so much from treating the project as a marketing plan and receiving immensely rich and valuable information from each of the entries. I truly appreciated all who participated. They not only made my involvement even more meaningful, but their entries gave a glimpse for all into each of their worlds, respectively. What drew you to Beta Around the World? What about it made you want to dedicate so much time and attention to the project?GRACE PROBST:

Page 15

15The ShieldConsidering the current state of the world, I would love to see the Beta Shield in Iceland. Iceland has upheld the title of 'the most peaceful country' since the Global Peace Index started in 2007.Treat the project as a marketing plan when planning to embark on the Beta Around the World. Speciﬁcally, plan your goals and objectives (how many people do you want to participate and what exactly you want them to submit). Then, deﬁne the target audience, which my goal was to focus on my family, friends, and family colleagues. Next, research your marketing tactics. My tactic was to reach a diverse group of individuals from various areas worldwide. I recommend using a template that you can copy and paste, which includes all the vital information that the participant would need (don’t forget to attach the shield images). Make sure to add a personal touch and include personal details about yourself and your involvement in the Beta Club. Last, develop a timeline so that submissions can be made in a timely manner. Overall, eective and ecient prior planning will signiﬁcantly increase the likelihood of success.In regard to how I reach out to people, I use the following steps:• I predominately use Facebook messenger and email to contact individuals (family and friends).• When contacting them, I provide a quick synopsis of the club, what I am doing with the club, and my request such as: "Hello ______! I have a favor to ask you. I'm in my 2nd year of the National Beta Club, in which I have been asked to have people from around the world take pictures of themselves with the National Beta Club Shield. If you could either print one of the shields then take a selﬁe/picture of you with it somewhere interesting within your town -or- have the shield visible on your phone while someone else takes the picture, I would be very grateful. I would also love to hear a bit of history about the area you chose to feature in your picture(s). Thank you so much for your help! I appreciate it! Sincerely, Grace"• I attach the shields to the message as well. • Once I receive the picture(s) and history, I send a 'thank you' message.• I contacted family members and friends of our family, including people with whom my mother works.• I reached out to around 40 individuals and had over a third participate.• The pictures that I turned in included 7 friends, myself, and 6 family.Traveling is a favorite activity for my family and me. I have enjoyed visiting states and cities far and wide, including California, Nevada, Texas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, and more. My favorite place is the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, speciﬁcally the Banner Elk area.I am presently in 11th grade at Bridgeway Academy.Where is one place you haven't seen the shield that you would love for it to go?What advice do you have for others who are interested in spreading Beta across the globe?Would you mind telling us how you reach out to people?How do you find individuals to contact?Do you personally like to travel?Where is your favorite place to go?What grade are you in and what school do you attend?

Page 16

Page 17

17The ShieldCap.Gown.It's going down.Hat’s off to the grads.Here’s how to celebrate them! 1. Farewell meeting for Seniors “At our ﬁnal meeting, we let them give ‘farewells’ as we give them their stoles and tassels.” - @rileypyron2. Honor cords3. Medallions4. Senior Week Appreciation5. Social Media posts for each graduate “Highlight them and future plans on IG during Senior Week.” - @kedberg846. Stoles7. TasselsContinue your Beta journey byjoining the Alumni Association!visit www.betaclub.org/alumnifor more informationPLUS! As a member of the Alumni Association, you can join us at the Alumni Event at National Convention in Nashville, TN FOR FREE!

Page 18

Page 19

Page 20

20Spring 2022Load Up, Load Out!National Beta's Merchandise Directors on the road to National Convention.NATIONALS:Making Movesin Music CityWhat's NEW this year?THE SHIELD SUMMITThe Shield Summit is a National Leadership event that's brand new this year to National Convention. Attendees will be able to join us for an empowering afternoon led by some of National Beta's premier inspirational speakers. If you've been searching for more to do at National Convention without the hassle of building an itinerary that packs our pillars in, look no further. This exclusive event will be held on two dates to accommodate Betas of all ages. For two hours on the afternoons of June 29, 2022 and July 3, 2022, you will be able to experience speakers Bill Cordes and Ted Wiese share their leadership guidance. Registration for this event is open to all Beta students who are registered for National Convention. Tickets may be purchased during online registration.How many hotel rooms are blocked for Nationals? 18,000How far in advance is the Nationalslocation determined? 5-7 yearsDid you know you can attend National Convention if... you don’t have a State Convention?How many trucks does the National Oce send tothe Nationals location? 1 tractor trailer for registration, merchandise and supplies. 2-4 tractor trailers for production gear and materials.

Page 21

21The ShieldHere are some must-need items to remember to pack for your National Convention journey. Trust us — the trip is way more fun when you have all the essentials ready-to-go!Have all these items packed?Here are a few more to think of:Portable Phone ChargerGood Support SystemDisposable CamerasGreat Attitude & Smile A List of YourCompetition EntriesComfortable ShoesSNACKS!THE WagonEssential NationalsPACKING- Hole punch to ﬁx a broken badge- Extra Beta t-shirts- Sunglasses- Steamer for costumes - Water bottle- Beta pins & extra lanyard- First aid kit- "A box of extras" with tape, glue, etc.

The Shield- Edition 02 - 2022

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3