Challenges for the New PDK Year
Phi Delta Kappa International is, like many other organizations, an organization in transition. As the gray hairs and no hairs retire, others must step forward and provide the necessary leadership for our chapters. As we continue to welcome new members into the fraternity, we must also find ways to involve them in chapter activities and encourage them to assume leadership roles. This is a crucial year for Phi Delta Kappa International; its future will be determined by our members' willingness to serve as officers and leaders. The international office staff stands ready to assist you. Please let us know your needs.

Thank You, Membership Vice Presidents
I want to personally thank each vice president for membership who completed a successful recruitment and initiation last year. Membership is our organization, and thousands of quality educators who currently are not members stand to gain professionally by affiliating with PDK. If your chapter met its membership goals last year, all of PDK says "thank you." I especially want to recognize the chapters who recruited undergraduates and student teachers. There is no better way to acquaint students with the importance of professional affiliation than to be part of Phi Delta Kappa. If your chapter has not yet contacted area teacher training institutions to collaborate on PDK membership, I urge you to do so this fall.

District Conferences
Nine district conferences will be held beginning October 8 and running through November 1. The Constitution and Bylaws of Phi Delta Kappa International requires that each chapter have at least one official delegate participating in the conference. Most of the conferences will include professional development activities in addition to the usual business sessions. The district conference is one of the most important meetings of the fraternity. It is where the legislation that guides the operation of the fraternity is developed and introduced. Each district also will elect its nominee for vice president/president-elect, a district representative, and the area coordinators.

Information has already been sent to you regarding the logistics of your conference. Phi Delta Kappa provides travel for the chapter delegate. All delegate travel arrangements are to be made through Phi Delta Kappa according to guidelines established by the Board of Directors. PDK will invest approximately $300,000 in airline tickets and other travel arrangements for the nine conferences. You also have received the delegates' handbook that provides important information about your role in the district conference. Read it thoroughly and be prepared to engage in meaningful dialogue about our organization. Another responsibility you have is to give a thorough report to the chapter after the conference adjourns. Legislation generated at the district conferences will be automatically referred to the Board of Directors and to the 2nd Legislative Council that will meet on October 21-24, 1999, in Bloomington, Indiana.

Executive Director Search
I have announced plans for my impending retirement on June 30, 1999, and the Board of Directors has been working to put the machinery in motion to conduct an international search. Ads will appear in the September and October issues of the Phi Delta Kappan, the fall issue of NN&Q, and other widely distributed journals including one for Canadian educators. If the board is successful, the new executive director will be ready to assume duties at the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1, 1999.

Development Officer
The Educational Foundation Board of Governors and the PDK Board of Directors have authorized a search for a Foundation Development Officer for Special Gifts and Planned Giving. The position will be funded and supported by the Educational Foundation. The development officer will not work with the Annual Fund but will devote time to planned giving and special gifts. This will supplement the outstanding work already being done by PDK chapters on behalf of the Educational Foundation.

Good News for Canadian Members
Phi Delta Kappa International has established a bank account with the Royal Bank of Canada as a service to its Canadian members. Please contact Gary Lettelleir, business manager at the international office, for further information about the Canadian account.

Special Publications, directed by Donovan Walling, has recently mailed a publications flyer to good-standing Canadian members using Canadian prices. The initial effort is for purchase of publications supported by the Educational Foundation. If it proves to be successful, Canadian pricing might be an option for future catalogs.

Celebration 2000-2001
Plans are being developed by Phi Delta Kappa International to celebrate the millennium. Chapters, members, area coordinators, and others were asked to contribute ideas and suggestions for the celebration. The focus of this celebration will be on the development of leadership. During a meeting with Bessie Gabbard, questions were raised about future leadership in Phi Delta Kappa at the chapter and international levels. As many chapters struggle to find members to serve as officers, this was a timely inquiry. The celebration will begin on July 1, 2000, and continue through December 31, 2001. Many of the activities will move PDK toward its 100th anniversary in the year 2006.

I believe members will be pleased with the activities that are planned for the various governance levels of Phi Delta Kappa. The entire effort will be called "The Phi Delta Kappa Bessie Gabbard Initiative on Leadership in Education for the 21st Century." Look for more information in the coming year.

Financial Picture for PDK
The 1997-98 year ended on a positive note. Reduction in spending for the legislative council, the enactment of cost-cutting measures by the Board of Directors, and frugal management at all levels of the fraternity resulted in a year-end auditor's report that permitted a small amount to be put into the Reserve Fund. This is the good news. The not-so-good news is that 120 chapters did not hold an initiation this year, which resulted in a decrease of new members. Good-standing membership is now around the 112,000 mark and, based on last year's data, will probably drop even further unless a number of chapters become revitalized.

We are operating on a two-year biennial budget that was approved by the 1st Legislative Council last October. That budget includes a draw from the Reserve Fund of up to $334,760. Unless membership moves upward, the 1997-98 General Fund budget will be the highest for the foreseeable future. The full impact of the dues increase to $35 was felt in 1997-98, and this increase helped to offset the drop in membership. There is no dues increase to implement at this time; if membership drops, the General Fund income also drops. This will result in the board working long hours to see how the budget can be balanced. Remember that in PDK the authorized spending limit is what the General Fund income provides, and it is based primarily on dues and initiation fees.

White Paper on Recruiting Men and Minorities into Teaching
At the 1st Legislative Council last October, a resolution was introduced asking PDK to address concerns about ways to increase the number of men and minorities in education. Donovan Walling, editor of Special Publications, accepted the task of drafting a white paper on this topic. A copy is enclosed for your information.