Convention

Convention Schedule

Click Here for the schedule for the 2024 Convention in New Orleans, LA!

The Guest program is available here.

Convention Registration 

Undergraduate Registration was due June 15 (login to MySAM) and registration is on the homepage

Alumni and Guest Registration was extended to July 19th. This was the final cutoff date for hotel reservations and events.

Convention Business Meeting

Saturday, August 10th

The Convention Foreward is published 90 days prior to the Convention per the Blue Book. This is an overview of all proposed legislation for the business meeting.

Nominating Committee Report – 

The Nominating Committee has completed all interviews and deliberations and has approved the following slate of candidates to be presented at the August convention for election to the Octagon:

David Kleppel (Phi, ’82)

Dean Lambert (Sigma Omicron, ‘82)

Evan Remer (Sigma Theta, ‘02)

Zackary Newman (Delta Eta, ‘16) – Young Alumnus Consul

Undergraduate Advisory Committee Nominating Report –

The Young Alumnus Consul and outgoing Undergraduate Advisory Committee solicited applications for interested students to advise the Octagon during the upcoming academic year. They received a total of six applications. Candidates were interviewed and the following slate of candidates will be presented for election to the UAC at the Convention:

Joey Barke (Sigma Chi, ’21)

Alex Zielsdorf (Mu Psi, ’23)

Sam Hollander (Eta, ’24)

Proposed Blue Book Change for the 2024 Convention 

SUBMITTED LEGISLATION

• Submitted by the Octagon – Nominating Committee Structure

Division C., Article III, Section 2.:

There shall be a Nominating Committee appointed by the Octagon at its first meeting following the Convention, consisting of nine members: two Consuls whose terms do not expire, the last three immediate Past Supreme Priors, two alumni members at large who are not national officers, the Priors of the Chapters last receiving the Founders Cup and First Honorable Mention and two members of the Undergraduate Advisory Committee. One of the two Consuls appointed to the Nominating Committee shall serve as Chairman. It shall be the duty of the committee to nominate for each Octagon office to be filled by the convention one or more candidates who have expressed willingness to serve if elected. The report of the nominating committee shall be submitted 90 days in advance of the convention and shall be published in the “Convention Foreword.” The right to make nominations from the floor shall not be impaired.

• Submitted by the Octagon – Audit Update

Division F., Article V.: Fraternity Audit Financial Review

Division F., Article V,. Section 1:

The books of the Octagon, the Endowment Fund and all Trusts and Foundations shall be audited reviewed annually by a firm of independent Certified Public Accountant, duly licensed and registered in the United States of America, no principal of which shall be a member of the Fraternity.

• Submitted by the Octagon – New Award

Division K., Article IV., 7. The Richard H Williamson Volunteer of the Year Award shall be presented annually to the frater whose volunteer efforts and contributions have made a significant difference to Sigma Alpha Mu’s success in accordance with the rules adopted by the Octagon and best exemplifies the dedication and selflessness of the man in whose honor this award has been named.

• Presented by John Ale, Endorsed by the Octagon – Governance Updates (A-D)

A. Division C, Article III, Section 3 is amended by adding the following as the next-to-last sentence:

The Octagon shall constitute the board of trustees of the Fraternity and shall have the power to legislate generally for the Fraternity when the Convention is not in session. It shall manage all the affairs of the Fraternity; make expenditures; authorize any and all visitations to be made on behalf of the Fraternity; have custody of all property of the Fraternity, affiliate, initiate and grant provisional charters to new Chapters; authorize initiations; designate the time and place for the forthcoming National Convention; review Chapter laws, regulations and reports; examine into all Chapter records and demand any reports it may deem necessary on any matter whatsoever concerning the Chapters or fratres; hear and decide all disputes between Chapters and all appeals against Chapter rulings; expel or otherwise discipline a frater; suspend or otherwise discipline a Chapter or Alumni Club; elect a Consul pro-tem to fill any vacancy in the Octagon until the next Convention; elect the Supreme Council from Consuls; and choose the Executive Director, the Fraternity Historian, Fraternity Chaplain, Fraternity Scholarship Chairman; and review the Alumni Advisory Board Chairman; and exercise such other powers as may be delegated to it by this Constitution. The Octagon may establish, or facilitate the establishment of, other entities that support the activities of the Fraternity or its Chapters or members, such as foundations, property ownership and management entities and service providers, which may constitute separate legal entities and need not be subject to the control of the Fraternity or its Governing Bodies. No actions shall be taken by the Octagon which in its effect will contravene the action of a previous Convention.

B. Division D, Article II, Section 8 is repealed.

No chapter officer shall have the authority to bind Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity, Inc. to any agreements or obligations of any nature whatsoever.

C. Division D is further amended by adding new Article V as follows:

Article V—Separate Entities

1. Each Chapter, Colony and Alumni Club is and has been a separate legal entity from the Fraternity, with full power to establish its own governance and to make its own decisions, subject to the provisions of this Constitution.  The Fraternity and its governing bodies have no power to control or to direct the affairs of any such organization, although they do have the general supervisory and disciplinary powers set forth in the other provisions of this Constitution.
2. No Chapter, Colony or Alumni Club is an agent or representative of the Fraternity, has any power to act for or to bind the Fraternity, or may hold itself out as such an agent or representative of, or to have any such power for, the Fraternity.
3. Division H is amended by adding new Article III as follows:

D. ​Division H is amended by adding new Article III as follows:

Article III—Licenses

1. Each Chapter, Colony and Alumni Club, and any not-for-profit entity formed to own or operate housing for a Chapter, shall have a free, nonexclusive license to use the name “Sigma Alpha Mu” or “ΣAM” and other emblems and insignia of the Fraternity in accordance with rules adopted by the Octagon.
2. The Octagon may grant other individuals and entities licenses to use such names, emblems and insignia on such terms as it may approve.
3. The grant of such a license does not constitute the licensee as an agent or representative of the Fraternity or imply that the Fraternity has the power to control or direct the affairs or activities of the licensee.

A Note of Thanks

The 2024 Convention is supported by grants from the ΣAM Foundation & Endowment Fund. Thank you to our generous donors who have helped make this program possible.

Created in 1985, the Bobbi and Sidney Guller Leadership Development Fund has made it possible to provide outstanding programming at Sigma Alpha Mu Leadership Conferences.

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