On Saturday, October 25th, 2008 the members of Kappa Delta Phi National Affiliated Sorority Alumnae Association and Kappa Delta Phi National Alumni Association will come together at the Holiday Inn Express in Saco, Maine for the purpose of holding their respective annual meetings. Within the context of those meetings lie the hearts of sisters and brothers who continue to make a difference in their local and more global communities.

In the past, alumnae sisters have donated canned and dry packaged food items, paper products, personal hygiene items, baby food and formula, diapers, unisex socks, warm gloves and a host of other necessities. These items are donated to the Family Crisis Shelter of Greater Portland and/or the Preble Street Resource Center to help those less fortunate. Other valuable items such as used cell phones with chargers are collected and donated adding a measure of personal safety to those who are victims of domestic violence.

This is the first year that the alumni Brothers of Kappa Delta Phi Fraternity will join the sisterhood in this act of philanthropy. Following last year’s meeting, Brother Mark Tschamler of Kappa Delta Phi Fraternity, Iota Chapter at University of Southern Maine asked if this was something that the Brotherhood could make a contribution to. The answer was a resounding “Yes!” Anyone planning to attend the meetings is encouraged to bring an item or items. This combined effort is evidence that the principles and ideals to which we subscribe don’t end at graduation. They become a part of our daily lives and the lives of those whom we seek to serve. May the spirit never die! For more information and to discuss, visit this thread.

Kappa Delta Phi Alumnea sister, Kandi Sage, of Kappa Nu chapter at Thomas College needs her fellow Brothers and Sisters help.

She writes “I'm being locked up for the MDA "Lock-in" on October 22nd and I need your help to bail me out...

My goal is $3200, I want to help 4 children go to camp next year, please help me. you can email me at on my profile page with any questions. (I didn't see that they accepted paypal, but I have a paypal account that you can deposit into- please let me know that's for the MDA and I will gladly transfer it for you.)

https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/20951/Participant/kand...

Brother Dana Nelson, Sigma Chapter at Plymoth State College gave an inspirational talk to the brothers at the Sigma Alumni reunion.

http://kappatalk.com/node/93 more on dana nelson here.

for discussion - http://forums.kappatalk.com/showthread.php?t=64293

Alpha Gamma Alumni Association of Kappa Delta Phi has made available their alumni newsletter. Thank you Brother Mike Circe on a job well done.

for discussion and to view the newsletter - http://forums.kappatalk.com/showthread.php?t=64292 

Brother Erik Richard, Iota Chapter at University of Southern Maine, pledged Fall 02 and was Chapter President 2002-2003.

Erik joined the Air Force on 21 July 2004 and went to Basic Training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX. Once he graduated from Basic Training Erik went to the Security Forces Apprentice school also at Lackland AFB. He was a distinguished Graduate of the SFA school and left to go to his home unit of the 101st Security Forces Squadron in Bangor, ME. While there Erik stayed on active duty orders to full fill their mission there. On 7 Sept 05 He was promoted to SrA, and deployed to Al Dahfra AB, United Arab Emerites.

Currently Eric is deployed to the Middle East in support of OEF/OIF. He was promoted to the rank of SSgt on 25 July 08. Erik is due to redeploy home sometime in September.

for discussion - http://forums.kappatalk.com/showthread.php?t=64262

Congratulations to Alumni Brother Steve Vose, Eta Chapter at UMaine Machias, Kappa Delta Phi National Fraternity. He's been published for the second time in "The Maine Sportsman" - New England's Largest Outdoor Publication. His story below will be in their August 2008 edition. The article will be part of the magazines “special sections” (pg. 25-26) and will highlight how to properly care for your field retriever.

You can visit his personal blog at The Maine Outdoorsman.

To discuss visit this thread.

Simple Steps to Protect Your Field Retriever by Steve Vose

As the dull morning light began to creep over the horizon, my black lab Onyx and I were sitting side by side in the duck blind quietly sharing a breakfast burrito and awaiting the first flights of the morning. Suddenly, distant shots rang out up-lake and to the north east of our position and following almost immediately after two green winged teal sailed over our blind like mini F16 fighter jets. I fired two quick successive shots at the lead duck and somehow managed to drop the back bird the number six heavy shot managing to magically find its unintended target. I looked back at Onyx to send her after the duck and she was already on her way swimming to the floating duck, hmmm I thought to myself going to need to work on that next Sunday. As she returned to the blind, I commanded her to “give” and upon inspection was impressed that she had managed to return the duck with very few bite marks. The drab and drizzly morning soon developed into one of those very rare occasions when the ducks were flying well and I was shooting fair and I could not have been happier with my little girl and her first time a field. As I looked over at my two-year-old retriever I could tell that she was having the time of her life. The energetic sixty-three pound black lab was completely at home in the duck blind and the apparent grin on her face seemed to indicate that she was absolutely loving every minute of it.

Unfortunately, things in the blind that particular morning did not continue as pleasantly as they had begun and this tale is not one of those hunting stories that ends happily with a satisfied limit or a beautiful on the wing double play. After a few short hours of hunting, I looked down at my feet and noticed several drops of blood on the floor of the blind. Trust me when I say the gravity of the situation hit me much more intensely than Onyx who was busy enthusiastically sniffing a recently expelled shotgun shell. After a through examination, I found that the cause was only a small slice in her right front paw but the situation could have been much worse and this fact got me seriously thinking about some of the possible accidents that could occur when hunting with a dog in the field. As any good sportsman knows, waterfowl hunting can be dangerous business; moving vehicles at the boat launch site, boat motor props, sharp sticks and rocks at entry points, decoy lines, improperly stowed firearms, ticks and even spicy breakfast sandwiches can all pose possible hazards for your retriever. While it would be impossible to safeguard your canine against every dangerous scenario that could present itself, there are some simple steps that you can take to insure your dog returns home safely.