Good morning!  It is good to see all of you.  I still can't believe it has been a year since our Board of Directors Meeting in Chicago;  many thanks to past Supreme President Sue Zelazo-Smith for hosting such a wonderful meeting.  Although Lee Jameson, John Haynes, Troy Jones, Ron Tietz and Gaylord Hall were unable to attend this weekend, the fact that so many current and former Board members (and past Supreme Presidents) have taken time out of their busy schedules to be here this weekend shows the level of enthusiasm and commitment that is present in OUR fraternity.  I am excited that all College Chapters are sending student representatives this weekend during these uncertain economic times.  These students are the future of our fraternity.  I am hopeful that we will have a productive meeting and I value your input.  I am looking forward to two exciting and informative days.  We can achieve much if we all work together (as a FAMILY).

Confronting formidable or unpredictable challenges is not new to Xi Psi Phi.  We are well-tested in our ability to operate in the face of adversity.  Yes, we still have areas that need work.  We have run into some road blocks in reviving Alpha Phi (UoP, San Francisco) Beta Alpha (UW, Seattle) and Beta Zeta (NJ) as well as starting new chapters (UNLV, Arizona, etc.) but we should not give up . . . . we just need to find reliable contact people and hopefully we will get many leads from this meeting.  We also need to emphasize to our student delegates and chapter advisors that their College Chapters need constant attention or they will start to falter and then ultimately expire.

The effects of the current financial crisis are hard to leave behind.  Although both student and alumni memberships (and donations) are up in numbers, we are far from recuperating what our fraternity has lost from the stock market/investments.  Since we cannot control world events, the stock market or the pressure on alumni to donate to many other worthy causes, I am extremely thankful for our dedicated alumni for their continued support and generosity.  It is because we function as a tightly kind FAMILY that OUR Fraternity can and will continue to thrive for years to come.  Hospitality is truly the Life of Friendship!  None of us would underestimate the challenges ahead. Our journey to continued greatness is far from being over, . . so let's begin . . . .

Fraternally,

Penelope S. Yip, Supreme President

(the following is a portion of Dr. Yip's inaugural address delivered on April 4, 2008 with the explanation of her "password" - FAMILY)

As President, I have chosen "family" as our password for the next biennium. This is a word I hold close to my heart not only because of my recent experience with motherhood, but because of what Xi Psi Phi means to me- my second family, my dental family- without whom my career would not be as fulfilling and fun!!! I couldn't have made it through dental school without the support and fraternalism of our beloved fraternity. During my term as Supreme President, I would like to continue to spread the feeling of community and family to all who come in contact with Xi Psi Phi--hospitality is the life of friendship. This starts, of course, with our students who are the leaves on the great oak of Xi Psi Phi. They blossom and grow from the strength of the branches and trunk (our alumni and the Supreme Chapter Board of Directors), which feed and nourish them- some drop off and blow away and some become part of the earth and serve to then nourish the roots of the great oak. Lately there is rumor that the great oak may be dying what with our diminishing funds and membership. This can not and will not happen! I again would like to thank all of those who have worked so hard to reactivate and establish new chapters (or try to), but there is still much work to be done. My goals are like so many before me: to increase student and alumni membership and also to replenish our funds in order to continue to guide and nurture our future dentists. We need to somehow find a way to "tug at the heart -strings" of alumni (and/or jog their memories of their time in dental school and how the fraternity helped them) for more donations. We need to continue with the Supreme Assemblies so that we can encourage student participation in order for them to become active alumni (our future) and to continue to feed the great oak of Xi Psi Phi.

Fraternally,

Dr. Penni Yip