WHIL Chapter OTY UWEC - wurha

University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire NRHH
WHIL Outstanding Chapter of the Year Award
WURHA 2012

Table of Contents
Table of Contents 1
Introductory Letter 2
Mission Statement 3
History 3
Goals 4
Members 5
Members‟ Leadership Elsewhere 6
Executive Board & Advisor 6
Induction Process 7
Executive Board Restructure 7
Pillars Introduction 8
Scholarship 8-9
Service 9-11
Recognition 12-15
Leadership 15-16
State Involvement 17-18
Regional/National Involvement 18-19
Campus Involvement 20
Appendices:
Letter of Support from Chapter 21
Letter of Support from President Mark Lefeber 22
Letter of Support from Advisor Quincy Chapman 23-24
Letter of Support from 25
Director of Housing Chuck Major
1

January 18, 2012
To the WHIL Chapter of the Year Award Selection Committee,
The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire James C. Martin Chapter of the National Residence Hall
Honorary has had a fantastic year. The members of the chapter have truly been the diamonds to our
deck of cards this year.
This year our chapter truly went back to our NRHH roots in an effort to equally represent the four
pillars, Leadership, Service, Scholarship, and Recognition. To do this our executive board was
reconstructed in a way that contained a position focused on each pillar. Through this we have been
able to develop many new programs that reflect each specific pillar, while also improving our
traditional programs.
Strengthening our focus on the pillars has allowed our chapter to become a stronger force within
campus. We have been able to help develop leaders on campus at our Fall Leadership Retreat and
Spring Leadership Expo for Development while giving members the opportunity to share their
experiences and knowledge. Campus wide service events like our Penny War to support the
Community Table has allowed students to compete amongst the halls while supporting a good
cause. We have encouraged academics through our brownies for studies program. And finally we
have been able to increase our recognition on our campus through 100 Grands, WoWs, and OTMs.
This past year our members have actively come together in order to better our chapter and to better
our campus as a whole. In many ways we have been able to foster leadership, strengthen scholastics,
increase recognition, and better serve our fellow students. We are so excited to share in these pages
the things we have accomplished.
Thank you for your consideration,
Mark Lefeber Bethany Brodhagen
2

Goals ‘11-‘12
Fall Leadership Retreat Attendance: Increase attendance at our annual Fall Leadership
Retreat. 75% or more of those in attendance be from outside of NRHH.
Results: Accomplished. The Fall Leadership Retreat occured on October 14 and 15,
and we had 79 people attend, of which 20 awere NRHH members (exactly 75%
attending were non-NRHH members)
Scholarship event: Find at least one new scholarship-related event to do as a chapter.
Results: Accomplished. Along with Brownies for Studies we have started chalking
encouraging messages around campus during midterms.
Ongoing Service Event: Create a service event which happens regularly (for instance
every Thursday afternoon)
Results: In progress. Brainstorming sessions have occurred, and ideas are
beginning to arise. We are expanding an event from last year to be occur once a
month for the spring semester.
OTMs: At least one campus winning OTM in two categories per month.
Results: Accomplished (for all months thus far). We had an outstanding 10 OTMs
written in September, and things are looking good for the future. The chapter is
looking into revamping this goal, as it appears the bar may have been set a bit too
low. (OTMs have been a weakness for Eau Claire for quite sometime)
Membership: At least 10 new member applications in the fall application process
Results: Accomplished. We received more than double the number of openings we
had, which was 8 in membership applications for the spring semester.
WHIL: Achieve “Gold” status in WHIL (Wisconsin Honorary of Involved Leaders).
Results: Too early to tell. Will be determined at the annual WURHA (Wisconsin
United Residence Hall Association) in the spring semester. Strategies to increase
likelihood have been put into place.
RHA: Collaborate more effectively with RHA.
Results: In progress. The beginning of the year and each semester is busy for both
NRHH and RHA. However, initial contacts have been made and rapport between the
organizations is good. Also talks of a collaborative event are in the works.
Exec Board Dedication: Executives are involved in all aspects of NRHH, not just their area.
Results: Accomplished (thus far). Executives have been attending all NRHH events
that they are able to. Only emergencies and class conflicts have prevented 100%
attendance.
Availability: Make availability of Executives known to each other and the chapter.
Results: Accomplished. A calendar of schedules is currently being utilized.
4

Members
Spring 2011 Fall 2011 Spring 2011
Vani Barry Vani Barry (EA) Leah Bauer
Holly Bergman Holly Bergman Holly Bergman
Josh Bonnell Josh Bonnell Travis Bischel
Emma Brennan Emma Brennan Josh Bonnell
Bethany Brodhagen Bethany Brodhagen Emma Brennan
Jake Broesch Jake Broesch Bethany Brodhage
Abby Chilsen (EA) Amanda Buschberger Jake Broesch
Dan Devine Melinda Daniels Amanda Buschber
Morgan Enright Dan Devine Melinda Daniels
Kurt Flesch Morgan Enright Dan Devine
Amber Fritsch Kurt Flesch Morgan Enright
Jolene Genskow Amber Fritsch Kurt Flesch
Mel Harms Jolene Genskow Samara Gaitan
Sam Haven Joe Gissing Joe Gissing
Laura Kahlow Mel Harms Mel Harms
Jenna Kelley Greg Hofmann Kirsten Hauge
Emily Klingenberg Allison Hoppe Katie Hennagir
Yan Ying Lee Britta Jepsen Melissa Hettmann
Mark Lefeber Jenna Kelley Greg Hofmann
Britta Marquand Emily Klingenberg (EA) Allison Hoppe
Elle McGee Mandy Kissinger Britta Jepsen
Alex Mersch MarkLefeber Jenna Kelley
Nick Mulholland Britta Marquand (EA) Mandy Kissinger
Alece Newberry Alex Mersch Brady Krien
Andrew Noble Nick Mulholland Mark Lefeber
Tony Och Maggy Parks Alex Mersch
Rick Schimka Jenna Peterson Nick Mulholland
Kelly Shea (EA) Kelsey Pischke Maggy Parks
Kayla Stier Lisa Rettig Jenna Peterson
Lauren Woods Rick Schimka Lisa Rettig
Casey Yonash Kayla Stier Bailey Ringold
Regina Troia Rick Schimka
(EA) signifies Ron White Kayla Stier
members who Noah Wiedenfeld Regina Troia
chose to become Kelsey Wieser Ron White
Early Alumni during Mary E. Wolf Noah Wiedenfeld
this semester Lauren Woods Kelsey Wieser
Casey Yonash Lauren Woods
Casey Yonash
Sammi Yozamp
5

Members’ Leadership Elsewhere
Nearly half of NRHH is comprised of Resident Assistants (RA) coming from many of the halls on
campus. Though these members are busy with their RA obligations, they still take time out of
their schedules to make NRHH an exciting opportunity for all. That being said, many of our
members are not RAs, and participate as equals with them in the organization, frequently
stepping into leadership positions within the chapter.
Many NRHH members serve on the Executive Boards of other organizations on campus. Most
noticeably, we have Hall Government Executives from most of the halls on campus in the
chapter. Other organizations that members help lead include the University Activities
Commission, Men Opposing Sexual Assault, Campus Ambassadors and Student Senate
Committees.
NRHH members are employed at Front Desks around campus, serve as Campus Ambassador
tour guides, participate in music ensembles (orchestra, band, choir, and small groups), are
involved in major specific organizations (such as National Student Speech-Language-Hearing
Association), are members of the Honors Program, and are involved in countless other programs and
organizations on campus.
Executive Board & Advisors 2011-2012
President: Mark Lefeber
VP-Leadership: Casey Yonash
VP-Scholarship: Nick Mulholland
VP-Recognition: Allison Hoppe
VP-Service: Mel Harms
NRHH-CC: Bethany Brodhagen
Organizational Advisor: Quincy Chapman
Programming Advisor: Maigan Wipfli
CC Advisor: Jerron Parker
“I was elected to the Executive
Board in my second meeting and
have received so much support
and help. The people in NRHH
are so kind and the meetings are
the highlight
of my Monday.”
-Allison Hoppe,
VP-Recognition
6

Induction Process
The NRHH chapter of UW-Eau Claire holds an induction process every semester that there
are vacancies in our membership. Anyone who has lived on campus for at least one full
semester and has a GPA of 2.5 or greater is encouraged to apply. Members of the chapter
are given the opportunity to “specially” nominate individuals who they think possess
exemplary leadership abilities in an effort to give them an extra push toward applying.
Members also make a point to visit hall councils to generate awareness about the
applications.
After applications are turned in, the chapter President
leads a committee of NRHH members who review the
applications and rate them using a scale that was
created by the members themselves. The applications
are critiqued using five criteria: Recognition, Service,
Leadership, Scholarship, and Membership. These
criteria are based around the four pillars of NRHH.
Recognition, service, scholarship, and leadership
evaluate the applicants‟ abilities in each of the
categories, while the membership category evaluates
their desire to be a member of the organization and
knowledge of what the organization does. A uniform
recommendation form is used to ensure fairness and a more standard process of evaluation.
The inductees are recognized at a special induction, recognition, and social meeting of
NRHH. In the spring, new inductees are also recognized at the Housing and Residence Life
Leadership Awards Banquet that is held every spring semester at UW-EC.
Executive Board Restructure
“Everyone involved has been
very helpful to new members
like myself. I really like being
part of a group that is so
passionate and caring as a
whole.”
-Melinda Daniels,
NRHH Member
The James C. Martin Chapter of NRHH always strives to make itself the best it can possibly
be. At the end of the last academic year, we noticed that the chapter lacked in the area of
recognition. We also noticed a lot of stress in the Programming Coordinators position.
Therefore, the Chapter made a switch to the executive board (the third shift in three years).
This led to the current executive structure involving an overseeing President, four Vice
Presidents (one for each Pillar) and the NRHH Communications Coordinator. So far, this
system seems effective, and appears to be spreading out a lot of responsibilities held by a
single person last year, and increasing activity in places that we were weak last year.
7

The Four Pillars
The Four Pillars of the James C. Martin Chapter of NRHH are a foundation in which our
members base their work and effort. It provides another aspect which promotes four ideas
that our chapter has come to define as the intentions and purpose for NRHH on our campus.
These Four Pillars are Service, Scholarship, Recognition, and Leadership. These four virtues
are what we as a chapter focus on to drive our efforts and support our actions when it
comes to programming, equal representation on campus, coordination between our chapter
and other collegiate organizations, and transmission of ideas and goals to the future
members of NRHH.
Power Pillar Presentations
Pillar Power Presentations are a revamped version of an older program we used to do in the
chapter called Leadership Lessons. In these Presentations (called 3Ps-pronounced
“threeps”) members of the organization take a short amount of time, usually five or less
minutes, and present something about a pillar with the rest of the organization. This way,
we are helping ourselves grows as leaders as well.
Scholarship
NRHH stands for National Residence Hall Honorary. Honorary is italicized because it
represents scholarship, which in itself emphasizes not just a mindset, but a behavior that
promotes academic excellence. These members that believe in scholarship encourage others
to maintain that level of excellence as well, and exhibit a behavior to students that is
responsible, welcoming, and proactive. Below are ways by which our chapter promoted
scholarship during the past year.
Spring 2011 Scholarship
The Scholarship Committee worked hard at taking in applications for the Spring 2011 NRHH
Scholarship. Again, the chapter is awarding two $250 scholarships. After many applications
came in, the scholarship committee decided on two excellent candidates, one a Hall Council
Executive Board Member who is serving this academic year as an RHA Executive, and the
other a member of the chapter who serves as an RA and this year is serving on the NRHH
Executive Board.
Fall 2011 Scholarship
The Scholarship Committee worked hard this semester to make necessary updates to the
scholarship application. They addressed clarification issues that writers may have as well as
any possible issues there might be in selection. The scholarships offered were also
restructured in order to allow for a member specific scholarship, making two $200
scholarships available to all residents and one $100 scholarship available to members.
Despite a few weeks of advertising, only one person applied to the scholarship, so we only
rewarded one of our $200 and we will role over our remaining budgeted money for later
semesters. 8

Scholarship (cont.)
Brownies for Studies
This year, NRHH members recognized that Scholarship has previously been one of our
weaker pillars. After brainstorming, we developed a new idea called Brownies for Studies.
The idea is to go to the study lounges of all the residence halls on a Thursday or Friday night
to pass out free brownies to dedicated students.
“Brownies for Studies was
awesome! NRHH has allowed
me to form relationships and
make so many new friends, and
Brownies for Studies was one of
the places I began forming
those relationships.”
-Regina Troia,
NRHH Member
The chapter planned these nights around
midterms and final exams. Along with the
brownies, we also handed out small cards
explaining our four pillars and the activities we
do for each (see examples at the bottom of the
page). In the fall semester of 2010 the chapter
had two Brownies for Studies nights, and in the
spring of 2011 one was held during National
Residence Hall Month. The 2011-2012 academic
year began with another Brownies for Studies
event in the second week of school, supporting
those who got to studying early this year. Other
than being a great outreach activity, Brownies for Studies also is a great bonding experience
for members, as we spend time together walking to all of the residence halls.
Service
This pillar is emphasized on a constant basis. What can NRHH do to serve the students, the
staff, our members, families and friends, and those who help us achieve more? It‟s a
question that constantly is reflected in our activities throughout the past year. It is perhaps
the only idea that pervades each of our other pillars, and provides an infusion of dedication
to always refer to Service. Below are ways by which our chapter gave back to the university
and the Eau Claire community during the 2011-2012 year.
Salvation Army
Members spent four different days at the entrance of the Eau Claire Shopko store ringing
bells for the Salvation Army in the beginning of December. Money raised through the Army‟s
Red Kettle Christmas Campaign goes to food, clothes, and toys to over six million people
each holiday season. This activity not only gave members an opportunity to support a
charitable cause, but also to have fun bonding and getting to know one another.
9

Service (cont.)
Community Table
This year members of NRHH really wanted to
pick one community organization and volunteer
with them throughout the entire year. In the
past, we have done service activities, but they
were typically more randomly, not consistent
with one organization. At the beginning of the
year members generated a list of possible
community locations for us to volunteer at.
Some of our many ideas included the Beacon
House, a homeless shelter, Bolton Refuge House,
a home for victims of domestic abuse or sexual
assault, and The Community Table, a place
that provides one free meal a day for anyone who needs it. These places were contacted,
and eventually The Community Table was decided on as our service project for this year,
and possibly several years to come. The way The Community Table works is that various
volunteer teams pick nights to volunteer and provide two teams, one to set up and serve,
and one to clean up. NRHH picked two nights during the spring 2011 semester.
Commendably, the nights we picked were Friday nights, when members might have had
other plans, but they made volunteering a priority. Nearly half of the chapter volunteered
each night and said that they had a very good time. An especially great thing about The
Community Table is that volunteers get a chance to interact with the large staff there, as
well as the people who come to enjoy the meal. The chapter looks forward to continuing
their service with the community table this spring semester volunteering once during each
month on a Friday. This semester we will be also funding the meal for two of our four
designated volunteer times.
Penny War
“I love that NRHH volunteered
at the Community Table this
semester. It was a great chance
to give back in Eau Claire and
was very rewarding!”
-Amber Fritsch,
NRHH Member
When NRHH was volunteering for The Community Table, an idea was proposed for us to
sponsor a campus wide Penny War. A supporter of The Community Table and owner of a
local water park offered a free water park party as a grand prize for the winning wing in this
Penny War. The Community Table was also able to get several other donations from local
businesses as prize incentives. NRHH decided to sponsor this Penny War as our big spring
event. We spent several months working out all of the logistics. Publicity for this event
included speaking at our Residence Hall Association, speaking and passing out chocolate
gold coins at Hall Councils, posters, and emails. Regarding scoring, pennies counted as
positive points, silver coins were negative points, and bills could be either positive or
negative, depending on what the donor wanted to do. We decided to include the element of
sabotage to encourage competition between the wings and to increase the amount of
donations. We also had a requirement that wings had to raise one dollar per person in
positive money to qualify for the prizes.
10

“Our chapter has done
phenomenal work this year
regarding all four pillars.
Fundraising over $1,000 to feed
the homeless and hungry at the
Community Table with a Penny
War competition was an amazing
act of service.”
-Mel Harms
VP-Service
Service (cont.)
Penny War (cont.)
To execute this event, NRHH members set up a
table outside our cafeteria Monday through
Thursday for two weeks, as well as at a table
outside our smaller cafeteria for three out of the
eight days. We had a projector with an up to the
minute spreadsheet of donations, so wings
would know where they stood in the point totals
and who they should sabotage. Throughout
those two weeks, we continued publicity by
hanging up more posters as reminders
throughout the halls. We were very happy with
the results of the Penny War. Our final total was
$1,167. That total included a donation from
NRHH. During our Penny War, Bridgman Hall
was also holding a penny war as part of their
Bridgman Olympics. For that reason, we did not get many donations from their hall.
However, one of our NRHH members is a resident assistant in Bridgman Hall, and
encouraged them to donate their total to our Penny War, as they had not yet picked out a
charity. The prizes that were offered were: a water park party for the entire wing and
guests, a free movie for the entire wing, party subs from Erberts and Gerberts, free food
from Burrachos, a local Mexican restaurant, and free cookies or scones from a local coffee
shop. Overall, we feel that this event was highly successful and a great way for NRHH to
connect to and serve the community.
Finals Kits
The chapter also runs a finals kit program, which is done through On Campus Marketing
(OCM). Letters are sent to families of all students living on campus. Parents are given the
opportunity to order any of five different kits. Orders are taken until about three weeks
before the end of the semester. After all shipments are received, NRHH members dedicate
an entire week to distribute them in the halls on campus. This type of distribution helps
generate awareness about our organization and provides an opportunity for NRHH to make a
visible presence in all of the residence halls. In spring ‟11, UWEC‟s NRHH Chapter was very
successful making over four thousand dollars.
Last year, the chapter had received feedback from parents that wanted healthier options for
finals kits. After communicating with OCM and exploring all of the possible options, our
chapter now offers fruit baskets as a finals kit option! This new addition has proven to be
very successful with a record of over 500 finals kits ordered for fall ‟11. The addition of fruit
to our finals kits caused our chapter to reevaluate our distribution process, instead of relying
solely on students to come to the hall to pick up their kits, we now included a runner to
knock on doors reminding students to pick up their kits. Ending our distribution with zero
refunds proves that this new process was extremely successful and will definitely be used in
the future.
11

“I have enjoyed being an
NRHH member this year. It
is fun to help with events
that benefit all residence hall
students and enhance their
college experience.”
-Jenna Peterson
NRHH Member
Recognition
This is a core value of the National Association
of College and University Residence Halls, Inc.,
including its affiliate regions; and is, of course, a
major element in any organizations‟ self
improvement. Recognition is not just the
awareness of a job well done, but of the work
involved, and the effort put forth by the
individuals. As a chapter, we employ positive
and proactive recognition on nearly a daily basis.
Recognition is what keeps leaders growing. It
also helps in their growth as a
person and leader. Therefore, we find it important to strive to recognize those who
deserve the recognition in as many ways as possible. Below are the various forms of
recognition that our chapter employed throughout the past year.
100 Grands
100 Grands are presented to non-NRHH members
who have exemplified leadership skills during the
past two weeks. They are nominated by NRHH
members who have noticed their stellar good
deeds and reward them with a certificate and
100 Grand mini candy bar, hence the title of the
award (see Appendix). These awards are then
delivered to the student‟s on campus mailbox the
following week. Students consistently thank
members for nominating them, and this proves
to be a great method in recognizing and
promoting leadership that may go unrecognized
otherwise. This year, the chapter has started
paper clipping a brief description of NRHH to the
certificate, to help promote NRHH as well.
WOWs
“NRHH is a great
organization, and I really
enjoy how well we recognize
residents, as well as our own
members. It really makes us
feel great about the things we
have done, prompts us to
keep up the good work, and
lets us know that the things
we do are
appreciated”
-Laura Kahlow,
„10-„11 NRHH
Vice President
Another form of recognition in the James C. Martin Chapter of NRHH are “WOWs”; which are
submitted by NRHH members to recognize the hard work and leadership of other NRHH
members. Members submit nominations every other meeting during executive board
reports. All recipients receive a certificate (see Appendix) and recognition at the next
meeting. Everyone enjoys hearing about the great accomplishments of its members and
takes high priority in recognizing the hard work others have done.
12

Recognition (cont.)
OTMs
Of The Months (OTMs) are UWEC‟s and NRHH‟s biggest forms of recognition. Every month,
chapter members have submitted multiple OTMs to recognize the outstanding contributions made
to the residence halls. In an effort to increase OTM writing across campus, more recognition was
given to campus OTM winners. Over the last two years, NRHH members have attended monthly
hall council meetings to present balloon bouquets, certificates, and door decorations to OTM
winners. This provided the most recognition our NRHH chapter has ever given for OTMs, while
also providing an opportunity to raise awareness and share information about our organization.
The chapter has experienced a gradual increase in total OTM submissions, largely
due to the organization’s efforts to encourage all students to submit OTMs, as well as
the aforementioned efforts to publicly recognize those students who had won Of The
Month awards. Our treasurer, Nick Mulholland, wrote a Regional winning OTM for
our NRHH advisor, Quincy Chapman, among many other regional and national
winning OTMs our school has seen this year. Our chapter also saw a handful of state
OTM award winners (through the Wisconsin United Residence Hall Association).
Appreciation Weeks ‘11
Every year, NRHH strives to appreciate as many groups on campus as possible through hosting
and organizing recognition weeks. During these recognition weeks, the chapter organizes some
kind of event or does something nice for the groups that they recognize. This year‟s recognition
weeks were Central Office Appreciation, Resident Assistant Appreciation, Think Tank
Appreciation, Hall Director Appreciation, Custodian Appreciation and Hall Council Appreciation.
Here are some of the highlights of activities we did:
Hall Director—February 6-12, 2011
To recognize the hall directors at UWEC, NRHH made cards, huge posters to put in the lobbies of
the halls to generate awareness of the appreciation week, and also bought a Target gift card for
each hall director to be used however they wanted.
Custodial/Maintenance—March 27-April 2, 2011
NRHH organized a catered lunch for the entire custodial and maintenance staff. We brought in
Fazoli‟s, so they could enjoy a nice hot lunch. NRHH members committed the whole afternoon to
setting up, serving/socializing during the lunch, and cleaning up after.
Hall Government—April 24-30, 2011
Hall Council Appreciation Week is still coming up, but NRHH members are already brainstorming
awesome ideas to recognize these important groups.
13

Recognition (cont.)
Appreciation Weeks
(Encouraging Other Organizations)
In addition to the activities NRHH did for appreciation weeks, the chapter also sent out emails
to Hall Council presidents and other leaders of housing organizations to encourage them to do
their own recognition during these weeks. We provided them with some suggestions, but it
was awesome to see all of the original ideas that were generated by our suggestions. It was a
true collaboration between NRHH and other housing organizations that led to appreciation
weeks being a great success.
Appreciation Weeks ‘11-’12 (cont.)
Hall Government—October 23-29, 2011
Recognizing the most Hall Governments in Eau Claire meet on Sunday‟s, we‟ve decided to
begin Hall Government Appreciation Week on a Sunday instead of Monday like we do for all
other appreciation weeks. We also moved Hall Government Appreciation week to earlier in the
school year, as we recognized that they should be recognized early for their service to the
Residence Halls.
Custodial/Maintenance—November 14-20, 2011
It is the intent of the organization to once again invite the entire custodial and maintenance
staff to lunch, paid for by NRHH. NRHH members are already clearing their schedules to
attend this event which was a hit last year.
Central Staff—December 5-11, 2011
Recognizing the Central Staff at UW-Eau Claire is important to NRHH. We did, however,
realize that recognizing the handful of central staff members is much easier than the 60+ Hall
Council Executives. Therefore, we moved Central Staff Appreciation Week to a busier time of
the year, as it will cause less inconvenience than having one of our bigger recognition weeks.
Hall Director—February 13-19, 2012
To recognize the hall directors at UWEC, NRHH made cards, huge posters to put in the lobbies
of the halls to generate awareness of the appreciation week, and also bought a Target gift
card for each hall director to be used however they wanted.
Resident Assistant—March 5-11, 2012
NRHH gave a portion of its budget to each RA staff to do whatever they wanted with the
money. Some staffs used the money to go out to a nice staff dinner, while others put the
funds toward a staff retreat.
Think Tank—April 30-May 6, 2012
The Think Tank is the resource center for all housing organizations. The employees are called
“fish”, so NRHH members decorated the Think Tank and bought an actual fish to keep in the
“tank”! Think Tank staff members loved the idea and were very grateful for the recognition.
14

Recognition (cont.)
Bronze Pins
The James C. Martin Chapter of NRHH believes in recognizing the efforts of its members. Each
spring, the President selects up to eight members who have provided leadership and direction to
the organization during the past year. Selected members receive a bronze pin – the highest
individual honor that can be given by the NRHH President.
Honorary Members
NRHH awards an honorary membership to faculty or staff members on the UWEC campus who
have made an extraordinary impact on Housing and Residence Life. The recipient is someone
who has not been an honorary non-student member or an active member at UW-Eau Claire.
Nominations are accepted from all members and advisors of NRHH in the spring. Only three
honorary non-student members can be chosen per year. Most recently the chapter inducted
Stephanie Van Pay as an honorary member of the chapter in the spring last year. Stephanie
served as NRHH Advisor for many years, and has always been a supporter, even when not in an
advisor role.
“I love NRHH meetings
because it's an amazing
place to exchange ideas. I
never feel out of place and it
was immediately welcoming
and like a family. ”
-Jenna Kelly
NRHH Member
Leadership
Joel Barker once said: “Vision without action is merely a
dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision
with action can change the world.” The James C. Martin
Chapter of NRHH believes that by developing leadership
within the chapter, across the campus, and throughout the
community, substantial progress can be made in all
aspects of life. It is through leadership that we can
communicate our promise of progress and innovation to
newly inducted members, our continuing members, our
current and future advisors, and our relentlessly supportive
administration. Please see the leadership development section of this bid to see how our chapter
provides scholarships to those who show dedicated leadership.
Spring Leadership Expo for
Development (SLED) 2011
Every spring NRHH hosts a Spring Leadership Expo for Development, or more frequently
referred to as SLED. This seminar includes a keynote address, programming, and often a meal.
All of this is paid for in full by NRHH, providing an excellent learning opportunity for those who
attend.
Last year‟s Spring Leadership Expo for Development had a record number of programs.
Typically, SLED has three programming sessions with three programs. This year, NRHH
members were so enthusiastic about presenting, that two of the programming sessions had four
programs each, giving those in attendance more variety in the types of programs they could
attend. Often, NRHH invites outside organizations and individuals to present at SLED, this year
that was not the case, as NRHH members presented all eleven programs.
15

Leadership (cont.)
Spring Leadership Expo for
Development (SLED) 2011 (cont.)
It was the chapter‟s
intent to have a keynote
speaker at SLED.
Unfortunately, the top
four choices the chapter
had were all unable to
attend. Instead, the
chapter implemented
a Top 4 system, where
the top four rated
programs would be
re-presented. The Top
4 programs were “The
Absurdity Workshop”
about thinking outside
the box, “Peel the
VP-Leadership Casey Yonash Onion” about getting to
“Peel the Onion” at SLED 2011 know one yourself and
each other, “So You Want
to be and RA” about the in and outs of being a Resident Assistant at UW-EC, and “You. Can.
Change. Your. Life” about getting your life on the right track.
Fall Leadership Retreat 2011
Our Fall Leadership Retreat for 2011 was October 14 and 15. We were able to complete our
goal of having roughly 80 people in attendance which more than doubles the attendance that
we had last year. We had twelve programs in four sessions scheduled, which is three more
than we had last year as well. We also aimed to have more upperclassmen attend this year,
so we made sure to have programming specially for those students. We also had personal
development, diversity, and team building programs that were presented for everyone. Our
Associate Dean of Students gave our keynote address at the start of the weekend. After the
retreat we received a great amount of positive feed back, which has lead to many people
interested in our organization.
Spring Leadership Expo for Development (SLED)
2012
We are currently in the process of planning our 2012 Spring Leadership Expo for
Development. We are hoping to continue our trend of successful leadership retreats this
semester and are excited to see what programs will be presented and meet those that
attend.
16

State Involvement
WHIL Conference
Every year, the Wisconsin Honorary of Involved Leaders holds a day-long conference to
promote personal development and to encourage leaders to continue being involved on
campus. UWEC‟s NRHH Chapter sent five representatives to the conference this year, held
at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. After three program sessions and roundtable
discussions, the attendees had learned a great deal. Our chapter is already in the works to
implement many of the ideas that we gained during round table discussions, including a
residential Of The Year award.
WURHA Conference (2011)
During last year‟s state conference, we were excited to have a large portion of our
delegation be comprised of NRHH members. Not only did they learn about leadership from
other leaders throughout the state, but they also shared their own knowledge with others.
We had two members present a program about teamwork and our cultural condition for
competition, as well as a program on gender stereotypes. Overall throughout this weekend
our NRHH members shared in many laughs, challenges, and fun in order to grow as a
leader. We are excited to be
able to bring more NRHH
members to this year‟s
conference and future
conferences, and to see which
conference goers become our
newest batch of members and
which will step up to executive
positions.
The NRHH members present at WURHA 2011
hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
OTMs
Members write multiple OTMs each month to recognize outstanding RAs, desk workers,
advisors, communities, executive board members, programs, and students who make the
residence halls at UW-Eau Claire a wonderful place to live. OTMs are uploaded to the state
level each month by our NRHH CC, where our OTMs frequently receive further recognition.
During this past year we have written many state winning OTMs in a variety of different
categories, something we have improved on compared to previous years. Overall we have
seen a great increase in the amounts of OTMs that were submitted each month and we hope
to continue increasing our submissions.
17

State Involvement (cont.)
Bids
Last year at the state wide conference, WURHA, The James C. Martin Chapter of NRHH helped
write bids for the Thomas Harris Advisor of the Year, for Eau Claire‟s NRHH/RHA advisor, Quincy
Chapman, as well as Program of the Year, for Eau Claire‟s campus welcome program, headed by
our ‟10-‟11 Programming Coordinator, Morgan Enright. Though neither bid won, the chapter
feels that we managed to recognize people for their hard work, whether we came back with a
trophy or not. Our chapter firmly believes that Wisconsin has some of the best young leaders in
the country, and that a lot of them reside right here at UW-Eau Claire. We are always excited to
tell others about our accomplishments from the past year, due in large part to the dedication of
our outstanding members and support system from our Housing and Residence Life.
WURHA Directorship
Last year, our current President of NRHH, Mark Lefeber, served as
Parliamentarian on the WURHA Directorship. Mark was appointed
early in the summer of 2010 and served his term through the semi-
annual business meeting, French Dip held the weekend of April 8 and 9.
While Parliamentarian, Mark encouraged legislation to change the
WURHA Constitution to better how the organization works. His
philosophy is that any changes to be made should help create leaders in
the residence halls of affiliated schools, or at least help WURHA provide
those opportunities for residents. The chapter is proud of what Mark did
to help WURHA last year.
Regional/National Involvement
Regional Board of Directors
We have hosted Rick Schimka on the Regional Board of Directors during the ‟10-‟11 and ‟11-„12
school years. Rick was the second NRHH member to serve on the regional board in recent years.
He has served as the Regional Communications Coordinator for Communications Development.
Rick has done an exceptional job this past year as RCC-CD, and we are proud to have hosted
him. At the recent No Frills business meeting earlier this spring, Rick ran for, and was selected to
be the Associated Director for Finance and Administration (AD-FA) for this year. He has
successfully taken over in this position and has been doing great things for the region. This year
Rick is also serving as the Parliamentarian for the NACURH Board of Directors.
Through an application process this past spring, our former NRHH-CC, Dan Devine, was selected
to serve the state of Wisconsin this past year as the Wisconsin Regional Communications
Coordinator. His term began at this past year‟s NACURH . Since then Dan has been an active
member of the GLACURH regional board.
To left: To right:
Rick Schimka Dan Devine
2010-2011 RCC-CD 2011-2012 WI-RCC
2011-2012 ADFA
18

Regional/National Involvement (cont.)
GLACURH/NACURH
Our NRHH members attending the National and Regional conferences this year have been
able to grow in their leadership abilities and share their love of Eau Claire and our chapter
with others. We were able to send a delegation comprised greatly of NRHH members to San
Diego this past June and are excited to send more members to Western Illinois at the end of
May. We were also able to send members to our regional conference this fall at Urbana-
Champaign, Illinois. At these conferences our members attended programs that increased
their leadership skills and knowledge for NRHH and Residence Hall life.
OTMs
In addition to members writing OTMs for the state wide organization, we also have OTMs
sent to the region. We had three recognized at the regional level in the last year, in addition
to one of those winning nationally.
Regional Committees
Our NRHH President, Mark Lefeber, is serving on the Regional OTM Selection Committee.
This is his second year in the role, and he has already used his experience to encourage
others to write quality OTMs. He looks forward to serving throughout the year, and hopes
that his involvement will increase OTM writing on the Eau Claire Campus.
National Committees
One of our members has also been involved with NACURH by serving on a National
Committee. Last year, our NRHH-CC served on the NACURH NRHH Standards Committee.
He was a part of a team that is working to improve the standards of OTM judging and
improving the quality of NRHH as a whole.
Bids
In addition to the bid before you, NRHH is also
submitting a bid for Member of the Year for our
former Programming Coordinator, Morgan Enright.
Morgan stepped into the role of Programming
Coordinator after attending two meetings. She did
such a phenomenal job in the position, that the
chapter realized how difficult the position it is. As
such, the chapter changed our constitution, splitting
Morgan‟s duties as Programming Coordinator
amongst three positions, instead of just one.
“Becoming and Executive
Board member at my second
meeting was such a great
experience and huge
learning opportunity for me.”
-Morgan Enright
„10-„11 Programming
Coordinator
19

Campus Involvement
Collaboration with RHA
We have been working extensively with RHA to collaborate more on fundraising, various
projects on campus, and support in adverting events. Having many of the RHA executive
members in NRHH has helped a lot in working on strengthening the bond between the two
organizations. In fact the RHA president is also an active NRHH member. Some projects that
we have works on with RHA include, but are not limited to, an end of the year housing
satisfaction survey, OTM writing, and apparel sale fundraising. Each semester RHA holds a
large apparel sale fundraiser where students from each hall council are responsible for
helping out at hourly shift, usually members of NRHH also help out by filling in the shifts that
cannot be filled by RHA members. Also it is very common to see many RHA delegates at
leadership events put on by NRHH such as the Fall Leadership retreat and SLED. This has to
do in great part by the efforts of RHA executives advertising these events at meetings.
Social Events
An upcoming idea that NRHH has had is to start hosting social events for groups on campus.
Drawing from the idea of socials at conferences, socials would be held at a time relatively
free for many people with a similar interest. The Chapter initially thought of the Resident
Assistants on campus, as much of our chapter is comprised of RAs. The hope is to pick a
time and invite all of the RAs to come do something fun together. The idea has also been
explored for Hall Council Executive Boards and Housing Organizations (Residence Hall
Association, Judicial Board, Peer Diversity Educators, and others).
These social events come in addition to social
events the chapter intends to do on their own
as well. We are hoping that we will be able to
get to know each other in the chapter better,
especially those coming in meeting those who
have been in the chapter for a while.
“It was exciting getting to
bond with members over a
game of bowling.
Collectively, we‟re pretty
okay. So, I think we‟ll just
stick with Leadership. ”
-Casey Yonash
VP-Leadership
20

January 22, 2012
Dear WHILCCs and WURHA Directorship Members,
On behalf of the James C. Martin Chapter of NRHH at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, it is my great
pleasure to submit this letter of support in our efforts to be WURHA’s WHIL Chapter of the Year.
I am so proud of all of the accomplishments the chapter has had this year. We have a newly reorganized Executive
Board that is helping the chapter accomplish these goals. The Executive Board expanded from five members to six,
and now includes a Vice President for each of the pillars. This has allowed us to ensure that no pillar gets left behind.
This year we implemented our second Scholarship activity. For a long time we simply sponsored a scholarship from
the funds that we make while fundraising. This year, however, we started the Brownies for Studies program, where
the chapter buys brownies and rewards people who are studying on typical party nights, usually Thursday and
Fridays.
We have also ramped up the recognition we are giving to OTM nominees, winners, and writers. OTMs have been a
weak point in the past for UW-Eau Claire, but it looks like we are turning over a new leaf, with record numbers in
October, and a good outlook for this coming semester.
Community Table was a huge part of our Service Pillar in the spring of 2011. In addition to serving at the
Community Table, and organization who serves hot meals to hungry people in the Eau Claire community, we also
held a campus wide Penny War to raise money for them as well. We raised over $1,000 during the Penny War, and
even though it was a lot of work, members loved the project. This successful partnership has caused us to continue
this coming semester with four more serving opportunities.
We are also had a very successful Fall Leadership Retreat where we more than doubled our attendance from last
year. The number of programs that we presented was also increased by three, including programming focused on
issues relevant to upperclassmen, something atypical for this retreat which is usually directed towards first year
stuents.
I am also proud to say that we are at our membership cap of 40 for this semester. Additionally, almost every week
we have a high percentage of those 40 in attendance at our meetings. Most all are also involved in planning other
NRHH events, in addition to their many other leadership roles on campus.
Thank you for your hard work serving WURH. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact
me at lefebemd@uwec.edu or 920-960-9721. Good luck with the conference, your delegation, and your decisions.
Best wishes,
Mark D. Lefeber
UW-Eau Claire NRHH President

January 25, 2012
Dear WURHA Directorship and WHIL Communication Coordinators,
It is my great pleasure to write this letter of support on behalf of the students in the James C. Martin
Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) in their bid for Chapter of the Year. This chapter
has a strong history of outstanding leadership, and their efforts this year have built upon this tradition of
success.
I have worked on residence life for 13 years, and during that time have had the opportunity to work closely
with 11 NRHH chapters, and directly advise 6 chapters. This chapter has been the best chapter I have
worked with by far, and is characterized by a high level of commitment, successful programming, and
creativity.
I have been impressed by the James C. Martin chapter’s intentional focus on the four pillars of NRHH. By
sponsoring numerous recognition weeks, NRHH takes the time to appreciate the efforts put forth by
residence hall students, student staff, and professional staff. I have seen first hand how appreciative staff
and students feel when they have been acknowledged for their efforts. Our custodians were especially
pleased by the wonderful luncheon that the chapter provided for them. In addition, the chapter has
recognized over 100 residence hall students fro their residence hall contributions through their “$100
grand” program, while also coordinating a successful OTM program.
In addition, NRHH has made significant contributions to the development of leadership in others. By
presenting a leadership conference each semester open to all students free of charge, the students in NRHH
have given others the opportunity to gain new leadership skills and experiences. These opportunities help
our students get started in residence hall leadership, and we can look back at each of the conferences as the
springboard for student participation in several other student organizations. Their Fall Leadership Retreat
was such a success at helping students connect, that many of the attendees participated in a retreat
“reunion” later in the year.
The James C. Martin chapter has also shown commitment to scholastics. They maintain a high standard of
academic excellence for their members, and serve as academic role models for their peers. In addition, they
continue to fund scholarships for residence hall students, and this year they have increased their
commitment from 10% to 20% of their annual budget for this purpose. They also launched a “Brownies for
Studies” program, where they pick an evening to parade through the study lounges of every residence hall
in the late evening, giving a tasty brownie to everyone they “catch” studying.

Finally, the chapter has been heavily involved in service, planning regular community service activities, and
building participation in service activities into their incentive structure in the chapter. They created a very
successful partnership this year with our Community Table, a hot-meal program for the underpriviledged
residents of Eau Claire. NRHH members sponsored and served two meals this year, and coordinated a
Penny War program which raisled over $1100 for the Community Table. NRHH members have also been
instrumental in providing service to the campus, by contributing to welcome week activities, campus-wide
service projects, and serving on university communittees.
In my role, I have the opportunity to advise several organizations. The experiences each year vary, based
upon the commitment and skill of a group in a praticular year. This chapter has been an incredible example
of what happens when a talented group of students make a conscious commitment to do great things. They
have been self-motivated, organized, conscientious, and most of all, a lot of fun.
Sincerely,
Quincy Chapman
Assistant Director of Leadership and Education
Housing and Residence Life

January 20, 2012
To the WURHA Directorship and the WHIL Communication Coordinators,
It is my pleasure to write this letter of support of the James C. Martin Chapter at the University of Wisconsin – Eau
Claire – I believe them to be truly deserving of the State Award for Chapter of the Year. I have been a part of
Housing & Residence Live at UW-Eau Claire for over 30 years, and in that time have had the opportunity to observe
the maturation of the James C. Martin Chapter. This year has been characterized by exceptional effort and
commitment by the members of NRHH.
You will not in the bid the contributions they have made in each of the pillars of NRHH. I believe it is especially
important to understand the conscious effort that the chapter has made to ensure that they have made progress in
scholastics, service, leadership, and recognition.
The chapter experienced several successes this year, including more than doubling the number of students at their
Fall Leadership Retreat. We believe this event will reap long-term benefits in the future of our housing
organizations. Members of NRHH were also instrumental in helping us create some new involvement opportunities
for you men on our campus, including the creation of a Housing and Residence collaboration called the RECing
crew. NRHH members were also instrumental in helping us pull off one of the most successful new student
orientation events in recent years – an event called McPhee Fun Night which had over 1400 participants.
We are extremely proud of our chapter – they are a key component of the residence hall experience, and strong
contributions to the development of our students. They are dedicated student leaders who unselfishly give of their
time and effort, to create programs, honor the contributions of residence hall leaders, and serve the greater Eau Claire
community.
Sincerely,
Charles H. Major
Director of Housing & Residence Life
University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire