Alpha Beta Gamma
Initiation Ritual
All members of Alpha Beta Gamma, including Honorary Members are initiated
into our society utilizing this initiation ritual. Chapters may not alter this
ritual without permission of the Executive Committee.
1996
Most chapters have a formal ceremony for this initiation, which includes
either a formal lunch or dinner as part of the ceremony.
The ritual requires the assistance of the Chapter Adviser and Chapter
President. Other officers of the chapter and college faculty and administrators
may participate in the ceremony. Usually the college president is present and
participates in some manner.
The room should contain some flowers and red, white and gold candles which
are mentioned or used in the ceremony.
The official diplomas are usually distributed after the student is initiated.
A citation of achievement is usually read for each honorary member.
Initiates are assembled outside the room and lined up in alphabetical order.
The Chapter President leads the initiates into the room. The officers of the
society wear the official graduation stoles. The officers may also wear the
officers' medallions. The Chapter Adviser wears the Adviser's stole. The
President of the college may wear also wear an Adviser's stole since all college
presidents are eligible for Honorary Membership.
Call to Order: The …(insert Chapter
name) Initiation Ceremony will now proceed. On behalf of the society
of Alpha Beta Gamma, I welcome you to witness and participate in our initiation
ceremony.
… (name of officer or adviser) will
acquaint you with our society.
Alpha Beta Gamma is an international business honor society established in
1970 to recognize and encourage scholarship among college students in business
curricula at community, junior and technical colleges. The society has over
35,000 members from 140 member colleges.
To achieve this goal, Alpha Beta Gamma provides an opportunity for the
development of leadership and service, an intellectual climate for the exchange
of ideas and ideals, lively fellowship for business scholars and the stimulation
of interest in continuing academic excellence. The lives of members, chapter
advisers and supportive administrators have been enriched by the Alpha Beta
Gamma experience.
Alpha Beta Gamma exists to recognize the superior student in business
programs.
Select the purpose depending on your type of chapter affiliation - honorific,
academic/honorific, academic/honorific/social.
The purpose(s) of our chapter is (are):
To Recognize academic excellence
To provide ancillary educational experiences
To serve the college and community
To enrich the social and cultural life of our members
It is my pleasure to introduce the prospective initiates of the … Insert
Chapter Name chapter of Alpha Beta Gamma.
I present these prospective members who are enrolled in business curricula
and who have met the rigid academic standards for acceptance.
These candidates have proved their worthiness by their excellent academic
work and their sincere interest in the advancement of business studies.
Names are called out alphabetically and students approach the center of the
room in order where chairs are waiting for them.
When all the names are called out, proceed:
Before we continue the formal initiation, there are pertinent questions which
we must ask you. These questions are designed to remind you of your obligations
as members of Alpha Beta Gamma. Your willingness to assume these obligations
will be indicated by the affirmative response "I do."
Do you subscribe to the high ideals of scholarship, leadership and
cooperation of Alpha Beta Gamma?
Response from initiates: I do.
Do you have an appreciation of the worthiness and distinction of studying
business as well as an appreciation for the opportunities of service in your
profession?
Response from initiates: I do.
Do you agree to contribute wholeheartedly to the advancement of business?
Response from initiates: I do.
Do you agree to help Alpha Beta Gamma, your college and your community as
your ability to do so permits?
Response from initiates: I do.
Your responses have been satisfactory and I am pleased to recommend you to
our Chapter President for formal induction.
President of the Chapter: The ideals of Alpha Beta Gamma will now
be explained in more detail since you are ready for initiation.
The first ideal of our society is Scholarship. Scholarship is acquired
knowledge and skill. Knowledge and wisdom are humankind's most prized
possessions. What you have learned well can never be taken away from you.
Knowledge is represented in our organization by the Greek letter ALPHA, the
first letter of the Greek alphabet. Knowledge and wisdom are primary for Alpha
Beta Gammans.
The word Alpha also means "The beginning." Thus, as initiates you
are beginning a new phase of your educational and professional careers as
members of an honor society.
In astronomy, a subject in which the ancient Greeks were very deeply involved,
the word alpha was used to represent the brightest star in the heavens. You, as
prospective members of Alpha Beta Gamma are the brightest stars of the business
programs at this college.
Like the brightest star, you are expected to radiate and share your knowledge
and brilliance with others just as the brightest star is used to navigate on the
high seas. To symbolize your brilliance, we will now light the gold candle.
The Gold Candle is lit.
The second ideal of Alpha Beta Gamma is Leadership. To all honor students
falls the responsibility of broadening and improving business studies and
programs at our college. Earnest leaders are ever true to themselves, to their
principles and to their profession of business.
We will now light the red candle which represents leadership.
The Red Candle is lit.
Let the flame of this red candle symbolize your leadership towards a stronger
and more permanent light of wisdom and leadership.
Cooperation, or unity of purpose and team effort is the third Alpha Beta
Gamma ideal. Cooperation is the product when we unselfishly serve others with
sincerity.
We now light the white candle which symbolizes cooperation since it holds
within its flame all the beautiful colors of the spectra representing unity of
purpose.
The White Candle is now lit.
Through cooperation we draw our lives into our society and our society's
needs into our lives.
May the glow from these three candles keep you ever mindful of the high
ideals of scholarship, leadership and cooperation.
Will the candidates please stand and repeat the Alpha Beta Gamma Pledge.
Copies of the pledge could be waiting on the chairs before initiates enter,
or, initiates could follow as the pledge is read to them.
I pledge myself (pause) to uphold the
high purpose (pause) of this society to
which I have been elected (pause) striving
in every way (pause) to make its standards
and ideals those of my life.
Congratulations, I now declare you full and responsible members of Alpha Beta
Gamma. It is with genuine pleasure that we receive you into the full fellowship.
Our Society emblem is engraved on your diplomas. Use it with pride, treasure
it, and wear it with dignity. Our key is the symbol of our society.
Will you please step forward as your name is called. At the table, please
take an unlighted candle from the table and symbolically light it. Select the
candle which represents the ideal of Alpha Beta Gamma which will be your
principle ideal.
If scholarship will be your primary ideal, select the gold candle.
If Leadership will be your primary ideal, select the red candle.
If Cooperation will be your primary ideal, select the white candle.
Initiates light and then gently blowout their candles before returning to
their chairs. Diplomas could be given to them at this time.
Remember, our ideals are of little value separately. They are links in the
chain of life. When these ideals are linked together, the ideals of Alpha Beta
Gamma are realized.
Leadership must be based on sound and thorough scholarship or the leadership
will be void;
Leadership cannot achieve its height without cooperation.
Thus, scholarship, leadership and cooperation merge into a threefold
obligation of Alpha Beta Gammans.
We would like the new members of our society to read in unison the Preamble
of the constitution of Alpha Beta Gamma as your first official act as members of
our society.
Copies of the preamble should have been provided to initiates, or placed on
their chair before they enter.
Thank You and Welcome to Alpha Beta Gamma.
Now, … College President, or Adviser
will like to present the charge:
This charge or an original charge can be used.
On behalf of the faculty of the business division, I charge each of you to
continue the standards of excellence you have set for yourselves.
Be a credit to our chapter, to our college, to your family and your community.
Serve our nation well!
Start Applause.