It’s no coincidence the strongest Pi Phi chapters have strong Alumnae Advisory Committees (AAC). And after meeting Missouri Alpha’s AAC Chair Jean Perry Eggerman, who is a Missouri Alpha herself, the correlation is obvious. Since she became AAC Chair five years ago, the chapter has received the Balfour Cup — the Fraternity’s highest honor — once and was named Balfour Cup 2nd Runner Up this past June.

“I tell the chapter every year: my goal is for them to have a place setting,” Jean said, referencing the large silver platter Balfour chapters receive. Her philosophy with the women is simple: as long as the chapter desires to be strong, the AAC can help them. “It’s up to the whole chapter to decide Balfour is who they are and who they want to be,” she said.

So how does the AAC help the chapter succeed? Jean explains an AAC member’s No. 1 priority is to build a relationship with her collegiate counterpart. AAC members should be real and honest, and in turn the collegiate women will be real and honest with their advisors. “We can’t help them if we don’t know what’s going on,” Jean said.

Because relationship building is so important to Jean, she’s here at the Missouri Alpha Chapter house on a Monday morning helping the women prepare for recruitment, instead of being at work (she runs an air conditioning business with her husband). She will stay as late as she’s needed and then spend the night at her daughter’s house in town, an upgrade from her old practice of crashing on a couch in the chapter’s living room. In the morning, she’ll wake up early and complete the 90-mile drive back home.

“This is the period of time when I really get to know the whole chapter, not just the Executive Council,” Jean said. “I am here to answer their questions, explain why we do what we do and get some feedback from them. It’s when I am a real person to them.”

Before she joined AAC, Jean volunteered throughout her community. “Volunteering is in my heart,” she said. “My whole family volunteers: my grandmother, mother, aunts and siblings. It’s in our DNA and it’s how we were raised: to be servant leaders.” Jeans’ family understands her passion, especially her daughter, also a Missouri Alpha and the reason Jean joined AAC in the first place. As for her husband, a Beta Sigma Phi, Jean explains she was serving as Chapter President when they met in college. “He should have known,” she teases.