winter 2017 - omegafi · alumni association regularly posts a listing of brothers with outdated...
TRANSCRIPT
Homecoming 2016 was a great weekend to show off our grand, old University and was a wonderful opportunity to showcase our undergraduates. There has not been a weekend like it in recent memory as the weather cooperated with warm sunlit days.
With all that is being said about the lack of dollars flowing into higher education and the enrollment crisis existing at most of the state's universities, things appeared to be very normal at EIU. Parents and families were strolling around campus. An excited football crowd and the community were abuzz as the annual parade passed. One thing was apparent, with fewer students on campus it was much easier to navigate the bars.
My thanks to the undergraduate men of Beta-Gamma Chapter for preparing the House and property for our arrival. Our home away from home was radiating fellowship. For those of you unable to join us for Homecoming this year, just picture the House in your mind and it will conjure up great pride in the historically most accomplished Fraternity at Eastern.
That accomplished pride continued this Homecoming season with the undergraduates receiving the university's overall Homecoming trophy, after securing another flatbed float trophy. Congratulations to our men!
It was nice to see so many Beta-Gamma alumni on campus during the Homecoming festivities. I truly appreciated their participation in the Central Illinois Alumni Association (CIAA) membership meeting. Immediately following the parade, we gathered to cover an agenda of critical items. No issue was more important than the future plans
for our Chapter House. A full report on our actions is available in the coming pages of the Beta-Gamma Gab.
I enjoyed reminiscing about Mom Slevin, Cook Hutton, Bert Holley and Eli Sidwell, just to name a few. All of these people played an important role in our successes within the Charleston community, on campus and at the National level. A lot of the storytelling reminded me of the Norman Rockwell painting of the telephone conversation. Each iteration of the story just got a little more outlandish. It was a fun weekend. In 2017, just don't suggest to yourself you might attend Homecoming, make a commitment to be in Charleston, October 20-22.
I don't want to be a nuisance, but we still have not heard from a lot of you. We need everyone to step-up and pay their CIAA membership dues. This is a critical year to gauge our support for our impending capital campaign for the Chapter House. Please send a check today.
Again, thanks for your continued support. Please contact me with your questions and concerns. As someone said at the membership meeting, "we have to do what we have to do."
Fraternally,Martin Morgan '82 President [email protected]
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BETA-GAMMA GABSigma Pi Fraternity | Eastern Illinois University
From Our President
Winter 2017
Dave Hofferkamp '65 greets Past Grand Sage and former Beta-Gamma Alumni Advisor Eli R. Sidwell '55 before the Homecoming parade winds down Sixth Street.
Alumni gather in front of the House before the annual Homecoming parade. (Seated L-R): Andy Ventress '63, Eli Sidwell '55 and Dave Hofferkamp '65
The historical home of Beta-Gamma Chapter welcomed alumni and guests during Homecoming week!
The following serves as highlights from the October 22, 2016, Central Illinois Alumni Association Membership Meeting. The usual and customary agenda items were covered.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the October 24, 2015 Central Illinois Alumni Association were approved.
Undergraduate Chapter: Chapter Director Bill Mulvany '81 thanked the alumni group for their support. He confirmed it has been a difficult but rewarding year. The number one issue is the reduced pool of Eastern students interested in pledging. Fall recruiting garnered only six pledges. These low numbers will affect our ability in the coming years to fill the Chapter House. Bill encouraged alumni involvement. He wants to see alumni become mentors and assist with job placement.
Sage Brandon Howrey '14 thanked alumni for their support. He expressed concerns about housing conditions and sleeping arrangements. He wanted alumni to understand that undergraduates look at things very differently than from years gone-by. However, our bond of Brotherhood has gone unbroken.
Chapter House: The most important issue considered at the annual membership meeting was planning for future undergraduate housing needs. The first question discussed was where the Chapter House should be located. Suggested options included a new location not on campus, the EIU Greek Court or to remain at 956 Sixth Street. The discussion was passionate and resounding that we will remain at the historically significant 956. Thoughts remain the same even if we have to throw a lot of money into the old House to make it a modern facility.
What has to happen? The state legislature passed a law that will require our Chapter House to have a full sprinkler system operating by January 1, 2019. This will be a significant investment and our first concern.
Then the question that has to be answered is, if we have to install a sprinkler system, why not tackle additional projects as well? The complete project might include a new basement with a chapter meeting room, shower room, laundry, storage and new utilities including heat and central air. Plus, we would refresh or reconfigure the current living space. Basically a top to bottom overhaul.
Preliminary thoughts on how to accomplish the remodel would include lifting the house off of its current foundation. We would then dig a new basement for the aforementioned, followed by the individual room remodels. We hope to modernize the kitchen, too.
What are the obstacles? Our House is located in the city's historical preservation district. The exterior will need to maintain its current integrity. Initial discussions with the city would allow for only minor adjustments to our current exterior footprint. They remind us that we will have to accommodate the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) which may provide us with some opportunities.
Now, the bottom-line. Nothing will come cheap. Early cost estimates for the basement $100,000; the
BETA-GAMMA GAB W I N T E R 2 0 17
Beta-Gamma's Executive Council
SageJonathon Casamajor
Chicago, [email protected]
First CounselorBrandon Rosenbusch
Chicago, [email protected]
Second CounselorRyan Frazier
Braidwood, IL [email protected]
Third CounselorGreg Gilfillan
Chicago, [email protected]
Fourth CounselorZach Wollenschallger
Melrose Park, [email protected]
HeraldPatrick Mitchell
Beverly, [email protected]
Communication support and assistance provided by OmegaFi.
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CIAA Membership Meeting Report
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sprinkler system $50,000; Heating/AC $30,000; Kitchen $50,000, Housemother Suite $18,000 and all other areas $70,000. You do the math. Plus, we want to retire the mortgage. We need to raise $400,000.
Election of Officers: Elections for CIAA officers were held by the membership and the following were elected: President - Marty Morgan '82, Vice President - Jeff Phillips '82, Secretary - Brent Barnard '85, Treasurer - Jeff Knezovich '75 and Director - Corey Thiesse '13.
New Business: Brother Andy Ventress '63 made a motion to change the name of the Association. He felt the name should reflect our rich history. It should include Sigma Pi and Beta-Gamma. The item was seconded and passed. Leadership acknowledged this is not a top priority but will address the issue in due time.
Comments for the Good of the Chapter: Members of the Association expressed their thanks to the CIAA leadership for resurrecting the alumni group. There has been no time in our history that the alumni Brotherhood needs to come together more than now.
Announcement: Membership was reminded of tonight's banquet. Festivities should begin at 6:00 p.m.
Adjournment: The next annual meeting of the Association will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2017.
A Founder's Message
Help Us Find Our Brothers
BETA-GAMMA GABW I N T E R 2 0 17
Gentlemen, I recently received the Beta-Gamma Gab and it brought back memories of my days at EIU (1947-48, 1948-49 and 1949-50). It occurred to me that you might be interested in the roots of Beta-Gamma Chapter.
To my knowledge, there are only two living persons who originated the chapter at EIU. There may be others of whom I have lost track and they would be in their late 80's to early 90's. The history of the Chapter is as follows:
In 1947-48 a group of independent male students lived above a restaurant across the street from the north entrance to Old Main, on the northwest corner of 7th and Lincoln Avenues. The restaurant was named "Chatterbox."
There were approximately 15 male students living in the dorm above the Chatterbox. Four of those students were from Covington, Indiana. Their names were John Myers '49, Bob Meyers '49, C.J. Doane '49 and Virgil Sweet '49. C.J. played on some championship basketball teams with Tom Katsmplis, coached by Bill Healy. I (Virgil Sweet) played three years of varsity football for Coach Pat O'Brien and baseball for Dr. Lantz. I was accepted into the EIU Athletic Hall of Fame about 20 years ago. Bob Meyers was a good student but made no imprint on the school or group of Chatterbox students.
John Myers is the centerpiece of this article. Late in 1947-48 he organized the Chatterbox Boys into a local fraternity and he named it Chi Rho - no one ever explained how he chose that name. John was a born politician and somehow he convinced the National Sigma Pi organization that our group was worthy of consideration for a national chapter.
I remember well when he called us into the dorm room for a special conference. Our group was packed into the room laying all
over the beds and the dorm floor listening to what he had to say. He informed us that a fraternity representative was coming to meet with us and we had to play and look the part. On the given Saturday, we all met in the kitchen of the people downstairs who happen to own the Chatterbox - everyone wore suits and ties as John had instructed and the Sigma Pi rep gave us the eye.
Somehow, John convinced them the dorm would serve as our "house" until we could afford one and the owners' kitchen would be our "conference room." We received a favorable rating and were accepted early in 1948-49. We had our first orchid ball in Mattoon in late spring of 1948-49.
The four of us graduated, or transferred to another school, at end of the 1949-50 school year. Bob Meyers became a C.P.A. and died in 1992. C.J. Doane became an Athletic Director at a Valparaiso, Indiana high school and still lives there at age 89. I coached basketball at Valparaiso High School until 1984 at which time I moved to Largo, Florida where I still sell real estate at age 89.
But the key man in the fraternity history, John Myers, went on to serve as a United States Congressman for 32 years representing our hometown of Covington, Indiana. He died at age 88 one year ago and his wife, Carol (an EIU grad) still lives there.
AND NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY! Continued success and grow my story with talented new recruits who can make life-long contributions as strong well prepared alumni.
Virgil Sweet '49 10216 Seminole Island Dr Largo, Florida 33773 (727) 410-1205
Alumni Association regularly posts a listing of Brothers with outdated addresses and emails. Please take time to review the list and report new contact information to Brent Barnard '85, CIAA Secretary at [email protected] or mail updates to CIAA, 380 Prairie Knoll Drive, Naperville, IL 60565.
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James M. Cooper '64Robert David Corey '68Stanley Lee Cornelison '50Donald Lee Cornelissen '55Terry Michael Cornwell '70John Richard Crum '58Carl Clayborne Cummins '53Steven Charles Cuttill '78Todd Eugene Daily '92Thoms Frank Davis '69Timothy Patrick Davis '90Thomas J. DeCarlo '94Jeffrey James DeLong '79Sean Denis Dempsey '92John Joseph Dickey '59
Mark John Dobrinsky '71Matthew Edward Donovan '00Michael Brendon Dorsey '03William Frank Dotson '49Steven Craig Ducey '63Robert Charles DuHadway '59Michael Robert Dunn '87Paul Aandrew Eagleson '64Gregg Arthur Ebert '82Martin Allen Edmondson '94David Walter Ekstrom '76Stephen Strawn England '66Patrick Thomas Fardy '97John William Farr '66Jeffry James Fassero '80
John Damian Ferris '68Greg John Filter '74Mark Joseph Finn '94Charles Lynn Firmwalt '64Thomas Edward Fleming '79John Thomas Flynn '62Brian William Ford '83Kevin Dale Foust '81Forrest Randall France '71Austin Jerome Frazier '06Matthew Todd Freeman '93Mark Dennis Freund '90Richard Thomas Gaddini '99David Michael Gaines '61Dennis Michael Galvin '67
Joseph Philip Gardella '87Bradley Mark Garrett '84Gordon Gary Gebhart '54Ulrich Christian Geissler '66Michael Doyle Giampaolo '01Steven Allen Glazebrook '90Brian Patrick Goecking '98Thomas Edward Goff '70Billy Dean Goodman '58James Lozell Gossett '85Jeff Alan Gossett '76David Dennis Grachan '86John Tyson Graham '90John Edward Graves '93Charles Edward Grawey '74
Daniel Lee Green '70John Robert Griffin '61Kent William Grissom '86Kent K. Grummett '52Gary Lee Gueldner '61Philip Eugene Gulledge '58Steven Edward Gumplo '85Joseph Gerard Gutekunst '77Stephen John Gwinn '81Charles Edward Hackbarth '84Danny Edward Halbe '72Jeffrey Alan Halbe '73Gary Nathan Hale '93John Edward Hall '93Dale Lee Hamby '51
First, let me say I hope you and your family had a very happy holiday season! The undergraduates wrapped up finals and successfully shut down the Chapter House for winter break. It is amazing how quickly the semester blew past us! I have emphasized the importance of good scholastic achievement. Hopefully, the men of Sigma Pi will be able to overcome our previous poor academic showing!
CIAA leadership continues to meet regularly by conference call to discuss our project timeline and to think strategically about where the future will take us. Someone even broached the question if Fraternities will be around in another decade or two. Or, will the membership be coed? Questions that have unusual consequences, especially as we plan for a revitalized Chapter House environment. I want to thank the CIAA leadership for jumping in to make the best out of our current situation. With the house not fully occupied, it is difficult to run the property on a string budget.
Again, I want to stress that Sigma Pi alumni play an important role in the success of our undergraduates. I encourage you to contact me if your company has a job opportunity for recent college graduates. More importantly, I would
like to hear from alumni who can spend time to mentor our undergrads. They are looking for guidance on resume preparation and review, as well as mock interviews. Let me know if you can assist.
There is a team of alumni advisors who are working with our men. Chris Clayton '89 is serving as advisor to the university. Tim Butler '85 and Peter Pace '93 are volunteering as assistant chapter directors. The four of us are hoping our involvement can make a difference for our Chapter members. We look forward to working with the new officers. We will provide information and guidance rather than dictating our beliefs. We will strive to make their undergraduate experience fulfilling and memorable.
If you have any questions about our Chapter's goals and aspirations, please contact me. We want to instill in the guys the true values of our great Chapter; academics, participation and chivalry.
Bill Mulvaney '81Chapter [email protected]
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Chapter Director's Perspective
PresidentMartin Morgan '82
Vice PresidentJeffery Phillips '82
SecretaryBrent Barnard '85
TreasurerJeff Knezovich '75
DirectorCorey Thiesse '13
Chairman - Housing Corporation
Darrin Bacon '[email protected]
Chapter DirectorBill Mulvaney '81
Chapter AdvisorsChris Clayton '89
Tim Butler '[email protected]
Peter Pace '[email protected]
CIAA Leadership
Officers of the Central Illinois Alumni Association were elected at the Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, October 22, 2016. Nominated and elected by acclamation:
President: Martin Morgan '82 [email protected]
Vice President: Jeff Phillips '82 [email protected]
Secretary: Brent Barnard '85 [email protected]
Treasurer: Jeff Knezovich '75 [email protected]
Director: Corey Thiesse '13 [email protected]
The new Board remains committed to determining the best path to take for undergraduate housing. The message was loud and clear at the membership meeting that we should do everything in our power to maintain a presence at 956 Sixth Street. The Board also plans to expand the membership base. We need new blood that will support our Creed and strengthen our ability to be a better alumni association. Finally, the Board plans to build the undergraduate chapter and see it prosper. We want a diverse and active group of men carrying on our winning traditions.
First, it is with great thanks to all who have come forward to pay their annual CIAA dues. We now have over 75 Brothers or 7% of us paying dues. You will recall, dues have not been solicited for many years. We still look for many more of you to support the activities of the Association. See the dues form below.
We continue to receive monies to pay down our mortgage. Remember to support the Mom Slevin Retire the Mortgage Fund. You can include your donation for this program with your dues payment. Just note it on the form.
Dan Carr '74 has taken over our accounting and bookkeeping for the Housing Corporation. This is saving us over $8,000 annually.
I will be responsible for the Central Illinois Alumni Association funds. Greg Gilfillan '14 is the Third Counselor who maintains the undergraduate account.
Fund balances as of October 31, 2016:
Housing Corporation $9,490.35
Central Illinois Alumni Association $32,470.96
Chapter $50.88
Jeff Knezovich '[email protected]
The Housing situation is less than desirable. With only nine men in the House this fall, the cash available to do the regularly scheduled maintenance programs are now on the back burner. We are basically operating with half the operating dollars. In order to reduce expenses, the Racks were closed and everyone was moved to second floor.
During our summer Fire Department inspection two major issues arose. First, we need to make major repairs to the fire escape before we can use the Racks. Brother Roger Claar '65 made a sizable contribution dedicated to those repairs. The lower level cannot be utilized for personal use. The fire exit on the lower level does not meet code.
Our property next door will be rented in the coming months. It has stood empty since last spring. We typically use it for spill over
from the Chapter House. With a shrinking membership, this is no longer the case.
Finally, I encourage everyone to chip in to retire the mortgage. We have a single mortgage on both properties that currently stands at approximately $95,000. Getting this monkey off our backs would go a long way in righting the ship.
If you have any questions pertaining to the operation of the two properties owned by the Alumni Association, please reach out to me. If you have a construction background, think about serving on the new building subcommittee.
Darrin Bacon '82Chair, Housing [email protected]
Treasurer's Report
Housing Corporation
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Please take time today to pay your 2016-17 Central Illinois Alumni Association dues. By paying your dues, you are indicating support for our initiatives and activities. It becomes difficult to manage the affairs of an Alumni Association if brothers do not step forward in support of the cause.
Our Success Is In Your Hands
2016-17 Central Illinois Alumni Association DuesName: Initiation Year:
Address:
City: State: Zip:
Email: Telephone:
Annual Dues $50.00
Donation $
Total $
Credit Card Number
Expiration Date
Security Code
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: CIAA
Clip and mail this form to: CIAA Treasurer, 380 Prairie Knoll Drive, Naperville, IL 60565
Visit the Sigma Pi websiteConstruction Volunteers Needed
Lend a Helping Hand
Looking for Content Contributors
Visit SigmaPiBetaGamma.com, the official Beta-Gamma alumni website, to:• Learn more about the chapter• Search for alumni• Update your address, phone number and email address• Find out about upcoming events• Post noteworthy accomplishments (a new baby, a recent marriage or promotion, etc.)
The Housing Corporation is looking for volunteers who have experience in construction. As we begin planning for the revitalization of the Chapter House we need individuals who can guide us through the bidding, contractor selection and construction stages. If you are willing to serve on this subcommittee of the Housing Corporation, please contact CIAA President Martin Morgan '82 at [email protected].
I hate to beg, but we need individuals who can assist with the publishing of this newsletter. Responsibilities include composing and gathering articles for the Beta-Gamma Gab that is to be published quarterly. The Editor will be provided with a budget.
We seek an individual who can manage our social media. Both the website and Facebook page require an Editor. You will be responsible for the content and messaging to our membership.
We are looking for someone to consult with the Chapter's cook on new and inventive ways to serve meals. Someone with culinary or restaurant experience would be ideal.
Jeff Phillips '82Vice [email protected]
Sigma Pi FraternityEastern Illinois University (1094)
PO Box 2187Columbus, GA 31902-2187
Address Service Requested
PRESORTEDFIRST CLASS MAILUS POSTAGE PAIDGREENVILLE SC
PERMIT #113
Help us keep our alumni records up-to-date! Edit your member profile at SigmaPiBetaGamma.com or clip this form, place it in a stamped envelope and send to:
Sigma Pi Fraternity Eastern Illinois University (1094)
PO Box 2187Columbus, GA 31902
Name
Initiation Year
Address
City/State/Zip
Phone
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BETA-GAMMA GAB W I N T E R 2 0 17
Monday, October 17 - CIAA Board of Directors Conference Call
Saturday, October 22 - CIAA Annual Membership Meeting (Homecoming), Charleston
Monday, November 14 - CIAA Board of Directors Conference Call
Tuesday, November 8 - Election Day
All Brothers are invited to submit items for the Beta-Gamma Gab. Send your comments, photos, or tidbits to Interim Editor at [email protected].