Theta Chi - Bradley University

MANIFESTO Fall 2019 C H A P T E R : t h e t a c h i b u . c o m | A L U M N I : g a m m a u p s i l o n . o r g SERVING IT UP! How Alumni Can Support Theta Chi Earlier this year I received an invitation from our International Headquarters in Carmel, Ind. It was a weekend event for our housing corporation presidents to learn about how our fraternity can help housing corporations financially, as well as best practices in fundraising, chapter finance, liability, insurance, safety, home improvement, and alumni communications. It was interesting to hear the brothers' stories, many of which were similar to ours, and how they had tackled them. Early on, a moderator pointed out that when he was an undergraduate in the mid-'80s, he and his chapter would only offer up the minimum information to National and generally worried about National paying their chapter a visit. I thought to myself, "That was us!" Our motto was always, "The less National knew, the better." We tried to fly under the radar, keep our noses clean, and literally just pay our dues. Later, after I graduated, I would get involved with the board and Bob Carroll '88 would talk of attending our national conventions, and later he even became a regional counselor. I thought to myself, "What a Boy Scout!" (Bob actually was a Scout, to his credit.) But at the time, I did not get it; "Why bother?" As I have admitted, even up until last month, I was always very myopic about Theta Chi. I only saw what was happening within our beloved chapter; the blinders were on. But as I sat in Indiana, I felt a renewed excitement about my fraternity—not just our chapter, but Theta Chi. By the end of the weekend, my brothers were vocalizing the same sentiments. We smoked some cigars and sipped some good whiskey (no worries, I was good) and somehow felt like we were at a family reunion. It was an eye-opening experience that provided several handwritten pages of notes on what we could do to help our own alumni corporation and chapter. If you are interested in attending our next convention, it will be held on July 17-21, 2020, in Lexington, Ky. I also urge you to check out all the resources on thetachi.org, and while you are there, register yourself for myThetaChi if you have not already done so. The elections for the Gamma Upsilon Alumni Corporation are this fall on October 13, and I plan to run for another term as president. However, I do look forward to passing the gavel on someday. I enjoy being part of the board, but it does take time and it needs fresh ideas periodically. We need new brothers to join us in the planning and execution of our chapter house and the alumni program. I hope that you will consider offering your services to the alumni corporation and the chapter. Feel free to reach out to any member of the board for more information. For many of you, Bob Carroll WAS the alumni corporation for more than two decades. He led the chapter through some very difficult times. I personally joined him as we reorganized the chapter in 2001, leaving the undergraduate membership to only six. Bob has always been the younger generation's link to the Golden Guard and has been a tireless fundraiser. He maintained the highest level of professionalism, and his risk management practices guarded our chapter from exposure of the worst kinds. As a winner of the David E. DeVol Award, Citiation of Honor, the Hunziker-McClintick Award, and the Kilavos Alumni Award, Bob will be hard to replace. Even if you are not on the board, we always welcome volunteers to head up social events and philanthropies. If you have an event idea, or are willing to work on one, please contact me at the email below. Fraternally, Marty Deering '89, House Corporation President md961203@yahoo.com Marty Deering '89 presents Dru Neikirk '88 with the George T. Kilavos Alumni Award. After upgrading the exterior doors and installing a new keycard-based entry system last year, our focus has shifted to a larger-scale renovation of the chapter house. A kitchen renovation, at an estimated cost of $120K, would completely gut and remodel the main kitchen, providing a wonderful, state-of-the-art space for the brothers to cook their meals. We've completed the initial architectural designs with budgetary costs and are looking at working with an architect to create a more long-term renovation plan for the rest of the house. With that fundraising underway, we still need to maintain the chapter house and complete necessary upgrades and repairs. This summer, we replaced the fire alarm system with a new panel and detectors. The new system will save the chapter nearly $3,000 in yearly operating costs, make it easier to determine exactly which detector is set off, and reduce false alarms. While projects like these aren't the sexiest improvement projects, they are necessary to maintain the integrity of the chapter house and ensure our residents' safety. We thank you for your support as we work to reform the chapter house into a more state-of-the-art facility. Plans for the proposed kitchen renovation are available on our website, gammaupilson. org, under Our Chapter > Chapter Projects. Fraternally, Mike Scheve '02, Vice President Gamma Upsilon Alumni Corporation The State of 1308 In addition, our new member education program is being revamped. We are bringing back the new member roles of president, vice president, and secretary. This fell away the last several semesters, but we believe it is important to give several members a position of responsibility when they join. The new member class will also run their own philanthropic event. Last semester, we achieved a GPA of 3.26, tying with Lambda Chi Alpha for highest fraternity GPA. We also raised $1,100 for the USO and tracked more service hours per member than any other fraternity. The chapter is well recognized on campus by students and faculty alike. This can only improve as we encourage our members to be more involved around campus and participate in more philanthropic events. Thank you for reading! Can't wait to see many of you at Alumni Weekend this fall, but you're always welcome to stop by when you're in town. The undergraduates enjoy the alumni coming back and telling their stories. All you have to do is knock! Fraternally, Nick Topping '20 Chapter President Planning for a Great Year (Continued from page 1)

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