Alpha Gamma Rho - University of Minnesota

To Make Better Men A s you might expect, we are thrilled to be back in the new house in St. Paul. The house is beautiful and beginning to feel like home again. Before long the moving boxes will be gone and the finishing touches will be made to the house. We are proud to have the opportunity to be the first undergraduates in the new house and even prouder of our strong alumni for making it happen. The last year has been great and we look forward to what is to come. Two of the greatest assets a fraternity can have are its brotherhood and its Chapter facility. The quality of these two assets should be very apparent to prospective new members and we anticipate a strong year of recruitment. Speaking of recruitment, already this spring we initiated two new members, Kyle Edlin of Jackson, Minnesota, and Dillan Smith of Storm Lake, Iowa. We elected two VNR-Recruitments, Adam Donkers '12 (donk0021@umn.edu) and Wyatt Smith '12 (smit7012@umn.edu), who would love to hear of potential new members coming to the U. I would also invite you to extend our fall scholarship application to any high school senior. This can be found at www.agrminnesota.com. As always, the spring semester is very busy for our Chapter. The 2014 Pink Rose formal is already in the books as another successful weekend at Sugar Lake Lodge near Grand Rapids. We will defend our current streak of five spittoon victories in basketball and softball. We also have the opportunity to defend our Minnesota Royal and Spring Jam victories. With all of this going on, we will maintain our position as one of the top fraternities academically at the U of M. I hope that you all have Founders Day marked on your calendars. It will be a special celebration of the new house and you will see the beautiful facility here at 2060 Carter. If you can't wait till then, feel free to contact me directly for a tour. A special thank-you again to all who have donated to this housing project, making it a reality! Fraternally, Bryan Wendt '11 Noble Ruler (608) 630-7230 / wendt153@umn.edu Our executive officer team has worked hard to maintain Chapter rituals and cohesion during the time Brothers lived outside of the Chapter House. Here, the 2014 team gathers to continue the work. i am extremely excited for the new Lambda Chapter House and for the future Brothers who will enjoy this high quality living and learning environment. What makes all of this so exciting is the fact that we are all together now on the Saint Paul campus and can do everything under the same roof. Last fall we made a number of adjustments to ensure the continued brotherhood and togetherness of our fraternity. Thankfully, through some coordination and networking we were able to make the best of our temporary move. Thirty of our Brothers were able to sign a single-semester contract with the brand new 17th Avenue dorms on the Minneapolis campus, right between the DKE and Beta Houses. Conveniently, we were all located in the same wing of the same floor and our Chapter advisor was very supportive. Living away from the Ag College did pose a challenging dynamic to recruitment. We still initiated five Brothers, all of whom have moved into the new Chapter House. We also received the outstanding support of the Hospitality Center for the Chinese (HCC) last fall. Executive Director Janee Wells is Greek herself (Kappa Alpha Theta from Washington), and a number of her family members are Brothers in AGR. Each Monday night we were able to simulate the same traditions and important rituals for our formal business meeting and initiation at the HCC. A number of AGR alumni were invited and attended our meetings to speak and share about professional development and careers in agriculture. With each Campus Connector ride throughout the fall, the general morale improved as we saw the continual progress of this monumental building project. It wasn't the easiest time, and providing leadership for a physically divided Chapter can add some challenges. Nonetheless, I am more than optimistic for the future of AGR, finally back home at 2060 Carter. Fraternally, Kirby Schmidt '10 Former Noble Ruler schm2807@umn.edu Brother Wayne Bollum '76 dining room. The kitchenette allows the main kitchen to stay locked after hours. The game room provides a place for Brothers to relax after their studies. Every corner of our house was improved, even the stairwells! AGR defends the spittoon in football, increasing the streak to five consecutive victories. Active Members Take Pride in new Facility CHAPTER MAINTAINS UNITY DURINg TRANSITION

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