Sigma Chi - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The DELTA PSI SIG Delta Psi Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity at RPI Fall 2014 Join Us for the 2014 Work Party August 15-17 I t's hard to believe that a year has gone by, but it's true! The inaugural year of the new Pome- roy Chapter House at 58 Pinewoods Avenue has been completed, and Work Party 2014 is coming up soon, Friday, August 15, through Sunday, Au- gust 17. This is the ninth annual event, and it's sure to be the best yet! Though we've been blessed with a new house, it has been lived in for a year and we need to ensure it is maintained, and kept pristine and ready for the new school year. Our foreman, Bob "Beo" Bedard '75, and chief home remodeler, Alan "HJ" Hanbury '74, have compiled a task list for Work Party 2014 Weekend. Remember there are jobs for everyone—professional skills are not needed—just the desire to work alongside our active brothers in caring for our house. If the promise of work isn't enough to excite you and draw you back to Troy (as it is for me!), let's not forget the Friday golf outing, the Friday evening alumni/active dinner, the weekend of camaraderie, the Saturday night ritual house meeting (a major highlight), and the chance to strengthen our connections with each other, swap stories, tell tall tales of recent and bygone days, and generally have a ton of fun. You want to be there! Please let us know if you can join us so we can plan accordingly. We look forward to seeing you all back at 58 Pinewoods! In Hoc, Thom Kouletsis '76 (717) 805-2618 tkouletsis@comcast.net B rothers, we are blessed to have a gorgeous new house at 58 Pinewoods Avenue, melding the old lady with a new energy efficient, state-of-the- art facility integrated both visually and physically. As any of us who has purchased a new house knows, there are some things that you wished you had asked for as the structure went up, stuff you forgot would need a place to be stored, hung, or enjoyed and, worst of all, it loses its new house smell pretty quickly. And that is without 50 people living in the space and more dropping by to en- joy it. So here we are looking at the ninth annual Work Party in 2014. Fortunately, the builder is taking care of some of the stuff that is not weathering the first year in a fashion we all thought it would. That leaves us with minor issues to improve on, some lingering issues in the old house, and finishing touches to electronic projects and study aids that we knew were going to have to wait. We don't have any large scale projects; it will be the chance to have a normal work day and finish on Sunday rather than asking folks to stay late into the week to keep the projects moving to completion. Speaking for those folks, I am thrilled that we will have a small, manageable, and yet important list. Some of the projects that are on the slate are more landscaping and garden issues, and adding a set of steps off the north side of the walkway to the kitchen entrance that goes down to the driveway. It is a steep slope, a little dangerous to walk on when wet, but a short cut used way too often to ignore that opportunity. We need some display shelves and bookshelves for both the library and study room to house our old textbooks and files and a place to display old plaques, awards and trophies, possibly not in the library which we are keeping minimally adorned. We are looking at moving some of the composites off the hallways and adding some other hanging features as well as adding some of our fraternal symbols to the stair towers and landings. The garage has gotten overhead doors but it is still a rough place, and fixing the stairs, adding better lighting, and cleaning and organizing the stuff we keep there is a priority as well as painting the outside and other minor chores. As a neighborly gesture, the undergraduates are also suggesting that we help update/paint the Bells' garage, which is directly next to ours. There are miscellaneous electronic issues to complete, like our camera system, some speaker wiring, a place for an LCD projector, and other small opportunities to get us wired for the future. There is some rotting wood under our front porch that has been patched several times in past sessions and in 2001 before work party was born, so that will require some attention as well. The rest of the structure is pretty much new or clad in new durable materials, so going forward our maintenance will be minimal. We are considering doing a patio in the rear yard where all the sidewalks converge as it is easier to have picnics on a dry surface rather than wet grass. This is great because there will be less to mow as well! Additionally, the old basement, which is now completely cleaned out, needs some rearranging. We need shelving assembled, as well as a sports closets constructed, and in general, to weed out the unnecessary. Our party room might be getting some wall décor to make it feel homier as well. Lastly, the house needs a complete cleanup of all the common spaces, and there is a lot of that! Flooring in the kitchen is being replaced under warranty and first floor oak floors refinished in some areas which will make those spaces like new again. I will be there for a 10th time, and hope to see many of you join me there on Friday for golf and the active dinner, and stay through Sunday so you don't miss the ritual house meeting on Saturday night. In Hoc, Alan "HJ" Hanbury '74 Project Plans in Place for Work Party 2014 Work Party Projects At-a-Glance • Landscaping and garden maintenance • Adding steps to north entrance • Installing shelves to library and study room • Hanging composites and wall décor • Organizing and updating the garage • Painting garage of our Delta Psi neighbors, the Bells • Completing electrical tasks • Addressing rotting wood on front porch • Installing a backyard patio • Organizing the basement • Cleaning of common spaces

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