Alpha Delta Phi - University of Michigan

The Peninsular | 5 Restore 556 State Street Jeff DuComb '76 Shares of Chapter's Hardship and Triumphant Return I am a member of the 1976 class. I graduated from engineering school and entered the Graduate School of Business, receiving my MBA in '78. From there, I joined Ford Motor where about half my career has been overseas (UK/Germany, Italy, Australia, Bangkok, and Shanghai primarily with time in Japan, South America, and South Africa to round things out) focusing on product development/strategy and business planning. Perhaps the most powerful experience I had with Alpha Delta Phi started in December 1979. I joined the alumni board out of business school at the request of Gene Hand. Tragically, he had a heart attack at a young age and passed away. This left me as president of the alumni board. Then all hell broke loose when some brothers in the house got a little crazy and terminated a stray cat that was frequently fouling the house. To make things worse, they did the unthinkable and strung the cat up in the tree in front of the house and set it on fire. Enough said, it was a horrific event. News spread of the incident from coast to coast; we were even interviewed by Time Magazine. We received all kinds of negative mail, the campus rebelled against us, and the alumni were furious. All associated parties were of course kicked out of the chapter and the house emptied. No one would even think about joining our chapter, and we were losing money by the day. Then the university got designs on our property. Turns out we own the land our house sits on, but Sigma Chi next door sits on university property. While never confirmed, we got vibes that the university was waiting for us to fold so they could take over our property and then move us and Sigma Chi out to make room for a parking garage. So they were no help. Enter Bill Holmes '80 and Roland Leeds '65. They were my godsends. Roland was our financial genius who did all he could to cut expenses, and Bill was the chapter president who became my alter ego and lifelong friend. We limped through the rest of the school year, but we were out of money. Bill and I went to the annual Convention that August in Seattle where the University of Washington chapter hosted a grand event. We made the pitch to the International Board to borrow enough money to muddle through. When asked how we were going to revive the situation, I responded that I had no real idea, but that if they did not support us we were sure to go under. Somehow that was enough to convince them. Upon our return, I got an idea. We would throw a pep rally at our house the night before our first big home football game against Northwestern. While we opened that season against Northwestern, all eyes were on the Notre Dame game on September 20. I called up Bo Schembechler's office to inquire if he would be willing to support. Of course I could not get through to him personally, but I left a message with his assistant. She said she would talk to Bo and call me back. I waited a few days and I got a call back advising me that he would support the pep rally. Things were looking up. I figured if Bo was there everyone would agree to support us. And that is exactly what happened. The marching band, Bob Ufer (the voice of Michigan football), and the cheerleaders all agreed to support the pep rally. Bill and I planned the event to the minute. The balcony was used to broadcast the event, and the band was under the balcony and on the front lawn. Of course this needed money we didn't have so we sold sponsorship to a beer company who happily funded the event in exchange for advertising privileges. We got the police to close State Street and we put fliers everywhere. West and South Quad emptied out for the rally and we had a huge crowd. Bob Ufer got the crowd fired up and we told Bo to be at the back door at 7:30 p.m. where we escorted him up the balcony to give his fiery remarks. When done, he was gone in a flash to get back to his pre-game planning. The event was a huge success. We were no longer the house that burned the cat (reinforced by someone who created a stencil and painted all over campus "Burn Frats Not Cats") to the house that held the pep rally. Unfortunately, we were still going broke by the day and the house had more boarders than brothers. But we began to feel better about each other. Then in October 1981, we got a visit from approximately 15 sophomores living in South Quad who wanted to leave the dorm and join our chapter. Somehow we got the university to let them out of their leases and they moved in en masse in January 1982. We were back in business. We had class after class of growth, the pep rally continued for years, and the loan was repaid. Then in early January 1982, I got my first overseas assignment and moved to the UK. Bill and Roland were there though to run the show as I exited. So that is my ΑΔΦ story; a story of dedication to a thriving house. Since then Dawn and I have raised two boys (now in their 20s). I am an active cyclist (I do an annual 300-mile bike ride for Make-A-Wish with Bill Holmes '80), have coached baseball for 22 years, teach skiing every winter, and look forward to every Michigan football season with our season tickets since 1979. I still support the house and have contributed to the fundraising campaign. I am excited by what is happening to create a thriving house. When faced with the choice of a decaying house or a new thriving future, the choice for all of us is obvious. Xaipe, Jeff "Duke" DuComb '76 jducomb@aol.com Brandon Burzlaff '21 Mio, Mich. Ben Centner '22 Grand Rapids, Mich. Nick LeBlanc '21 Dexter, Mich. Johnny McKolay '22 Milford, Mich. Dean Melonides '22 Chicago, Ill. Dilan Prasad '22 Moorestown, N.J. Jeremy Segal '22 Stowe, Vt. Alexander Snow '21 Dexter, Mich. Obi Tabe '22 Dallas, Texas Ben Tamoush '22 Hopedale, Mass. Ryan Toomey '22 Chattanooga, Tenn. Welcome, NeW members

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