Beta Theta Pi - University of Oklahoma

Page 2 A s you might know, this was (what we believe to be) the largest and maybe the most successful capital campaign of any fraternity or sorority campaign ever. We are so grateful to all alumni who made generous donations when we really needed it, as well as those who gave so generously of their time to this project. Our donations and pledges now total $10,492,986. Of that amount, $500,000 was earmarked for a new Beta Scholarship Fund to be established to further encourage and assist our Beta members with their academic excellence. Of the $9,992,986 that has been dedicated to the Beta house project, we have now collected 97.3% of all of those pledges—only $278,559 remains to be collected on pledge balances from alumni. However, even with the huge success of this campaign, the House Corporation still has $1,975,000 in outstanding debt that will need to be paid in the future by a combination of collection of pledges, chapter dues, and additional donations by generous alumni. Part of that debt was incurred when we purchased the house on Brooks Street, adjacent to the back of the Beta house, which we felt was in our best interest to own for any future needs. Alumni are key to Gamma Phi Chapter's success, and I appreciate your steadfast support. Yours in _kai_, Robert Beall '80 Capital Campaign Chairman T he year 2020 started off strong for Gamma Phi—strong grades, a big new member class—poised to have a successful year. Then the world got crazy, and 800 Chautauqua was not exempt. The COVID-19 outbreak quickly became the dominant story, and our members departed for spring break not knowing whether they would return afterwards. They wouldn't. When OU announced that the campus would not re-open after spring break, the house corporation likewise closed the Beta house for the remaining semester. It was presumably the only closure of our house other than during WWII and our 2014-15 renovation. Since then, the chapter and alumni leadership have communicated mostly by Zoom meetings, calls, and texts. The house corporation's spring meeting was also convened via Zoom. And all of this has actually worked fairly well. While some of the details of OU's fall plans remain to be decided, we do know OU plans to have classes and open campus. Likewise, we plan to re-open the Beta house with a projected occupancy of 76 men. Naturally, we plan to develop and implement appropriate COVID-19- related policies and practices which are intended to minimize the risks for our guys. Happily, summer recruitment is proceeding, mostly as usual. The most significant exception is that fraternities will not be hosting "events" with large numbers of attendees. Instead, recruitment activities will concentrate on one-on-one visits and entertainment. As always, however, the Recruitment Team asks our alumni for referrals and crucial financial support. Please see the article to the right about recruitment. Finally, we hope to resume our tailgate events at the Beta house on football game days this fall. However, at this writing, much remains in the air concerning OU's upcoming football season. Like you, we're waiting for announcements, at which time we'll plan accordingly. We'll keep you posted. With a little luck, we hope to see you on game days. Thanks for your support of Gamma Phi. Yours in _kai_, Zach Allen '85 | House Corporation President SUCCESSFUL CAPITAL CAMPAIGN SETS GAMMA PHI UP FOR BRIGHT FUTURE Continued Alumni Support Still Needed How the House Corporation Is Managing the Facility During an Unprecedented Year M y name is Cade Muldrow '22 and I am the recruitment chairman for the summer of 2020. I am in the new member class of 2018, and my major is business entrepreneurship. I'm excited to be alongside Matt Mccabe '23 (reams20@gmail.com) from Tulsa, Andrew Wisniewski '23 (awisniewski2000@gmail.com) from Oklahoma City, and Brandon Knight '23 (knightbrandon999@yahoo.com) from Oklahoma City. The team is coached by Recruitment Advisor Jackson Lisle '15 (jlisle@rsgmail.com). Regarding COVID-19 and summer recruitment, we are planning to implement more of a one-on- one type of recruitment experience. We will be taking potential members out to lunch, golfing, and other activities. I am optimistic about the upcoming pledge class and the way recruitment will be operating throughout the summer. Last summer, I saw how important alumni support was for the recruitment team to accomplish their goals. The alumni were generous with their financial support and were very impactful with their recommendations. This summer, we are asking for referrals and donations in order to succeed as we have in years past. Our team has high expectations for the pledge class of 2020, and that they will be able to excel academically and socially, as well as be involved throughout campus. Please feel free to send any referrals to me or the members of the recruitment team. Yours in _kai_, Cade Muldrow '22 Recruitment Chairman (405) 637-5272 | cade.muldrow@me.com RECRUITMENT 2020

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