Theta Chi - Drake University

Gamma Tau Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity at Drake University ~ Fall 2021 I hope you all had a great summer! I would say mine was good. In mid-July, I had the pleasure of joining a group of 16 brothers, from the classes of 1979-86, in Glacier National Park in Montana for five days of biking, whitewater rafting, and hiking. It had been decades since we had last laughed and enjoyed each other's company. Jack Uldrich '86 wrote a poem to end the trip named "Steamboat," which was almost as funny as when Joe Kelly '84 took an accidental dip in the whitewater. In late July, Theta Chi fraternity held its biannual convention in Lexington, Kentucky. Gamma Tau was well-represented with five undergraduates: Chapter President William Crane '22, senior Evan Del Carmen '22, and outstanding sophomore members Matt Glazier '24, Logan Hock '24,a nd Michael Cummings '24. All six of us walked away from the event on August 1 with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. One of the things that caught my attention at the convention was our need for a formal Chapter Advisory Board (CAB), which will focus on leadership, mentoring, and brotherhood issues. I asked Tom Olive '85 to lead this effort by putting together a strategy and structure that will stand the test of time. Tom will focus on bringing together some of the best leaders in our chapter's history to help provide counsel and guidance to our Executive Council (EC). Members will rotate over time, but we hope to have a deep bench of brothers to serve and provide consistency and appreciation for what it means to be a Theta Chi. The undergraduates kicked off the year with a successful fall recruitment of 13 young men, ultimately deciding that one of them was not suited to be a Theta Chi and dropping him from the program. Our brothers recognize that we need resolute men willing to serve a high and sacred purpose to grow and prosper. That said, they have an active informal spring recruitment program in the works. As you probably remember, we built our new fraternity house in 2015 at a project cost of $2.4 million. We received $1.7 million in total donations, of which about $180,000 remains in the Helping Hand Foundation to help with ongoing expenses over the next few years. Our mortgage is currently $930,000 and has an annual cost of $80,000 per year. We continue to struggle with our severe mold issue as we pursue legal action with our builder, Story Construction. We have spent about $110,000 in remediation costs and have another $130,000 to pay for a permanent fix. We are also at the end of our five-year tax abatement plan with the city of Des Moines. Consequently, our taxes have risen from $6,000 in 2020 to $45,000 in 2021. We are appealing the taxes in the coming year. Due to COVID-19 and the mold issues, we have lost some of our live-in members, and the only solution is a permanent fix to the fraternity house. We genuinely need all brothers to contribute something to our annual campaign. Through your generous support, we can maintain the fraternity house, and without it, we will not survive. We anticipate that the Drake Relays will be back in full swing this spring, so make plans to return to campus in 2022. We hope to see you soon! Fraternally, Chris Swan '86 President, ΘX Building Corporation chris.swan@transearchusa.com FORGING A PATH TO EXCELLENCE How Can You Support Gamma Tau? Steamboat (Glacier National Backroads Adventure) In the stunningly beautiful land of the Big Sky Did the mighty men of Theta Chi Demonstrate courage undaunted and stamina of steel In spite of quaffing vast amounts of red wine with each meal. Day One saw challenging mountains high ... Alas, they proved no challenge for our piston-like thighs Though one Brother did stumble and tumble, We heard nary a grumble. On Day Two, in spite of a few "Yikes!" ... 15 of our 16 brothers still conquered the steep, mountain hike. Day Three found us in the high hills of Glacier East, Where even fair maiden Miranda was forced to admit, we were, indeed, big burly beasts. Day Four we rafted wild, rugged rapids blue, Where our brotherhood bonding proved our winning glue. Yes, it is true, one brother did take a quite unfortunate dive, Being a "Resolute Man," though, there was no question he would come out alive. Yet, I tell you this, he fell with such grace ... by leading with his face ... That even our Founding Father's Freeman and Chase ... Could but look on from their grave with a smile on their face. This glorious feat was available for all save for the brothers in the back … Who were distracted by another brother's pasty white crack. Day Five will find one brother departing early to watch his beloved Milwaukee Bucks … May the rest of us now wave him off with a big flying — this is for Brother Crowl — wish of Good luck. And now that our glorious Lewis and Clark adventure has come to a close in a place rather remote … May I suggest we next meet at our Gold medal-winning brother's estate in Steam … boat! The men from the classes of 1979-86 representing their fraternal roots at Glacier National Park.

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