Sigma Chi - Montana State University

SPRING 2024 the Beta Rho Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity Montana State University FEATURES: Collaborating for Success - 2 • Focused on Our Community - 3 T hat's all that is standing between you and a refurbished chapter house at 722 S. Willson. We have raised $1.5 million from the brotherhood so far to make the required major renovations and upgrades to the house. But as you can see from the background and present status sections below, because of the COVID pandemic and rapid inflation over the past four years in the construction environment in Bozeman, we are at least $1.5 million short of what we need to complete the renovation of the chapter house. We have approximately 1,200 active Beta Rho alumni, and some 200 have contributed to this point to build the renovation fund (see bobcatsigs.org/donor-list for a list of brothers who have donated to date). That leaves 1,000 brothers who have not contributed at all—so far. If the renovation is going to happen at all, WE NEED YOUR ACTIVE FINANCIAL INVOLVEMENT in this project. If all those alumni who have not contributed chipped in only $1,000 each, we would have $1 million which, along with additional contributions from the 200 original donors, would be enough to complete the renovation plan—a complete stem to stern remodel as originally planned—so future Beta Rho Sigs may continue enjoying the same experiences, opportunities, and lifelong bonds we have. We implore you to dig deep NOW and donate to renew the 107-year legacy of Beta Rho of Sigma Chi at Montana State University. Donation instructions are at the end of this article. BACKGROUND In 2016-17, a core of alumni sat down to reflect on the first 100 years of Sigma Chi at Montana State and to create a vision for its future. Central to that vision was the chapter house built in 1961. Though the active chapter remains strong, the house has begun to show its age. We embarked on an ambitious fundraising campaign for a large-scale renovation project. Many of us were the first generations of brothers to live in the new house, and we recall the fundraising efforts of alumni at the time. Looking back, perhaps we already knew that one day we would be asked to return the favor to help secure the chapter's future for the next century of Sigs. In 2017, we began raising pledges from donors, collecting money, and working with architects to draft a set of plans for renovations. We spread out collecting pledges over a five-year period and anticipated breaking ground in 2021. Our initial efforts were met with overwhelming support from yourselves and other alumni. In fact, we ultimately met our initial goals. However, over the past five years, the Gallatin Valley (indeed, all of Montana) has undergone unprecedented, explosive growth. If you still live in Bozeman or have visited recently, you've likely witnessed this firsthand. Once-open fields have been developed into condos, townhouses, and luxury apartments stretching from West Main to Four Corners and all throughout Gallatin Valley. Beginning in 2020 during the pandemic, this explosive growth caused construction costs to increase at a fever pace. Unfortunately, these ballooning costs quickly outpaced and exceeded our initial projections. At this time, it became clear we had not raised enough funds to complete the entire renovation. We divided the plans into two phases with the first, $1,000…YES, ONLY $1,000 (Continued on page 2) The floor plan for the renovated chapter house.

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