Phi Kappa Psi - University of Iowa

Iowa alpha Chapter page 3 I pledged Phi Psi in summer 1975 and graduated from Iowa in spring 1979, living at 363 North Riverside Drive all four of my college years. I have great memories of the good people who were members during my years. We lived a good life at Phi Psi, participating in socials, intramurals, initiation rites, formals, Homecomings, Dance Marathons, and more with our Brothers. I remember one time the Chapter had sat down for our 5:30 dinner in the basement dining room when someone yelled down the stairs that the Beta house was on fire. We grabbed our plates and sat on the cars in our parking lot, watching across the river as firefighters battled to save their Chapter House. None of us ever imagined our house would someday experience the same fate … and then it did. January 20, 1994, was a sad day for Phi Psi undergraduates and alumni. I'm sure we all experienced a wide range of emotions as we learned our college home had been destroyed. A lot of work was needed to rebuild. Like many graduates, I hadn't been an involved alumnus, despite living in nearby Cedar Rapids. Luckily, there were enough alumni to do the tough jobs to organize and rebuild the house. I'm choosing not to mention any names since there were several alumni who played key roles to get from fire to total restoration—I don't want to slight those I may forget to include! During summer 1995, I received a call from the president of the Iowa Alpha Educational Foundation asking for my help with the Alumni Association during the restoration and getting back to a stable financial condition. I accepted, becoming the House Corporation treasurer. Using my U of I accounting and finance degree, and with the help of the rest of the House Corporation, we dug in to learn the current financial situation. Virtually every aspect of rebuilding had alumni involvement: alumni handled the insurance claim and successfully recouped more than $850,000; the Educational Foundation, a tax-exempt entity, was organized and operated by alumni to gather more than $100,000 in donations; the construction company, Mid America Construction Company, had Phi Psi ties; alumni worked at First National Bank in Iowa City, which provided the construction loan and subsequent mortgage of $325,000; and the House Corporation and legal team in Iowa City, who oversaw everything, were alumni. Everyone did an incredible job to reconstruct the Chapter House. After the rebuild, the challenge was to pay off the mortgage, as the main income stream for the House Corporation came from rent. Without a Chapter House, membership suffered. Only 13 undergraduates moved into the structure the first year, but each year it grew. In 1996, we asked for $45,000 in rent payments. As the Chapter grew, we gradually increased the annual rent payments to $125,000 by 2010. We worked with great undergraduate members along the way. The mortgage was paid off in 2008 while also funding necessary house maintenance and upkeep. I passed the treasurer responsibilities to another alumnus in 2010. It was a big project and very stressful at times. In the end, alumni and undergraduates worked together to "git 'r' done." Everyone involved deserves a big thank you! Fraternally, Joe Schemmel '76 B o n d e d b y a C o m m o n C a u s e How Phi Psis Worked to Rebuild The House Fire Moving Forward The Rebuilding Process

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