Theta Chi - Drake University

Gamma Tau Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity at Drake University ~ Fall 2017 I had the pleasure of driving the back roads of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin a few weeks ago with my daughter, Josephine. It was a beautiful drive filled with corn, soybeans, and farms. Some of us might think that Drake sits in a vast sea of farms, but there is truly something majestic about getting off of I-80 and taking a look around. For my daughter, she wanted to see where the Little House on the Prairie was set, so we ended up in De Smet, S.D. For me, I wanted to step back into my personal history and visit our fraternity on the prairie. Another year has passed since we built the new Gamma Tau chapter house, making this the start of our third year since the completion of construction, the fourth year since the old house was deconstructed, and about five years since most of us made our financial pledges to support the chapter. The house has done what it was supposed to do: stabilize the fraternity membership, provide a modern, attractive, and safe place for brothers to live, and offer our alumni a lasting home to connect with and return to over the years. The chapter is led by an outstanding individual, Davis Oberle '18, who has been a proactive force for good over his presidency tenure. With 22 new members last year and another 23 recruited this year, I can say that the chapter is in good shape and our legacy is secure. Although we started the house less than full, it is within our 10% buffer factor. Coming Home to 1320 34th Street Alumni Support Preserves Gamma Tau's Legacy Sandi Moran, our house director, will continue for another year and she continues to build rapport and fit in with the brotherhood. She seems to enjoy her responsibilities, the activity of the house, and the camaraderie of being a vital part of the fraternity. Sandi was very sweet to my daughter when we were in Des Moines, and Michael Rossley '18 entertained her with the impressive sound system in the basement. The chapter is something we can all be very proud of. Financial Update Financially, as of August, we have a mortgage of $1,147,000, and we are going to refinance it to lower our payments by $1,000 a month and extend our interest rate of 4.5% for a fresh five-year term (refinance cost is $500). The mortgage is a 25-year amortization with the rate fixed for the first five years. We started the year with about $130,000 cash on hand but will spend a good chunk of that to take our mortgage down to $1,075,000 before the end of the calendar year. The additional cash is our reserve. Our goal is to pay down the house debt so it is no more than $900,000 by the end of 2019 in order to afford the increase in property tax expense when our five-year tax abatement runs out. A note of thanks to John Riley '84, who helped us challenge the latest tax assessment, which would have raised the value by $40,000. His efforts reduced that by 25%, to $30,000, which is in line with the other house increases on Greek Street. G amma Tau Chapter is excited to share that we are the 2017 recipient of the The David L. Westol Sacred Purpose Award! Presented annually, the David L. Westol Sacred Purpose Award goes to the chapter that most exemplifies the spirit of our Sacred Purpose movement. Launched in the fall of 2013, the Sacred Purpose movement is the modern expression of Theta Chi's motto—the Assisting Hand. The Sacred Purpose offers programmatic support at the chapter and international levels that concentrates specifically on health and safety related topics. The movement called for the creation of new leadership positions that help us better care for and understand one another. The award is named in honor of past Executive Director David L. Westol (Beta Zeta/Michigan State 1973) whose volunteer and professional career have been devoted to the health, safety, and protection of fraternity and sorority members. Gamma Tau Chapter hosted speakers and programming events on topics relating to sexual violence, alcohol and drug issues, mental health, and more. The chapter also collaborated with other organizations and brought the Sacred Purpose values to the rest of Drake's campus. The Dave L. Westol Award recognizes these efforts and achievements. GAMMA TAU CHAPTER WINS 2017 DAVID L. WESTOL SACRED PURPOSE AWARD (Continued on page 4) Brothers together after recruitment last fall.

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