Beta Theta Pi - Oklahoma State University

Join Your Brothers and Friends of Beta $3.4 Million Raised from 262 Donors, Participation Rates on the Rise NEWS Big Red Island Beta Theta Pi at Oklahoma State University / Winter 2018 A Million Memories and More to Come Think Back. Think Big. Think Beta. F undraising has now reached $3.4 million and continues to increase. It is nice to see that 262 brothers and friends of Beta are now supporting our housing project. We sincerely appreciate the anonymous brother who offered a matching program to us through December 31, 2017. There is no doubt that this matching challenge motivated a lot of us to move for- ward with our pledges and gifts. When you look at the class participation rates table and donor list enclosed, you can see the classes and friends of Beta that are solidly behind getting us into a new house and propelling us forward for decades to come. Previous campaign updates described the preplanning efforts needed to be in place when we reach mid-May 2018. Some of those tasks have been completed and others are in progress. We know our Beta general contrac- tor, Ron Ward '71 of Ward Construction, and Mark Krittenbrink, our ar- chitect, are diligently working on preconstruction activities. Construction drawings will be completed by April 1, 2018, and the project will go out for bidding. It is hoped that the minor environmental remediation will occur over spring break and then demolition the weeks after finals. The details and decisions are endless and volunteers are stepping up to try and make sure that nothing is overlooked. Housing the chapter during construction has always been a concern, but it is on the verge of being resolved. The Building Corporation is finalizing an agreement to lease the old Pike house to house the chapter during the 15 months of construction. With the lease of the Pike house, the members and pledges will reside close to campus with the pledges continuing to live in the "Little House." Rental of the Pike house also gives us the ability to store furniture and equipment in addition to housing the chapter. In addition to our fundraising number, please take a couple of minutes to read the message by Sean Riley '96, who tells us about his Beta experience and why he gave back to our housing project. His comments are similar to many other brothers and are also a testament that our experiences left us with fond memories of our collegiate days. Also, as you may have noted in past Big Red Islands (BRIs), many classes like Sean's have periodic reunions and those brothers continue to build their Beta memories as they go through life with those reunions, tailgates, and more. As many of you know, we anticipate the funding of the house will be ap- proximately 50% equity/fundraising and 50% debt. We still are hoping for strong giving yet to come to keep our debt load down. The 100-plus beds will support servicing that debt, but all of us know we prefer to minimize debt wherever we can in financing. So keep in mind, the house is targeted for completion for the fall of 2019, but we will always accept pledges and gifts well into the future. Our Gamma Phi brothers south of us are still receiving gifts one year after occupying their wonderful new home in Nor- man. We hope our brotherhood continues along the same path in Stillwater with pledging. It is never too late to help Gamma Lambda with your five- year pledge or even an additional contribution. The Beta Theta Pi Building Corporation and the Capital Campaign Com- mittee thank you for your support. Yours in _ kai_ Your Committees, Building Corporation, and Volunteer Brothers

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