Brothers,
Welcome back to another exciting school year! I hope everyone had an enjoyable
summer and for those getting away for the Labor Day weekend, have a great time. We
have a lot to share with the brotherhood this month so please read on. Enjoy!
Events
Alumni/Undergraduate Rush Event – Wednesday, September
13th 7:30PM – Chapter House
Each semester, the undergraduates hold one rush event that showcases that Theta
Chi is for life. In the past, brothers have discussed their undergraduate
experience, how Theta Chi enhanced their time at Maryland, and how the Theta
Chi experience can prepare you for the real world. Last spring, Representative
Dennis Cardoza (CA-18) led the discussion before a packed Red Room. Please
allow yourself one night to join fellow brothers as they put the hard sell on
potential new members. Since this event is one of the last rush parties,
we can help ‘close the deal’ on students considering other chapters. Please
reply to Sean Bailey if you can attend.
Sign-Up NOW!!! HOMECOMING
Golf Tournament – Friday, October 20th 8:30AM – Cross Creek GC
See attachment for more details. Please register online at ( here ).
Our annual golf tournament will be held Friday morning at Cross Creek Golf Course. Cross
Creek is located north of 495 off Old Gunpowder Rd. Please contract Chris
Grant cgrant@focustech.biz with questions.
HOMECOMING Game Tailgate – Saturday, October 21st
Time/Location TBD
The Terrapins take on the Wolfpack of NC State. The tailgate will begin
approximately 3-4 hours prior to game time. Food and beverages will be
provided. Please bring family and friends. More details to follow.
Theta Chi Hot Topics
Renovation Plan Update
Many of you have received the most recent documentation regarding the proposed
house renovation plan. These documents include an overview of the project,
the financial analysis, and the conceptual drawings. We are now on a tight
schedule to get the construction started by June 2007. It is an ambitious
plan and poses certain challenges, but we are confident the fraternity can rise
to challenge and emerge with a spectacular house and a reinvigorated brotherhood. Still
in development is the overall business plan including the detailed financing
plan.
There are several options to finance this type of project. We are looking
to Norwich Housing Corporation and local lenders to see who can provide the most
favorable terms for a long term mortgage. But is it fair to saddle the
chapter with a $1.5 million mortgage payment over the next 20 years? As
we surveyed other fraternity/sorority organizations across the country going
through a similar process, overwhelmingly these groups finance these types of
projects through fundraising. Specifically, most of theses groups embarked
on a capital campaign to raise significant funds over a period of time to help
defer the cost of a mortgage. Because Alpha Psi has little experience fundraising
and has never executed a capital campaign, it is not likely the Alumni Corporation
would be successful in this endeavor – especially over a condensed time
line. Another option for financing this project is through a brotherhood
loan. Brothers would loan the Alumni Corporation money to cover construction
costs, thereby reducing the amount financed through a lending institution. As
a result, the brother loaners would have certain rights in managing the property
and would sit as lien holders on the property. Although the repayment would
be over several years and at lower interest rate, this approach aims to get the
money back into the pocket of our alumni who were willing to help the chapter
in a time of need. Brothers will be approaching you this fall to see how
you are going to help support this effort.
The Alumni Corporation will be presenting the renovation plan to the Norwich
Housing Corporation Board at their quarterly meeting in Savannah, GA on September
29th. This meeting gives the NHC board members an opportunity to ask questions,
and our attendance in person signifies our seriousness of the project. We
will be asking for significant support from NHC throughout this project so forging
a strong relationship from the beginning is imperative. We would like to
send two alumni but have limited budget to support the round-trip airfare. If
any brother has airline miles he would like to donate to help support this trip,
please contact Sean Bailey immediately.
Sprinkler System Update
In 2003, the City of College Park mandated that all fraternities and sororities
install an automated sprinkler system by May 2006. Failure to comply meant
the City would not renew the owners Occupancy Permit – required to rent
the property. A team of brothers including Rajeev Arora (’99), Pat
Saba (‘89), Jeff Childs (’03), and Doug Lunenfeld (’92) volunteered
their time and expertise to develop plans and cost estimates for a proposed sprinkler
system to comply with the requests of the City Code Enforcement office. In
the end, it did not make business sense to invest significant money in a sprinkler
system that would be replaced with the proposed house renovation. As it
stands now, the Alumni Corporation has reached an agreement with the City to
allow occupancy for the 2006/2007 school year with the understanding the house
will be closed for renovations starting June 2007. Failure to begin renovation
in June 2007 would mean the city would not allow occupancy for the 2007/2008
school year.
Undergraduate News
Recruitment
The beginning of the semester means we are in the Fall Rush period. Please
forward the names of any men you know attending the university to undergraduate
president Doug Logue douglas.logue@gmail.com. This year will be crucial
for the brothers to recruit as many talented leaders as they can as we do not
know where the chapter will reside next year with the chapter house closed.
Temporary Home for Theta Chi
The Alumni Corporation is working with the University and local property owners
to find appropriate accommodations for the chapter next school year. With
the sorority houses on the Graham Cracker undergoing renovations over the next
5 years, several Greek organizations will be displaced. The fraternity
house adjacent to our parking lot may be available as a one-year lease. If
no large ‘chapter facility’ is available, the undergraduates may
be dispersed around campus and College Park which will make the year a challenging
one. Please contact the Alumni Corporation if you have any thoughts or
leads on potential rental properties for the 2007/2008 school year.
Alumni Corporation News
Alumni Corporation Board Members
Thank you to those brothers who are stepping down from the Alumni Corporation
Board – Jeff Childs, Kevin Liebman, Tim Magee, and Aaron Brand. Your
service was a tremendous help to the fraternity. Also, thank you to those
brothers who accepted the nomination and joined the board for the first meeting
held last Monday. Below, find the new Alumni Corporation Board Members
and there contact information. This board was elected at the Annual Meeting on
August 5th, and positions were appointed internally at the monthly Alumni Corporation
Board meeting August 21st. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact
them.
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