Winter 2000 - Beta Theta Pi Fraternity

Winter 2000 Edition
By Chris Makowski
Brothers,
The alumni association has been very active since homecoming. We've started planning for Pig Roast 2000, the 15 year
reunion plans are progressing well, the annual fundraiser is underway, and we are starting a new initiative to explore future
plans for the chapter house.
Unfortunately, the biggest happening of the last few months is the water damage that occurred over Christmas break. Phil
Adler and the active chapter have done a great job in getting things back in shape. Phil's report will give you more detail on
how the repairs are going. The deductible for the damage was $2500. The housing corp. paid the bill but it has put them in a
situation making it difficult to pay the property taxes. One of the purposes of the alumni association is to assist the active
chapter in times of need. Because of this situation, the alumni association has decided to make a donation of $1250 toward
the deductible. This is not the first time the alumni association has assisted the chapter financially, we did this a few years
back when we organized and funded a retreat for the chapter.
Many of you are aware that the first of the notes on the chapter house will be paid off in August of 2002. As we begin to pay off our debts, the
question becomes "what do we do next?" I've asked Ken Breen to facilitate a Strategic Planning Initiative and to recommend the best answer to
this question. Ken is in the process of forming a committee that will gather input from our alumni, housing corporation, active chapter, the
General Fraternity and other Beta chapters, CMU and the City of Mt. Pleasant. The committee will submit a formal proposal for a strategic plan
by September 1, 2000. Once the proposal is approved by the EGAA board, Housing Corporation board and the Chapter E-board, we will be able
to move forward toward achieving the goals of our Strategic Plan as a unified Epsilon Gamma team. More information will follow, and
information will be posted on our web site in the near future.
In closing, thanks for the donations during this year’s fundraiser. The campaign has gone very well as
Inside this issue of
outlined in Tom Olver's report. The campaign will end of February 29 so if you sent in a pledge please
get your donation to Tom Olver.
Your in _kai_
Christopher P. Makowski, EG 74
By Phil Adler
T h e
house has recovered from the unfortunate
events of Winter vacation. For those that do not know, or have not heard, the
fraternity house experienced a terrible act of vandalism over the winter vacation while all of the brothers
were home for the holidays. On December 27, at approximately 2:00 p.m., I discovered massive
amounts of water pouring out of the kitchen ceiling where a light fixture once hung. The basement was
under 2 ½ inches of water; the kitchen ceiling, walls, floor, bathroom, and parts of the dining room
flooded; the second floor was under 1 ½ inches of water, and the third floor bathroom drenched. The
vandalism occurred on the third floor as a pipe had been dislodged from the fitting connecting the sink
to the water line. The water leaked for about 2-3 days causing an initial emergency clean up of $7,000.
The work to dry-out, repair, and replace the damages reached about $13,000. After adding the claims
and repairs of items belonging to the house we reached a total of $25,000 of damage. Thank goodness
for insurance and the speedy work of a company called Purofirst. The final touches should be completed
before RUSH begins as new carpet has been laid throughout the house and a fresh coat of paint as well.
Hopefully you will be able to attend pig roast to see how the “Lake Beta” event has turned out. Thank
you to all of the undergraduates for their patience in this matter and their help in expediting the repairs.
Special thanks go to brother Marty Kaiser who spent 40 + hours of his vacation to assist at the house
when I was unavailable.
On another note, the housing corporation continues to make progress towards outright ownership.
(Continued on page 3)
15 Year Anniv. Update
2
Fundraising
2
Where Are They Now?
3
Communications Update
3
Chapter President’s Report
3
Stories of the Early Days
4
Finances
4
Homecoming Pics
5
Beta Network News
5
By Tom Olver
By Tom Bussineau
The Comfort Inn will be the site of the 15th
Anniversary Celebration of Epsilon Gamma. This
was the site for the 10th Anniversary and everyone
had a great time. So, make your plans now to
travel to Mt. Pleasant on November 11, 2000.
In September, I attended a formal meeting at the
chapter and discussed my plans for the 15th
Anniversary. It was decided to have the reunion in
Mt. Pleasant. The place of the banquet hall was
narrowed down to the Comfort Inn or the Soaring
Eagle. Unfortunately, the Soaring Eagle will not allow us to hold
our reunion there due to liability reasons.
Jeff Nordoff, who works at the Comfort Inn, will be assisting me in
coordinating dinner plans. It will be a great asset to have a Beta
working with me. He has already blocked off the rooms with a
10% discount. These rooms will he held until Oct. 18th.
Sherry Nordoff will be developing promotional materials. She has
a background in public relations, which will be helpful in designing
invitations, programs and flyers. This will allow us to bring our
chapter into the new millennium with a great celebration.
I am still working with the alumni board to decide upon a ticket
price. We will be giving a discount to couples, active members and
tickets purchased in advance. Look for a flyer to be mailed out in
the spring with more details.
Also during the chapter meeting, I requested a committee to be
formed to help me with logistics. The chapter was very receptive
and will do all it can to assist with the planning. The committee
will not plan the event, but will help me when needed to make local
contacts.
I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered his time to the
planning. Again, if you would like to offer any assistance to me,
please contact me at Tbussineau@aol.com or call my home phone,
704-362-0380.
I hope everyone survived Y2k!
Yours in –kai-,
Tom Bussineau
I’m very pleased to bring you the latest update
regarding our Annual Campaign. Thanks to your
generous contributions, as of February 5, 2000, we
have raised: $3,620.00
The Epsilon Gamma Alumni Association would like to
gratefully acknowledge the following brothers for the
leadership and assistance in our current endeavor.
Thank you for your outstanding support!
Alumni Club ($49.99 or less)- Doug Ackerman,
Ron Helman, Charles Parker, Jason Potter, Scott
Sawyer, Mike Severy
Staunchest Club ($50-74.99) - Matt Baad, Bill Hanley, Darrell
Jackson, John Montooth
Dragon Club ($75-99.99) - Randy Kusowski, James Mottern
Diamond Club ($100-199.99) - Greg Abraham, Matt Brauer,
Kevin Brockman, Ken Breen, Dave Deighton, Steve Desmet,
Steve Grenus, Jeff Heck, Jeff Hughes, Patrick Kearns, Oren
Lane, Chris Makowski, Matt McCluskey, Scott Nadeau, Tom
Olver, Ed Smith
Wooglin Club ($200 or more) - Randy Helman, Willie Hilliker,
Jamie Riley, Scott Willey
We hope to complete this annual campaign by March 1st. If you would
like to assist the Alumni Association with its operating costs or help to
build up the chapter fund within the Foundation (for leadership and
academic development programming) we encourage your support. You
can either send your gift and contribution card in the stamped envelope
that was sent to you in late November, contact me at 1-800-800-2382,
ext. 235 or tolver@wooglin.com for a replacement card and envelope
or contact me to make a gift to the chapter fund using your credit card.
For the latest updates and information, please visit the fundraising link
at http://www.epsilongamma.org.
STATISTICS
Graduation Years
1984-1987
1988-1990
1991-1993
1994-1996
1997-1999
I am taking suggestions for the
site of the 2000 Golf Outing, you
can ee--mail me at
jeadie122@earthlink.net.
Yours in —–kai
kai—
—–,
Jo
John
hn Eadie
For the Staunchest
– Winter 2000
# of gifts
6
10
5
6
6
Ave. Gift
$158.33
$122.50
$70.00
$80.83
$175.00
Total Gifts
$ 950.00
$1,225.00
$ 350.00
$ 485.00
$1,050.00
Our email list has grown to over 100. Please
continue to send Chris Makowski your email address
if you aren't already on the list. Go to the website to
check it out. You can update your email address via
the website or by sending an email to:
Christopher.Makowski@wl.com or
betarunner@yahoo.com.
www.epsilongamma.org
Page 2
By Matt Brauer
Charles Gordon Williams (EG 104) was recently interviewed for the “where are they now” files. Chuck graduated from CMU
on 1993 with a double major in Computer Science and IPC, and began his career at Detroit Diesel as a technology engineer. He
became the company’s “Corporate Webmaster” in 1997, and one year later was promoted to Manager of Information
Technology. He has since moved under the same job title to Penske Corp., a holding company which owns Detroit Diesel (and other companies
totaling about 35,000 employees). Chuck is one of only 27 employees of Penske Corp.; his current job duties include “development and support of
Internet strategies”. Chuck will also obtain a masters degree in Computer and Information Services from U of M later this year.
Brother Williams has many great Beta memories, but the 1990 Daytona Spring Break (with Brothers Deighton, Steele, Brauer, Browning and
Harkness) sticks out in his mind as quite an experience with “too many memories to list”. Chuck also fondly recalls the Beta Conventions he
attended.
The Chuckster met the love of his life, Lisa Fouchea, just before graduation from CMU. They married in 1996 and have built a new home in
Canton, MI. (Lisa is also a Detroit Diesel employee and has two Beta brothers – Dave and Steve Fouchea.) Chuck and Lisa are able to see each
other at work every day. They also traveled to Europe last year, and plan to return to the south of France as soon as possible. The Williamses are
excited about the future of their careers and lives, and look forward to doing as much traveling as possible. Chuck says hello to all.
Housing Report
(Continued from page 1)
Despite the recent set back, we are current with all of our bills and will
hopefully continue this trend. I have the final numbers from 1999 and
would be happy to share that information with any interested brother.
Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have
regarding the house.
Yours in _kai_ ,
By Tom Santilli
Brothers,
Well, this year's Rush Week has come and gone, and
we are looking at another fine pledge class (Alpha
Zeta). We were able to get the house back in order (since the flood)
just in time for Rush. This spring we welcome 5 new pledges into
our chapter. For all that can possibly make it, here's some advance
notices: Pledge Retreat, scheduled again to be held at Camp Rotary,
is Saturday February 26, and Miami Trip is scheduled for March
31st-April 1st.
The time of year has also arrived for a New Executive Board. First
off, I would like to thank all alumni brothers that I have met and
that have helped out during my presidency. It was fun at times, and
definitely tough at times, but we managed to get through a lot of
hardships.
Hopefully, in the past year, we have maybe bridged a
communication gap with you, our alumni, and hopefully the new Eboard will continue upon this path. There are a lot of good things
happening here, and I wish the new E-Board the best of luck.
Without further ado, the new E-Board:
President: Marty Kaiser (email = mk253@hotmail.com)
Vice President: Matt Lonsway
Treasurer: Mark Valchine
Secretary: Josh Weakland
Risk Manager: Matt Cagle
Rush Chairman: Bryan Scheffler
Pledge Educator: Tom Santilli
Again, thanks for all the support I received in the past year. Hope to
see you all at Pig Roast (which, I might add, I shall be 21 for...).
Yours in __KAI__,
Tom Santilli, Chapter President (for two more weeks)
For the Staunchest
– Winter 2000
By Scott Nadeau
Welcome to the year Y2Kai.
Our website, found at www.epsilongamma.org recently went through a
design overhaul, making the load time faster and features like the
Betabase page easier to access. I also added a page for a fundraising
update, and soon we’ll have a page posted that will report the progress of
the Strategic Planning Initiative. (See Chris Makowski’s report—page 1)
In the next few weeks the site will go through some graphical changes
and hopefully soon we’ll be getting a different hosting site. Whatever
changes come to the site, typing in www.epsilongamma.org will get you
there.
We’re looking for a couple more people to become regular contributors
to For The Staunchest. All it takes is to write a short piece and send it to
me via e-mail twice or three times a year. I’m especially looking for a
contributor that graduated somewhere between 1994 and 1999. Contact
me at Boone85@aol.com for more info.
I am looking for your Beta photographs
and video for use in the 15th
Anniversary video presentation. All
video and pictures wil
willl be returned.
(Sorry, no wedding or road
road--trip
pictures...I’m trying to fit 15 years into
20 minutes of video.)
Please send al
alll pictures and video to
Scott Nadeau at:
2133 N. Circle, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
For more information call: 734.994.1438
or e
e--mail Boone85@aol.com
www.epsilongamma.org
Page 3
By Steve Swindell
BAT
701 S. Main Street holds all the memories from the
entire second half of my college career. Most of the
stories I continue to bore people with happened
within the old, dilapidated walls of the former “Exile
on Main Street”. There are stories stemming from the
roof to the basement (and all seedy points in between), but my
favorite was born on a late Winter’s evening in 1984.
The members of the fraternity included, at the time, the original six
and the first pledge class (the Merrill crew, Oren and Oggy) and we
had recently pledged our second class.
The evening was reserved for the now defunct Daughters of the
Diamond. It was to be our first casual, classy night with them since
the start of Winter Semester. Coat and tie were mandatory and we
would hold a small ceremony for them, which Buzz and I were busy
concocting in our room about an hour before they were supposed to
arrive.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught something zip by our bedroom
door which was located in the middle of the upstairs hallway. So I
looked and saw it again. With all the gumption and class of a
Beta ... I shouted, “BAT!” I have, to this day, never seen a single
file line of men in underwear jump down a flight of stairs so
quickly. Bartz, Compton, Baad, Buzz and myself stood in a huddled
mass in the foyer at the bottom of the stairs.
The first thing we noticed was that the foyer was freezing. The
colder we got, the braver we got and Matt Baad started up with the
rest of us on his heels poking and prodding him. The bat was gone,
so we went about our business and quickly got dressed.
The rest of the crew started showing up. Jim Wallace, Vince,
Gordy, Mike Mott, Klem and B.T.. I was already downstairs and
ready to go. So was everyone else in the house except Matt (of
Course) and Buzz, who was still working on the finishing touches
to the ceremony. Suddenly, we heard Matt and Tom yelling and
running down the stairs. The bat had emerged again. Jim began to
yell. We decided we should try to kill it before the party began or
else all hell would break loose with the women there.
Once again Matt started up the stairs with Jim, Klem, Mike Mott,
Buzz and myself close on his heels. Matt reached the top, poised
like a tennis pro (with a racquetball racquet) ready to return a power
serve. I was the first to see it. Matt was about five feet away from
the thing as it clung to the burlap type stuff that covered the upstairs
hall walls. “There it is!”, I said brilliantly. Jim began to yell again.
The bat suddenly looked at Matt and hissed. Matt did a headlong
dive into the five of us huddled on the stairwell. We were all yelling
and laughing as we landed in a ball of coats and ties on the floor of
the foyer in front of everyone else.
Talk now changed from killing it to rationalizing about it to get us
through the evening.
“Bats won’t fly from upstairs to downstairs.”
“If we turn off all the lights upstairs and open the upstairs bathroom
window, the bat will fly out.”
“Yea, and besides bats won’t go from where its dark upstairs to
where its light and lively downstairs.”
”yea.”
“Yea.
“Yea.
“And above all, don’t tell the women about it.”
“Yea.”
For the Staunchest
– Winter 2000
The women showed up and the evening went off without a hitch
Even Buzz’s hastily drawn-up ceremony sounded somewhat
sincere. Everything was fine ... until about 10:30 or 11:00.
In order to continue this story, I need to explain the floor plan. The living room was off of the foyer and kind of flowed through
an archway into the dining room and kitchen. There were about
eight of us in the living room and about eight in the dining room
and kitchen. The den was added on to the back of the house but
they left the glass window in between the dining room and den.
The only way to access the den was through a maze-like hallway,
which was kind of a secret passage off the kitchen. There were
about ten people back there.
I was, again, the first one to see the bat as it entered the living
room from the foyer. I was calm and subdued as I shouted,
“BAT!” again which caused eight people in gowns and coat and
tie to flop on their stomachs in the middle of the living room
floor.
Matt, who had not let the racquetball racquet get far from him,
stood in the dining room, poised like a samurai warrior. I ran past
him into the den where I began to tell them all what was going
on, but before I had the chance, Jim caught a glimpse of the beast
through the window, stood erect and let out a high ‘C” Which
Ella Fitzgerald would have been jealous of.
From the den, through the window, we could see Matt ducking
and twirling, whipping the racquet every which way while the bat
darted and bobbed all around Matt’s head. We cheered him on
and he finally connected and knocked the vicious thing silly.
We all got up, brushed ourselves off and the girls could not
believe what a bunch of wimps we all were and wondered why
they had come. But we didn’t mind because at that very moment
we knew that someday, some idiot would write this story down
and not be able to remember one of those girl’s names.
(Just kidding!)
By Kevin Brockman
Net Worth Report
2/1/00
ASSETS
Hilliard Lyons Account
Bank One Savings
CMU Endowment Chapter Fund
Total Cash and Bank Accounts
Liabilities
OVERALL TOTAL WORTH
349.67
4841.21
4800.00
9990.88
0.00
9990.88
Cash Flow Report
10/1/99 Through 2/1/00
INFLOWS
TOTAL DONATIONS
TOTAL INFLOWS:
3620.00
3620.00
OUTFLOWS
Fundraiser Expenses
Fall Newsletter Expenses
PO Box Fee
Assistance with House Damage Deductible
Down Payment for 15th Anniversary
Comfort Inn Room Rental for Strategic Planning
TOTAL OUTFLOWS:
742.79
365.15
44.00
1250.00
1000.00
100.00
3501.94
www.epsilongamma.org
Page 4
By Matt McCluskey
I would like to give a big shout out to Barb Koehn for the
wonderful breakfast. She did a fantastic job, and the
“portion control” really worked because we had extra food.
Thanks again Barb! I would also like to thank the Undergrads for
their support and cooperation with Homecoming. One of the highlights of
the day was when Brother Kenton Barber, EG 261 arranged for Ed Smith’s son Jake
to fire the 75mm cannon during the CMU Football Game!! I’d like to give a big round of
applause for all the Alumni who showed up. I was very pleased to see such a great turn out.
Pig Roast this year is Saturday April 29th. I’m looking into
having a few different things to do during the day. If anyone has
any suggestions, please feel free to e-mail me at
mmcclusk2@excite.com. More details to come as the date
gets closer. I hope to see you there!
Yours in _kai_,
Matthew McCluskey EG184
Homecoming/Pig Roast Chairman
All of the pictures from
Homecoming appear on
our website:
www.epsilongamma.org
► Mike Severy will be graduating in May from Appalachian State
U (Boone, NC) with an MA in College Student Development.
He was recently named the American College Personnel
Association Commission IV Graduate Student of the Year - to be
awarded in Washington DC at the national conference in April.
He is also engaged to be married to Angie Bono (no, no relation
to Sonny - sorry) in Fulton, Missouri on September 30, 2000.
► Tom Olver was recently promoted to become the General
Fraternity’s Director of Chapter Operations and Risk
Management.
► Steve Yasick writes: Things are great here. Jason is now 10
years old, Sara is 3. Amy and I are enjoying 11 years together. I
teach AutoCAD at Zeeland High School. I hope to get away
soon and spend some time up at Epsilon Gamma.
Take Care, -Kai- Steve Yasick
► Pat Kearns writes: My wife Patti and I just had our second
daughter on October 11. We named her Hannah Berkley Kearns.
My first daughter is now 19 months and her name is Lauren. I
currently live in Charlottesville, VA the home of the University
of Virginia and the birthplace of Thomas Jefferson! I'm
currently the Director of Tennis at the Farmington Country Club.
Our tennis facilities have 18 tennis courts, 3 platform tennis
courts and the club has 27 holes of golf. As they say life is
easy!!
► Amy and Matt Brauer had a boy! Jacob Matthew Brauer was
born on April 21, 1999.
► Paul and Jill DeRoche are delighted to announce the birth of
their son Kyle Matthew DeRoche. He was born on December 8,
1999.
► Steve Swindell writes: Donna & I celebrated the first birthday of
our first child, Andrea on August 11. She is such a joy! Sorry,
though, no legacy. I was promoted to Senior Appraiser over the
Commercial/Industrial section of the Cherokee Co. Assessor's
Office in June. I will mark 5 years with the county in January.
Anyone passing through the Atlanta area, be sure to look us up We'd be glad to see you!
For the Staunchest
– Winter 2000
www.epsilongamma.org
Page 5
Please fill out the following section and send it in. We will add your news to the next “For the Staunchest!”
Information can also be E-mailed to Scott Nadeau (Boone85@aol.com)
Please allow us to keep you informed by sending this form back in the provided envelope.
Name _____________________________________________________ Roll Number __________
Current Address __________________________________________________________________
Home Phone _______________________________
News you would like in the next newsletter or posted on our Website:
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
‰$25 (Alumni Club) ‰$50 (Staunchest Club)
‰$75 (Dragon Club) ‰$100 (Diamond Club)
‰$150 (Knox Club)
‰$200 (Wooglin Club)
‰$________ other
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION – your amount will be published with many thanks!!
THIS YEAR’S CAMPAIGN ENDS FEBRUARY 29, 2000
Beta Theta Pi
Epsilon Gamma Alumni Association
P.O. Box 7364
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
Visit our website!
www.epsilongamma.org