NEWSLETTER Spring 2015 - Michigan State FarmHouse Fraternity

180 Join us for Founders Day!
10:00 Formal Initiation
(Alumni welcome to attend)
11:30 Lunch
1:00 Founders Day Ceremony
Program to include:
• Keynote Speaker, Dick Anderson
• Officer and Committee Reports
• Presentation of the Doane and Snyder Awards
• Introduction of Donor Recognition Program
• Association Board Election
160 Mcf of natural gas Sunday, April 19th
RSVP to Jeff Schulz
jeffschulz@tds.net or (989) 488-8439
140 80 60 40 20 Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Spring 2015
Greetings fellow FarmHouse men,
A@er 100 0 NEWSLETTER
Before 120 Aug PO Box 265
Akron, MI 48701
On behalf of the Michigan State FarmHouse Association Board, I would like to take this opportunity
to provide an update on the activities of the Active
Chapter as well as a progress update on the Chapter
House renovation project. In the accompanying
newsletter, you can find more detailed information
about upcoming projects and events but, first, please
let me share with you the highlights.
The fundraising campaign has been tremendously
successful to date. A combined total of $452,420
has been raised through contributions from 159
different donors between the Michigan State Building Fund that is housed at the national FarmHouse
Foundation and the Building Fund that is housed
locally by the Association Board. A list of donors is
included on pages 3-4. Dan Gratz, our Foundation
Chair, also provides further explanation on the
distinction between the two Building Funds as well
as details on how to donate to either one in his
Foundation Update.
The last eighteen months have seen an exceptional
amount of progress on the continued renovation efforts. In the fall of 2013, we undertook a
complete remodel of all three bathrooms at a cost
of $72,700 – new fixtures, stall partitions, shower
floors, plumbing updates, drywall, and paint. This
work was long overdue as plumbing issues were
beginning to cause damage to the structure. Next,
we decided to tackle the wall and window panels of
the residence wing that were terribly inefficient and,
in many cases, in great disrepair. Air conditioning
units were also installed in each room to improve
conditions and keep pace with other housing
options. This project was completed last summer at
a total cost of $73,500 and is already paying massive
dividends in the form of lower heating costs of the
Chapter House. Take a look at the natural gas usage
comparison chart included on page 4.
Witnessing this progress unfold has been fantastic
for both the Association Board and the Active Chapter. However, there is much work yet to be done. The
next major planned renovation is to replace the wall
and window panels of the living room and dining
room wing and update the living room carpet and
furniture at the same time. We have received bids for
this work in the range of $80,000 and this represents
our next fundraising goal. Two other,
smaller projects set to be completed this spring
are the removal and replacement of the trees in the
front yard and the replacement of the front sidewalk
per City of East Lansing requirement. Last winter’s
ice storm took a heavy toll on the trees in the front
yard and we came to the decision that the trees
needed to be taken down before they cause damage
to the Chapter House. The Association Board will be
seeking sponsors to cover the cost of replanting new
trees. If you would like further details please contact
a member of Association Board.
Turning to Chapter activities, after a strong fall
rush of 16 new members, the Chapter currently has
44 actives and six spring pledges. Matt Graham, the
newly elected chapter president, can tell you more in
his Active Chapter Report.
Founders Day has been set for April 19th
starting with lunch at 11:30. Please join
us to for the event and a tour of the house.
The Active Chapter will be holding formal
initiation beforehand starting at 10:00.
The Chapter is also hosting a charity golf
outing to benefit Farm Safety for Just Kids
on April 25th. A flyer for the event is enclosed.
Lastly, Ben Weber has taken on the role of Chapter
Advisor and is providing excellent leadership for the
actives.
As part of the Founders Day ceremony, we will be
recognizing Matt Kapp, Jeff Schulz, and Joe Hickey
as outgoing members of the Association Board. The
Board wishes to thank these men for their exemplary
contributions to our mission over the last several
years. On the same note, the Board is currently
seeking nominations to fill these positions. Please
contact us to submit names or for further information.
On a personal note, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every alumni and active
member who has participated in this renovation
project. The support that has been given to this
project from FarmHouse men of every era is truly a
testament to the words of our Objective.
Fraternally,
Chris Creguer
Association Board Trustee
Chapter Report
MI State Donors
$1,000 & Above
Lanney Wixson, MI St ‘60
Gerald J. Kugel, MI St ‘52
James L. Monroe, MI St ‘67
Steven G. Pueppke, MI St ‘68
Ben Ritter, MI St ‘96
Gerald D. Robson, MI St ‘53
John T. Rosevelt, MI St ‘61
Brian J. Schulz, MI St ‘91
Darold Simpson, MI St ‘57
John Swanson, MI St ‘62
Gilbert E. Tinsey, MI St ‘60
David Tutak, MI St ‘67
David Van Dyke, MI St ‘67
Dean Veliquette, MI St ‘66
Norman Veliquette, MI St ‘63
Andrew Watson, MI St ‘41
$500 & Above
Dan Gratz, MI St ‘84
Robert Haag, MI St ‘02
Gerrit Herrygers, MI St ‘08
Caryn & Marshall Jenkins, MI St ‘85
Thomas F. Jenkins, MI St ‘55
Gerry L. Kuhl, MI St ‘65
Richard V. Lukens, MI St ‘52
D. Alec McPherson, MI St ‘65
Patrick Ober, MI St ‘68
Howard C. Pennington, MI St ‘53
David G. Rader, MI St ‘71
Gerald Richards, MI St ‘47
Pieter Serne, MI St ‘04
Kay & Leslie Severance, MI St ‘62
In memory of Donald J. Shepard Jr.
In honor of Robert E. Braden
- Robert W. Wiles
Kevin Thiel, MI St ‘02
Albert Vannice, MI St ‘63
$250 & Above
Alan Bakker, MI St ‘78
Brian J. Cook, MI St ‘84
Gerald C. Dailey, MI St ‘57
David L. Dean, MI St ‘65
James D. Fox, MI St ‘52
Larry W. Hammons, MI St ‘60
Robert Housedorf, MI St ‘52
Arlen R. Isham, MI St ‘63
Curtis E. Jensen, MI St ‘63
Paul C. Kline, MI St ‘49
Stanley Knopf, MI St ‘50
Arthur W. Liewert, MI St ‘61
Robert Muir, MI St. ‘49
Robert L. Off, CO ‘64
George Quackenbush, MI St ‘03
Eugene Raab, MI St ‘52
Aaron Saari, MI St ‘92
Peter W. Spike, MI St ‘60
Philip Spike, MI St ‘67
Donald Wallis, MI St ‘51
Walter Willett, MI St ‘64
*Gift of Grain
** Planned Estate Gift
*** Estate Gift
Other Gifts
Edward Barton, MI St ‘57
William Carr, MI St ‘52
Raymond Eldridge, MI St ‘61
Clarence E. Fox, MI St ‘56
In memory of Cordell J. Ponak MI St ‘65 In memory of Ellwood Jacobs DVM ‘62
- D. Alec McPherson Jr, MI St ‘65
- Malinda A. Jacobs
Neal Francisco, MI St ‘90
John R. Graf, MI St ‘63
Herman Grill, MI St ‘56
Art Heinze, MI St ‘59
Joseph Hickey, MI St ‘78
Jerome Hull, MI St ‘51
Bruce Kushmaul, MI St ‘94
Bryan Knoper, MI St ‘87
Ryan McBride, MI St ‘03
Kip L. McGilliard, MI St ‘70
Wayne Moerdyk, MI St ‘99
John Molohon, MI St ‘68
Jack L. Morse, MI St ‘61
Steven Patterson, MI St ‘87
David E. Randall, MI St ‘55
Dan Schulz, MI St ‘92
Terry Schulz, MI St ‘01
In memory of Dennis Arkens MI St ‘70
-Karl Kincade, MI St ‘74
The Chapter is doing really well; I can honestly say
that there seems to be a new air to the house, an air
of change. We have been setting out weekly projects
to try to make small improvements to the house;
from cleaning out old rooms to repainting we are
trying to clean the house up. Also we are working
to do more as brothers with weekly brotherhood
events, group workouts, and study groups. With a
strong group making up the E-board this year, we
are taking this house in a new direction with the
mentality that progress shall mark our every step.
We have also been lucky with many of the guys
that have filled the positions under VP, such as our
Chaplin, who have been doing a phenomenal job.
As we progress through the year we are working to
build a stronger chapter and community image
with a couple philanthropy events such as our golf
outing on April 25th. Over all I must say that I am
excited to see where we can go as chapter and I hope
that you can all come take part and see what we are
working to do.
Thank you,
Matt Graham
Chapter President
BOARD MEMBERS
JEFF SCHULZ
President
jeffschulz@tds.net
(989) 488-8439
TERRY SCHULZ
Secretary
schulzte@gmail.com
(231) 944-9986
CHRIS CREGUER
Trustee
creguerc@yahoo.com
(989) 670-1485
IKE SHEPPARD
Building Comm Chair
ike@ssc-pc.com
(248) 608-3445
MATT KAPP
Vice President
kappmatt1234@gmail.com
(517) 256-5118
KEVIN THIEL
Treasurer
thielkevi@gmail.com
(989) 330-0992
PETE SERNE
Trustee
sernepa@gmail.com
(616) 299-1713
JOE HICKEY
Fundraising Chair
DAN GRATZ
Foundation Chair
danchickmag@hotmail.com
(616) 218-3814
MATT GRAHAM
Chapter President
joseph.hickey@ greenstonefcs.com graha169@msu.edu
(517) 331-4295
(517) 304-8609
FarmHouse Fraternity • Michigan State University • 151 Bogue Street • East Lansing, MI 48823
FarmHouse Fraternity – Michigan State University
Renovation of the Michigan State FarmHouse Chapter House - Progress Report
February 2015
Completed to date:
• Replace entire roof and gutter
• Repaired and painted soffit
• Plumbing repairs and upgrades
• Alley door replaced
• Replaced front door and sidelight
• Replaced stair treads in both stairwells
• Replaced boiler #1 and pump
• Replace boiler #2 pump and controls
• Repaired foundation
• New kitchen cabinets and countertops
• Degreased, primed, and painted kitchen
• Kitchen exhaust repairs and cleaning
• New floor tiles in dining room and chapter
room
• New floor tiles in 2nd and 3rd floor corridors
• New paneling in study lounge
• Installed new drainage system and sump pump
in dining room
• Installed Wi-Fi system
• Repairs to electrical system
• New tile floor, base molding, and painting in
women’s bathroom
• New backyard fence
• New landscaping around perimeter of house
• Parking lot railroad ties replaced with concrete
parking curbs
• Repairs and upgrades to bathrooms on all three
floors
• Replaced wall panels on residence wing with
studded, insulated walls
• Replaced windows on residence wing with high
efficiency
• Installed air conditioning units in each residence room
• Replaced covers on fin-tube heating system
throughout residence wing
3rd Annual Charity Golf Outing
room/dining room wing
• Install air conditioning unit for living room/
dining room wing
• Replace cover on fin-tube heating system
throughout living room/dining room wing
• Replace living room furniture and carpet
• Update hallway lighting
Saturday, April 25, 2015 • 9:00am
For Farm Safety for Just Kids
The brothers of FarmHouse Fraternity will be hosting a Golf Outing to support Farm Safety for Just Kids. Their
mission is to “Promote a safe farm environment to prevent health hazards, injuries, and fatalities to children
and youth.” With a strong agricultural heritage here at FarmHouse Fraternity, we feel deeply for this cause. This
spring on April 25th 2015 we will be hosting a golf outing to benefit this organization. We are asking for your
support of our event to help Farm Safety for Just Kids raise awareness and prevent farm injuries in America’s
youth.
Thank You,
Noah Fox
Philanthropy Chairmen of FarmHouse Fraternity Michigan State
East Lansing, MI 48823
Noah.njfox7@gmail.com • (231)-750-7365
2016:
• Replace doors and framing for residence rooms
Key remaining projects
(goal for completion):
Spring 2015:
• Remove and replace trees in front yard
• Replace front sidewalk per city regulations
Brookshire Inn and Golf Club
Summer 2015:
205 W. Church Street
Williamston, MI 48895
(517) 655-4694
• Replace windows and wall panels on living
For renovation photos visit:
www.msufarmhouse.org/association
• Brookshire Inn and Golf Club in Williamston
• Outing will be held on Saturday, April 25th, 2015
• 4 Player Scramble with a shotgun start
• Lunch will be served at the turn
• Dinner will be served upon round completion
• Golf will start at 9am with and 8am check-in
• Price per team is $200; includes golf, lunch and dinner.
• Registration is due by April 19th
• Raffle Prizes are available
I am not planning to attend the event but I would like to be a sponsor
$100 Gold Sponsor
$50 Silver Sponsor
$______ Sponsor
Please make checks payable to FarmHouse Fraternity
Mail checks and form to:
FarmHouse Fraternity
151 Bogue Street • East Lansing, MI 48823
Name:
Address:
City:State: Zip:
Thank you for your generous support of Farm Safety for Just Kids and FarmHouse Fraternity
Foundation Report
With tax time fresh on our minds, some of us may
be thinking that we should have made a few more
charitable donations to reduce our tax payment and
send a little less to Uncle Sam and the Governor.
Consider the FarmHouse Foundation. As a 501c
designated for educational purposes, donors get the
best tax break allowable. Thank you to those of you
who have donated to the FH Foundation in the past.
The FarmHouse International Foundation does
a nice job making it easy for anyone to donate.
When you send money there, the funds go into a
general account for education purposes all over
the FH world. If you would like to see those funds
earmarked for the Michigan State Chapter, simply
put a note in with your donation saying, “Michigan
State Fund.”
Funds are used by the Michigan State council to
offset the cost of the FH Leadership programs, updat-
2
ing computer equipment, and scholarships. Most
of these items can only be partially funded by the
MSU Foundation, other items are picked up by
the Association Board of the active chapter.
If you are in search of a worthy cause for tax deductible donations, or if you are already donating
to the FarmHouse Foundation, please consider
directing donations towards the Michigan State
Foundation.
Thank you,
Dan Gratz, ’84
Michigan State FarmHouse
Foundation Chair
2 Ways to Donate
Please return this slip
with your check
Payable to
“Michigan State FarmHouse Building Fund”
as a tax deductible gift, and mailed to the:
FarmHouse Foundation
7306 NW Tiffany Springs Parkway • Suite 210
Kansas City, MO 64153
_____Payable to
“Michigan State FarmHouse Association”
as a non-tax deductible gift, and mailed to:
Kevin Thiel, Treasurer
Michigan State FH Association
204 W Essex Drive • St Louis, MI 48880
MI State Donors
$50,000 & Above
Dan First, MI St ‘79
Robert D. Fox, MI St ‘54
Elmer R. Graber, MI St ‘52
$25,000 & Above
Dennis Hasenick, MI St ‘79
Donald Pettengill, MI St ‘58
Rolf Illsley, MI St ‘39
Isaac Sheppard, MI St ‘54
Cernyw K. Kline, MI St ‘43
John F. Stollsteimer, MI St ‘51
Jay S. Koths, MI St ‘47
Allen Wolf, MI St ‘51
George H. Lauff, MI St ‘45
Mitchel Roth, MI St ‘70
$10,000 & Above
Dale Stuby, MI St ‘64
Kennth V. Chace, MI St ‘66
**Polly & Tarry Edington, MI St ‘61 Leonard J. Tabaka, MI St ‘62
Darrell J. Thompson, MI St ‘52
Raymond Mazur, MI St ‘45
Dean S. Tribby, DVM MI St ‘51
Berton S. Sheppard, MI St ‘55
Bruce Upston, MI St’65
Richard R. Sheppard, MI St ‘58
* Brent Wilson, MI St ‘67
$5,000 & Above
*Tyler Wilson, MI St ‘95
Alvin C. Bailey, MI St ‘60
$3,000 & Above
David Ballard, MI St ‘76
David H. Boyne, MI St ‘54
Jim Ballard, MI St ‘51
Duane Patrick, MI St ‘56
David Bowen, MI St ‘72
Richard P. Anderson MI St ‘49
Jim Reithel, MI St ‘94
Andrew J. Watson, MI St ‘41
Robert Wiles, MI St ‘63
Thomas Monroe, MI St ‘66
Jeffrey G. Schulz, MI St ‘99
Dale Shaw, MI St ‘63
$2,500 & Above
$1,500 & Above
Donald Eppelheimer, MI St ‘39
Gerald George MI St ‘63
Donald Hannigan, MI St ‘62
Terry Harris, MI St ‘64
Adam Herford, MI St ‘98
Harold A. Hughes, MI St ‘62
Philip Jones, MI St ‘56
Donald Miles, MI St ‘72
John Norton, MI St ‘51
Thomas Read, MI St ‘79
Walter M. Turner, MI St ‘64
Chris Creguer, MI St ‘03
George Greenleaf, MI St ‘46
David L. Howell, MI St ‘62
Thomas L. Nugent, MI St ‘89
Richard Skillen, MI St ‘55
David Sturgis, MI St ‘58
$2,000 & Above
Ray Dean Bowers, MI St ‘57
Robert Braden, MI St ‘42
Donald M. Eppelheimer, MI St ‘69
$1,000 & Above
Anonymous
Robert J. Bachleda, MI St ‘56
Harlow Bailey, MI St ‘62
Duane R. Baker, MI St ‘61
Ronald Ballard, MI St ‘72
James Bentley, MI St ‘64
Robert Blahnik, MI St ‘91
James Bosserd II, MI St ‘02
William L. Bortel, MI St ‘53
John Bortins, MI St ‘69
Ed Breclaw, MN St ‘64
Eugene H. Buck, MI St ‘63
Douglas J. Canfield, MI St ‘’70
Kenneth C. Cavanaugh, MI St’39
Larry K. Crandall, MI St ‘64
William Dickison, MI St ‘42
Donald Eppelheimer, MI St ‘39
Robert Eppelheimer, MI St ‘74
Gary Gascho, MI St ‘60
Mark E. Havitz, MI St ‘77
Arnold F. Hentschl, MI St ‘51
Matthew D. Kapp, MI St ‘97
William F. Keish, MI St ‘61
Gary R. Kelly MI St ‘70
John Koepele MI St ‘56
Anthony F. Korican, MI St ‘55
Continued on Page 4
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