Well here we go. One of the more difficult newsletter articles to write -- my last. Yes, change comes to Section 89. I have accepted a job in Pittsburgh, and will therefore be moving out the section and out of the Section Chair business. I'm finally headed off to the "real world".
It's hard for me to leave Section 89. It has been such a large part of my life, especially for the last five years. And the truth is, you'll get another Section Chair, but I'll never have another section. Nonetheless, it is an appropriate time in my life to move on, and so I'll go. Sometimes it isn't the easiest thing to walk away from something you think is very important, that you are comfortable with, and if I dare go so far as to say, sometimes good at. But the easy path often is not the best way to go, both personally, and with APO.
I'd love to be able to impart some great wisdom on departure, but I don't think that is likely. But I will take this opportunity to sincerely thank each of you. It is you who have made being Section Chair such an important part of my life, you who are Alpha Phi Omega in action, you who make room in your busy college life for the principles of Leadership, Friendship, and Service, you who work to make a difference in your world. The fellowship I have shared from you, and your idealism in an increasingly cynical world have kept me at it for the past five years.
I would also like to apologize to Gamma chapter, with whom I have spent far less time than I would have liked while Section Chair. In my attempts to appear impartial with all chapters, I may have overdone it when it comes to distancing myself from my own chapter. Now, Gamma doesn't appear to have suffered, but I have missed my own chapter. But I have tried to consider you all my chapters, whether I see you many times or just once a year.
Best wishes to all of you: For those of you continuing in APO, I wish nothing but the best, and I ask from you your hearty cooperation with the new Section 89 Chair. It is a tough, strange position, and I can insure you that any support you provide to the new chair will be greatly appreciated. For those of you moving out into the world this year, best of luck to each of you, and remember that the principles and skills you have honed in APO will carry you far if you keep them foremost in your life. And to everyone: should you find yourself in the Pittsburgh area, give me a call, I always like company.
I look forward to seeing you all in Oswego this April, Buffalo in October, and Phoenix in December.
''Till We Meet Again...
Just because we can't do everything, doesn't mean we can't do something.
W. Mitchell
It isn't too early to start planning now for the 1996 National Convention to be held in Phoenix AZ, around December 27-30. As the fraternity moves toward the next century, there are lots of changes going on, and each chapter should attempt to be represented. And heck, spending a few December days in Phoenix would make a welcome change from Upstate New York, right?
Keep in mind that proposals for legislation to be considered by the convention will need to be in the National Office by the end of September, which will come up fast, so if you have any ideas, get to work on them now - don't wait until September. There will also be need for voting delegates, reference committee members, committee chairs, and other convention volunteers.
Although travel to Phoenix may seem expensive, I can guarantee you that a National Convention is an unforgettable experience. In no other way can you have such impact on the future of the fraternity, not to mention party with a couple thousand instant good friends. I'm sure that if you make the convention a part of your plans, you will not regret the experience.
Here's a few details about just how my transition out of here will work:
The mailings for the Spring 96 Sections 88/89 Conference are in the mail and should be arriving. The folks at Epsilon Nu are putting together an excellent conference and I hope many of you will attend. It will be well worth the time. Direct questions to Epsilon Nu chapter.
The beginning is the most important part of the work.
Plato
The Region I & II Conference in Hartford this past December was a real blast. Lots of Section 89 folks showed up and partook in all the activities. There was the usual array of Leadership, Friendship, and Service. Many participated in the Chapter Program Workshop, as well as the numerous workshops during the conference. With the exception of Roll Call (ahem!), Section 89 made an excellent showing at the conference! Man-mile awards, Chapter Olympics winners, and Region II Service Awards all made this Section 89 proud.
Xi Zeta chapter would like to thank everyone who attended SLED here at R.I.T. It was a lot of fun. We would like to invite everyone to our alumni banquet on March 23. Anyone who is interested should contact us at our office (716) 475-2789, or e-mail our banquet chair Lori Scanlon: LMS2054@ritvax.isc.rit.edu. Xi Zeta is also currently planning their annual broomball tournament to be held in mid-March. Anyone interested in helping out should contact us at our office or e-mail Valerie Thompson: VDT1946@ritvax.isc.rit.edu. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at sectionals in the spring. 'Till then have fun and stay warm!
Hello to all in Section 89. Here at E-Funky-E we are already preparing for next Falls Sectionals. The theme will be No Frills, Just Service. Something's that will be going on is our own Karaoke night where Sandi will be singing the "Copa" and a special guest will win the privilege of doing the Merengue with her. There will also be some wonderful service projects such as "Trick-or-Treating for canned goods." The rest will be a surprise, and I guess you will just have to come by to see what it is.
We have many ideas for workshops, but are interested in your ideas too! This is our Sectionals, so we want to focus on what you want because we CARE! So if you have any ideas, pass them along to us!
Hope to see you all at Epsilon-Nu's Spring Sectionals in April!
Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.
Henry Thoreau
Hey Howdy from the friendly little Alfred Chapter of Epsilon Gamma. Things have really been hopping around here. We now have an enthusiastic group of 15 pledges which is the largest pledge class for us since Fall 1994. You can add to that list one other pledge member, as an advisor! Can you say that we are very excited? Also, in the way of service, we have undertaken the project of a Crop Walk. This is where people obtain pledges and then walk approximately 5 km. A large portion of the money collected will go towards the Alfred and Almond Food Pantries. If you are interested in helping that day by manning stations or walking, please contact us at: alphaphi@bigvax.alfred.edu (That day is Saturday April 13 by the way :) Personally, I am going to try to start up an interchapter e-mail buddy program. Not only will brothers be able to participate, but I'd also like to set up a Pledge e-mail buddy system. If you want to get in on the groundwork for the program, please e-mail me at the alphaphi account or at hooverab (you know the rest ;). Keep on Smiling and Serving.
Hello again from us in Brockport, yes we are still kicking. I'd like to take a second to thank everyone who was at the Spring SLED (RIT). We have been going through a rather trying time with everything out here. It gave us a renewed hope seeing how everyone is interested and supportive of us trying to found our chapter. Thank you very much...
Ok more stuff... We are in the continuing with our undying commitment to service, well that's why we here!!!! Last semester we racked up 250+ hours of service by 12 actives, not bad for our time keeping track. Thanks to the brothers of Xi Zeta and Alpha Beta Xi for joining us in our first joint venture with the Al Siegl Center's WalkAbout, we raised over $500 collectively. It was so successful we are looking to do more joint projects....
Things in the planing stage:
All are welcome!!!!
We are in the process of expanding the membership of our little group. So if you see some new faces... welcome them aboard. Remember that we are out here, so if you got something planned... drop us a line.
Mu Lambda has gotten off to a great start this semester. The chapter continues to grow, after a fun and successful rush period. Service this semester has included working with some new organizations as well as our past favorites. Our VP Service Rachel Carpenter has done a fantastic job setting up projects, including projects with the Soujourner House, the Boys and Girls Club of Rochester, and Friends of Strong Memorial Hospital. Besides the fun we've had at these projects we've also had a great time at the fellowship events such as bowling, dinner, dessert, & movie nights.
The future looks bright for the chapter, starting off with our 7 enthusiastic new pledges under the guidance of Pledge master Snehal Patel. They've really bonded well and taken part in numerous brotherhood events, making many contributions. The Iota class has some big events in store for us.
Other upcoming events include the WXXI PBS pledge drive, a Mu Lambda favorite and Merit
Badge University Day. We look forward to hearing from other chapters. E-mail President
Amanda Ridder, Pledgemaster Snehal Patel, or myself, respectively at:
ar003c@uhura.cc.rochester.edu
sp002c@uhura.cc.rochester.edu
tv001b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu
Also check out our homepage created by Amanda -- it looks really great! http://www.rochester.edu/sa-org/APO/
Stuff happens. It's not what happens to you that counts, it's what you do about it.
W. Mitchell
Howdy y'all? The news is that Gamma is on the move! After a strong representation at regionals in Hartford, Gamma just couldn't get "road trip" out of our blood. So we packed in our cars and headed to SLED at RIT. Needless to say it was an eye-opening experience. Said one NIB who attended the event, "I learned more about Gamma by seeing another chapter than I did as a pledge!" But I shall not tell you about interchapter events, cause I know you are just dying to hear what's new with Gamma...
After a breathtaking whirlwind rush period, we settled into a solid pledge class of 42! I would like to acknowledge our rush/publicity chair Mitsy Lopez and our resident grad brother Scott Dawson, for artistic contributions to the rush process. Great job guys!
Fund raising has been a high point for Gamma with Molly Beinfeld as the chair of campus chest. Through the valentines day Fund raising her committee has rustled up well over $1,200 for various charities!! And the spring semester has just begun too.
And who could forget one of the pillars on which Alpha Phi Omega was founded, service. We are off to a running start with several big projects already in the bag and oodles more left. The project with the Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Service yielded over 120 hours of service to paint the interior of a house over the course of a weekend, and a humongous blood drive added up well over 100 hours of service and over 80 pints of whole blood for the American Red Cross. Keep in mind were just getting warmed up and the big projects are yet to come, I'll keep you all posted on our progress.
One of the more interesting things that Gamma is implementing this semester is a special gimmick to help improve brotherhood cohesion. The membership committee felt that wearing our service pins to all GMs and pledge meetings would create that unity and pride in our letters that we have been searching for. So we have begun to mug our brothers to get the job done. Let me explain - if a brother or pledge is caught without his/her pin on they drop a quarter into the 'mug' and at the end of the semester we will put the fund to good fellowship use. As of the end of February we have improved the moral of $9.75 worth of our brotherhood...
Looking forward to seeing everybody in Oswego.
Chi Pi has been in quite an uproar this semester. First, our chapter banner was stolen and held for ransom (They wanted $50! It did not cost that much to make, since one of the brothers did it for service). The kidnappers are still at large, and we have given hope that it will be returned.
Second, we welcomed our new pledge class on February 20th. Our three newest pledges are: Margaret Baxter, Andrea Ellis, and Mairi Quodomine (who has APO in the bloodlines).
Unfortunately, Chi Pi is suffering from another of its membership declines. A large portion of recent pledge classes have decided APO is not for them anymore, or they just do not have the time to devote anymore. Whatever the case, we are now down to six active brothers (better than last time, when our active core was only three!). Improvements in the pledge and service programs will hopefully lead to a stronger dedication to Alpha Phi Omega's guiding principles than Chi Pi has had in the past. We are more than open to any suggestions other chapters might have to help us out.
On a happier note, we will be helping out March 1-2 at Superdance, Fredonia's dance marathon that benefits the Chautauqua County Muscular Dystrophy Association. Brothers will be helping in a variety of capacities, at fun times like 2 a.m. This will be a bonding experience for all! There are future projects in the works, more details to come.
OK, so the busy folks at Epsilon Nu are too busy to get something into the news. I've threatened to "make something up" if a chapter didn't send something in, and here's my chance. And darnit, I'm too nice to make stuff up here. Or perhaps, Epsilon Nu is too nice.
So, I'll tell you what I know about Epsilon Nu. They really are a very busy chapter. They run a most impressive service program. Ask them about it sometime. Ask them how much they've raised for their campus libraries, and ask how they've done it. A true service success story there.
Wanna learn something else? Ask Epsilon Nu about their advisor program. Epsilon Nu has three of the most dedicated advisors in APO. I'm not sure they realize how good that really is for them. But ask them about their advisors, and you may find some ideas for boosting up your own chapter's advisory program.
And, of course, there's the conference coming up. Russ and his committee including: Laurie, Christine, Mike, Jason, and Michelle (sorry if I forgot anyone - my memory is only so good) are doing a bang-up job, and it looks to be an excellent conference, so by all means, you should be there April 19-21.
Hello all, your friendly corr-sec here, just to give you an update on all the awesome things happening here at Phi this semester.
The biggest thing right now is that we are gearing up for our 65th anniversary next fall. This is going to be a really BIG thing, so we are having our first fund-raiser for it on March 23. It is a Casino night, full of fun with prizes too! If you are interested in coming (and we would love to have you), let me know as soon as possible, we are looking for a lot of Other chapter support.
As far as other fellowship type things, we are having our spring banquet on April 27. It is not really a formal thing, since we had our Phi Fall fling back last semester. It is just going to be a casual thing, which also keeps cost down:) The theme is "Everybody gets Leid" (yes, I spelled that right:), so if you are interested let me know that too! Also that weekend we are going to be running phi's first APO trivia contest, so come on down for the weekend and strut your APO knowledge to everyone!
Service is off with a bang this semester with lots of neato projects, such as work with Habitat for Humanity, Hawley Youth Organization, Ronald McDonald house, and lots more! WE passed a motion to raise our service hour requirement this semester from 30 to 35 hours, so it is Service! Service! Service!
Pledging is up and running, awesome as always. WE have a 27 person pledge class and they are taking the initiative. In fact even as I write I am going to a big/little bonding night. Initiation is April 12, again if you are interested, let me know:) Also, the pledges are have a correspondence requirement and some may be choosing to have an email type buddy. Any pledgemasters out there, or really anyone who is interested in making a friend here at phi from the spring 96 pledge class let me know, you can be a pledge, brother, alumni whatever. (Even Rick:)
The last thing, and this is where I need section support, is that Phi is planning on presenting a bid at Oswego for Sectionals spring 97, we have competition, Epsilon Zeta is also putting in a bid. I would LOVE tons of section 89 support for this. Got suggestions? (esp Epsilon Nu, cause your going through it now), I would love to hear them. I do have to win this, cause now I've got a bet riding on it with a Brother from RPI, and if I lose I have to do something embarrassing at Oswego:)
That is all that from snowy Syracuse, hope everyone is having a semester full of service and fellowship fun!!!!
The Alpha Beta Beta chapter is already quite busy this semester. Last semester's Festival of the Trees helped to raise $4,100 for local families so, that they could enjoy the holidays. This semester we inducted 12 pledges into our brotherhood bringing the population in our chapter to 42 members and advisors. We also welcome our newest addition into the fraternity. Joseph Free, son of advisors Jason and Colleen, was born December 19, 1995. This semester we are continuing our tradition by volunteering at The Warming House, a local soup kitchen, on Friday. We also sponsored a Bonaventure alumni working in the volunteer field onto campus to discuss volunteer opportunities in the area. We will be holding the third annual 5K Run on Saturday, April 13th which will benefit the Genesis House in Olean, a home for battered families. Mark your calendars and get your running shoes out. We also are teaming up with the St. Bonaventure Parish in Allegany, NY to participate in Adopt-A-Highway. The pledge class will be holding an 80's dance in our famed rathskeller sometime near the end of March on a Sunday. If you have any questions on any of the projects or would like to help us out please contact an officer.
One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar
Hellen Keller
First and foremost, we started off the semester by ratifying 36 amendments to our Chapter and Standing By-Laws. The project was started in October. The By-Laws committee spent many hours reworking the documents. The Chapter is grateful for the service they have provided to the Brotherhood. The major addition included the creation of an Emergency Fund as well as many smaller adjustments and fine tuning.
Our Service program has gotten off to a great start with projects such as cleaning up at a local church/nursery school, manning information tables for rush, and day care at the local elementary school. Upcoming projects include a Red Cross Blood Drive, a pledge drive at WXXI in Rochester, an ARC auction, and a game night for the Girl Scouts. There are also many other projects in the works.
Our pledge period began on February, 11. We have a pledge class of 12 this semester and they are doing great. They will be a great supplement to our 34 active and 5 associate brothers.
The challenge was to figure out the order of the chapters in the newsletter. The order of the chapter is: Mu Lambda, Epsilon Sigma, Gamma, Epsilon Gamma, Alpha Beta Beta, Xi Zeta, Phi, Chi Pi, Alpha Beta Xi, Interest Group at SUNY-Brockport, Epsilon Nu. And I gave these hints:
Hint (maybe): 6-3-1-1, AITU !
1) Everything you need to know you learned in Elementary School, ie. you don't need to know chartering year, latitude, or anything like that.
2) Some problems can be solved by Beginning at the End.
The answer should be clear if I format things a little differently:
Mu Lambda - adbmaL uM
Epsilon Sigma - amgiS nolispE
Gamma - ammaG
Epsilon Gamma - ammaG nolispE
Alpha Beta Beta - ateB ateB ahplA
Xi Zeta - ateZ iX
Phi - ihP
Chi Pi - iP ihC
Alpha Beta Xi - iX ateB ahplA
Interest Group at SUNY-Brockport - tropkcorB-YNUS ta puorG tseretnI
Epsilon Nu - uN nolispE
As you can see, the order is in alphabetical order, if you reverse each chapter name... Sorry, this turned out to be a bit tougher than I thought it would be.
Blow-Pop: NO PUPPETS!
Goldie: You finally got a nickname!!!!! Ephie
Mike- Thanks for all the help and advice, We all have a lot of hard work and a long road ahead..... But let's do it!!!!!!!
Nav-
My little Cous is a neophyte.... you always did have a need to be like me, ya even had to take my locker after I left, what's up with that? Good luck on your adventure to brotherhood, you'll probably beat me there... Have fun, and do well or I'll hunt you down!!!!
Howie
Russ - This may surprise you, but I don't even own a leisure suit. I don't even remember what leisure is. But I'll find out.
Rick.
Cubscout: Embark on any incestuous relations lately? Ephie
Ephie- I am not dooing well... keep smiling and hopefully you'll get your gift before you read this..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Nav-
Xi Zeta -
Thanks for the great SLED-ride. You host well!
Rick
Whatever happened to the We Love Dave fanclub? I think it can go sectional now :)
Hey Brockport, you're a class act... and if we stick together we may just get through this. Good luck and Congrats to the new officers
Nav-
Mims- Dive in, Don't Look Back, Enjoy the Ride!
Case: You're the one we're gonna watch merengue...I don't recall mentioning that! :) -Lola
Congratulations to all the new officers at SUNY Brockport!!!!
Oh! Any chapters out there want to do a fellowship....or service project? We're really good at them. Just preferably not back to back without any sleep. From SUNY Brockport
DiVincci: I was thinking about a fellowship. Wanna go to Europe for a roadtrip?!?!?! I hear they have some really GOOD ginger ale beer in Austria.. or perhaps you'd prefer Bruxelles- oh! what a night!!!!! Heineken before breakfast? Or maybe we'll just go to Italy for lunch with my brother! It was a great time. When do you want to do it again?!?!? I love you, Ephie
The Boston Crew:
24 Great Hours in Beantown started 96 off right - Thanks for the company, I had a great time! Fajitas to Friendly's, and all that music, ice, and fireworks in between! Thanks!
You know who...
(PS: You are my favs... Phoenix next year?!)
Starr: You are a wonderful friend as well as brother. I know I should say it more often. Thank you for being such a wonderful support system. You can burn my comforter any time you like. Ephie
+----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Section 89 News | | | | The Section 89 News is published for Section 89 to provide | | communication from the Section Chair about upcoming events, | | important announcements, and amusement. Please send articles, | | news of events, or other comments to: | | | | Rick Bojko | | Section 89 Chair | | 700 Warren Rd, # 15-3D | | Ithaca, NY 14850 | | | | 607 257-9875 (H) 607 255-2329 x106(W) | | bojko@cnf.cornell.edu | | | | | | The Section 89 News is also available on the WWW: | | http://www.nnf.cornell.edu/Section89.html | +----------------------------------------------------------------+