DTD at MC # 37

Good morning to everyone,

Boy, am I glad that the undergrads are back on campus! It gives me something to write about. Plus I have some new/updated addresses for you. And a discount offer from a Brother, limited to EU members.

Here is the first bit of news, as most of you undoubtedly are aware, the winter issue of the Protimoi has been released. Please go check it out — another fantastic job by Hunter and the undergrads. It can be reached at the Chapter Web site: http://www.marietta.edu/~delts/protimoi.htm

There is an article about one of our undergrads, Dustin Walker, who has joined the Marine Corps. There is a link to the chapter to let you know how to get in touch with him.

Peter Weiner, my little brother, sent me the following offer shortly after my last email and I thought that I would pass it along to you, in case you are interested. I’m not sure I want to get into the buying and selling thing, but this once I will. Peter is in business building, modifiying, and trouble shooting computers. With today’s launch of Windows Vista, he has made the following offer to EU Delts:

Hey Big Bro,

I’m going to take this opportunity to solicit business.

Attention all Brother Delts EU Chapter:

Many of you have heard that on Jan. 31, 2007, a new operating system for our great and powerful computers is going to be released.

There are many variations of the new OS from 32bit to 64bit from basic to Ultimate. As a OEM SYSTEM BUILDER registered with Microsoft and Intel, I will be dealing with the best of the breeds: Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, and Vista Ultimate.

If anyone is interested in obtaining this software at greatly reduced price (this offer is only for EU Delts) please feel free to contact me

Peter S. Weiner
President http://www.petethegeek.net/
786-267-3224

I sent him the following message, to clarify what he is offering. Following my note is his response, with pricing. I hope that it is helpful for those of you interested.

Peter,

Just a thought for you. Have you considered posting on the new Delt InCircle? Evidently that is what that site is for. I will post your message very shortly so if anyone is interested they will have the opportunity to contact you.

Tell me though, what is the advantage for a home user like me? I don’t really use the computer for work. Just to play, and I don’t really play games either. So why should I upgrade? Just curious. Thanks, Peter. Hope everything is going well for you.

Rick

His response:

Rick,

To be honest I haven’t taken the time to look at the Delt InCircle. Most home users use their computers to play. Reasons to upgrade to more stable platform, better built in security from the Internet (built in anti spyware and firewall and anti virus) For families, better control over of non administrator accounts. Great child controls built in. The ability to “roll back to an earlier state “if an inappropriate executable file gets installed while surfing.

Particular for the home user: smoother integration to create a home media center: better movie watching , music listening , TV watching and creating and burning DVD/CDs.

Overall with the new Areo interface much more fun and pleasant look and feel to the operating system. With multiple window open you can roll through them as if they were on a rolodex, flip though live windows. There are some of the positives now for the opposing view: needs more RAM, a video card with a min of 128 MB video RAM and a modern CPU to work properly.

Check here for minimum hardware requirements: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905075.aspx

Want to see if your Windows XP-based PC can run Windows Vista? Just download, install and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx

Hope this helps,
Peter

My reply:

Peter,

Thanks for the information, I checked and my machine will take the update. Now to figure out if I want it ...

I’m getting ready to post your email. But I thought that I should ask this question, een though I feel sure that I know the answer already. I’m kind of embarrassed about it. So please don’t take offense. The upgrade that you are offering the Brothers is a legal and authentic issue, with the proper paperwork isn’t it? Like I said, I’m embarrassed to ask, but I feel like I really have to. Hope that you understand.

Rick

His response:

Rick,

Don’t be embarrassed, in these days of Internet scams it is an appropriate question.

ABSOLUTELY LEGAL! Full OEM license, not upgrade, completely legit. I do not need to face the penalties of $10k fines and possible 3-5 at the Graybar hotel or worse.

By the way just as an example Vista Ultimate is selling at Best Buy for 399.99 my price is $295.00, Vista Home Premium at Best Buy is $239.99 my price $195.00

All prices subject to tax and shipping.

Peter S. Weiner
President
http://www.petethegeek.net/
786-267-3224

There you go, that is the conversation that I had with Peter. Anyone interested, please give Peter a shout.

Since I wrote last time, I heard from Fergie that our donations are up to $260 now, on our fundraising effort towards new ritual equipment. I also heard from Ashley Wollam, the Chapter guide. More information should be coming from him shortly, I hope. Please consider a donation to help with this project. Send your check to Crescent Colony of Marietta Inc. c/o Robert Ferguson, 507 Wooster St., Marietta, Ohio 45750. Please note on your check that it is for ritual equipment. Thank you.

Here is Ashley’s note, along with my reply.

I just wanted to quickly touch base with you about getting new Ritual Equipment. Nick Aylward and I did an inventory today of our equipment and mapped out the things we need. We’re going to go pseudo-shopping here soon to firm up our estimates, but I can give you some rough preliminary ones now:

Rite of Iris: $95 (Plywood, paint, gloss, votives, purple and gold fabrics, window coverings).

Ritual: $153 (Light box, stain, column pieces, globes, bulbs, extension cords, pedestal, gavel, et cetera).

We’re thinking about possibly going wireless on the lights, depending on how fiscally viable the option might be.

Just to let you know, the Chapter is taking this as a serious investment. The goal, as I understand it, is to move towards equipment that will last, so we’re not going to bother with things we expect to replace in the near future. I hope that is what alumni are feeling as well.

Cheers to you, and I’ll talk to you soon with more accurate estimates!

Ashley

Ashley,

I agree with you that the plans and estimates that you come up with should be with the thought in mind that the equipment should be built to last (maybe not another 40 years, but last). While you are putting your list together, list it all. Fergie says that you need a new chair for the Chapter president, include that. You could use new tables for the officers to work from, include that. Include the cost of the wireless light controls. Do you want columns that are lit all the way up? (I think that would be neat), figure that in.

Don’t be extravagant just to be extravagant. But do ask for the things that you want. If you want things that cost $1,000 total, and ask for things that only cost $500, you will only get $500. If you ask for the $1,000 and only get $500, we can scale back.
Be aware that you may not get all of those things in the first go around. But that is what you would like to have. We may have to get part of it now, and continue to save for some other things (the president chair and work tables). Getting window coverings is something that you need, but remember we are hoping for a new shelter for you guys in the semi-near future, will they fit in the new place? Black trash bags are ugly, but they work.

There you have my thoughts on this. Do what you will with it, but I do hope that you can get us some sort of an estimate fairly shortly.

Welcome back to school!

Rick

So there you have the information so far. We’ll see what he comes back with.

From the Chapter meeting minutes, which have been newly added to the Chapter Web site, so you can all read them. (As can everyone else in the world, is this wise?) The Chapter GPA is over a 3.0, I think that deserves an “attaboy.”

The Chapter is leading in the new member education trial program with over 200 points, I don’t know what that means, but if we are in 1st place in something, it has to be good!

Finally, Feb. 4th is a formal meeting and installation of the new officers. I would like to extend my congratulations to the current group on a job well done! To the new group, you have big shoes to fill, and I am confident that you can do so, and build upon what has gone before! Good luck, if I can be of any help, let me know. For any alumni in the area on the 4th, stop by and attend the meeting.

I got the following email from Jon Bolden. I’m all in favor of getting together. I’m learning that there are several of us here in the West, perhaps we could all get together somewhere on a weekend for a round of golf or something. Have to keep that in mind, and try it.

I didn’t realize that you were in Arizona. Let me know if you are ever swinging through Austin, Texas, and we can stop and have a meal together. Also, Brother Corey Medina is in Albuquerque, so I might be making a road trip someday. Take
it easy. Back to work!

The new/updated addresses that I have received this week are: Graham Cochran, Jon Bolden and Robert “Gib” Gibson. Gib also sent me an address I had been missing, thanks Gib: Trent Leupp. Thanks to for keeping me updated on your address. And welcome Trent!

Here are some names I need help with this week: Albert Mason ’68, Andrew James ’73, Rodney Stoltz ’76, Lt. Walter Meneses ’81, Steven Bennett ’84, Adam Mermer ’94, Buell Hall ’00, Jay Read ’05. Thanks for your help with these Brothers. It seems as if this is working, about every week I get a new name from the list.

That’s all I have this week, have a good week. I hope to see you all in April at the golf outing, and in 2008 for our 40th anniversary on the MC campus.

Rick Neel ’73

DTD at MC #36

Good Afternoon to everyone,

Hope everyone is satisfied with the two teams that made the Super Bowl this year. I know that I am pleased that Tony Dungy made it, that man is a class act and deserves it. (He built my team up to Super Bowl quality, then got fired. Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Enjoy the game all of you.

I have an address update for you all, along with my apology for having it wrong the first time! Here is the correction from Alex Kalkoffer, please make note of it.

Hey sorry I may have linked the wrong address ... Here it is https://incircle.delts.org/. Make sure in your browser that you put "https://" and not "www." That is why it is not working, it's a secure website.. Sorry about that! I also sent you an email invite to the site just in case.

Also a little more information about InCircle. It is a site that was put together by the Central Office in order to help Delts, both Alumni and Undergrad, build a network to help them in life. Be it job searches or employee searches, or about anything else. Check it out.

If memory serves me, Alex was originally looking for an internship in Radio/TV. I don't know if you found what you were looking for Alex, but I am aware of two guys in TV that may be able to give you a steer in where to look. Unfortunately, I can only think of one right now - Ted Smith is working for Channel 10 in Columbus. He may or may not be able to help you, but you might ask him (he's an EU Delt, look in the email address list).

For everyone else, that address list is availiable from the Alumni section of the Chapter web site: http://www.marietta.edu/~delts/. Please check it out and send me any addresse s that you may have that we don't.

Last time I included a list of brothers whose address we don't have. I got a location on one of them, so if you know Eric, give him a shout. Welcome Eric, a brother from my era. Bob Burns sent me this email with Eric's address:

I think I might be able to locate Eric D. Dunsker (Hebe). I have e-mailed someone who likely is he.

Bob Burns '75
Brother Alki
One of the Phi
Beta Kappas of MC DTD

He then followed it up with this:

The e-mail address for Eric Dunsker '76 is **removed for privacy issues**
I e-mailed the person I identified from the web and I was right, it turned out to be him. He is in Connecticut working in ergonomics. He called me back and we talked for an hour. Great memories and a chance to catch up. We hadn't talked since I graduated from MC. Yes, he wants your chapter newsletter/e-mails. Many thanks.
Sincerely,
Bob Burns
Brother Alki -- 3.2% (I know that's Not PC with DTD)

Alki, isn't that what it's all about? Getting in touch with someone you haven't heard from in years? I'm sure that you had a great visit. So when our 40th anniversary rolls around in 2008, you both can come and tell some more lies! I sure hope to see both of you there. (as far as the 3.2% beer, I'm sure the guys would laugh at you now!)

For you Eric, and anyone else that hasn't found it yet, there is an archive of my Pulitzer Prize winning emails at our Blog Site. There are also announcements from our House Corp President, Jon Hartshorn (Hartsy), as well as some comments by our resident newspaper guy, Shawn Selby. If you haven't checked it out, please do so. http://mcdeltalumni.blogspot.com/

I had asked for some help concerning John Simone, a pledge who transferred from MC. Ashley Wollam got me an answer. Thanks Ashley.

Rick, I had to call Headquarters today, so I forwarded your e-mail to my work address to remind me to ask after John Simone. Teresa, at Delt Headquarters, was unable to find anyone under the name of John Simone. She found a "Matthew" and a "Joseph," Simone, but neither had Epsilon Upsilon in their file. I'm afraid he may have dropped off the radar. If you'd like to consult Central Office, the number is (317) 284-0203.
Best regards,
Ashley Wollam

I got a letter from Fergie, he tells me that he thinks that we have an initiated total of about 350 members over our 39 years. Our email list is now at 219, that is pretty good, I think. However, we are running out of time before we get to our 40th anniversary, and I really want to contact every one of our brothers and get them back to Marietta in 2008. Help me out here, please.

Fergie also reported that we have collected $160 towards our new ritual equipment. That is an acceptable start, and I know that we haven't gotten a "wish list" from the undergrads yet. Craig Sundstrom promises me it is coming shortly. Please consider making a donation so we can build a new set of equipment. Send your check, made payable to: Crescent Colony of Marietta Inc. to Bob Ferguson, 507 Wooster St, Marietta, Ohio 45750. Make a note that your donation is for ritual equipment. Thank you.

I got the following email from Don Wolfe, he seems to be doing OK, just pining away for the mountians of Colorado. He does say that he and Ken Kavula are planning on being in Marietta for our 40th anniversary.

In October of 2008, make plans now to join them (and me!). Matt Dole, I hope that you are keeping track of these names so you know how big of a place to reserve :-) So far I know of these men: Don Wolfe, Ken Kavula, Rob Weidenfeld, Darrell Pritchard, Me, Jim Neel (I'm dragging him along kicking and screaming), Bob Peterson, and Randy (AWK) Williams. I'm sure that there will be spouses attending also, and many others that I haven't heard directly from (Hartsy, Shawn, the local guys, and many others). It's starting to shape up into a great turnout. One thought about our anniversary, we know that the undergrads can't afford to pay for this, so what kind of a budget would you like for us to use in our planning? Input will be greatly appreciated.

Aside from Eric Dunsker's address, I also have an updated address from Jordon Herrick.

Hey Rick,
I got a new e-mail, they are shuting down my marietta account. **removed for privacy reasons**
Thanks, hope all is well.
Jordan '06

This week's brothers that I am looking for help locating, if you are in contact with them, let me know:
Joseph Ferrell '68, Paul Schoenfeld '70, John Alligood '73, Steven Dennis '78, Rick Eckstein '82 (he gave a talk at MC last year and is a professor, shouldn't be hard to get ahold of), Mike Pantos '87, Brian Clark '93 (he has his information on the chapter map), Trent Leupp '95, Jonathan Young '02, Vince Li '05.

Keep in mind that the spring golf outing is coming in April. The 28th (It better be then, I have plane tickets and hotel reservations already). Come and watch the slaughter, I've been practicing, Awk. (In all honesty, Darrell Pritchard (my Big Brother), says I suck.)

That's all I have. Have a great week.

Rick Neel '73

DTD at MC #35

Hello to you all,

Lots to talk about today, I have some new addresses, some new news, and some news that I have forgotten to talk about for a while now. So lets get started.

To begin with, I hope that you all have been checking our Delt Blog from time to time. Recently there have been a couple of new posts added. One from Hartsy and one from Shawn Selby. Also, for the first time there has been a comment added to an email of mine. Yippy!! It is from Hartsy and since it is the first one, I'll add it here.

Hartsy wrote:

Working on Ritual equipment as part of the spring weekend is a great idea. It could, however, be dangerous. I'm better with a golf club than a saw and hammer. (For those of you who have seen my golf game, you may think I tee off with a saw.)

I have to agree with you on that sentiment Hartsy, I think that screws should have directional arrows. Be sure to check out the Blog to see what Hartsy and Shawn have to say. Harsty is interested in setting up committees to try to see to it that our 40th anniversary is a great success as well as getting the drive for a new shelter for the undergrads underway. He is looking for volenteers or suggestions for people to serve on the committees. Shawn's post is about the Northern Division Conference that is going to be held in Columbus, Ohio in February. He has posted a link to the online registration site as well as some ideas about helping the undergrads attend. Check it out. For those of you who haven't bookmarked the site, the address is: http://mcdeltalumni.blogspot.com/

From the College website, here is some sad news for some of the older guys. The full article can be found at the college site http://www.marietta.edu/ in the alumni section.

June 12, 2006 -- Dr. Stephen W. Schwartz, who served on the faculty at Marietta College for 39 years and was affectionately known as the "Dean of Fun," died Sunday (June 11, 2006), in Brevard, N.C., after a 19-month battle with lung cancer. He was 66.

My last request for addresses of people that we are missing produced some results so I'll give you some more names today. Ken Kavula found one for us and also got some good news about our 40th!

Here's Rob's (Weidenfeld) email:

(removed for privacy reasons)

I just spent the last half hour with him on the phone and I think he'll be at our 40th!

Ken Kavula '69

Welcome Rob! I've been trying to get your email for a year or so now. I get one and find it's bad. Glad we finally found you. And I'm so glad you are going to be able to make it to our 40th anniversary.

Dave Barker sent this email in with the name of another missing brother. Thanks Dave!

I am sure JD (Jeff Dean - address below) would love to hear from you. Thanks for the "old school" talk and keeping up with everyone. This was a big part of being in the fraternity for me, the extended family and fellowship ....

Dave Barker '77

Jess Raines sent this:

Rick - lost brother John Simone was in my pledge class and transferred from MC to another university sometime in 1994, he didn't actually graduate from MC. Perhaps if he joined another chapter, central office would have his info.

Jess

Perhaps one of the undergrads can help with this one. Some of you are in contact with the International Headquarters fairly regularly. Let me know. Thanks.


Alex Kalkhofer sent the following note:

Rick,
Thank you for all these e-mails. They may seem long to non-Delts but I look forward to reading them every time I see them in my inbox.

I have posted pictures on the Delts Incircle networking site. If you haven't done so already, check out my profile (Alex Kalkhofer) to see some pictures from the house. Also this is a great service which is available to us to stay connected with our brothers as well as network with Delts everywhere. The site is http://www.incircle.delts.org/. I encourage everyone to join this and post any openings in your company for fellow Delts. For instance I am looking for an internship in a television station and would be great if I could get a job with a brother. Any how I am excited to get back to the house and jump right into what I have been doing.

Finally like you said Rick, we would love for any alumnus to stop by and hang out. Please feel more welcome than I feel in the house!

Fraternally,
Brother Kalkhofer

I think this is a great way for Delts to help other Delts in furthering their careers. I checked out the site but couldn't get it to work for me. But as I've said many time in the past, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed about computers. So maybe you'll have better luck.

Here are the new addresses that I have received this week. The address listing at our website is current as of January 9th so all of these names are there. But for those of you keeping your list updated yourself.

Steve Critchlow, Rob Weidenfeld and Geoffrey Dean.

Welcome guys! Hope that you enjoy these newsletters and please, if you have some news to share with the rest of us, do so. Hope to see you at our 40th anniversary in 2008. To the rest of you, if these guys were in your era, drop them a note to say "Hi" they'll appreciate it.

We now have 216 addresses in our address book. I think that is pretty spectuacular and soon we will have more, I'm sure. Note to Hops, Fergie, or Craig Sundstrom: How many of us are there now? How many addresses do we still have to go? Let me know will you? Thanks!

Here are some names of brothers that are still missing, if you are in contact with any of them let me know:

Peter Ross '67, Mike Stein '72, Paul Craft '73, Eric Dunsker '76, George Dee '82, Jim Bailey '88, Dan Moorman '92, Shawn Spence '98, Colin Orsini '02, Pete Campbell '06.

That's all I have for this week.

Hope you all have a great weekend,

Rick Neel '73

Get thee to Columbus!

The Northern Division Conference is in Columbus next month.

The dates are Friday, Feb. 9 through Sunday, Feb. 11.

The registration deadline is Jan. 26. You can register here.

The cost for the entire conference is $105, payable at the conference.

If you want to just go to the big dinner on Saturday evening, then the cost is $40, but you still must register online by the 26th.

The conference will be at the Westin Great Southern Hotel on South High Street. The special Delt rate to stay there is $104 plus tax per night for a room with two double beds.

The hotel, as well as the entire Westin chain is nonsmoking, which means I won’t be staying at the “host hotel.”

I have booked a suite at the Doubletree Guest Suites a couple of blocks away from the Westin. So thus I declare the Doubletree to be the official Marietta Delt Alumni Host Hotel. (Although you are welcomed to book at the Westin or anywhere else you please.)

Suites at the Doubletree range from $109 to $139 a night. The reservation link is here.

We have lots of Marietta Delt Alumni living within an hour or two of Columbus, so it would be great to get a whole bunch of us there. Even if just for the dinner.

Perhaps our Undergrads might win some REALLY BIG HUG(h)E (shields) AWARD that weekend. Maybe. Fingers have been crossed. Wood has been knocked on. Ritual animals have been sacrificed. Virgins have been tossed into volcanoes.

If you’re gonna go and stay at a hotel, and if you’d like to let some Undergrads stay in your hotel to help them cut their costs, drop Craig Sundstrom an email at sundstrc@marietta.edu.

Fraternally,
Shawn “Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Smoke” Selby ’92

Call for Nominations

In order to have a successful 40th anniversary celebration and to get the undergraduates into a better housing situation, we need some organization, and the help of brothers suited to fill spots on some newly created committees. The committees give us the needed organization (I think) and I'll take volunteers or nominations for these committees:

40th Anniversary Committee: Broadly responsible for making sure that everything is in order for a great Homecoming Weekend in 2008. Will work closely with the undergrads.

House Plans Committee: Will determine the specifics for a new shelter, working with the colege and the chapter to see what the wants and needs are, and with architects, House Corp.. and MC to see what is feasible. Obtaining blueprints for a new building is the overall goal.

Alumni Relations: Committee members will need to be the communicators among our alumni base, providing as well as receiving information from brothers regarding the Anniversary, Shelter, or anything else that may be relevant to any or all of us.

Capital Campaign: The title says it all. If possible, I would like for us to do this on our own, and have people experienced with this help out. Eric Gustafson and I have discussed this in detail, and he agreed to chair the committee. There are sources of funding outside our own alums, if we have people that know something about how to get it.

College Relations: This group will work with Marietta College to come up with an agreement about the direction of the project, work out any legal issues involved, communicate MC's concerns to alums and our concerns to them. The Chapter President and House Corp. officers fill this role now, but I would like to have someone (or more) involved so that at no time are we not in communication about this project.

I nominate Rick Neel and Sean Selby for the Alumni Relations Committee, considering they have been doing the job well enough on an informal basis. Matt Dole, you are on the 40th Anniversary Committee. No nomination, just an appointment. Thanks for accepting. I have a few others in mind. Don't be surprised to hear from me if you don't volunteer.

Post here or hit me up on a private line with any suggestions, criticisms, encouragement, or questions. Just remember, I'm Chemist not an Executive!

Fraternal Regards,

Jon "Hartsy" Hartshorn, '89
President, House Corporation

DTD at MC #34

Happy New Year!

I hope that all of you had a happy and safe New Year’s Eve. Here we are in 2007 and Marietta College is about to come back in session. This means a new team of officers are about to take control of the chapter. To all the new officers, good luck and work hard to take the chapter to even higher level.

Since a lot of you have to put in vacation requests early in the year, I thought that I would send along some Delt dates for you to consider.

Our annual golf outing is the last weekend of April. April 28th is the exact date.

Randy (Awk) Williams has pledged to be there so he can witness first hand my golf prowess. Be sure to be ready to join him in the revelry. Even if you don’t play golf, there are other things to occupy your time. Perhaps we can talk Awk into giving one of his “famous” study room dissertations, as Rick Kramer has requested. I think the working title that Rick suggested was; “Viagra, Delt Friend or Foe”

It has been suggested that it would be a good weekend for the Alumni and Undergraduates to get together to build new ritual equipment. This brings up our ongoing fundraiser. We are collecting funds to build this new equipment. Please consider a donation, any amount will help. Make your check to: Crescent Colony of Marietta Inc., send the check to Bob Ferguson at 507 Wooster St., Marietta, Ohio 45750 . Thank you!

Homecoming 2007 is October 19, 20, 21. Plan now to come back to Marietta and see all of us. Plus, on Sunday morning, the annual tackle football game between the undergrads and alumni takes place. The alumni need some new blood to extend the winning streak, some of the players are getting a bit long in the tooth.

On the same note, the tentative dates for Homecoming 2008 is October 24, 25, 26. This is the homecoming that I am focusing on. Our 40th, make plans to be there. If you have any memorabilia from your era, consider bringing it along so we can have a display.

The undergrads have told me many times, if you happen to be near Marietta at any other time of the year, stop by. They always want to see and/or meet alums.

I have heard from several guys since my last email. And as Bob Exten wrote, everyone likes to hear about the guys they went to school with, so please keep that in mind and send me notes as things happen in your lives. Or even if you just want to say “Hi”. So lets start with the notes I have received.

Peter Weiner (my little brother) sends this note:

Just want to bounce back the Season’s Greetings and wishes for Happy Holidays. Unfortunately we didn’t make the sojourne to the area this past year but if all goes well we will next year. I’ll keep you posted and hopefully we’ll be able to hook up.

Say Hey to Earl.

Peter

Did you see that note to you, Mike Lowe? Drop Peter a note. I hope to see you this sometime this year Peter. Let me know.

Lee Boveroux sent this along, and I have to say, thanks for absolving me of my screw up. We have 196 email addresses, and one snail mail address, now. I have had to break them up into 3 lists, so I must have missed him somewhere. You can get the full list at: http://www.marietta.edu/~delts/

Sorry for a late reply to your personal comment below, but apologies aren’t needed on your end. I have been getting your notes, and I appreciate them. In fact, it allowed Mike Tita to get in contact with me again, after quite some time.

Hope you continue to enjoy your holidays.

Lee

Jon Bolden sent this note:

Thanks for all your hard work with the Delt alumni update emails. Reading them is a great way to stay involved with the EU chapter and remind you that you are a Delt for life. Great work, Rick.

Brother Bolden ’05

It’s the truth, Jon. You are a Delt for life, and even if some years go by where you aren’t involved, you can pick it back up again.

Ashley Wollam sent the following, and I was really touched by it. I have no idea why the undergrads should talk about me “daily” but he did mention something that I liked. The comment about how the undergrads are learning the value of the alums. Thanks for the not Ashley.

Echoing Brother Kalkhofer, I also wanted to offer you an ardent “thank you” for all your hard work. It occurs to me that you might not be fully aware of just how much the undergraduate brothers look up to you, because even though your name is mentioned nearly everyday within the chapter house’s walls, you’re simply not around to hear it. In fact, we owe many alumni a great deal of thanks for the examples they set, as we use them to inform chapter character, policy, and practice on a regular and consistent basis.

Personally I find one of the greatest assets of Epsilon Upsilon to be its quality of legacy; we understand — or at least, are coming to understand — the immense importance of knowing where we come from in order to better understand where we are, and ultimately, where we are going. I sincerely doubt many other chapters or
organizations could make that claim, and I’m radiantly proud of my brothers (old and new, familiar and unknown) for taking this lesson to heart. Bravo on a job well one, and an example well set.

Onward,

Ashley Wollam ‘08
Guide, Epsilon Upsilon

Here is the note I mentioned earlier from Bob Exten:

Rick,
I can only support what the other brothers have said about the monumental job that you have done to revive the enthusiasm that we all shared at the Delt house in Marietta. I look forward to your e-mails, and enjoy hearing names like Bruce Miller, Ted Smith, and Lance Koved. Bruce’s recent letter was eloquent in recalling that we all were confronted with changing our attitudes about people, and calling them brother. Thanks for all your hard work.
Bob

I agree with Bob about the letter that Bruce Miller wrote, it was an important reminder of how things don’t really change except sslloowwllyy. You can read that letter, in case you missed it, at our Blog Site: http://mcdeltalumni.blogspot.com/

Shawn Selby sent this note in response to a letter from Alex Kalkofer last email.

Alex,

I have just finished editing Rick’s most recent post on the Web site.

I was pleased to read that you are undertaking an effort to restore the pledge class paddles that were damaged in the flood.

I first saw those paddles back in April at the spring alumni weekend when Ashton took me down into the basement.

It took literally every bit of strength I had not to break down and start sobbing then and there when I saw how bad they had been damaged and how some were ruined beyond repair, especially the paddles from pledge classes that were already alumni by the time I had pledged, meaning they were real “artifacts” in EU history.

I took the opportunity to help Ashton and Hunter identify pieces and parts of different paddles that we had come across, but I was totally heartbroken, especially seeing the paddle from my own Little Brother’s class so heavily damaged.

I was also angry. I was angry at the carelessness and callowness of whichever Undergrads prior to the flood had thought that it would be a good idea to store these paddles in the basement.

I was also angry that they had been forgotten about. That there had not been any attempt to retrieve them from the basement before, during or immediately after the flood.

I’m sure in your restoration work you’ve probably thought about how much less the damage would have been if they had been retrieved and restored sooner.

The irresponsibility which caused these paddles, these pieces of EU history to be damaged, to me damages Brothers’ place in EU history. I can’t imagine being one of the Brothers from the Class of 1993 and coming back into the house and seeing his pledge class paddle so damaged that his name is no longer visible on it. It is almost like he didn’t exist.

And that is a shame.

But as damaging as all of this has been, there is some good coming out of it.

It is both very mature and responsible of you to undertake a restoration.

The end result will be a measure of healing for both the affected Alumni and for the current Undergrads who are seeing that the Chapter isn’t about them, but about everyone who has come before and who will come after.

You have my deepest appreciation.

The college probably will not reimburse you. Email me the total of how much you have spent and save the receipts. You should be reimbursed by House Corp. Failing that, I will make sure you are reimbursed.

Fraternally,
Shawn Selby ‘92

I think that Shawn is being a bit harsh here. I’m sure that the brothers that stored the paddles in the basement never thought there would be a flood that bad, and when it did happen, there was a lot of other things for people to think about. It is true though that those paddles are an important part of chapter history and it is nice that they are being restored. I have seen them over the years myself and they are pretty impressive. I know it is not something that was done during my years, but it is still a special part of our history. Good luck with your project, Alex.

I didn’t receive any new email addresses this week. Any brothers that you are in contact with, please send this to them and request that they get in contact with me so I can add them to my lists.

Here are the names I need help with this week: Steve Newton ‘66, Robert Weidenfeld ‘70, Geoffrey Dean ‘77, James Berry ‘80, Adam Pyles ‘85, John Morein ‘91, John Simone ‘96, Leonard Labriola ‘03.

Sorry this is so long, have a good week and a great 2007.

Rick Neel ‘73