DTD at MC #49

Good afternoon everyone,

I have had a couple of volunteers to help locate our missing brothers, and ironically both stepped forward the same day. "Smitty" Smith and "Gib" Gibson both have volunteered to attempt to locate our missing brothers from the 1990s. Good luck guys, and thank you very much for stepping up.

I'm still looking for volunteers to look for the missing from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and the ’00s. Let me know if you are able to help.

Joe Mester sent me a note saying he is going to try to get in touch with a couple of ex-presidents.

Rick,

After reading your most recent e-mail I went in the basement and located a 1995 Delta Tau Delta Directory that I bought (I guess back in 1995), and looked up the 1995 addresses for Mark Russell and Ken Weaver. I then did a white pages search for them on the MSN internet site. I found matching addresses (which I guess means they haven't moved in the last 12 years).

(Contact information removed for privacy reasons.)

The 1995 directory lists Mark as a dairy farmer and Ken as a wrestling coach. When we had the 25th anniversary I called Mark to encourage him to attend but he couldn't get away from the cows. I would believe his situation would not have changed. So getting him to come to the 40th will probably not occur. I will call both and get e-mail addresses from them to at least get them in the e-mail loop.

DTD national could be a good resource for a print-out of EU Alumni members addresses (and other information) currently on file. It might require a vice-pres authorization (and hopefully at no cost).

If you need me to look up others that were established alumni in 1995 send me a note.

Joe

Thanks Joe, let me know what you find out, will you? Also, any of you that live in Maine or the Cleveland area that can, give the guys a call and say "Hi" and let them know we are looking for them.

Speaking of finding lost Brothers, we also had the good fortune of having a lost Brother find us. Just before graduation, Al Mason '68, one of our founders stopped by the Chapter house and spent some time visiting with the undergrads. That is great news, welcome back Al!

Here is the note I got from Hunter Jonsson with the information about Al as well as an update on him and his new job. Thanks Hunter, and good luck in Houston!

Hey Rick,

I do have the address for Al Mason. I apologize for not sending it right away, I had planned on emailing him myself but then finals came and graduation and the The Move. I should have just expedited right to you.

Anyhow, I'm sure Andy gave you the low down, but apparently Mr. Mason has had zero contact with the Chapter (or the school) and just happened to be driving by Marietta on I-77 and thought he would drop in. I know Andy mentioned the 40th but I don't know if he mentioned the Blog, Web site or newsletter.

(Contact information remove for privacy reasons.)

His little brother is Joe Ferrell (unconfirmed).

I hope you are excited about your move. I'm looking forward to visiting Marietta and seeing the folks in the community that I have missed, and I'm glad you will be joining those folks. As for me, I'm just about settled in The Woodlands, Texas, a suburb of Houston and I start work with Weatherford on Monday. It will nice to finally have a paycheck coming in!

Take care Rick and sorry again for the delay.

Hunter

P.S. - I don't know if Hops mentioned it, but www.mcdelts.org will also get you to the Chapter homepage now.

Did you notice the new link to get to the Chapter Web site? Hops keeps moving our site forward, we are lucky to have him, be sure to check it out. The password to access the address list and the Chapter meeting minutes is: (Removed. Contact the Chapter or Rick Neel for the password.)

I got a couple of emails from Shawn Selby concerning the stories we are requesting for the 40th.

I just did a post on the Blog about what I'm looking for in terms of the Delt stories.

He also sent me a response to my question about whether he had gotten any thing yet. So please start to think about what you have to share. Make note that he will quit taking stories in November, 2007.

No, haven't gotten anything. And that's why I decided to do a separate post giving some instructions. We really hadn't said anything other than "send us your stories" without any guidance on what exactly to do. So now that that's spelled out, hopefully we'll get some.

(Honestly, I hadn't really thought about what I wanted until your last email, and then I thought I needed to get off my butt and give some structure to the idea.)

In a few weeks I'll write and post my "story" as an example and that will be another way to encourage everyone. Hey, write up a story and we can post that one too as another example :-)

Plus, you should probably link to the post in your next email and give some more encouragement. Maybe even tell everyone not to be afraid of my editing techniques lol!

Please don't be afraid of what he will do to your story, he really doesn't draw blood when he edits. He does all of mine when they hit the Blog! (And I have to admit that they are improved.)

Matt Dole tells me that he is going to get in touch with the administration and firm up the dates for the 2008 Homecoming weekend. I don't know what Hartsy has with you either, but you tell us, is his comment deserved?

Hey Rick,

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you're on track to return to Marietta. The Walgreen's construction is causing havoc with my favorite Chinese restaurant in town, but I won't hold you responsible for that.

I'll check with the folks at the college on the date for Homecoming, I assume they have it firmed up by now and I will let you know.

As for Hartsy's email, I just wanna know why that guy doesn't like me!

msd

I got some financial information from Fergie the other day. I'm going to include it here so you can see how we sit financially.

Financial numbers:
Checking: $750
Savings: $1,000
CD $5,600

He also sent me some information for an Alumni Development Conference, for people who are interested in volunteering to work with the fraternity. It is very low cost so if you are interested in going, contact Tim Nelson at International headquarters: delts@delts.net.

Another item for guys who want to get involved in the Fraternity is the John W. Fisher Alumni Development Conference. This year in Cincy on Aug 10-12. All expenses are paid except for $49. This would be something you might want to participate in this year or next year. If interested, you can still register by July 21, 2007. Tim Nelson is the guy in charge.

Fergie also tells me that he and Nick Aylward went to a leadership conference in May. Glad to know that it is helpful, and that the money the fratenity gets is put to a positive use.

I don't know if I told you or not that Nick Aylward, president of the Chapter, and I went to Indianapolis for the Presidents and Chapter Advisors in May. It was very helpful and helped with communications between the two of us. Well done but very concentrated.

I also got an updated address from Andy Byers. To all of you new alumni, when you pick your new address please be sure to remember us here. And your snail mail address to Hops!

That's all I have for this time, have a good week.

Rick Neel '73

In which Shawn becomes a Godfather

I'm please to announce, somewhat belatedly, the birth of my Godson and future Delt Mykai Pierce Alvin.

He was born July 9, weighing 7 pounds, 4.7 ounces, and measuring 20.5 inches long.

Mykai Pierce and his parents are healthy and doing well.



-- Shawn "Make me an offer I can't refuse" Selby '92

The EU anthology

Rick has mentioned a couple of times that I’m looking to compile a booklet of Brothers’ stories about their Undergraduate days with the Chapter.

This is my goal: To write a comprehensive history of the Chapter’s early days paired with first-person stories spanning all 40 years of Epsilon Upsilon.

To accomplish the first part, I’m going to be contacting and interviewing our founding members. But for the second part, I’ll need the help of everyone who is willing to participate by sharing a story.

Here are some guidelines that I think will be helpful for everyone, including myself:

1. Your story should be about one event or memory. Don’t try to sum up your four years of Undergrad Delt life. Pick your favorite memory and write about it.

2. Be as descriptive and as specific as possible in recounting the memory or story you wish to share. For example: Saying it happened in April of 1977 is better than saying it happened during the spring semester of 1977. Also, be mindful that places have changed or no longer exist. Say what they were. Example: “I lived in Putnam Hall, which was a large freshman dorm at the corner of Putnam and Seventh streets.”

3. We are all entitled to our histories and we shouldn’t whitewash them, but if your story does involve recounting something that would be embarrassing or harmful today to another Brother or Brothers, please seek their permission first.

4. I’m not going to set a limit on length. It can be as long or as short as it needs to be.

5. If you aren’t a writer, that’s OK. No one expects you to be. I’ll be editing what you write in order to help you tell your story. I’ll be asking you questions and giving you feedback. Don’t sweat the small stuff: I’ll clean up misspellings and bad grammar.

6. Submission: The best way to do this will be for you to write your story in Microsoft Word and email the file to me at sselby@crain.com. Put “Delt story” in the message line.

7. And finally, deadline: I will stop accepting stories on Nov. 1.

I hope that helps explain what we are looking to do and what our expectations are for this project. I’m really looking forward to reading your stories. Please write one. Your Brothers will appreciate reading them, too.

Oh, and if you have a background in journalism or literary stuff and would like to help with the editing of all this, please let me know! I am not Hell-bent on doing this by myself.

Now for the nasty-but-necessary stuff: Your submissions will become property of the Crescent Colony of Marietta Inc., which will serve as the owner of the copyright. I reserve the right, on behalf of CCoM Inc., to reject or edit any submission for whatever reason or reasons I deem necessary.

You also agree to give us your first born child, your Social Security Number and access to all your bank accounts .... blah blah blah.

— Shawn “Just sign here” Selby ‘92

DTD at MC #48

Hello everyone,

It has been a while since I have written anything and I don't know where to start with this. So let's start out and see where we get.

On a personal note, I have closed on my house in Marietta. So I will be moving home as soon as the new Walgreen's is ready to open. I'm getting pretty excited about it, so I hope that nothing happens to delay the move. At present, it is supposed to be the first of the year. To all of you in the Marietta area, I'm looking forward to seeing you. My new address will be **removed for privacy reasons** Stop by to see me when I get there.

Hartsy sent me a note concerning my move:

Hi Rick,
Good to hear you’ll be in Marietta again. You can help Ferg keep Dole out of trouble.

Enjoy that dry Arizona heat while you still can. Then again, ovens are dry, and they cook turkeys!!!
JH

I don't know about keeping Dole out of trouble, you have probably noticed that Ferg is white-headed, I suspect that came from Dole. Concerning the Arizona heat, my air conditioner died yesterday, so I had to replace it with only about 4 months to go before I leave. Pissed me off, that was $250 that I didn't want to have to spend.

Shortly after I sent out my last email, I got a letter that kind of upset me. It was from Genworth Life Insurance Co. wanting to sell me long term care insurance. The mail was covered by a note from Jim Russell of our International Headquarters. I wrote to Jim asking for the reasoning behind this. He responded with the Fraternity's thinking. I will include our conversation here:

Hello Jim,

Today in the mail I received something that was of major concern to me. It was a letter from Genworth Life Insurance Co. wanting to sell me long-term care insurance. This letter had a cover sheet with your signature. Now granted, this is a service that I may need to consider in the future, and the price for it is skyrocketing out of control.

However, I find it very disconcerting to think that DTD would sell my address to anyone, for any reason. I don't think that this action fits very well with the "Four Fundemental Principals of Delta Tau Delta." Specifically Faith. I have faith that DTD will protect my privacy.

If this is a policy of DTD to help generate revenue to help the Fraternity in it's mission, I feel it is short-sighted. However, if necessary, I would like to request that my name and address not be released for this purpose in the future.

Fraternally,
Rick Neel,
Marietta College '73

Jim's response:

Rick,
Yes, the Fraternity does share its mailing list with selected vendors on a very limited basis. It has done so for several years, just as college and university alumni associations do. This is also true for professional associations and other membership groups.

The Arch Chapter has reviewed, given its approval and delegated this responsibility to the Central Office staff under the direction of the executive vice president. Delta Tau Delta works with a third-party source, Affinity Marketing, which also represents a number of other national fraternities and sororities. Affinity Marketing reviews and screens prospective vendors for Delta Tau Delta and we provide final approval. Only those vendors who meet the required criteria are accepted. Obviously, there are some vendor categories deemed not to be appropriate at all by Delta Tau Delta and other fraternal clients.

The revenue derived from this partnership goes to the Delta Tau Delta General Fund which helps to support the programming needs of the Fraternity. We believe this is a reasonable trade-off and has not been viewed negatively by our members. In the 5+ years I have served as the executive vice president, I believe you are only the second alumnus member to express concern about this practice directly to me.

Please be assured we will continue to conduct this program with care and respect to our members. Per your request, I also will ask that your name be deleted from future solicitations from outside the Fraternity.

Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention.

Fraternally,
Jim Russell

My return to Jim:

Jim,
Thank you so very much for your response and explanation of the use of the Delt mailing list. I also appreciate your willingness to remove my name from said uses.

With your permission, I would like to include my email to you and your response in my next email (and subsequent posting on our Blog-http://mcdeltalumni.blogspot.com/).

With your help a couple of years ago and MC Delts forwarding addresses to me, we have developed an email address book of over 200 EU brothers, which is about 65% of the membership.

We are making plans for our 40th anniversary on the Marietta campus which will occur in October of 2008, and I would like to invite you to Marietta for the occasion. We are anticipating quite a turnout for the weekend.

I hope you can work us into your schedule.

Fraternally,
Rick Neel

Jim responded thusly:

Rick:
You are most welcome to include my response to you in your blog as you see fit.

I look forward to being in Marietta in October 2008 for the chapter's 40th anniversary. There will be plenty to celebrate.

Fraternally,
Jim

So there you have it. And I hope that you all noticed that Jim Russell will be joining us in Marietta for our 40th anniversary. Please come and introduce yourselves to him, he is a super individual and a great example of what a Delt should be.

Speaking of our 40th Anniversary, Matt have you gotten a firm date from the college yet? Seems to me that we were waiting for the OAC meetings that are scheduled for this summer to firm up the date. Check on that for us will you? Thanks.

As I wrote in email #47 we are still looking for people to contact brothers and encourage them to come to the festivities. Also, please send your stories to Shawn Selby, so he can get the booklet together. This is what I wrote last time:

Plans are beginning to shape up for our 40th anniversary. If there is
anything special that any of you would like to see included in the weekend, please let me know.

I'm looking for volunteers to get in personal contact with all of us. My thinking is that one or two people could get together and chase down all of the brothers in a given 1/2 decade. For instance, someone for the 60's, someone for 1970-1974, someone for 1975-1979, and so on. Please don't be shy, step forward and volunteer.

Also, don't forget to send your stories and memories to Shawn Selby sselby@crain.com for inclusion in the booklet he is working on for that weekend. Time is running out, remember, it takes time to put that type of thing together.

One of the things that we are kicking around is to rent the Valley Gem Sternwheeler for a night. We can keep the price reasonable if there is enough interest, but we feel that we should get a feeling from the group as far as interest. Please let me know what your feelings are.

On the same lines, we are 40 years old now so we have people on all ends of the economic spectrum, what do you feel is a budget that we can all live with for this event? Please let me know what your feelings are on this also.

Some news from our brothers; Craig Sundstrom sent me the following note, please check it out. It is pretty special that two Delts got to make Jewett Orations at the same Commencement.

Hey Rick,
Just wanted to let you know that both Dan May's and my own Jewett Commencement orations are posted on the school's Web site. It was definitely a treat to share the stage with a Delt brother at the ceremony.

As soon as I know my new contact e-mail for law school, I'll be in touch. I hope all is well.

Fraternally,
Craig Sundstrom '07

Richard Wolf sent me the following note, I wanted to point out that when we get older, we have to switch to Lite beer so we can keep our gut hidden!

Hey you old poop!!!! Have you relocated to Marietta yet?

Just checking in with you ... have a couple of things to update you on but meanwhile I am out with friends on lovely Lake Hamilton working on polishing off a 30-pack of icy cold Miller Lite.

Holler at me if you get a chance.

Richard

He hasn't sent me the update yet (perhaps it was the Miller Lite???) but he did let me know how his wife and daughters were doing:

Rick:
Running this business has been a 24/7 challenge ... not much playtime the last 2 years.

Sarah received her Master's and is employed as a Human Resources Generalist at a hospital in Waterbury, CT.

Megan will be a junior in the fall but is leaving for Australia on July 10 to do her first semester at a university in Perth; should be home mid-December. She is also studying for the MCAT which she will take this Friday.

Patsy is the rock ... 28 years on July 28.

Thanks for asking ... Very anxious to see you again at some point in the future ...

Richard

That's pretty special, 28 years of marriage. Congratulations to the 2 of you! May you make it another 28.

I got the following note from Dave Silverstein giving me an address change. Bruce Miller also sent me a new address. Be sure to update them in your records, and I hope I sent them to you Hops, if not you have them now! We didn't get any new addresses this time, so I'll throw some new ones at you. Help me out if you can.

Please change my e-mail address to **removed**

Thanks,
Dave Silverstein '79

BAM's new address is: **removed** He is also in contact with Ric Gough and is working on getting us his address. Don't forget Bruce!

All right then, that is all the news that I have for this week. Here are some names for you to try to locate for me. Remember, we need them for the anniversary. This week I am giving the names of the past presidents that we are missing. Help me out with them will you?

Mark Russell '74, Ken Weaver '75, Jeffrey Myers '81, Duke Weller '82, Steven Bennett '84, Adam Pyles '85, Jeff Gardner '86, and Mike Conaty '89.

Have a good week and come see me in Marietta next year!

Rick Neel '73