SAVE THE DATE – Eta Omega Chapter 35th Anniversary

Brothers,

Mark your calendars for November 11, 2017 as we will be venturing back to the home land to celebrate our Eta Omega Chapter’s 35th Anniversary at Chico State!

For those of you who attended the 25th Anniversary, you know that this will be a celebration you won’t want to miss. This time we will try not to finish our open bar tab in the first hour. Details about the event will be forth coming, but expect a classy dinner with moderately high debauchery. We will be getting a block of rooms at the OXford suites and also provide transportation to the event.

Similar to the 25th anniversary we will be launching a fundraising effort to raise $25,000. This money will be used to start a scholarship foundation through our National HQ. The foundation will allow our chapter to give out scholarships to brothers in perpetuity through the annual dividends that are earned. There will be a pledge class competition as well as an individual competition. The brother with the largest contribution will have the scholarship named after them, while the winning pledge class will receive a $500 bar tab at Riley’s. Starting a foundation has been a longtime goal of the Alumni Board’s and we are very excited to finally start pursuing its establishment.

Keep an eye out for further details!!

 

Fraternally,

John Wenger

President

Alumni Board of Eta Omega Chapter – Theta Chi Fraternity

Sun-Raising for Theta Chi

Brothers,

Are you currently looking into getting solar for your home? If so, then there’s an opportunity to also help out the Chapter.

I recently spoke with our Alumnus brother Adam Shea and we got to talking about his company SolarCity.  As I’m sure you know, SolarCity is the leading provider for clean energy in the U.S.

Brother Shea is a consultant for them and has been doing some awesome work in the San Diego area.  He recently started “Sun Raising” and is seeing amazing results so far.  He reached out to me because he wants our Alumni to benefit from this simple way to raise money.

Here’s how it works…  We give Adam names and numbers of our friends, family members, colleagues, etc. who are home owners and interested in going solar.  It could even be your own home.  Once he has names he will reach out and see if solar would be beneficial for them.  If a home owner decides to go with SolarCity Eta Omega will get $200.

I’m sure some of you have already gone solar and that is great. This is a perfect opportunity for us to start the conversation and help the people we love, trust, and care about to get a better source of energy to power their home.

So if you have any names or contacts please reach out to Adam Shea at: ashea21@gmail.com

Thanks,

John Wenger

Alumni President – Eta Omega Chapter

End of the Year Newsletter 2015

Eta Omega Alumni,

As the year comes to an end, we are happy to look back on another successful year for Theta Chi and the Eta Omega chapter. We are excited about 2016 and hopeful that our Chapter will continue its success on Chico State’s campus. The Alumni Board thanks you for your continued support of the chapter and we hope you all have a Happy New Year.

Cheers!

John Wenger

President, Eta Omega Alumni Board of Directors

Chapter Update

Our Chapter continues to function outside of the IFC board following sanctions that both the Alumni Board and National HQ Board object to. Following the disciplinary actions taken by the IFC, our National Executive Director Mike Mayer released the following statement “It is clear that the Chico State IFC is uninterested in working productively with Eta Omega Chapter of Theta Chi at this time, and that this policy discrepancy remains unresolved. Nonetheless, Theta Chi Fraternity maintains the stance described above, and thus chooses to function beyond IFC participation.” With Chico State’s President Paul Zingg retiring in the Spring, we are hopeful that the newly appointed President will work constructively with our Chapter and the Greek community.

Regardless of the school’s actions, 2015 was a great year for the brothers of Eta Omega. With roughly 70 to 80 active members, our Chapter continues to be the largest and most influential on campus. Since the fall semester did not include any sanctions from the school, the Chapter was finally able to have socials for the first time in over a year and it was a big success. In November they were also able to have  their annual retreat and conduct a philanthropy prompting the USO, which is a new philanthropic partnership through National HQ. The Chapter is excited to be able to be involved with the community again and show the school and community what Theta Chi Eta Omega is about, “lending a helping hand”.

Going into next year there is no doubt that the Chapter will continue to get stronger.

Current Status of the House

Seven years ago the Alumni Board of Directors (BOD) and Chapter embarked on a multi-phase project that included a renovation of the President’s Cottage, and a full upgrade to the Chapter House.

As some of you may remember, we were able to raise $20,000 in 2007 during our 25th Anniversary Alumni Event to remodel the cottage. With the help of Brothers Eric Sondeno and Jim Hull, we were able to completely remodel the cottage over the summer months. The next year, a new roof was installed on the Chapter House to address an immediate threat of water leaks into the house thanks to a generous donation of materials from Brother Brian Flournoy.

In 2009 we began the two-phased approach to remodeling the entire fraternity house. In the first phase, thanks to the tremendous efforts of Tom Hyatt and Jeremy Reither we were able to refinance the Chapter House’s existing mortgage of $176,000 while also securing a $194,743 loan to redesign and renovate the basement, foundation, and 1st floor of the house.

In 2013 we began the process of applying for an additional loan to refinance our existing mortgage and remodel the remainder of the house. It took the Alumni BOD a full year to complete the 110 page loan application, but in the end we succeeded in refinancing $300,000 of our mortgage and securing an $180,250 loan to remodel the second and third floor. I’m happy to report that as of August 2014, the House Remodel Project, led by Jeremy Reither and Thomas Hyatt, has been completed.

Pictures of the newly remodeled house can be found here.

What we need to do

None of this progress would have been possible without contributions from our outstanding Alumni members. I know many of you are homeowners and know the work is never truly done.

The basement is in need of weatherproofing and the cottage is due for serious maintenance.  We cannot let all of the hard work that has gone into restoring the Chapter House go to waste. In addition to ongoing costs to the house, the Alumni BOD is working to setup a Foundation through the university to provide scholarships to deserving members. So brothers, I ask you, who’s ready to extend a helping hand?!! Below is how you can help in making our Chapter the strongest it’s ever been.

There are two ways to donate:

First, we are (re)introducing The 1981 Club. Membership is simple: commit to an automated monthly donation of $19.81 a month. This small monthly donation will go a long way in helping to cover the costs of maintaining the beautiful new Chapter House and support our vision of setting up a lasting Foundation. To setup a reoccurring account please visit the following link:

MAKE A RECURRING DONATION OF $19.81 A MONTH

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT RECURRING DONATION OF $19.81 A MONTH ENTER $19.81 AS THE AMOUNT CLICK THE BOX THAT SAYS “MAKE THIS A REOCCURING PAYMENT”

Second, if you do not want to setup a account we are also asking for one-time donations that can be made through PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account you can set one up here: https://www.paypal.com/signup/account. Once you have setup an account you can either submit a payment to the alum.board@etaomega.org for any amount you wish. Or you can click on the link below.

MAKE A ONE-TIME DONATION

We have come so far as a Chapter and the only way to continue to grow as a chapter is through alumni support. Thank you all for your continued support!!

Upcoming Events

It is still a little early, but we would like to put on everyone’s radar that the Chapter will be celebrating its 35th Anniversary in 2017. Be on the look out for a save the date for a huge Alumni party in our old stomping grounds.

The 33rd annual Giants OX Alumni game is scheduled for Saturday, June 11th versus the LA Dodgers. Check the Facebook page for updates and details on this year’s game. The 32nd annual OX Giants game was a huge success, thanks to Brother Joe Silva and David Markham. The brothers of Eta Omega have been attending an annual SF Giants game since 1984. This year’s game was attended by nearly 30 brothers from a variety of pledge classes.

Here’s a post from Joe ‘The Jet’ with some info:

The Giants will be hoping for some more “even year” luck in 2016 and this time we’re putting our 20-12 record on the line against the Bums from SoCal. Yes, Giants/Dodgers at the OX Game.

I have purchased 50 tickets this year and I’m challenging you mags to not make me sell them on Stub Hub! There isn’t any reason we can’t get 50 guys to a Saturday game with the Dodgers.

I’m trying something a little different this year in terms of price. I’m only charging $55, basically what I paid for the tickets. I’m asking guys to throw in something extra to pay for beer and food if you are able to. Whatever you think is right. Remember, the extra goes to the alumni board for improvements to the house.

The game time hasn’t been set yet, but I would think the Giants/Dodgers is likely to make it on the Fox schedule so it will probably be a day game, 1:05 start.

Game: Giants versus Dodgers
Date: Saturday June 11
Seat Location: CF Bleachers.
Party Time: TBA
Game Time: TBA
Where: Parking Lot D

Food: Salame will be providing great eats again this year the food alone is worth the cost of the ticket!

Cost: $55, basically what I paid for the tickets. Please throw in something extra to pay for beer and food if you are able to. Whatever you think is right.

I only purchased 50 tickets. Let’s make this the biggest OX game in years.”

Special Thanks

Last but not least, I’d like to give a special thanks to my Alumni Board: CJ Scott (Vice President), Zach Fairris (Secretary), and RC Berry (Active Relations). I’d also like to thank Jeremy Reither who recently stepped down from his Treasurer position after 10 years! Without Reither our Chapter house and finances would not be where they are today. Thanks Reither for keeping the Chapter alive!

If anyone is interested in joining the Board and giving back please don’t hesitate to contact me: jwenger15@gmail.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR BROTHERS!!!

OX Chapter Update

Brothers,

I wanted to give you a quick update on the Chapter as the 2015-16 school year is officially underway. As some of you may know, our chapter (with the support of National) has temporarily left the school IFC due to some unreasonable actions/sanctions that were placed on the Chapter by the school. National HQ’s official response to the school’s action is as follows:

“It is clear that the Chico State IFC is uninterested in working productively with Eta Omega Chapter of Theta Chi at this time, and that this policy discrepancy remains unresolved. Nonetheless, Theta Chi Fraternity maintains the stance described above, and thus chooses to function beyond IFC participation.”

We are not alone, there are a few other large fraternities that have taken the same action. We are currently exploring the idea of forming an off-campus IFC between Theta Chi, Sigma Chi, and some other fraternities that have already removed themselves from the school. We are not fully off-campus and disaffiliated with the school right now, but we are operating outside of the school at this moment. This is all being weighed along with the recent news that Chico State President Paul Zingg will be retiring next year. This could offer a new opportunity to start a dialogue with the school and go back on campus. National and the Alumni Board will be actively engaging with the school once a new President is selected. A friend of mine who is on the selection committee was Greek so hopefully that may help with the selection.

As far as current Chapter activity, below is a short report we received from the active chapter on what is coming up for them in October.

“October is looking to be a great month for the brothers of Eta Omega. This semester we are not facing any sanctions from the school, and we were finally able to have our first T-shirt dance in over a year and it was a big success. Coming up this month we have our annual retreat, the Monster Mash dance, and a philanthropy prompting the USO. We will be painting and carving pumpkins in America theme which we plan to sell on campus to donate to our troops for the holidays. We will also be hosting an philanthropy open to ev everyone where we will carve pumpkins and deliver them to the local hospitals and community centers to celebrate the holiday spirit. We are excited to be able to be involved with the community again and show the school and community what Theta Chi Eta Omega has to offer everyone. We hope everyone has a great month and we will continue to keep you updated with our accomplishments and our upcoming events.”

I would be remiss if I did not also remind you all that our Alumni Board is still trying to raise money to continue to improve our Chapter house and our legacy at Chico State. Here is a link to our fundraising information (Fundraising Page). Any and all help is much appreciated. Also, if you have not seen pictures of the improvements we have made so far, here is a hyperlink to the photos (Final House Remodel Photos).

If there are any questions or concerns regarding the Chapter, or if any of the links I provided do not work, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or my Board (Alum.Board@etaomega.org)

Fraternally,
John Wenger
President, Eta Omega Alumni Board of Directors
(916) 690-0675
Jwenger15@gmail.com

Update on Eta Omega and the University

Brothers,

As some of you may know, we’ve had some ongoing issues with the school for over a year now. The Alumni Board and National representatives have been in constant contact with the school, chapter and with each other.

The original charge against our chapter was around an alleged incident where the Greek Adviser witnessed someone carry an 18 pack through the side yard of our fraternity house. We appealed the charge through the IFC and were denied. While on social probation our chapter violated the terms of the probation by taking a trip to Tahoe. Unfortunately, the punishment that was handed down was a suspension that was beyond what we (the board) and National deemed acceptable. Our active chapter (in consultation with the board and National) submitted a detailed proposal to the IFC of immediate actions we took to improve the chapter. We also accepted all provisions of the suspension with the exception of one provision that barred our chapter from recruitment. National NIC standards state that no punishment shall include a prohibition against recruitment. Our National chapter follows these standards. The Alumni Board and National chapter informed the school that we would abide by the suspension, but would not be following that specific provision of the suspension. As a result, our Chapter recruited members in the Spring and was subsequently suspended from the IFC for a year (**not the School). In response, our National chapter sent a letter to the IFC and the school. If you’d like to read the letter please email me directly, but in sum it says:

“It is clear that the Chico State IFC is uninterested in working productively with Eta Omega Chapter of Theta Chi at this time, and that this policy discrepancy remains unresolved. Nonetheless, Theta Chi Fraternity maintains the stance described above, and thus chooses to function beyond IFC participation.”

We will keep you updated on any new developments with the school. National and the Alumni Board have put safeguards in place to ensure our chapter will continue to abide by strict conduct standards and we will continue to thrive with or without the school. We are still the top house on campus and our active chapter is comprised of great individuals. I have full confidence that they will continue to grow for years to come.

If there are any questions or concerns regarding our situation please feel free to reach me at jwenger15@gmail.com.

Fraternally,

John Wenger
President – Eta Omega Alumni Board of Directors
(916) 690-0675

 

Eta Omega Chapter Update – Fundraising Needed

Alumni Brothers,

First off I would like to say Happy New Year to you and your families. As we enter into 2015, I couldn’t be more proud of our Theta Chi Chapter at Chico State. The amount of progress we have made over the past 10 years has been tremendous. Currently our chapter has around 70 active members, which is the largest on campus. We also now have the best fraternity house on campus thanks to Alumni support and the hard work of the Alumni Board in securing two very sizable loans through our National chapter.

 

What we’ve done

Seven years ago the Alumni Board of Directors (BOD) and Chapter embarked on a multi-phase project that included a renovation of the President’s Cottage, and a full upgrade to the Chapter House.

As some of you may remember, we were able to raise $20,000 in 2007 during our 25th Anniversary Alumni Event to remodel the cottage. With the help of Brothers Eric Sondeno and Jim Hull, we were able to completely remodel the cottage over the summer months. The next year, a new roof was installed on the Chapter House to address an immediate threat of water leaks into the house thanks to a generous donation of materials from Brother Brian Flournoy.

In 2009 we began the two-phased approach to remodeling the entire fraternity house. In the first phase, thanks to the tremendous efforts of Tom Hyatt and Jeremy Reither we were able to refinance the Chapter House’s existing mortgage of $176,000 while also securing a $194,743 loan to redesign and renovate the basement, foundation, and 1st floor of the house.

In 2013 we began the process of applying for an additional loan to refinance our existing mortgage and remodel the remainder of the house. It took the Alumni BOD a full year to complete the 110 page loan application, but in the end we succeeded in refinancing $300,000 of our mortgage and securing an $180,250 loan to remodel the second and third floor. I’m happy to report that as of August 2014, the House Remodel Project, led by Jeremy Reither and Thomas Hyatt, has been completed.

Pictures of the newly remodeled house can be found here:

Final House Remodel Photos

What we need to do

None of this progress would have been possible without contributions from our outstanding Alumni members. I know many of you are homeowners and know the work is never truly done.

The basement is in need of weatherproofing and the cottage is due for serious maintenance.  We cannot let all of the hard work that has gone into restoring the Chapter House go to waste. In addition to ongoing costs to the house, the Alumni BOD is working to setup a Foundation through the university to provide scholarships to deserving members. So brothers, I ask you, who’s ready to extend a helping hand?!! Below is how you can help in making our Chapter the strongest it’s ever been.

There are two ways to donate:

First, we are (re)introducing The 1981 Club. Membership is simple: commit to an automated monthly donation of $19.81 a month. This small monthly donation will go a long way in helping to cover the costs of maintaining the beautiful new Chapter House and support our vision of setting up a lasting Foundation. To setup a reoccurring account please visit the following link:

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU ENTER $19.81 AS THE AMOUNT AND CLICK THE BOX THAT SAYS “MAKE THIS A REOCCURING PAYMENT”


Second, if you do not want to setup a reoccurring account we are also asking for one-time donations that can be made through PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account you can set one up here: https://www.paypal.com/signup/account. Once you have setup an account you can either submit a payment to the alum.board@etaomega.org for any amount you wish. Or you can click on the link below.

 




We have come so far as a Chapter and the only way to continue to grow as a chapter is through alumni support. Thank you all for your continued support!! Good to be Theta Chi, better to be Eta Omega!!

 

Fraternally,

John Wenger

President, Eta Omega Alumni Board of Directors

Jwenger15@gmail.com

 

2nd & 3rd Floors and Exterior Remodel Complete

7 years ago, in 2007, we started this house remodel project with the back cottage (photos), then in 2009 we did the main house’s 1st floor interior (“Phase 1” photos). And in the Summer of 2014 we completed the 2nd and 3rd floors and exterior remodel (“Phase 2”). This 110+ year old house now looks better than it has since we have occupied it.

We used loan funds to complete the Phase 1 remodel, and after we paid off one of the two loans we took out for that project we began the process of refinancing our primary mortgage to fun Phase 2. In June, 2014 the work began (led by General Contractor, John Bakke of Chico Home Improvement, and our Alumni Project Manager, Tom Hyatt). It was completed by end of August in time for undergrads to move in for the Fall semester.

The floor plan on the 2nd and 3rd floors (attic) has completely changed. For example, rather than than some bedrooms having their own bathrooms, everyone on the 2nd floor shares one main bathroom (4 sinks, 3 showers) and one half bath. Also there is a good sized ‘living room’ on the 2nd floor now, looking out toward 5th street.

630 W 5th St - August, 2014
630 W 5th St – August, 2014 (as construction was finishing; letters added later)

Alumni Weekend Reminder & State of the Chapter

Alumni Weekend Reminder

With Alumni Weekend coming up next week, it seems appropriate to send out an update on the “State of the Chapter” from the Active Chapter (see below). For all of you who are heading to Chico, remember to be smart and safe (if you’re going to drink, do so responsibly and stay away from the Chapter House), and have fun.

State of the Chapter

by Daniel Stellini – Chapter President

We’ve had a few challenges this year related to the Campus-wide Greek Life suspension, but our Chapter has been very successful in overcoming this major obstacle and keeping our brotherhood strong. After receiving a very good score on our presentation to the administration and complying with all the reinstatement guidelines our chapter was one of the first to be re-recognized by the school administration. We have had a huge success with recruitment taking in a class of 30 new members. Our current Chapter has 70 active members keeping us in the “top house” position with the largest IFC chapter on campus.

We continue to hold a very strong relationship with the community and other organizations on campus such as CAVE (Community Action Volunteers in Education) and CADEC (Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center.) We also have a few members that are part of CLIC (Campus Legal Information Center) who have made great leaps in raising the standards of our chapter as well as holding all other chapters accountable for their actions. We also continue to work with many other Greek organizations to do large community cleanups. We have also kept our sports teams competitive, taking the championship in football and softball last semester.

Our Chapter morale is high and we are motivated to do whatever it takes to keep our good standing with CSU, Chico. I am looking forward to another great year.

Chapter Exceeds All IFC, All Mens, All Undergraduate GPA’s

Congratulations to our undergraduates who were honored with some scholastic recognition from the University recently:

I am pleased to inform you that Theta Chi earned a 2.737 cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) for spring 2012. In so doing, your chapter has exceeded the Following GPAS during the spring 2012 semester:

GPA Statistics for Spring 2012

  1. All IFC Chapter GPA: 2.659
  2. All Men’s Undergraduate GPA: 2.59
  3. All Undergraduate GPA: 2.70

The full letter, from the Student Activities department of the University is below.