Author: oxetaomega

Fall 2009 Post Rush Report from the Chapter

From new chapter president, Dustin Pesch…

“Brothers,

Last week from September 14th to September 18th Chico State IFC held rush for Fall 2009. After several weeks of planning and preparation the semesters Recruitment Chair, Bret DeAlva managed to put on a very successful rush. With the help of this year’s exec board and new incentive systems both positive and negative, brother turn out was the best it has been in a few semesters.

When the week finally concluded the brothers of Eta Omega chose to extend 15 bids. All but one was accepted.  Four more guys were unable to pledge according to Chico State IFC because they were “unregistered” in an online system made to verify GPA requirement. Despite being eligible and registered the system showed the four guys as unregistered with IFC. Last Spring we came across the same problem and IFC let it slide, but for some reason this semester they refused to compromise.

As of right now Eta Omega’s newest pledge class, Beta Lambda, has nine members. One guy dropped last night due to financial reasons, but said he will be out next semester. For the brothers who are not aware after the Matt Carrington hazing incident in 2005, Chico IFC does not allow freshmen to pledge in the fall. This means that fall pledge classes normally number from five to ten guys on average. However we are expecting around twenty to thirty pledges next semester, which would bring the number of new members for the 2009/2010 school year above thirty-five guys, and the total chapter size to about 90 active members. The chapter is very optimistic and excited for our newest pledge class. We are positive that we have obtained the most elite group of men that were looking to join the Greek system.

Dustin Pesch
President
Theta Chi, Eta Omega Chapter”

1st Floor Remodel Complete

I haven’t seen the place myself, but these photos make it look like a sorority moved in. In a good way. The remodel was so extensive it’s hard to recognize the place in some of these shots. Again, that is a good thing.

This wasn’t just some superficial interior remodel – the 1st floor was totally gutted, the foundation was jacked up and leveled, a fire sprinkler system was installed – major work. Big thanks to our general contractor, John Bakke of Chico Home Improvement, Reese McClure who did the tiling, architect Greg Peitz, and the brothers at the Norwich Housing Corporation for helping see this project through.

Plenty of work left to do on the rest of the house, but Phase 1 is complete. Phase 2 (2nd floor, attic, exterior, etc.) is doable, but we need donations to help fund it.

Photos from the completed 1st floor remodel:
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/reither/sets/72157622239677105/show

House Remodel Nearing Completion – More Photos

Click to View More Photos from the Job Site These photos from last week show how close the remodel work is to completion…really close. And it’s looking pretty good. Check out the custom red and white shower tiles.

Right at this moment the work is actually very close to done…even more than these photos show. Undergrads have moved back to the house to start school…and that will be the real test of the quality of construction.

Photos from “work nearing completion”:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reither/sets/72157622218683362/show/

We’re already talking to National about “phase 2” of the remodel where we plan to re-do the rest of the house (2nd floor, attic, basement, and exterior). The deal is, we have to come up with some of the money ourselves (through donations)…here’s your chance to help: donate now

Much Needed Fraternity House Remodel Underway

Click to View More Photos from the Job SiteIf you have been by 5th and Ivy in Chico recently you may have seen the boards on the windows of the house, and maybe you noticed that some interior walls and whatnot were missing. No, the house is not condemned – we’re actually doing a remodel. We submitted a ‘successful’ loan application to National this year – and after a bunch of back and forth, dotting i’s and crossing t’s, we wer approved for a ~$470,000 loan (some of which is being used to remodel the 1st floor and make life safety improvements).

Slideshow of photos from “work in progress”:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reither/sets/72157621963800052/show/

Check back for more pics as the work progresses. The house will be ready for move-in by August 15, but finishing work will continue into the fall semester…so it’ll be a little while before it’s all polished.

This is how we’re using the funds:

  • Payoff existing 11% mortgage (yes, 11%) from Gary Foster and 5th & Ivy Partners: ~$175,000
  • Life safety repairs (including foundation leveling, new doors & locks, sprinklers, fire alarms, rain gutters, etc.): ~$65,000
  • Remodel 1st Floor interior and some exterior (including full kitchen, functional living room, real dining room (red and white room), new windows and doors, remodel 1st floor bedrooms and bathrooms and (this is pretty cool) extending the main staircase to the basement: ~$230,000

Here’s the catch: we obviously have to pay this money back…it’s a loan, not a grant. Overall our monthly expenses will go up about 50%…so we raised dues and rent accordingly for the chapter this year so that we (they) can afford the new higher loan payments.

Why remodel only the interior of the 1st floor?

Because (1) tht is the area that needed the most love and (2) this loan wouldn’t afford us much more than that. The plan is to start a fundraising campaign and raise enough from alumni to cover a some of the rest of the work on the 2nd floor, attic, basement, and exterior. It may be a 2- or 3-phase project when it’s all said and done…but the plan is to re-do the whole house within the next 5 years. We are relying heavily on alumni donations to help us fund phase 2 of the remodel – hopefully to start in or around 2012: Donations Appreciated

Props:

There are a lot of guys that deserve credit for getting this loan approved, organizing the contractors, and just generally seeing this project through, but the one guy who stuck it out when the alumni board was losing steam, held things together, assembled a new board, and continues to donate time and effort to the cause is Tom Hyatt. No way would this be happening without him. Big thanks to Jereme Grinslade of Theta Chi’s Norwich Housing Board and the guys at Chico Home Improvement as well.

Recap of 2008-2009 School Year From the New Chapter Exec

Dear Alumni of Eta Omega and Theta Chi Brothers,

This past year, and especially the Spring semester, have been outstanding times for Eta Omega. Over the course of the year Theta Chi placed first in the campus-wide Greek Week philanthropy/competition, raised hundreds of dollars for hurricane victims, won the football championship, and most importantly increased chapter membership by 29 initiates! In the Fall semester alone we recruited 19 new men, setting us up to retain the ‘top house’ position on campus for the ’09-’10 academic year. In addition to these achievements Eta Omega has worked to become debt-free, paying off all amounts owed to the National Fraternity, and is working toward obtaining a new loan for a major house re-model.

A new executive board has been elected as well, consisting of Dustin Pesch as President, Joey Combs and Andrew Chalmers as Internal and External Vice Presidents, respectively, Ex-President Adam Shea as Treasurer, and Blayne Davis as Secretary. The new Executive Board and the chapter are committed to improving brotherhood and participation, and taking any necessary steps to obtain a loan to continue to improve our standing in the eyes of potential new members, the campus community, and the National Fraternity.

This upcoming year will boast as many if not more achievements as last year, and will be exciting for everyone involved – both active and alumni.

Cheers,

Andrew Chalmers
External Vice President
Theta Chi, Eta Omega Chapter