Orion Article Credits Eta Omega With Longevity

“Among other organizations that have lasted through the years is the fraternity Theta Chi, which has been in Chico for nearly three decades.

External Vice President Andrew Chalmers thinks they’ve made it so long because of the type of people they look for, he said.

“We’re all about bringing in men who are strong leaders that care about community involvement,” Chalmers said.

Having a cause and pushing to move away from a party-boy image are top priorities for Theta Chi, he said.”

Original article in the Orion

Undergrads Pull Off Successful Philanthropy to Help Stop Gun Violence

War of the Roses – Spring 2010

During the week of April 5th Eta Omega raised over $3,000 during a four day philanthropy called War of the Roses – to raise money for the Brady Campaign (an organization dedicated to stopping gun violence through sensible legislation). The event consisted of 5 sororities on campus (ΣΚ, ΑΦ, ΑΔΠ, ΑΓΔ, ΓΦB) competing amongst one another throughout the week on a multitude of events, with the men of Theta Chi split up evenly among the sororities as coaches. The event was created and spearheaded by Theta Chi Vice President Andrew Chalmers, who was inspired by the death of his friend in an unsolved shooting to raise money for the cause.

War of the Roses kicked off on Tuesday with a house decoration, designed to instill competitiveness, and points were awarded to the house with the best design. On Wednesday a “Theta Chi Carnival” fundraiser was hosted on campus – with a dunk tank, kissing booth, cotton candy, popcorn, snow-cones, and a booth where you could “Pie an AD Pi.” That event alone raised $550 for charity, and points were awarded based on creativity and money raised.

On Thursday there was a change drive on campus where each cent collected was worth 1 point. However, dimes and 5-dollar bills were assigned negative values, leading teams to pour money into each others collection jars! The day alone raised well over $1,000, and reactions from the campus community were great.

War of the Roses concluded on Friday with a powderpuff tournament and BBQ where concessions could be purchased, and the value of the concession purchased would be worth points for ones team. ΣΚ won the powderpuff game, and the entire event.

The whole week was filled with mostly sober fun, an alien concept to many Greeks at Chico State. Girls were excited to be a part of a competitive event for a legitimate cause, and the bros loved being at the center of over 400 competing girls. Despite it being the first event of its kind for Theta Chi, the week went extremely well and now that people know what to expect it will certainly be even better in the years to come!

Photos from the Event:

Upcoming Events for Theta Chi, Eta Omega

The latest email newsletter went out today, with a list of upcoming events for Spring and Summer 2010. View the newsletter online.

If you’re an Eta Omega active or alumnus, and you didn’t get today’s newsletter it means you’re not in the alumni board’s contact database. Contact us to ensure you get on the mailing list for future newsletters.

Reminder: Theta Chi Golf Tournament in Chico, May 1

from Paul Cesario-Ketchum

Dear Theta Chi, Eta omega Alumni:

On May 1st we are holding our annual charity golf tournament. In order for this event to be successful, we would greatly appreciate if alumni would consider donating prizes for raffle and silent auction, sponsoring a hole (i.e. putting pledge class or logo on a sign), and of course playing in the actual tournament. The weekend the tournament takes place is also alumni weekend. As a fraternity we would like to thank you for everything that you have done for us and hope that this will be an exciting event to attend and to sponsor for the benefit of Chico Green School.

Thank you!

27th Annual Eta Omega Giants Game. We're 17-9!

From Joe Silva via the OX List

  • When: Saturday, May 1
    • Party Time: 10:30am
    • Game Time: 1:05pm
  • Where: Probably Parking Lot D
    (http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/downloads/diagram.pdf)
  • Game: Giants versus Colorado Rockies
  • Seat Location: View Box Section 327. We’ll have a section almost to ourselves!
  • What: Beer and peanuts provided. BBQ available for use. (bring our own meat)
  • Cost: $40/ticket.

I only purchased 25 tickets so if you want a guaranteed ticket, get your $$ in now. First come first served.

Of course many in the crowd will be charter members of Eta Omega, and there are always guys there from every era. Call some guys who you haven’t seen for awhile and make it a pledge class reunion. Guaranteed to be a good time and you never know who you’re going to see. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, you’ll have fun.

Hope life is treating you all well. If you see someone who’s not on the list, but you think would be interested, please forward.

Stay in touch,

Joe

Theta Chi / Eta Omega's Future: the '1981 Club'

Dear Eta Omega Brother:

2009 was a banner year for Theta Chi, Chico State

1st floor and basement renovated, sprinkler system installed, refinance of old 11% APR mortgage, Greek Week winners, top rush numbers, unprecedented alumni involvement, revival of the “Eta Omegaphone” newsletter. The chapter and the alumni organization are running on all cylinders.

We have bigger goals for 2010 and beyond

Despite all of the hard work and good fortune we will not stop until the Theta Chi house at 630 W 5th Street is completely restored. We’re half way there, but we need your help to finish the job.

Plans for phase 2 of the house remodel

We already have architectural plans for the 2nd and final phase of the chapter house remodel. Now we just need to raise the funds for the work…and we can do it with your small $19.81 donation when you join the “1981 Club”.

Join the “1981 Club”

Pledge a recurring donation of $19.81 per month (in honor of the founding of the chapter in 1981), and become a member of the new “1981 Club” – and help move us one step closer to fully restoring the chapter house.

The 1981 Club is makes it easy for you to make a small donation automatically by credit card each month. You just sign up once…set it, and forget it

If 500 alumni sign up for the 1981 Club we could pay for the 2nd phase of the house remodel in cash after about 2 years. That’s our goal. Click to join: http://www.etaomega.org/donate/1981-club/

What the money is for?

We will complete the much needed renovation of Eta Omega’s chapter house in Chico. The downstairs (phase 1) renovation, completed in 2009 was funded by a loan from Theta Chi Headquarters. To pay for the rest of the renovation (estimated to be about $250,000) we have to raise the money up front. We cannot afford to borrow this money – we must raise it ourselves.

How will my small donation help?

This small contribution is probably less than you spend on coffee in a week – definitely less than you spend on beer. Yet if only 200 brothers join the 1981 Club, we will raise nearly $50,000 in just over 12 months. If enough brothers sign up we could pay for this renovation in cash in just 30 months. Don’t wait for “someone else” to take care of this. The chapter’s success rests in your hands. Take a few seconds to sign up online with your credit or debit card, and you’re done. That’s it.

The first members of the 1981 Club

To demonstrate our absolute commitment to this effort, every member of the Eta Omega Alumni Board joined the “1981 Club” back in January. After just 3 months we have raised over $475 by ourselves.

  • J. Reither – F’95
  • T. Hyatt – F’93
  • P. Smith – F’03
  • E. Stone – F’89
  • B. Davis – F’82
  • M. Geenen – F’80
  • T. Ticen – F’97
  • W. Shoffner – F’00
  • Be the next member: http://etaomega.org/donate/1981-club/

These eight brothers are a start

But again, we can’t achieve our goal without you. We must have full participation. Click the link above and join these brothers who have already made their commitment to Theta Chi, Eta Omega.

Pledge class competition

Oh yeah…we’ll be periodically announcing which pledge classes have signed up the most members. DFYPB!

UPDATE (3/16/2010): Spring ’96 is off to a good start – two brothers from that pledge class (C. Boden and D. Campbell) signed up before we even announced this campaign

Thank you for your continued involvement and support.

Fraternally,
Your Eta Omega Alumni Volunteer Leadership

Photos from the Spring '10 Theta Chi MYLC in Chico

As we mentioned before, Eta Omega was chosen to host the Spring 2010 Theta Chi Mid Year Leadership Challenge in Chico. Brothers came from all over the country. Our guys entertained the group, and helped organize the activities. Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reither/sets/72157623520813364/

FYI: the latest Eta Omega photos are always displayed over on the right side of this website (in the ‘Photos on Flickr’ box).

Eta Omega Hosts the 2010 Mid-Year Leadership Conference

by Dustin Pesch

Brothers,

On the weekend of February 5th and 6th the Eta Omega Chapter hosted the Theta Chi Mid-Year Leadership Conference. After many weeks of preparation and collaboration with the national chapter, we managed to host what Grand Chapter member Joe D’Amore said “was one of the best MYLCs he has attended.” Nine chapters from the Northern California region traveled to Chico to attend the conference. During their stay Eta Omega did a great job of extending a helping hand in the accommodation of our brothers from across the state and the facilitation of the conference.

The conference itself was held on Saturday February 6th from 9 am to 6 pm. During this time various exercises were conducted to access the strengths and weaknesses that each chapter had. At the end of the conference each chapter was required to meet privately with faculty from the National Chapter. During the brief session we were able to identify our own strengths and weaknesses. As of today Eta Omega excels in recruitment, social public relations, relations with campus, and inter-fraternal competition. However there are a few things the chapter can improve on in order to achieve our full potential. The National Chapter would like to see changes made to the pledge program, something they are working on with most chapters. They also expect Eta Omega to update its scholarship program. The chapter exec and officers are now working to implement these changes to the way we do these things. Once these changes have been made the chapter will be closer to an Altar Award.

Another serious issue brought up at the meeting was the condition and preservation of the fraternity house. As many of you know the first floor was remodeled after we received a $400,000 dollar loan. If we expect to finish the rest of the house the chapter must respectfully maintain the condition of the house and excel in operations. As a chapter we have the man power and drive to meet these challenges and continue to strive for excellence. With active collaboration between the alumni and undergraduate chapter, Eta Omega has potential to one of the finest chapters Theta Chi has to offer.

Sincerely,

Dustin Pesch

Undergraduate President

Theta Chi; Eta Omega Chapter

Theta Chi Charity Golf Tournament for 'Chico Green School'

Theta Chi Fraternity at California State University, Chico is hosting its 2nd Annual Theta Chi Charity Golf Tournament. Our first annual tournament was a huge success, raising about $5,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Chico. This year’s we have chosen to donate proceeds to “Chico Green School Inc.”

  • When: May 1, 2010
  • Where: Tuscan Ridge Country Club in Paradise, California
  • How: Click to Sign Up

Tournament Basics: The tournament will include a round of 18 holes of golf, multiple contests on the course, a silent auction and catered tri-trip dinner following the tournament. The event will take place at the beautiful Tuscan Ridge Country Club in Paradise, California on May 1st, 2010.

The Charity: Chico Green School’s mission is to create a charter high school in Butte County where students are taught an understanding of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Using Waldorf methods, the charity will aim to increase test scores (especially among low income students), reduce truancy and dropouts, increase a greater sense of community, and develop a capacity for a creative imagination.

About Us: Theta Chi, Eta Omega strives to achieve success academically, socially, and as well as in the community in which we live. We have participated in major philanthropic events such as Up ‘til Dawn, on-campus blood drives, and won the philanthropy-focused “Greek Week” title two years running. We are the largest fraternity on campus and make every effort to be leaders in the community. We would greatly appreciate your participation in this event.

About You: We are also looking individual and corporate sponsors to help support this cause by donating money (or prizes for the check-in goodie bags, raffle, and silent auction). Thank you for taking the time to consider participating or sponsoring our tournament and we hope to see you out there.

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