Rose Fiji Rho Phi Chapter Rose-Hullman Institute of Technology Winter 2003 Rho Phi Preparing for the Future You may have noticed a new look and feel to the Rho Phi newsletter you are reading. If you look closely, you might also find that it has been sent to you from Arizona. Why? I promise that neither Rose-Hulman nor the chapter have moved. Instead, the House Corporation made a decision to contract with an outside resource to assist with graduate and parent communications. Fraternity Management Group (FMG) offers services around managing communications for college fraternities and sororities. They do this in many different ways including database management, newsletter editing and production, leadership counseling, Web site management, and much more. I know, you are probably saying to yourself, the Phil Stolz’95, Joe Weist’ 87, Chip Bradway ’ 97 enjoy undergraduates did this for free when I was in school. This is true and I felt the same way at first. Then I started good times at the Rho Phi Homecoming tent. Check out more pictures on pages four and five. to notice the amount of time and effort it takes to communicate to our graduate base from managing the database of graduate brothers to creating news articles, managing the website and coordination of getting newsletters in the mail. After looking into the services offered versus the cost, the decision was very easy – sign on with Fraternity Management Group. This was done by a unanimous vote at the House Corporation meeting during Homecoming Weekend. I feel you will be pleased with the results. While the chapter still provides the articles for the newsletters, FMG manages and edits the information. They will also work with the House Corporation to get information from graduates for newsletters and on the Web site. With the help of FMG, newsletters will be more timely and frequent. Pig Dinner and Homecoming announcements will be sent out earlier and the chapter’s Web site will be kept more up to date. As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have information or ideas for newsletters, please let us know. Rho Phi Future ................. Page 2 Chapter News ................... Page 3 Homecoming Report ... Page 4 - 5 Chapter Bios ................ Page 6 - 7 Email Address Request ..... Page 8 Fraternally, Todd Hubbell ’96 President Rho Phi House Corporation Perge! \r\nThe Rose Fiji Please direct all news for this newsletter to: The Rose Fiji, Rho Phi Chapter c/o Fraternity Management Group 744 North Stone Avenue Tucson, AZ 85705 Fraternity Management Group Chris Combs Rho Phi Client Manager (800) 228-7326 ext. 11 Chris@fmgtucson.com ALUMNI CHAPTER LEADERSHIP The Future of Rho Phi Housing Not moving – at least for a few more years. As you know, the House Corporation announced a few years ago that we were looking into the possibilities of moving the Chapter House to campus. We have gathered information in the way of a feasibility study and talked to many of you via email and phone about this effort. This information was extremely helpful for us in determining that we were not immediately ready to make the move. While there was some definite interest, the timing with the economy, the school and other circumstances factored into this decision. The information gathered in the feasibility study will still be put to good use and we will continue to monitor the needs of the undergraduates in the future and be sure to keep you posted. In case you skipped the letter on the front page, the HC agreed to work with FMG on communications with our graduates and parent in the area of event management and communications. House Corporation President Todd Hubbell ’96 House Corporation Treasurer Joe Weist ’87 House Corporation Secretary Chip Bradway ’97 House Corporation Directors Rob Bunch Chip Bradway Mark Ress Steve Fain Ryan Walke Aaron Weishaar Andy Horton Ryan Thompson Neil Harrison Rho Phi Connections The recently recolonized Tau Chapter at Hanover College has a Rho Phi connection. The President of the new colony is Kyle Wilson, who was initiated at the Rho Phi Chapter at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology but transferred to Hanover College two years ago. Upon chartering, Kyle will become a dual-initiate as a member of both the Rho Phi and Tau chapters. The Tau colony hopes to gain their charter in the 2004-2005 school year to become the ninth Phi Gamma Delta chapter in Indiana. The 20 founding fathers include varsity football, baseball, basketball, tennis, and soccer players, and hold a variety of leadership positions in numerous campus organizations. Kyle was assisted by Josh Morita ’01 (British Columbia) and Scott Yaworski ’02 (British Columbia) from Phi Gamma Delta headquarters during the formation of the new colony. Kyle spent the month of September giving presentations to sororities, other fraternities and college administration. He also solicited recommendations from students and interviewed potential men. Kyle is the second Rho Phi brother to become the president at a new colony in Indiana. Brennan McReynolds ’02 transferred to the University of Evansville in 1999 and became the Chapter President at the newly founded University of Evansville chapter in 2000. \r\nRHO PHI CHAPTER NEWS Undergraduate Report... It is my honor and pleasure to serve as President for the Rho Phi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. Our cabinet members have been well-selected and helpful in our endeavor to hold Rho Phi to a higher standard. We are a strong chapter this year, with 66 initiated brothers and two spring pledges at the beginning of the quarter. Fall rush produced an amazing group of freshmen who chose to pledge Phi Gamma Delta. The rush schedule for this year was cut down from nine weeks to five, which helped us during rush. Our goal was to expand our brotherhood and increase our diversity. We achieved this when we took 27 pledges from different sports and activities. Last year the school conducted a survey through the fraternity and sorority members of the Rose-Hulman community. The survey’s purpose was to find the most active fraternities and sororities in the community and the best at developing their Chapter President Noppon members. I am proud to say that Phi Gamma Delta was rated #1 in 7 of the 16 Top Chaijaroonrat’ 05 categories in this survey, a few of which were; best in developing leadership skills, increased philanthropic participation in the Rose-Hulman community, and increased philanthropic participation in the Terre Haute community. On a personal note, my involvement in Phi Gamma Delta has helped me develop my social skills and involve myself in the community in a way that I might not have known of otherwise. Brother Lindstaedt Receives Honor Alumni Award at Homecoming Frank Guthrie Honored by Department of Chemistry Bill Lindstaedt ’86 was one of four graduates who received the 2003 Honor Alumni Award October 4, 2003 during Homecoming activities. Bill is the director of the Career Center at the University of California at San Francisco. The Honor Alumni Award is presented by the RoseHulman Alumni Association to graduates whose professional achievements or service to the alumni association have contributed to the continued development of the college. The awards were presented by outgoing Alumni Association President Owen Meharg during an Alumni Awards Breakfast in the Hulman Union. Brother Lindstaedt has been a class reunion chair and admissions volunteer for Rose-Hulman. He served as a counselor to Rose-Hulman students during his five years as Director of Career Services at his alma mater. In that role, he also enhanced Rose-Hulman’s national reputation by increasing involvement between the college and various segments of business and industry. Brother Lindstaedt earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman in 1986. Former Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology chemistry professor Frank Guthrie ’50 (Tau Chapter) has been honored for more than 40 years of service to the college by having a new display cabinet named in his honor in the Chemistry Department. Chemistry Department Secretary Patti Staggs, Frank Guthrie, and Chemistry Department Head Dan Jelski in front of cabinet honoring Guthrie. The October 1 presentation also celebrated over a century of chemistry studies at Rose-Hulman. Guthrie, who retired in 1994, served as Chemistry Department Chair from 1969 to 1972 and Chief Health Professions Advisor from 1974 to 1993. He continues to be active in professional associations, including the American Chemical Society, Alpha Chi Sigma (professional chemistry fraternity) and the Indiana Academy of Science. He maintains an office on campus, where he researches the whereabouts and achievements of Rose-Hulman chemistry graduates and the history of chemistry at Rose-Hulman. He also serves as the Wabash Valley’s Admissions Coordinator for the U.S. Military Academy, where he spent two academic years as the Visiting Professor of Chemistry. \r\n2003 RHO PHI HOMECO Homecoming 2003 was held on the weekend of October 35, 2003. The weekend began with the return of brothers for Rose-Hulman’s golf tournament held during the day on Friday. Several brothers returned for the weekend including the diehard golf team of Brian Sullivan ’92, Mitch Deckard ’93 and Kelby Ridenour ’93. After the traditional bonfire and pep rally on Friday evening, graduate brothers congregated at the Chapter House for a reception and a chance to meet the undergraduates. Some graduates stayed at the house till late, while others joined some of the undergraduates at one of the satellite houses for a social function with the brothers and their dates. Saturday was the main event for the weekend. The tent opened at noon before the game. Graduates were impressed Congressman John Hostettler ’83, Steve Nowak ’83 with the great food cooked by the father of Scott Kenik ’05. and Alan Yarcusko ’ 83 at the 1983- class dinner As the game approached, it was obvious to all in attendance that Phi Gamma Delta had not only the largest greek turnout of all fraternities and sororities, but it could be estimated that our turnout equaled the attendance by all other greeks combined. Scott The game was a hard-fought battle against Trinity University. Twenty-four brothers and 11 soon-to-be pledges lost a difficult homecoming game 14-42. However, this did not dampen the overall spirit of the weekend. Brothers headed back to their hotel rooms to get ready for that night’s activities. The class of 1983, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary, had spent the last year organizing their class reunion at Homecoming. On Saturday evening, members of the class had a dinner at the Black Angus restaurant. Brothers, wives and children enjoyed the bond of brotherhood for three hours reminiscing and catching up on each other’s lives. This was the largest gathering of this class in the 20 years since their graduation. Special recognition goes to Scott Shaw ’83 for his outstanding efforts at tracking down pledge class brothers and convincing them to return. All together, 17 of 25 members of the class made the return trip. Those brothers from 1983 that returned include Jim Boo, Jeff Clanton, Brian Connett, Kevin Fagan, Russ Hopkins, John Hostettler, Dave Letteri, Steve Nowak, David Oakley, John O’Donnell, Tom Redford, Kirk Shafer, Scott Shaw, Pete Watson, John Welp, Rob Wilson, and Alan Yarcusko. Mark Carter The chapter hosted a 1980s party that evening with music and “costumes” from the 1980s. Organizing this blast from the past was graduate Mark Carter ’86 and undergraduate Conrad Tucker ’04. Everyone had a great time. On Sunday the last event of the weekend was the annual meeting of the Rho Phi House Corporation. Officers elected during the meeting include Todd Hubbell ’96 as president, Joe Weist ’87 as treasurer and Chip Bradway ’97 as secretary. New board members included Steve Fain ’03 and Andy Horton ’97. Homecoming 2003 was one of the most successful graduate events in recent memory. It is estimated that upwards of 150 graduates returned to Terre Haute to celebrate the bonds of friendship and brotherhood. The chapter wishes to thank each and every graduate brother and family members that came back that weekend. Please mark your calendars now for Homecoming 2004 on the weekend of October 8-9, 2004. Since this is the first weekend of Covered Bridge Festival, hotel rooms should be booked now, as there will be no free rooms in Terre Haute that weekend. Brothers enjoying the class of 19 \r\nOMING Noppon Top Chaijaroonrat ’05, Andrew Tochterman ’05, CJ Przybyl ’04 and Josh Zabek ’05 Scott Shaw’ 83 and Joe Weist’87 t Johnson ’88 and wife Kathi r ’86 sees his picture in an old scrapbook copy. Undergraduates enjoy the game Tim Harlan’72 (ISU) and Kevin Hanson ’06 983 dinner Jesse McQuiston’03, Tim Swan ’03 and Sam Burton ’03 Brent Mewhinney ’84, Joanne McKee, Mike McKee ’84) and Chuck Moss ’84 \r\nAlumnni Updates News from your brothers around the country Richard Pace ’70, through his firm, UDM Land Sciences, Brother Pace recently co-founded EcoAsset Markets, Inc. with two former executives from SAIC, Inc. EAM was formed to find new ways for landowners to profit from land conservation and to encourage sustainable land use practices. The Company’s initial work is with the USDA ‘s environmental credit trading initiatives and, also, developing a national post-consumer electronics recycling program. He remains President of UDM Land Sciences. Mr. Pace continues to push the envelope of sports insanity through serious mountain biking activities (He’s now on a first name basis with the CT scan technician). His email address is rpace@landtruth.com. Mike Collins ’73 writes, “Still working my own company — Advantage Development, Inc. We are working at the leading edge of Architectures for the Department of Defense. Presently working with Office Assistant Secretary of Defense (NII) Architectures and Interoperability, SPAWAR (San Diego), US PACOM, US JFCOM, NAVSEA and MARCORSYSCOM. We are working to define architecture and process and implementing this in a variety of program areas, including JBMC2, DJC2, SJFHQ, C5I Modernization, and others. Living outside of Cleveland with Lisa and our youngest daughter Alexandra (high school at Gilmour). Our oldest daughter, Jordanne (graduate of Syracuse), is married and our middle daughter, Jacqueline, is at University of Chicago (this quarter study abroad in India). For those that remember Lisa, her father died the week before Homecoming so we were unable to stop in and say hello. Our best to all, and we look forward to visiting the chapter sometime soon.” Mike can be reached at collins.michaelr@comcast.net. Digging out The Pit in 1971 Mike Lee - CHE Class of ’74 writes, “ I’m recovering nicely from severe burns received in an airplane crash in early August 2001. I now have another airplane purchased April 2002 and have flown it extensively around the country - as far as the island of St. Croix. Although my business of cooling concrete is doing well, my dream is to develop Tilapia fish farming in Latin America. Am visiting next month a young man we met in St. Croix who is from Mexico. I’m talking with him about helping him start a fish farm there. I’m pretty happy and content.” Joe Skorupa ’75 writes about his request for help from Rho Phi brothers for a start-up company he is developing: “Just a quick note. I’m still working on that storage startup that I mentioned. Help from our Graduate Brothers has been great. We are making a lot of progress on development, although we are still not funded. That said, we have some VCs that are showing interest and hope to have good news to share soon. When I mention to friends and colleagues that I’ve gotten help from Brothers I’ve never met, they are all stunned. It seems that Brotherhood isn’t the same everywhere. The men of Rho Phi continue to demonstrate what exceptional people they are. I’m proud to be associated with them.” If you are interested in Joe’s startup, he can be contacted at joe_skorupa@skorupa.com. Paul Georgas ’77 writes, “My oldest son Adam G. Georgas, enrolled this fall at Rose. He is studying Chemical Engineering & Bio-Chemistry. Adam will begin research under Dr. Brandt in the Winter Quarter. He loves Rose! He only wishes that the cafeteria severed grits and that the weather was a little warmer since he grew up on the Gulf Coast. It was great to help him move into BSB - my old dorm.”Paul can be reached at georgas1@comcast.net. Steve Richey ’77 has taken a job with Cabot Microelectronics Corporation in Aurora, IL. His primary job responsibility is for North American manufacturing capital projects management. His wife Debbie has taken a position at Loyola University Medical Center and his daughter Amanda is attending graduate school at DePaul University. Steve hopes to see fellow marathoning classmate Bruce Schmidt at a race sometime soon. Steve can be reached at Steven_Richey@cabotcmp.com. \r\nAl Cross ’78 is still with General Motors aluminum foundry in Bedford, Indiana. He writes, “I still live on the same farm near Springville I grew up on so some things never seem to change. The only reason my address changes is because the postal service periodically goes through a readdressing spasm. I completed a masters degree from Kettering (formerly GMI) University a year or so ago which has nothing to do with what I really do at GM. I see Tip Lowery fairly often although he works on 3rd shift while I am on 2nd shift. Gotta love those automotive jobs; Buy American, Buy GM! Take the 24-hour test drive! Really, if you do decide to buy GM, let me send you a referral card that will get you a few more dollars off of the already deeply discounted prices. I have been married for 12 years to Roxie (Dalton); we have a daughter, Aryn, 11, and a son, Albert Will, 7. Just a quick sidebar note on my wife: Roe East ’80 was my pledge son and his mother and my wife are first cousins. My e-mail is cross@hpcisp.com. We do check it from time to time.” Mike Jacobs ’79 returned last year from London, England, where he had been living for the last seven years. He is a Vice President with A.T. Kearney management consultants, based in their Atlanta office. Mike and his wife, Jan, are living in Atlanta and enjoying the start of their “empty nest” years. Mike can be contacted at michael.jacobs@atkearney.com. Rob Froetscher ’80 writes, “I’m still at Willis Stein investing in mid-market companies on behalf of the firm. My son Rob, started high school this fall, plays bass violin for the high school symphony orchestra and is working his way towards Eagle Scout, having recently achieved Life Scout. My 6th grade daughter Lynn is playing soccer and was recently selected to the Illinois Olympic Development team. Wife Janet continues to work in the not-for-profit field and is running the Metropolitan Chicago United Way. Life is busy, as I’m sure it is for all Rho Phi grads (and undergrads).” Bob can be reached at rfroetscher@willisstein.com. Bob Tippmann ’81has started his own mechanical contracting company in Allen County Indiana. He is doing residential, commercial, and industrial heating and cooling as Tippmann Heating and Air LLC and can be reached at (260) 625-6680 or rttjr@yahoo.com. Scott “Char” Shaw ’83 lives in Plano, TX and is still with Texas Instruments. He’s a senior member, technical staff there, working in product engineering. Wife Lily and identical twin daughters Rebecca and Christine (9-1/2 yrs old) are doing fine. Scott reports that the twenty year homecoming get-together in Terre Haute was GREAT fun! Scott can be reached at s-shaw@ti.com. South Sea Island Party in 1978 Brian D. Thonn ’85 works for SAC Capital Advisors LLC, a hedge fund located in Stamford, CT. At SAC he is an equity analyst covering technology stocks in the semiconductor and enterprise hardware space. Brian is still struggling to find a good use for those chemistry classes he took (sometimes repeatedly) at Rose. However, his days in Terre Haute were not a complete educational loss as the many hard lessons learned playing cutthroat games of euchre in the Fiji lounge have proved quite valuable over the years. Brian now lives in Pound Ridge, NY with his wife Heather, son Carter, 4, and daughter Hadley, 2. He can be reached via e-mail at brian.thonn@sac.com and by AOL instant messaging at BDThonn. Pat Wildemann ’86 is still employed by Allison Transmission (GM division in Indianapolis, IN) - nearly 18 years now! Recently, Pat switched assignments. He is now a Supplier Guality Engineer after spending years in product engineering. From Pat: “Boy - what a change in perspective! I am now a road warrior whose job is to whip errant suppliers into shape”. Pat has been married for 13 years now, has three children and resides in Plainfield, IN. Pat can be reached at Pwild1020@aol.com. Joe Weist ’87 is still living in Terre Haute, Indiana working for a family-owned business. He continues to be active in Phi Gamma Delta fraternity currently serving as Section Chief for Section XX which includes the chapters at RoseHulman, Indiana State and DePauw. He is also the chairman of the Section Chief Executive Committee which oversees the Section Chief program for the Fraternity. Joe is also active in many local charities in the community. Joe can be reached at jweist@ma.rr.com. Gary Bates ’89 works for the window manufacturer Milgard Tempering as a Process Engineer/Materials M anager. He lives in Woodland, Calif., just north of Sacramento, with his wife Kimberlee and two children Kyle, 7, and Jennifer, 3. His email is gkkjbates@juno.com. \r\nUpcoming Rho Phi Chapter Events Mark your calanders! You don’t want to miss out on the following chapter events. PLEDGE RETREAT December 6, 2003 RHO PHI HOUSE CORPORATION MEETING December 13, 2003 FRESHMAN RECOGNITION DINNER March 12, 2004 BROTHERHOOD WEEKEND March 12-14, 2004 MOM’S DAY (PARENT’S DINNER) March 20, 2004 RHO PHI OPEN GOLF TOURNAMENT May 15, 2004 South Sea Island Party in 1979 HOMECOMING 2004 October 8-9, 2004 Return Service Requested The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta Rho Phi Chapter c/o Fraternity Management Group 744 North Stone Avenue Tucson, AZ. 85705 Nonprofit Org US Postage PAID Tucson, AZ Permit #224