Phi Gamma Delta - Beta Chapter - University of Pennsylvania Ye Quaker Fiji Newsletter December 2015 Letter from the House Corp President Hello Brothers, Our Graduate Board, comprised of Gary Giegerich (1985), Tim Jannetta (1990), Jon Strauss (2010), Ed McGinley (1950), Jack Porter (1955), and me, convened this fall for our directors meeting. We are pleased to report that the undergraduate house is in excellent condition and the brotherhood is stronger than ever. Some new furnishings have gone a long way to improving the quality of life in the common areas. On the horizon is a lighting project to make the chapter/living room a more usable space. This semester, the undergrads started a partial catered meal plan and are in the midst of surveying their group to determine a desire to expand the meal plan and bring it in house. If approved, the kitchen will need significant renovation to bring it up to current code and functionality. Stay tuned. The Board has decided to part ways with our existing alumni service, Affinity Connection, and we have contracted with the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta to provide Beta Chapter alumni communications. The primary reason for the change is a proposal for sim- ilar communication services at half the cost. We will be switching over management of the betafiji.com website to the International Fraternity as well to manage. We have asked the International Fraternity to make sure that any solicitation sent on behalf of the Beta Chapter be clear and distinct from the annual solicitation that comes for the International Fraternity support. In addition to your annual support of our Fraternity, please consider a legacy gift that can ensure our fraternity’s future of excellence and tradition. You can make a bequest by including Phi Gamma Delta Beta Chapter at The University of Penn in your long term plans. Simply name the Beta Chapter as a beneficiary of your will, living trust, retirement plans or life insurance policy. Your gift can provide extraordinary opportunities that can affect our future. For additional questions or information please contact me at terryspahr@yahoo.com or 610-420-1787. Fraternally, Terry Spahr (1988) House Corp. President Alumni Spotlight - Peter O’Malley (1959) Peter O’Malley (1959), president of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1970-1998, received the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon” from the government of Japan, conferred by Emperor Akihito in April. The order, the highest for a citizen not from Japan, is in recognition of the O’Malley’s 60-year contributions in developing friendly relations through baseball between Japan and the U.S. He has made approximately 85 trips to Japan. His historic 1995 signing of Japanese-born pitcher Hideo Nomo pioneered the way for more than 50 players from Japan to follow in Major League Baseball through last season. Today, O’Malley manages world-famous Historic Dodgertown – Vero Beach, Florida, the year-round, multi-sport, multi-gender training and conference center. In This Issue: Fall 2015 Chapter Report 2 Ad Astra 3 Support the Beta Annual Fund 4 \r\nYe Quaker Fiji Newsletter President Fall 2015 Chapter Report By: Ryan Anderson (2016) - Chapter President SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 OCTOBER 12, 2015 Recruiting Info Session: In line with this year’s more aggressive on-campus recruitment schedule, we had an internal information session for interested younger brothers on how to succeed in the networking and interviewing process. It was great to finally be a part of a core FIJI tradition that has helped generations of brothers succeed in unprecedented ways and to be part of the cohort passing on our experience to the next generation. The seniors have been free and willing to give advice, which the sophomores and juniors on the hunt for a job have been happy to take. pFIJI Gentleman’s Scholarship: Last Monday evening, we held a reception for our annual FIJI Gentleman’s Scholarship Awards. This has been a tradition going back certainly further than I have been around, and it has been a focal point of our academic committee in the fall semester. Scholarship chairs Connor Swords (2017) and Daniel Moreno (2018) spent the entire week prior organizing interviews between brothers and male freshmen applicants, who discussed many of the themes and values so critical to us - excellence, leadership, knowledge. The three awards were given to men most deserving, whose stories of getting to Penn moved both the chairs and the fraternity at large with their dedication to embodying values so near to our own. pPapal Visit: Several brothers waited with thousands of people downtown Philadelphia to see Pope Francis. The brothers attended the World Meeting of Families and Mass led by the Pope. Graduate Brothers on Campus: As the professional recruiting season seems to have been moved up a few months, we’ve had the joy of seeing some of our favorite graduate brothers around campus. Last week, Mike Friedson (2014) and Landy Liu (2015) came with a us to dinner at Tap House, where we fell right back into sharing great food and telling better stories. Also, Ted Schlein (1986) visited the house with his family. He spoke with a few of the brothers and checked out the renovations. Page 2 ZTA and Breast Cancer Awareness: As is tradition, this week, sisters from Zeta Tau Alpha came by to decorate the chapter house windows with pink Christmas lights for their philanthropic activities this month. The lights, taking up the entire front bay windows, form the iconic pink ribbons that mark the worldwide fight against breast cancer. Theirs is an enduring and well-known effort, and we had a good conversation about how to plan such successful events. Looking forward to seeing all they do this year! \r\nDecember 2015 NOVEMBER 9, 2015 Chapter House Renovations: In this continuing story, our hardworking Ben Feis (2016) has added a few more pieces to our chapter house. A beautiful wrought iron chandelier has replaced the old track lighting in the second floor lounge, and a new door has filled the entryway to the first floor kitchen. I’ve never seen the place look as good as it does these days, and it’s making all of our lives better daily. Many thanks to Beth and Sam at Facilities for helping make this happen! Fijis in the Wharton Council: Wharton Council, one of the business school’s premier student groups, has long had a strong Fiji representation. Mario Del Cueto (2017), a man with more energy than several others combined, is heading up their school wide game of Assassins, Hostile Takeover, and has gotten basically the entire fraternity signed up. Fabian Toro (2016), Jorge Barriga (2016) and I spent a great afternoon the other week in Lehman Quad at one of the group’s informal Social Hour events. pHaunted Chapter House: The Friday before Halloween, we hosted our annual philanthropic event, Haunted House, which former Chapter President Jeff Grimes (2015) inaugurated several years ago. Brothers transformed the chapter house into a Gothic manor. We invited children from the James Finnegan Playground After-School Program in Southwest Philadelphia to come to the Haunted House to play games, decorate masks, and many other Halloween related activities. The women of Alpha Phi Sorority assisted with the event. Homecoming: Our graduate brother relations have only increased in strength in the years since our recolonization, and this past weekend’s success is testament to that. We’ve long had a very close relationship with the recently graduated classes, and have been working hard to reform the bonds with older classes. Graduate brothers from all years came through the house on Saturday, and at a reception, at a restaurant later that night, the crowd was a mix of graduates of all years. For me, knowing that graduating next May will do nothing to alter the strength of our brotherhood makes me proud to be a FIJI and reaffirms the central dictum that FIJI is “Not For College Days Alone”. Ad Astra (2014-2015) Beta Chapter was notified of the following deaths. These brothers will be greatly missed and we extend our deepest sympathies to their families. Joseph J. Connolly (1962) Theodore H. Rehmeyer (1956) William A. Hanger (1940) Herbert B. Weaver, Jr. (1950) H. Donald Harvey, Jr. (1958) John L. Whalen (1966) Frank K. Mayers (1945) Kenneth B. Whitehurst (1945) Gerald J. Quinn, USNR (1947) Page 3 \r\nPhi Gamma Delta Fraternity Beta at University of Pennsylvania PO Box 4599 Lexington, KY 40544 Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Ye Quaker Fiji Newsletter - December 2015 - Beta Chapter at University of Pennsylvania Design, printing and mailing services provided by the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. Brothers, please send us your news for the “Alumni Update” for our next newsletter! Send stories to Erica Carlson, Director of Communication, by email: ecarlson@phigam.org or by mail: Erica Carlson, Phi Gamma Delta, PO Box 4599, Lexington, KY 40544-4599. Contribute to the Beta Chapter Annual Fund Gifts to the annual fund are not tax deductible. Donations can be made: 1. Online: www.phigam.org/BetaDonations 2. Mail checks payable to Phi Gamma Delta - Beta Annual Fund to: Beta Chapter Donations, PO Box 4599, Lexington, KY 40544-4599, and include this form. Name ____________________________ Year _________ Address _________________________________________ City, ST, Zip _____________________________________ I want to give a donation of: __ $_______ __ $250 __ $1,000 __ $100 __ $500 __ $50 I want to give a monthly donations (credit card only) of: __ $______ __ $50 __ $100 __ $20 Phone __________________________________________ Credit Card (circle type): Visa MasterCard Discover AMEX Email __________________________________________ CC number ______________________________________ This gift is: __ in honor of __ in memory of ________________________________________________ Name on Card ____________________________________ Exp. Date _________ Security # on back of card ________