Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity—Hanover College Tau Tales March 30, 2004 Tau Tales Returns! Inside this issue: Meet the Colony President 3 House Corporation Report 3 1st Annual Tau Colony Open - Invitation 4 This past fall there was a stir on the Hanover College campus: the return of Fiji. Director of Expansion, Josh Morita (British Columbia 2001) of International Headquarters came to Hanover and turned all the rumors into fact. By the time Josh left campus, there were 20 new Fiji pledges. These 20 pledges built onto their pledge class by taking 8 new pledges on January 24th. Fiji has its foundation for recolonization. It is a fact...Fiji is back!!! This recolonization is possible because of one reason: THE RUN! On January 24, eight pledges rang the Bell to become the second pledge class of the Tau Colony. the graduate brothers. They pushed the whole process along, and as a result, Fiji is back. A core group of graduates maintained good communication with the College and other Greeks and improved the house so it could be leased to the College during our dormancy. The continued support has been an intricate part in the recruitment of the winter (Continued on page 2) 2003 Pig Dinner A Hit! What a night! The 2003 Norris Pig Dinner drew the largest attendance in recent memory and provided an opportunity to meet some very important young men. Tau graduate brothers represented a span of 45 years from Carter Elliott (1949) to Robert Orr (1994)! There was an especially large group from the 1950s showing us all the strength of friendships forged over the years. After cocktails and reminiscing, a crowd of 61 was seated for dinner in the Brown Campus Center. Without any delay, Josh Morita (British Columbia 2001) of International Headquarters introduced the anxious gathering to the (Continued on page 2) \r\nPAGE 2 T AU TA LES Tau Tales Returns continued... (Continued from page 1) 2004 pledge class. The Graduate Relations Committee would like to thank everyone who took part in making the return of Fiji possible. The support was and is extremely important to ensure that Fiji returns with a bang! As part of the 2003 pledge class, the Graduate Relations Committee would like to declare our excitement for Fiji. We look forward to continuing Fiji traditions and rebuilding Fiji on the Hanover College campus. The ultimate drive of the Delta Colony at this point is to reach all of our goals and to regain the charter. We want to reclaim and re-open the chapter house as our home at Hanover College. We look forward to keeping graduate brothers up to date on current events in the Tau Colony, whether by e-mail or printed mate- “The ultimate drive of the Delta Colony at this point is to reach all of our goals and to regain the charter.” Tau Colony 517 Ball Dr. Unit 1328 Hanover, IN 47243 Fiji@hanover.edu Press On!! rial. We are excited about the re-colonization of Fiji at Hanover, as we hope you are. The advancement of the colony is extremely important, and we intend to keep our progress publicized. If there are any questions please contact us at: 2003 Pig Dinner continued... (Continued from page 1) Tau Colony Pledge Class! Twenty fine men had pledged and 15 were in attendance for their first Pig Dinner. In honor of all Tau graduates and pledges who could not attend, Ed Gabe (1990) gave a stirring rendition of the Exiles’ Toast complete with German accent and the charge to “Stand up!” and toast our missing brothers! We also remembered those brothers who have passed away since our last meeting. They would be proud of our newest pledge brothers. Our keynote speakers were Elmer Geissler (1951) and Tim McGeath (1985). Tim entertained us with some stories (the ones he could tell) of his years working in the situation room at the White House under Presidents Bush and Clinton. Elmer reminded us of the bonds we share and how those friendships transcend time and events. But what must our new pledges have thought about Pig Dinner? During the event, we introduced them to our traditions, our strong ties, and even our peculiarities! This is the event that taught them to snap fingers in place of applause. Here, they heard the Doxology and the Exiles’ Toast for the first time. And here, they learned that all graduate brothers will support them in their journey at Tau. Also, we reminded them Elmer E. Geissler (1951) shared his fondest memories of Pig Dinner is a graduTau and some great humor at the Pig Dinner. ate event, and they get nary group of young men. to host it in 2004! When you get your invitation for Pig Dinner 2004, – Chip Snyder (1986) please make a special effort to attend and support this extraordi- \r\nT AU TA LES PAGE 3 Meet The Colony President Graduate Brothers, My name is Kyle Wilson, and I am the Colony President for the Tau Colony of Phi Gamma Delta. I am a junior physical education major originally from Brookville, Indiana, the hometown of Founder John T. McCarty. Before coming to Hanover, I attended the RoseHulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, for a year. While at Rose-Hulman, I joined Phi Gamma Delta and was initiated in April of 2002 into the Rho Phi Chapter. Tau’s first pledge class currently stands at 18 quality men. This class is composed of sophomores, juniors, and even some seniors. Our men are very involved on the Hanover campus. Among us are varsity football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and tennis players as well as men who play important roles in other campus organizations. We took our new pledge class on Saturday, January 24th. This class is made up of eight freshmen and one sophomore. A few of the men are involved in various sports. We also extended six open bids to men who did not go through formal recruitment on the 24th. The tone of our colony meetings has been very upbeat and enthusiastic. We have been working hard on recruiting new members, as well as moving the colony closer to regaining our charter. We are looking to be able to regain our charter during the winter term next year. Our men will be able to move The original Founders proudly show off their Fiji into our house starting Pride at the time of the re-colonization. in September of this year, just in time for the fall 2004 For the men of the Tau term. Colony, I would like to thank everyone who has played a part in our We have our cabinet in re-colonization on the Hanover place and chairmen for all of our campus. A special thanks goes to committees. We have also been the House Corporation, Board of working closely with our House CorColony Advisors and our graduate poration and the Board of Colony big brothers. We cannot thank eveAdvisors. These graduate brothers ryone enough for all their help. The have been a great help to every Colony welcomes any assistance, one of us. Our Purple Legionnaire guidance or recommendations of and Faculty Advisor is Dr. Dan quality men, and we look forward to Murphy (1981), a professor of hismeeting more of our graduate tory at Hanover College. We have brothers. also had two visits from Field Secretary Patrick Brichta so far this Fraternally, year. His visits have been very proKyle Wilson (2006) ductive and helpful for the colony. Colony President House Corporation Report Greetings from your House Corporation. I am pleased to report that the bulk of the debt incurred to renovate the chapter house in 2000 has now been retired. Two remaining notes for a total of $25,000 are due this spring. This amount is approximately $2,500 less than the last rental payment we will receive from Hanover College. I would like to again express my thanks to the many graduate brothers who made financial contributions to the House Corporation over the past year. For a period of about nine months, the House Corporation was perilously close to running out of money and being unable to fulfill its financial obligations. However, the generous support of graduates allowed us to remain afloat until most of the construction debt was paid. I would also like to recognize the efforts of Bob Hicks (1985), who on our behalf, successfully appealed (Continued on page 4) \r\nHouse Corporation Report continued... (Continued from page 3) to the State Board of Tax Commissioners to reverse the county's initial determination that the House Corporation's real property was taxable while under lease to the College. Bob's efforts unquestionably saved the House Corporation many thousands of dollars in property taxes, a fact that graduates living in Indiana can particularly appreciate in light of recent property tax reassessments. I am thrilled about the re-establishment of Tau at Hanover College. On behalf of the graduates, the House Corporation has spent approximately $7,100 in connection with the re-colonization. This was money very well spent in view of the tremendous group of young men who have chosen to be affiliated with the new Tau Chapter. However, we also need funds to get the chapter house ready for the new brothers to occupy in the fall of 2004. Consequently, we must again appeal for graduate donations in order to defray the costs of recolonization and house preparation. We will also use graduate contributions to directly support the colony's recruitment efforts. The House Corporation currently has about $15,000 for purposes of refurbishing and refurnishing the Chapter House. Our objective is to raise at least the amount expended toward the re-colonization effort. Finally, we want to encourage continued graduate involvement in connection with our return to the chapter house. This spring, the House Corporation will work with the College administration to resolve any issues related to the reoccupation of our house. We then intend to organize a work weekend on campus in the summer of 2004 to prepare the house for our new brothers. As always, your support, comments and ideas are greatly appreciated. Please contact me and the House Corporation at : (317) 977-1451 or by e-mail at tmcgeath@hallrender.com. You can also write to: Tau Chapter House Corporation 831 East 80th Street Indianapolis, IN 46240 -Tim McGeath (1984) House Corporation President Perge! 1st Annual Tau Colony Open 4 Man Scramble Come and meet your new Fiji brothers and reunite with old friends over a round of golf that will benefit the Tau Colony’s efforts to once again become a chartered chapter in Phi Gamma Delta! Place: North Branch Golf Course, Greensburg, Indiana Date: May 1, 2004 (Founder’s Day) Time: 8:00 am Cost: $60 (includes golf, cart, & t-shirt) Prizes: 1st place team: $200 and your name on the trophy 2nd place team: $120 3rd place team: $80 Contact Derik Orschell at (812) 866-6176 or at orshcelld@hanover.edu. If you can’t make it, donations are appreciated to: Phi Gamma Delta 517 Ball Drive, Unit 1328 Hanover, IN 47243