In This Issue: Phi Gamma Delta Upsilon Phi Chapter Chapter Update House Corporation Update Pig Dinner 2019 CHAPTER UPDATE Brothers, As we look back on the past semester, we have had several highlights and even more on the way. The chapter finished off last school year by raising our GPA to over a 3.2, which moved us into the top 10 for fraternities as well as above the All-Men’s average. We would like to thank any graduates who donated last year to our chapter’s Dance Marathon fundraising page, as we were able to raise over $11,000, which was more than double the previous year! So far this fall, the chapter has welcomed 10 new pledges into our chapter, and we are extremely happy with their progress to this point in the semester. We have continued recruiting all semester and look forward to adding more new members in the spring. The chapter has had a multitude of social events so far this semester, and we have several service events scheduled for the remainder of the semester that we look forward to with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the Humane Society. As always, we look forward to your attendance at Pig Dinner 2019, and we hope that we can make this Pig Dinner one of our largest ever. With all of that said, I hope that all of you are doing well, and if you have any questions or comments feel free to reach out to myself, or our Purple Legionnaire, Peter Aliberti. Fraternally, Chris Avitabile Upsilon Phi Chapter President avitabilechris@gmail.com P! \r\nHOUSE CORPORATION UPDATE Brothers, The House Corporation is proud to report continued sustainability despite spending in chunks. Since the last Pig Dinner, we have not only weathered the hurricanes and continued with our routine maintenance, we have also completed several large scale projects including a major fiber optics 100 MBs internet service switch to the UF system ($18k) and finished the long awaited huge basement demolition of the old tanks and blower ($8.8k). We purchased a kitchen convection oven ($3.8k), replaced the leased dishwasher with a more cost effective dishwasher purchase ($3.5k), completed a small roof repair ($4.5k) and made door-shelving additions to the upstairs hall closet so it is now useful and functional. Basement painting and updates by the chapter continue. If you have not had the opportunity to tour your fraternity house, you will certainly want to stop by to see all of the improvements and renovations that have been completed over the past several years. Based on recent inspections, the next significant project(s) will likely involve upper story roof replacement, some tree removal/landscaping and House Director apartment updates/renovations. Fraternity Row has seen the construction of two new Greek houses but we continue to receive guest and parent compliments on our Fiji facilities. We invite everyone to stop by the house for lunch on February 9 as we will convene for our annual House Corporation meeting at 2PM at the fraternity house. We anticipate that the meeting will last approximately 45 minutes. There are a few important items to discuss so we look forward to seeing everyone who can attend. Ed Kellar House Corporation President Perge! \r\nPIG DINNER 2019 Pig Dinner 2019 once again promises to be an epic event! The dates are February 8 & 9, 2019. The venue is the Hilton University of Florida located at 1714 SW 34th Street. We have a block of discounted rooms available at the hotel, which can be accessed by simply calling the hotel directly at (352) 371-3600, and ask for the “Phi Gamma Delta” room rate. The discounted rate is $159/night for either a single or double room. There are numerous other hotels along Archer Road (less than a mile from the Hilton) should you prefer alternative accommodations. The weekend will kick off on Friday, Feb 8 at the Hilton’s NO-NAME Lounge beginning at 5PM. The hotel has a Shula’s Steakhouse as a dinner option, but traditionally there are various groups that will scatter throughout Gainesville for dinner and the usual antics on Friday night. Brother Dan Getson has graciously agreed to chair the golf tournament, which will be held at the Mark Bostick/ University Golf Course approximately one-half mile from the hotel. The golf tournament will have a shotgun start on Saturday morning February 9. If you are interested in playing, please RSVP to Getson at travdaniels4u@yahoo.com. The Pig has promised some outrageous prizes for those “hackers” participating in the golf outing. The Annual House Corporation meeting will be at the fraternity house at 2PM on Saturday. We anticipate no more than about 45 minutes. For those of you not participating in the golf outing, plan to come by the house, meet the chapter, take a tour, reminisce of your glory days (the ones you can remember) and grab some lunch with your non-golfing comrades. Lunch will be served starting at noon until about 1:45. We will be giving some awesome prizes away at the HC meeting and during the fraternity lunch that you will not want to miss out on! Feel free to bring a friend for lunch but the HC meeting is for House Corp members/grads only. Registration and happy hour festivities for Pig Dinner will begin at the Hilton at 5PM on Saturday, February 9. There will be some light appetizers and the usual assortment of beverages. As per tradition the dinner is open for only initiated brothers, but feel free to invite your guests to join us for happy hour. There will be a separate wives/ girlfriend/significant other dinner, which is being arranged by our awesome House Director, Marci Brown. Also, for those of you who annually inquire (and you know who you are!)…yes…the NO-Name lounge at the Hilton will remain open late on Saturday night. The Pig always promises a surprise or two. Our silent auction will be nothing short of spectacular! We also have some interesting ideas for future Pig Dinners that we need to discuss. Call those you know, email your pledge brothers and lets make it another epic event for the ages! Feel free to contact the Pig Dinner Chairman, Michael Douglas (m.douglas767@yahoo.com , 770-633-1054) or David Smith (Florida 1983) at (dms.sentineladvisorsllc@gmail.com , 407-963-8199) with any questions or to RSVP. Perge! \r\nNonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity University of Florida 1201 Red Mile Road Lexington, KY 40544 2019 Norris Pig Dinner Early Registration Form Where: University Hilton Hotel & Conference Center 1714 SW 34th Street Gainesville, Florida 32607 (Phone: 352-371-3600) When: Saturday, February 9, 2019 Doors open at 5PM ____ I’ll be there Friday February 8th (Pre-Pig Festival) AND Saturday February 9th. ____ I’ll be there Saturday Only. Name: ___________________________________ Address: _________________________________ ________________________________________ City: ____________________________________ State: ________ Zip: _____________ E-Mail Address: ____________________________ Phone: ___________________________________ ____ Please register me for the Saturday morning FIJI GOLF CLASSIC which will be held at the University Golf Club, Home of the Florida Gators Golf Team. Graduation Year/School: _____________________ ____ I’ll be in Exile and unable to attend. Please update my contact info and keep me informed on future events. Please make checks payable to the “Florida Fiji Graduate Association” ____ I’ll be in Exile and unable to attend. Please update my contact info and accept the attached donation to the Florida Chapter to be used for House renovations. Please mail, or e-mail to: David Smith-House Corp Treasurer PO Box 2278 Greeneville, TN 37744 dms.sentineladvisorsllc@gmail.com