A LETTER FROM OUR HOUSE CORPORATION PRESIDENT Dear FIJI Penn State Alumni, Finals are over, our class of 2018 has graduated and summer break is well under way! It was a fantastic year for Gamma Phi more than 16 Brothers were involved with the success of THON with $143,873.50 raised to help fight child cancer! 24 new members joined the Brotherhood of Gamma Phi while other houses failed to attract new members (remember, no fall rush began in 2017). 2018 Pig Dinner was a success with over 29 alumni attending. WE ALL HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! On April 21st we held a very successful House Corporation meeting with an update by the Cabinet of house concerns and condition. A very important factor is that there will be 46 Brothers living in the house next fall. This is the largest number in all my years as House Corporation President! Congratulations Brothers! With this in mind the Brothers offered suggestions of ways to improve the function of the house. Those ideas include a faster and better internet, the creation of a gathering space for the increased number of Brothers (remember the library or Flo Co room has been turned into a study room) and renovations to the Fun Box (old party room) was mentioned. In turn we will be creating this space in the new party room including new air conditioning and heating system, large screen tv and social seating area. This will also be an area where the out of house members can gather between classes. Additional refrigeration and freezer space will be added in the kitchen. The final work project of this summer will be the completion of replacing the balance of the domestic water piping and drain lines. This project is all “back of house” and was started 3 years ago. It gives us confidence that Gamma Phi will be here for many years to come. Along with our new boiler for heat and new hot water systems, mechanically the house is ready for the next 100 years. \r\nAs we all look to the future, we cannot ignore the ROOF. With a life of 99 years, it has given us 113 years of service with many patches done each summer. Our financial picture is very positive at this time, prior to this summer’s work, with just under $200,000 of current assets. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, we have paid off our mortgage and are debt free. We are running a positive balance each semester and count on your donations keeping us there. The Brothers, in accordance with their contract (lease) agree to contribute 10% of their gross fees (not counting their rent to the House Corp.) toward capital improvements for the house. As mentioned above our next major project must be roof replacement. This will be completed over several years with your financial support! Another major change next year will be the way the Chapter collects their fees from the Brothers. The University has stopped fraternities and sororities from using the Bursar Billing Program. This means we have to use a third party to collect fees and fund operations. We have selected Omega Fi out of Columbus, GA. They were founded in 1996 and more than 2500 fraternities and sororities use their services including 20 at Penn State. They will begin this summer invoicing parents/Brothers with funds due prior to occupancy in late August. Our current fee is $5,100 per semester with a discount of $100 each time more than 40 members live in the house. In addition a $700 security deposit is required. Our out of house members pay $700 per semester and $350 security deposit. Our in house fee is a little less than the dorm fee with a standard food plan. The House Corp. currently charges the Chapter $55,000 per semester to occupy the house and grounds. PLEASE NOTE! We have received notice from Phi Gamma Delta International that they will no longer be accepting fraternity non-deductible donations on July 1st and will stop collecting recurring credit card donations on August 31st. They are also stopping various graduate communication services. We made a decision use the services of Nittany Co-Op locally to perform these services so we have stayed one step ahead of the curve! Please see below to find all the instructions needed to contribute to Gamma Phi through Nittany Co-Op. The past, current and future Brothers of Gamma Phi wish you a safe and happy summer! Perge! Gamma Phi House Corporation Bill Oliver ‘67 House Corporation President ollierock44@gmail.com \r\nGAMMA PHI 2018 ANNUAL FUND HONOR ROLL MANY THANKS to our generous alumni who have helped us raise over $16,000 for our 2018 Annual Fund! We are now within $7,000 of our goal of $25,000 for this year and are so grateful for those who have donated. We extend our appreciation to the following alumni. David B. Watson ‘79 Mische Michael ‘76 James C. Clawson ‘71 Frank H. McKean ‘48 Mark C. Krauss ‘76 Robert Speer ‘71 Alan Gesalman ‘79 Edward C. Graham, Jr. ‘79 James M. Nagle ‘60 Richard L. Stover ‘65 Calvin E. Burgart ‘65 William L. Oliver ‘67 David E. Freas ‘71 Douglas B. Henderson ‘57 David C. Necker ‘67 Kenneth A. Schwartz ‘76 Michael J. Stewart ‘72 Edward E. Birkinshaw, Jr. ‘55 Daniel B. Kohlhepp, PhD ‘69 David L. Young ‘66 T. Seth Rothey ‘01 Robert A. Absalom, DMD ‘69 Robert P. Bookman ‘58 J. William Bowman, III ‘66 Frank L. Carpenter ‘63 Robert S. Cole ‘63 A. Wayne Cole ‘50 Dean P. Guerro ‘80 Gregory A. Hanks ‘78 Soost W. John ‘62 Rocco Simonetta ‘70 Richard Knechtel ‘72 Bob Simmers ‘67 Robert K. Knechtel ‘72 Ronald P. Moehler ‘69 Matthew D. Nee ‘99 John M. Reihner, DDS ‘75 Richard D. Roth ‘80 Louis C. Tronzo ‘59 Michael L. Zboray ‘03 F. Spencer Grauch ‘65 J. Robert Banks ‘63 William C. Ericsson ‘71 Raymond H. McCune ‘67 A. Bennett Orme, Jr. ‘67 Frank D. Tussey, USAF(Ret.) ‘54 \r\nADD YOUR NAME TO THIS LIST! Become a member of our Honor Roll of Alumni and keep giving back to your fraternity to ensure its proper upkeep and continued success. Non tax-deductible donations are to be made directly to Gamma Phi Chapter, either Online at http://fijipsu.org/ give/ or via check. To pay by check, please detach the form at the bottom of the page and mail it, along with your check to: Gamma Phi Chapter, PO Box 953, State College, PA 16804. Please note: if you currently have a recurring gift set up through Phi Gamma Delta International, those donations will stop being processed on August 31st. You can easily reactivate those recurring gifts through our own Online giving portal at http://fijipsu.org/give/. You’ll see a variety of ways to set up Monthly giving towards the bottom of the giving options. As always, we thank you for your generous financial support! Finally, tax-deductible donations to the Phi Gamma Delta Chapter Housing Educational Foundation (CHEF) are still made to our International Headquarters in the name of Gamma Phi. Please contact Ben Robinson at 859255-1848 x133 prior to making these contributions. These can be cash or equity donations. Several of us have inflated stocks that we do not want to pay taxes on. An excellent way to dispose of them, tax free, is to donate them to this CHEF fund!