Fall 2015 Beta-Rho Bulletin

BETA-R HO BULLETIN Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity

California State University, Northridge

Volume 43, Issue 6

Fall 2015

Rick Childs

Post-initiation wrap. Initiation concluded with time to spare before Jimmy Kimmel Live. Front row, from left: David Burgos, Angel Torres, Ozzy Robledo, Alex Valdivia (lying down), Jason Fefer, Wes Cole, Daniel Ruelas, Chris Martinez and ritualist Vincent Pimentel. 2nd row: Rodrigó Valenzuela, Jesse Espinoza, Josh Bascou, Austin Smith, Frankie Castanon, Eric Choi, Adrian Martinez, Cisco Silva, Skyler Lee and Devin De Leon. 3rd row: Myke Davis, Adrian Morales, Brian Romero, Manny Fuentes, Chris Burgos and Jeffrey Perez de Leon. 4th row: Nick Dinsmore, Bryan Martinez and Jesse Martinez.

Beta-Rho Breaks 700 Six new initiates were initiated by Beta-Rho on Dec. 4. This brought the total to 705 members.

With an earlier start and end time, the chapter’s ritual concluded more than 45 minutes before midnight. Among the new guidelines from the Office of Student Affairs that the chapter began observing since the restoration of recruitment was the stipulation that initiations could not be conducted after midnight.

Alumni who presumed that another late night

would ensue were pleasantly shocked to find everyone packing up and heading out to various eateries after the traditional post-initiation photo session. Among the alumni at the event were Christopher Aston, Rick Childs and Kevin Mojaradi.

Big brothers handed out traditional hoodies to the new initiates. The newest members were Jason Fefer, Eric Choi, Adrian Martinez, Francisco Silva, Austin Smith and Alex Valdivia.

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House Corp. Annual Meeting

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Alumni News & Loyalty Fund Page 6 AM Installation Ceremony Page 8 The Class of Fall, 2015 Chapter Chronicles, Fall Dockweiler Beach Mixer

Page 9 Page 10 Page 12

Josh Lodolo, New CEO Green Wave Retreat, 1980

Page 14 Page 18

Editor’s Journal

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Organizational Changes Highlight 2015 Annual Meeting Alumni and undergraduate officers reviewed one of the chapter’s most challenging years since its rechartering in 2004 during the house corporation’s Annual Meeting on Dec. 1 at the Lindley House.

Thirty-nine brothers, associate members and one affiliate were officially in attendance.

House Corporation President Spencer Schmerling asked the brothers who had driven the furthest to attend the meeting to lead the chapter in reciting the creed. It was a toss-up between Jeff Flocken from Irvine and the house corporations’s vice president of communications, Rick Childs, from Lancaster. In lieu of a coin toss, they both began the recitation.

Due to recommendations made by Headquarters, the house corporation relegated chapter reports to a session after the official business was concluded, and they were not in the printed annual report.

Brother Schmerling revealed during his report that the fraternity’s General Counsel, Lynn Chipperfield, had requested that all chapters restructure the functions of their house corporations.

“One of his specific directions is to remove any oversight/advising of chapter operation(s) from the business of the corporation,” Brother Schmerling said. “Therefore, chapter business and reports will no longer be part of the official business of the corporation.”

One of the immediate results of this new mandate was that the corp. board’s voting membership would no longer include undergraduate officers or the house manager. Nevertheless, the

chapter’s usual officer reps were still encouraged to attend meetings and provide commentaries after the close of official business Since its incorporation in 1969, Beta-Rho’s house corporation has been typically configured with 12 voting members: eight alumni and four active members. The active voting members during the years when the chapter has owned property have featured the High Alpha, High Tau, High Rho and house manager. During the years between the sale of Halsteds 1-3 [2007-’08] and before the Lindley House started serving as a private residence [2011], the High Iota (harm reduction officer) served on the corp. board instead of the house manager.

Aside from the corp. board voting membership configuration, Brother Chipperfield also instructed chapters to “not mix up our various alumni organizations such as the housing corp., alumni association and [alumni] advisory board.”

“The house corporation has been the unofficial advisory board for many, many years only because we haven’t had a real advisory board for a consistent period of time,” Brother Schmerling continued. “Now that Kevin [Mojaradi] has put together an advisory board, we no longer have to serve that purpose.”

Chapter receivables were in considerably better shape than at this point last year.

“Kudos to the chapter,” he said. “It’s done an amazing job for pulling itself out of a pretty prickly situation.”

In other news, Brother Schmerling said that 2

the corp. board was tackling a plan to restructure the note program. This effort was being led by the corp. board’s treasurer and one of the note holders, Scott Press .

In his report, Brother Childs likened the chapter’s past year to taking a spin on Disneyland’s Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride; an extraordinary year would be like “riding the Matterhorn or Space Mountain.”

Despite running into problems raising money with sponsorships to publish the 2016 directory, he did reveal that Beta-Rho had been honored as one of two chapters to receive the Alumni Affairs Publications Award during the Stead Leadership Seminar at Iowa State University in July. Over the summer he made contact with the publisher of the Cornell University chapter’s publications. They had also won the publications award. He and their chapter’s news magazine publisher began sharing and discussing their newsletters on Facebook.

Brother Childs paid tribute to several alumni during his report. Among them were former chapter advisor Tom Lawrence, Howard Brightman, Mark Widawer, Gary Thomas, Brother and Chapter Advisor Mojaradi and High Alpha Jeffrey Perez de Leon. Some of the brothers were mentioned for their contributions of talent in getting the directories and newsletters published in prior years. He also singled out Brother Thomas who taught him “almost everything I know about making newsletters.”

In summation, Brother Childs’ pursuit of communications projects involved an ongoing FALL 2015

Volume 43, Issue 6 Version 1.8 Editor, reporter, designer & photographer: Rick Childs The Beta-Rho Bulletin is the official publication of Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha, Inc. at California State University, Northridge. Article ideas, directory revisions, weddings, anniversaries, births and career info should be snail mailed, e-mailed or sent via Facebook to the editor. His mailing address is 44044 Engle Way Apt. 65, Lancaster, CA; 93536-. Email: eaglerick@twc.com. All other correspondence to the corporation should be sent to P.O. Box 280311, Northridge, CA 91328-0311.

Made on a Mac Mini with iWork Pages ’09 v. 4.1.

Originally published on March 10, 2016. Last revised on March 10, 2016. Editor’s phone number: (661) 948-3260.

Fall 2015 House Corporation Board of Directors: President VP, Communications VP, Activities Secretary Treasurer Alumni Director Alumni Director Chapter Advisor High Alpha High Tau High Rho House Manager

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LambdaChi.org Issuu.com/beta-rho_83 CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha, BP Alumni CSUNLambdaChiAlpha #CSUNLambdaChi

commitment to the “three P’s: preparation, pestering and perseverance.”

Elections took place after Brother Schmerling’s and Childs’ reports. As has become a kind of tradition in recent years, four alumni were nominated and ran unopposed to fill the open seats. Once again, paper ballots were unnecessary to approve the candidates. Elected for two-year terms were Rob Press, Gilbert Lopez and Kyle Shaver. Brother Schmerling accepted another one-year term as the corp. board’s president.

During the announcements, Brother Shaver brought up his recruitment app that he had created for smartphones like iPhones and Galaxies in 2014 to help chapters track and share prospective member information.

“If there is anything you guys would like to see in the application, I’m actually revisiting it,” he said.

Once the corp. board’s business had been adjourned, Brothers Perez de Leon and Mojaradi detailed the steps the chapter took to restore its fall recruitment schedule once the Greek system’s rush moratorium was lifted over the summer.

Luckily for the chapter, Brother Perez de Leon had been re-elected as chapter president to serve a second one-year term. His negotiating skills served the chapter well at the Stead Leadership Seminar where he met with staff to allow the chapter more time to resolve pressing financial obligations.

Copies of the 2016 membership directory were distributed to all alumni attendees as well as undergrads.

The corp. board’s vice president of activities, Tim Pena, organized the event. All 18 of the undergraduate attendees pitched in with setting up tables and chairs, serving dinner, clearing the parking lot and cleaning the house afterwards.

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

All photos by Rick Childs

On the Web: Headquarters Back Issues Facebook

Spencer Schmerling Rick Childs Tim Pena John Bonilla Scott Press Rob Press Hamid Jahangard Kevin Mojaradi Jeffrey Perez de Leon Josh Bascou Wes Cole Jesse Martinez

Return of the alumni. Founding fathers of the fall 2001 recolonization of Beta-Rho (opposite page) stand and receive recognition. Standing, from left, are Cesar Ayllon, Mike Press, Rick Trevino, Rob Press, Kevin Mojaradi and Christopher Aston. Before the meeting began (pictured at top), brothers met in the lounge off the living room to pore over some of the scrapbooks compiled by Tom Lawrence and Rick Childs. Eric Choi and Angel Torres are seated in the foreground. Frankie Castanon and brothers Bryan and Chris Martinez (above) strike a pose. Pictured at right, Spencer Schmerling (third from left) raises his hand to get everyone’s attention before the start of the meeting.

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Kyle Shaver

Annual reports. Clockwise from above left: Spencer Schmerling reported on the house corporation’s balance sheet for the Lindley House. Rick Childs reviewed the chapter’s alumni publications and thanked the undergrads for not displaying a giant placard of model Gisele Bündchen on the fireplace mantle at this year’s Annual Meeting. A smiling Jon Rice and Mark Eskander chat over dinner.

Opposite page: the corp. board sped through a post-Annual Meeting get-together in the media room where they selected new officers, picked the next meeting’s date and went around the room with announcements. Seated from left: Kevin Mojaradi, Rob Press, Kyle Shaver, Tim Pena, Spencer Schmerling, Scott Press and Jeffrey Perez de Leon.

Chapter President’s Report Good evening brothers, actives and alumni. For those of you who don’t know, I am Jeffrey Perez de Leon, the High Alpha here at Beta-Rho Zeta for the past year.

As it’s been referred to by Spencer Schmerling and Rick Childs, the chapter has gone through a big change. We have had, to say the least, a difficult and eventful past year here at Beta-Rho Zeta.

The start of the year was not a great one. The university prevented all Greek organizations from rushing new members. This meant that not only were we losing some great brothers during graduation, but that we weren’t gaining any new ones, either. Our finances were a mess, brothers were not being held accountable, and our membership did not think things would be getting better.

Over the summer, our chapter was put on suspension for having an outstanding balance with Nationals, which placed us in a difficult position. During that time, many brothers felt that we had dug ourselves a hole that we could not get out of. As we drew closer to the start of school, the High Zeta and I met and discussed ways that we could begin to fix our situation. While many had fears and doubts, brothers who were dedicated to this chapter saw the potential we had, and thus began a slow reorganizing process.

In July, I had the opportunity to represent our chapter in Iowa at the Stead Leadership Conference where I met brothers from all over this country. I learned a great deal about leading, recruitment, and placing people in the right role. But what will always stand out to me, was among hundreds of strangers, I felt a bond with them as brothers, which showed me that this organization is so much more than this one chapter. While we have had many problems, so have other chapters, and they shared with me how they fixed themselves and improved. I went back home with a renewed sense of purpose.

We buckled down, and worked on getting our debt paid off and ourselves ready for the semester.

Our High Tau Josh Bascou, with the help of Spencer, began collecting the debts owed by past brothers, and set our budget for the semester. High Delta Devin De Leon, with the help of brothers, especially our High Epsilon Frankie Castanon, worked to create rush materials and billboards.

While we went into the semester prepared for our first rush, with our debt nearly paid off, we failed to register with the school the first party of the new school year. We were placed on limited operations, preventing us from rushing. What we thought was the nail in the coffin, turned out to be the final test our chapter had to endure. We learned that doing things by the book is often the most important thing. We turned around, and gained six AMs who now await initiation this week.

In the spring, we had all seven Pan-Hellenic sororities and another non-PHC sorority participate in Watermelon Bust, where we raised over 3,200 cans for Feeding America. Our ELC visit with Brother Brandon Bonds was a success. We won the softball Intramurals championship for the second consecutive year. Our former High Tau, Jorge Reyes, is now AS student body president. We won most spirited and 3rd place in Delta Zeta’s philanthropy event. And our own Frankie Castanon was crowned Mr. CSUN at AOPi’s philanthropy event where we took 1st place.

While our year has had its ups and downs, we’ve had considerable milestones, and we are looking to the spring where we will have an intense rush initiative. We look forward to having a bigger and better Watermelon Bust on campus, and we cannot wait for next semester to have more games with our alumni.

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Jeffrey Perez de Leon FALL 2015

Chapter Advisor’s Report My voice is gone, so bear with me. I’ll make it short.

Yesterday I was at Headquarters, and I met with Josh Lodolo. Very happy to see him. It was

Kevin Mojaradi BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

the highlight of my day. It’s the sign of true brotherhood when after so many years you just can’t wait to see him and give him a big hug.

That’s true about a lot of the guys in this room.

This year when I walked into Lambda Chi as a High Pi, I didn’t know what I was walking into. I remember [last December] Rick [Childs] over here, and Chris Dyer standing over there, laughing at me and pointing. I had no idea what they were laughing at.

But once I got in, I realized what they were laughing at.

I have to give credit to Nationals, the current alumni and the people I reached out to. So thank you so much for helping me out with this process.

You threw my name out a lot tonight, and I want to thank you for that. But give credit where credit is due. The chapter deserves a lot of the credit.

We were on limited operations. We were not even allowed to meet for chapter meetings. We couldn’t even meet for exec. We had to get permission from Nationals to get a couple of guys together to actually talk…. We came into this room on a Sunday afternoon and we met. When I walked in through this door, it was dark. And it wasn’t just the light. It was the mood of this room. And these guys in 5

here remember. What do we do now? But, they got themselves together. We made it work. I remember sitting in my office, calling Nationals with Jeffrey right next to me. [I told them] we made a mess. We know what we did wrong, and we’re gonna fix it. That sounds really familiar to me. That’s basically what Lambda Chi stands for.

We [messed] up. We asked them to give us a chance. And they did. They realized how important it was for us to be on this campus. When I went to Neville I met with every single person I could meet. It enabled us to get back to where we are now.

We are now through with that, no suspensions, no problems. There’s a full advisory board, so thank you again for volunteering. You’re going to be working a lot next semester. And, we’re ready to go.

Jeffrey came in as the president, and his job for the entire year was damage control. That’s all he did last year. So, mad props to Jeffrey. Thank you so much for all you’ve done.

The High Zeta did an amazing job [doing recruitment]. We got seven guys in the span of three days.

So, congratulations. And the rest of the brothers: they got their act together and they showed commitment. They showed how we could get together and get things done if we put our hearts and minds to it. That’s where we stand for Lambda Chi: with our hearts, love for our brothers. And it worked. And as it’s working next semester I can see us going to greater places.

It’s my last year as your High Pi. I’m excited to make it work and make it even better than what it is now. So I’m going to congratulate all the actives. I want to thank all the alums for all the help you have given us, and that you continue to give to us throughout the year.

Photos courtesy of John McFarlane, Jorge Reyes & Paul Bowen

Alumni Chronicles John McFarlane (BP 313) and wife Liz have a new son: Zackary Daniel. He was born on Nov. 4 at 10:36 p.m. and weighed in at 5 lbs, 12 oz. He debuted at 20" at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.

Paul Bowen (BP 144), a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, completed gunsmithing school in Louisiana in October. He received an Associate of Occupational Study (AOS) in Gunsmithing. Shortly thereafter, he started apprenticing under a master gunsmith. “The work is something new every day” he wrote in an email.

Although the announcement missed the spring and summer BPB deadlines, Nikko Trinidad (BP 625) graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas in May. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology.

Clockwise from left: John McFarlane with his newborn son Zackary at Pasadena’s Huntington Memorial Hospital. AS President Jorge Reyes (BP 618), center, met with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom at the California State University Chancellor’s Office in Long Beach on Nov. 17 during a Board of Trustees meeting. Soon-to-be Master Gunsmith Paul Bowen’s Facebook profile picture from September.

Thank You to Our Alumni Supporters The 2015 Beta-Rho Alumni Loyalty Fund’s Dues Drive made modest gains this fall, although the sponsorships for the 2016 directory fell short of the goal. New and continuing supporters have helped the chapter raise $3,005 up through the middle of December. We could still use your firsttime or continuing support for $50 or more.

Your contributions help to support events like the Mike Ehrlich Memorial Alumni-Active Softball Game, post office fees and postage, office supplies, printing Annual Meeting invitations and twiceyearly mini-bulletins used in mailings.

Alumni who participated in this year’s dues drive campaign were Phil Abbenante, Erik Bossuk, Howard Brightman, Dennis Crain, Doc Ellis, Mark Eskander, Jay Friedman, Col. David Gill (ret.), Phil Griggs DDS, Roger Marte, Jim O’Connell, Tim Pena, Scott Press, David Primes, Jon Rice, Ellis San Jose, Patrick Schaefer and Spencer Schmerling.

Alumni were asked to sponsor undergraduate members at this year’s Annual Meeting for $25 donations. Several of them stepped up. Among them were Phil Abbenante, Erik Bossuk, Howard Brightman, Dennis Crain, Doc Ellis, Jay Friedman, Rob Harburg, Jim O’Connell, Tim Pena, David Primes, Jon Rice, Patrick Schaefer and Tim Shannon.

Our thanks also goes out to the following brothers and one spouse who provided support for the 2016 directory: Howard Brightman, Doc Ellis, Jim Emmerson, Mark Eskander, Jay Friedman, Jon Gardner, Richard Greenberg, Mike Gregory, John Hart, Dave Nelson, Jim O’Connell, Spencer Schmerling, Mark Swedelson and Marlene Widawer.

Revenues for 2015 were as follows: Alumni Loyalty Fund/Dues Drive: $1,115; Annual Meeting: $555; Annual Meeting Undergrad Sponsorships: $325; 2016 Membership Directory Ads: $940; additional donations: $70.

House Corporation Fall Meetings In Brief Oct. 14 President’s Report (Spencer Schmerling): Discussed financial obligations for Headquarters. and Inter-Fraternity Council. Lindley House rules were reviewed, mostly regarding parking lot restrictions and problems with trash strewn in front of the property. He thanked Jesse Martinez for the resumption of purchasing house supplies and complemented the cleanliness of the premises.

He and Scott Press went over the latest developments concerning the the Note Program.

Extra income for the chapter could be raised by using Spencer’s new CascadeCard credit card program. His college promotion is using the Beta-Rho name. As a benefit to the chapter, a portion of the credit card program’s profits would be donated to the Note Program’s bank account.

[The CascadeCard program was also discussed during his Annual Meeting report.]

VP of Communications Report (Rick Childs): The insert for the Annual Meeting invitation’s dues drive solicitation will be like a mini-bulletin again.

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Copies of the Annual Meeting invitation artwork drafts were passed around.

VP of Activities Report (Tim Pena): He was pleased with the alumni-active softball game, but some things could’ve gone more smoothly. Next summer he would like to see the game moved to Chatsworth High School “since we have a few connections there.” His Homeruns For Hope charity fundraiser for City of Hope was modestly successful, and he wants to do it again in 2016.

High Pi Report (Kevin Mojaradi): He went over recommendations made by the general counsel. The chapter now has a complete alumni advisory board (separate from the corp. board).

High Alpha Report (Jeffrey Perez de Leon): The chapter picked up seven new associate members.

High Tau (Josh Bascou): Dues are nearly current.

House Manager (Jesse Martinez): He bought all the house supplies for the month from a warehouse through his parents who are in a restaurant business.

Nov. 11 President’s Report: Led the corp. board in the creed for the first time in years outside of an Annual Meeting. Since today was Veteran’s Day, members around the room were asked to name as many brothers aloud as they could remember who are veterans, whether active or retired.

VP of Communications Report: Directory stuff.

VP of Activities Report: Stonefire Grill will be catering the Annual Meeting again.

High Alpha Report: The ELC visit with Brandon Bonds was pleasant, but a snafu with his motel arrangements got the biggest laugh in months.

High Rho Report (Wes Cole): A flag football event with alumni is being planned sometime in the winter or spring; no date has been confirmed.

FALL 2015

Goodbye to One of the Number 1’s

620), Beta-Rho’s first chapter advisor, and later Howard Brightman (EΣ 528), they formed the core interest group that nurtured the new colony.

While Brother Shermoen never took on the key responsibility of being a chapter president, his contributions were understated.

“He was always working in the background,” Dr. Coyne said.

After he graduated, Brother Shermoen worked for a time as a chief financial officer for a company in Aspen, Colo. Once he relocated back to California and bought a home in Valencia in the 1980s, he spent the rest of his career working as a CPA and enrolled agent of the IRS. Brother Shermoen’s athletic abilities kept him in the spotlight for most of his life. He played football at both Chatsworth High School and Valley State.

As a Matador he played quarterback. During his years in Aspen he excelled in skiing, worked as a ski instructor, surfed and set speed records in water skiing. Later in life he took up ballroom dancing and earned a number of awards. Quite a few of his swing dance competition routines and water skiing videos have been posted on YouTube.

“He was a champion swing dancer,” Ms. Mercer said. “He got into swing dancing in his

Courtesy of Mary Ann Mercer (2)

When the 2016 directories were mailed out, a wave of emails or Facebook messages trickle back with contact information revisions. This was not the case with Lance D. Shermoen (ZΔ317), an affiliate from the USC chapter. He had become involved while Beta-Rho was in its earliest stages of colonization, and he is generally recognized as having a major influence on the first ten recruits who were initiated in January of 1969.

He passed away in 2014 at the age of 67.

One of the chapter’s oldest plaques, which has since gone MIA, listed Brother Shermoen on it. There were eight brothers’ names written on a piece of Masonite fashioned in the shape of a big “1”. Each of the brothers on that plaque played key roles with the original colony.

His fiancé, Mary Ann Mercer, wrote in an email, “I know Lance was very proud to have been a part of your fraternity. I believe he was a key person who started the chapter at Cal State Northridge [then known as San Fernando Valley State].

“Sadly, he caught the flu in 2014 and passed away three weeks later from it,” she added.

Luckily for Beta-Rho, the post office sent a forwarding address after his 2015 Annual Meeting invitation had been returned.

Several alumni were sent emails about Brother Shermoen’s passing. One of them, Henry Lederman (BP 5), had some fond memories of Brother Shermoen.

“The news shocked me to the core,” Brother Lederman wrote. “Lance was a wonderful friend, fraternity brother and human being. I always looked up to Lance. I believe he was the driving force behind starting the chapter. No disrespect to Dave Trimble (ZΨ 276); I just thought so highly of Lance’s leadership skills. I will miss Lance. I always wondered what became of him. His loss touches his family, his community, the fraternity, and all those who knew and loved him.”

Dr. Joseph Coyne (BP 7) concurred. He said in a phone interview that Dr. Trimble and Brother Shermoen, upon transferring to Valley State, were recruited by Headquarters to start a Lambda Chi Alpha chapter from scratch, a first for the fraternity. Along with Tom Lawrence (AI

forties and went to all the contests. Then he wrote a program to actually help score the swing dance events. So he ran the scoring rooms for a bunch of the dance conventions.”

Ms. Mercer noted that Brother Shermoen touched a lot of people’s lives with his kindness.

“It’s amazing how many people reached out when they already were sick and said how important he was to them,” Ms. Mercer said. “He was on a bunch of dance teams, and he helped kids in dancing. (One of his friends said) you put your hands in Lance’s and he makes you shine.”

He also mastered stunts riding on horseback, she wrote in an email a couple of days later.

Dr. Coyne recalled that Brother Shermoen’s talents extended beyond athletics, ballroom dancing, accounting and management.

“He and I went flying once,” Dr. Coyne revealed “I believe he told me he had a commercial pilot’s license.”

His only surviving relative is his nephew Stevie Shermoen, Jr., the son of his late half-brother Steve.

They were very close.

One more thing: Brother Shermoen was no stranger to social media. He shared many of his adventures on Facebook and Twitter.

An active life. Lance Shermoen played halfback when he attended Chatsworth High School wearing the #32 jersey (far left). Holding a vintage wood slalom ski, he made runs at water ski speed records. On his Twitter page, he posted photos from his trip to Vail, Colo.

In 2012.

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

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All photos by Rick Childs

Fall 2015 Associate Member Installation More than 40 brothers, parents, alumni and guests convened on campus starting at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 for an Associate Member Installation. Chapter Advisor Kevin Mojaradi sent a Facebook private message earlier in the afternoon: it’s in Sierra Hall 280.

Conducting the ceremony were High Zeta officers Jeffrey Perez de Leon (president), Myke Davis (vice president), Nick Dinsmore (fraternity educator), Devin De Leon (recruitment officer) and Vincent Pimentel (ritualist).

More than a few alumni worried that circumstances beyond the chapter’s control might derail their chances of having a fall rush. An ongoing moratorium on fraternity and sorority recruitment pushed into the summer, but it was lifted in August. Then a private party at the Lindley House that had not been registered with Headquarters was swarmed by uninvited guests, and that temporarily hampered rush efforts.

Ultimately, High Delta Devin De Leon rallied the brothers to recruit seven new members in three days in late September.

The chapter welcomed Eric (Suho) Choi, Jason Fefer, Adrian Martinez, Mickey Ngo (who wasn’t initiated), Francisco Silva, Austin Smith and Alejandro (Alex) Valdivia.

Scholastic improvement, fundraising, working on philanthropies and paying down debts topped the list of chapter goals.

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FALL 2015

The Class of Fall, 2015 Rush Chairman/High Delta: Devin De Leon Fraternity Educator/High Kappa: Nick Dinsmore Ritualist/High Phi: Vincent Pimentel

Eric (Suho) Choi

Jason Fefer

Adrian Martinez

Class Level: Freshman Major: Journalism Big Brother: Jeffrey Perez de Leon Hometown: Los Angeles Birthday: March 12 BP 701

Class Level: Freshman Major: Political Science Minor: Economics Big Brother: Wes Cole Hometown: Valley Village Birthday: August 15 BP 700

Class Level: Freshman Major: Bus. Admin.: Economics Big Brother: Frankie Castanon Hometown: Los Angeles

Francisco M. Silva

Austin X. Smith

Alejandro Valdivia

Class Level: Freshman Major: Family & Consumer Sciences: Fashion & Merch.

Big Brother: Angel Torres Hometown: Valencia BP 703 Birthday: April 22 BP 704

Birthday: Sept. 14

BP 702

Class Level: Junior Major: Engineering Big Brother: Devin De Leon Hometown: Los Angeles

Class Level: Sophomore Major: Undeclared Big Brother: David Burgos Hometown: Los Angeles

Birthday: April 24

Birthday: June 1

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

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BP 705

Fall initiation kicked off on Dec. 4 after dark, but well before the onset of a waning crescent moon. The university’s Student Affairs Office instituted a new rule this fall stipulating that fraternity initiations end by midnight.

Beta-Rho came in well under the wire at 11:14 p.m., time enough for celebrants to wind down and run out for latenight meals after group and individual photos were taken.

Some of the new initiates gave their big brothers decorative paddles and they reciprocated in kind with black hoodies decorated with green and gold letters.

Edith NuĂąo (below), Diana Kandela (lower right IM photo), Luz Ramos (Secret Santa group, lower left), all others except Order of Omega photo by Rick Childs

Chapter Chronicles Fall 2015 Another semester just flew by. Clockwise from right: Brothers and supporters gather after an Intramurals game in the Matadome that was posted on Facebook on Oct. 14. Cisco Silva, Glen Probst and Alex Valdivia relax at The Habit with some AOPis where a chapter fundraiser was taking place on Oct. 14. Alumnus Rick Trevino also dropped by. Another Intramurals group photo, this time north of the Student Recreation Center that was posted on Nov. 25. Two views of the Secret Santa gift exchange on Dec. 15. Jeffrey Perez de Leon present High Pi Kevin Mojaradi with a huge green ceremonial paddle. Sisters from Delta Zeta along with Nick Dinsmore and Daniel Ruelas counted cash for their philanthropy on Oct. 14. Jeffrey Perez de Leon and Wes Cole were inducted into the Order of Omega Greek Honor Society on Nov. 18.

The chapter collected cans from neighbors for Feeding America in November. It took 1st place during AOPi’s Mr. CSUN contest; Frankie Castanon is the Fall 2015 Mr. CSUN. Brothers spent an afternoon at MB2 Racing in Santa Clarita where they sped around a track on gokarts.

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FALL 2015

All photos by Rick Childs

A few fall chapter meetings. Some highlights from meetings on Oct. 4, 11 and Nov. 15. Rodrigo Valenzuela conducted a house evacuation drill on Nov. 15 ; he is shown above.

Joey Solano (above Rodrigo) dropped by on Oct. 4. David Burgos was named Brother of the Week on Oct. 11, and his coveted prized in lieu of the trophy was a Chipotle burrito. Chris Burgos, sitting next to Frankie Castanon, ordered a few dozen green Lambda Chi wristbands.

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

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All photos by Rick Childs

Day At Dockweiler Beta-Rho adopted a stretch of Dockweiler State Beach a year ago, and what started as an afternoon of picking up trash evolved into an informal social gathering with the CSUN Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority chapter. Around 40 attended.

Almost the entire chapter carpooled down the 405 to Playa Del Rey on Nov. 25 just south of L.A. International’s flight path. The temperatures hovered in the mid-70s. No jacket required.

Thanks El NiĂąo winter!

The entourage enjoyed a late lunch and then congregated at Lifeguard Station 55 for a group picture. A touch football game broke out soon after. Others opted for practicing volleyball or taking a swim. Wes Cole (shown with Jason Fefer wearing sunglasses) tried out his wakeboard.

As the sun set, a bonfire was lit and sticks were passed around for roasting marshmallows.

Among the alumni in attendance were Justyn De Leon (wearing a tie dye shirt) and Rick Childs.

High Epsilon Frankie Castanon organized the event.

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FALL 2015

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

13

Round 2

President & CEO of the Educational Foundation, Josh Lodolo Josh Lodolo (BP 459) has returned to Lambda Chi Alpha’s Headquarters.

After six years of work with the University of Texas at Austin where he served in multiple development and alumni relations roles, Lambda Chi Alpha called him back. He worked as an educational leadership consultant and then associate director of development and alumni relations. Despite settling in for what appeared to be a long tenure at UT, Brother Lodolo fielded an offer this summer to succeed Mark Bauer as the president and CEO of the Educational Foundation. He accepted the position and began work at Headquarters in September.

He sat down for a podcast interview with Associate Director of Communications and Digital Publishing Kyle Jones that was published on Nov. 5 for the Cross & Crescent.

The BPB editor caught up with Brother Lodolo by phone on Nov. 20 for a report on his new career, some recollections of working for UT at Austin, what he misses about living in Texas, and some advice on how Beta-Rho might improve its own alumni outreach and fundraising efforts.

We do fundraising, and obviously we grant funds from the endowment to the fraternity for certain educational programs and functions that they do.

And then we also award scholarships to undergraduates — everything from financial needs-based and meritbased to scholarships to allow chapters to send multiple people to [Stead] Leadership Seminars and General Assemblies. So, it’s more than just fundraising.

There’s a lot of things to do, and I’m still trying to figure it out one day at a time.

Since you have stepped into this role, what is Mark Bauer doing now that you have moved into that position?

Mark’s title is executive alumni outreach. He’s got a split role between the Educational Foundation and the fraternity. On the fraternity side, he’s been here for such a long time that built tremendous relationships.

He is sort of a diplomat for the fraternity, reaching out to some of our chapters that maybe haven’t been super positive about the General Fraternity. He is trying to reinvigorate those folks and get them to be advocates for General Fraternity. On the foundation side he’s continuing to do major gift development work.

He’s actually in Northern California this week. He was in Oregon and Seattle a couple of weeks ago. He’s going down to Florida in a couple of weeks. So he’s still traveling around doing major gift development work for us.

Compared to when you were working at Headquarters eight years ago, what are some of the most notable things that have changed aside from the move from Founder’s Road to Pennsylvania Street in Carmel?

I’d say the biggest thing is the health of the organization. Membership has been on the rise consistently for the last eight or ten years. Financially, our resources are greater. We have savings accounts. We’ve got rainy day funds. I’m talking about just the fraternity, not even Foundation. We’re in a much better situation financially. We were hemorrhaging positions when I was here in Round 1. I remember Bill Farkas, when he was hired, one of the first things he did was cut eight or ten positions. Now we’re in the exact opposite trajectory: we’re healthy, we’re growing membership, retention of our members is much higher. So I’d say overall, we’re in a much better position to really invest in exciting programs that can continue to advance Lambda Chi as being the best fraternity in the world. But other than that, the organization’s been the same for the last 106 years. We have a mission: we help our undergraduates grow, we develop their moral compass, and hope they don’t make too many mistakes.

How did your career develop once you started at the university?

At UT, I got hooked up through Lambda Chi, actually. A gentleman named Jim Erickson, who was the vice chancellor for advancement and development at UC Irvine and UC Riverside—he was on the Lambda Chi staff back in the 1950s. We had connected. I told him about my interest in higher education and he connected me with a gentleman who is the current vice chancellor at UC Riverside and met with that gentleman. He actually offered me a job; he wanted me to move back to California, but I didn’t want to. I told him about Austin and he connected me with a gentleman at the University of Texas. We had a good meeting, and then that gentleman connected me with the dean of the college. And a few short weeks after that I was hired.

So my first role with the University of Texas was associate director of development. And for about two-and-a-half years I was a hundred percent alumni fundraiser. I traveled primarily to Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Midland and Southern California to cultivate relationships with major gift prospects. And after [that] I pitched sort of a new direction to engage more young alumni, to engage more volunteers nationwide to the

How are you doing now that you are back in Carmel?

It’s beautiful. It’s cold, it’s feeling like winter, but this is the fall from what I recall, unfortunately. It takes some getting used to.

I remember when I left L.A. I guess this would’ve been in February of 2004. I came out here to interview for the ELC job. When I left L.A. it was 75 degrees, and with the wind chill here in Indianapolis, it was 25 below zero, and they had a foot of snow dumped that night. So, that should’ve been a sign for me to not come, but now I’m back for Round 2. I guess I just haven’t had enough. I will appreciate it here in the summer a helluva lot more than I appreciated it in Texas.

I know you were pretty happy with the climate in Austin.

I definitely am more of a warm weather person, taking advantage of the lakes and wildlife and whatnot. The first summer I was out there in Austin, I remember we had a record of 75 days over 100 degrees. It was a nasty summer, but it’s okay!

The good thing about my job is that I get to travel the country a lot. So I’m planning Arizona and California, Texas and Florida in January and February. I’ll plan my north travels in April and on.

I didn’t realize that as the CEO and president of the Educational Foundation that you do a lot of traveling.

Not nearly as much as I used to as an ELC, or as much as I hope to probably six or nine months down the road. Primarily, my travels now have been focused around visiting board members and high-level donors. Sort of a listening and learning tour. But ultimately when things are in order here I will start traveling, I think, every other week for about two to three days every other week. That’s the plan.

I know that you are in charge of fundraising for the fraternity, but what exactly is it that you do?

Fundraising is a small part of the role. I am a steward of the endowments, and we have about $9 million in assets that have been generated from the capital campaigns. We do alumni engagement efforts. We support regional alumni associations. We have a program called the Mentoring Academy, which is under the Joe Charles Mentoring Program and run those activities.

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FALL 2015

All photos courtesy of Josh Lodolo

don’t really associate themselves with the college that they’re a part of, unless you’re business or law. So that was my vision: to build the brand for engagement opportunities and, ultimately, development opportunities for the College of Liberal Arts.

What were some of your most memorable and rewarding career experiences working at University of Texas, Austin?

Without a doubt the human beings that I got to interact with who were donors. In fact I just responded to an email from one of them today. I still stay in touch with quite a few. But I would say just the engagement opportunities with our donors. We have such passionate people who love the Longhorns, who love UT, who love certain departments within the College of Liberal Arts. It was so neat for me as a guy who has a finance degree and an MBA. I didn’t really get the liberal arts/social science experience in college other than the requirements that the degree plan forced me to take. And so listening to people who were English majors and psychology majors and history majors and black studies majors... I learned so much from all of these alumni and donors about other parts of this world.

As the dean would always say, “It’s not so much about how much money you can make; it’s about living a rich life.” In the humanities and social sciences, it’s true. So the experiences with those alums helped me understand more of life. It’s not just about making money: it’s about all the greatness it’s surrounded by and the people that are a part of it.

Also, it’s being a part of such a massive community. I mean, the University of Texas: 500,000 alumni, those football games, the energy, the spirit. It was just really cool being a part of such a massive, successful institution. I’d say that came in a far second to the human beings I was able to work with.

It sounded like you had a pretty rich social life in Austin. How did that compare to the life you had led when you were in Indianapolis?

Good question. I think because I traveled so much in Indianapolis I was able to develop a bit of a social network here, but not nearly what I was able to in Austin. I don’t know if it’s necessarily the city difference as much as the amount of time I was able to spend in Austin versus the time I was able to spend in Indianapolis. In Texas the majority of my travel was intrastate. Occasionally, I would do an overnight but, for the most part, they were day trips. So as a result I was back home, I was with my dog Dodger.

I was able to be at the park with friends. I was able to socialize more with friends. So I think that’s probably why I was able to develop more social relationships in Austin than I had in Indianapolis.

Also, I got hooked up with the softball league probably six months after I moved to Austin. My league was something like forty teams. So I was able to make a lot of social connections through that softball league. It was a lot of fun, and to be honest, I miss it a lot.

What made you go full circle and attracted you to go back to Lambda Chi Alpha Headquarters?

It sure was not the weather. (Laughs.) A couple of things. First, as in my decision-making model with most [things], I always trust my gut. My gut has a natural reaction to something. Whatever my gut says, I then go through the process and allow the process to prove my gut wrong. When the search committee that was running the search for this position reached out to me—it was last February—I said, “Wow, I’m honored to even be considered for this.”

But it’s February, it’s 70 degrees in Austin right now. It’s probably 20 degrees in Indianapolis. I have a great job at the University of Texas. I love my life. I’d really have to be impressed by this. And so he said, “Hey, at least just look at the information when we’re ready to send it to you and consider it.” So, once I looked at the information, my gut immediately said “yes” for two reasons. One, the strategic plan that had been put in place was very impressive. The success that we had with this last campaign…. So, those two things led my gut to say, “Yeah, absolutely.” Then when I went through with the actual interview process, I let the experience prove my gut wrong. But the thing is, the board members who I met with during this search

Austin’s Outlaws. Josh Lodolo (above, front row, second from left) celebrates their softball team’s championship in Division C of the GSWS in August of 2015.

dean and he bought into it as long as we could secure funding. At that point I was promoted to director of developmental alumni relations. I think that first year I hired one person. A year later I hired two more. And then last year I hired a fourth person. And they were doing major gift stuff, but also engaging young alumni, just trying to get people involved as donors.

We created some more volunteer opportunities outside of just our traditional advisory council. We started to enhance more of our stewardship work. We created the first-ever Annual Report for the college. We just really tried to help build a brand for the College of Liberal Arts within this massive and popular University of Texas. Most people who graduate from the university associate themselves with the university—with the Longhorns—and BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

15

All photos courtesy of Josh Lodolo

Round 2 with Josh Lodolo during this search process were so impressive, Rick. These folks are not just people who give money and show up to a meeting or two a year. The questions that I was asked, the level of engagement—that it was pretty obvious these board members were curious about the nuts and bolts of our operations, the process, the planning, the partnership with the fraternity.

Things like, “Talk to us about improving retention rates, and talk to us about how we get people to be recurring monthly donors.” These were not the kinds of questions that I remember the Foundation board members asking when I was here in Round 1. And so I was just so impressed with the board, right? And those are the folks I report to. That, coupled with my gut telling me this is right, this is my passion. Those are ultimately the two things that caused me to accept the job. Now that I’ve been here for two months, I would say there’s another thing as well. That’s the ability to make change.

At the University of Texas, there’s 50,000 students and 20,000 employees and 500,000 alumni and a $2.4 billion budget and a $16 billion endowment.

Oh my gosh, the idea of making change in a place like that is nearly impossible. But here in two months—I mean in two days—I’ve been able to make amazing change and feel the energy and momentum shift. So, ultimately it’s also the ability to make change and a real difference within this organization that’s… without a doubt the thing that’s keeping me [engaged at Headquarters].

At one point, Lambda Chi Alpha was in serious financial straits. What was the key thing that made Headquarters turn around and become much more financially solvent in this era?

I think it’s two things. One: additional revenue. Our membership grew, which was a good thing. But the other was cutting expenses and just being more fiscally conservative with the dollars that we have. Investing practices have changed. And living within our means. So, instead of four people traveling to do a chapter special visit, or five people being on expansion, let’s figure out how many people are really necessary to be successful at it, and use those resources that are necessary. Leveraging other resources at our fingertips like volunteers. So we traded [them for] the Master Steward program, the fraternal steward program. Just investing more in the volunteers to allow those boots on the ground locally to do some of the work that staff had traditionally done from Indianapolis and would have to travel in. So two things: the revenue, but also just cutting down on expenses and only spending dollars where necessary.

What time period are we talking about here, the early 2000s, 2003 or ’04?

2004-5-6. Basically when [Brother] Farkas came in, that’s when things started to get better.

In recent years the fraternity has introduced some extraordinary conferences like the Neville Advisor’s College, the Mentor Training Program and the High Alpha seminars. These came about from generous support by some of our alumni. Is Headquarters looking at any other alumni or undergrad training opportunities in the near future?

The programs that we have are pretty solid. You [touched on] a few of them. We [still] have Master Steward. We do summits on an annual basis.

Those are for our regional volunteer leaders. We have the [Neville] Advisor’s College twice a year now. My first week here was one and we’re doing another one in February. So those are the big things on the alumni side. On the undergraduate side, obviously, the Stead Leadership Seminar is the core competency that we’ve been doing for a long time. But also through True Brother, True Leader, recruitment training through True Brother, pre-initiation through True Brother is really helping undergraduates operate their fraternity chapters in line with the core values of our ritual. The other program that we are bringing—we did our first one last year and our second one in January—is a High Alpha Summit. This is where we invite all High Alphas to come. It’s only fifty bucks to attend/register. You have to travel on your own. And we did that here at Indianapolis at the Headquarters.

Settling back into life near Indianapolis. Josh Lodolo posted these pictures and caption quotes on his Facebook page. The front side view of Headquarters in Carmel (top) appeared on Oct. 8: “It’s great to be a Lambda Chi!” A view from Headquarters’ parking lot on Nov. 18: “Even on cold rainy mornings, it’s pretty cool to be greeted by these flags.” Dodger takes a nap after a long walk on Sept.

20: “Dog park success.”

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FALL 2015

“It’s not so much about how much money you can make; it’s about living a rich life.”

The Grand High Alpha, Fletcher McElreath is coming to that. We have several executives of corporations and non-profits coming to speak with the High Alphas about leadership development and motivating other members of their chapter. So that’s the newest program that we’re focusing on and growing. That’s, of course, outside the traditional undergraduate leadership programs and operations that we have.

Do you have a passion project among your goals as you develop future campaigns for the Educational Foundation?

No, not yet. Honestly, I’m still just listening and learning. I promised to not make too many major decisions in my first ninety days. I think I’m at about day 60 now. We just have so many stakeholders, Board of Counselors, former Grand High Zeta, former Foundation Board members, donors, volunteers, former staff. I really want to listen to everybody and so I’m gathering information about what priorities are and should be, and where people’s passions are. But also where our pain points are and where there’s a need. So I’ve identified lists of things. I mean, we have tons of areas for improvement. Ultimately, we have very limited resources, and so I’m trying to figure out where to prioritize with the limited resources that we have. I think they’re all going to be in line though with a couple of core priorities, which are: number 1, our job is to steward relationships with donors. And so everybody who’s living—30,000 Lambda Chis who have given at some point in their life to the Educational Foundation—are a top priority of mine. I want to make sure that everyone feels valued and appreciated for the financial support that you provide. The second thing is engaging alumni and mission critical volunteer work. And so what that means is that there’s a lot more than mentoring academies and bringing you in to start a regional alumni association. There’s dozens of ways to engage alumni in mission critical volunteer work. So we’re trying to identify all those opportunities and provide a smorgasbord list for folks to get involved with. Those are the two guiding lights from a priority standpoint.

From a passion standpoint I haven’t really nailed anything down quite yet.

Since Beta-Rho has not been among the fraternity’s biggest financial supporters over the decades, what might help our alumni become more involved as donors in the future both on a local and national level?

I think, first and foremost, it’s going to those folks who have given at some point in the past, finding out why they give, thanking them for their giving, and trying to figure out if we actually used the gifts in light of the idea that they expected those gifts to be used for. The second thing is going to people and actually understanding what they are interested in supporting and why they would be interested in supporting the organization.

So, asking questions like, within Lambda Chi Alpha, we talk about this program, that program, what stands out as being the most important program to you? What would you be the most passionate about? Then, of course, involving people beyond just their treasure. Having them volunteer with the organization. Having them interact with the undergraduates.

The impact of all of our effort[s] is to help young men develop that moral compass who will be great, ethical leaders in the world. Engaging alumni with the undergraduates, they get to see the impact. And then they’re more likely to support us financially. I’d say going back to those existing donors, past donors and finding out why they gave, and what they expected to get when they gave, then identifying where people’s highest passions and priorities are, and trying to identify connection points to them to actually observe and feel the impact of the support that they could have down the road if they choose to give.

The last thing I would say is consistent communication. And I think BetaRho does that better than anybody. The alumni communications that you put out are tremendous. Just continuing to do that and coupling it with maybe some messages of private support by communicating how your $50 will help us print these and do these things. Communicating how philanthropy really allows those things to happen is ultimately going to encourage them BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

to give because they know they are making a difference.

Josh, if you were an ELC today, what would be your message to Beta-Rho based on your view of its strengths and challenges going forward?

Try to be the best Lambda Chi chapter. Don’t try to be the best Cal State Northridge chapter. Go to UCLA. Go to USC. Go to UC San Diego. Go to UC Santa Barbara. Find out what other Greek letter organizations are doing at other campuses besides Cal State Northridge. I think because we are predominantly a first generation college, and we have so many people who fraternity is brand new to, which is good and bad, we lose some of the traditions. We lose some of the things that allow some of these other chapters like USC and UCLA to be so great at doing fraternity and engaging our alumni on a regular basis. I would say look to those other chapters in your region. Send as many undergraduates as possible to Conclaves, the General Assemblies and Leadership Seminars to hear best practices about what other Lambda Chi Alpha chapters are doing. Not to dig on the Cal State Northridge culture whatsoever, but I think it’s such a commuter school.

It’s such a… we’re here to do well academically which, of course, that’s what we need to be a priority. But we miss the opportunity of a traditional Lambda Chi chapter that’s been around for a hundred years that has four generations of a family that’s gone through it and have all that historical knowledge. Just getting to know some of the other chapters in the area and other Greek letter organizations at other universities could definitely help.

Another thing I would say is develop short-term goals. It’s neat and all when we give these awards like Grand High Alpha and Phoenix Awards and McIntosh Award and whatnot. But that’s so pie in the sky crazy long term. I think setting realistic short-term smart goals, setting action plans in place to go out and accomplish them. Little by little after you build that kind of success, you’ll just see culture develop and natural habits develop. Then it’s going to be easier to accomplish those longer-term goals.

Are there any other thoughts on motivating alumni in a chapter like ours to support our alumni loyalty fund?

The best way to get folks to consider giving at the local level is: get your [alumnus] who gives on a regular basis to be a champion for us and advocate. And [ask him to] get one two other people to give. If Mike Cooperman gives, then ask Mike to go get five people from his time to give.

Is there some message that you would want a reader to know about Headquarters and about what you do that would be something to encourage them to interact more with them? Or is there something else?

Not anything related with Headquarters. The one thing I would say though is that I have been ridiculously impressed with the folks who have stepped up recently at Beta-Rho to serve as High Pi. I know Cesar [Ayllon] did it for awhile, I know Kevin [Mojaradi] is doing it now, and when he came up to the [Neville] Advisor’s College, and the kinds of communications that we’ve been having about the little issue that the chapter had recently….

It’s not about the chapter succeeding; it’s about the men learning. That’s the whole purpose of Fraternity for me, at least. It’s to develop the moral compass, to develop the guide so that in five, ten, twenty, thirty years, if it’s personal life, if it’s professional life, if it’s volunteer work, if it’s ethical dilemmas, you can’t always look to the rule book to figure out what you need to do. But you can look to your heart, your moral compass. And if it’s been developed properly, then I think it’s a good tool to use in the decision making process.

And that’s what’s impressed me so much about the Caesars and the Kevins that have stepped up. And while it’s tough decisions that [upset the chapter], it’s things that these undergraduates will look back to ten, twenty, thirty years from now and know that that experience, learning through it, is so worth it.

Because it’s gonna keep them out of jail or it’s gonna keep them from making an unethical decision. And that’s what I’m most impressed by. I’m just so thankful for people like Kevin who have stepped up and impressed me with everything that he has been doing.

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When the Green Wave Crested A 1980 Big Bear Brotherhood Retreat Rejuvenated the Chapter After Some Painful Times Before the university banned off-campus fraternity retreats earlier this year (due to new anti-hazing regulations), the chapter held brotherhood events off-campus most semesters. In recent years those took place in either Big Bear or the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Brotherhood retreats in Big Bear were sometimes referred to in the 1970s and ‘80s as Runaways. They usually took place in early January, emphasized recreation, not to mention partying, and were coed. But one of them eschewed the playtime agenda and little sisters for a truly inspirational and educational members-only weekend. Promoted as the Fall 1980 Big Event, brothers and four future initiates convened at the south shore of Big Bear Lake at the Singing Pines Lodge over the weekend of Sept. 26-28 for the debut of the chapter’s Green Wave Retreat. About 30 attended.

Gary Thomas and Mark Taubman, the High Alpha and High Beta respectively, planned the event. At the start of the weekend, everyone received yellow t-shirts emblazoned with Green Wave logos.

In the months prior to the retreat, the chapter had purged some of its members during a “house cleaning” for insubordination.

“The retreat was a rebuilding time with the core of the brothers,” Brother Taubman wrote. “It was a very inspirational time. I miss those days very much.”

Also called the Big Event, it combined an officer retreat with activities

loosely modeled after Leadership Seminars. Saturday’s agenda kicked off at 7 a.m. with committee chairmen meetings. Friendship discussions before each meal, breakout sessions after lunch, a study session and a tough love lecture from High Pi Tom Lawrence (where he introduced an improvisational exercise he referred to as “sense memories”) kept everyone engaged.

After dinner, a medley of Lambda Chi singalongs with Brandon Cesmat often accompanying on guitar preceded a Celebration of Life led by thenFather Joe Coyne. His homily was interspersed with Bible readings.

The solemnity of Saturday evening’s program lightened up considerably the next morning. Brother Thomas switched from his Green Wave t-shirt to a black tuxedo and commandeered the living room with a tongue-in-cheek version of the Academy Awards. He presented “Lammies” in honor of each High Zeta officer’s programming contributions. Plaques handed out were decorated with “tiny plastic lambs handsomely mounted on cardboard with Elmer’s Glue-All,” according to the article about the event that appeared in one of the first Beta-Rho Bulletins published in the late fall of 1980.

Prior to departure, Howard Brightman

One Sunday morning at Singing Pines Lodge. Front row from left: Rick Childs, Howard Brightman, Rob Prushan, Dan Sovetky, Jeff Friedman, Gary Thomas, Jeff Gardner, George Raquel and Jim Emmerson. Standing: Mark Taubman, David Kelley, Mark Green, Mike Bennett, Mike Pole, Kerry Koerbling, Terry Lucero, Dave Stonefield, Mike Horan, John Peters, Lanny Silverman, Nick Katsomalis, Bruce Gillies and Bob Meadows.

All photos by Rick Childs

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revealed a drawing for the 1980 homecoming float. The chapter took great pride in participating in the homecoming parades in that time period.

Dave Stonefield almost didn’t make it to the retreat because he had been involved in a freak accident a day earlier. As he was walking into Halsted I through the back door, a brother walking in front of him slammed it prematurely. Brother Stonefield tried to keep the door from closing as he walked up the step and accidentally put his left arm through its window pane.

“I was in a lot of pain at the time,” Brother Stonefield wrote in a Facebook post. “David Kelley ran me into the bathroom to see it and pull the glass out and stuffed it under water to clean it. Gary [Thomas] then ran me to the Northridge ER for 60 stitches and we went to Big Bear the next day. My kids always asked me how I got the scars and nerve damage.”

Strengthening the bonds of friendship while healing the wounds of a struggling chapter. At an ideal rustic lodge not too far off the main highway in Big Bear, the chapter regrouped and got down to business planning events and rekindling its brotherhood. Clockwise from left: Dave Stonefield. Jim Emmerson and Jeff Friedman (wearing the hat) reflected on their friendship during the ‘Lammies’ awards presentation. Mark Taubman listens to Brandon Cesmat’s guitar playing. Tom Lawrence challenged the chapter to move past the difficulties of the previous two semesters and rediscover the brotherhood’s potential. The living room was packed for the Saturday afternoon discussions before study hall. Lanny Silverman collaborated with Bruce Gillies (seated) during a breakout session.

Former Father Joe Coyne (now retired Dr. Coyne) relaxed before capping the second night with a Celebration of Life.

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BETA-R HO BULLETIN BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA FRATERNITY

P.O. BOX 280311

NORTHRIDGE, CA 91328-0311

Address Service Requested

Editor’s Journal My family and I visited the Griffith Observatory on Sept. 11. As we were exploring the Ahmanson Hall of the Sky’s solar telescopes, my iPhone’s piano ringtone pinged me. It was John Bonilla. He was concerned about the chapter and asked me for advice. As I gazed at a sunspot on a display, I texted him to contact the chapter advisor, Kevin Mojaradi, after consulting with others. Then I ducked into the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater.

I am fortunate to still have such close ties to the chapter. We only get a fixed number of trips on this world around the son. Forty trips ago I became an initiate at Beta-Rho. Less than four short trips later, I was welcomed into the ranks of the alumni.

It never dawned on me to pursue the office of alumni secretary. While I did not run for the High Rho office, I went after Gamma since I am a pretty good note taker. Little did I know that future aeronautical engineer Brian Megginson had a lock on that position each time. And he was quite accomplished as secretary. I still have a binder with some of his chapter minutes.

During my tenure as an alumnus, I have become an avid collector of our memorabilia. Preserving memories has become a passion of mine. It drives my wife nuts sometimes though. Recently, I pulled out some more boxes from storage with some directories, photo envelopes and green Lambda Chi zipper pouches full of handouts from a few General Assemblies. I have my own scrapbooks plus the ones Tom Lawrence compiled over the years. I think of them as our social media before Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat turned scrapbooks and photo albums into curiosities.

Despite never having actually been a High Rho, I try to advise them whenever I can. When I went to the Neville Advisor’s College last February, I snagged one of the complementary 2014 Paedagoguses from the lobby at Headquarters during a tour. I still have my old one from 1977 even though my original copy from 1975 was given out to an associate member the semester after I joined. The newer one has become a useful tool for research when I write articles that mention the names of staff and distinguished alumni. The interview with Josh Lodolo had me digging out that Paedagogus to check some of my spelling.

Joining Lambda Chi Alpha afforded me a lot of opportunities to luxuriate in the sunshine. I never played Intramural sports, but I showed up with my camera and took plenty of pictures. Ditto for our Pumpkin Busts and rush tables.

When I first became familiar with the brothers before Rush Week in the fall of 1975, I tagged along with a couple of them to Zuma Beach one afternoon. We settled onto the hot beach sand and watched the sunbathers. One of the brothers told me one of the most shocking stories I had ever heard. His girlfriend had called him

one night on the Cantara House payphone. She told him that if he didn’t come over and see her right away, she was going to kill herself. For whatever reason, he didn’t tell her what she wanted to hear, and then the sickening bang of a handgun went off through his receiver. Why couldn’t he have put her in touch with CSUN’s Helpline? That moment shattered his world, but he and I became good friends during my undergraduate years.

Then within a few years, he was gone and never finished college. The lesson I took away was an abiding desire to be mindful of the mental health of my brothers, family and friends. Life can be extremely unfair—and short.

What will I do with my remaining trips around the sun? I have this opportunity to write some more stories, snap more pictures, record some moments on video, and share my knowledge and memories. One of the great pleasures of publishing these news magazines is that I can interview alumni, and nowadays I try to do that with some of the actives, too. At least three of the alumni I have interviewed have passed away. The funny thing is, only one alumnus has asked me to interview him in the last nine years. While I do not relish the task of writing tributes or obituaries, I try to go beyond the basics and look for fellow alumni who can enhance the narrative with some good reminiscences when one of our brothers passes away.

It might seem odd, but I worry a lot about whether these Beta-Rho Bulletins get read by more than a modest number of people. They are time capsules of our lives, a brief glimpse of what we were like as brothers.

As strange as it may seem, it never gets lost on me that our alma mater’s acronym is CSUN. The university we call a home away from home tells us to follow in that light as we keep circling the sun.

And you see this motto everywhere on campus: CSUN Shine.