Alpha Phi - Spring 2006

Alpha Philes Spring 2006 Pi Kappa Phi H i s to r i a n

Letter from the Resident Advisor It’s been over a year now since I returned as RA. After being gone for so long I was not sure what to expect. All that I remembered was how the rest of my brothers, and especially me, “behaved” when we were undergrads, so I expected to have as many sleepless nights as I had inflicted upon the RA during my misspent youth. Fortunately, this has not been the case.

The house has changed drastically since my first tour. The most drastic change is the overall appearance of the house and the level of pride the brothers take in maintaining it. Many projects have been completed over the years since I graduated that have virtually transformed the house from a run down forty year-old frat house to an impressive chapter that the brothers can be proud of. The current brothers take great pride in this accomplishment by continuing to make improvements at every opportunity with more frequently scheduled “Brotherhood Days” whereby the entire house works on cleanup and repair projects.

Another difference is the increase in the overall level of maturity of the current members. Meetings are run in a professional fashion, the committees are very well organized and effective, and the overall level of effort is superior to what it was when I was an undergraduate.

Also, campus involvement has improved.

One of the brothers is currently serving as Greek Council Treasurer and we have at least three members in attendance for all Greek Council meetings.

The highlight of our semester has been the pledge class. Not only did we succeed in maintaining an above-average sized pledge class (12 members) but for the first time in many years ALL of them made grades and were initiated. And they did not just barely make it. Their combined GPA was 3.407 with the highest individual posting a 4.0!

Not to be outdone, the rest of the brothers kept up their end in order to achieve a house GPA of 3.118 which is higher than all other fraternities and the IIT undergrad GPA (men’s and women’s).

It is important to realize that although we are doing very well right now, it doesn’t have to stay that way. As soon as you stop to admire your results, the competition passes you by. There are five other houses competing against us for survival and the only way to beat them is to work harder and smarter in order to always stay one step ahead of them.

This is essential in order for us to further secure our current position as the best fraternity in the known universe.

Finally, as many of you know we have many brothers currently fighting for our freedom as they bravely serve in the War on Terror.

Please keep them in your prayers so that they may return home safely when they have completed their service to this great country.

Fraternally, Russ Schaade #775

Inside this issue: Letter from the Archon

2

News from the Treasurer

3

New Chapter Advisor

4

News From Iraq

5

Blast from the Past

5

Letter from the Archon Alpha Phi Alumni,

ing a schedule.

The Brothers of Alpha Phi Chapter are hard at work in the fraternity. We are striving to increase the number of Brothers living in the fraternity house, planning for our financial future, and maintaining our positive image on campus. We are motivated to better prepare the future Brothers for becoming leaders in life. We want to thank you for laying down the foundation for us to both grow and help others grow.

The chapter is looking at the future of the Alpha Phi chapter and planning the best way to secure it. We are in the process of developing an investment plan when the mortgage is paid off. We are hoping to make money for a down payment on a new chapter house in the future. We are also meeting with our Greek Advisor and the Dean of Students to discuss the plans for Greek housing. More issues the chapter is currently working on are the analysis of the pledging process and the creation of a new constitution.

These projects are all in progress and are being undertaken with the intention of bettering our fraternity.

Our Fall Associate class all managed to reach the 2.5 GPA standard for initiation, as well as be initiated along with Alumni Initiate Greg Stachurski. They have also brought motivation into the house as a whole.

The newly initiated Brothers are working hard in their respective chair positions by not only coming up with new ideas but also implementing them as well. An example would be our ‘No Boundaries Week’, which is a week of events that promote fundraising, awareness, and volunteerism for Push America. The week has been planned and will be executed under the supervision of a portion of the newly initiated Brothers.

The chapter, as a whole, earned a 3.118 semester GPA in Fall 2005, which was above All Greek, Fraternity, Undergrad, and Undergrad Men’s Averages. We are looking to improve to our target of a 3.2 GPA this spring. In order to achieve this goal, our scholarship chair, Anthony Cerra, has implemented a revised scholarship policy. The new policy is aimed to help brothers proactively, as opposed to retroactively. Anthony has worked with Alpha Phi’s new Academic Coach and Alumni Initiate, Fernando Alessandrini, to create the Collegiate Success Program. This program will be used along with the pledging semester and is designed to help incoming students adapt more quickly to college academics by teaching habits such as maintain-

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In the past month, we have had visits from North Dakota State, Truman State, and Missouri State Pi Kapps. Our LC also came to visit and was proud to witness our win in the Greek Basketball Finals. (Thank you to Mark Thomas for helping us win.) It is always good to meet Pi Kapps from other areas and remember that we are part of a much larger organization.

Similarly, when the pledge class of ’75 was in town and came by the house, they brought a sense of the broad alumni base that Alpha Phi has.

Thank you to all alumni who have been by the chapter and talked with us Brothers. It is easy to forget where we came from and who was before us, but when alumni come by the house and share stories the brothers pride in being Pi Kapps is renewed.

My email address is banaste@iit.edu and I will be more than happy to fill you in on chapter events.

You can also email me if you would like to receive an electronic copy of our Chapter Meeting minutes.

Fraternally, Steve Banaska Archon

Star Shield

Alpha Philes

News from the Treasurer After attending the 2006 Mid Year Leadership Conference, I really gained an appreciation for the great foundation of the financial status of our Alpha Phi chapter.

I had been given a lot of good advice and guidance in my last two weeks of the Fall 2005 semester as I took up my new roll as Chapter Treasurer. From my mentors’ recommendations I was able to create a solid and feasible budget. While attending Mid Year, I was amazed to discover that may chapters do not even have a working budget. There were numerous chapters I talked to that had less than 10 percent of what Alpha Phi does in savings. It

really amazed me that something I had taken for granted did not exist at other chapters.

I would thus like to give a big thanks to all of you alumni who have gone through Alpha Phi. Without your foundation our chapter would not be as sound as it is in its financial operations.

For those of you who do not know, all the chapter’s financial records are now kept using the program Quick Books. It is both convenient and easy to use. We hope to continue with this for the next several years.

ginning to work with UBS, a financial investment company, to better utilize some of our assets. As we look to the future of getting a new house within the next few decades, we hope this opportunity will be useful in saving for a down payment.

-Andy Swantek 880 Treasurer

The Chapter is currently be-

Pi Kappa Phi— Alpha Phi Members

Volume 1, Issue 1

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New Chapter Advisor Greetings - Fellow Alumni and Active Brothers: Cheers…..As your newly selected Chapter (Alumni) Advisor, I wanted to take this opportunity to write my first of many letters for our Alpha Philes. The purpose is simple: to communicate and offer guidance on continued education, serve as teacher, counselor, big brother and friend, and to improve alumni relations.

Starting now, I intend to play a key role in maintaining the success and function of the Alpha Phi chapter. Leading, goal-setting, and policy-making are some examples of the duties I will undertake and commit to next year (2006).

events. You can gain much more insight on current events by reviewing the following website: www.chicagopikapps.com.

Fraternally, I look forward to joining the active brotherhood chapter and reaching out to my past alumni friends. Stay tuned for the next update and listing of

Tom “McGoo” McGowan #649

I was approached a few weeks back by the house to get involved with the active chapter. Like many of us, there was a pause before I said, “sure - why not”. Having enjoyed last year’s Rose Ball and our recent Alumni Smoker, I saw the reason to be involved with the fraternity again.

For many years I have missed out (for good reasons) on special events and those events that many of my pledge brothers have given back to IIT and Pi Kappa Phi. I feel honored and obliged to take an active role once again.

When I was the Archon in the late 80’s, I truly cherished the friendships and brotherhood that everyone inside and outside of the house had to offer and support.

Alumni Smoker Spring 2006

Need a Place?

Brother Dennis Schaade, 809 is a Real Estate Sales Agent and invites all to search for property on his website: www.ChicagoResidences.com Discount sales services and free Market Analysis for Pi Kapps, friends and family.

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Dennis Schaade’s Business Card

Alpha Philes

News From Iraq Hello everyone, It's Laurie, Justin's wife. He asked that I send out one of his mass emails since he is unable to get to a computer. On Saturday morning Justin's convoy was involved in an IED attack and he is in the hospital in Germany.

He is okay, though. He has had two surgeries on his left hand but he is doing well. He should be back in California on Saturday. His hand was is in pretty bad shape, but they saved it.

They had to put multiple pins in his hand to keep his fingers in place but he says he can feel them, which is a very good sign. He also took some minor shrapnel to his face and right leg. There were four of them in the vehicle at the time of the attack, and Justin has the least injuries. There are only 11 guys on their team out there and they all grew very close.

Justin lost a good friend in this attack.

I have had an amazing amount of support since I got the call.

Justin was able to call me after his first surgery so I could hear his voice and not be scared when I got official word a few hours later. The Colonel and the Major from 3rd LAR came to the house to see me and I was contacted by the Colonel of

We’re on the Web www.chicagopikapps.com

Special thanks to all the alumni that have come to visit. Here are some that have made it by this semester: David Desilets #510 Brian Winkelmann #531 Wayne Zediker #532 Jimmy Eng #541 Walter Augustin #542 Thomas Dodson #546 Michael Motsch #636 Thomas McGowan #649 Nathanael Gombis #757 Christopher Sweeny #765

Volume 1, Issue 1

I MEF (First Marine Expeditionary Force) in Camp Pendleton which is who Justin deployed with this time around. I, as well as all of the other soldiers’ wives, was also contacted

by Major Lacy, who led Justin's team in Iraq . Major Lacy wanted me to know how strong Justin was and that he did everything he could.

Justin is doing well and seems to be in good spirits. He is already cracking some jokes and he wants spaghetti when he gets home. I will keep everyone updated until he can write to you all. He loves you all and is grateful for all of the support you have given. For those of you that have left messages regarding our address, it is 3111 B Upshur Ave Twentynine Palms, CA 92277

Stay safe & God Bless, Laurie Waldeck

Historian Cell: 702-759-2559 House Phone: 312-808-6231 E-mail: historian@chicagopikapps.com

Michael Johnson #768 Dennis Schaade #775 James Cannon #781 Paul Reinhard #839 Scott Waicekauskas #840 Adam Price #844 Jamaica McCarthy #854 Brian Hensel #857 Philip Golucki #860 Predrag Barac #861 Matthew Kopesky #866

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3333 S. Wabash Chicago, IL 60616 Pi Kappa Phi Historian

Blast from the Past During initiation in February 2006 we were graced with an appearance by members from the 1975 pledge class.

I hope that as a future alumnus I may come back and be welcomed as these brothers were.

For their 30th anniversary as Pi Kapps, they came to visit and watch as our pledge class of fall 2005 was initiated. It was a great experience as we saw our newly initiated members and alumni mingle and discuss Pi Kappa Phi. To witness these two generations of Pi Kapps come together was a testament to our everlasting brotherhood.

Fraternally,

The brothers performing the initiation were complimented by the class of ‘75, who were very impressed with how smooth the night went.

Shane Steward Historian #889 historian@chicagopikapps.com

P.S. If you wish to have an alumni reunion, please let me know. I will do my best to gather up brothers and host an enjoyable event for all of you.

I encourage you to come by and visit whenever you are in the area. It is always fantastic to meet fellow brothers and hear their ruminations of their time at Alpha Phi.