Roles of Alumni Corporation and Volunteers are Many
Dear Alpha-Delta Alumni,
I hope this newsletter finds our alumni doing well in their personal and professional lives. Although the Penn State football team is having a rough time, our undergraduates are doing great! The chapter has 40 active brothers and they just pinned in a 16 man pledge class. Considering the chapter almost reached single digits a couple years ago, this is a very impressive accomplishment. The actives were busy with many activities during the past year. Please see the undergraduate updates for details.
We again had our Homecoming 2004 festivities at the Days Inn. It certainly was a nice event. I want to congratulate our award winners. Steve Uzupis ’77 was named “Alumnus of the Year;” Mike Samick received the “Outstanding Service Award;” T.J. Emrick earned the “Scholarship Award;” and Justin Laurie accepted the “Rush Award.”
I am also happy to report the actives have a balanced budget for the 2004-2005 school year. In addition, for the first time in many years, the alumni corporation account is forecasting positive cash flow for the current school year. We should now be in a position to start slowly building up a cash reserve.
The alumni corporation’s major asset is the house and the board’s fiduciary responsibility is safeguarding that asset. This ensures the current actives have a chapter house that is functional, safe, attractive and competitive in order to attract new members. The current house is over 40 years old. It is clear that either a new chapter house or a major renovation to the existing one will be needed in the near future. We are researching the alternatives and outlining the basic groundwork for a major alumni capital campaign. Stay tuned for more details!
Annual financial support from our loyal alumni is a critical component of our corporation budget. We truly do have generous alumni and your support is greatly appreciated. Continued donations make our alumni communications possible and enable us to perform tasks necessary to keep our chapter strong. Thank you for your past and future support.
We also are looking for a few good alumni volunteers. There are many ways to volunteer – as an alumni advisor or a member of the alumni corporation board. The time commitment is minimal, yet it provides you an opportunity to give back to the chapter. If you have a desire to volunteer or have even just thought about it, please contact me for details.
In closing, each board member represents the members-at-large. Our role is to ensure that the affairs of the corporation are run properly and efficiently. We welcome all feedback, questions or ideas.
Fraternally Yours,
Edward D. Gorkes ’79, President