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During our retreat at Hidden Valley last weekend, we developed a short survey aimed at gauging your interest and gathering additional information as we determine how to move forward with the Xi-Epsilon Alumni group. The 5 question survey is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LCZ2ZDX and should only take you 5-10 minutes to complete but will help us tremendously as we proceed. We hope to determine your level of interest, what types of events you’re interested in, and what obstacles may prevent you from participating. Please click on the link and take the survey by June 30 and we will share the results in July.
The alumni retreat at Hidden Valley was a success. It was a small but fun group of guys which allowed us to enjoy the fellowship only brothers can share. We all left excited to plan the next event where hopefully many more of you can join us. Our goal is simply to create an alumni group that creates opportunities for reconnecting with good friends and sharing the bonds that only Kappa Sigmas have.
Brothers let us remember that Kappa Sigma is “Not for a day, or an hour, or a college term only… but for life.” We look forward to hearing from you.
A.E.K.D.B
A Xi Epsilon Alumni Happy Hour/Networking event is scheduled for Friday June 18, 2010 Bar Louie at Station Square from 5:30 PM-8:00 PM. Stop y and network with your fellow alumni or reconnect with some old friends. Attendence is free, but attendees are responsible for their own food and drinks.
For more information contact us at events@xiepsilonalumni.org.
The January 2010 issue of the Think Tank is now online–courtesy of Alumnus Advisor BJ Palumbo who took this on while the chapter transitions over to a new Alumni Relatiions chairman. Many thanks to past Alumni Relations Chairman Steve Torok for all of your hard work in reestablishing communications between the chapter and the alumni.
Over the past few months, a small group of alumni have been working to provide some structure and organization around our scattered alumni base of 100+ brothers. The most widely publicized effort has been the Alumni Reunion Weekend in June. However, work has also been done to utilize social media technology to connect our alumni and undergraduate brothers to one another. In addition to this website, Xi Epsilon alumni networks can be found on:
If you use any (or all) of these networks, by all means join up with your fellow Brothers. If you have any other ways to improve the connection between our Alumni Brothers, please e-mail us.
Over the past few weeks a group of alumni of the Xi Epsilon chapter of Kappa Sigma have been working to organize a reunion weekend for all of our alumni this Spring. This committee has researched several options and we are now finally in a position where we can announce the details of this weekend.
We are looking to reserve the Cheat Mountain Club in Durbin, WV from Thursday June 3, 2010-Sunday June 6, 2010. The capacity of the cabin is 23 and the cost for three nights lodging plus all meals (cooked by an on-site chef) will be $300 per person. The Cheat Mountain Club is located in the heart of the Monongahela National Forest and features a variety of outdoor activities nearby including hiking, fishing, and bike trails. It is approximately a 4 hour drive from both Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. Since it is only a 2.5 hour drive to Charlottesville, VA the opportunity also exists to make a trip to the new Kappa Sigma Headquarters as well. Please note that while the capacity is 23, that is the number of people-according to their website-that the cabin sleeps comfortably. By no means are we suggesting that attendence is limited to 23.
In the 14 year history of our chapter, we have never attempted to organize a gathering of all of our alumni. It is our hopes that this weekend will give us all a chance to reconnect, reminisce, and hopefully develop a structure around our loose organization of Alumni Brothers that will allow for expanded networking opportunities and a network of additional support that the undergraduate chapter can rely on in addition to the appointed alumni volunteers that volunteer for the General Fraternity.
We do have a schedule that we need to adhere to if we are going to make this work. Please keep these dates in mind:
- January 31: E-mail RSVP to reunion@xiepsilonalumni.org
- February 1 5: $150 deposit due. Details on payment information will be sent out to those who RSVP
- March 31: Balance of the deposit ($150) due.
While many of us are now involved with careers and families, the bond of Kappa Sigma still unites us all. It is our hopes that you all take advantage of this weekend and join us in West Virginia this summer. If you have any questions, please e-mail reunion@xiepsilonalumni.org. Also, we will be sending regular updates through our Alumni group on Facebook, Alumni website (http://www.xiepsilonalumni.org) and Twitter feed (http://www.twitter.com/XiEpsilonAlumni)
Finally, while we have collected a good majority of alumni e-mail addresses, there are still some gaps in the database. If there is a Brother that you still keep in touch with that was not included in this distribution, please forward it on.
A.E.K.D.B.,
The Xi Epsilon Alumni Weekend Planning Committee
Craig Baker | Patrick Corr | Joe Dunn | Nate Franklin | Owen Gaebel | Jeff Hall | BJ Palumbo
It looks like we are finally at a point where we can save a date–or dates–for the Xi Epsilon Alumni weekend. Please mark your calendars for June 3-6. More details will be released following the planning steering committee’s conference call on Tuesday evening.
The Xi Epsilon Chapter Spring formal will be held on Saturday April 17, 2010 at Station 3 in Conneaut Lake, PA. More details will be provided as they become available, but mark your calendars now.
By now, the Winter issue of the Caduceus should have hit your mailboxes. Among the highlights:
- Chapter update (p. 60): The underraduates submitted an update on the results of the See Saw Athon. Always nice to see news on the chapter. Thanks for keeping us informed, brothers.
- D.C. Fisher House (p. 12): The Fisher House that will be constructed at the Washington, D.C. VA Hospital will be dedicated in honor of Brother Robert J. Dole. Kappa Sigma undergraduates and alumni raised $117,000 towards the construction of the facility.
- Kappa Sigma Man of the Year (p.13): Brother Gary Foresee (Beta-Chi, 1969) was selected as the 2009 Kappa Sigma Man of the Year.
As we get ready to ring in the New Year, I was hoping to take another shot at organizing some sort of reunion weekend for the alumni of the Xi Epsilon Chapter of Kappa Sigma. There was quite a bit of activity on the Alumni Facebook page back in the early Fall about trying to organize something at Thiel in October. Unfortunately, due to a break in communication between the Undergraduates and Alumni, that weekend never quite took off.
On Founder’s Day, I was contacted by Brother Craig Baker with a pretty solid idea for an alumni weekend. Cheat Mountain Club is located in Durbin, WV which is about 200 miles from both Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. It is also 2.5 hours from Charlottesville, which would provide an opportunity to take a trip down to the new Kappa Sigma International HQ. Craig had estimated the cost @ ~$240 per person for three nights—including meals. This is under the assumption that we fill the lodge to capacity (23 people). So that we do not run into the summer months, it was proposed that we aim for the first couple weeks of May for this event.
Now, this is just one option we can go for an Alumni weekend. I think what would be most appropriate would be to form a planning committee to try and plan this out. A good number of us have jobs and families which make it nearly impossible for this to be planned and executed by one or two individuals. In order for this to happen—and to be done right—it is going to take a group of Brothers that are willing to see this through. I am offering this: I will set up a conference call on Monday January 11 @ 7:00 PM EST for anyone interested in planning an event for early May. If you wish to be included, please contact me directly and I will send you the phone number and passcode for the call.
Also, if you have a Facebook account and are not a member of the Xi Epsilon Alumni group, I would encourage you to please join. The link for the group’s page is http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=44703953569&ref=ts.
Finally, please forward this e-mail on to any alumni in good standing that is not among on the distribution list below.
If there are any comments, questions, or suggestions please do not hesitate to contact me.
AEKDB,
Patrick J. Corr
Xi Epsilon ‘97
Attmempts to create homes for Xi Epsilon Alumni in Cyberspace have been made over the last 10 years with little success–thanks largely to the efforts of Brother Mike Rhoades (Xi Epsilon ‘96). Technology has advanced to such a degree that the standard website is no longer the only option. However, the complaints of a lack of communication have grown to such a degree that I am going to attempt to once again establish an outlet of information from the chapter to the alumni, and vice versa.
If any alumni wish to serve as contributors to this site, please contact me directly.
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