SIGS WILL HEAR ABOUT LAST WEEK’S SIGMA CHI GRAND CHAPTER IN ORLANDO AT OUR
JULY CHAPTER MEETING
Our own, Former Grand Quaester Mike Dunn, will speak on
who the new national officers are, new legislation past and
fraternity rules that were changed during the biannual Grand Chapter
that just ended at the July meeting of the Phoenix Sigma Chi Alumni Chapter.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, July 9 at The Phoenix City Grill
Restaurant, 5816 N. 16th Street (Southwest corner with Bethany Home
Rd.) in Phoenix. Cocktails a1 6pm, followed by dinner at 6:30 and our
speaker at 7:00.

Greetings,

The Battles with ASU over our ability to remain on Alpha Drive look
to be coming to a long period of Truce. Bob Hobbs and Bruce Sedlak
lead our side in negotiating a settlement that should see the Houses
safe for another twenty years. We are just working on the final details now.

That said there is a very real risk that all of this effort will be
for naught if we do not get some Alumni Volunteers to step up. As
you know the Consul this last year at the House lead them into a
direction they had not gone since 1996. That was into a membership
review which has seen the House cut down in size from a 120 man
chapter to about 65 right now. They appear to have some good new
young leaders poised to put the House right along with some good
direction by a new Chapter Advisor and his group of assistants.

The problem lies in that the lender (Constantine Capital, Sigma Chi
run group tasked with making loans to Sigma Chi Chapters) we have the
loan from that allowed us to purchase the House has a policy of not
loaning money to chapters not in good standing. The House at ASU is
currently on probation and will not be back on good standing until next May.

We have gotten CCI to agree to extend the balance of the pledged loan
(the amount used to buy the building was $162,000 and the balance is
about $200,000) for needed and required renovations to the forty year
old building. They have placed a requirement in front of us that we
need to meet however. The original loan (the entire $362,000) was
original covered by a group of alums that agreed to act as loan
guarantors in the amount of $33,000.00. CCI is now going to require
that the entire loan amount be covered by loan guarantees. The
addition $329,000 in notes would be required only until the Chapter
returns to Good Standing at which point those guarantees will expire
and the original $33,000 will suffice. So far we have gotten a small
group to step up to the plate to assist in trying to meet this new
requirement but we are only about half way there. If you can help
please contact me directly. Here is you has stepped up to help so
far and the amount that we are short. If we cannot get this done in
the very near term we run the risk of losing the war since the House
would not be able to be occupied and/or ASU could condemn the House
since we would be in breach of the settlement agreement.

Guarantee Balance
$329,200.00
David W. Riddle $50,200.00 $279,000.00 ASU
Mike Dunn $50,000.00 $229,000.00 Utah State
Marshall Christy $25,000.00 $204,000.00 UofA
Bill Scott $25,000.00 $179,000.00 UofA
Bill Harris $ 5,000.00 $174,000.00 ASU
??? $50,000.00 $124,000.00
??? $50,000.00 $ 74,000.00
??? $50,000.00 $ 24,000.00
??? $24,000.00 $ –

If you can help with one of the recommended pledges above or any part
at all please let me know ASAP.

FYI, We have a letter from ASU indicating they are willing to buy
the House for the Apprised value (their appraisal while seriously
flawed in undervaluing the House by not being accurate as toward
construction etc..) of $580,000.00. So even in the worse case event
that the Chapter for some reason does not follow through on the items
they are working on to return to Good Status and result in the
Chapter being lost the value of the property as Established by ASU
more than covers the entire note so nothing is really at risk for the
loan guarantors. In fact the House Corp which holds the title to the
land and house will extend a lien in the amount of the loan
guarantees to offset the loan liability that your pledge would result
in for your own personal financial position.

If you have questions please call me at 480-610-8234

ASU’S FRATERNITY COORDINATOR WILL BE OUR SPEAKER FOR THE JUNE MEETING

Mike Najor, Greek Life Coordinator at Arizona State University, will speak on
the current condition of Fraternities on campus and the exciting plans the
University has for enhancing their presence at the June meeting of the Phoenix
Sigma Chi Alumni Chapter.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, June 11 at our regular location at the
Phoenix City Grill Restaurant, 5816 N. 16th Street (Southwest corner with
Bethany Home Rd.) in Phoenix. Cocktails at 6pm, followed by dinner at 6:30 and
our speaker at 7:00.

BROTHERS, DON’T FORGET THIS SATURDAY’S FOUNDER’S DAY GOLF TOURNAMENT

LOCATION – Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club (11500 N. Hayden Rd.)
TIME – This Saturday, June 7 at 7:30am
FORMAT – 4 man scramble
COST – $100 per golf entry, entry fee includes:
Golf, cart, lunch, a drink and a sleeve of Nike Super Soft golf balls with
Sigma Chi logo
HOLE-IN-ONE PRIZE: a set of new Nike Pro Combo Irons

All proceeds go to Sigma Chi National Charity – The Children’s Miracle
Network

Guest are welcome!

E-mail questions to sigmachigolf2003@cox.net

THE RITUAL MARKS THE MAY CHAPTER MEETING

Brotherhood will be celebrated Wednesday night, May 14th with the semi-annual
Ritualistic meeting when the Phoenix Alumni Chapter of Sigma Chi gathers.

The location will be at the Epsilon Upsilon Chapter House at ASU (606 E. Alpha
Drive) in Tempe. Directions are: Rural Rd. (Scottsdale Rd.) south from the 202
to 6th Street (second traffic light). West two blocks to Alpha Drive. The Sig
house is on the northeast corner across from the Basketball Arena. Park in
“large” lot across the street from the House as the parking is open that time
of day.

Dinner and a keg is being provided at no charge by Epsilon Upsilon Housing
Corp. Cocktails at 6pm, dinner at 6:30 and the meeting will start at 7:00. See
you there!

UP-COMING EVENTS:

The 3rd Annual Founders Day Golf Tournament is going to be played
Saturday June 7, 2003 at Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club. As
usual, all proceeds from the tournament will go to the Sigma Chi
charity, the Children’s Miracle Network! Our chairman, Mark Johnson,
has been able to get the hottest new clubs on the market: a brand NEW
SET of NIKE PRO COMBO IRONS (at least you can play the same clubs as
Tiger) that will be a hole-in-one prize, or if no one gets that hole
in one, we will have a silent auction to cover our cost ($500 minimum
bid) and create more money for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Join us on Saturday, June 7 at 7:30 AM for a fun day of golf and brotherhood!

The Details:
What: 3rd Annual Founders Day Golf Tournament
Where: Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club (11500 N. Hayden Rd.)
Why: For our charity, fun and brotherhood
When: Saturday, June 7th, at 7:30 AM Shotgun start
Who: Sigma Chi Fraternity members and friends
Format: 4 man scramble
How much: $100 entry fee includes: golf, cart, lunch, drink and a
sleeve of the new Nike Super Soft golf ball with Sigma Chi logo

You may invite non-Sigma Chi’s as you wish.

You may reserve your spot by just clicking on this email address and
letting us know your name, address, phone (day and evening please),
and how many folks you want to bring. (sigmachigolf2003@cox.net )

We need prizes (golf balls, shirts, gift certificates, business logo
items, etc) so if you can come up with some, please let Mark Johnson
(sigmachigolf2003@cox.net) or Doug Patterson (Doug@tracorp.com) know about it!

OTHER WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:

You can buy a hole to advertise your business or just show your
support: $100.00 includes a sign placed on tee box with business
logo, company name on all literature and correspondence, and a link
to your website if desired.

You can just send a donation for us to include in the money going to
the Charity.

You can donate prizes for the participants.

First lets address the status of the Housing update.

The tremendous leadership of Bob Hobbs and Bruce Sedlack as members
of the Blue Ribbon panel of ASU Greeks charged with meeting weekly
with ASU staff as accomplished some unbelievable goals. Bob’s
influence and Bruce’s drive were instrumental in the success that
appears to be around the corner.

ASU has know offered a proposal that will see us safely ensconced at
606 Alpha Drive for at least the next twenty years safe from eminent
domain proceedings by the University. There are some conditions of
course such as the external maintenance of he property having to be
up to the CC&R codes as will be enacted by the Alpha Drive
Association and that we each fund a maintenance account to ensure
that this work can be accomplished should a house default.

The University has torn down the old Theta Delt house that was
between our House and the PIKE house. Delta Sig will probably be
moving down the street to this lot and SAE may be moving down to the
Green land behind our house too. Their moving will allow ASU to
acquire their land along with the Solar House and the tennis courts
at that end of Alpha Drive will at least allow the University to
utilize some of the land on our parcel.

The University has also signaled that they will work with us to
establish some more equitable judicial processes re: fraternities at ASU.

Just a four short months ago this outcome would have been thought
impossible. The committee and the resources it brought to bear have
worked a miracle. Of course outright financial threats from some
“heavy hitter” alums from the various Alpha Drive houses backed up by
word from the ASU Foundation that 65% of its donations come from the
Greek community helped to put things in perspective too.

———-
Membership Review Update

As mentioned previously the Active Chapter crossed some lines at the
end of this last semester and the beginning of this one that coupled
with some other outstanding issues resulted in us being directed by
Headquarters in conducting a Membership review of the Active
Chapter. As of today the House population of 129 (Actives and
Pledges) has been trimmed to 23 invited to return to Active/Pledge
Status (21 Actives and 2 Pledges), 52 having filed appeals (43
Actives and 9 Pledges – I believe most of the appeals heard so far
have been approved with conditions and I believe those that have been
denied have been invited to address some issues that they may have
and file a second appeal), 17 Actives that choose not to appeal after
their interview and the application of the requirements as directed
by Headquarters (cumulative GPA has to be above the All Men’s Average
and they cannot owe any money to the Chapter) and another 37 Actives
that chose to not participate in the process. If all the Actives and
Pledges that went through the Interview and the Appeals process for
those that need to meet some additional requirements are granted we
should start the Fall 2003 semester with 64 Actives and 11 Pledges.
Obviously down significantly from the current 129 that we show on the
books but this heavy pruning the House should be prepared to move
forward and make us and themselves proud of their accomplishments

Last week we were also forced to not only remove the Consul from
office (under direction by the Grand Consul) but to take the very
unusual step of evicting him from the property too. This step was
forced by (among other things) his inattention to addressing his need
to meet with ASU re: the current discipline issues as well as his
apparent fomenting of “mutiny” against the process that we were
tasked with carrying out, sadly he still has the Consul Badge of the
House and has yet to return it despite repeated requests that he do
so. This is the Original Badge that was given to the House when it
was chartered and which has been worn by ALL the Epsilon Upsilon Consuls.

The new Consul for next year (elected in the normal course of
elections) is Matt Miksin. Matt was an Architecture Student who has
now switched to Civil and Urban Planning. He was Annotator this past
semester and carries an outstanding 3.5+ cumulative GPA! Matt has
been working with Austen Jensen (the Magister for next semester) to
design an outstanding Pledge Program that the Chapter can be proud of
and they have been assisted by Mike Dunn (Past Grand Queaster) and
George Gronbacher, the new Chapter Advisor along with Bill Scott the
outgoing Praetor. Austen should be returning to school in the fall
completely charged up and ready to lead a really good pledge program
as not only will he be attending the Balfour Leadership Workshop that
the Executive Chapter officers are supposed to attend but he also
applied for and was also selected to attend the new Horizons
Leadership Program (http://www.sigmachi.org/horizons/) that
Headquarters recently began.

Matt and Austen will be presenting to Dean Sullivan (Judicial Dean)
their complete program plan at the end of the month. Hopefully their
hard work will see the Chapter back into the good graces of our host
University and the General Fraternity.

Mark Your Calendars

The 3rd Annual Founders Day Golf Tournament is going to be played
Saturday June 7, 2003 at Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club. As
usual, all proceeds from the tournament will go to the Sigma Chi
charity, the Children’s Miracle Network! Our chairman, Mark Johnson,
has been able to get the hottest new clubs on the market: a brand NEW
SET of NIKE PRO COMBO IRONS (at least you can play the same clubs as
Tiger) that will be a hole-in-one prize, or if no one gets that hole
in one, we will have a silent auction to cover our cost ($500 minimum
bid) and create more money for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Join us on Saturday, June 7 at 7:30 AM for a fun day of golf and brotherhood!

The Details:
What: 3rd Annual Founders Day Golf Tournament
Where: Starfire at Scottsdale Country Club (11500 N. Hayden Rd.)
Why: For our charity, fun and brotherhood
When: Saturday, June 7th, at 7:30 AM Shotgun start
Who: Sigma Chi Fraternity members and friends
Format: 4 man scramble
How much: $100 entry fee includes: golf, cart, lunch, drink and a
sleeve of the new Nike Super Soft golf ball with Sigma Chi logo

You may invite non-Sigma Chi’s as you wish.

You may reserve your spot by just clicking on this email address and
letting us know your name, address, phone (day and evening please),
and how many folks you want to bring. (sigmachigolf2003@cox.net )

We need prizes (golf balls, shirts, gift certificates, business logo
items, etc) so if you can come up with some, please let Mark Johnson
(sigmachigolf2003@cox.net) or Doug Patterson (Doug@tracorp.com) know about it!

OTHER WAYS TO PARTICIPATE:

You can buy a hole to advertise your business or just show your
support: $100.00 includes a sign placed on tee box with business
logo, company name on all literature and correspondence, and a link
to your website if desired.

You can just send a donation for us to include in the money going to
the Charity.

You can donate prizes for the participants.

SIGMA CHI ALUMNI WILL SEE INTO THE FUTURE FOR THE CITY OF PHOENIX
NEXT WEEK AT OUR APRIL MEETING

Joy Mee, Assistant Planning Director for the City of Phoenix will
enlighten the brothers as she discusses the City of Phoenix General
Plan at the April meeting of the Phoenix Sigma Chi Alumni Chapter.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, April 9 at the Phoenix City
Grill, 5816 N. 16th Street (Southwest corner with Bethany Home Rd.)
in Phoenix. Cocktails at 6pm, followed by dinner at 6:30 and our
speaker at 7:00.

I am limited in what can be released at this point but suffice it to
say that a tremendous breakthrough with the University appears to
have been reached today that will address our current housing
location for a significant period of time.

While the initial documents that I have seen are certainly
encouraging and there are control, facilities and finance items to be
addressed and clarified by both sides I would say that the logjam has
been cleared and we have Bob Hobbs and Bruce Sedlak to thank for the
yeoman efforts that they have expended on our behalf.

The personal relationship that Bob has developed with Dr. Crow and
Dr. Crow’s apparent willingness to listen to Bob’s (and his sons Bob,
Jr. and Tom) input certainly seems to be rubbing off on University
staff since I am certainly able to see what appears to be some
changes in attitude of the Staff and its willingness to work with us
and our Chapter.

We also have Bruce to thank for his tenacity in getting the
University Staff, that were tasked by Dr. Crow to negotiate with the
Blue Ribbon Alpha Drive Housing Committee, to actually listen to us
and in keeping the Committee as a whole focused on the issues at hand
and to utilize the resources at his disposal.

Hopefully soon we will be able to release a more detailed
announcement but I will say that we will immediately begin the task
of moving forward with our planned renovations and hopefully the
creation of a 501(c)3 corporation to transfer the asset of the House
into so that donations to help pay off the mortgage ($157,000) and to
pay for the loan that will be used for the budgeted renovations can
be tax deductible since the purpose of the House is to provide a
place for the fraternal and scholastic education of our members
attending Arizona State University.

As previously announced we are moving into a painful Membership
Review with the current house this breakthrough regards housing is
actually the silver lining to that dark cloud and is coming at a good
time for the Chapter since a revitalized and energized membership
will be poised to take advantage of the stability that appears to be
around the corner and to assist in the rebirth of the Epsilon Upsilon
Chapter to the benefit of both our own Alums and those Alums from our
other Chapters that now call the Phoenix area home.

In Hoc…

Just wanted to share a little ray of sunshine in light of the
allegations and the pending member review that will be taking place
on April 5th.

I just got a copy last night of the IFC Grade reports and I am
pleased to announce that of the active Houses at ASU we rank 7th in
GPA among all 15 IFC Houses. We are by far the largest house (117
members) and the total size of the six houses that rank above us in
GPA is 182 for an average house size for them of about 30
members. The house with the highest GPA is Alpha Lamda Tau with just
6 total members. The next largest active house is Delta Sig at 94
members followed by Phi Kappa Psi with 69.

Our Membership GPA average is 2.96 (the previous average for us was
2.79). The IFC Chapter average is 3.00, the All Undergraduate Men’s
Average is 2.82 and the All Undergraduate Average (this includes all
women) is a 2.93.

So happily we are above the actual Campus average and IFC as a whole
is above it too. Our representatives meeting with ASU on Housing
issues should be able to use this information to good effect.

FYI, Our pledges had a GPA of 2.90 and I am trying to find out what
the All Freshmen GPA was to compare against that number. I would
venture to guess that our pledges (even with their additional duties,
etc…) will be above their non-Greek peers too.

Brothers,

Unfortunately we bring you some disheartening news from the ASU
Chapter. After going almost seven years (1996-2003) without a single
discipline complaint the ASU Chapter is facing some allegations
(hazing from December and hazing and multiple serious drug related
allegations from last week).

These allegations from the University, coupled with some internal
issues that have been building for the last year or so have finally
resulted in a general Membership Review being visited upon the
Chapter. We will be conducting the interviews and member review on
Saturday, April 5th.

While we do not yet know (nor even have an idea) how many members
will face either being removed from Active to Alumni Status nor how
many may face additional censure (suspension or expulsion) the
Chapter is effective as of yesterday (3/17/03) on a 45-day suspension
pending this review. This means that they are prohibited from
hosting or participating in social, intramural or philanthropic
events. Additionally, given the nature of some of the allegations
the pledge program was suspended last week while awaiting word from
the Executive Committee (EC) of the Fraternity as to if a Membership
Review would be going forward.

We do not yet know the Status of the current pledge class (10) or of
the holdovers from last semester (8) but I imagine they will be part
of this review and their status will be clarified at a later time.

For those that do not understand how this process works allow me to
explain. At the direction of the EC the Praetor will undertake a
review of Chapter operations and all members of the Chapter. When
this review takes place all Active Members are converted to Alumni
and are essentially interviewing to be returned to Active
Status. Members that are not allowed back as an Active and are left
on Alumni Status (while still an undergraduate) are prohibited from
interaction with the Active Chapter and participation in any Active
Chapter events.

In addition to making sure that any members desiring to return to
Active Status are able to demonstrate that they have a basic
understanding of the Jordan Standard and what the ideals of the
Fraternity are they will have to demonstrate that they will actually
be able to be a credit to the Fraternity through their past
involvement with the Chapter, their plans for how they want to
increase their involvement and that they at a minimum are both
current in their financial obligations to the Fraternity as well as
carrying a GPA that is above the All Men’s Average for the School.

There will be some additional conditions they will have to live with
based on the nature of the allegations levied against them and the
initial investigations that have thus far been carried out. We are
currently looking into conducting either random drug testing every
semester and/or obtaining the services of an animal handler to bring
a trained Drug Dog through the House at random times (The Chapter at
Oklahoma has been doing this for a while now). Those members that
cannot meet or agree to meet and be judged by these conditions will
either self select or be selected to not participate with the Active
Chapter for the remainder of their undergraduate
career. Transferring to another school will also not be an option
since this status will follow them should they attempt to affiliate
with another chapter.

As we informed the Active Chapter last week this process will not be
pleasant for either them or us but the Chapter will emerge from this
crucible with a stronger and tighter bond than that which they
currently are able to demonstrate.

In Hoc…
Dave R.