Sigma Chapter Opens for Fall Semester 2014!

Our Sigma Chapter House at 20 West Ferncliff is officially open for the 2014-15 academic year!  Brothers began moving in on Friday, August 15th, and several parents were on hand to help clean and move.  Brothers were checked in, signed new housing contracts, and got caught up with one another about last summer's stories and adventures.  Brotherhood was evident everywhere, and it was great to see the chapter (and chapter house) come alive after several dormant summer months with laughter and loud music blaring from the 3rd Floor to the Tenement hallway.

Here are some photos depicting the latest round of house renovations:

New Sigma doormats are at the back door and at the Back Lounge glass doors!  Okay, fine, just so no one complains that we used SFAA funds or Richardson Fund monies on this one, I'll admit to donating the cost of these two doormats.  The Brothers really liked them! 

Remember the photo I posted on August 2nd of the damaged wall outside the Back Lounge entryway?  The damaged bricks have now been removed, dug up, and are gone!  A salvage company did the work for $250.  Looks MUCH better!

The SFAA spent about $5,000 to repair portions of our aging roof, including this photo of the repairs done over the front porch - the brown/red shingles are new.  Several loose shingles all over the house were replaced or repaired.  The roofing contractor estimated that we'll likely need a completely new roof in the next five years.  Sigh...

ALL of the ceiling tiles in the Back Lounge are being replaced with new ones! (Long overdue, in my opinion.)  The photo above depicts many of the new ones in the center and right.  If you look way back in the photo toward the back door, you'll see the old, damaged ones which had yet to be replaced when I took this photo on Friday, August 15th.  Decades of ketchup on the ceiling tiles are now gone!

Here's another view of the new ceiling tiles.  The rows at the left of the photo had YET to be replaced, but you can see the difference as compared to the rows in the center.

Here's a problem we did NOT solve this summer.  This is the fire escape stairway from the 3rd Floor.  We're going to have to find the money to get this repaired...

That's it for now!  Our Undergraduate Sigma Brothers are preparing for classes beginning on August 25th, and then they plan to recruit heavily for a Fall Pledge Class.  Good luck, Brothers!

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80

Perge!

What They Said: Sigma Graduate Brothers Comment on Today's Brothers Winning Five Awards at 2014 Ekklesia

Phi Gamma Delta is "not for college days alone."  We've all heard that before.

But after it was announced that Sigma Chapter won five awards at the 2014 Ekklesia, word spread over the Internet among Sigma's Graduate Brothers.  And many of them wrote with comments congratulating and supporting today's Sig Fijis.  From the class of 1958 right through the class of 2013, Sigma Graduate Brothers were proud.

Here is a sampling...

"Impressive!!"
 - Jim Wintzer '79

"Truly gratifying! Great work! Well done to the young Brothers of Sigma. Please let these Old Brothers know what they can do to help Sigma go from strength to strength as they move forward from this height."
- Jim Pearce '58

"OUTSTANDING !!!!!!!!!!!! What else could one say but, OUTSTANDING !!!!  Witt Fijis will always be at the top. This band of brothers really make we old farts very proud!  CONGRATS TO ALL!"
- Dale Finley '58

"THIS IS FANTASTIC!!!"
- Pete Woessner '76

"That is a real exceptional report on the undergraduate brothers. We are all so proud to be Sig Fijis! What a fantastic group of brothers it is!! Very proud to be a Sig Fiji!!! Congratulations to all the undergrad brothers and those who have recently graduated and to the graduate brothers who keep our chapter strong! It means so very much to many of us who have been through "thick and thin" with Sigma. Sorry that I have missed the last few Pig dinners due to health problems, but I enjoy keeping in touch with so many of the brothers through Facebook."
- Dick Keier '61

"Particularly pleased!"
- Jock Arthur '58

"Congrats to the chapter!"
- Doc Prescott '76

" Spectacular news. Now on to best operations..."
- Nate Dreyfuss '10

"Damn proud of @WittFiji for bringing home the hardware this weekend. Keep up the good work."
- Ryan Hagen '12 (on Twitter)

"PROUD."
- Adam Kaufman '93 (on LinkedIn)

"Great to hear!"
- Joe Angle '11

" Very exciting news Skip, thanks for sharing. It's great to see Sigma getting the national recognition it deserves lately, first with Bill being elected to the Archonate and now with these awards."
- Sam Archibald '13

"Does the trophy come back to 20 West?"
- Chad Downing '13, Purple Legionnaire
(Answer: No, but we can retrieve it for special occasions, e.g., Homecoming, Pig Dinner)

Well said, Graduate Brothers, well said...

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80

Perge!
 

 
 

Sigma Chapter Prepares to Open on August 15th for Fall Semester - Repairs Funded by Sigma Graduate Brothers and CJ Richardson Fund

I spent the last two days at our chapter house (August 1st and 2nd) managing EIGHT different contractors who did repair/renovation/cleaning work at 20 West Ferncliff.  THANK YOU to the Sigma Graduate Brothers who donated to the Sig Fiji Alumni Association, and to the CJ Richardson Fund, for financing this work.

Here's a brief photo montage of the work completed.  If you haven't been back to the chapter house in awhile, this will serve as a nice virtual tour...

1. The vans lined up:

2. The drapes were repaired and re-hung in the Back Lounge, Front Lounge, and Library:

3. New doors were installed:

4. Bathrooms were professionally cleaned:

5. Carpets were professionally cleaned:

6. The Back Lounge Floor was scrubbed and waxed (looks great):

7. Back Lounge Cabinets - We need to replace!  We don't currently have it in our budget:

8. Brick Wall Damaged: We don't know why anyone would do this, but our brick wall was demolished a couple of weeks ago - perhaps to steal the grill?  We think some Springfield residents did it.  Anyway, I'm waiting on a quote from a salvage company to remove the bricks:

We've still got some new work to complete by the opening on August 15th - replacing ALL of the ceiling tiles in the Back Lounge, repairs to the Scholarship Room, and repairs to the 3rd floor stairwell, but we should be ready for another full academic year when the house opens on August 15th!

Thanks, Brothers.

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80

Perge!

Sigma Chapter Wins FIVE AWARDS at the 2014 Ekklesia - That's HUGE!

The International Fraternity's Condon Cup for most-improved chapter was presented at the 166th Ekklesia on July 25, 2014, in Indianapolis.  Above (left to right): Gabe Sayers '16, Austin Wilson '16, Archon Councilor Glenn Moore, Matt Miely '16, Max Jump '17, Skip Buckley '80, and Section Chief Ben Harper.

Our Undergraduate Brothers at Sigma Chapter won FIVE International Fraternity awards at the 166th Phi Gamma Delta Ekklesia in Indianapolis on July 24-26, 2014.  Although I don't think this is a record for Sigma Chapter, it has been a LONG TIME since our chapter has won so many awards in our Fraternity's international competition.  CONGRATULATIONS, Sigma Chapter!

The awards are:
  

o   FIRST PLACE in the Condon Cup, given for the most-improved chapter (among 150 chapters, 6,000 Undergraduate Brothers) – that’s huge!

o   Honorable Mention in the Coon Plaque (best chapter newsletter)

o   Honorable Mention in the Baker Cup (best philanthropy)

 

o  Certificate of Superior Academic Achievement for 7 consecutive years above Wittenberg's All Men's GPA. (It's really been 8 consecutive academic years, or 16 consecutive semesters, but IHQ bases it on calendar years.)

 

o  McCarty Proficiency Certificate (given annually to chapters that meet minimum operational standards - not easy to achieve)

 

 

 We had NINE Sigma Brothers in attendance at the Ekklesia - one of the largest delegations from any chapter.  Our Sigma Brothers:

o   Bill Downing ’15, Archon Councilor

o   Jack Mapes ’16, President

o   Matt Miely ’16, Treasurer

o   Austin Wilson ’16, Rush

o   Gabe Sayers ’16, Philanthropy

o   Max Jump ’17, Rush

o   Marcus Hitt ‘05

o   Jesse Hitt ‘07

o   Skip Buckley ‘80

Here are a few more photos from the Ekklesia...

Bill Downing '15, hogging the Condon Cup all to himself.

 

Left to right: Austin, Max, Matt, and Gabe holding up some of the other awards.

Sigma President Jack Mapes '16 arrived in time for the photo opp's. 
Left to right: Austin, Gabe, Jack, Max, and Matt.

Eight of the nine Sigma Brothers attending the 166th Ekklesia.  Left to right: Jesse Hitt '07, Austin Wilson '16, Jack Mapes '16, Matt Miely '16, Bill Downing '15, Gabe Sayers '16, Max Jump '17, Marcus Hitt '15. 
(Missing - hey, they never told me! - Skip Buckley '80.)

This is a huge deal for Sigma Chapter!  After our chapter's one-year complete closure in 2005-06, in my personal opinion, winning these awards among such tough competition is a kind of validation that Sigma Chapter has completely recovered from what could have been a devastating blow.  It's been a long and challenging nine-year climb back up, but our chapter is now well-positioned to carry forth this momentum on to greater heights and continued success. As every Sigma Pledge in the last 40 years learned in the story about the Wise Old Man: "It is as you want it to be..."

Well done, Sigma Brothers!

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80

Perge!

Sigma Chapter Summer 2014 Cleanup Session - June 28th

As we've done for the past several years, Graduate and Undergraduate Sigma Brothers gathered at the chapter house over the summer to do some landscaping work, clean up the yard, and just enjoy some Fiji Brotherhood for a few hot hours in the sun.

On Saturday, June 28th, five Graduate Brothers and three Undergraduate Brothers met and got a LOT done!  The hedges were trimmed, weeds were de-weeded, junk was collected and thrown out.  The chapter house and grounds looked a lot better by the time we finished!

It's IMPORTANT to keep the property looking good over the summer, as high school juniors and seniors drive by on college tours.  And it's important to maintain our standards over the summer before the Wittenberg and Springfield communities.

The eight Brothers who helped out spanned nearly 40 years - from the classes of 1977 through 2016.  My SINCERE thanks to these Sig Fijis for helping out last Saturday:

Doc Prescott '77
Chris Vennefron '05
James Lesinksi '14
Andrew Stylski '14
Jack Mapes '16
Gabe Sayers '16
Kevin DeGulis '16
Skip Buckley '80

Here are a few photos to confirm we actually were there...and accomplished some great things!

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80

Perge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sig Fiji Newsletter Just Published!

The Fall/Winter 2013 issue of the Sig Fiji Newsletter is now available!  It will be mailed later this week to all Sigma Graduate Brothers, but you can download it NOW at this link.

In this issue:

• Sigma Chapter breaks fundraising record with Thanksgiving Dinner
• See four Graduate Brother updates
• Meet the 2013-14 Cabinet Officers
• Meet the Fall 2013 Pledge Class (now New Initiates)
• Sigma senior wins Homecoming King (2nd year in a row for Sigma)
• 2013 Graduate Donor List (thank you!)
• Help us find dozens of "lost brothers" (we have no mailing address)
• Bill Downing '15 elected as Archon Councilor
• Details and registration form for 2014 Pig Dinner on April 12th

Congratulations to Ben Imlay '14 on his final issue as the Sig Fiji editor!

Remember, CLICK here to download the Fall/Winter 2013 issue.

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80
Secretary, Sig Fiji Alumni Association (SFAA)

Perge!

Sigma's 130th Anniversary Pig Dinner: Saturday, April 12th!

Sigma Brothers:

Our 130th anniversary Pig Dinner and Golf Outing will be held:

  Saturday, April 12, 2014
  Golf Outing: 1:30 pm, Windy Knoll Golf Club
  Pig Dinner: 6:30 pm (Sigma Chapter House)

The RSVP form and annual notice are loaded here:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwImNLvWpcx_REJBczE3d1ZtY0U/edit?pli=1

Please join us!  If you cannot attend, please consider donating to the Sig Fiji Alumni Association at this link:
https://www.phigam.org/SigFijiDonations

Thanks, Brothers!

Skip Buckley '80
Secretary Sig Fiji Alumni Association
E: gabjr33@comcast.net

Perge!