This year has been a rewarding year for those of us nursing our alumni association along. We have had a record response from all of you in that you contributed over $3000 to insure that Theta Data continues to be published, keeping us in touch with one another and enjoying the bonds of eternal brotherhood. Besides the strong donation, several of you gave for the first time this year. Altogether, 37 of us made contributions. Thank you.
This year has been rewarding for me personally also, as I was elected to the Board of Trustees of the General Fraternity. My main job on the board is to examine our governance methods and make recommendations to bring us in line with best practices. I have also been given oversight responsibility for our annual General Convention.
Convention this year will be at the Scottsdale Princess, Aug 4-7. This will be a great time to enjoy Scottsdale and renew your Beta spirit. We have negotiated a great room rate and a great package has been put together. Yes, the summer is hot in Scottsdale, but it is dry heat, so I am told!! In spite of the dry heat, I noticed that golfing starts at 5 AM! Well, just think of it as 8 AM if you are from the East coast. Also, great deals have been negotiated on the spa packages which are quite spectacular. More information is available on the Beta website, www.betathetapi.org. Go to the bottom of the page and click on the cactus icon. I hope to see some of you there.
The fraternity’s commitment to the Men of Principle is unwavering and we continue to receive recognition and awards for the impact we are having with it on college campuses across the nation. Every new colony we start (5 per year) is a Men of Principle chapter. At this point, one-third (40) of our chapters and colonies are Men of Principle. While rush is declining in general, our existing chapters are reporting an 8% increase this year. When new colonies and restarts are added in, we have seen a 13% increase in pledges this year over last year.
Being a Men of Principle chapter means that the chapter will have a positive hazing-free pledge period, will rush alcohol free and seek only the highest caliber men. At a time when fraternities are being black-eyed by date rape, hazing and alcohol deaths, Beta is showing that there is an alternative and that our alternative attracts men in great numbers who are otherwise turned off by the negative image of today’s fraternities. Men of Principle returns us to the roots values of our founding fathers, our 3 objectives and 7 obligations. Do you remember them from initiation?
Building Men of Principle chapters takes resources, personnel and money. Consequently, the fraternity has undertaken a $15 million endowment campaign, A Campaign for Every Beta. The income generated will provide programming and leadership training for generations. Currently through our various leadership programs, more than 2 members from each chapter on average enjoy a full scholarship paid leadership experience each year. When you are approached, please be generous.
Yours in ~kai~ Marty Haskell
Theta Alumni Association Treasurer, VP Beta Theta Pi General
Fraternity
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