From mid-50's, to low 30's with rain, sleet, and snow, to a balmy 72... I'm surprised I'm not home in bed still. This weather is going to be the end of me, I swear!
At any rate, I'd like to say thank you again to the brothers of Beta chapter for showing me an absolutely incredible time this past weekend in St. Louis! Not only did I witness the induction of four new brothers into their ranks, but I spent an amazing weekend catching up with an old Kappa friend of mine (he's not old, it had just been a while since we'd caught up), exploring the blues-laden area of the Loop on Delmar, hung out with the brothers Rumbach, drove through Illinois, and enjoyed some of the best (if not THE best) barbecue in my life! What a full weekend! I only wish it could have lasted longer.
Okay, I also wish it wasn't so unbelievably cold on Saturday night, nor the sleeping on the cold concrete part, but that was almost amusing in the end.
In other news, I've made some updates on the National website, www.alphadeltagamma.org. You can now pay your convention registration fee online, but hurry! It is currently at the early-bird special of $125, but that will increase to the regular fee of $150 as of June 1st. Check out the store page, and look to the bottom left link there, Pay Convention Fee, or, more directly, you can click on this link to take you straight to the page: www.alphadeltagamma.org/store/conventionfee.html. Note, when you see the Paypal page open up, you might need to remove the $165 option first. We're still ironing out the bugs. Long story.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there! This promises to be a very exciting, fun-filled week, with less meetings and more time to spend amongst brothers, both active and alumni! If you have any questions, as always, just let me know!
Until next post...
Cheers,
Art
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A Momentary Hiatus
Brothers,
If you have not heard the news by now, our Alpha chapter will be on a four-year hiatus from Loyola University of Chicago. Please note, however, that this does not mean the end of Alpha for ADG. Rather, this is a time for the chapter to rebuild, reform, and restructure itself, so that in four years' time (maybe less), we will be back stronger and truer to the ideals of Alpha Delta Gamma.
Let us all also take note, and realize that we cannot continue in the ways that many associate fraternities with. Whenever I hear about certain events or rituals, the phrase, "it's just tradition," always seems to crop up. Question: when you say that it's tradition, do you mean we actually did these things in 1924?
THAT... is tradition. The 5 S's... is tradition. Serving our local communities, while fostering the highest of ideals within our members... is tradition. Please keep that in mind the next time you are concerned about an activity you are about to undertake. And don't think that it can't happen at your chapter, because, quite obviously, it can.
I do not mean to brow beat the members of the chapter, they have suffered enough. Clearly, the situation was brought on by a drifting away from the basic tenets and principles of our fraternity. The fault, however, is all of ours. We either turned a blind eye to the problem, let it exist out of some strange sentimentality, or simply chose to focus our attentions elsewhere. It cannot be such in the future, though; we all need to look out for one another.
I have faith and hope that we will be back stronger than ever before. I see a future where alcohol is strictly a sidenote to the word 'fraternity,' at least as far as ADG is concerned. I see a time when hazing is a four-letter word, and not something that we need to worry about. There are traditions, of course, but Animal-House-style activities is not tradition. If you are looking towards the past in order to propel into the future, I suggest looking back to 1924 for inspiration. Today's college students want more than a four-year drinking club; they want ADG. Let's give it to them.
Ad Dei Gloriam, brothers.
If you have not heard the news by now, our Alpha chapter will be on a four-year hiatus from Loyola University of Chicago. Please note, however, that this does not mean the end of Alpha for ADG. Rather, this is a time for the chapter to rebuild, reform, and restructure itself, so that in four years' time (maybe less), we will be back stronger and truer to the ideals of Alpha Delta Gamma.
Let us all also take note, and realize that we cannot continue in the ways that many associate fraternities with. Whenever I hear about certain events or rituals, the phrase, "it's just tradition," always seems to crop up. Question: when you say that it's tradition, do you mean we actually did these things in 1924?
THAT... is tradition. The 5 S's... is tradition. Serving our local communities, while fostering the highest of ideals within our members... is tradition. Please keep that in mind the next time you are concerned about an activity you are about to undertake. And don't think that it can't happen at your chapter, because, quite obviously, it can.
I do not mean to brow beat the members of the chapter, they have suffered enough. Clearly, the situation was brought on by a drifting away from the basic tenets and principles of our fraternity. The fault, however, is all of ours. We either turned a blind eye to the problem, let it exist out of some strange sentimentality, or simply chose to focus our attentions elsewhere. It cannot be such in the future, though; we all need to look out for one another.
I have faith and hope that we will be back stronger than ever before. I see a future where alcohol is strictly a sidenote to the word 'fraternity,' at least as far as ADG is concerned. I see a time when hazing is a four-letter word, and not something that we need to worry about. There are traditions, of course, but Animal-House-style activities is not tradition. If you are looking towards the past in order to propel into the future, I suggest looking back to 1924 for inspiration. Today's college students want more than a four-year drinking club; they want ADG. Let's give it to them.
Ad Dei Gloriam, brothers.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Long weekend...
It's after 1:00am, so I'll keep this brief, but it was a long weekend. A good weekend, I think, but a long one nonetheless. Of course, long weekend usually translates into not a real weekend, but anytime I get to see my brothers, it's an excellent weekend. Hopefully, closed minds outside the brotherhood will open, and the world will see the good that we do and the positive impact that we bring. If not, well, we just need to try harder.
I hope everyone had a good Laetare Sunday and celebrated with your respective chapters appropriately. I wish I could have, but duty called, and I rarely let that one go to voicemail. To the brothers whom I visited, thank you for your hospitality as always! Remember, give me a ring or e-mail or what-have-you at any time; we're here to help.
By the way, I missed flying on Southwest. I had forgotten how tremendously awesome they are. Perhaps the only thing in this country we have that one could call the Socialist Airline (no class structure, people!), but a darn fine company and expertly run, to boot. I know some of our brothers have relations who work for Delta, and I mean no offense to them of course, but it will be a very long time before I am okay to look at their logo again, let alone actually fly them. Ah, but life goes on.
Have a great week, everyone, and I'll be in touch again soon!
I hope everyone had a good Laetare Sunday and celebrated with your respective chapters appropriately. I wish I could have, but duty called, and I rarely let that one go to voicemail. To the brothers whom I visited, thank you for your hospitality as always! Remember, give me a ring or e-mail or what-have-you at any time; we're here to help.
By the way, I missed flying on Southwest. I had forgotten how tremendously awesome they are. Perhaps the only thing in this country we have that one could call the Socialist Airline (no class structure, people!), but a darn fine company and expertly run, to boot. I know some of our brothers have relations who work for Delta, and I mean no offense to them of course, but it will be a very long time before I am okay to look at their logo again, let alone actually fly them. Ah, but life goes on.
Have a great week, everyone, and I'll be in touch again soon!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Here is my first blog. Not the most noble way of starting out, perhaps, but many great things did not come from the noblest of beginnings. Besides, this aims to be a very informal site, so if you are looking for any official press releases or quotable quotes, I'd suggest our main website, http://www.alphadeltagamma.org/.
This has been a very busy semester, quite possibly the most chaotic in all my days involved in ADG on the national level. Beyond the normal rigamarole of daily life, I am attempting to 'run the circuit' to visit all the chapters personally. Earlier this month, I visited Lambda and Epsilon, and back in February, I was at Kappa for Spring Leadership Conference. This weekend, I shall be visiting Alpha; next weekend, Beta; the following weekend, Rho. With Psi and Alpha Delta already receiving visits from other officers, that will complete the rounds for this year, a 100% effort for the first time in a long time!
I'm extremely proud of the work this council is doing. Moreso, though, I am supremely proud of the work that all the chapters are doing. The council would not be as successful, were it not for the hard work and dedication of the actives and alumni. Does that sound like a line; like something I'm supposed to say? It happens to be true. We derive our strength from you, our members. The success of the whole depends on the accomplishments of the parts. If we all do what we must, then we have no choice but to succeed, and that is a truly marvelous feeling.
This summer is shaping up to be quite the event in Milwaukee. If you haven't booked your rooms yet, or sent in your registration, now is the time. I can't tell you how many excuses I made throughout the years, only to discover that I was short-changing myself the entire time. I never listened to my mentors when they said that I had to go to convention. I figured it was not my scene. I could not have been further from the truth.
We have wonderful families in regional areas, and within each chapter, there is a tremendous sense of brotherhood. Still, we profess to be working for the betterment of the worldwide brotherhood of man. That starts on the homefront and what better way to prove it than by experiencing it for yourself? The words in the Mark of Honor are not idle chatter; there is a greater good out there for which we are striving for. I can think of no better expression of this universal fraternalism than Convention. I look forward to seeing all of you there!
Finally, I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's celebration yesterday. While my heritage is Irish as well, I tend to think of myself as a student of the world, so, any holiday is a good excuse for reuniting with friends and family alike. I hope you had the chance to do so yourself.
As always, drop a line if I can ever be of any help. I miss all of you when you are not around, and I eagerly await each and every chapter visit I can make. If you're ever in the DC/Baltimore area, the door is always open to you!
Fraternally yours,
Art
This has been a very busy semester, quite possibly the most chaotic in all my days involved in ADG on the national level. Beyond the normal rigamarole of daily life, I am attempting to 'run the circuit' to visit all the chapters personally. Earlier this month, I visited Lambda and Epsilon, and back in February, I was at Kappa for Spring Leadership Conference. This weekend, I shall be visiting Alpha; next weekend, Beta; the following weekend, Rho. With Psi and Alpha Delta already receiving visits from other officers, that will complete the rounds for this year, a 100% effort for the first time in a long time!
I'm extremely proud of the work this council is doing. Moreso, though, I am supremely proud of the work that all the chapters are doing. The council would not be as successful, were it not for the hard work and dedication of the actives and alumni. Does that sound like a line; like something I'm supposed to say? It happens to be true. We derive our strength from you, our members. The success of the whole depends on the accomplishments of the parts. If we all do what we must, then we have no choice but to succeed, and that is a truly marvelous feeling.
This summer is shaping up to be quite the event in Milwaukee. If you haven't booked your rooms yet, or sent in your registration, now is the time. I can't tell you how many excuses I made throughout the years, only to discover that I was short-changing myself the entire time. I never listened to my mentors when they said that I had to go to convention. I figured it was not my scene. I could not have been further from the truth.
We have wonderful families in regional areas, and within each chapter, there is a tremendous sense of brotherhood. Still, we profess to be working for the betterment of the worldwide brotherhood of man. That starts on the homefront and what better way to prove it than by experiencing it for yourself? The words in the Mark of Honor are not idle chatter; there is a greater good out there for which we are striving for. I can think of no better expression of this universal fraternalism than Convention. I look forward to seeing all of you there!
Finally, I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's celebration yesterday. While my heritage is Irish as well, I tend to think of myself as a student of the world, so, any holiday is a good excuse for reuniting with friends and family alike. I hope you had the chance to do so yourself.
As always, drop a line if I can ever be of any help. I miss all of you when you are not around, and I eagerly await each and every chapter visit I can make. If you're ever in the DC/Baltimore area, the door is always open to you!
Fraternally yours,
Art
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