Commander Report
8.15.2008
ACTIVE CHAPTER REPORT
The men of the Theta Beta Chapter of the Sigma Nu Fraternity were hard at work last semester. Our hard work has not been concentrated solely on homework, as you might have guessed, but we did manage a 3.2 GPA for the spring semester. Not only did we achieve a great GPA, but we also found some time to help out the community. This year our Run for Courage raised $1000 for the Special Olympics. The Run for Courage was a lot of fun and it was a great way to raise money for a good cause. During the past semester, we were able to recruit three new candidates through the new year-round recruiting policy at USD. The new year-round recruiting here at USD took some time to get used to, but we were able to obtain a visit from a Sigma Nu National representative. He helped us to better understand year-round recruiting, and with his advice I feel that we will be able to recruit more, quality candidates.
This summer and into the fall semester we are planning to make many improvements to our house. We plan on replacing most of the carpet, as well as remodel the bathrooms. We would also like to paint the inside of the house. These improvements, along with a few others, will help attract more potential members and they will make our house more presentable. We will be doing most of the work on the house during our work - week, which will start a week before school on August 25. Work - week will be a great time for us to hear each other’s summer stories and make some much-needed improvements to our beloved house. Our 40th anniversary celebration is just around the corner and this will be a great time for everyone to see the new improvements to our house.
I would like to close this letter by thanking all of our alumni for the many contributions they have made to the Theta Beta Chapter of Sigma Nu. We would not be able to accomplish our goals without your help and support. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated by all of us, and we can’t wait to see everyone at the 40th anniversary celebration of our great fraternity.
Fraternally Yours, Scott Buchanan Theta Beta 704
Past Reports
8.15.2007
The active chapter has had an exciting year and is thankful for the alumni support throughout the year. Without the alumni, Theta Beta would not be around right now. The house looks amazing and we get a lot of compliments on the wood floors in the dining room and tile in the kitchen. The new doors and windows are working great and the fire alarm system works excellent as well.
We have been very involved this year at the university and within the local community. We continued with volunteering at the Head Start program in Vermillion, where our members mentor pre-kindergarten children. They love us there and it always is rewarding for us. We also hosted a meal for some of Vermillion’s less fortunate and finished the year with our annual “Run for Courage” run across the state.
We tied for second in recruitment last fall, we had 13 pledges with 7 of them activating in the spring. Also, during the spring we recruited one new member who we will activate in the fall. We already have a lot of prospects for this fall, so our goal is to get 20 new candidates.
Our active members achieved a 3.49 GPA in the fall (the highest on campus). Our candidates didn’t do as well so that was a big focus for the spring semester.
Again, we truly appreciate all of the alumni support. We really need some alumni to attend our weekly meetings and to help with Rush. Next year is a crucial year, we need to get enough new recruits to be able to fill up the house. We will need everyone’s support to make it happen.
Jason Schroeder OB 694
Commander
PAST REPORTS:
Fall 05 Active Chapter Semester Report Theta Beta 163 This year has been one of great importance for our Chapter. In the beginning of the year we had to make the decision of whether or not to push through the challenges presented to us, or to simply succumb to the overwhelming wall of tasks we had been assigned. We unanimously decided that we would do what it took to keep Sigma Nu alive and to improve this chapter in order to restore it to what it used to be in the ‘glory days’ of the Theta Beta chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity. Thanks to our great efforts, and the help and leadership of our newly reorganized alumni we are well on our way to becoming the chapter that you as alumni enjoyed and put your hearts into in the same way that the actives are doing now.
Our achievements this year are as follows: • Completely reorganizing the chapter’s infrastructure with new officers, policies, and goals • Re-wrote recruitment plan, academic plan, leadership education program (LEAD) plan, and completed online alcohol courses. • Have been attending IFC and president’s council regularly. Jason Schroeder has been elected as recruitment chair for IFC, which marks the first time in years that Sigma Nu has been represented in IFC. • Reconstructed a playground for headstart program • Every member giving one hour/week mentoring 3-5 year olds for the headstart program • Had a successful alumni reunion at the Big Brown/Red Barn at D Days in which the actives got the chance to put a face with the names of our various alumni. Talked about housing for next year. • Implemented lead phase 2 program o Kicked it off with a grill out/evening retreat • Had a leadership retreat with nationals representative Scott Smith there to discuss plans for next year and methods to improve the chapter in general. We also had Scott conduct two lead phase2 sessions. Alumnus Dave West was present and we discussed housing options with also. • Perhaps most importantly, we have made great steps in improving our active/alumni relationships. Chad Tschetter and I have been in constant contact, and Chad has done a great deal with creating a solid alumni structure that I believe has never existed in Sigma Nu’s past. Chad and several other alumni also came to Vermillion on Nov. 22 to meet the actives and discuss living in the house next year. It was both fun and informational considering much of the meeting took place at Carey’s for dollar bottles night ;) • Had an undefeated flag football season, but a terrible performance in the playoffs, no championship this year • Had a very successful formal in Deadwood Dec. 3-4. This included skiing at Terry Peak. The word is on campus from the girls is that it was an awesome formal and that the Sigma Nus are a very fun group of gentlemen! • 2.98 GPA chapter GPA for fall semester. • Commander Justin Clem selected as one of only 16 Commanders to attend the inaugural Sigma Nu Institutes “Commanders Course”.
What we need most right now is continued support and interaction with our alumni. The old saying that 10% of the people do 90% of the work is probably true in this case. There are 700 alumni out there and we are now regularly dealing with somewhere around 15. Money is obviously a huge issue and so monetary contributions are greatly appreciated. However, equally important is the sharing of ideas, helping brothers after graduation to enter the work force, and of course the leadership and wisdom that comes from experience as a fraternity member. We believe part of our problems over the last 5-10 years are a result of a complete lack of interaction with the alumni. This is a mistake that the actives and the alumni board of advisors recognize. In order to get as many people involved as possible, please forward this message to any Sigma Nu contacts you may have as they might not be on our mailing list. We anticipate a great spring semester and hope to hear from you all in the future.
Fraternally,
Justin Clem
Theta Beta 693 Eminent Commander
sigmanu@usd.edu
jclem@usd.edu
605 940 7402 (Justin’s Cell)
P.S. See a feature story on Sigma Nu in the USD Volante Newspaper at: http://www.volanteonline.com/news/2005/12/07/News/A.New.Sigma.Nu-1123842.shtml&mkey=1911425