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Paragon July 2025 |
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Lend a Hand at the House: Alumni Volunteers Needed July Work Weekend is a Success |
Upcoming Events September October July 2026 |
| 85 For 85 Update |
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Brothers, We officially launched our 85 for 85 Campaign on the 84th anniversary of the chartering of our chapter. Our goal is to have 85 members of the Ernie Schmidt Club by our 85th anniversary on May 31, 2026. How are things going? When we kicked off 85 for 85, we had 11 members in the Ernie Schmidt Club. Since then, five of our alumni have committed to making a recurring monthly donation to the Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association to support our chapter. Our three new members since our last Paragon are Robert Stalder ‘94, Frank Kearney ‘01 and Thomas Andersen ‘04. Thank you brothers! We now have 16 brothers in the Ernie Schmidt Club, who are collectively donating almost $925 each and every month. Over a year, that’s a commitment to donate more than $11,000. By comparison, in the just concluded fiscal year running from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 we received $9,295 in contributions (exclusive of event fees). That means that our 16 Ernie Schmidt club members are on track to donate more in the 2025-2026 fiscal year than we received in total donations from all members last year. These donations go directly into funding our home improvements and other efforts. In particular, they fund contractor work that we cannot practically do ourselves, as well as cover materials for projects that we can execute with sweat equity. We have a long list of deferred maintenance that will require some contractor work in the future, so those Ernie Schmidt donations are particularly valuable for funding those. Imagine how powerful our support for both the active chapter and the physical house could be if those 16 brothers we have today became 85 (or more!) brothers. Join us in the Ernie Schmidt Club today! |
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Have questions about the Ernie Schmidt Club? Our call captains are slowly but steadily working their way through our database to contact every one of our brothers. Don’t want to wait for their phone call? Respond to this Paragon with your questions and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Not able to make a recurring commitment at this time? A few brothers have made a one-time donation equal to a year’s worth of Ernie Schmidt donations, which we think is a great idea and is much appreciated. |
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Yours in the bonds - Nicholas DeCenzo |
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| Save The Date! |
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Please add these dates to your calendar: Friday, September 12 – We will once again be sponsoring a rush event to help demonstrate to potential new members that brotherhood is for life. Details to follow in August. Will it involve eating chicken wings? Signs point to yes! Saturday, October 11 – Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association Homecoming Event. Last year was so much fun we’re planning to do it again. More information to come. July 18 & 19, 2026 – Summer 2026 Work Weekend. Our Summer 2025 Work Weekend was a huge success (read on for details), so we’re giving everyone 352 days of advance notice for next year. |
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| Lend a Hand at the House: Alumni Volunteers Needed |
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Do you live in the Cleveland area? Do you have some flexibility during weekday business hours? Whether you're retired, working remotely, or simply looking for a meaningful way to stay involved, we’d love your help. We're putting together a group of Alumni Brothers who can assist by meeting contractors at the fraternity house for scheduled quotes and walk-throughs. Occasionally, interior access will be needed — but don't worry, we'll make sure you're fully prepared. The time commitment is minimal — often just 30 minutes, and rarely more than a few hours. We’ll provide everything you need in advance: project details, contact info for the Housing Committee (always just a phone call away), and access to keys before your scheduled visit. Your support will directly impact the upkeep and improvement of the house we all called home. Let us know if you can help — we’d be proud to have you on board. Reach out to Patrick Glynn at patrickglynn@ohioalphabeta.org if you are interested. |
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| July Work Weekend is a Success |
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Our July 2025 Work Weekend ran from July 18 to July 20. 39 brothers from 7 states, the District of Columbia and Germany attended. We completed a large number of projects inside and outside the house, and we had a fantastic time We kicked it all off with Whirlyball on Friday, July 18. Whirlyball is a combination of basketball and wiffle ball, played in bumper cars. It was a popular rush event in the late 90s and early 00s. We are pleased to report that 25 years later, Whirlyball is still a blast. Brothers and guests enjoyed many games of Whirlyball, had some snacks and did a lot of catching up. |
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Phi Kaps at Whirlyball. |
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Then on Saturday morning, it was time to work. As it typical for work weekend, our projects were a mix of routine maintenance and long term improvements. Here is a partial list of the projects that were completed on Saturday and Sunday:
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Back steps before retreading. |
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Back steps during retreading (featuring Jon Roth '00). |
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Back steps after retreading. |
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While removing the old wood paneling in the basement, we found this Phi Kappa over the fireplace. It presumably was created between December 30, 1954 when we purchased the house and April 29, 1959 when we became Phi Kappa Theta. |
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Ken Nagano ‘01 ran Work Weekend from his spot in the toolcrib, aka The Red Room. |
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New fan assembly in the basement bathroom. |
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On Saturday night, our brothers and many guests enjoyed a cookout on the porch. Many thanks to our chefs that night: Davey Rowan ‘01, John Dutton ‘02, Sam Qin ‘26 and Matt Dellibovi ‘02 for doing such a good job of feeding everyone. Music was provided by Steve Davis ‘99 and Phil Ajjarapu ‘99, who rented a PA and spun tunes throughout the evening. |
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Sam Qin ‘26 and Davey Rowan ‘01 were kings of the grill. |
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Steve Davis ‘99 spins some tunes during the cookout. |
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You can tell we are in Ohio because a lot of Euchre was played during the cookout. |
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The following brothers attended at least one portion of the July Work Weekend. Thank you brothers! |
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Phil Ajjarapu ‘99 |
Rohan Kohli ‘26 |
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We apologize if you showed up without registering and we missed you while putting together this list. Sorry! Many spouses, friends and children also attended Whirlyball and the Cookout. A special thanks goes to Ed Lee, who is such good friends with Eugene Choi ‘03 that he came by and worked on the house with Eugene both Saturday and Sunday. The July 2025 Work Weekend was overseen by Ken Nagano ‘01 and Davey Rowan ‘01. Thank you brothers for setting us up to succeed with your hard work. |
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Thanks to all who attended (pictured and not)! |
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The Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association exists to connect the over 1000 alumni of the Phi Kappa Theta Ohio Alpha Beta chapter at Case Western Reserve University through events, newsletters, and other gatherings. Our subsidiary organization, the Ohio Alpha Beta Housing Corporation, exists to own, maintain, and improve the Ohio Alpha Beta Chapter House located at 11016 Magnolia Drive, Cleveland, OH, 44106. Please add @ohioalphabeta.org to your contact list to ensure delivery of the Paragon. 11016 Magnolia Dr
Cleveland, OH 44106 United States |
