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Paragon October 2025
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Upcoming Events |
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Annual Report: Financials & Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 |
October November July 2026 |
| A Message from the Alumni Board President |
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Brothers,
In our efforts to recruit new members of the Ernie Schmidt Club, you may have seen some emails from brothers explaining why they feel the work we do as an Association is important. Simply put, the best way we alumni can support the active chapter is through our work. When we maintain and improve the chapter house, it becomes a recruitment asset, a piece of living history, and a place for all of us to return to with pride. We are also helping to sustain the only remaining active Phi Kappa Theta chapter in the State of Ohio.
Looking ahead, my sincere hope is that the coming year will bring more accomplishments, more brothers involved, and an even longer list of thank yous in next year’s report. We face the challenge that most of the work of our association is being done by the same group of brothers who graduated in the late 1990s and early 2000s. My vision for the Association is for it to be directed by a group of 12 alumni brothers, serving staggered 3-year terms, with a diversity of many decades of the chapter represented. Yours in the Bonds, Nicholas DeCenzo '00
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Brothers - As your Treasurer, I am pleased to report that the Alumni Association's financial position is strong. The Cleveland Phi Kappa Theta Alumni Corporation, which organizes alumni engagement and social events, and the Ohio Alpha Beta Housing Corporation, which holds title to the fraternity house, both continue to thrive. The generosity of our alumni, combined with prudent budgeting practices, has ensured that we remain well-prepared to support ongoing improvements to the chapter house and to provide meaningful opportunities for alumni connection with the active chapter. Through our fundraising efforts, we have made considerable progress in upgrading the chapter house and plan larger projects each year to ensure that our chapter endures for decades to come. Financial Overview:For the fiscal year 2024–2025, the Alumni Association began with a surplus balance of $37,672.56. We received $9,870.21 in alumni donations. The rental of the Treehouse apartment over the garage generated $13,803.23 in income, and together with other sources, our total income was $23,673.44 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, for a total of $61,346 of distributable funds. Work Undertaken:The Housing Corporation organized several work weekends that delivered meaningful improvements to the chapter house. Projects included roof repairs, basement cleanup, and repairs to the chapter room doors, among other maintenance and upkeep efforts. These volunteer-driven initiatives supported by alumni donations demonstrate the continued commitment of our network and the house as a centerpiece of the chapter. Additionally, the Alumni Association budgets and spends significant dollars to support active chapter rush events and alumni networking events, which are core values of the alumni association. Fundraising and Alumni Support:We launched the Ernie Schmidt Club on Founder’s Day 2024. Members commit to a recurring monthly donations, which has have proven to be especially successful. As of October 1, Ernie Schmidt Club members are providing approximately $1,100 per month in regular cash flow with new brothers signing up each month. Budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026:The Alumni Association began this year with a surplus of $48,196.00 carried forward. We project Treehouse rental income of $13,200.00, which will be allocated and budgeted for a total of $61,396 to budget. The approved budget allocations are as follows:
Total planned expenditures match our available funds at $61,396.00. With the significant housing allocation, the Association is positioned to undertake much-needed house improvement projects in the coming year. Closing:The fiscal year 2024–2025 was marked by financial strength, disciplined spending, and growing alumni engagement. With the active support of our alumni base and the hard work of the Alumni Board, we are poised to make substantial improvements to the fraternity house this year. Yours in the Bonds,
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| Annual Report: Donations |
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The Ernie Schmidt Club is named for the only member of our chapter ever to have been honored with the Ohio Alpha Beta Lifetime Achievement Award. Members of the Ernie Schmidt Club commit to making a small monthly recurring donation to the alumni association. Many small donations will add up to a larger monthly total that will help us tackle the larger deferred maintenance projects at 11016 Magnolia, particularly those that require the special skills or equipment of an outside contractor. We would like to thank the 20 brothers who are currently members of the Ernie Schmidt Club. Each of these brothers had made a monthly donation since the day they joined the Ernie Schmidt Club. Joined in the 2021-2022 Fiscal Year: Aaron Mann ‘20, Brandon Palmer ‘00 Although their donations were not during the 2024-2025 fiscal year covered in this report, we would also like to thank our newest members of the Ernie Schmidt Club, who have joined since the start of the 2025-2026 fiscal year: Thomas Andersen ‘04, Fred Epp ‘72, Conrad Gosen ‘09, Joseph Jirgal ‘88, Frank Kearney ‘01, Susan Schen ‘98, Robert Stalder ‘94 |
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To help all year round, join the Ernie Schmidt Club and make a recurring monthly donation via PayPal: |
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We also like to thank our brothers who made one or more one-time donations during the 2024-2025 fiscal year. |
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Lastly, we thank anyone who we have mistakenly left off this year’s list. If you donated in the 2024-2025 fiscal year and don’t see your name above, please contact Nathan Kossover and we’ll make it right. Your financial support drives the activities of the alumni association. To add your name to this list for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, please donate via our website. |
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| Annual Report: Officers & Committees |
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| As of October 1, 2025, there are eight members of the board of the Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association.
President – Nicholas DeCenzo '00 In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Maynard Isabel ‘60 stepped down as a Member-at-Large and Aaron Mann ‘20 stepped down as Coaching Committee. We greatly appreciate all their hard work in the more than two years each served on the board. To fill the new vacancies, Neal Pence ‘01 was appointed as Member-at-Large and Cassiel Yuzik ‘21 was appointed as Coaching Committee Chair. The active chapter is represented at the alumni board meeting by the undergraduate president and alumni chair. As of the Fall 2025 semester, those seats are currently filled by Adam Gousie ‘25 and Matias Torres ‘26. The board meets once a month. There are also regular meetings of our established committees. In addition to the House Improvements and Committee Chairs listed above, our current committee chairs are: Communications Chair - Nathan Kossover ‘01 If you are interested in attending either the board meeting or a committee meeting, or if you would like to volunteer in another way, please reach out to Nathan Kossover. |
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| Annual Report: Membership |
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Brothers, The Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association is open to all initiated brothers in good standing of the Ohio Alpha Beta chapter of Phi Kappa Theta at Case Western Reserve University, as well as any brothers initiated into either of our predecessors' organizations, Theta Psi Kappa or the Alpha Beta chapter of Phi Kappa. 76 of those brothers are members of the Chapter Eternal. Members whose passing we were informed of in the 2024-2025 fiscal year include: |
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We currently have an email address for 664 undergraduate and living alumni in our database. Our typical open rate for an issue of the Paragon is between 45% and 50%. The remaining brothers listed in our database are not currently receiving the Paragon because we lack an email address for them. We are working to identify every brother who was ever initiated into our chapter and to ensure we have contact info for as many of them as possible. Nine issues of the Paragon were emailed out during the 2024-2025 fiscal year. A full archive of past issues can be found on our website. In addition to the Paragon, an assortment of smaller reminders were sent out throughout the year. New in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, our website now hosts a comprehensive list of all the Big Brother / Little Brother pairs that we are aware of. Many thanks are due to all the brothers who sent in Big Brother / Little Brother information. In addition to our website, we also maintain an internet presence via our website, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Please reach out to Nathan Kossover with any corrections to our membership rolls. Yours in the Bonds, |
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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 |