Paragon
April 2023
This
Associate Member Dinner & Initiation
Upcoming Events
Friday, April 21 - Initiation
Saturday, April 22 - Work Weekend
Sunday, April 23 - Work Weekend
Saturday, April 29 - Founder's Day
Saturday, October 14 - Homecoming Event at the House
A Message from the Alumni Board President
Brothers,
Elsewhere in this Paragon you will read about our first work weekend of 2023 which is planned for April 22-23 to coincide with initiation. This will be a joint alumni-active work weekend, and while the list of projects is still being finalized (a preview is available below), I’m sure we will accomplish much to maintain and improve the house.
Last year we had a bit of a misfire regarding our Homecoming event, which we ended up canceling. This year, we are asking everyone to save the date of October 14th for our Homecoming event. Details will follow in future Paragons!
I would also like to thank all of our donors who make our work possible. During the month of March, we received $135 from brothers who signed up for monthly recurring donations to the Association. We also received one additional donation via check and we’re not sure if that brother prefers to remain anonymous or not so we’ll play it safe and just say “thank you!”
If possible, please attend our upcoming work weekend and initiation on April 21-23. It greatly helps our planning if you RSVP in advance on our website. I look forward to seeing you there!
Yours in the Bonds,
Nicholas DeCenzo
President, Ohio Alpha Beta Alumni Association
Support the active chapter on Friday, April 21st in welcoming seven new members to our brotherhood! Initiation will take place at 10:30pm in Eldred Hall. As is tradition, the associate members know about the Long Walk but believe Initiation will be on a later date. Please maintain the surprise if you see them.
Additionally, the undergrate Brothers have a tradition of treating our associate members to dinner at a classy restaurant the night of their initiation. Alumni are welcome to join us for dinner on the evening of Friday, April 21. Information about the time and location of dinner and how to RSVP will be sent out a week prior to Initiation.
Our first official alumni work weekend of 2023 will occur Saturday, April 22, 2023 and Sunday, April 23, 2023. Workdays start at 9am and end around 5pm. We would love to see you and could definitely use the help. We have several projects planned for the weekend. All handy man skill levels are needed, including “I’m no handy man” skill levels.
Our tentative project list includes:
- Parlor ceiling / leak – investigate and DIY repair
- Inspect/Replace all backflow preventers in basement
- Drywall repairs (some are in a few brothers’ rooms)
- Hallway repairs
- Greenhouse bath
- 3rd floor hall
- Driveway work (Minor)
- Study Room threshold and shoe
- Repair power to front hall exit sign
- Public bathroom towel and soap dispensers
- Maintenance items
- Refrigerator coils
- Landscape cleanup
- Painting
- Dispose of old paint if dry
- Clean gutters that are accessible
- Close gap in fence
- Measure doors
- Dumpster / trash cleanout
Email Patrick Glynn with any questions about these projects. Whether you can make it for one day, both days or just a few hours, register in advance on our website.
In addition to these tasks, we will have a historical archiving project over the weekend. Nathan Kossover will be leading the inventory of our composite photos starting on Saturday afternoon at 1pm. He will also record all brothers’ names to help improve our alumni database. He will need at least 2 helpers to move composites from their various locations in the house to the first floor and back to their current location. Email Nathan Kossover at secretary@ohioalphabeta.org with any questions about this project.
On Saturday evening, the Active chapter will be hosting a post workday dinner. This is a great opportunity to spend time with our fellow Alumni and Active Brothers. To ensure we have an accurate headcount for dinner, please register for Saturday on our website.
If you look at the Cuyahoga County Auditor’s website, it will tell you that 11016 Magnolia has been the property of the Ohio Alpha Beta Chapter of Phi Kappa Theta since 1975. Apparently they haven’t digitized their records any farther back in history, because every brother from the 1960s and 1970s will tell you that the house was OUR house well before 1975 - but exactly when is a matter of some dispute. The highly unofficial oral history of the chapter goes something like this:
- Our first chapter residence was a rented(?) space somewhere on Cornell Road which has since been torn down and replaced with something else, possibly the Courtyard Marriott.
- At some point in the 1950s(?), we purchased 11016 Magnolia.
- Brother Ernie Schmidt helped arrange the purchase of the house, or he helped make a lot of the mortgage payments for the house, or quite possibly both.
The precise details vary greatly by which decade the teller joined the fraternity. Brother Schmidt passed away around 1999, so we can’t ask him to tell us what really happened.
Were you there when we bought the house? Did you know Ernie Schmidt? Can you tell us what year we purchased the house or how much we paid for it? Whether you moved into the house the day we purchased it or you’ve just got a solid line on “this what I was told when I joined the fraternity in 19XX or 20XX,” we’d love to hear your stories about how we acquired the house! Email Nathan Kossover at secretary@ohioalphabeta.org, and he’ll compile some of your responses for the “More Official Unofficial” oral history of how we acquired the house for a future issue of the Paragon!
Having a LinkedIn profile has become such a significant part of the hiring process that many of our undergraduate brothers create a profile as freshmen. To leverage the knowledge and networks of the brothers of the Ohio Alpha Beta Chapter, we have created a LinkedIn group exclusively for initiates of our chapter. We'd greatly appreciate your support by joining the LinkedIn group associated with this account!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/phi-kappa-theta-ohab-474152259/
After following this account, keep an eye out for an invitation to the associated LinkedIn group!