In this edition of Xi Lights you will find information about:
- our annual homecomings tailgate event,
- the finances of our alumni corporation,
- our annual giving program designed to enhance our financial position,
- the maintenance of our physical facility,
- current chapter activities,
- a brother’s generosity that will benefit future generations of Theta Chi brothers, and
- the announcement of our annual meeting of the alumni corporation.
The University’s Homecomings football game is on October 17. We will not know the kick-off time until two weeks before game day as the television networks control the timing. We expect to start the tailgate event three hours before kick-off. We have reserved football game tickets through the University of Virginia Alumni Association. The Alumni Association has access to a limited number of hotel rooms on a first come first basis. The cost of the tailgate is $30 (children under 17 are free). The menu will include pork barbeque, fried chicken and of course other normal cookout menu items, adult beverages and soft drinks. We expect there will a Jackie Morris sighting with his fan favorite–barbequed venison. Last year we had over 150 tailgate attendees and are hoping for a big turnout again this year.
We are proud that the undergraduate brotherhood is thriving. You can read more about their plans in the Chapter Report. We have a good relationship with the undergraduates and both parties are working toward mutual success.
On June 6, 2015, we hosted a cook-out at the fraternity house for the University’s Reunions Weekend. We had over 70 attendees and our informal poll revealed that our cookout was one of the larger fraternity sponsored events that weekend. Troy Knowlton (92) and Mark Chinn (91) smoked two pork shoulders that were the highlight of the event. We believe that our good turnout is at least partially due to the efforts that the Alumni Board has put forth over the past five years to energize our alumni and create events that enable us to reconnect with our Xi Chapter brothers.
Our annual meeting will be held on Sunday October 18, the day after Homecomings, at 11AM in the Willie Alexander room at the Chapter house. The officers of the corporation will give brief reports of our prior year accomplishments and our goals for the coming year Please feel free to email me at rjnadeau333@aol.com, or call, 703-217-8575 or 703-251-8620, if you have any questions or if I can help you in any way.
Fraternally,
Rick Nadeau (76)
2014-2015 has been another successful year as we paid down our first mortgage loan to $420,000 and our second mortgage loan to $15,000. We maintain a cash balance of approximately $15,000 for emergency repairs. The rent we collect from the chapter of $63,000 is sufficient to cover the operating costs, insurance costs, real estate taxes and debt service on our first mortgage loan. As you will note in the House Maintenance Report there are some long-term maintenance items we will need to address in the next several years. Annual giving support we receive from our alumni brothers is crucial to retire the second mortgage loan and to protect our investment made in the Centennial Plan.
Billy Duval (08)
On May 22, 2015, several Theta Chi alums met at the fraternity house to witness brother Bill Sullivan (B.A. ’67) and his wife Donna (B.S.Ed. ’67) execute with the University a $1,000,000 irrevocable Charitable Remainder Unitrust Agreement and related gift agreements benefitting Theta Chi at the University of Virginia. These agreements will give Bill and his wife income and tax benefits during their lifetimes and thereafter provide scholarships for deserving Xi Chapter of Theta Chi brothers and funds for certain capital improvements to the house. This generous gift was inspired by Bill and Donna’s good feelings for Theta Chi and their desire to make a meaningful impact on the lives of future generations of University students. Bill’s thinking is summed up in the following words: “This is a win-win-win for Donna and me, the University, and future Theta Chi brothers. We had already provided for a bequest to the University in our wills, but by accelerating the gift through the trust vehicle and making it irrevocable, we were able to provide for substantial retirement income with extremely favorable tax advantages during our lifetimes and assure that upon our deaths the remainder will be used to benefit Theta Chi. Our gift is part of the University’s endowment fund which has an investment return of approximately 12% over the past 10 years or so. Assuming the endowment’s future investment return is more than 6%, the value of the charitable remainder upon our deaths will be more $1,000,000.”
Bill and Donna worked with Jason Chestnut from the University’s Office of Gift Planning on this first-of-its-kind gift involving Greek alumni. They have developed template documents that others can use. The hope is that other Theta Chi (and other Greek) alumni of the University will be moved to make similar gifts. For those who are interested in learning more about this opportunity and can attend Homecomings, Bill will be available on October 18, at the end of our annual meeting to provide information and answer any questions.
Rick Nadeau (76)
We are continuing this campaign with support from our volunteer alumni. Specific annual fund uses include:
- Addressing planned expenses outside the scope of the Capital Campaign (such as in-line gutter replacement and repairs to the garage).
- Repayment of the remaining $15,000 second mortgage debt ($15,000 was paid down earlier this year with annual fund proceeds).
- Re-building our reserve fund to maintain the house in good condition.
Our Annual Fund goal is to raise an average of $40,000 per year over the 5-year period 2014 – 2018 ($200,000 in total). As this is a fraction of our Capital Campaign initiative, our focus is to maximize giving participation and to exceed the 400 brothers who supported the Capital Campaign. Although we are asking brothers to pledge over a multi-year period, a pledge or donation of any amount and over any period is much appreciated.
So far, we have received $128,000 in pledges through 2018. 75% of participating brothers have made a multi-year pledge. 132 brothers across 7 decades have already pledged their support to the campaign, including brothers from the class of 2015. We appreciate the support as many brothers continue to demonstrate that the “helping hand” is alive and well across so many of our Xi Chapter generations.
Although we have achieved nearly 65% of our goal, there’s still much to accomplish. Visit our annual giving site at www.thetachiuva.com and make a pledge or donation online, or contact me or another board member to ask about annual fund giving. We appreciate your support!
Mark Chinn (91)
Another semester has started and the house is ready. We welcome Tim McKinney ’17 to his new role as house manager.
Spencer Phillips ’85, Christopher Winter ’07, and I continue to meet regularly with Tim and the chapter president, Carter Levison ’17 to discuss ongoing maintenance items. In addition to maintaining a running list of open items, these conversations have proven invaluable for understanding and addressing maintenance issues.
We are cautiously optimistic our repair / discretionary expenditures will hit our target budget this year. To date, we’ve spent about $4,200 on both repairs and regularly scheduled maintenance. This is a significant improvement from previous years, and we look forward to keeping our subcommittee expenditures at or below budget levels.
Our end of semester inspection, undertaken by Chris Winter, did not uncover any major issues that we were not already aware of. The security deposit fund enters its second year, and will be modestly increased. As of the writing of this note, we have yet to draw upon any funds that have been set aside to cover student damage. We commend the chapter membership on the respect they are showing the physical facility.
I would be remiss not to mention our list of deferred projects. As always, the in-line gutters need repair / replacement, the existing windows on the original building need to be replaced, and the garage needs aesthetic improvement to match the high standard set in the main house.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone at Homecomings and we will be working with the undergraduate chapter to make sure the house looks it best!
Will Teass (97) Vice-President
The chapter had a long and hard summer, with the passing of our president and devoted brother, Quentin Alcorn. Since hearing about the news, we have created the Quentin Alcorn Memorial Scholarship, which will be given to the member of the UVA Greek community each year that most embodied the characteristics that made Quent such an amazing man: dedication, a great leader, a love for learning, and a capacity for love and humor. Although a lot of work has been done to solicit donations and we are making progress towards our goal, we could still use help to make sure that the scholarship lasts. To donate, go to quentinalcornscholarship.com . Checks can also be made payable to:
UVa Fund – Quentin Alcorn Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 400314
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4314
For questions regarding the Scholarship, please contact Miles Kirwin at (914) 462-9890; mileskirwin1@gmail.com or William Everett at (703) 517-3706; wte3ut@virginia.edu. We are hoping this scholarship can help carry on his legacy and help others in need like he would do for anybody else. The scholarship currently has over $41,000 which allows us to give out a $2,000 scholarship annually.
As for this semester, we have many exciting events planned. Our first major event will be our annual Parent’s Weekend. We will be attending the UVa v. Boise St. football game on Friday night, and then visiting the First Colony Winery on Saturday night for a catered dinner and live music.
Later in the semester we will have our 4th annual Battle of the Bands Philanthropy event, which has raised thousands of dollars in years past. This year, we will be donating the proceeds to a foundation devoted to mental health awareness. This is an issue chapter members feel passionate about.
Finally, we will be having various tailgates throughout the semester, as well as our Christmas semi-formal that is a favorite of the brothers. The semi-formal will consist of koozies, hired bartenders, and live music.
The chapter greatly appreciates all of the support provided by our alumni network and looks forward to seeing many of you again at our Homecoming tailgate. Fraternity Rush is in the spring semester. We do take seriously all notes advising us to watch for possible legacies and friends.
Vice President – Will Teass (’97), will@teass.com
Treasurer – Billy DuVal, (’08) whd2j08@gmail.com
Secretary – Spence Phillips (’85) spencerrp802@gmail.com
Bill Sullivan (’67), wbsuva@msn.com
Gregg Johnson (’75), greggejohnson@msn.com
Jackie Morris (’81), jh-morris@verizon.net
Mark Chinn (’91), chinn6@gmail.com
Chris Winter (’07), christopherwwinter@