Hello to my fellow Resolute Men! I hope 2019 has been treating you all well. It’s hard to believe that as I am writing this report, I am more than halfway through my first semester as President of the Xi Chapter.
I am very pleased to announce that the chapter has completed yet another successful rush, resulting in 24 accepted bids. Our Rush Chairman, Wyatt Black ’21, worked extremely hard to put together a stellar line up of events. It was truly a group effort, by both current brothers and alumni. Alumnus Chris Winter ’07 paired with current house manager Liam Flaherty ’20 built two much needed tables for the house before classes began this semester. For our culminating event of rush, we were joined by alumnus Bill Sullivan ’67 who gave a speech on his experience with the Xi Chapter at our rush dinner in the Rotunda dome room. Much thanks to Chris and Bill for their continued dedication to the fraternity!
You can’t mention the Xi Chapter without an update on Charlottesville native and honorary brother, Martin Powell. Martin was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a child, but has never allowed his physical limitations to define him. Martin has been a friend to the fraternity and a welcomed guest for 30 years. Because Martin is such a dedicated UVA sports fan, we recently filled out our March Madness brackets with him (he had UVA going all the way). We look forward to our regular lunch dates with Martin as we introduce him to our 24 new initiates. We cherish the relationship we have with Martin because of his kind nature and the example he sets for us.
On April 25 we will hold our second spring philanthropy event, Music for Mental Health, at Boylan Heights. This year the event will incorporate multiple genres of music in the hopes of increasing turnout from all corners of the UVA community. The proceeds of this event will go to On Our Own, a peer run mental health recovery center in Charlottesville.
Earlier this semester our new philanthropy chairs, Andrew Craver ’21and Chas Anderson ’20, organized a philanthropy concert at the chapter house headlined by childhood sensation turned songwriter, Drake Bell (well-known from the TV show Drake and Josh). Drake came to the house directly after his concert downtown and sang five songs in front of nearly one thousand ticketed fans. Thanks to Chas and Andrew, the Xi Chapter is well on its way to reaching its fundraising goal of $10k. If you would like to make a donation to help us reach our goal, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Chas at cga2fh@virginia.edu.
It has certainly been an whirlwind of a semester so far! I am very thankful for this opportunity and the experiences I have had thus far as President. I look forward to seeing us continue to grow as a brotherhood during my term.
Ryan Partridge ’20