Alumni Chapter Minutes–April 6 Meeting

Attendance:

Pat Maiorino, Erik Clark, Craig Coolidge, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Steve Doucette, Jeff Charette, Kevin Murphy, Rick Haney, Chris Kelley, Peter Madden

Our next scheduled alumni chapter meeting will be at Verillo’s Banquet and Convention Center in Portland http://www.verrillos.com/map-directions.shtml on Thursday May 3 at 6:30pm. Please plan to attend as many important topics will be discussed!

Old Business:
For those who still have not paid any dues and are interested in helping support the alumni chapter, they are $30 for the year. Payment can also be mailed to our treasurer Peter Madden, pwm355@yahoo.com

Our current checking account balance is $968

April 28 2007 MS Walk in South Portland
Annual Philanthropy, the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Walk held in South Portland on Saturday April 28, 2007. Donations can still be made for the Sigma Chi Alumni Chapter team at:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/1658651322?pg=team&fr_id=5101&team_id=23541. Contact Kevin Murphy murphy55@maine.rr.com our Philanthropy chair for more information.

Newsletter
Reminder, our target date for the first publication is June, which will be distributed via email. Mark Pare mpare97@aol.com is our Chapter Editor/Historian, if you have any material, pictures, etc. which may be useful please forward that
information to him!

Spring/Summer Social Event
Idea’s for a spring/summer social event were discussed including a potential Saco River canoe/float trip, Sea Dogs game, Booze cruise, wine tasting, camping retreat, or semi-formal dance. If you have any suggestions or idea’s, please bring them to
the next meeting or contact Chris Kelly our Event Coordinator.

Website
Continued discussions for an Alumni Chapter website were held. One demo was presented during the meeting. Currently, we are still looking at different options for hosting/design.

Active Chapter (Rho Rho) Mission 365
Representatives from National met with the active chapter during the week of March 25 through March 31 for Mission 365. General thoughts from the meeting were discussed by those whom attended. Conversation for a potential Alumni Chapter Training
Group was also discussed, similar to that outlined during the Mission 365 training. For more information please contact brother Rick Haney rphaney@inhoc.com our Active Chapter Liaison.

New Business:

Stated Communication from Sigma Chi Headquarters
A proposed amendment to the current Sigma Chi bi-laws regarding policy for formation of new Sigma Chi chapters is being considered during Grand Chapter being held June 26 to July 1 in San Jose, California. Attached is a copy of the stated communication and proposed amendment.

Click here to download the above mentioned Grand Chapter 3-28-07 Official Memo

Alumni Chapter Bi-Laws
Revisions to the Bi-Laws were performed line by line at the meeting with proposed revisions. Please review the revised Bi-Laws which are attached to these minutes. One copy is a markup done by Andrew Fitzpatrick and Craig Coolidge. The other is a
final copy reviewed/revised by Pat Maiorino. The revised Bi-Laws will be voted on at the next meeting.

You may download these two revised bylaw documents by clicking on these documents listed in the previous post that announced the May meeting. I didn’t want anyone to think that these were more recent revisions by posting them here also.

Funding Campaign for Permanent Housing (Rho Rho)
Preliminary conversations were held regarding the involvement of the Alumni Chapter with launching a Funding Campaign with the objective of purchasing a permanent residence for Rho Rho, particularly the Sigma Chi Heritage House. To date, some
initial investigative work has been performed by Pat Maiorino to determine the University of Maine’s position on the Heritage House and what might be needed to “start the ball rolling”. In summary, spirits are high and the outlook seems very
promising. Please stay tuned as there is sure to be much more conversation on this topic!

Closure
In closing, we have a lot of things to accomplish for the next couple of meetings. We will be voting on our bi-laws revisions, discussing our Website options, and planning our spring/summer events. I look forward to seeing many of you at the next
Alumni meeting!

In Hoc,

Craig Coolidge
Alumni Chapter President
318-7761

.

 

Next Alumni Chapter Meeting–Thursday May 3

Greetings Brethren,

Our next scheduled alumni chapter meeting will be at Verillo’s Banquet and Convention Center in Portland http://www.verrillos.com/map-directions.shtml on Thursday May 3 at 6:30pm. Please plan to attend as many important topics will be discussed!

Reminders:

MS Walk will be held April 28. Thus far we have raised over our $1,000 goal but please don’t stop there! Walk starts at 9am, please meet at the Scarborough High School at 8:30 to sign up/sign in! Contact Kevin Murphy <murphy55@maine.rr.com> for
more info.

Website design, those involved please have demo’s ready to present so that we can make a final decision as to our hosting/design. This needs to be done!

Please review the revised Bi-Laws which are attached to this email. One copy is a markup done by Andrew Fitzpatrick and myself. The other is a final copy reviewed/revised by Pat Maiorino. The revised Bi-Laws will be voted on at the May meeting.

Click to download each of the following marked up bylaws.

Pat’s Revision of By-Laws

Fitz-Cool Revision of By-Laws

 

Hope to see many of you at the next meeting and this coming weekend at the MS Walk. Meeting minutes from the last meeting will be posted shortly (sorry for the delay). Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

In Hoc,

Craig Coolidge
Alumni Chapter President
318-7761

 

Reminder: Alumni Chapter Meeting–Thurs. April 5

Greetings Brethren,

Just a reminder that our next scheduled alumni chapter meeting will be at Verillo’s Banquet and Convention Center in Portland http://www.verrillos.com/map-directions.shtml on Thursday April 5 at 6:30pm. A private banquet area has been reserved to
accommodate a quiet and productive meeting. The change has been made due to the anticipated increase in attendance for our next meeting. Please plan to attend as many important topics will be discussed!

Reminders:

MS Walk will be held April 28. Our next meeting will be the last meeting before this event so please make a strong effort to collect your fund raising so that we can have a good estimate of our total raised thus far.

Website design, those involved please have your demo’s ready to present so that we can make adjustments (if needed) and approve a hosting/design. We really need to have things up and running after this meeting!

Bi-Laws, please take the time to read though them and be prepared to discuss so that a drafted copy can be generated for review/approval for our May meeting.

Hope to see many of you at the next meeting. Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

In Hoc,

Craig Coolidge
Alumni Chapter President
318-7761

 

Derby Days completed

Hello brothers,

The active chapter has just concluded our annual Derby Days philanthropy for the Children’s Miracle Network. This year was a huge success, with Joe Burnham at the helm. Sororities took place in a variety of events including sign-a-sig, olympics, and the rock-a-thon. There was also a blood drive held, sponsored by us, that raised 46 pints of blood. All in all, there was $1,700 dollars raised, an incredible feat. Up next on the agenda is the formal this Friday the 27th, and more philanthropy work at Camp Roosevelt Sunday, to help build cabins. All alumni are welcome to show up to formal.

In Hoc,

Neil Spillane

Quaestor, Rho Rho Chapter

 

Past, Present, and Future: An Alumnus Perspective

Along with the active chapter’s mid-February email and snail mailing, Brother Haney shared the following message.  Rick Haney is the new chapter advisor and former president of the alumni chapter.  Rick has gone above and beyond the call of duty.  It doesn’t take long to see his passion to get more people involved in helping the active  Rho Rho brothers.  The active chapter’s February 2007 Newsletter written by Consul Jason Mclaughlin can be seen below (or click on it in the lists of recent posts on the right side of this page).

My Brothers,

As a participating member of the Southern Maine Sigma Chi Alumni Association, I write you with great hope of opening new doors within our organization, as well as into the active chapter. We are a growing and unified organization, whose primary objective is to assist our active undergraduate brothers through guidance, support, and, most importantly, encouragement. It is our belief that efforts thus far have sparked a transformation within our 105 year-old active chapter; a transformation that, in my own opinion, has much been needed since the early 1990’s. Thoug h the active chapter is small, it is a stand-up group of young men fully committed to representing their fraternity and their school in a positive light.  As an actively participating alumnus, I could not be more pleased with the focused direction in which the chapter is headed.

The better part of the last two decades has indeed been quite troublesome for Rho Rho, and I have made it my obligation to try and put some of the missing pieces back in place.  Though we are fortunate in our willingness to secure a bright future for the chapter, we owe the same debt of gratitude to the past.  Living in the house in the early 1990’s was enjoyable, but we knew next-to-nothing about the brotherhood that occupied it in the thirty years prior.  We accepted the animosity generated in the aftermath of the “Renaissance at Rho Rho” campaign in 1992.  What we didn’t know was that generations of brothers were scorned in a written letter, commanding them never to return to the chapter house which they allegedly ruined with years of irresponsible behavior.  As a result, Rho Rho chapter lost decades of heritage, tradition, and legacy in one fell swoop.  Without these very things, how can a brotherhood sustain itself?  Whose right was it to throw them away?  What was it that made those brothers less worthy of their fraternal order?

Please understand that today, s uch feelings are no longer a part of the brotherhood at Rho Rho.  Our house is gone and the chapter has carried the torch without it.  They have managed to push forward and stay afloat during the darkest time in our long and favorable history at UMaine, all the while with severely limited alumni resources.  Having the house close twice in six years dealt a crushing blow to those involved, but it must be understood that valiant efforts were made to keep it open.  The housing corporation did everything it could, but the finances just weren’t available.  Fingers were pointed and egos were crushed, and though it has been nearly a decade, the hurtful days are long behind us.  I believe the time has come for us to put back into the chapter what it has given so many of us throughout the years:  The strong arms that surround us, the true hearts upon which we rest, and the tender sympathies from which we draw consolation for the past, comfort for the present, and hope for the future.  It is my deepest hope that these solemn words will bring a resurgence in alumni involvement at Rho Rho.  It is also my hope that together we will continue to achieve greatness on and off campus, and throughout our lives in the friendships this great fraternity has enabled us to create.

In closing, I would personally like to add that I’ve enjoyed leading the Alumni Association a great deal over the past two years.  Not only have I strengthene d my ties to Sigma Chi by rekindling some old friendships, I have also had the privilege of forming new ones.  Since joining as an undergrad in the early 1990’s, I have seen both ends of the Rho Rho spectrum.  I remember the days when the house was full of brothers and times were enjoyable, but I also recall with a heavy heart the dark days after we lost the house and meetings were held in off campus apartments and in the drab basements of dormitories.  It was a tough, confusing time to be an active brother, and for many of us, the wounds have yet to heal completely.  Through it all, the chapter has managed to survive, proving once and for all that it can carry the torch through challenging and tumultuous times, even without the house on College Ave.  In truth, nothing has made me more proud to be a Rho Rho.  I will always remember with fondness the days I spent living in the old Chi Lodge, but times have changed drastically, even in the short decade or so since we occupied it, and we must adapt in order to ensure survival.  As a contributing member of the Alumni Association, I am very proud to serve as a mentor to the young undergraduate brothers, and it is my hope that together we can accomplish great things, the most important being the continued growth and success of Rho Rho chapter.

Proud to be a Rho Rho Sig,

Rick Haney
Former Alumni Association President
Newly elected Active Chapter Advisor

rphaney@inhoc.com

 

Spring Active Chapter Newsletter (Feb 2007)

Current chapter president Jason Mclaughlin shared this newsletter via email and snail mail back in late February. I hope that more people will be better informed by posting it here. Please pass along the address of this blog (http://kimballs.wordpress.com) so that more brothers will become better informed and become more involved.

Thanks Glock! The chapter is doing very well this year under your leadership.

Sigma Chi Newsletter for Spring Semester 2007 (1 of 2) – Rho Rho Chapter

Greetings Brothers! These days there are many great things happening within the Rho Rho Chapter of Sigma Chi. It is my absolute pleasure to inform you of some of the great plans we have in store for our future.

Before I dig too deep, I would like to discuss some of our most recent accomplishments. First and foremost, Sigma Chi was this year’s winner of the Winter Carnival, and we are excited to start the year on a high note. Many of you remember Winter Carnivals of years past, and we are proud to once again carry the tradition.

We are now about 3 weeks into the Spring Semester here at good ol’ UMaine and Rush is going really well! One asset that I believe had a major impact on this was our annual Winter Brotherhood Retreat held in January at “The Hovell in Lovell”. I would like to extend the chapter’s many thanks to Tom Murphy (’81) and Doug Deschenes (’81) for having us again this year for a fabulous weekend. This year proved to be a huge success as all but 1 active brother was present, as well as a great turnout of Alumni Support. THANKS GUYS! The chapter came back to school for the Spring Semester with a burning desire, one that can sometimes fade rather quickly as we get back to our studies and become busy with usual college life. However, this was not the case this year! We came back, geared up, and enthusiastically put our ideas to work. We have had a great Rush period this semester, which just ended recently with a Super Bowl Party. (Let’s not even talk about the game!) We have 7 signed bids and are waiting to hear back on 2 more. This is great news for the active chapter, as our numbers have really struggled with a total of only 7 initiates in the past 3 semesters. We are excited at the possibility of exceeding that number in just this one semester, and the timing could not have been better. Sure, we need the numbers, but we will be graduating only one member in the spring. Though we are sad to see Brother Justin Dunbar leave us for the real world, at the end of the school year we will be sitting at 18 actives.

This brings me to my next topic of interest, a wonderful program that Rho Rho Chapter will take part in this March. The program is known as Mission 365 and is based on improving the recruitment process for “chapters in need”. Having talked with the right people out in Indiana this summer and at our Province Conference, Rho Rho Chapter has been placed on the “Fast-Track” with this program and we are towards the top of the list. We will participate in this workshop the weekend of March 30th – April 1st 2007, and would be more than happy to have you join us. If you are interested, please feel free to contact me for more information, as it has been proven that the more alumni participation, the more our chapter will benefit. We are looking forward to this workshop a great deal, as it will likely enable Rho Rho to experience productive semesters such as this one for years to come.

Another great program currently underway is known as Conrnerstone, and can quickly be summarized as a mentoring program for alumni. During the weekend of January 11th -14th, Rho Rho chapter sent the dedicated and motivated Brother Austin R. Harrell (’06) to Boston for the first Cornerstone training session. Cornerstone is a program that deals strictly with alumni and has proven a great success for the regi ons in which it has been facilitated. We are fortunate to have this program, as the North Atlantic Province is only the third region in the U.S. to receive it. It is specifically designed to train dedicated alumni to be leaders, mentors, and advisors to their local chapters. It is a resource from which alumni can learn a lot about the Fraternity that they may not have previously known, they can also learn many ways to deal with undergraduate chapter issues “from the other side of the fence”, and they can make great connections within the international fraternity. Should you have any questions regarding the Cornerstone Program, please feel free to contact Austin at [ mailto:Austin.harrell@umit.maine.edu ]Austin.Harrell@umit.maine.edu.

The chapter is also pleased to announce that we have a new chapter advisor. Alumnus Brother Rick Haney (’98) has proven his dedication to the chapter and was voted in to take the reigns at the last chapter meeting. We are looking for some great advice and guidance from him, as his motivation has played a vital role in our recent success. Th ough he currently resides in Old Orchard Beach, he is often in the Orono area visiting family and will no doubt aid in the ongoing efforts to brighten the future of Rho Rho. Rick is also “doubling” as the Active Chapter Liason for the Southern Maine Sigma Chi Alumni Association, so we will be seeing a lot of him in the weeks and months to come. Should you have any questions, feel free to email him at [ mailto:rphaney@inhoc.com ]rphaney@inhoc.com, or call him at 207-615-4806. Keep up the great work, Rick!

Speaking of alumni, the Southern Maine Sigma Chi Alumni Association in the greater Portland area is making great strides with their organization’s work, and has already proven to be a major asset to the spirit of Rho Rho. For those of you who take part in the regular monthly meetings, thank you for your dedication. You have already shown your great support with your attendance at this year’s Winter Brotherhood Retreat. For more details on the events and plans of the alumni association, please contact their president, Craig Coolidge at [ mailto:Craig.Coolidge@umit.maine.edu ]Craig.Coolidge@umit.maine.edu. I know from talking with them at the Retreat that they are currently brewing some great ideas, so let’s support them in their quest and look forward to their great future within Sigma Chi!

Finally, I would like to touch on Pledging and give you some important dates to keep in mind. As mentioned earlier we have 7 signed bids and are still waiting to hear back from 2 more candidates. Pledging is slated to begin next week, the first meeting taking place during the week of February 12-18th. Initiation is going to be Saturday April 14th at the old Chi Lodge at 9am. If you are able, please try to attend! Initiations are always more enjoyable with a room full of brothers. We put a great deal of effort into the ceremony because we treasure it dearly. We would love nothing more than for you to enjoy it with us! The Spring Formal is being planned for April 28th so mark that one down on your calendars also! If you have any questions regarding pledging events feel free to contact our current Magister, David Parker at [ mailto:david.parker@umit.maine.edu ]david.parker@umit.maine.edu or 207-459-8746.

Brother, I thank you for your time. I plan on sending out another newsletter towards the end of the school year with a recap of the year’s successes, as well as an update for summer events such as brotherhood retreats, reunions, etc. Please keep an eye out for them in the weeks to come. Also, a plan is in the works to resurrect the official Rho Rho newsletter, The Pine Tree Sig. Unfortunately, the Pine Tree Sig has become a thing of the past in recent years, but it is my goal to see it brought back into production. For years it served as an update for the goings-on within the active chapter, but the last decade has been quite tumultuous for Rho Rho, and sadly, many chapter traditions such as the Pine Tree Sig have been lost. We regret this deeply, but truly look forward to bringing it and many other legacies back to life!

Godspeed,
Jason Mclaughlin
Consul, Rho Rho Chapter
Jason_Mclaughlin@umit.maine.edu

 

More UM Sports News

UMaine’s women’s basketball coach resigned a few days ago without no explanation released to the press.  Coach Ann McInerney resigned Wednesday April 11 ending her two years at the helm of the University of Maine women’s basketball team.  Status of here assistant coaches remains to be seen.  In her two years at Maine, Coach McInerney had a 23-34 losing record.  McInerney joined the UMaine coaching staff in May 200d after leaving Merrimack College (NCAA Division II).

To one of the current women’s team members, this resignation comes as a bit of a surprise.  However, this player stated that she has not seen her coach since the team arrived home from their season-ending playoff loss.  Hopefully McInerney was fulfilling some of her recruiting duties so that the program will have the benefit of some quality incoming talent.

My problem with this entire situation rests with the University which accepted her resignation as of May 12 and agreed to pay her 12 monthy installments of over $8,000 if she does not accept a job that will pay her at at her $100,000 per year level.

The University evidently wanted to replace her.  Wait to see the news reports beginning tomorrow as her assistant coach Kathy Karlsson faces driving while intoxicated charges stemming from an incident last November.  During that incident McInerney used a false name initially before being properly indentified by officers.  There is more to this story which will hopefully be uncovered in the weeks to come.

On a better note, the UMaine baseball team finally got on a winning track sweeping four games this past weekend over the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).  Hopefully this strong baseball team with a powerful hitting attack is finally coming to life.  The team will now work its way back into a good playoff position.  Hopefully they will get to play some of their scheduled home games at Mahaney Diamond.

 

Rho Rho Initiates 7 New Brothers

This past Saturday April 14, the active brothers of Rho Rho came together and pulled off an initiation with barely a hitch. One candidate during the final ceremony was a bit overwhelmed and appeared to need a seat. When he was helped and quickly dropped into the chair, the chair surprisingly broke into pieces. The brother assisting in the process and the chair itself broke the candidate’s fall. A different chair was quickly provided and the ceremony was not interrupted.

As an older brother who has seen two initiations in the past three years and close to ten over the years, I was impressed with the commitment of the all the brothers involved.   Their ability to pull off an entire initiation and perform the final ceremony despite the relatively small size of the active chapter was impressive.  The seven new brothers seemed to fully appreciate the process and were proud and to join our brotherhood.

Approximately ten alumni attended and helped throughout the initiation process.  Over a month ago representatives of the alumni chapter expressed with pleasure that the chapter was training seven pledges. If the active chapter is able to recruit and initiate 7-10 new brothers each semester, active numbers could grow to 35+ within 2 years.  All seven new brothers are first semester freshmen with intentions of completing their education at the University of Maine.

Way to go Rho Rho!  We are proud of you and will continue to support your work and  continue our own efforts to increase capacity among the alumni.

 

Initiation Update

Active Brother Austin Harrell Says:
April 10th, 2007 at 10:06 pm

“Initiation is scheduled for 9:00am this Saturday April 14, 2007 in the Chapter Room.  The Banquet is scheduled for 5:00pm at the Heritage House.”
All initiated Sigma Chi brothers are encouraged to attend the initiation. Please try to be there before 8:30 am. This ceremony is the first big step in bringing the numbers back to Rho Rho. Your involvement will make a difference.

 

Alumni Meeting and Reminders

Craig Coolidge, President of the Rho Rho Alumni Chapter, sent the following email to his email list of alumni. I hope that some of you will contact him and become involved. His email address is: craig.coolidge@umit.maine.edu

Greetings Brethren,

Just a reminder that our next scheduled alumni chapter meeting will be at Verillo’s Banquet and Convention Center in Portland http://www.verrillos.com/map-directions.shtml on Thursday April 5 at 6:30pm. A private banquet area has been reserved to
accommodate a quiet and productive meeting. The change has been made due to the anticipated increase in attendance for our next meeting. Please plan to attend as many important topics will be discussed!

Reminders:

MS Walk will be held April 28. Our next meeting will be the last meeting before this event so please make a strong effort to collect your fund raising so that we can have a good estimate of our total raised thus far.

Website design, those involved please have your demo’s ready to present so that we can make adjustments (if needed) and approve a hosting/design. We really need to have things up and running after this meeting!

Bi-Laws, please take the time to read though them and be prepared to discuss so that a drafted copy can be generated for review/approval for our May meeting.

Hope to see many of you at the next meeting. Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

In Hoc,

Craig Coolidge
Alumni Chapter President
318-7761

 

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a House again!

Do you think that the following guys would have been short-sighted and made the same decisions to close the chapter house and turn it over to the University?

Read below to see how two past brothers look back upon this difficult time.

 

My Thoughts on the Renaissance at Rho Rho

The house should still be ours…

The point of this web space is to bring out a broader perspective about events which many younger generation Sigs have yet to learn about. I realize that what follows is more of an editorial, but I’ve sat on these thoughts and feelings for years and hope that some good can come out of what I have to say. If nothing else, younger generations can learn from the past and use it to their advantage in the future. Yesterday I visited the vague and somewhat disappointing history page on the UMaine Sigma Chi website. What follows is a more articulate depiction of the last ten to fifteen years. As with anything else I’ve posted, I welcome any corrections/disputes from anyone who sees it necessary.

 

When our house was closed in 1991, our brotherhood was strong. It is true that things were out of hand at times, but Rho Rho was a solid chapter, full of brothers who cared for one another and were committed to their cause. They were robbed of their house and legacy by powerful people who didn’t agree with their lifestyle, and have since been labeled as party animals, vandals, and even rapists according to some. They were not acting any differently than many had acted in previous years. They happened to be there during a time when UMO was beginning to clean house around campus, getting rid of what it saw as problem areas. UMO would have closed the house for good at that point, had it not been for the behind the scenes political manipulations between then Grand Praetor Mike Ursillo , the University, and prominent Rho Rho alumni who foolishly thought the house would flourish if brought back to its original glory of the 1930’s – 1950’s.

 

I’m not one who believes in degrading others to prove a point, but I do believe particular attention should be paid to the many false beliefs that led us to where we are as a chapter today. First, I’ve always believed that Ty Bateese has been given more credit than was due for his role in the “Renaissance at Rho Rho” in 1992. He was not even a Rho Rho! He was initiated while attending Boston University and transferred to UMO prior to his involvement with our chapter. He and John Moon (more on him later) were recruited by Mike Ursillo to lead the effort in a new Rho Rho chapter, after it was decided that the house would close. Prior to this decision, the chapter was on thin ice as it was and restricted to no alcohol in the house. When a party was planned during this time, both Ty and John Moon were aware and kept it to themselves. They did not try to prevent it from happening; instead, they both left for the night and therefore were not implicated in being involved with the party. Thus, when the hammer fell, it avoided the two of them altogether. The brothers at the time knew this and felt betrayed because they had accepted an outsider into their circle who had turned on them. Adding insult to injury, the outsider was then praised for it, making his mark in our chapter’s history as the hero that saved Rho Rho. This was not fair to the true Rho Rho brothers. It’s no wonder they disassociated themselves with our chapter, and they justifiably carry hard feelings about Ty to this day.

 

John Moon was a grad student live-in advisor who kept booze in his room and often invited brothers in to drink with him during the first no-alcohol disciplinary period.  Because he was an older, non-traditional brother with business experience, he was entrusted with the finances of our reformed chapter. He was quickly put in charge of the extravagant renovations and spending, most of which he used to fund his own financial endeavors with his company, Marsh Island Developments. Should anyone wish to see where Rho Rho money went, go to 137 Main St. in downtown Bangor. There you’ll find a beautiful four-story brick townhouse, on the corner of Main and Union next to the old opera house. Renovated and financed with heartfelt donations from scores of Rho Rho alumni who only wished to help their beloved chapter, who also had no idea their money was being squandered by a crook. Moon was brought to justice in the years that followed, and if anyone would like to read about it, click here:

 

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=me&vol=00me142m&invol=1

 

In the mid 1990’s the chapter thrived. At one point we had over forty brothers and the “Renaissance at Rho Rho” was in full effect. It looked like a sure bet, despite the fact that we could not fill the house. Each semester was more difficult for the house association, who could not understand why, with more than forty active undergraduate brothers, over half of them did not want to live in the house. There were many reasons for this, ranging from lack of privacy to living costs to being forced to go elsewhere to have a beer, among many others. It was supposed to be our home but in many ways we never really felt like it was ours to begin with. An immense debt over our heads made it difficult to succeed, especially considering it was not a debt we had incurred ourselves. As a result, tremendous amounts of apathy began to spread. We were hounded by the house association every semester to get more people in the house, but what were we supposed to do? It wasn’t our fault that they overextended themselves financially and falsely assumed people would flock to Rho Rho. It wasn’t our fault that Moon skipped town with money that should have kept us afloat. And it certainly was not our fault that there was little alumni support. We had no idea David Greenlaw, ’41, wrote a chastising letter to brothers from the 1960’s -1980’s. In the letter he scorned them for the house disrepair and told them the chapter’s irresponsible behavior was their fault, and to never come back to Rho Rho. No wonder we never had any support! With this mentality, it’s also no wonder that the new direction for Rho Rho had been doomed from the start. If anyone has a copy of this letter I’d like to read it someday.

 

I’ve heard it said that the reason we lost the house in 1998 was because of a house party. This is also untrue. We lost the house because several members of the nearly bankrupt house association disagreed with creating a new direction, and panicked because actives were drinking in the house again. Some members of the association were in favor of changing the rules in an effort to keep the house open, but those who weren’t swiftly opted to shut us down. When they did, the chapter decided it had nothing left to lose and hosted the largest party the house had seen in years. We hired a DJ and the line to get in the back door extended into Phi Eta’s parking lot. It was clearly an act of defiance, but the bottom line was that for one night, short lived as it may have been, we were all brothers fully enjoying what little time we had left in our house. What a way to go out!

 

Our chapter house didn’t slip away because of finances. It was taken from us by people who couldn’t stand to be corrected, who were not willing to admit that their “plan” had failed.  The simple truth is that there really was no “plan”.  They re-opened our over-extravagantly renovated house and expected people to flock to the one-of-a-kind fraternity they had created.  Their false assumptions were based on their own memories of the house and campus from forty years before.  They didn’t do their homework and also didn’t realize that times had changed drastically since the 1950’s.  In those days recruitment was not the challenge it has become in recent times, yet they based the new direction on the premise that the house would fill every semester, in turn enabling itself to cover the massive operational costs as well as paying off the enormous debt of the house renovations.  It was a foolish gamble that cost them and every brother since our long-standing legacy.  Many of them were supportive of the chapter’s cause and were willing to work with us in finding a way to keep the Chi Lodge open, even if it meant allowing booze back in the house.  Some of them weren’t willing, so they pulled the plug and the rest of us have suffered since. Some may see this as speculative, perhaps even cynical, but you and I know better. Why else would they have closed the house TWICE in a six year period? Piss poor guidance by an older generation that should have known better.  They drank in that house as much as anyone else did.  Who told them how to run things?  Did anyone shut them down?  As members of the house association, they were more than supportive toward the chapter when the house was open.  If they had so much passion for Rho Rho, where are they now?  Where have they been for the last decade????  Thanks, Brothers!

 

Since that cold January night that we lost our house, Rho Rho has seen little to no alumni support whatsoever.  A major goal in my position of chapter advisor is to help change that; to facilitate a discussion about who we are, where we came from and why things are the way they are today. Biased and inaccurate histories have plagued us for far too long, and it’s time we stood on common ground and put the past to rest. Right now many things are changing for the better at Rho Rho, and I believe an accurate depiction of past events will only help increase our new found fortitude. Let’s continue fighting the good fight!!!!!

 

Thoughts on Losing our House & More

Patrick Haney (‘96) like many others still struggles with the closing of the Chapter House. Pat recalls the frustration and anger of the time. He originally posted this composition into the wiki, but it seems much more appropriate here in the blog. Thanks for contributing and seeing the need to get back in touch with our brotherhood. Several of us feel the same. Hence, the creation of this blog and the “Rho Rho Life”  history wiki.

When I try to remember the sequence of events that took place with the final closing of the house, it’s kind of hazy. Maybe I’ve suppressed the bad stuff because I don’t have any trouble recalling the fun times like partying at North 4th or Riverplex or the formals held at various random locations. It wasn’t all parties though. Some of my favorite memories include hiking up to Rainbow Ledges to put the shield out for the pledges, brotherhood retreats to places like Pazzy’s camp, pulling off a successful Founders’ Trail out on the Studmill Rd. and various community service projects on Saturday mornings (who’s bright idea was that?)…

But losing the house was tough. We tried like hell to keep it, but the odds were just stacked against us. I was Consul, Adam Page was Pro Consul and Josh Nason was Quaestor (I think this is right). We were still a relatively young group of officers and it felt like we had inherited a sinking ship. There was a lot of apathy going on in the chapter at the time. It was like pulling teeth to get some guys to do things like attend chapter meetings and pay dues…

We had one final meeting with the Housing Corporation where it was decided that it wasn’t financially possible to keep the house. I know we were a bit less mature than we are now, but at the time it felt like we were being abandoned–almost like they were saying “well, we gave you six months, you didn’t raise the money, so we have to sell the house to the University.”

So we did what any group of reasonable young men would have done. We said, “well f*** this, we’re gonna have a house party.” We called the guys into the chapter room to discuss how we’d make it happen. We were so damn excited at the thought of actually drinking in the house. Hell, we certainly deserved it after all those years of resisting temptation, right? I remember Hauck and Milley making fun of me for suggesting we get cases instead of kegs. “F*** that dude, we’re gettin’ f***in’ kegs man” was their professional assessment.

It didn’t take long to get the word out. “What? Sigma Chi is having a party IN their house? I thought they couldn’t do that?” I’m pretty sure that people abandoned whatever plans they had and headed over to 101 College Ave.

What a great night that was. Well, that is until the party got broken up. I don’t remember how far into the night we got, but it only felt like about 20 minutes. Burned into my memory is the image of one older, “more responsible” alumnus (who shall remain nameless) bursting through the door yelling “get the f*** out of MY house!” I remember thinking, “YOUR house?! It’s OUR house too. And pretty soon, it’s gonna be THEIR house. It got kinda ugly from there, but that’s all water under the bridge…
And that was that.

We pretty much had to move on from there. We had lost the house, but it was never a consideration for the chapter itself to go anywhere. We secured a room in the basement of a dorm (Somerset?). I won’t lie, that felt like shit at first. We didn’t want to be known as “the actives that lost the house”, but it was out of our hands.

So we took some time to evaluate what needed to be done to make the chapter strong again. And I feel like we made some great strides. We knew that it was going to be even harder to rush guys now that we didn’t even have a house. But we just tried not to think about it that way and we pressed on. We had some really strong pledge classes that came in at a most important time. Employing some strategy unlike before, we started thinking about the future and went to the dorms and targeted younger guys. If the chapter was to survive the next few years, we needed to replace ourselves with some good strong leaders.

Thankfully, we were successful because the Rho Rho chapter is alive and well at the University of Maine. I look forward to hearing plenty of memories from other guys. It truly is amazing how they come flooding back in when you just sit down to really think about it for a minute. It makes me realize that I’ve been pretty out of touch these last few years. I’d really like to change that.

Oh, and as a side note, I’d like to thank my brother Rick for his dedication. He got knocked around a bit during his final days as an active brother, but he put that all aside and now plays an extremely important role in the survival of Rho Rho. The current actives are lucky to have such a devoted Sig on their side.

In Hoc,
Patrick Haney ‘96

 

UMaine Sports News

This Week in UMaine Sports

• University chooses Clear Channel conglomerate over the local WZON Sports team as the official UMaine Sports radio station.  I presume it was a contract for more than a year.  It would be nice to know the terms especially to see if Stephen King lost the financial bid for the broadcast rights.
• Mahaney Dome knocked down by March storm of 12 inches of snow followed by heavy rain.  According to local reports, it was still under warranty so the University should not have to pay much, but you and I know better!
• Baseball coach Steve Trimper removes two players from team including the starting catcher and the ambidextrous pitcher.  Isn’t that really getting rid of three players? The punishment came down when the team returned from their spring break Florida and Arizona trip.  I bet it was alcohol-related in Florida.  Must have been an embarassment to the team!  We need someone to find out for us.
  • One of the active brothers ought to be able to get the scoop for our blog readers.
• Hockey team in NCAA National Tournament playing in Rochester, N.Y. vs. St.Cloud.  The game is scheduled for 6 pm on Friday March 23.  Local WABI-TV Channel 5 is broadcasting the game along with WZON Radio 620.  You can listen to local sports on WZON Internet.  Go to www.zoneradio.com.

We need a Rho Rho blog sports editor and someone to share other campus news for our readers.  Contact Shawn at kimballs@hermon.net with any questions.  We certainly could use some humor better than mine.

 

Alumni Chapter News

Next Alumni Chapter meeting:

• Thursday April 6 at Verillo’s Banquet and Conference Center in Portland.

Contact Rick Haney (rphaney@inhoc.com) for more information. Someone said that this is a “dry” meeting. Yeah, right!

 

Active Chapter News

Important Upcoming Date:

• Initiation  Saturday April 14th 8:00 am in Rho Rho Chapter Room.

Keep and eye out for more news from the actives when they start publishing to the blog.

 

Time Capsules?

Somehow, I seem to remember something about buried time capsules.  Does anyone know more about these?  Have they been uncovered?  I think we put one in one of the Chi Lodge bar when studded and put up the rough-cut walls.

 

Share Your Memories in the Rho Rho History Wiki

Chapter Advisor, Rick Haney, has begun an effort to compile a historical account of Rho Rho over the decades so we have set up a wiki (collaborative editable web presence) where you can add content to Rho Rho history. Simply go to the wiki site (http://kimball-wiki.wikispaces.com/Rho+Rho+Life) and click “Edit This Page” to add content. You can place your information wherever you wish. I suggest that you write longer passages in a wordprocessor or email space and then copy and paste it into the wiki.

There are some problems that can occur if multiple people are on the site, make changes, and click save so try not to stay on very long. You can refresh the wiki page in your browser to see if your content appears as you wish before finishing your work to make sure another person is not editing at the same time. Please put your name and year of initiation at the end of your information in the wiki. Once again, remember to click save. This is the most common mistake using this wiki.

Have fun blogging and doing the wiki!

Email me with any questions or concerns (kimballs@hermon.net).

 

Hello Brothers! Welcome to the Rho Rho Blog!

After creating a wiki (an open, editable webspace) for the purpose of compiling a collaborative Rho Rho history, I thought we would attempt to have a blog presence as well. Since this may contain some opinions and more sensitive information, I have initially set this blog to require readers/writers to log in. Right now, I think we will also invite brothers via to join the blog. I will establish categories to help get discussions and sharing to occur. This site might be most valuable as a quick an easy way for the active brothers to share their activities and operations of the chapter. Our current active chapter advisor, Rick Haney, can have his own area. Also we can have a category for the Alumni Chapter. Let me know if you want additional categories or links to appear on this blog.

It is very important that you forward email addresses of Rho Rho brothers so we can invite them to read and add content to our blog. Send these email addresses and your comments to Shawn Kimball, your blogmaster, at kimballs@hermon.net.

Rho Rho has gone high tech! Join the discussion by clicking “Comment” or “No Comments” directly below the entry title to which you wish to respond.