Board Meeting Tuesday January 24, 2023

 President Cole Harris opened the meeting at 6:07 PM. Two motions were passed, see below.

April 14 Events Past Active Chapter President Mike Hunger and John Bokum worked on this project. An email announcement will be distributed. 

Date: April 15 2023

Events: 

Board Meeting at the house, 10:30 AM

Social, leave for Lake Linda by 1 PM

Cost for meal and sundries: $20 to $30 TBD

Transportation will be "drive or catch a ride" this year. It is about a 30 minute drive.

Scholarships

John Bokum explained that we will be using WIU's 501c3 status to make donations tax deductible. Thanks to Vic Caricato and Bob Leoni for their work on this.

-> For donations to the scholarship fund: make check to "WIU Foundation/Theta Chi scholarship" and mail to:

WIU Foundation, 1 University Circle, Macomb, IL 61455

-> For donations to the house: 

• contribute online at Link, or
  
• make check payable to:
• Janice Vogel
  All Phase Property Solutions
  403 Hampshire Street
  Quincy, IL 62301-2927
• Make the check payable to Theta Chi Alumni Association and write in the note area, "for house fund."

House Insurance

John Bokum reported that our coverage from Holmes Murphy will go up 15 to 20% this year.

We will meet soon to vote on whether to include liability insurance or continue relying on National's insurance for liability.

Thompson Hall

Mike Hunger reported there was a fire in Thompson Hall. He said there is a chance four brothers may choose to live in the house. We discussed how much we might charge them for rent. We decided we would negotiate with the brothers starting at $250 a month. Terry Austin will work on this.

Finances

• (The actives were dismissed at this point and thanked for attending.)
• Treasurer Bob Eden reported:
• Bob said we had a significant deficit last year. Donations were a significant help. We agreed we need to restart house donation efforts.
• Our taxes are about $8k per year and payable in two installments. John Bokum reported that an appeal to the state of Illinois was not accepted.
• Currently we are paying interest only on our mortgage. However, that will end soon. John said he will petition our bank to continue the interest only arrangement.
• Bob said we have about $15k in our Vanguard account.
• A motion was passed to update the signatories on our Vanguard account. 

Rent

A motion was made and passed to increase the house rent. The new rent rates are $450 for double bedroom occupancy, and $550 for single. The new rates start next fall.

Brother Jon Slater ‘70 Proclaimed President Emeritus

  

 

Proclamation

The Theta Chi / Phi Theta / Western Club Alumni Board hereby proclaims:

Brother Jon Slater ‘70 President Emeritus

We thank Jon for his leadership, vision, and accomplishments for Phi Theta, which ultimately became Theta Chi.

• Jon had a vision of what a fraternity should be. The existing fraternities did not measure up to his mission of more than just a brotherhood but leadership development, scholarship and service. 

• Jon was adamant against hazing in any form.

• Jon found others who shared his perception who became the Founding Fathers. Then he recruited campus leaders to begin the membership drive.

• Jon was the driving force to create a constitution, recruitment policies, member standards, an initiation ceremony, and housing so we function as a fraternity. He gave the members opportunities to develop their skills through committees and leadership roles as officers.

• Jon worked hard to get acceptance by the WIU administration, fighting to prove we were worthy of being a fraternity. He led the service projects of Lake Argyle cleanup and student dorm move-in to show the administration we were an asset for Western. The grade point requirement set us apart and set a high standard.

• Jon led us to overcome the biases and ridicule poured on us by the other fraternities. He led us in athletics to show we could compete with the other fraternities. Over time, the WIU administration and the existing fraternities believed we would make the entire Greek system better and stronger if we were admitted to the IFC. Our experiences in Phi Theta provided us a foundation for future success after graduating from Western as teachers, corporate managers, VP's, and presidents. Many of us feel our achievements are a direct result of Jon's leadership. Friendships that began in Phi Theta have endured all these years.

Jon, your legacy is that Theta Chi is now the best fraternity at Western. New members of Theta Chi will forever know who was the driving force in creating this fraternity.

Cole Harris, President                                         Date: September 29, 2022

Theta Chi Reunion August 27

 

Saturday, August 27 Time: 11 AM to 5 PM  Place:   Hawthorne's Backyard  1200 W Hawthorne Ln  West Chicago, IL 60185

Theta Chi Reunion

Come join your brothers and their families for good food and camaraderie. 

Adults $35 ($40 at the door)  Children 12 and under $10  Children 3 and under free

Theta Chi and WIU Are Back! In the last few years, we were not  able to use normal recruitment  methods. Please contribute to  rebuild our house fund.

Sign Up Information For Theta Chi Reunion August 27, 2022 Hawthorne's Backyard 

Make checks payable to:   Alumni Association of Theta Chi Mail to:  Tom Stern   423 W Thomas Rd  Wheaton IL 60187-3140  Phone: 630-436-8288

Number of adults ___ x $35 =     _______ Number of children ___ x $12 =   _______ House fund donation:                  ________                                               Total: _______

My email address is: ________________________________

Minutes of Board Meeting 4/2/2022 at House


President Cole Harris opened the meeting at 11:15 AM.
Present were Cole, VP John Bokum, and Secretary Orin Rehorst
Other board members present were Bob Schumaker, Donald "Donnie" Doolin, Ryan Green, Terry Austin, and Vic Caricato.

Attendees numbered 25 and we recited the Theta Chi Creed. See link below to review our creed.

Four brothers were recognized.

Mike Hunger, active chapter president, was chosen IFC President of the Year. He also did a great job with recruiting, signing up the largest pledge class of fraternities this Spring, six pledges. Mike also negotiated to get a brother for house dad next semester rather than the typical stranger.

Terry Austin, our house manager supreme, was chosen Businessman of the Year by the Quincy Chamber of Commerce.

John Bokum, VP and wizard of Theta Chi, for his extensive contacts within and without the fraternity. These include contacts at WIU and our national fraternity. He also lowered our property tax by half, reduced our mortgage interest rate by one percent, but also just reduced our house insurance by half. Thanks wizard John. He was presented with a magic wand.

Bob Schumaker has made numerous items around the house including benches and a platform. He has also supported many of the active chapter activities. For example, he provided brats for a chapter event.

Active Chapter Report - President Mike Hunger listed achievements pointing to improving chapter health. He expects 17 brothers to be living in the house next fall. Mike expects to see ten or more pledges next semester.

Mike and John Bokum planned the event after the meeting at Lake Linda. It was a hit with over 50 attending.

House Report - Terry Austin

New accounting system. Our new system is in place. All Phase Property Solutions is running the system, collecting rents, and paying bills.

Current money numbers. We ran a deficit last year. Money was transferred from our investment account to our banking account. The budget for the next two semesters should result in a small surplus.

Increase in house rent. A motion was made and passed 3/25/2022 to raise the house rent rates to $420 per month for double occupancy and $520 per month for single occupancy.

Finance. Bob Eden offered to help out with quick books if it's online. Nate Fleck will look at becoming alumni board treasurer.

House Insurance - John Bokum A motion to suspend our house liability insurance with Holmes Murphy for one year passed on 3/25/2022.

Non-Theta Chi Housing Proposal - John Bokum

A motion to allow non-Theta Chi’s to rent units in the house was defeated.

Scholarship Program - Vic Caricato

Vic will pursue reducing the 3.2 GPA requirement for scholarship eligibility.

Alumni Corp Recognition Application - Cole Harris listed the benefits of getting the recognition from National. We will complete the application.

Fundraiser for house

We will likely use an online donation system. The goal is to raise $20,000 for the house. Terry Austin that it may take $10,000 to repair unit 1.

Reunion this summer - Tom Stern

August 27, Saturday was chosen for the reunion.

11 AM to 5 PM.

Hawthorne's Backyard

1200 W Hawthorne Ln, West Chicago, IL 60185

Adults $35

Children 12 and under $10

Children 3 and under free

Save the date.



— End of Minutes —



Theta Chi Creed

3/14/2022 Zoom Board Meeting Minutes

Attendees: Cole Harris, President, John Bokum, VP, Orin Rehorst, Secretary, board members Vic Caricato, Terry Austin, and Chuck Hvala, and Active Chapter President Mike Hunger.

A motion was made and pasted to raise the house rent rates to $425 per month for double occupancy and $540 per month for single occupancy.

A motion was made and pasted to approve the following three resolutions.

Resolution:  “The Alumni Board authorizes Cole Harris’ mailing address as the principal mailing address with Vanguard.”

 

Resolution: “Alumni Association Board hereby appoints and authorizes Cole Harris and John B. Bokum Jr. as authorized signatories on our Vanguard Accounts: 0033/ 88006973166. “

 

Resolution: “The Alumni Association Board hereby appoints and authorizes Charles Hvala as the board member to have electronic access to the Boards investment accounts, 0033/ 88006973166. This authorization includes read access and to adjust investment account balances pursuant to board approval.”

Mike Hunger mentioned that national promotes having two alumni reunions per year, one in the Spring, one in the Fall.

--end of meeting--

 

Board Meeting Minutes - Zoom Meeting March 6, 2022

President Cole Harris opened the meeting at 1:05 PM 

Active Chapter Report - Nick Pyznarski, VP Active Chapter

• State of the active chapter

• We have 6 solid pledges this Spring

• 5 pledges will likely live in the house next Fall

• 1 pledge wants to be an RA

• The chapter is soliciting restaurants to fund scholarships

• Waiting on lease contracts for fall. (We alumni will provide them shortly.)

• Event at Lake Linda

• Reminder: April 2 Board Meeting in the house at 11 AM. Social at Lake Linda afterwards.

• A bus to Lake Linda is being chartered

House Report - Terry Austin

• New accounting system

• The system will auto-alert brothers who are late on rent

• Terry recommends one rate for all room arrangements

• The board agreed to have a new rate agreed to by 3/15

• Current money numbers

• Terry reported we are running a serious deficit 

• We currently have 7 brothers living in the house

• By Fall we should have 16 brothers living in the house

• Increase in house rent

• We planned another Zoom meeting Monday next at 7 PM to hammer out the rent increase

Investment Account - Chuck Hvala

• Chuck said we need to have the Vanguard account names updated. It looks like that will be president Cole and VP John. Chuck will have read-only access to assist temporarily in analyzing the account.

 

Scholarship Program - Vic Caricato

 

• Vic recommends issuing a fundraising letter to the alumni

• Vic would like to have a separate account for scholarships

 

Fundraiser for house

• Since there is a shortfall in income versus spending, a fundraiser was proposed.

 

Insurance - John Bokum

• John and Terry would like the insurance premium to be divided into smalller more frequent amounts to make payment easier

 

Reunion this summer

• This topic to be discussed March 14

 

     — End of Minutes —

 

Board Meeting November 14 2021

Results of Election:

The slate won with 75% of the votes.

Bob Schumaker '74

Chuck Hvala '73

Cole Harris 2019

Donnie Doolin 2015

Orin Rehorst '73

Ryan Green 2016

Here are your 2022-2023 board members.

	Term
Bob Schumaker '74	2022-2025
Chuck Hvala '73	2022-2025
Cole Harris 2019	2022-2025
Donnie Doolin 2015	2022-2025
Jake Batusich,19	2020-2023
John Bokum, 74	2020-2023
Orin Rehorst '73	2022-2025
Ryan Green 2016	2022-2025
Terry Austin, 69	2020-2023
Vic Caricato, 78	2020-2023

These brothers are leaving the board with expired terms.

They received framed certificates of recognition for their service.

Thank you brothers.

Connor Bostedt, 2016

Ed Kelly, ‘72

Tom Stern, ‘72

Jake Winters, 2015 has also left the board to pursue career goals. Thanks for your work as treasurer.

New Board Officers:

President: Cole Harris 2019

VP:         John Bokum ‘74

Treasurer: open

Secretary: Orin Rehorst ‘73

A motion was approved to make these brothers your officers for 2022 and 2023.

Active Chapter President Report - Michael Hunger

• We have 5 inductees plus Terry Austin.

• Three men are interested in pledging next semester.

• Seven brothers will leave due to internships etc.

• We currently have 20 brothers.

House Report - Terry Austin

• We need accounting help now with house expenses and bookkeeping.

• Our current grad student is a resident only and performs no contributing duties.

• We agreed we need a document outlining what duties a grad student will perform.

• We will ask who plans to live in the house next summer.

• Terry listed house maintenance items completed and still outstanding.

• We are delaying maintenance items that are not urgent.

Treasurer Position and Bookkeeping

• We are in dire need of help in this area.

• Calls for volunteers to assist in this area have been to no avail.

• Vic said there is one brother who might take on the work and will contact him.

• We planned to check out the option of contracting out this work.

Scholarship Program - Vic Caricato

• A motion passed to form a scholarship fund program.

• Brothers will be asked to donate $25 or more per year.

• The fund will be kept separate from the general fund.

• Mailings will be used to announce the fund.

• Tom Stern offered to take charge of mailings.

• Tom will get contact updates entered into the roster.

• The fund received its first contribution of $500 at the meeting.

Chapter Advisory Board (CAB) - Ed Kelly

• The CAB was created to provide oversight of the active chapter.

• They will monitor procedures, and accuracies of carrying out their duties.

• The CAB consists of these brothers.

• Bob Leoni, ‘73

• Brad Thompson, ‘86

• Connor Bostedt, ‘16

• The CAB is receiving training from national.

Reunion - Tom Stern

• We planned a reunion for next summer.

• Brother Tom Stern will lead the charge and plans to use Hawthorne’s Place.

• We used the Hawthorne’s Place venue for past reunions.

• We planned to set the date and get the word out in January or February.

• It was agreed to set ticket prices to cover the entire cost of the event.

National Liaison

Brother Keith Kohlmann attended and volunteered to liaise with our national headquarters.

He lives near the headquarters and already is a known person amongst the personnel there.

Our national headquarters is in Carmel, Indiana.

Special Recognition

Brother John Bokum was recognized with a framed certificate for his tireless support of the.

He helped our fraternity at the national, state, WIU, and active chapter levels. Thank you John.

Brother Tom Stern and his wife Micki were presented with a framed certificate of recognition.

They cordially hosted many board meeting at their home.