"The Journey" Pittsburgh Johnstown Newsletter April 2011

From the Venerable Dean

Dear Brothers:

My name is Harry Clark.  I have been elected Venerable Dean of the Acacia Fraternity at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for the 2011 year.  Since my initiation on April 4, 2008, I have watched our chapter go through its ups and downs.  We have accumulated about $10,000 in debt, and are currently working to dig ourselves out of this proverbial hole that we’re in.  But throughout this trouble, our chapter has still remained a tight brotherhood and our traditions have remained the same since our start in 1973.  This article will discuss upcoming events, along with recruitment and some of my goals to alleviate our debts.

Since beginning my term as Venerable Dean, I have been ready and prepared to elevate our chapter to the level of prominence it has achieved in past years.  Over a year and a half ago, Acacia at Pitt-Johnstown sponsored a concert by Wiz Khalifa, one of the upcoming hip-hop artists of the time.  The concert took place at Ace’s Lounge in Johnstown.  Through our efforts, the concert profited us around $7000, leaving our debt to Acacia National just under $3000.  This motivated me to continue fundraising, with the ultimate goal of leaving us with zero debt.  With the help of the chapter Quartermaster, we initiated a “Walking Taco” fundraiser, which is currently being done once a week.  We have tried it twice and profited over $50.00 each time.  We are building up a reputation with the campus community, which could eventually lead us to bring in one hundred plus dollars each week.  This is not the only fundraiser that we are pursuing either.  Starting within the next few weeks, we will be selling sports jersey in order to bring in more money.  All of our brothers are putting forth a great effort to raise money and make a difference for the future of Acacia.

This semester brings us four potential new members.  Unfortunately recruitment numbers are low for all Greeks on the Pitt-Johnstown campus this year.  In past years, we were accustomed to pledging between nine and thirteen potentials each spring.  This has also motivated us to change our recruitment practices and try something new and innovative.  Next semester we will be having interest parties, inviting young potentials down during sports games in order to show them what Acacia can offer.  In the past we have depended heavily on two rush parties to bring in our numbers, but we are finding that we need to offer more to potential recruits.  For the fall 2011 semester, we will be renting the gym for rush activities such as basketball or dodgeball, which will attract a wide variety of young potentials into the world of Acacia.  

As you all know, Acacia’s motto is Human Service and the chapter is proudly living up to it!  At the end of March, Acacia will be a sponsor for the “March of Dimes”.  This fundraiser benefits children suffering with cancer.  All of the proceeds go directly toward research for childhood cancer.  This has been a success in the past bringing in $500.00 or more.  The event is scheduled to take place on a Saturday at the end of March.  Please contact the chapter for final dates and plans.  Along with this fundraiser, Acacia works with the American Red Cross to host two or more blood drives each semester.  Our most recent blood drive brought in over forty pints of blood.  For our next blood drive, taking place on April 7, 2011, we are hoping to reach out to more than just the student body.  We will be posting flyers in businesses all over Johnstown with hopes to bring in our largest donation ever!

In addition to our daily operations and activities, we are in involved in campus intramurals to promote the Acacia name.  We are currently competing in intramural basketball and having a great time!  I am also proud to announce that Acacia had the highest cumulative grade-point average out of any fraternity on campus for the fall 2010 semester. 

With these goals and accomplishments in mind, we hope that you as alumni would like to once again become more involved with Acacia. We would like for you to witness first hand the great things that Acacia at Pitt-Johnstown has to offer!

Although finances are a priority, there are other items that the chapter could use too.  Currently, we are looking for financial donations for a new chapter vacuum to keep the house clean, funds directly applied for supplies for our “Walking Taco” fundraising efforts and a new sound system for the house, including new speakers and receiver to replace the old set.  Any funds donated can also be earmarked to help pay down our debt.  Any donation is greatly appreciated. Finally, initiation will take place the weekend of April 8, 2011.  Please mark your calendars now to join us and help welcome these new men into the Acacia brotherhood.

For further information about the initiation weekend or if you would like to help the chapter with a donation, please contact me at hrc7@pitt.edu or call at (610) 350-7618.  Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Fraternally,

Harry R. Clark #477

Venerable Dean

From Acacia International Headquarters

Over 100 years after the founding of Acacia, we still find that the best form of communication IS the chapter newsletter and it is with great pleasure that we present this newest version of The Journey!  The electronic version of the newsletter is being published to keep our Pitt-Johnstown brothers informed of the happenings of their chapter and fellow alumni.  The Journey welcomes your stories, pictures and updates.  Please feel free to send your news articles to Harry Clark at hrc7@pitt.edu.

 By the numbers:

Total initiates:  504

Chapter Eternal:  8

Valid Addresses:  290

E-mail Addresses:  119

Lost Acacians:  193

Through the help of the local chapter, the Headquarters staff continues to update the Pitt-Johnstown database on a regular basis.  Currently we have 290 mailable Pitt-Johnstown alumni addresses and only 119 e-mail addresses.  We encourage you to reach out and contact your brothers and let them know the good happenings of the Pitt-Johnstown chapter.  The bonds of brotherhood run deep and we have learned that pledge classes stay in touch.  If you have a cache of e-mails or communicate on a regular basis through mail, please send us your updates.  For those receiving The Journey via e-mail, you may look up fellow alumni at http://www.acacia.org/alumni_findbrother.php or update your information by clicking the “Update Your Membership” located at the bottom of the main newsletter page.  

Strengthening the Ties of Friendship...

Chapter Giving Opportunities

Interested in making a donation to the Pitt-Johnsown chapter fund?  There’s a new convenient and fast way to give to your Chapter!  Your gift is only a click away.  Please visit http://www.acacia.org/foundation_giving.php to make your charitable gift.  There you will find a drop box so that you may target your donation towards the fund of your choosing.

The Foundation has established general-purpose accounts for each Acacia chapter and colony. Contributions to your Foundation account are tax-deductible and can be used to support the educational activities of the chapter, including our new membership development - Cornerstones; scholarships; and house improvements, based on educational usage.

Make your contribution today using our secure online portal and have an immediate impact on Acacia.

From the Archives

The following historical Chapter Highlight was taken from The Triad of Acacia Fraternity, Summer 1988.

The year 1987-88 has been a major success in all directions for the Acacia Fraternity at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.  We have 37 active members and seven men pledging.  We have recently formed a new office and have gained two new advisors.  The new office, Alumni Relations, has been formed to regain communications with our lost alumni.  Our new advisors – Faculty-Dr. Bob Matson and Alumni-Dan Tilley have proved to be assets to the fraternity by their integrity and activity in the fraternity.

Human Service has been the center of our fraternity activities.  Our success can be attributed to our Service Chairman.  We have had 3 very successful blood drives and a one week pledge project called “Organ Donor Days”.  The brothers and pledges recruited nearly 100 new organ donors.  As a campus service, we built a small wooden bridge in need of repair.  Finally, our big project of the year was our 12th annual Jog-a-thon benefiting the March of Dimes.  Through contributions from local businesses and solicitation during our twenty-four hour jog, we were able to raise $3,300 – another very fine year for us for Human Service.

Some major accomplishments which we achieved during the year were: Champions of Greek Week 1988; Fraternity Achievement Award (Highest GPA for all Fraternities); Presidents Award – Ronald Bolam; Brother of the Year – Mark Young, Service Chairman.  Clearly, a very successful year for our chapter.

Finally, we are in the process of drawing up the plans, both legally and fraternally, for a new chapter house.  This project has the approval of the President of the University and our Executive Board.  Some time in the near future, we may need your help.

Richard Rosel #225, Secretary

"The Memnon" Washington State Newsletter April 2011

State of the Colony

Dear Brothers:

When I was initiated into the Acacia Fraternity colony in spring of 2010, approximately one year ago the membership was at seven active members.  Washington State Acacia was practically an unknown entity on campus, and at the same time, we  were almost unable to fill our house that holds only six people.  We were getting by, but at a slow pace.

Now one year later with the guidance and strong leadership of fantastic Acacians we are in a position to have 26 members by the end of the spring 2011 semester, an increase of more than 300% of our membership at the beginning of the semester last year.  WSU Acacia is one of the up and coming fraternities on campus and is fueled by the passion for human service that a majority of members have come to find is their ultimate deciding factor for joining Acacia.  Acacia is incredibly recognizable on campus, especially with two of our members working for the Center for Civic Engagement on campus.  

We are moving also moving into a new house next semester with 12 rooms.  Once we are able to make this our permanent home, could easily fit 16 members comfortably.  WSU Acacia is growing rapidly with members that are living up to the legacy of Acacia that has been passed to them and the momentum does not seem to have any signs of stopping.

We look forward to seeing you in Pullman.  Feel free to stop by and see the great things that are happening at Acacia!

Fraternally,

Christopher Williams #847

Venerable Dean

Philanthropy on the Rise

This past December, Acacia sponsored our annual Acacia Claus Holiday Toy Drive event, and it was a big hit. We had many guys come out and volunteer to stand out in the cold and accept donations for the children’s hospital. We raised over $4000 in toys that were donated to the hospital. It was  incredibly successful and we all had a really good time. Also, for this past semester, we were one of two fraternities that achieved having 80% of their members meet the minimum IFC philanthropy requirement of 8 hours. We had 100% of our guys obtain our individual chapter’s 12 hour minimum community service requirements, which is 150% of the 8 hours that WSU IFC requires. In the upcoming months, we have a couple different philanthropies scheduled which include a food drive, helping out with a family fair, and our second annual 5k Fun Run.  One of the main programs of our pledge education process is a community service project that the pledge class puts on and we have the highest expectations for our current 9 person pledge class to have a successful project.

Andrew Kim

Philanthropy Chairman

Recruitment & New Member Update

Rush Chair:

In the spring of 2010, we recruited five new members, followed with eight in the fall. Coming into the spring semester of 2011, I had high expectations for rush. Our goal was ten and we almost reached that with our nine new pledges.  We could have easily reached our goal of ten just by body pledging, but as it is now, we have nine good and dedicated new members. Our success was due to scheduling event after event, giving our current members more of an opportunity to bring potential new members to meet the brothers. We hosted poker nights, going to the hookah bar, theaters, YouTube night, and various other activities. These nine men will compose the spring pledge class and with their help, we are continuing to recruit men to be initiated in the coming fall. 

Senior Dean/Pledge Ed:

We have completed 2 weeks of pledge education starting with making goals for the semester and general Acacia information and continuing into the rest of the information. This semester we are working on integrating Cornerstones into our pledge education. We have already begun to learn songs such as “The Toast” and “We’re the Men from Acacia”. This past Presidents Day weekend, we had our pledge retreat in Spokane, including some fun brotherhood events; lunch at Neato Burrito, paintball, dinner at Red Robin, and spending the night at a hotel. It was a tight fit with all nine pledges and seven of the active members cozying up in two rooms!  The next morning started with breakfast at Carl’s Jr. and then a trip home.  What was one of the best moments of the weekend?  Having the chance to shoot each other with paintballs!

We performed two installments of pledge ceremonies this semester in which the night before we hosted brotherhoods. The first time we executed the “Bond.” Each guy was given a candle and a lit candle was placed in the middle of a dark room. Each member got to take the lit candle to a member he wished to share why he appreciated he was in the fraternity. The member talking then would light the candle of whom he talked about and he, in turn, would choose the next member and so on.  At the end, each member had a chance to speak about someone and be spoken about, as once your candle was lit, a member could not choose you again. The night before the second pledge ceremony, we did a brotherhood where each person in the circle was given the chance to explain why he joined Acacia – a simple, yet incredibly profound event.

We are looking to have a chapter retreat the first weekend of April and Initiation is scheduled for April 15-17.  We look forward to another good alumni turnout! It always enhances the experience and makes it more meaningful for everyone. 

Nick Montanari #837

Senior Dean

Socially Speaking!

The Washington State University colony of Acacia has become very active in the Greek community in the past semester.  The colony has had its first exchange since its re-colonization, and has also secured Homecoming pairs for the next fall semester.  For Homecoming  2011 , we will be partnering with the ladies of Alpha Delta Pi, and the fraternities of Farmhouse, and Sigma Pi. Homecoming is scheduled for October 15, 2011.  Mark your calendars now!  

The colony is also very excited for the upcoming Greek Week, we are partnered with Alpha Gamma Delta and Delta Upsilon.   The brothers have been very busy in preparation for the upcoming events.  

Maintaining a balance between Human Service, school work, and social life is the key to a happy and healthy college student!

Jeff McCrea #854

Social Chairman

Brother Spotlight

Brother Cameron Bullock #858, is one of the newest members of Acacia Fraternity at Washington State University as well as our current Scholarship Chairman.  Brother Bullock transferred to Washington State University from Pierce College with a 3.8 GPA on a 4.0 Scale. With his outstanding SAT scores Brother Bullock has full-ride scholarship through Pierce College and WSU as an excellent math major student.

Cameron Bullock has dedicated a great amount of time and energy into community service since becoming an Acacian.  During our Acacia Claus in fall 2010, Brother Bullock dedicated his time by tabling for our toy drive everyday throughout the entire week. 

As our Scholarship Chairman, he has been reserving times and spaces for study tables about 12 to 15 hours a month for the rest of the brothers to study. He has been providing academic advice, tutoring opportunities and peer tutors to serve the best of our academic interest.

Matt Wu

Brotherhood Chairman

California Memnon March 2011

From the Venerable Dean

The active chapter is back in Berkeley and ready to go to work in Spring 2011. After a visit from Keith Bushey, Assistant Executive Director and Ben Monson, Leadership Consultant, from Acacia Fraternity Headquarters, and a week full of workshops, reflection, and goal setting with the chapter, the brothers are motivated and eager to make our chapter the best it can be this semester. A few goals in particular we have set for ourselves for this semester and the upcoming year include the following:

1) Grow the house to 30 active members a year from today. We are currently at 19 with several graduating seniors, but with a strong seven man spring 2011 pledge class, a very young house, and the implementation of a scholarship recruitment program, we feel 30 is an attainable number a year from today and have our sights set on achieving this goal.

2) Raise the house GPA to above the 3.28 all Greek average. We saw marked improvement in our upward trending house GPA this past semester, jumping from a 3.00 to a 3.10, with a new member GPA of 3.40 that ranked ninth out of all fraternities. We are encouraging an atmosphere conducive to studying and implementing a reward system to recognize high scholastic achievement to foster an ambition in the house to reach our goal. In addition, we have high hopes for our new scholarship recruitment program to attract young men who will promote our upward trending house GPA in the future.

3) Improve alumni relations. We are taking steps to achieve this goal by hosting a BBQ and poker tournament at the Berkeley Chapter house on Saturday, April 2, the day of the men’s Final Four—one weekend before our annual alumni banquet to be held on Saturday, April 9. Additionally, we have started an active vs. alumni pick-up basketball game in San Francisco that we hope to grow into a regular occurrence. Our goal is to put on at least alumni event per semester in addition to the banquet, Gordon Biersch, and Cal football Game-days to improve relations.

With a whole host of young, ambitious new officers looking to leave their mark, the Cal Chapter is climbing higher in 2011, and we hope you all will come along for the ride and be a part of it.

If you have any questions, or would like to find out more about the happenings at Acacia, please feel free to e-mail me at zmorris@berkeley.edu.

We look forward to seeing you this year!

Fraternally,

Zack Morris, Venerable Dean, #1060

Upcoming Alumni Events

As most of you know, the spring semester is a time we all anticipate as we host our annual Alumni Banquet. The brothers of the Acacia California chapter will be hosting the Alumni Banquet at the chapter house on Saturday April 9, 2011, with dinner to be served at 7:00 pm. Please make plans to join us for a great night of brotherhood! Please RSVP to Daniel Kongdet, Alumni Chair, at daniel.kongdet@gmail.com if you are able to attend.

We will also be hosting an alumni event on Saturday April 2, 2011 at 6:00 pm at the chapter house for the Final Four tournament. We will also have a BBQ for the occasion followed by a poker tournament after the game.

For further information or questions, please feel free to contact me. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Daniel Kongdet, Alumni Chair, #1068

House Improvements Continue

As the current House Manager, it is my pleasure to give you a status update on a few of the home improvement projects at the California Acacia chapter house, including one the largest projects started in years. Once elected as house manager last semester I decided to start the project of building a new roof deck, despite some financial restraints. Our active chapter took on this endeavor with much encouragement from alumni during game days and Gordon Biersch outings. Our alumni had great times reminiscing about their memories on the roof! The project began with the building of the railing around the perimeter of the roof, which is up to Berkeley City building codes and standards. I believe we far exceeded many expectations, including our own!

The railing is extremely sturdy and reinforced on the outside by angled supports. The base is 6x6 redwood connected by 1.5 inch diameter bolts with 90 degree and 2 foot straight brackets. Our original plan after finishing the railing was to instead of a traditional deck, installing a 1/4 to 5/8 inch rubber padding, reducing the weight and protecting the roof. This idea was changed due to the cost comparison of a wooden deck and the rubber padding, both hovering around $3,000.00-$5,000.00. We then figured a well-built deck would last longer and provide a solution to water drainage. This part of the project was started but unfortunately money issues have yet again halted our progress. The underlying grid and foundation for the deck itself is almost completed with all the necessary pieces ready to set it, but the top layer of the deck itself has yet to be decided and purchased.

Starting this project and being unable to finish has left the chapter very unsettled these last few months. We are anxiously awaiting to get this roof finished and I know many of you must feel the frustration we have, seeing it only half way completed. We have funded this project completely independently as an active chapter along with our current house corporation but now we’re asking for your support. With any donation of at least $100, the chapter will have an engraved recognition plate made with your name, pin, graduation date, or any other additional information that you would like, to be attached to the railing. You support is greatly appreciated and gives you an opportunity to leave your mark in the completion of a new pristine roof deck. Regardless of contribution, we gladly encourage all of you to stop by and check out the roof for yourself. We hope to share many great times with all our brothers, when it is finished.

On a separate note, I am especially proud to report that we have put up our chapter name on the house. Painted in yellow and outlined in black, our awesome new ‘letters’ have brought a revival to morale and pride. Strongly pushed and funded by our Recruitment Chair, Zack Hsi, the letters were crucial in providing a more fraternal atmosphere to the house and our chapter.

Please feel free to stop by and see all the house improvements. We look forward to seeing you!

Fraternally,
Ramon Leon, House Manager, #1057

Spring 2011 Recruitment

Brethren,

Spring rush 2011 was phenomenal and surpassed our expectations to say the least. Rush was very time consuming and taxing, and took a toll on all 19 active brothers; however through all of our hard work and dedication we recruited excellent and diverse pledges. By showcasing our unity and close ties, not only did we recruit seven pledges, but seven pledges who have their priorities right, placing brotherhood above all else.

A couple of our most successful events we held this semester were going to an action-packed night at Laser Quest and sponsoring multiple late nights at Acacia during which we enticed potential candidates in with s’mores, bonfires, and great conversation. However, our most unforgettable event had to be traveling to San Francisco and meeting our alumni at Gordon Biersch, where not only did the pledges get to witness our connections with our alumni, but even with such a short encounter make their own lasting ties with the alumni. This brief, yet memorable, encounter with the alumni lifted their spirits as they saw the house not only vibrant with positive energy, but also thriving and going in the right direction.

We hope to follow our fantastic rush with an even better semester, during which we plan on instilling in our new members the important virtue of brotherhood that we were taught during each of our own pledge semesters. Below is a list of all of our pledges with a small bit of information about each of them.

Fraternally,

Zack Hsi, Rush Chair, #1062

Kevin Dias – Freshman. Mechanical Engineering, loves long-boarding and playing ultimate Frisbee.

Irving Gomez – Sophomore. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, hobbies include playing basketball, doing tae-kwon-do and watching T.V.

Ben Jackson – Freshman. Art History, proud of his hometown of Hayfork, located just below the California-Oregon border. Enjoys playing music and traveling to interesting places.

David Lewis – Junior (transfer). Environmental Economics and Policy, enjoys playing poker, video games, physical fitness and the great outdoors.

Sean Payne – Junior. Interdisciplinary Studies with emphasis on Organizational Behavior. Enjoys wine in his vineyard in Sonoma, snow and water skiing and running and lifting weights.

Kash Ranka – Freshman. Business, International student from Bombay, India. Enjoys driving, listening to music and traveling.

Robin Sylvan – Freshman. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, pursing a job at Google.

California Philanthropy on the Rise

Acacia Claus 2010

The Brothers of Acacia California Chapter held another successful Acacia Claus Philanthropy in December 2010. In partnership with local business Toy-Go-Round, the efforts of the Cal Chapter raised nearly 1,000 toys for donation to the Salvation Army. Members of the chapter manned a donation center at the Berkeley toy store from 10am-4pm on December 3-5, collecting donations from shoppers. Other chapters in the Greek Community with their donations also supported our efforts. Among the toys collected were dolls, Lego’s, children’s books, children’s clothes and board games. This philanthropy has been a long-standing tradition here at the Cal Chapter, and we look forward to continuing and possibly expanding our efforts in December 2011 to larger department stores in the Berkeley area. With the success of the fall philanthropy, we are rolling out a new endeavor this semester to complement Acacia Claus in the fall: Acacia Clothes. Similar in nature, this will be campus wide clothing drive offering students an opportunity to get rid of old clothes and simultaneously give back to the community. The clothes drive will also be for donation to the Salvation Army.

Acacia Clothes 2011

Starting this spring semester, we will be holding a new annual event called Acacia Clothes. It will consist of a used clothing drive that will benefit the Salvation Army, who will in turn give what we collect to the needy. For the past several years, we have participated in our annual “Acacia Claus Holiday Toy Drive” as our fall event, but have been lacking an annual spring event. I am hoping that this will become a great tradition for a good cause. If you would like to make any used clothing contribution, please feel free to contact the chapter or me at stephenloesch@verizon.net.

-Stephen Loesch, Philanthropy Chair, #1063

Chapter Giving Opportunities

Interested in making a donation to the California chapter fund, a gift in memory of George F. Woolsey or Capt. Duncan McPherson? There’s a new convenient and fast way to give to your Chapter! Your gift is only a click away. Please visit http://www.acacia.org/foundation_giving.php to make your charitable gift. There you will find a drop box so that you may target your donation towards the fund of your choosing.

The Foundation has established general-purpose accounts for each Acacia chapter and colony. Contributions to your Foundation account are tax-deductible and can be used to support the educational activities of the chapter, including our new membership development - Cornerstones; scholarships; and house improvements, based on educational usage.

Make your contribution today using our secure online portal and have an immediate impact on Acacia.

From Acacia International Headquarters

Over 100 years after the founding of Acacia, we still find that the best form of communication IS the chapter newsletter and it is with great pleasure that we present this newest version of The Memnon! This electronic version of the newsletter is being published to keep our California brothers informed of the happenings of their chapter and fellow alumni. The Memnon welcomes your stories, pictures and updates. Please feel free to send your news articles to Zack Morris at zmorris@berkeley.edu or Daniel Kongdet at daniel.kongdet@gmail.com.

By the numbesr:

Total initiates: 1073

Chapter Eternal: 367

Valid Addresses: 460

E-mail Addresses: 227

Lost Acacians: 211

Through the help of the local chapter, the Headquarters staff continues to update the California database on a regular basis. Currently we have over 450 mailable California alumni addresses and only 227 e-mail addresses. We encourage you to reach out and contact your brothers and let them know the good happenings of the California chapter. The bonds of brotherhood run deep and we have learned that pledge classes stay in touch. If you have a cache of e-mails or communicate on a regular basis through mail, please send us your updates. For those receiving The Memnon via e-mail, you may look up fellow alumni at http://www.acacia.org/alumni_findbrother.php or update your information by clicking the “Update Your Membership” located at the bottom of the main newsletter page.

Strengthening the Ties of Friendship...