October 21, 2017
Boston College vs. Virginia
Time: 12:30 p.m.
The University’s Homecomings football game is on October 21. We expect to start the tailgate event three hours before kick-off. We have reserved football game tickets through the University of Virginia Alumni Association. Please use this link to register for the tailgate event. The cost of the tailgate is $30 (children under 17 are free). The menu will include pork barbecue, fried chicken and of course other normal cookout menu items, adult beverages, and soft drinks. Last year we had over 150 tailgate attendees and are hoping for a big turnout again this year.
We have reserved a sizable block of tickets through the University of Virginia Alumni Association. Please use the hyperlink below to access the OX website to order your tickets (limited supply, first come, first serve). Click here to purchase your tickets online.
The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office will process ticket orders; the cost of each ticket is $36. Order processing fees of $2 per ticket, plus 3% per order apply to all group transactions. There are no refunds, cancellations, or exchanges of tickets. Call the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 542-8821 with questions about your ticket order.
Our annual meeting for the Alumni Corporation will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 22, 2017, at the fraternity house. All Theta Chis are welcome to attend. After the annual meeting, the Board of Directors will meet to elect Mark Chinn (Col class of ’91), Mark Williamson (Col class of ’81), Will Teass (Arch class of ’97), and Chris Winter (Col class of ’07) as President, Vice-President, Corporate Secretary and Chairman of the House and Grounds SubCommittee. Patrick Higgins (Col class of ’10) will continue as the Treasurer. This is an outstanding group of UVA and Theta Chi alums. It has been my pleasure to serve as the President of the Corporation.
On Saturday, June 3, 2017, and Saturday, June 10, 2017, we hosted cookouts (including adult beverages) to celebrate Reunions Weekends. There was no charge for the events and over 50 Theta Chis and their families enjoyed seeing old friends and brothers. Thanks to Mark Chinn and our Board member volunteers for their hard work on the two-weekend celebrations.
We are dependent upon the University of Virginia Alumni Association’s list of email addresses. This list is not perfect and we have also learned over the past couple of years that some folks have not received all issues of these Xi Lights. Please do not assume that everyone on your personal Theta Chi mailing list received this communication and accordingly, pass it along. If you know of any email addresses that are incorrect or missing please forward them to me or submit an update online.
The family of Otto Warmbier (Col class of ’17) has requested that we postpone our plans to implement a memorial tribute. We will keep you informed.
Rick Nadeau (Com class of ’76)
Treasurer’s Report
The Alumni Corporation that owns the fraternity house continues to improve its financial position and accumulate a reserve for major house maintenance and improvements. Our mortgage loan of $394,000 has been extended through August 2024. As noted in our last letter, we completed the replacement of the gutters and made the required repairs to the roof. This was made possible by the generosity of our alumni. While the rent we receive from the Chapter of $65,000 annually covers interest on our debt, real estate taxes, routine house maintenance, and insurance, we continue to rely upon the annual giving for both reducing the principal amount of our debt and for capital improvements to the property. If you ever have any questions about the finances of your alumni association corporation please feel free to contact me.
Patrick Higgins (Col class of ’10)
House and Grounds Subcommittee
Our subcommittee is happy to report that maintenance and repair expenditures have been tracking below our budget! Minor items such as the replacement of the kitchen freezer, new column bases on the patio, and a new air handler fan (parts covered by the original warranty) are the muted highlights since our last update in the Spring.
As was previously mentioned, work on the submitting the Special Use Permit has been put on hold pending the improvement of neighborly relations. This fall, the chapter executive council will hand-deliver a letter of introduction that includes contact information for both key chapter members and board members to the residents of Preston Place.
Our subcommittee is made up of Christopher Winter (Col class of ’07), and Spence Phillips (Col class of ’85), and myself. We continue to work closely with the current President, Austin Simpson (Engr class of ’18) and new House manager, Christian Vagonis (Col class of ’19) to identify and resolve any maintenance issues that arise. Both Chris and Spence live in Charlottesville and have been able to swing by the house to both keep an eye on the conditions, as well as assist the brotherhood in the more approachable repair tasks. We continue to contract with Piedmont Facilities Management for emergency service and more significant items.
Our list of deferred projects remains. We are soliciting proposals for the window replacement (not undertaken during Centennial Plan) in the Main House and enlarged windows (to meet emergency egress requirements) in the Garage Annex. Additional items on our list include incremental renovation project to improve safety, energy efficiency and aesthetics in the Annex and improving the ability of our plumbing fixtures in the party room to withstand the harsh environment of a Fraternity house. As always, we ask that you keep this in mind as when considering your Annual giving gifts.
We look forward to welcoming back alumni next month for Homecomings!
Will Teass (Arch class of ’97)
Annual Fund
We are continuing our 5-year Annual Fund campaign (begun in 2014) with support from our volunteer ‘calling captains’ and the generosity of our alumni. To date, over 150 alumni have pledged $150,000 to the campaign, with $95,000 already collected. The board has created a list of potential capital projects and we will continue to make improvements to the house and grounds through the end of the current campaign in 2018.
Looking ahead, we anticipate beginning a new Annual Fund campaign as the University celebrates its bi-centennial in 2019.
Thank you to all who have contributed so far. For information on how to contribute, please contact me or visit our support page.
Mark Chinn (Col class of ’91)
Where is Brandon Almond?
Brandon Almond (Col class of ’03) lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife Amy (Col class of ’03) and their two daughters, Addie (age 3 1/2) and Lucy (age 1). He is an attorney at Troutman Sanders LLP in Washington, DC specializing in insurance coverage and complex business litigation. He often sees James Pagenkopf (Engr class of ’03), Mike Reffett (Col class of ’04), and Greg Hurst (Col class of ’05), when they get together to watch UVA sports and complain about the good ole’ days when our football team flirted with .500. And, in keeping with the adage that your fraternity is your family, Brandon is literally brother-in-law to Xi Chapter brother, Nick Hallenbeck (Col class of ’03), who married Emily Dean (Col class of ’03), twin sister of Brandon’s wife Amy. To top things off, Nick and Emily moved into the same cul-d-sac as Brandon and Amy last year and just around the corner from Greg Hurst (Col class of ’05) and his wife Lauren Purcell (Col class of ’04), in an attempt to establish the Xi Chapter Satellite neighborhood association. All are welcome! He can be reached at brandonalmond2003@hotmail.com.
Your Board of Directors is always happy to hear from you:
- Rick Nadeau (Com class of ’76) – President
- Will Teass (Arch class of ’97) – Vice President
- Spencer Phillips (Col class of ’85) – Corporate Secretary
- Patrick Higgins (Col class of ’10) – Treasurer
- Bill Sullivan (Col class of ’67)
- Mike Atwood (Col class of ’74)
- Mark Williamson (Col class of ’81)
- Mark Chinn (Col class of ’91)
- Chris Winter (Col class of ’07)