Pi Sigma Chi – Sigma Nu

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

4 TAKEAWAYS

#1.  EXCEEDED $ GOAL

We need about $4-5K in donations to cover our yearly operating cost in a normal year.  Last year we raised about $3,350.  This year we were aiming for something over $4K for this "Year of Revival," with recolonization starting in January.  The results are in and you generously donated a total of a little over $5,600.    

#2.  MORE DONORS

Last year we had about 22 donors--this year we had 31.

A BIG "SHOUT OUT" TO EVERY DONOR

We want to thank all donors, large or small.  We especially want to thank those who made their donation a recurring online one (names in red).

Red Carnation Donors ($200+) 

• Brenda Anderson in mem. of Bobby Anderson
• Dennis Blackburn
• James Blubaugh
• Mark Chaput
• Ken Coopman
• Quang Dang
• Brian Kruzic
• Juan Lopez
• Robert Marshall
• Xavier Martinez
• Larry Stalions
• Kerry Walsh
• Brian Wheeler 

White Rose Donors ($100+)

• Jan Abel in mem. of Alan Abel
• Rich Alvarado
• Brian Banks
• Don Brown
• Jack Carlino
• Jack Fleming
• Alex Ivanov
• John Mairs
• Steve Meline
• Tim Motherhead
• Brian Rheinhardt
• Chris Reinhardt
• John Vandevelde
• Jordan Wu
• Steve Yoss

Sustaining Members ($25+)

• Bruce Brandenburg
• Mike Sharbrough
• Jeffrey Geurnino

#3. BUT NOT ENOUGH DONORS

We missed our goal of getting a lot more of you to join the team by donating just a few bucks in our "Year of Revival."  

31 donors (2 of them widows of brothers who passed) simply is not enough from a Brotherhood of about 440! There should be way over 100 onboard by now.  With our baseball event this past April being totally "free," and especially because this is our "Year of Revival," we had hoped for greater excitement, participation and support--not so much for the money, but because it would better demonstrate to recruits, Sigma Nu national and Cal Poly Pomona how organized and committed we all are.

We even changed our giving page, making it clearer that we welcomed small donations, especially "online recurring" small donations, and made it easy with no password hassle.  

It takes just $25/year, one-time or recurring, to be a "Sustaining Member," and your support of even $5 or $10 is welcomed.  We call it "sustaining," at $25 because if just 1/2 of the roughly 440 of us donated that amount, we would easily hit our $ target every year and not have to depend on the continued generosity of a few.   

So the goal we missed most on our mission is YOUR NAME if it is not listed above.

#4.  YOU CAN STILL JOIN US

Our mission is over this year and thankfully we have the funds needed. No more emails asking for operational support until next May-June.  But it's never too late to go to the Giving page and become part of our team, and jump aboard and ride with us toward a big win in this "Year of Revival." 

RECOLONIZATION IS COMING!!

And our website profiles are not going to help us to make the best first impression unless each of us make an effort that takes about 5 minutes.

After 10 years, thanks to a lot of work by a lot of Brothers, Cal Poly has invited Kappa Gamma to return, and Sigma Nu national has committed to recolonizing Spring semester 2024.  This recolonization effort must be successful.  If it fails, we won’t get another chance.  Our decades of history will be irrelevant and soon forever lost.  So there is a lot at stake.

WE HAVE A LOT TO SELL

But one of our greatest selling points—the richness of our Brotherhood since 1957—is missing to a 19 or 20 year old candidate who were to look at our website directory.  Our brotherhood is amazingly unified, organized, rich in varied experiences and expertise, filled with success stories and potential mentors, and widely diverse in backgrounds.  But our directory profiles are hit and miss, mostly incomplete, sometimes out of date, with very few photos.  
RIGHT NOW OUR FIRST IMPRESSION SENDS THE WRONG MESSAGE!  

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

We need a website directory that reflects our Brotherhood in a consistent, organized, complete, effective way.

Now—today--you can help.  Your first step is to update your profile, adding info.  It should take less than 5 minutes. 

And in today’s world, especially to people the age of recruits, “IF THERE IS NO PIC, IT DOESN’T EXIST.”  So it is critical that you post an image of yourself or you and your family.

So please, take five minutes to update your profile on our website.

In Brotherhood,

Bruce Brandenburg (F-66)
Chair, Website Committee

If you have any trouble logging on or need any assistance inputting a photo or whatever, just contact me by a reply to this email or call or text me: 714-343-4989

HOW DO I REGISTER, UPDATE AND ADD A PHOTO?

 Hover on the little blue head & shoulders at the top right of the Home page and go to "View Profile" on the dropdown, then when your profile opens, click on "Edit Profile" near the top.

• Edit and update your info, add info and add or change a photo (best to have the photo you want to use saved on your desktop so you can browse to it easily)
• Remember to hit the "Save" button before your leave your profile.  

JUST SO YOU KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO! 

Our membership website was chosen because it can do a lot!  

One thing it does is to allow us to communicate quickly and effectively.

A couple of weeks ago Brother Pete Meisenzahl (S-82), our couple & group pro-"photomaster," who volunteers his services at most of our bigger events, asked if it was possible to let brothers know about a medical device trial his stepdaughter is working on that would be important to brothers or their family or friends who deal with Type I diabetes.  We learned this was not an attempt to raise money, in fact, people who participate are paid a substantial amount.  So we said, "Sure."

Because the trial is based in Irvine, we only sent the email to brothers residing in California--353 of us. Within about 48 hours 247 brothers opened the email.  We are told that enough brothers clicked thru and completed an application to participate in the trial that the trial team hit its goal, and hopefully the trial will go well and their device will be very helpful to people who deal with the challenges of diabetes.

So this was a simple, painless, easy, efficient "win-win" for everyone.  

We try not to deluge you with emails.  And we don't use the website to raise money for everyone's favorite charity, as worthy as that charity might be.  But when something comes up that you would like brothers to know about, send us an email.  If it makes sense, we will share it with everyone and have more "wins."    

And of course, the more people register and get used to the website, the more effective it becomes as a forum for sharing information and getting things done.

ONE MORE WIN FOR ROY!

By now all of you know about Roy Verdejo's horrific injury by a hit-and-run driver in March, 2022, severing his spine and putting him in the hospital for months.  You know about his amazing survival against all odds and his fight to recover and win back as much normalcy as he can. Those of you who were at the April 8th "Free Family Bronco Baseball" game and Brew Works after-party, saw Roy and had a chance to talk to him.  You also saw the Broncos come from behind with a walk-off win.  

There was one more win today for Roy, in the form of a big, winning gesture by the Broncos.  Coach Randy Betten, Athletic Director Brian Swanson, and Assistant Director Lauren Goins arranged to have the team autograph a genuine, game-ready Bronco baseball jersey for Roy.  Today we were able to deliver it to him at his home in Santa Clarita.

Roy was totally surprised!  It brought a tear to his eye and a smile to his face.  His wife, Naty, was just as surprised and happy.

Roy says he is working hard at his physical therapy, with weekly sessions at Northridge Hospital, and he keeps getting better every week.  He is working at his aerospace job again too, which he said is very important to him mentally.  And he and Naty say the handicap-accessible van, made possible by the GoFundMe started by Roy's pledge brother, Mitch McCarley (F-84), with contributions by so many of you as donors, allows him to go places, which has been huge. Part of what Roy is working on now is accomplishing transfers into and out of a vehicle, his wheelchair, bed, etc.—movements we all take for granted, but Roy has to learn anew. He says he is making a lot of progress and becoming more independent each week.

Both Roy and Naty talked today about the importance of the incredible support he has received from others, starting with brothers helping out when he was unconscious in the hospital, and including the attention he was given at the baseball game last month--and now the autographed Bronco jersey.  

That kind of support is a great boost for him and his wife.

Plus Roy loves baseball, and loved the come from behind walk-off Bronco’s win we watched--so that helped too.

Keep fighting and winning Roy!  You are an inspiration!

ANNUAL REPORT AND FUNDING REQUEST

May 19, 2023

Brothers,

As our fiscal year recently ended, it seems like a good time to take stock of what we have accomplished and tell you what our plans are and what we need to keep going.

This year we have moved forward on a number of goals that we adopted from our inception. These goals were to:  1) strengthen our brotherhood; 2) improve communications between our brotherhood; and 3) pursue recolonization on the CPP campus.  I believe we have made progress in all areas.  I am very proud of all the work that so many brothers have voluntarily undertaken to achieve that progress and I thank them.

To strengthen the bonds of brotherhood between members, we initiated activities such as the Dedication Day Luncheon for the Rose Float Lab we supported, participation in the CPP Golf Tournament, attendance at the CPP Alumni Ducks Hockey Game, and most recently the free-of-charge Family Baseball Event and Pizza Party at Brew Works.  All were successful in providing an opportunity for brothers to reconnect and share good times, while making important connections to Cal Poly--from the President to coaches and staffers.  At each event, new faces appeared—a sign that interest is expanding and our fraternity is as relevant today as it was during our active years.  More events are coming.

Our Membership Website/App, launched just about year ago, is a multipurpose tool being used to communicate relevant information to the brotherhood, advertise upcoming events, post job openings, allow for sign-ups at events, gather and save our history in photographs and in stories, allow for seamless communications between brothers and purchase fraternity logo gear online. Our plan to develop that level of communication and connection is now a reality.   And after making our original maximum outreach efforts, we found a way to retain all the functionality while reducing the cost by nearly 50%.

Our third objective, bringing our fraternity back on campus, is finally about to be a reality.  It will take place during the Spring 2024 semester.  We have not only received approval from the university to move forward, but we have received a firm starting date from Sigma Nu national to initiate recolonization in that timeframe.  And meanwhile, we have have found a great home for our Legacy Fund at Sigma Nu Educational Foundation, where we are for the first time earning income on our fund, which we have increased to over $53,000, even after promoting ourselves through strategic grants. 

We have accomplished all these goals without the imposition of dues. It has been, in short, the best deal in town, thanks to the generosity of brothers who voluntarily support our efforts.  We thank our supporters every chance we get and we try hard not to ask for money every time we reach out.  At year-end we will again have our annual Legacy Fund campaign to raise money for our charitable purposes—primarily scholarships from now on.  For some events, like the Rose Float Lab Kitchen a year ago and the recent baseball event, we raised extra money via the Legacy Fund for grants to Cal Poly relating to those events and paving the way for our coming back to campus.  But the Legacy Fund is only for charitable purposes and cannot be used for operating expenses. So in order to have an active presence and continue what we are doing, once a year at about this time we have to ask for funds to replenish our General Operating Account, which finances things like the membership website costs, liability insurance, flowers or a donation honoring brothers lost to Chapter Eternal, costs relating to the various events and services, and making deposits for some events.  This year is no different. 

So we ask you now to consider making a donation, preferably a continuing annual donation, to support what we have done and will be doing over the coming year.     

Thank you all in advance for your generosity. 

In Brotherhood,

      Jack Carlino, President

FLAMMAE CUSTOS MUG PRESENTATION 

When we presented our Flammae Custos awards [named in honor of Honorary Brother Fr. Jerome Cummings (Hon.-66; C.E.-97)] at our meeting after the April 8th baseball event, one of the honorees, Robert Marshall (F-66), was "zoomed" in because he could not be there in person due to a temporary complication related to treatment for the cancer he has been fighting the past year. Robert's name, along with the name of Dennis Blackburn (S-66), our other honoree that day, was added to the perpetual plaque that someday we hope will hang in a new Kappa Gamma house. But the award includes a cool mug, which Dennis received on April 8th.  Today President Jack Carlino (F-67) presented Robert with his mug.