November 2013 Omegaphone
October Gala Celebrates a Decade of Omega Accomplishments
On October 19, for the first time since March 26, 1994 (the 75th Anniversary), Omega chapter and its friends gathered at the historic Nittany Lion Inn to celebrate Omega chapter and all it has accomplished over the last 10 years. 120 brothers and guests enjoyed a black tie dinner with Keynote speaker, Penn State Board of Trustee, Anthony Lubrano followed by dinner and dancing.
The evening was hosted by Gala Chairman Edward Brown ’87 (who also served as the master of ceremonies), George Chapman Jr. ’49, and Dick Jones ’60. The group enjoyed stories (and impressions) of Joe Paterno and other current events from Anthony Lubrano and speeches from Dr. Roy Baker, director of fraternity and sorority life at Penn State, and National’s David May, former president of the Theta Chi Foundation Chapter.
L to R: Edward M. Brown, Hugh Cadzow, Richard Maltz, Leo Sugg and Rodney D. Miller
Along with the celebration of Theta Chi, was the recognition and celebration of some of our members. Undergraduate brother Kevin Trippel was honored with the Citation of Honor for all the hard work and dedication to the fraternity, Mrs. Jean Bartnik (wife and mother of two Omega Brothers) received the Theta Chi Carnation Award for all her care and dedication to the chapter and current undergraduate president Ian Maxwell was presented with the 1st Annual Richard Maltz Century Award for his service, leadership and grade point average. George Chapman Jr. ’49, Richard “Dick” Jones ’60 and Robert Zedelis ’62 were awarded the Golden Guard for membership of 50+ years in the fraternity. The Silver Legion (25+ years as a brother) was also bestowed on Chris Bartnik ’91, Ed Brown ’87, Hugh Cadzow ’83, Jeff Damcott ’91, Alan Lauder ’90, Richard Maltz ’90, Rodney Miller ’89, Dave Noll ’86, Kurt Rohrbach ’79, Michael Stein ’91, James Smith ’89, James Stuhltrager ’89, Leo Sugg ’88, Dan Tsurtsuris ’82, Alan Vladimir ’85 and John Weiss ’70.
If you weren’t able to attend, or even if you want to relive it again, there are videos of all the speakers and awards online (www.thetachiomega.com/gala), as well as photos from the evening.
Mark your calendars (well figuratively speaking) as our 100th Anniversary is February 2019 and I hope we all will be gathering at the Nittany Lion Inn to celebrate.
Porch Renovation nears Completion
As you are receiving this edition of the Omegaphone, the porch renovation project is nearing completion. The following work was accomplished in this project:
Installation of steel lintels over glass block windows
Replacement of all glass block
Repair of loose bricks and mortar on stair retaining wall
Replacement of all railings to code standards
Addition of integrated gutters into fascia of roofline
Addition of downspouts to roof
New industrial roof membrane
Replace stairs to porch from patio
Repair of concrete edge deterioration
Epoxy coating of porch slab
Repair of lights and installation of new spotlight
Replace doors from dining room to parking lot
Replace bar doors and much more
This project was the second step in the master plan for the repairs and upgrade to the chapter house. As you are all aware, the windows were replaced in the summer of 2012 and, with the installation of the doors in this phase, the house is now more energy efficient and secure.
We would again like to thank David Schrader ’91 for his architectural expertise and planning and Mark Franz ’91 for his engineering review. We would be remiss in not thanking our contractor, Chris Kunes, and his crew for their quality work. The construction has gone extremely smoothly due to their communication and flexibility.
A photo log of the work has been posted on the Theta Chi of Penn State website at www.thetachiomega.com/sideporch.
Inaugural Maltz Century Award Honors service, leadership, Academics
Richard Maltz (L) and Ian Maxwell, our first recipient of the Richard Maltz Century Award
At the beginning of this century, the Omega Chapter of Theta Chi at Penn State University was non-functional. What had been a vibrant and thriving chapter for over 85 years, had no active brothers, a boarded up house at 523 S. Allen Street, no money, unfunded-required modifications to the house and a board of directors without the capacity to fight for survival.
Leadership at Theta Chi National Headquarters knew the Chapter’s history and was prepared to fight for Omega’s survival, but someone from Omega’s alumni needed to step up, take the lead, and reform the chapter.
A little more than seven years ago, Rich Maltz ’90 became that someone. He encouraged alumni brothers to join him on a new board of directors, worked with senior Penn State officials as well as the leaders of the National Theta Chi organization, and in effect, gave new birth to Omega.
Since then, the Chapter has thrived. Not only has the financial health of the Corporation been restored, this capital campaign been successful, but equally important, the active chapter has grown and thrived to once again become a successful, essential part of the Penn State University Greek system.
On October 19 at the alumni corporation meeting, Rich Maltz stepped down from his position as president of the alumni corporation. While heartfelt thanks reflect the appreciation for all that he has done, some form of memorialization is well deserved. The option chosen will annually remind everyone what Rich’s efforts have meant to this chapter.
So, the alumni corporation board approved the creation of the Richard Maltz Century Award. This award will be given to the active brother who meets stringent requirements as developed by our current active brothers. The selection will take into account service, leadership, grade point average, among other criteria.
The Maltz award winner will be nominated by his active chapter brothers, selected by the alumni board, and presented annually at the homecoming corporation meeting.
To highlight the importance of this award in the Omega Chapter hierarchy, the recipient’s name will be inscribed on a permanent plaque, and will receive an award in the amount of $1,000. The Richard Maltz Century Award is the single monetary award given to an active member.
The inaugural winner of the Richard Maltz Century Award, announced at the October 19 Gala, was undergraduate Ian Maxwell.
New Scholarship Memorializes Robert Scavello ’88
We are thrilled to announce the Rob Scavello ’88 Memorial Scholarship. Rob was passionate about education and loved Theta Chi. In memory of Rob, whom we lost to cancer in 2007, we are starting a scholarship to benefit the brothers of Omega chapter. Details on the official launch and kickoff fundraising events will be coming soon. In the meantime, you can e-mail scavellofoundation@gmail.com or visit www.scavellofoundation.org for more information about how you can lend a helping hand towards supporting our brothers and honoring Rob.
- Alan Lauder ’90, Dave Yohannan ’88, and Kate Scavello
Meet the 2013 – 2015 Alumni Corporation Board of Directors
Dave Hartwich ’09, ’11 – President, Dave currently works as a research and development engineer for ANH Refractories in Pittsburgh, PA. He has served as treasurer of the under- graduate chapter for two years and had acted as a graduate student advisor. Dave has served on the alumni board as secretary the past two years.
Chris Burke ’93 – Treasurer, Chris worked for Bear Stearns, Morgan Stanley, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a licensed CPA. Chris is currently the CEO of the Maxus Group, and has been a Theta Chi Board Member and Treasurer since 2008 and was responsible for securing the new loan on the chapter house.
Jeremy Railing ’11 – Assistant Treasurer, Jeremy is currently working as a supply planning analyst for The Hershey Company and continuing his education toward an MBA from Penn State Harrisburg. Jeremy has acted as the undergraduate treasurer, vice presi- dent, and president. This is Jeremy’s first term on the alumni board.
Timothy Uhrich ’09 – Secretary, After working as a Leadership and Education Consultant for Theta Chi Fraternity IHQ, Tim completed a Masters of Education in College Student Affairs at Rutgers University in 2012. He is currently employed as a resi- dence hall director at Iona College. As an undergraduate, Tim served as a recruitment chair, social chair, marshal, and campus involvement chair and lived in the chapter house for three memorable years. This is also Tim’s first term on the alumni board.
Jeff Damcott ’91, ’94 – Board Member, Jeff has been in the golf course construction and management industry for over 20 years, most recently the superintendent of a public golf course in Yardley, PA. He has actively supported of the fraternity since his gradua- tion. Jeff currently serves on the capital cam- paign committee and is the alumni on-site project liaison for the side porch renovation project.
One Alum Discovers the Sweet Song of Success
New grad Liam Fennecken ’13 is no stranger to the limelight. This brother was a standout performer in PSU’s a cappella group, The Statesmen. Now, he’s picked up a new gig in the touring company of the Broadway musical American Idiot. Despite the busy schedule, Liam still had time to check in:
This has been an incredible experience in my life. Auditioning for this show was a journey in itself. I started by going to an open call in March of 2012 and after multiple callbacks, I finally made it to final callbacks for the show. I ended up not getting it that round but they said they would love to see me again in the future. So I kept emailing once a month to ask when they would be recasting. Finally, I got a response in June of this year and was asked to come in for final callbacks of the next leg of the tour and ended up being casted!
The best opportunity I have is working with the creative team for this show. The director, choreographer, and all the designers are Broadway veterans. These are amazing connections that I now have for the development of my career. My life is completely different than anything before. Every day during tech week, we’d wake up and have 12-hour rehearsals. When performances start we will be traveling most days and then performing almost every single night. So it’s exhausting but it is incredibly exciting and rewarding.
I’ll be touring all over the U.S. so I’d love to see some brothers. You can find all the dates at americanidiotthemusical.com.
Letter From the President
I’m honored to be elected onto the alumni board of directors and selected as the President of the alumni corporation of this great chapter of Theta Chi. I am also humbled to be following in the footsteps of the past president, Richard Maltz ’90, who has done so much for the Omega chapter over the last years. It wasn’t that long ago when I was the undergraduate treasurer and Jason Chottiner ’09 was the undergraduate president. We worked with Rich and National to save the chapter house. Rich led the board, and rallied the alumni, and today we are in the midst of a successful capital campaign that is helping us to remodel the house.
I plan to continue Rich’s work, building a stronger and ever more present alumni base. Along with continuing the capital campaign, I look forward to working with the undergraduates providing resources to them so they can continue the legacy of Omega Chapter at Penn State. I also hope to foster more interaction between the alumni and undergraduates on a professional level.
Please feel to contact me or any member of the board if you have questions about the active chapter, recent renova- tions, or if you are trying to reconnect with brothers from your era. Thank you for your support and I look forward to serving you and the undergraduate chap- ter in the years to come.
Fraternally,
Dave Hartwich ’09, ’11
Capital Campaign Update
Theta Chi is a special place that holds many great memories for us all. We have been work- ing on the capital campaign for a number of years now and we are making slow but steady progress. It was wonderful to reconnect with many of you at the gala and tell the old sto- ries, look through the archives and albums and just spend some time together. That’s what Omega is really about and that’s the goal of the Theta Chi for Life campaign... to ensure that brotherhood lives on.
In this issue of the Omegaphone, you’ve read about the renovation of the porch, last year we did the windows and there are still many projects on the “waiting list”:
Replace doors on the first and second floor
Update the electrical system in the basement, first floor and second floor
Renovate the second floor bedrooms
Repair/replace the entry roof from the parking lot to the kitchen
Paint, repoint and clean the exterior of the house
Renovate the first floor walls and floors
Replace the water damaged concrete floor in the kitchen
Renovate the basement bathroom
Rebuild the bathroom on the first floor
Renovate the stairs from first floor to 2nd and 3rd floors
Investigate and repair water leaks from the 1st floor
Install radiator thermostats • Bring to ADA compliance
Please make your pledge at the highest level you are able; we need you to dig deep. With your help, we can make all the needed renovations to the house as well as keep our chapter and the brotherhood strong. If you can’t give at one of the levels below – give what you can – more or less, every penny helps us get closer to the goal.
We’re passing the hat brothers, and we need you to make your pledge today!
You can complete your pledge form online at www.thetachiomega.com/pledge, by phone at 1-800-975-6699, or by requesting a pledge form from any member of our campaign committee.
We need your support, please consider making your pledge part of your year-end giving.
Sincerely,
The Theta Chi for Life Campaign Committee
Thank you to all those brothers that shared their news with us. Please send us your photos and updates whenever you can.
Checkout past issues of the Omegaphone by clicking here.