164th Anniversary Convention Canceled
Dear Brothers,
In this time of national emergency, I continue to think and pray for you, your family members, and our country. In a special way, I also reaffirm the Fraternity’s support of our black brothers and brothers of color. Your Fraternity continues its love and respect for each of you and your families.
I must begin with an apology for the tardiness of this update. This was originally scheduled to be released on Monday, June 1. The events of the last two weeks arising out of the senseless killing of George Floyd have necessitated a reprioritization of the Fraternity’s focus this past week. An update on Theta Chi’s response to the events impacting our nation was emailed to all collegians this morning. If you did not receive the update, you may request a copy by emailing ihq@thetachi.org.
I am writing with some very important announcements related to the 164th Anniversary Convention and 39th School of Fraternity Practices, originally scheduled to occur July 17-21, 2020, in Lexington, KY.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Chapter and International Headquarters staff have closely monitored the circumstances in Lexington, KY, and across North America to ascertain the prudence and practicality of continuing with this summer’s International Convention as scheduled. While we remained hopeful for some time that an in-person event could be held, several realities became apparent in recent weeks:
The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and Theta Chi Fraternity takes seriously its role to promote the health and safety of its members and guests.
We have heard from many of our collegians and alumni expressing their deep concerns about attending a large Fraternity gathering given the pandemic.
Current published COVID-19 regulations promulgated by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky do not allow for an event of several hundred attendees.
COVID-19-related travel and gathering restrictions remain in place throughout North America, which will impact the ability of our members and chapters/colonies to attend the convention.
As a result of these extraordinary circumstances, the Grand Chapter is announcing the following changes:
This summer’s 164th Anniversary Convention and 39th School of Fraternity Practices will not occur July 17-21, 2020, in Lexington, KY. All attendees should cancel their plans to travel to Lexington this summer.
The 164th Anniversary Convention will convene in a limited fashion at the Theta Chi Fraternity International Headquarters in Carmel, IN, on July 18, 2020, for the primary purpose of conducting Grand Chapter elections. The current (2018/2020) Grand Chapter will serve as the voting delegates to this Convention. Chapters and colonies are relieved of obligations to send representatives to the 164th Anniversary Convention. Due to social distancing guidelines and regulations, in-person attendance at the 164th Anniversary Convention in Carmel, IN will be limited to essential convention personnel only at this point in time. The Fraternity will evaluate circumstances between now and July 18 and will explore options to permit attendance by non-essential convention personnel if prudence and regulations allow. Please monitor thetachi.org/convention and social media for future announcements.
There will be online components of the 164th Anniversary Convention program, which will be open to all collegiate and alumnus members as well as colony members. These online sessions will include State of the Fraternity reports, critical discussions on race and diversity matters, addressing the impact of COVID-19 on our chapters and members, and a virtual awards program. Details and the schedule for these virtual sessions will be announced later this month. Please monitor thetachi.org/convention and social media for announcements on these virtual opportunities. All virtual components will be offered with no registration fee.
The 39th School of Fraternity Practices has been rescheduled to occur July 30-August 2, 2021, in Lexington, KY. Next summer, we will have the celebration of brotherhood we all had hoped to have this year. The program will contain many of our finest Convention traditions and plenty of opportunity for education, networking, and fun. We hope you will mark your calendars now and make plans to attend next year’s event, which will be one for the Theta Chi history books. As was planned to be the case this summer, each active chapter will receive two registration fee waivers and a double occupancy hotel room at no charge for next summer’s event. Registration details for next summer’s event will be announced later this year.
Given the rescheduling of the School of Fraternity Practices to next summer, the Theta Chi Initiative Academy will not be held in 2021.
Canceling Your 164th Anniversary Convention Registration and Hotel Accommodations
Those who have registered for this summer’s convention utilizing their Chapter’s Convention Discount Code need not take any action. Your registration and associated hotel reservation will automatically be canceled. As stated above, all chapters will receive two registration fee waivers and a double occupancy hotel room at no charge to attend next summer’s School of Fraternity Practices.
Those who have completed paid registrations for this summer’s convention will receive a separate email next week for refund/credit options.
Hotel reservations made under the official Theta Chi room block will be automatically canceled. Attendees who have made reservations outside of the official room block are responsible for making their own hotel cancelations.
Questions regarding registration and hotel cancelation may be directed to Chief Administrative Officer Joel Wendland (317-848-1856/jwendland@thetachi.org).
Governance and Grand Chapter Elections
Most unfortunately, the necessity to not hold an in-person Convention in Lexington this summer has resulted in a need to make extraordinary accommodations to ensure the continuity of governance in our Fraternity. These accommodations were not arrived at quickly, but only after much study and deliberation by the Grand Chapter.
The International Convention has the power to adopt legislation, hear appeals, elect members to the Grand Chapter, and to elect an International President and International Vice President. No proposed legislation or appeals were submitted for consideration by the 164th Anniversary Convention. As a result, the remaining business items on the convention agenda are the election of members to the Grand Chapter and the election of an International President and International Vice President.
Up until the date of this memorandum, The Constitution and Bylaws of Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. did not contemplate a scenario in which a significant number of delegates were unable to attend an in-person International Convention. Consulting with our Parliamentarian and outside legal counsel, Fraternity leaders considered multiple options to conduct this summer’s Grand Chapter elections. After much study and discussion, the Grand Chapter unanimously determined that the most practical solution given current circumstances is to convene the 164th Anniversary Convention under emergency provisions with the current (2018/2020) Grand Chapter serving as the voting delegates.
The members of the 2018/2020 Grand Chapter, acting in their capacity as delegates to the 164th Anniversary Convention, will elect four new members of the Grand Chapter for four-year terms and elect an International President and International Vice President for two-year terms each. To aid the Convention delegates in their decision-making process, the Grand Chapter Nominations Review Committee has been charged with recommending a slate of four candidates to be elected
to the Grand Chapter at the 164th Anniversary Convention. The slate is a recommendation and the Grand Chapter members in their capacity as convention delegates reserve the right to elect candidates that they see fit.
The Grand Chapter’s executed unanimous consent agreement enacting these emergency provisions is attached to this memorandum. Any active chapter that wishes to review the written opinion obtained by outside legal counsel on this matter, may request a copy from Chief Executive Officer Mike Mayer (317-848-1856/mmayer@thetachi.org).
The candidates for election to the Grand Chapter have all been briefed on these emergency Convention procedures. All five candidates have confirmed their support for these arrangements given the extraordinary circumstances.
These emergency Convention procedures will be automatically repealed at the conclusion of the 164th Anniversary Convention. None of the emergency provisions are intended to create any precedent for the conduct of any future International Convention.
Should you have questions or concerns about the emergency provisions for the conduct of the 164th Anniversary Convention, please feel free to contact Chief Executive Officer Mike Mayer (317-848-1856/mmayer@thetachi.org) or any member the Grand Chapter.
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Brothers, I very much appreciate your understanding of the realities all of us must face this year because of the pandemic. While we will not be able to gather in Lexington this summer, I look forward to seeing you on one of our online sessions this summer and celebrating Theta Chi together at next summer’s 39th School of Fraternity Practices. Feel free to contact the International Headquarters staff with any questions or concerns you may have.
We believe in Theta Chi. We are Theta Chi. We are Resolute Men.
Fraternally,
Mike Mayer
Chief Executive Officer
317-848-1856
mmayer@thetachi.org