Lambda Omega-Zeta • Alumni Association

Brothers,

Welcome to what could be the final edition of "The Chopper Chant" that you ever receive.  Why is that you may ask.  Well the reason, is that this newsletter is written and produced by and for members of the Lambda Omega-Zeta Alumni Association.  As an alumni of Lambda Omega-Zeta you are privelaged to receive information about the Active Chapter through reports of the Rho from the Active Chapter, but in order to receive information about the Alumni Association you must be an active member of the Alumni Association. 

So how do I continue to receive "The Chopper Chant?"  It's simple.  Join the Alumni Association.  How do I join?  All you have to do is fill out an application (this is just so we have your information) and send a check for $25 per semester or $50 for the whole year to: "Chopper Alumni Association" 304 W Roberts St. Fenton, MI 48430.  The application can be downloaded Here or from the Alumni Association's website Here  under the topic "Alumni Association Application."  What if I founded the original Alumni Association or joined last year and paid then?  If this is the case, we already have your information, so you do not need to fill out an application, just send you yearly dues ($25 per semester or $50 per year) and you are once again an active member of the Alumni Association. 

In order to maintain your status as an active member of the Alumni Association, you must be current on your dues.  You will always be an alumni of the Lambda Omega-Zeta, but in order to be a member of the Alumni Association, you must renew your commitment to the organization every year. 

I realize that everytime we write to you, it seems as if we are requesting that you join the Association, and send us money.  Rarely, does it seem like we are putting on an event or inviting you to something.  This is because, in all honesty, we are struggling for members.  Without an operating budget, we cannot organize functions or send out paper mailings, or provide many other benefits.  As the executive board of the Alumni Association, we are not getting paid or receiving any benefits, other than serving the fraternity that gave us so much.  We are simply volunteering our time and efforts to truely create an Alumni Association that the Lambda Omega-Zeta can be proud of.  I know that there are many proud Choppers out there that want a functioning Alumni Association as well, but we need your support.  Please join the Alumni Association.

You may also have noticed a format change in "The Chopper Chant" and that is because we do not have enough of an operating budget to pay for the old format, so we are trying this one.  Hope you still like it.

Members of Lambda Omega-Zeta, who joined during and at the time of our founding returned to CMU for a special event.  Please read the article at CM-Life
for further details. 

This past weekend was Central Michigan University's Homecoming.  Once again the Active Chapter warmly welcomed Alumni members and put on their annual Champaign Breakfast.  All in attendance said this was one of the best breakfasts the Chapter has produced.  Following breakfast festivities were moved to a Brother's apartment (as the Active chapter is still on probation until December) and the fun continued.  Tailgaiting followed prior to the game (which Central won 24-14 over Temple University).  Prior to the game, an informal Alumni Association meeting was held, and the content of this newsletter was discussed.  Alumni in attendance included: Kevin Butcher, Bob Griffith, Phil Karsen, Ben Smith, Ron Hegenauer III, Matt Tanis, Joe Giarmo, Dan Vokal, Kyle Grenfel, Brian Raymer, Jim Neurohr, Patrick Anderson, and Jon Lences, among others.  (The image is the Coat of Arms from the House)

The Active Chapter is doing well.  The ELC visited early this year and stated

"The chapter's new leadership both High Zeta and Executive Committee is strong and knowledgeable. The chapter has also made strides to improve their recruitment, implementing such segments of the Cole Recruitment Institute as the "Wish List" and bringing values into their recruitment and bid discussion. The chapter is determined to have a large increase in membership this year, but they also have the Fraternity Education program in place to support the growth. An emphasis was placed on more effective experiential learning opportunities rather than lectures and reading assignments for the Associate Member Education."

One area in which the ELC stated that Chapter was lacking was in Alumni support and a functioning Alumni Association.  This is where we all come in.  Specifically, joining the Alumni Association will help the Active Chapter. 

The Active Chapter is still on probation from an incident last year, but they have complied with all sanctions and requests of the General Fraternity, and are slated to be removed from probation in December.  With that in mind, if you visit Mt. Pleasant, please do not bring alcohol to the Chapter house.

Currently the Active Chapter has 13 Associate Members, bringing the Chapter total to 43 members. 

The image to the side is Our Chapter's Charter.





















I would like to take this time to address you all as brothers and make a plea of support to you all.  This Alumni Association was founded about 10 years ago by several ambitious members of the Alumni community.  Due to family and job commitments, as well as difficulty with recruiting new members, the association nearly died.  Two years ago, a new group of dedicated Alumni took the reins.  Now after two years of relative futility, we too are finding that we have other commitments, such as jobs, families, and other life events, as well as extreme difficulties recruiting new members. 

I know you are all busy, and I know that you all have many commitments, and in these tough economic times, even $50 per year for membership in YOUR Alumni Association may be difficult.  But I am pleading to you all now, if you still care about your Fraternity, the one that gave you so much, join the Alumni Association.

Lambda Chi Alpha may have provided you an outlet to cut loose after class.  It may have provided you an opportunity to make friends you otherwise would have never met.  It may have introduced you to your wife at a social.  It may have provided you an opportunity to network and find a job.  It may have provided the support you needed during a personal or family tradegy.  It may have kept you in school, when you otherwise may have dropped out.  It may have even saved your life.

I do not know all of you who receive this e-mail, and many of you do not know me.  My name is Kevin Butcher, Lambda Omega 545, initiated Fall of 2001, graduated May 2005, and from grad school in May 2008.  I am currently the vice-president of the Alumni Association and a former Alpha, Delta, and Epsilon of the Active Chapter.  (President, Recruitment Chair, and Social Chair respectively, for those of you who may have forgotten)  I am married, have a dog, live in St. Joseph, MI, have an empty house for sale in Portland, MI, work as a physical therapist, and generally want to see this organization succeed. 

At homecoming I saw a 50 someting year old man walking around wearing a Beta Theta Pi homecoming shirt.  This is a group that was suspended and kicked off campus for 4 years, has returned and is now struggling for members, and they still have an Alumni Association that functions, organizes events, and supports their chapter.  We, as Lambda Chi's have one of the largest groups on campus, a group that has won 3 President Cup trophies in the past 7 years, has the nicest house among all fraternities, and an alumni base of almost 650 people, yet we cannot form an association of more than 17 people.  (That is how many people paid last year, this year we have 2)  Why?  I cannot tell you.  I wish I could.  But I hope I don't have to tell you that again.

I can assure you that we will not quit.  We will not give up our desire to have a functioning Alumni Association.  We will continue to press on.  Our goal is to have 50 paid members by the end of this year.  That is only 1/7 of our Alumni joining the association.  I feel that is a reasonable and attainable goal.  We will then move to 100 members by May of 2010.  We will also move to holding regional events throughout Michigan and the United States and bi-annual meetings of the executive board.  There will also be an annual golf outing (at a location yet to be determined) for members, followed by a dinner/banquet for members and spouses.  We will also reestablish the scholarships that had been founded for the Active Chapter, and move to have a more advisory role for the Chapter.  Our ultimate goal is to raise enough capital to buy the Chapter a house by 2020. 

We hope that laying out goals will encourage you to join the Association and excite you about the possibilities the Alumni Association holds.  Once again, all new members will receive an Alumni Association polo shirt for joining and all members will continue to receive "The Chopper Chant" newsletter. 

If all of the roughly 600 alumni joined the Alumni Association at $50 a year, we would have $30,000 in our operating budget in just one year.  We could put on any event we wanted to, and our goal of buying a chapter house by 2020 would not be out of the question.  This can only work if everyone buys in, though.  If you think, "Someone else will join, so I don't have too," this won't work.  We are only as strong as our weakest link, so help make this group stronger.

Please remember the oaths you took at your initiation, and the meanings of Delta Pi, Zeta Alpha Chi, and Lambda Chi Alpha, and join the Alumni Association.

Click JOIN NOW for a direct link to download the application.

Please, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please e-mail me directly at kbutcher7@hotmail.com.

Visit the AA web site at
http://groups.myspace.com/lambdaomegazetaalumniassociation

You do not have to be a member of MySpace, sign-up for anything, or even sign-in to view the website.  You can simply click the link and view it as any other website. 

Also, remember, when you first join the Alumni Association, you will receive a free polo shirt in either green, white, black, or maroon!