Skiing Trip Fundraiser

The House Corporation has organized a discounted ski trip for the end of February.  Those that book their trip through this link will receive discounted rates and a portion of the reservation will go to the Alumni Association.  The fundraiser offers prices 33-50% off what you would find by booking through their website.  By comparison Camelback and SnoMountain charge approximately $50 per day for a 1-day ski ticket, but obvidoes not include rentals, lessons, or lodging. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the fraternity, I'd encourage you to visit this page.

This is not a fraternity event and is simply a discounted offer for those interested in skiing or getting away for a weekend.  There will not be a planned cirriculum of events and people are invited to make their own plans for the weekend.  Please feel free to share this with friends or family members that would be interested. 

Smugglers Notch
4323 VT Route 108 South
Jeffersonville, VT

Pricing includes all lift tickets and skiing for the day of your arrival
Studio - $800, 3 nights, sleeps 4
One-Bedroom - $1200, 3 nights, sleeps 6

Adult rentals for skis or snowboards are $30/day
Lessons are $38 per 2 hour lesson for adults and youths

To RSVP: Either visit the Facebook event page or contact Rick Pelletier

Post Sandy: Helping Those In Need

For those of you visiting this blog for the first time, I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your day.  If this is your first time in contact with this organization, it is likely as a result of social media and the various outlets that have promoted this effort and we would like to thank these groups as well.

Phi Kappa Psi is a national fraternity very similar to many other national organizations with the goal of enriching the college experience via leadership opportunities, community service and philanthropic events.  Phi Kappa Psi has four chapters in the state of New Jersey (Rowan, Rutgers, TCNJ, and Mommouth University).  Phi Kappa Psi's motto is "The Great Joy of Serving Others" and its members complete thousands of community service hours each year.  Last year, the Rowan chapter completed over 1000 service hours alone. This blog is generally used as a communication resource to celebrate accomplishments of the chapter and its members, but today is being used to ask others outside or circle for help.


Everyone is aware of the damage caused by Sandy across the region and everyone is connected to someone who has been impacted by the storm.   Calls for donations of supplies and aid have gone out across the country and there are numerous avenues to donate.  The chapter has plans to complete multiple service projects.  Many have asked how they can help and information has arrived and is available on the other side of the break.

The Shield Online

Obviously the Shield is the quarterly magazine that is published by the headquarters staff.  I just wanted to provide everyone with a few updates.  First and foremost, the staff has completed digitizing every single edition of The Shield going all the way back to 1879.

Additionally, if you need to update your mailing address or wish to remove yourself from the mailing list for The Shield, please visit Phi Psi Connect.  It might not seem like much, but collectively, the postage makes up one of the larger operating costs for the national fraternity.  

Donations

Yep, we need your money.  So does the mortgage company, the cable company, and the cell phone company.  So every dollar donated is greatly appreciated.  But where does your money go? It’s all up to you.

Introducing the Omegas

I'm happy to say the chapter pinned its 24th pledge class as a chapter October 3rd.  Surrounding the Omegas were members of the chapter, numerous alumni (including a healthy showing of the ex-GP Club), guests, and Kelvin Rodriguez, Rowan's Coordinator of Greek Affairs. Following a productive rush, the chapter pinned 10 men, the largest  Fall pledge class in the chapter's history.  

Cheesesteaks and Rushing

There's generally two times you can expect to see long lines at Pat's and Geno's Cheesesteaks.  Weekends and rush week when the chapter makes its semi-annual visit to the corner of 9th and Passyunk.  After speaking with Anthony Reid, the chapter's rush chair, it was apparent that the chapter was in the midst of another successful recruitment program.

More news after the break.

Rush T-Shirts Needed

From the desk of Adam Goodman...

Hello Everyone!!. I have an request of all the alumni! Rush shirts are something we all have in common and remind each of us of where we started our Phi Psi life. This Fall semester will be the Omega Class which will be the last class of our first line. I want to collect all the rush shirts from each class from CC Alpha (if there was one) to now. So that we will all be reminded about our start and those who became before us.

When they are all collected, I will have a special announcement for the Alumni.

Please if you have a rush shirt you would like to donate please message me on FB or email me at acgoodman88@gmail.com.

Alumni BBQ

August 25th marked an unofficial end of summer and gave the chapter a chance for undergraduates, alumni, and family members to get together and officially celebrate the chapter's Grand Chapter award.  Following a Stanley Cup-esque trip around Jersey, the trophy finally made its way home to Glassboro.  It is safe to say that everyone was thrilled with the turnout of brothers and family members and for those that couldn't make it, we hope to see you at Homecoming October 26th-27th.

Introducing...

We'd like to congratulate Randy and Melanie Morton on the the birth of their twins, Hannah and Ryan.  We're looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Fall Rush

It's that time of the semester as the chapter will be participating in Rush Week. HQ would be upset with me if I didn't say that recruitment is a year long process, so I've fulfilled my obligation there.  Given our schedules, I understand it's unrealistic for a huge turnout for most of these events given the start time for most of these events, but I know some local alums will make the trip out to some events.  The event schedule is listed after the break.

Congratulations Shane!

We'd like to share with you the announcement of Shane Walsh's marriage to April Minnick.  They were married this past Saturday and currently en route to Tampa to enjoy their honeymoon.  We hope you enjoy your honeymoon and wish nothing but the best.  We hope to see you and your new bride at Homecoming!

I'm happy to share the announcement that Xavier Rose recently became engaged to his long time girlfriend Brittany.  They met during their Junior year of High School and started dating their Senior year in 2003.  They have been dating for almost 9 years and currently live together in Beachwood, NJ.  Xavier proposed in Niagara Falls, Canada on August 22, 2012 under the trees of the Oaks Garden, followed by dinner at the Skylon Tower overlooking the falls.  Xavier currently works as the Tools Program Manager at NAVAIR in Lakehurst, NJ, and Brittany is a Marketing Specialist at Gap Inc.

Congratulations to you both!

An Open Letter From A Tri-Sigma

Lost among the internet memes of the day, was this quality article shared by Shawn Collingsworth (Indiana Eta, The Harvard of the Midwest) Executive Director of Phi Psi.  The article can be found on Phi Kappa Tau's blog.  This month Phi Tau has invited fellow Greeks to share their thoughts as guest bloggers.

Cori Wallace, a sister of Tri-Sigma and Tri-Sigma's Director of Marketing, composed a stirring letter addressed to fraternity men.  Brother's who have attended UIFI may have had the opportunity to meet her as she is actively involved in the organization's programming.  As I read the article, I thought back to my days as an undergraduate and the brothers I have gotten to know over the past decade.  I believe our chapter is the embodiment of Cori's message.

So whether you're a rush, pledge brother, neophyte, elected officer, chapter adviser, mentor, or volunteer I thank you for being a brother and a hero.

Grand Chapter!

Brothers at GAC along side Tryon Hubbard, Alabama '64, previous SWGP

How does a chapter go from one of the best groups in Phi Kappa Psi to the best nationally over the course of a year? Start \with a very motivated group of individuals in 2011 when the chapter was Accredited with Distinction and over the course of the next years (to quote Sean Peterson), “Do work, son.” During the 2011 academic year, brothers positively impacted Rowan University and the community through a variety of leadership positions, an enormous amount of philanthropic activities, and working with other Phi Psi and Rowan chapters.

Greetings and Salutations!

Welcome to a new source of information and news for the New Jersey Epsilon chapter.  As secretary of the house corporation it is my goal that this area becomes a resource for members and non-members alike to stay current on the events of the chapter, the successes of the group, and the accomplishments of her members.

Following the conversation with Adam Goodman, I realized I was not aware of many of the chapter's accomplishments and credentials that led to the Grand Chapter award.  Despite many of the community service, philanthropy, and mentoring events being communicated on Facebook and Twitter, I missed them as these announcements flew past my timeline and news feed.  Given this, I hope this space gets used to fill in some of the communications gaps, recognize the undergraduates' work, and celebrate the life changes to our alumni.

With that said, let me once again congratulate the chapter on its recognition as Grand Chapter and thank everyone for their contributions over the past 14 years.