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| Alpha Theta House Corporation Decides to Retain Ownership of Alpha Theta |
| May/17/2007 4:00 PM |
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The recent corporation meeting was perhaps the most important one in the last 25 years in terms of determining the future direction of Alpha Theta. The Fuller Audit is a daunting 88 point college mandated document that has to be complied with over the next few years. It is very detailed and expensive. The most expensive items involve fire safety and handicapped access. Our options were to take out a loan, raise rents and attack this ourselves or to sell the house to the college. As we debated this, we always tried to frame the discussions from the point of view of “what is best for the undergraduates, now and moving forward”.
With this in mind, we have decided to take this on ourselves. It is something the undergraduates favored strongly (see enclosed undergraduate resolution). They realize this comes with some sacrifice and obligation on their part, both now and moving forward. That sacrifice will take the form of increased rents, “sweat equity” (the projects they can take on themselves like painting etc) and intensified fundraising efforts. We also will be taking a substantial loan from the College at a very favorable interest rate to help finance the project.
Thanks to the efforts of corporation members of Chris Robinson ’86 and Beth Krakower ’93, we have seen that going down this path is viable. Chris and Beth took on the arduous task of breaking down the document point by point. They got estimates from various contractors and walked through our proposed attack plan, point by point with the administration. Everyone owes Chris and Beth a debt of gratitude for their dedication. Please read Chris/Beth’s note later in this newsletter which will include a means of looking at all the numbers in detail, which we hope you will do.
One of the biggest keys to this plan is to do a better job of fund raising than we have in the past. We have never had something like this to frame our efforts and our hope is this will galvanize everyone (corporation, undergrads and everyone getting this letter) involved. As a board, we are committed to working harder and smarter at this, as are the undergraduates. “Turning out the vote”, if you will, will be paramount. We hope to increase our participation and get 3 year commitments from as many alums as possible. That sustained participation, at whatever level is comfortable for each person, will get us where we want to go. Many of us have been moved to action as we recalled the valuable lessons that our “self governance” taught us during our undergraduate years. We hope you feel the same way and will embrace the cause.
Sincerely,
James Evans ‘85
Corporation President
P.S. At the beginning of the most recent corporation meeting Bruce McAllister ’54, our treasurer, rock and backbone, announced he was going to retire from his position by the next meeting. However, Bruce was moved enough by the outcome and the attendant fundraising efforts, that he has decided to stay on for a little while longer to keep us moving in the right direction. We hope you are equally inspired! |
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