1The Gamma Slant

Gamma Alumni of Sigma Chi, Inc.

President Eric Weldele ’00

eweldele@yahoo.com

Vice President Dan Sharpe ’06

sharpe.dan@gmail.com

Chapter Advisor Jared Himes

flounder1855@gmail.com

Alumni Relations Ryan Jordan ’09

tryanjordan@gmail.com

Gamma Chapter Needs Alumni Support Now More Than Ever

CHAPTER UPDATE

Gamma Chapter of Sigma Chi at Ohio Wesleyan February 2016

GammaALUMNI OFFICERS

The Gamma Chapter works in partnership with a third-party graduate relations firm to main-tain a database of our brothers to ensure we’re reaching as many graduates as possible through our print and email communica-tions. As brothers move and change jobs, we sometimes lose their current mailing and email addresses and lose touch with them. Here is a snapshot of our current database:

Total active alumni: 762 (have a mailing address on file)

Lost brothers: 219 (22.32%) (no current mailing address on file)

Valid email addresses: 656 (66.87%)

Help us stay up-to-date with your brothers by updating their con-tact information (or update your own if you’ve moved recently) by emailing us at alumninews@affinityconnection.com.

Rest assured that our database is used solely for Gamma Chapter communications and will never be traded or sold.

In November, the Gamma Chapter received the unfortunate news that the Executive Committee of Sigma Chi International Fraternity has decided to close its chapter at Ohio Wesleyan University due to concerns regarding the health of the chapter and its falling membership numbers. Fraternity leaders had worked for some time to address issues within the chapter, but ultimately concluded that its members were not living up to Sigma Chi’s high ideals. The Chapter and our leaders heavily relied on alumni support in recent years, for which we are grateful. The Gamma Chapter looks

forward to maintaining a positive relationship with Ohio Wesleyan University. Our Fraternity is dedicated to returning to campus once all of the current members have graduated. In the coming years, we will rely heavily on alumni support as we complete the necessary work to return the Gamma Chapter to campus. In the interim, we will continue producing the Gamma Slant as a tool to develop alumni relationships and grow our fraternal bond. We are grateful for your support.

In Hoc,Ryan Jordan ’09

Richard A. Eesley ’51A Robert Crawford ’53Philip R. Placier ’55 Carl B. Harris ’56 Neil C. Gest ’57 Robert J. Swope ’58 E Stanley Hobbs Jr. ’59 Jackson D. Brown ’60

Alexander Schoenfeld ’61 Charles F. Smith ’62 Thomas E. Dunham ’63 Norman Wulff ’63 Robert G. Cowman ’65 James R. Kirkland ’66 Michael G. Long ’66 James L. Andersen ’68

John Fred Down ’68 Laurence Fedak ’68 Robert M. Roach ’68 Richard E. Lord ’69 Gregory J. Barbato ’71 Sean A. Speed ’08 Samuel Newman ’12

HONOR ROLL

Thank You To All Those Who Contributed To Our 2015 Annual Fund!

We wrapped up our 2015 giving year with $2,345 from 23 donors. Thank you to those who made a donation this past year:

BY THE NUMBERS

2 February 2016

Brother John Miller ‘54 “I pledged the fraternity because it turned out that the most impressive upperclassmen at freshman orientation were Sigma Chis, like Bob Hardman, Ciff Reichard and Donn Miller. My favorite memory is being taken to the chapter room for initiation to the sound of “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius. I’m about to celebrate my 85th birthday after a career as a journalist (newspapers and NBC News) and an Emmy Award writer of documentaries for PBS. I was never a gung-ho fraternity member but I certainly enjoyed and appreciated being a Sigma Chi and fondly remember many of my brothers. I am quite busy living in retirement in a small, quiet New England town (Cornwall, CT) where I’m involved with the local library, the monthly newsletter and a winter movie series. I had to stop playing serious tennis about five years ago because of spinal stenosis. I am very saddened by the closing of Gamma chapter, but can understand the need to do so.” E. Hobbs Jr. ’59“Stayin’ alive.”

Brandon Luttinger ’10“I started a new job as an Investment Analyst for Workplace Investing at Fidelity Investments in March 2015. Some of my favorite memories

of my time as a Sigma Chi include the random week nights when you didn’t have homework or class the next day and finding someone that happens to be in the same situation to be your partner in crime for a night. My advice for the future of the chapter is to not take things for granted. So many of my experiences have helped shape me into the person that I am today and I would be disappointed if others will not be able to have the same opportunities and experiences as myself. Brother Bennet Newman (2009), also, former Consul, is getting married in Summer 2009!

Kyle Sjarif ‘11 “I moved to New York City after graduating from Ohio Wesleyan in 2011 and have been working at a custom men’s clothing company here for the last 3.5 years in an operations and sales operations capacity. I have also enjoyed welcoming more and more of the Gamma chapter alumnae to the city since I moved here. My advice for the chapter is to act responsibly. Everybody wants to have fun in college and our chapter was the longest active chapter in Sigma Chi history, so if groups of guys 100+ years prior were able to enjoy their college experience while acting

responsibly and behaving like gentlemen, then this current group and all future groups can continue to do so. Respect the history and act as such. I haven’t quite thought of too many 2016 resolutions yet but some include volunteering my time once per month and reading 15 books this year.”

ALUMNI UPDATES

A few of us at Nick DeDonno’s (‘09) wedding.(L-R) Brandon Luttinger ‘10, Tim Davis ‘11, Andy Hicks ‘08,

Adelino Gomes ‘09, Mark Lovering ‘09 and David Curran ‘09”

With the New Year upon us, it’s time to start thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. One of Gamma Chapter’s 2016 resolutions is to stay connected with our fellow brothers and be more active. So, what have you been up to since you left Delaware, OH? Have you caught up with any brothers recently? Attended any events? Gotten married? Had kids or grandkids? Moved? Retired? We, your brothers, want to know! Several of your brothers gave us a sneak peek into what they’ve been up to recently:

Kyle Jarif ’11, Jonathan Forsgren ’10 and Taleb Shkoukani ’10.

A group of Gamma Sigma Chis at the annual OWU holiday party. (L-R) Taleb Shkoukani ‘10, Jonathan Forsgren ‘10, Malcolm Clark ‘14, Martin Clark

‘14, Chris Myers ‘09, Kyle Sjarif ‘11, John Hindle ‘13, Austin Viny ‘14 .

New Job, Marriage, Living in the Big Apple and Turning 85

3The Gamma Slant

We recently asked each of you who met your spouses or significant others through Sigma Chi to submit your love stories and photos in honor of Valentine’s Day. Brothers Thomas Trumble ’68, Thomas Dunham ’63 and Dan Sharpe ’06 submitted their Sigma Chi fairytales: “I had a blind date freshman year in 1965 with a girl named “Doug”, which was set up by a sorority sister of hers, Martha Hodge. We dated for three years. She got pinned (with my Sigma Chi pin) and she was our Sweetheart senior year (1967-68). I married Dougie, which is short for Douglass, on December 21, 1968. She is a very caring, giving and loving person and always seems to stay close to “elderly ladies” (older than us, 80’s and older) who enjoy her companionship. She is still my “sweetheart” after 47 years! My favorite memory is probably the birth of our three wonderful daughters and their eventual weddings and receptions. Our daughter Lindsay Lockard is married and living in Columbus and is an OWU grad. Laura, her husband and their two kids, Bella (10) and Noah (8) are living in Boston. Erin, her husband, Bill, and their children, Jacob (5) and Bria (3) live in Germany as he is an Air Force pilot with NATO. My advice to fellow brothers is to find a good, attractive, bright, well-rounded and

grounded young woman and stay with her through thick and thin. There will be bumps in the road, but you hang tough and learn the word ‘forgiveness’.”

-Tom Trumble ’68

“I met my future wife, Barbara Davis, at OWU as a freshman. We were pinned in our junior year and she became the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi for our Gamma Chapter.  We have had lots of great memories of Serenades and more at the “White Elephant”, which is what we called the Sigma Chi house before moving to the campus circle. We have been married for 52 years and have three kids and 8 grand kids!  We live in Prospect, KY for seven months and Sanibel, FL for the balance of the year.”

-Thomas Dunham ’63

“It was my senior year at the Gamma Chapter and some of our brothers were on the Ohio Wesleyan’s men’s soccer team. Among their social circles were players from the women’s

soccer team who would regularly hang out at the chapter house. One of the women’s soccer players caught my eye as she was leaving the building. Not knowing which one of my brothers knew her, I recall going door to door to inquire as to who this mystery woman was. Upon finding out, I looked forward to seeing her

again and made a point to be present the next time she

visited. And, of course, the next time I saw her, I was as equally as enamored. Unfortunately for me, I must have been nervous, as I reverted back to elementary school playground teasing as a tactic to woo her. Gratefully, since she happened to be from a near-by suburb of my hometown, we were able to coordinate a proper coffee date over a break from school, which led to several more years of dating, Sigma Chi and Theta formals, marriage after graduation and now the beginnings of a wonderful family—as we just welcomed our first child six months ago. I’m grateful for my brothers and Sigma Chi for providing the chance encounter and even more grateful for her forgiving sense of humor and endless patience!”

-Daniel Sharpe ’06

If you have a Sigma Chi love story you haven’t shared yet, you can email it to our editor at alumninews@affinityconnection.com!

THE LOVE CONNECTION

“She is still my “sweetheart” after 47 years!”

Barbara and Thomas Dunham

Martha and Thomas Trumble

4 February 2016

Gamma Chapter in fall of 1941. Note the brothers we lost in the

war. Their sacrifice is not forgotten. Guard Well.

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE PAIDState College, Pa.Permit No. 2In this Issue…

— Ryan Jordan addresses suspension— Sigma Chi love stories— Lots of fantastic photos

Address Service Requested

458-020

THROWBACK

Oh, What a Feeling!

These days it’s nothing to snap hundreds of photos and share them with friends and family all over the globe. However, some of us don’t regularly check the internet and are missing out on these photos! Check out these awesome photos from our archives and don’t forget to send your own Sigma Chi photos to our alumni relations office at alumninews@affinityconnection.com. Please include as much information about your submissions as possible, including names, dates and locations. Make sure you mention that they’re for Sigma Chi OWU.

From the 1971 OWU Yearbook.Brothers kicking it in the living room after

paintball back in 1992. Courtesy of Brother Christopher Grace ‘94

Members of Gamma Chapter during the 17th Grand Chapter, which was held at the Union

College of Law and Tremont House in Chicago, Illinois on August 29th, 30th, & 31st, 1888. L to R: Grant A. McNute, Jack Taggart, A. F.

McCormick, Robert L. McCabe, W. F. Barnes, D. E. Mooney, S. T. Kerr, last two

names are illegible.

Did you know that John Wayne was a Sigma Chi

brother?!

“Men join fraternities; Leaders of Men join

Sigma Chi.”

Gamma Chapter in fall of 1939.