Fall 2017/Winter 2018

ANNUAL PITT BASKETBALL WATCH PARTY SET FOR JANUARY 20TH The Our annual Pitt basketball game watch will take place on January 20th at Peter's Pub as the men's basketball team takes on Duke in the regular season finale. The event will begin at 3pm with tip-off at 4 pm. The Sigma Chi Beta Theta Housing Corp will be hosting a game watch in the upstairs portion of Peter’s Pub in Oakland in for the game. We’ll have pizza, sandwiches, wings, drinks, and plenty of good company! The cost of the event will be $25 per person, which will cover food and beer. All sigs and significant others are encouraged to come. Please RSVP to Brother Brad Borghetti by calling 443-676-9482 or replying to this email. We hope to see everyone there!

2018 ALUMNI GOLF OUTING/TAILGATE SET FOR PENN STATE GAME The 2018 Sigma Chi – Beta Theta Alumni Golf Outing and Tailgate will coincide with the Pitt-Penn State game over the weekend of September 7th - 8th, kicking-off with our golf outing at 10 AM on Friday, September 7th at Hickory Heights Golf Course in Bridgeville. More details to come in the coming months. Registration will start at 8:30am as we will be holding the annual Housing Corp meeting at the course. All are welcome to attend. The total cost for the weekend is $125 for alumni and includes: 1) Round of golf w/ cart 2) Lunch at the turn 3) Post-golf dinner 4) Closet to the Pin and Longest Drive Contests 5) Alumni tailgate for the Pitt-Penn State football game the following day in Gold Lot 1A Space is limited, so please make sure to RSVP in advance. You can golf individually or sign-up as a foursome. If you would also like to sponsor a hole while playing in the outing, the cost is $250. We are also looking for hole sponsors ($150) and undergraduate sponsors ($70) – please let us know if you or your company would like to sponsor a hole, prize, or other aspect of the event. Contact Brother Brad Borghetti by sending an email to bmborghetti1@gmail.com or calling him at 443-676-9482 to secure your spot.

WITH HOUSE RENOVATION NOW COMPLETE, FUNDRAISING CONTINUESBrothers, As you know the Sigma Chi Club of Pittsburgh, your Beta Theta housing corporation, has completed a significant renovation of the first floor of our chapter house. We continue to request donations in order to satisfy our debt to Glunt Construction Company for the work done on our behalf. The total for the construction was just under $58,000. These donations should be mailed to the address below. The year is closing and the deduction may be more valuable to you this year than next in light of the tax changes working their way through the US Congress. Your generosity is appreciated. Thank you. As of this writing we have collected over $21,000 toward our obligation. The correct mailing address is as follows: The Sigma Chi Club of Pittsburgh P. O. Box 23484 Pittsburgh, PA. 15222 If you wish to legally deduct your contribution make the check payable to: The University of Pittsburgh If deductibility is not important make the check payable to: The Sigma Chi Club of Pittsburgh We can use such funds for the necessary furniture. For understandable reasons the University cannot use donations for our furniture. As you may remember, we have the first floor of the building under lease with the University of Pittsburgh for 99 years. This lease term began, unbelievably, 33 years ago. Over 30 percent of our chapter’s 108 years of existence have been spent in the current location. Interestingly, we only occupied 4724 Bayard Street for 30 years. Prior to that, the history is not as clearly known. The best we can cobble together from our collective fading memories is that the chapter was housed during its first 45 years in a long demolished structure on North Dithridge Street as well as some unknown number of rental apartments. As we certainly know, we have come a long way from those early years. With this brief history in mind, it has again come to be the time to ask the Beta Theta Chapter of Sigma Chi alumni to provide the financial support necessary to pay for the renovation of our Chapter House. As many of you may remember, we were very generous when the Bayard Street house became too much of a hazard to continue to occupy. This project has also become necessary due to the natural wear and tear associated with college student occupancy. The active chapter and those of us that give our time to the maintenance, and nurturing of these young men appreciate all the alumni chapter has done over the years. These committed people engineered the purchase of 4724 Bayard Street, and the equity from that property as well as capital commitments in excess of $50,000 in the early ‘80s made the current location possible. Within the last 7 years, many of the same people have achieved the monumental task of contributing over $250,000 to the Sigma Chi Foundation to qualify Beta Theta as a Bell Chapter. The Bell Chapter Designation provides extensive, high quality leadership training for our active brothers. This commitment allows the legacy of Sigma Chi to continue as an example of our rewarding brotherhood. This bond is generational and valuable. We who have enjoyed and reaped the benefits from our association with Sigma Chi feel compelled to do what we can to see that future brothers have the as positive experience as possible in these changing times.

House Renovations Donors GOLD LEVEL - $5,000 and up Clifford Rowe Denis Glunt Robert Boucher BLUE LEVEL - $1,000 to $4,999 Dr. C David Weimer Brian Schoper Bud Schuster Thomas Pasternak Ernest Simon Michael D. Demarco Frank D. Ruscetti Gregory Rodgers WHITE CROSS LEVEL - $100 - $999 David Green Kenneth Lucas Richard Leshander David Jungling Kenneth Silay David Redding Shawn Walker Greg Musi Tom Hayes Greg Travello Mark Nagy Peter Michael Boyle Jonathan Murdoch-Kitt Jeff Bickart Patrick McCulloch Jeanie Maruszewski – In honor of late husband, Chester Maruszewski Joseph Lang Roger Glunt Richard Popivchak William Miller Wilbert D Chrisner III Dominic Berardinelli Samuel Woodings Terry Byrne Thomas Meisner Chester Backowski Mickey Martin Ronald Vulin Kennth Barr Robert Krissinger BROTHERHOOD LEVEL - $25 - $99 Jason Mitchell David Wurster Ken Krenicky Gordon F. Davis * If you made a donation and your name does not appear on the list above, please reach out to Brother Frank Ruscetti or Brad Borghetti. Sorry for the mishap.

A note from Jeanie Maruszewski, Wife of Chester Maruszewski

2017 FALL HOMECOMING ENJOYED BY ALL Thank you to everyone who made it out this year to join us for our annual Sigma Chi Beta Theta Brother’s weekend. On Friday, we had 52 alumni and undergraduate golfers at Hickory Heights Golf Club. Following the outing the undergrad chapter hosted alumni back to the Sigma Chi House for a reception to to see the recently completed first floor renovations. The house looks fantastic. Many thanks are in order to Brother Denis Glunt for his hard work in getting the renovations completed and Brother Frank Ruscetti for spearheading the fundraising efforts. If you weren’t able to make it to see the house and would like to, reach out a member of Housing Corp. Definitely, worth the trip. We posted pictures on PittSig.org. On Saturday, we had a great tailgate prior to Pitt football’s game against Oklahoma State. Even hosted a few OSU Sigs who were in for the game. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year! For those of you that made it, we need your photos! Please send an email to alumni@pittsig.org and we’ll be sure to include your photos on the website and in the newsletter.

RALPH GRAFF HONORED WITH UPJ LEGACY AWARD An Alumnus of the 1947 class of the University of Pittsburgh, Ralph Graff began his education at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s original concrete campus in Moxham after serving in the United States Army 6th Signal Corps during World War II. Mr. Graff pledged Beta Theta in February of 1943 living in the house at the end of Dithridge St. Graff was called into Army service in June of 1943. He was initiated in mid-1946 upon his return to the University. After graduation, Graff was a part of a Sigma Chi Alumna Delegation that helped install Chapters at Kent State University and in the Chicago area. A chemical engineer and expert in elastomeric polymers, Mr. Graff spent 40 years working for the DuPont Company, and retired as the head of Market Exploration of Elastomers. Mr. Graff was a 65-year member of the American Chemical Society. While a student at Pitt-Johnstown, he was involved with a number of organizations, including president of Sigma Tau engineering honor society and the editor of the Panther Club, UPJ’s first student-run yearbook. Mr. Graff is a generous supporter of Pitt-Johnstown student scholarships because he credits donor support of scholarship for his success.

PITTSBURGH SIGMA CHI ALUMNI CHAPTER LUNCH REMINDERThe Pittsburgh Sigma Chi Alumni chapter is re-constituting and is now holding monthly lunch meetings on the third Friday of each month at noon at the Bigelow Grill in Downtown Pittsburgh.

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT BY MARTIN ST. JOHN

Brothers, I hope this newsletter finds you well. We have good news to report. The Chapter Room renovations at the Sig House are now complete. Stop in to see the newly renovated space. I think you will be proud and happy with the results. Now it is time to pay for them. I encourage all of you, especially those of you who lived in the house to contribute to the renovation fund. We have raised about $20,000 thus far and need to raise approximately $35,000 additionally. Brother Frank Ruscetti is the chairman of the collection efforts. Contact him at 412-370- 3266 if you have questions. Please send a contribution. Any amount big or small. See the later sections of the newsletter for details on contributing. Our winter homecoming event is scheduled for Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 4:00 PM. Our opponent is Duke. It doesn’t get better than this for an opponent. Go Pitt! Contact Brad Borghetti at 443-676-9482 if you have questions.

Our annual adventure to Brother Silay’s in Ft. Myers, Florida will be March 14-19, 2018. Consider coming for five days of fun in the Land of Sin and Sun. Contact Brother Silay at 412-977- 9837 for details. We are running several mentoring seminars for the undergraduates in the Spring Term on topics ranging from proper behavior to financial planning. If you are interested in helping with one of these seminars contact Marty St. John at 724-493- 7029. As always I encourage to pay your dues to the Sigma Chi Club of Pittsburgh. As you can see the board is always busy with projects to make our house the best on campus. Until our next newsletter, We hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season and we wish you and your families health, happiness and success in the new year. May the White Cross shine brightly upon you. In hoc, Martin St. John President, Sigma Chi Club of Pittsburgh Beta Theta, 1968

LETTER FROM THE CONSUL BY MARTIN ST. JOHN

Brothers, With two months already under our belt, the Beta Theta Chapter is off to a great start for the 2017-18 year. After receiving the Cathedral Award of Excellence at the end of last year, we are hungry to continue improving throughout all facets of our chapter. From a recruitment standpoint, we currently have 4 dedicated pledges. With the help of Magister John Conte, these 4 young men have proven themselves to be a motivated and ambitious bunch, and we have high hopes for their future involvement within the chapter. We aim to recruit a large pledge class next semester filled with quality gentleman in order to bolster the chapter due to the high number of seniors who will graduate this spring. At the moment, we have 73 actives brothers, all of whom are making strides to maintain and grow our presence on Pitt’s campus. Our academics continue to improve, and our chapter’s cumulative GPA has increased since last semester. In regard to our Philanthropy, we are co-hosting an event with the brothers of Beta Theta Pi and Phi Delta Theta, with hopes to benefit The Huntsman Cancer Foundation, along with improving our relationships with these fellow greek organizations. As always, we are highly anticipating our “Wrap-Up America” and Derby Days Philanthropy events in the spring, and under the helm of Philanthropy Chair, Patrick Bush, we are certain these events will be executed to perfection. Athletics continues to be a strong suit for Beta Theta, as we are off to a strong 4-0 start in the intramural football league thanks to the leadership of brothers Matthew Fisch and Luke Meyers, and we are forecasting another undefeated season throughout all intramural sports (football, soccer and basketball). Due to the generous contributions of Beta Theta Alumni, and the relentless dedication of our Housing Corporation, the Sigma Chi Fraternity House received a $75,000 housing renovation over the summer of 2017. The highlights of this renovation include a refurbished party room, state-of-the-art brotherhood room (with a high-quality projector television and sound system), along with a new chapter room for executive meetings and ritualistic events. On behalf of the undergraduates, I would like to thank the donors who contributed to making this renovation possible. These new facilities have been quite the asset for us during recruitment, weekly chapter meetings and brotherhood/alumni events. Although we are only two months into the year, we are certain that Beta Theta will have another excellent year under the leaderships of Consul Mike Lanzone, Pro Consul Jesse Heebner and the rest of the executive committee. In Hoc, and Guard Well, Mike Lanzone

ANNOUCEMENTS ◊ Congratulations to Brother Chris Owens, and his sweetheart,

Rachel were married on September 23rd , 2017. ◊ Congratulations to Brother Jonathan Thomas, who was

married to his sweetheart, Stephanie, this past October.

BROTHERS WE NEED YOUR STORIESHave any news you’d like to share? Know an alum who you want to be featured? Please send an email to alumni@pittsig.org or bmborghetti1@gmail.com and we’ll include it in the next newsletter.

2017-2018 DUES PAYING MEMBERS You Below is a list of the Brothers who have paid their alumni dues so far this year. Please note that we follow an academic fiscal year to coincide with the undergraduates. As a result, our fiscal year runs from September 1 – August 30. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Jonathan Dane by sending an email to alumni@pittsig.org.

CATHEDRAL LEVEL ($200 OR MORE) Peter Boyle George Marinelli Ernie Simon Frank Ruscetti David Hammers James Gruber Denis Glunt Guido Gurrera Joseph James Tom Olofson Wesley Pickard Ralph Manning Jack Veitch Michael DeMarco Denis Glunt Greg Musi

GOLD LEVEL ($100) Brad Borghetti Jonathan Dane Brian Generalovich Thomas Meisner Jr. Alfred Corfield Tom Dawson David Green Michael Leonard J. Roger Glunt Kenneth Lucas Ralph Graff David Nedzinski Chester Backowski

BLUE LEVEL ($50)

Frank Alvin William Miller William Chrisner Emerson Eiler Gregory Davis Carlos Reisen, Jr. Joe Blazer Philip Rabinowitz Terry Byrne John Woychick Mark Nagy Jonathan Murdoch-Kitt

PLEASE PAY YOUR ALUMNI DUES You may pay your dues by sending a check to the PO Box address below, or by visiting our website and using the links on the right to pay online via PayPal.

 

 

 

PLEASE SELECT YOUR DUES LEVEL

Cathedral level: $200.00

Gold level: $100.00

Blue level: $50.00 (or “other amount”)

Detach this insert and mail it with your dues payments to:

P.O. Box 23484 Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Please make all checks payable to “Sigma Chi Club of Pittsburgh”

 

Brothers, thank you for your generosity.

Your donations keep the Beta Theta chapter secure

PLEASE SEND US YOUR UPDATED CONTACT INFORMATION  

Name: ___________________ Address: ___________________

Phone: ___________________ ___________________

Email: ___________________ ___________________