From the Elder President

Brothers, It has been a busy and successful school year for the Pi Chapter thus far. Even before the school year began, we sent 3 Actives (along with 2 Pi Chapter Alumni) to the International Convention in Lincoln, NE. It was a fun and worthwhile experience for all. We look forward to sending a large group to the next Convention in Montreal this August. Remember, you'll need a current Passport!

Although our Fall Recruitment Effort was less successful than we had anticipated, all of the actives are enthusiastic and dedicated to a strong Spring Recruitment. As was encouraged by RPI and Zeta Psi International, the pledging period was shortened and 4 young men were initiated into the Pi Chapter before Winter Break. We welcome them all! We expect a strong Spring Pledge Class and should have a full house of fine brothers living in the Chapter House next year.

The projects we undertook last summer turned out great. A new roof for the front porch, a rebuilt balcony on that roof, new gutters, and fire code doors on the third floor are some of the accomplishments. The state of our Chapter House is stable and improving.

As we all know, we depend on the continued financial support of the alumni to fund the needed projects. I urge that each on of us make a financial commitment to our beloved Pi Chapter. Please send donations to: Jim Peta, 15 Blueberry Lane, New Hartford, CT 06057.

Remember that Alumni Weekend will take place on the weekend of April 19th. All brothers should try to attend. See how things are at the Old Fraternity House; renew old friendships; and, very importantly, meet the Active Brothers who carry on our legacy. Our Alumni Weekend Banquet will be at the Troy Country Club this year. Remember to mark the weekend of April 19, 2008 on your calendar. See you there...

in Tau Kappa Phi,

Rick Kasold '70

Alumni Weekend (April 18-20, 2008)

At the end of the current issue of ouRPI you'll find the registration form and schedule of events. Please note the following:

• You should make hotel reservations directly with the hotel of your choice. You may have heard, but the Best Western - Rensselaer Inn has closed (RPI bought it and they are converting it to dorm rooms!). So, the only hotel in Troy is the Franklin Square Inn & Suites (old Super 8 location) (866-708-2233). There are several other nearby hotels in Latham and Albany. Try websites like hotels.com, travelocity.com, hotwire.com or expedia.com for selections.
• If you have AAA or ARP, you can often get a better room.
• Please respond by April 11th to make sure we can get accurate counts for the Troy Country Club and insure your meal selection.
• We're expecting a strong showing from the Class of '88 for their 20th reunion - let's help them celebrate!

A Note from an "Elderly" Elder

I arranged to visit Troy and the Pi chapter as a batting mechanics instructor for the RPI baseball team for 4 weeks in the fall of 2007.  It was an exhilarating adventure in a number of ways.  Jim Ljunglin volunteered a bed for me at the Pi chapter, and I accepted gratefully.  I then turned my savings over to the Pi chapter via the "Capital District, etc."  Staying at the house for 4 weeks was fun and exhausting.  Thus the use of the "elderly" adjective above.  I must have aged 4 years (not weeks) in the process, as sleep was very hard to come by. The baseball team interaction was very rewarding.  The head coach (Karl Steffen) has done very well for approximately two decades.  This includes many league titles and two trips to the NCAA Division III College World Series.  He has collected a strong coaching staff, and my hope was to contribute in a narrow portion of this already strong program.  He was quite supportive of my coaching, and that included giving me a number of helpful suggestions.  The players were very cooperative.  They caught on to the scientific (mostly physics) foundation of my batting mechanics approach quite quickly.  What else would you expect from RPI students.

NCAA rules limited us to 4 days of coaching per week, so there was lots of time for other adventures.  The base running coach (Rich Worster) joined Ed Dauenheimer (my big brother) and I for a trip to the baseball hall of fame.  Our fathers had worked together during WWII, and we first met when Jim was the proctor of my freshman dorm.  Also, a trip was made to Troy by Jim Peta and Joe Mauriello.  The biggest interaction was with my young brothers.  It was also very educational.  A small sample follows:  I attended several Barker Trophy football & soccer games (plus several meals at the house: ugh!).  The Pi brothers are very athletic, and they claim they can win the trophy this year.  On the other hand, the house GPA is below the middle range for fraternities.  I also partook of two official house meetings, and was involved in many routine activities.  Jim Ljunglin suggested I collect my impressions and suggestions (like better meals) that might be considered for discussion among the elders regarding changes at the Pi.

Sincerely yours in Tau Kappa Phi, John White '62

Pi Zetes Featured in Rensselaer Magazine

If you happened to make it to the end of the Fall 2007 edition of the Rensselaer Alumni Magazine, then you may have noticed the picture of a bunch of well dressed Pi Zetes from the mid 80’s (perhaps ’86?). If anyone recalls the occasion or happens to know how the picture made it into the Rensselaer Magazine, let us know. Below is a link to the on-line version: http://www.rpi.edu/dept/metasite/news/magazine/fall2007/one_last_thing.html

The article is well worth a read.

Elders Spur New Donations

As many of you know, it would be nearly impossible to keep up with the ongoing maintenance and physical improvements to 25 Belle Ave without the generous financial support of the Pi Elders. This past year, several Pi Elders stepped up and actively put forth challenges to increase annual dues & donations.

Brother Ed Etess ’59 put forth a massive effort to track down several missing Zetes, and Ed also funded a survey of the entire Elder brotherhood. These results have provided valuable insight and new ideas for improving operations, communications, fundraising, etc.

Harvey Poppel '58 challenged all classes from 1992 forward in the period December 2006 to Alumni Weekend. Fourteen elders in these classes gave a total of $1585 in that timeframe. Harvey's idea was to cultivate the habit of annual giving among the recent graduates, and wrote each of the donors to thank them and encourage their continuance.

Ivan Smith '67 also challenged the class of 1961. Five of those brothers gave a total of $2800 in the 06-07 year for yet another successful outcome!

The end result was a very successful ’06-’07 donation year with a total inflow of $17,213. A special thanks to the brothers above, and those who responded to the challenges and the survey. May the challenges continue!

Class of ’57 Attends RPI Reunion

Jim Ljunglin, Nick Long, and Tilo Samter '57 attended their 50th anniversary reunion on campus in June and were inducted into the 50-Year Club at a banquet in the Commons. This room is the former Freshman Dining Hall which '57 "christened" in the spring term of 1954 after having done the same for the adjacent dorms the prior fall. Jim and Nick disputed which building was really D Dorm where they had lived. So much for memory after 70! (It's now Hall Hall.) Also attending the reunion were Art Gajarsa '62 and Brian Dean '97. Art, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C. and vice-chair of the RPI Trustees, had just been awarded the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Associations's Jefferson Medal at their annual banquet. In his acceptance speech, Art cited the continuing value of the US patent system to the nation and its serving as a model for many countries. Art recalled that Thomas Jefferson, himself a renowned inventor, served as a patent examiner in the early republic until his duties as Secretary of State in the Washington administration required his giving up this avocation. Brian, a former President of the Rensselaer union, and his wife have acquired a residential investment property in Troy, which they see as growing in prosperity.

John White '62, a physicist retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, is an expert on the mechanics of baseball pitching and hitting. At the request of the coach, John was spending the month of September on campus helping to train the RPI team.

Jim Ljunglin '57

25 Belle Ave Renovations

As many of you may know, Brother Rick Case has been our Elder “House Manager” for the past few years now. He has put countless hours into soliciting bids for repair work and upgrades, as well as rolling up his sleeves and putting a lot of his own “sweat equity” back into the house. Heck, he’s even made his own kids work on the house! As Jay Webb will attest, this is a very difficult and time consuming job (which is why I think Jay asked Rick to take it over around 2am one Alumni Weekend – and Rick agreed).

Unfortunately there isn’t enough space to print the pictures of the improvements in this issue (which include a rebuilt roof / railings off from the library, new fascia / gutters, new outside wing sheathing & painting, etc. So, you’ll just have to come back for Alumni Weekend to see for yourself.

Kudos to Rick for doing such a great job.

Alumni Weekend Overview

Plans have been in the works for the upcoming Spring 2008 Alumni Weekend for several months now. While the events at the Albany Marriott were quite successful the last two years, the consensus was that we should try to bring the Saturday night banquet back closer to the house. So this year we’ll be holding the Saturday banquet at the Troy Country Club, which is only about 2 miles away from 25 Belle Ave. Full details with a schedule of events and registration information will be forthcoming in the next ouRPI, but in the meantime please mark April 18^th – 20^th ,2008 on your calendars! Many of you haven’t been back to the house in a while, so now’s the time to catch up!

New Pi Website

Brother Josh McWilliam has been hard at work getting a new and improved website up for the Pi Chapter for both Elders and Actives to access information, news, etc. The new website is: http://www.pizetes.org/

We are working to automatically direct the old ourpi.org site (no longer functional) to this new URL as well. Note that the following are available on the new website:

• Interesting history of the Pi and Zeta Psi
• News & Events
• Info links for prospective new brothers
• Donate button – pay your annual dues & donations online!
• Private “My Pi” member area (register online)

Note that Josh also converted over the existing ouRPI email distribution list so everyone can continue to receive the occasional notices and announcements.

Thanks again to Josh for all of his hard work on the site!

From the Elder President

Brothers, Another school year and summer concluded at the Pi Chapter and we are now well into the fall semester. There was a significant amount of work done at the Chapter House while school was adjourned, a necessity for our grand old house. Some of the projects include a new roof for the front porch, fire-rated doors on the third floor, and new gutters where needed. By the start of the new school year, the House was in excellent shape and is a source of pride for us and the entire neighborhood.

Thanks to an excellent year of donations from our devoted Alumni, we are able to afford the necessary costs of upkeep for the Chapter House. Particular thanks go out to Brothers Harvey Poppel and Ivan Smith, each of whom issued a "Donation Challenge," by which they volunteered to "match" the donations of certain alumni groups.

We celebrated Alumni Weekend (AW) in Troy/Albany on the last weekend of April. We all had a great time. It was good seeing and meeting old and new friends. Next year’s AW is set for the weekend of April 19th, 2008. Let’s have an even better turnout.

The school year started on August 27th and the Actives were back at the Chapter House on August 19th. for “Work Week.” On Sunday, August 26th, we held our annual “Rush Preview” meeting with Alumni and Actives in Troy, making plans for this year’s rush.

The International Convention this year was held August 14-18 in Lincoln, NE. (Go to zetapsi.org for more information.) We sent three undergraduates, and as usual this is a great learning experience for them, as well as a lot of fun. I fully expect that participation at the convention will improve their rush skills and give them a better understanding of our brotherhood and what we expect from each other.

I hope all is well with all of our brotherhood and their families. Remember to mark AW, the weekend of April 19, 2008 on your calendar. See you there!

In Tau Kappa Phi, Rick Kasold '70

From the Elder President

Brothers, As of this writing (August 2005), the Pi Zetes are looking forward to the new school year at RPI. In preparation for the new year, the actives are arriving on August 22nd, one week before classes begin, for “Work Week.” On Sunday, August 28th, we will have our annual “Rush Preview” meeting with Alumni and Actives making plans for this years rush.

The Actives are enthusiastic about getting the House in shape for the new year and the Fall rush. They recognize the financial and social advantages of increasing the size of the brotherhood and I believe they will work hard and have a successful rush.

In addition, we are sending four actives to the International Convention in Boston (August 16-20). This is a great learning experience for them, as well as a lot of fun. I fully expect that it will give them better understanding of our brotherhood and what we expect from each other.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that Alumni Weekend is back next Spring, for the 55 anniversary of the modern founding of the Pi Chapter. We will have a special celebration at the Albany Marriott and will be reserving a block of rooms there. Remember to mark the weekend of April 21st, 2006 on your calendar. See you there!

- Rick Kasold '70

ourPI Spring 2005 Overview

I have to admit, I’m sure this qualifies as the latest “Spring” ouRPI newsletter in the history of the Pi Chapter! My apologies up front for the tardiness of this, as a very hectic work schedule, followed by the arrival of our 2nd daughter put quite the crimp on any free time. This issue covers the news from the Spring / Summer ’05. That said, there are a few points I would like to highlight:

Alumni Weekend: As Rick mentioned, Alumni Weekend is back to the spring this year. The banquet will be held on Saturday, April 22nd at the Albany Marriott ( 189 Wolf Road, Albany – phone: 518-458- 8444 or 800-443-8952 ). Pete Marinaro is heading up this coming AW’s events. The next ouRPI in early 2006 will contain additional information, so set this weekend aside! Also, please spread the word to your fellow brothers. Give the guys you haven’t seen in a while a call and plan to meet for this year’s AW!

News and Stories: The ouRPI is only as good as the content I get from you to publish. We have over 625 Pi Elders on our mailing list, so I know there are plenty of interesting stories and events happening out there. The best ouRPI’s have been those with articles authored by the brothers remembering times from the past, re-capping regional Zete reunions, etc. Please let me know if you’d like to volunteer to write an article, or have anything newsworthy to publish. The bestway to submit is via email to: harrington@hsainc.net or, if you’d prefer, you can mail it to me at: 7431 Wilson Road, Warrenton, VA 20186-7464

Also, please pass along my contact info if you know of a brother that isn’t getting the ouRPI so we can make sure our list is kept up to date.

Website: Thanks to the efforts of Brother Claudio Caballero, we have a new website underway at the existing http://www.ourpi.org address. Under the Documents link, we’ll have the PDF versions of the ouRPI’s archived, and sections for updated News and events. Also, Claudio has enabled a Donate Online! link on the website allowing you to pay annual dues or additional donations to the Pi via credit card or drafts from your checking account. Thanks to Claudio for hosting and maintaining this for us.

That’s it for now… hope to see you in the Spring for AW!

In Tau Kappa Phi…

Frank Harrington ‘91

'65 Pi Zetes Hit Atlantic City, NJ

Over the years, the Pi class of ’65 has not had much success in getting together since we left the Tute. So 40 years after graduation, some of us decided to just do it! In mid-May, Mel and Shirley Gumpert, Dick and Patti Linn, Ed and Karen Smolinski and Jay and Carla Stolzenthaler spent a couple days and nights renewing old acquaintances in Atlantic City, NJ. Mel and Ed have retired. Jay is still working but he will pick a date in 2006 to give it up. Dick has a lifetime appointment on the US Federal Court of Appeals but he is jealous about the rest of us. Steve Strungis continues to work on residential renovations with his son in Charlotte. NC. Rich and Janet Schlumpf have recently relocated to Miami. They have a thirty something foot boat on a canal that opens into Biscayne Bay. Rich still works long days as a construction super with Turner – his new specialty is building parapets to protect the condos from the invading hoards of boat people. Nick Kolak has also retired from his job with NY State but he and Patty were tied up with some construction at their home. Carl and Barbara Cangello live outside of Syracuse. Carl says he will be working forever (as a quality specialist) and he is also doing consulting outside of his regular employment with Lockheed Martin.

We had such a great time we are planning to do it again on May 10 – 12, 2006 in Atlantic City. Thanks to Mel for taking the lead on the planning and to Karen for suggesting that we all share sex on the beach. We expect a better turnout next year and we will be looking for more exotic locations (like Miami) in the future.

- submitted by Jay Stolzenthaler '65