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The landmark Phi Delta Theta house in Gainesville may be replaced with a more modern structure ... see concept drawing on page 5.

THE “House Corpora-tion” has been quite busy making prelimi-

nary arrangements toward a new chapter house and planning a major reorga-nization. For a new house, one of our first steps was to solicit input from active brothers to determine the current housing wants and needs of active students at UF. The chapter house has to meet those needs and also take into account the changes in the role and use of the house, given Phi Delta Theta chapters are alcohol-free. With the assistance of House Corporation member (and architect) Brother Jon Moore of West Palm Beach, we are fine tuning a great design that should provide many decades of service

and give our chapter a competitive edge with a state of the art design. The participation and interaction between active chapter officers, the House Corporation, and the Educational

Foundation has improved significantly over the past few years. Tom Triplett, with the Phi Delta Theta Educational Foundation here in Gainesville, has is-sued a substantial quantity See House Reorganization on page 5

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Phi Delta Theta352-373-5021

www.phideltathetauf.org 121 SW 13th Street

Gainesville, FL 32601

ΦΔΘFlorida Alpha

Issue #1 1Issue #1 “Helping Brothers Connect — One Man Is No Man”Summer 2011

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Florida Alpha Plans New House, Reorganization

THANK YOU for reading Florida Alpha’s Connect! newsletter, in which

we help you connect with fellow alums and our active brothers throughout Florida. Exciting things are happen-ing in Gainesville and we’re planning for another great year. See pages 3-4 for high-lights and coming events! Here, I want tell you about our excellent national stand-ing. There’s no question that Phi Delta Theta continues its role as the top fraternity:

• Phi Delta Theta has 163 undergraduate chapters as well as 5 colonies and 4 interest groups. Twelve new chapters were installed in the past year. There are 167,500+ living members of Phi Delta Theta.

• Phi chapters average

58 active brothers as compared to all other fraternities with 40.

• Last year, nearly $445,000 in scholarships were awarded to 414 Phis by the Phi Delta Theta Foundation.

• Phi Delta Theta spon-sors four leadership training conferences each year for active brothers and alumni. In

addition there are more than 30 webinars and on-line educational presenta-tions through PDT U.

If you’d like to help Florida Alpha meet its goals as an alumni volunteer, drop me a note or give me a call. I’m proud to be a Phi. Go Blue!

Phi Delta Theta Is Nation’s Top Fraternity!

2 Alumni Celebrate Founders Day3 Spotlight on Alums & Undergrads3 Kudos for Grades, Giving & Sports4 Have Fun & Reconnect at Rush 5 Gator Football Dates & Park Passes

Doug Wiles works with many chapters and alumni clubs in North Florida and Alabama.

— By Doug Wiles, Chi North Province President ([email protected] 904-209-3805)

Florida Alpha’s Connect! helps alumni and active brothers connect. We’d like to work with all Phi Delt Chapters and Alumni Clubs in Florida to develop an active, statewide network of brothers.

In this Issue of Connect!

Connect! was designed and developed by eGreek, Inc., www.eGreekSystem.com, 352.275.8531. Mike Goldwire (’62), CEO.

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SPOTLIGHT ON

ALUMNI

Alums Celebrate Founders Day




STOP by this fall to meet some active brothers and par-ticipate in fun events during the coming school year! We had an excellent Founder’s Day celebration April 9

with over 75 brothers and their wives in the ballroom. Da-vid Webster (‘60) a member of the House Corporation, did a fantastic job organizing the event, and also hosted a great party at his Gainesville (second) home. The highlight of the event was when 9 brothers received their Golden Legion (50 year) pens. Congratulations!

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William “Bumper” John Watson, Jr. (UF 58) pledged Phi Delta

Theta at Florida Alpha in 1950, Bond No. 969. After a stint in the Marines, he came back to UF in ‘54, became a brother in ’56, and ran a little track. Bumper made the All Ameri-can track team in ’54 and ’55

running the 100 yard dash and 220. In ’58, he graduated with a BS degree and moved to San Francisco without a job. He attended the local PDT Alumni Club; met a brother

who took him to Bank of America, where he obtained a job. In ’66, Bumper came back to the University of Florida as Alumni Director, establishing a new

fund raising program that is still being used at the University. He was Chapter Advisor from ’66 to ’71, member of the House Corp. from ’66 to ’07, and was just recently re-elected to the House Corp. and appointed Alumni Chair. Bumper has a rich Phi background! We are fortunate to have him working with our chapter, sharing his extensive experience with today’s new Phi broth-erhood. Bumper is Connected!




“Helping Brothers Connect — One Man Is No Man” 3Issue #1Summer 2011

ties on campus, we were able to meet and exceed our fundraising goals for the ALS association. Philanthropy was such a success that Odyssey, an all-Greek newspaper, had a two-page feature on the event,” Cope said. The chapter continues in its role as having the largest number of initiates in the Fraternity. Bond #3245 was presented this past spring. Added Cope, “I believe I speak for the entire brotherhood in saying I look forward to continuing our successes as a house. “

THE 128 active brothers of Florida Alpha participate in every aspect of campus life, from club sports teams

and student government leadership to a wide variety of volunteer causes, says Chapter President Charles Cope—all while maintaining an average 3.41 GPA— third amongst the 26 fraternities on campus, and well above the all-men’s average. “We are proud of this and strive to improve even more,” says Cope.

“Athletically, our softball, soccer and bas-ketball all had great seasons and we are

eager to bring the Presidents’ Cup back to Phi Delta Theta in the fall,” he says. This past spring marked the first “Fratcademy Awards” philanthropy event, which Phi’s plan to continue as an annual tradition. “With cooperation from each of the sorori-

Brother Charles Cope currently serves as the President of the Flori-da Alpha Chapter at the University

of Florida. Previous leadership roles in his chapter include Vice President, Risk Management Chair, Philanthropy Chair, and Brotherhood Chair. During his first year as a member of the IFC’s Presidents’ Council, he has been selected to help amend IFC’s Code of Conduct and the constitution of the Activities Review Board at the University of Florida. On campus, Charlie follows in that path of many Florida Alpha

Charles Cope—Peer Mentor

Florida Alpha Shines in Grades, Giving & Sports

brothers before him by being involved in several other student organiza-tions. In the past, he has served as Secretary for the Florida Fly Fishing Club and Director of Fundraising for Student for Big Broth-ers and Big Sisters. Charlie has been in attendance for the 2010 PLC confer-ence and the 2010 General Convention. This is his first ELI conference. Charlie was initiated in the fall of 2008 and is majoring in both Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Spotlight on UNDERGRADSPhi Delta Theta’s Peer Men-tor program focuses on improving the leadership and life skills of some of the Fraternity’s top undergradu-ate leaders. This year, we had a tremendous applicant pool, and we’re excited to work with these young lead-ers. At this summer’s Emerg-ing Leaders Institute (ELI), the Peer Mentors will be paired with a faculty mem-ber and will help facilitate the curriculum within their respective ELI chapter. Peer Mentors also participate in specialized educational ses-sions at the ELI Institute.

Spotlight on ALUMNIBumper Watson, ‘58 Track Star, Alum Chair

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Gainesville, FL 32601© C

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Have Fun and Reconnect at Alumni Events! Join Our Work Party in Mid August!Toward the end of summer we are looking forward to hosting an active/alumni work party at the chapter house. Tentatively the weekend of August 19-20 or 26-27. Current goals include basic upkeep of the house in anticipation for rush and revamping the

yard. Keep an eye out for upcoming information. Want to make a donation toward the work? Mail a check to PO Box 15263, Gainesville, FL 32604 made payable to Phi Delta Theta Chapter House Association. Thank you!

Alumni - We Want YOU at Our Rush Events : )The brothers would like to encourage our alumni to attend Rush Events Aug. 28 - Sept. 2. All events are 8-11 p.m. at the chapter house. The rush schedule is as follows: Sunday Aug. 28, Havana Nights with Live Music; Monday Aug. 29, Shrimp Boil; Tuesday Aug. 30, Legendary Casino Night; Wednesday Aug. 31, 5th Annual Phi Roast; Thursday Sept. 1, 4th Annual Phi Delta Theta Florida Alpha Man Competition; and Friday Sept. 2, Brotherhood Night (Invite Only). Please contact brother Joey Lancos with any questions at [email protected].

Casino night Football TailGators Shrimp Boil Man Competition

Havana Nights

Write a Story About these Phis and Friends!

NAME some of these Phis and

friends and tell us a story in writing about this memo-rable gathering. We’ll publish the memoir in the next Connect! If we get multiple submissions, we’ll weave them into one grand saga...

Suggest Rush Names

Brother alumni - please email us your nominations for 2011 Fall Rush. Send names, contact in-

formation and a brief statement about your referral to Rush Chair Joey Lancos at [email protected] Thank you!

request to alums!

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Florida Alpha Leadership

PRESIDENTCharles Cope

[email protected] VP

Jared [email protected] VP

Ben [email protected]

TREASURERDylan Anderson

[email protected]

Dylan [email protected]

PLEDGE EDUCATORRyan Connolly

[email protected] MANAGER

Cameron [email protected]

RUSH CHAIRJoey Lancos

[email protected] CHAIR:

PJ [email protected]

SOCIAL CHAIR:Josh Fitch

[email protected] CHAIR

Logan Christensen [email protected]

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of academic scholarships in recent years to assist our de-serving active brothers with their educational expenses. Many more scholarships will be granted this year.

WE recently had Pen-nington & Company (a

national fraternity/sorority fundraising firm) prepare a feasibility study. They interviewed many of our Florida Alpha alumni, as well as key Phi’s in the rest of the country from our chapter. Their findings helped us see where we have strengths, but also where we have room for improvement. One key area addressed after their meetings with alumni has to do with the need to improve communications between the active chapter and the alumni. This news-letter will be the first of many we will use to deliver interesting Phi Delt news to you. We will have active chapter, as well as alumni

news in each issue. The House Corporation has established a commu-nications committee headed by Brother Michael Goldwire (’62). That committee will maintain the data-base for Florida Alpha members, so we can track each person from the time he receives his Phikeia pin. Web page development, E-mail, texting, and social media options are all either in place, or are being explored to quickly commu-nicate to everyone Florida Alpha news of interest. This can also help you locate and contact other brothers you may not have seen for decades! As our new communication platforms are being developed and refined, it should be much easier for all of us to be informed of meetings, Phi Delt gatherings, Gator games, and other events of interest.

THE Pennington study also let us know that many

alumni are very con-cerned about the current physical condition of the chapter house and how it is cared for by those who live there. As we all know, the existing structure is old, and we replace major components when neces-sary. We are fortunate to have Jackie Darr, as she is an experienced house director (mom). She has done a tremen-dous job work-ing with chapter officers to attain consistently high marks dur-ing the required fire inspections conducted by UF fire inspectors. The House Corporation, Jackie, and the executive board are now working toward more formalized mainte-nance programs for vari-ous mechanical compo-nents of the house, along with upgraded kitchen maintenance procedures prior to the start of fall classes. The House Corpo-ration has also decided to take a more proactive role in the management and




maintenance procedures of the house to ensure the existing structure is better maintained in the coming years. In the past, the roles and financial respon-sibilities of the active chapter and House Corporation have not always been clearly defined. This has created confusion. Also, continuity was being lost due to the rotation of chapter

officers every year. The new procedures to be implemented should ensure a better transi-tion of chapter officers, given the roles will be defined and spelled out in a master lease agreement between

the House Corpora-tion and the active chapter.

On behalf of the House Corpo-ration, I would like each of you to know that we are working hard to take care of the house so that we can ensure a smooth transition into a new chapter house in the future. Many active brothers and alumni are work-ing hard to preserve Florida Alpha’s prominent position among the elite fraternities at the University of Florida. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Archetectural rendering by Smith & Moore Architects for new Alpha House

“Helping Brothers Connect — One Man Is No Man” 5Issue #1Summer 2011

Florida Alpha Plans New House, Reorganization continued from page 1

— By Scott Watson (’83), House Corp. President

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DATE OPPONENT SITE TIME (ET) TV coverage

Sat, Sep 3 Florida Atlantic Gainesville, FL TBA

Sat, Sep 10 Alabama-Birmingham Gainesville, FL TBA

Sat, Sep 17 Tennessee * Gainesville, FL 3:30 pm CBS

Sat, Sep 24 Kentucky * Lexington, KY TBA

Sat, Oct 1 Alabama * Gainesville, FL TBA

Sat, Oct 8 LSU * Baton Rouge, LA TBA Sat, Oct 15 Auburn * Auburn, AL TBA

Sat, Oct 29 Georgia * Jacksonville, FL 3:30 pm CBS

Sat, Nov 5 Vanderbilt (HC) * Gainesville, FL TBA

Sat, Nov 12 South Carolina * Columbia, SC TBA

Sat, Nov 19 Furman Gainesville, FL TBA Sat, Nov 26 Florida State Gainesville, FL TBA

SEASON parking passes are now being sold for the 2011 Gator football season. Cost is $200 and includes a spe-cific parking spot in our newly renovated parking lot

adjacent to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house.

Your reserved spot will be marked with an assigned number placard for the entire season, and towing will be enforced to ensure your reserved spot remains available for you.

Season parking pass packages will be available for pickup at the parking lot for alumni who pre-pay for the season. The package will include a payment receipt and a set of printed

Claim A Football Season Parking Spot Now!windshield passes for hassle free use of your spot. Below is a map of the parking

Here’s the 2011 Gator Football Season Schedule!

lot. After August 30th any unclaimed spots will also be available for purchase by alumni who have not prepaid for a spot. Please call (305) 510-2596 or email me at [email protected] with any questions. Yours in the Bond — Logan Christensen. #3117

“Helping Brothers Connect — One Man Is No Man” �Issue #1Summer 2011

To renew your 2010 park-ing spot or buy a season spot for 2011 season, mail your $200 check to P.O. Box 15263, Gainesville, FL 32604. Make payable to Phi Delta Theta Chapter House Association. Pay-ments must be received by August 30, 2011.

Go Gators!

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