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Open Letter from AOGA President
Ron Sages '73
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The Alpha Omega Graduate Association, Inc.
Post Office Box 2248
Athens, Ohio 45701
June 28, 2009
Re: The Road to Recolonization
Dear Brothers,
As I know many of you are aware or are just learning from various sources, the Charter of the Alpha Omega Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was formally suspended indefinitely by the Archons last Thursday evening. I know this news brings great sorrow to all of us, as we reflect upon happier moments in our chapter’s forty three (43) year history.
While there is no benefit at this point in revisiting the events of the past academic year leading to the loss of the charter, I can state with conviction that everything humanly possible was done to work with the undergraduates in an attempt to refocus their behavior and culture. We owe John Gibson (OSU ’75), Chair of the Alpha Omega Board of Chapter Advisers/Trustees, the entire Board of Trustees, the Staff of our International Headquarters, and Ohio University Student and Greek Life Administration tremendous thanks for their efforts in our collective behalf.
We must now necessarily look to the future and plan accordingly. At our Annual Meeting in Columbus on Saturday, we elected a new Board for AOGA, Inc. that will reshape the organization into a property management operation from the former house corporation function (the new Board Members are listed below). In addition, AOGA, Inc. will maintain its principal role as a Graduate Association for the Graduate Brothers of Alpha Omega Chapter. Future activities, which you will hear more about this summer, include plans for a Pig Dinner celebration this fall, expanded Graduate Communications thru our Website, which will be redesigned, a reevaluation of the AOGA Restricted Scholarship Program and an effort to begin planning toward an eventual recolonization of our beloved Alpha Omega Chapter.
I know many of you have questions about the premises at 20 South College Street. While nothing concrete has been decided, I will share with you that there are several immediate prospects on the horizon for the rental of the property beginning this academic year that will be actively pursued by your Board over the summer. Members in attendance at the Annual Meeting this past Saturday voted unanimously in favor of maintaining ownership of the house and pursuing its rental. In addition, the prudent and sound fiscal management policies we have had in place since our chartering in 1966 will permit us time to negotiate at a reasonable pace with any potential tenant and to evaluate all possible options.
On the subject of Graduate Relations, I want to make clear that we are not the first chapter of Phi Gamma Delta to go down this unfortunate path. A charter suspension does not mean the end of our individual or collective graduate experiences in Phi Gamma Delta. Earlier this decade, I had the grand opportunity to work with Graduate Brothers from our Omega Chapter at Columbia University in New York City with their recolonization efforts. In the interim between closure and recolonization, much was done to keep Omega Graduate Brothers engaged and connected. Our goal at Alpha Omega is no less ambitious! We want to hear from you; we welcome your comments and suggestions; we seek your ideas and thoughts; we look forward to your attendance at future Pig Dinners; we want your questions and, yes, even constructive criticisms. Items that may seem obvious can sometimes be overlooked unintentionally in the heat of battle.
One last piece of information I would like to share with you. The time, cost and effort to produce hard copy communications for over 800 Graduate Brothers is becoming quite challenging and overwhelming. We presently have email addresses for approximately 66% of these Alpha Omega Graduate Brothers. Everyone on the Alpha Omega Graduate Roster with a valid physical address is receiving this letter in hard copy and, in addition, by email, if we have your email address. Please take a moment and check your regular email inbox. If you have not received a digital version of this letter, please send an email addressed to:
admin@oufiji.com with your current, preferred email address. Beginning July 1, all future communications from AOGA, Inc. will be sent by email, posted on the website (
www.oufiji.com) and posted on the Alpha Omega Group pages on Linked In and FaceBook. No further hard copy mailings will be sent. The primary and official source of communications from AOGA, Inc. about all Alpha Omega activities and news will be through our website,
www.oufiji.com.
I will close for now, but rest assured that we will be in touch again soon!
Brothers, The Road to Recolonization begins today! I sincerely hope you will join me as we proceed down this purple path!
With very best wishes for the summer,
Most fraternally,
Ron Sages ‘73
Perge!
The Alpha Omega Graduate Association, Inc.
Board of Directors
2009 – 2010
Our Official Mailing Address: Post Office Box 2248
Athens, Ohio 45701
|
Open Letter from AOGA President
Ron Sages '73
|
The Alpha Omega Graduate Association, Inc.
Post Office Box 2248
Athens, Ohio 45701
June 28, 2009
Re: The Road to Recolonization
Dear Brothers,
As I know many of you are aware or are just learning from various sources, the Charter of the Alpha Omega Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was formally suspended indefinitely by the Archons last Thursday evening. I know this news brings great sorrow to all of us, as we reflect upon happier moments in our chapter’s forty three (43) year history.
While there is no benefit at this point in revisiting the events of the past academic year leading to the loss of the charter, I can state with conviction that everything humanly possible was done to work with the undergraduates in an attempt to refocus their behavior and culture. We owe John Gibson (OSU ’75), Chair of the Alpha Omega Board of Chapter Advisers/Trustees, the entire Board of Trustees, the Staff of our International Headquarters, and Ohio University Student and Greek Life Administration tremendous thanks for their efforts in our collective behalf.
We must now necessarily look to the future and plan accordingly. At our Annual Meeting in Columbus on Saturday, we elected a new Board for AOGA, Inc. that will reshape the organization into a property management operation from the former house corporation function (the new Board Members are listed below). In addition, AOGA, Inc. will maintain its principal role as a Graduate Association for the Graduate Brothers of Alpha Omega Chapter. Future activities, which you will hear more about this summer, include plans for a Pig Dinner celebration this fall, expanded Graduate Communications thru our Website, which will be redesigned, a reevaluation of the AOGA Restricted Scholarship Program and an effort to begin planning toward an eventual recolonization of our beloved Alpha Omega Chapter.
I know many of you have questions about the premises at 20 South College Street. While nothing concrete has been decided, I will share with you that there are several immediate prospects on the horizon for the rental of the property beginning this academic year that will be actively pursued by your Board over the summer. Members in attendance at the Annual Meeting this past Saturday voted unanimously in favor of maintaining ownership of the house and pursuing its rental. In addition, the prudent and sound fiscal management policies we have had in place since our chartering in 1966 will permit us time to negotiate at a reasonable pace with any potential tenant and to evaluate all possible options.
On the subject of Graduate Relations, I want to make clear that we are not the first chapter of Phi Gamma Delta to go down this unfortunate path. A charter suspension does not mean the end of our individual or collective graduate experiences in Phi Gamma Delta. Earlier this decade, I had the grand opportunity to work with Graduate Brothers from our Omega Chapter at Columbia University in New York City with their recolonization efforts. In the interim between closure and recolonization, much was done to keep Omega Graduate Brothers engaged and connected. Our goal at Alpha Omega is no less ambitious! We want to hear from you; we welcome your comments and suggestions; we seek your ideas and thoughts; we look forward to your attendance at future Pig Dinners; we want your questions and, yes, even constructive criticisms. Items that may seem obvious can sometimes be overlooked unintentionally in the heat of battle.
One last piece of information I would like to share with you. The time, cost and effort to produce hard copy communications for over 800 Graduate Brothers is becoming quite challenging and overwhelming. We presently have email addresses for approximately 66% of these Alpha Omega Graduate Brothers. Everyone on the Alpha Omega Graduate Roster with a valid physical address is receiving this letter in hard copy and, in addition, by email, if we have your email address. Please take a moment and check your regular email inbox. If you have not received a digital version of this letter, please send an email addressed to:
admin@oufiji.com with your current, preferred email address. Beginning July 1, all future communications from AOGA, Inc. will be sent by email, posted on the website (
www.oufiji.com) and posted on the Alpha Omega Group pages on Linked In and FaceBook. No further hard copy mailings will be sent. The primary and official source of communications from AOGA, Inc. about all Alpha Omega activities and news will be through our website,
www.oufiji.com.
I will close for now, but rest assured that we will be in touch again soon!
Brothers, The Road to Recolonization begins today! I sincerely hope you will join me as we proceed down this purple path!
With very best wishes for the summer,
Most fraternally,
Ron Sages ‘73
Perge!
The Alpha Omega Graduate Association, Inc.
Board of Directors
2009 – 2010
Our Official Mailing Address: Post Office Box 2248
Athens, Ohio 45701