November 2005 President's Letter

AOGA President's Letter

Open Letter from AOGA President

John A. Cassese '76

November, 2005

Dear Brothers,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to “OUFIJI,” Alpha Omega’s Website.

First, some changes in the organization that you might or might not be aware of. After almost 40 years of unparalleled service and dedication to the Graduation Association, David Slater ‘67 decided to step down this spring. We owe David an incredible amount of thanks—although thank you doesn’t seem to even begin to do justice—for his commitment to this organization and the undergraduate chapter.

I am honored to have been elected as the President of the Graduate Association. As we move forward together, I am eager to hear ideas, thoughts, comments and yes, criticism. Our goal is to build a stronger association and guarantee the future of Alpha Omega at Ohio University. But Brothers we do have our work cut out for us. Times are different on campus and we have many new and different challenges that were not present even a few years ago. More in just a few minutes—but first, let’s talk about “OUFIJI.”

THE WEBSITE We owe an overwhelming debt of gratitude to Ron Sages ‘73 who has spearheaded the development of this site. This is a monumental piece of digital media and will enable us to do so much in terms of communicating, networking, fundraising etc. Special thanks to Brother Slater who dug into his archives and delivered priceless content to help us all stroll down memory lane. This website will certainly become our most powerful tool in keeping everyone informed and up to date. With the high cost of postage—not to mention printing, folding, licking and stamping of envelopes, this site will save us both time and money. I also believe that it will be the catalyst to enable the Board to hear from more of you and what is on your mind. And, hopefully, we will be able to reach out to those brothers we have not heard from in awhile and find those who have been lost somewhere in FIJILAND.

So keep in mind that this is your website---and if you have anything you’d like to share with us—information, pictures, anecdotes etc., I hope that you will send them in. This site belongs to all of us.

PIG DINNER Pig Dinner is scheduled for the weekend of April 28, 2006. Well, I don’t know about you, but I sure am feeling old thinking about number 40 rolling around. Be that as it may and whether we like it or not, the big milestone will happen next year. Once again logistics and details are being handled by Brother John Clark ‘79. Thank you! John. Ron Sages ‘73 has volunteered to help develop the program. But he really can’t do this alone—so if you are interested in offering your help and suggestions that would be terrific. It would be great if we could get a number of brothers across a range of years to get involved. This is a milestone event. So please give it some thought. Do we have any videographers or photographers among us? Is anyone interested in helping us create a display of AO over the last 40 years? Any ideas that you have are welcome and encouraged.

Remember this year Phi Gamma Delta Executive Director and Editor Bill Martin (Mississippi State ’75) will be our guest speaker, and dinner this year will not be at the OU INN but at Walter Hall near the Ping Center. You have probably all seen the building with the impressive rotunda---and that is where we will be celebrating #40. I hope to see many of you there next year.

THE CHAPTER By all indications the chapter is doing great. Thanks to the ongoing efforts and leadership of Purple Legionnaire, Bill Sams '67, the chapter is headed in the right direction. Right now chapter membership is at 100, with a pledge class of 19 for the fall quarter. And the chapter ranks 4 scholastically out of 11 fraternities with a cumulative GPA of 2.947. It's important to understand that the fraternities that rank higher than us have significantly less members. So, considering our numbers, we are doing outstanding.

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER If I have learned anything these past few months, it is that spearheading this organization is a monumental task. And no matter how much you do, there are several more things that should be or must be done. Brothers, we have a tremendous pool of graduate talent. And, while I know we all are busy with work, family, and other important commitments, I would like you to think about some ways that you would like to be involved with the association. I would like to hear from you---the brothers I know and especially the brothers I have not met. Give me a call or better yet, an email and let me know what is on your mind. And while you are at it, why not send off an email to one of your pledge brothers or your big or little brother and say hello. And make sure to tell him about PD #40. Let’s get everyone back on the “purple bandwagon.”

In closing, this has been a great learning experience. I am eager to move forward with the help and brotherhood of all of you. Thanks for your support and love of the fraternity. Friendship is the Sweetest Influence.

Warmest Fraternal Regards,

John

Perge!

John Cassese
Principal

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Office 212. 209. 4521
Fax 212. 209. 4543
Cell 212. 495. 9494