As you know, we had to close out the current incarnation of Xi Chapter at the end of last academic year. Unfortunately, the chapter had declined significantly during and since the pandemic. Numbers are the tell. The previous brothers lost their way as a fraternity and simply could not maintain their numbers despite help from alumni volunteers and the national fraternity staff. We all know that recruitment is the key to survival.
Rest assured, though, we are committed to reestablishing Xi Chapter at Georgia Tech. In preparation, we have done many significant renovations to the chapter house since last spring. These include a new roof and renovations to the living room, chapter room, basement game room and many upstairs bedrooms. The house is in better shape than it’s been in many years.
We thank all of you who contributed this past year and were especially gratified to see numerous donations after the last newsletter in which the news about the chapter was announced. Keep in mind that your donations help fund not only our chapter re-establishment efforts, but also these newsletters, our website, and alumni events.
Just to bring you up to date, we attempted a fast restart with the national staff earlier this fall. Unfortunately, we were premature, and our planning just was not up to the task. We will be recalibrating and re-engaging with a new plan soon. In the meantime, we will continue with limited alumni programming. Stay tuned for details via email.
If we are to be successful, though, we will need additional volunteers, especially from among those brothers who have graduated in the past 20 years. Please consider volunteering in the areas of chapter development, facility management or alumni programming.
Let’s all remember. ZBT is not an entitlement. It is something that must be earned. Otherwise, it goes away. This is true every year in an undergraduate chapter. It is even more important now.
C., F., & S.,
Douglas A Bodner
President & Executive Trustee