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The Delta Chi Fraternity and Delta Chi Educational Foundation held its fifth annual international chapter meeting conference call this past January. In attendance was “AA” Aaron Otto, Foundation Chairman Jim Marascio, and Executive Director Keith Shriver, giving their respective reports and fielding questions from the participants. A full recording of the phone call can be found at https://deltachi.org/international-phone-call.
A special thanks to James Baggatta (Charlotte ’18) for providing this overview of the call, including the remarks of Aaron, Jim, and Keith.
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The Fraternity is embarking on several new initiatives that will make impacts on many different fronts. It is important to recognize the accomplishments that we achieved during the 2016 calendar year, as they are the building blocks for the great initiatives that we will be taking on in 2017.
Delta Chi stands at 118 active chapters, 5 colonies and 25 alumni chapters. We were able to charter the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Beaufort, and the Little Rock chapters respectively. Our undergraduate numbers are well into the 6,000s which shows we have risen our collegiate membership by over 1,000 in the last 10 years. Delta Chi continues to expand our promise of an exceptional lifelong fraternity experience across North America.
Convention was held last summer in Louisville, Kentucky and we held close to 500 brothers in attendance. Near the record! During the 60th International Convention, Miles Washburn ( U Mass ‘87) took the status of Retiring “AA” as Aaron Otto (Kansas State ’98) was elected as the 53rd “AA” of the Delta Chi Fraternity. Tom Carroll (Hayward ’98) elected to “CC” and Ronald Martin (New Haven ’87) was elected to the “DD” office. These men are helping lead the way for the great growth that is to come for Delta Chi.
It was announced at Convention that Delta Chi has raised over $1 million dollars in support of Jimmy V. This is a great milestone with the V Foundation for Cancer Research as we celebrated 10 years of successful partnering. Convention was also the site of the unveiling of MYDCHI (http://mydchi.org). This site is a new and innovative web portal that will allows undergrads and alumni update their current information, have access to chapter/regional/international resources, and also view donation and engagement history with Delta Chi.
The Board of Regents adopted and presented a five year strategic plan that will guide Delta Chi’s direction on several fronts. These strategic initiatives cover the core areas of Alumni Engagement, Education, Growth and Civic Responsibility. Great additions have been to our International Headquarters Staff to help in the effort to continuously improve Delta Chi on all fronts and carry out this strategic vision. Keith Shriver (Florida ’79) was hired as Executive Director, we welcomed Marquez Brown (Iowa ’01) back to staff as Associate Executive Director, the role of Director of Member Safety has been filled by Jerod Breit (Central Missouri ’04), and we are pleased to have Heather Lockwood join the team as Delta Chi’s Director of Fraternity Growth.
As 2017 progresses, it is pertinent to see where the Delta Chi Educational Foundation is at and – more importantly – the direction it is taking for the new year. The Foundation likes to take it’s inspiration from our preamble “Great advantages are to be derived from a brotherhood of college and university.” And “that close association promotes friendship, develops character, advances justice and assists in the acquisition of a sound education”. Keeping those words in mind, the Delta Chi Educational Foundation is expanding it’s initiatives to better assist undergrads in developing themselves professionally and academically. Some great examples of the Foundation providing personal development opportunities include: supporting the A’s Academy, assisting in the funding of the new Emerging Leaders Academy, sponsor keynote presentations at Convention, providing need-and-merit-based scholarships to our brothers, and assistance in the funding of educational portions of chapter houses.
In 2016, over $1.2 million dollars was raised by over a 1,000 donors. The average donation was under $100 dollars and every brother is assured that no amount of giving goes unappreciated as every dollar adds up and helps us help ourselves in improving the quality of the Delta Chi experience to our undergraduate and graduate members.
With so many great things happening our Fraternity I would like to offer a call to action for all Brothers whether they be undergraduate or alumni status. Our beloved Delta Chi can utilize each and every one of your unique skill sets to grow and improve our brotherhood. There are many different routes one can take in terms of getting involved and giving back to Delta Chi. Donating to the Educational Foundation is a sure way to make sure every penny donated goes right back to our brotherhood. Deciding to attend RLCs, Convention, and local chapter programs gives our undergraduates a chance to see how impactful being a Delta Chi continues to be after the tassel is turned.
The state of Delta Chi is strong, and through the efforts of those hired, elected, and initiated, we will continue to improve and expand the life-long Delta Chi experience throughout North America. Our best days are ahead of us. Here’s to making 2017 the best year Delta Chi has had yet.
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