Campaign projects completed over work weekend

The tradition of house work weekend continued this year as alumni representing multiple decades along with several of the Actives all convened in State College in early August to clean and prep the property for the Fall semester. In addition to the usual work, significant progress was made on some key projects funded by proceeds from the ongoing Damn Proud Capital Campaign.

Around a dozen alums and 18 Actives joined for the annual event that brings current and alumni Brothers together, working toward the common goal of maintaining the house. For the first time, the alumni offered a virtual meeting to discuss the upcoming year, budget, plans for year, and other topics. This meeting was requested by the Actives, a sign of the high level of engagement from the current undergrads, and with many Brothers away on Summer jobs and internships, it allowed for around 24 additional students to attend virtually. The chapter currently enjoys strong leadership from the student officer positions, and Ryan, the house manager, did an excellent job throughout the weekend.

This year’s work weekend saw a lot accomplished:

• Per usual, there was general cleaning and organization, outdoor landscaping (hedges, mulching), checking infrastructure systems, and getting ready for move-in (kitchen, bathrooms, first floor, etc.). The outside front door frame was also repainted.
• Another project was improving the Alumni Room (the former card room). In addition to general tidying and displaying more composites and other historical items, a closet door was installed to allow storage of records and other memorabilia not displayed under lock and key, along with the virtual meeting equipment and corporate records (e.g. architectural documents from the last campaign).

Even more exciting, two projects supported by the Damn Proud Campaign were completed over the weekend.

• A new HVAC system was installed to bring air conditioning to the basement. This addition will greatly improve quality of life for residents throughout the warmest months of the year and will also allow parties and socials to be held comfortably on the basement level instead of spilling out onto the first floor of the house. The basement A/C will dovetail perfectly with the installation of the new outdoor space, as the patio area will be accessible through the basement, creating a new and vibrant social area for the house.

• The long-awaited installation of the new Triple T’s Crest in the living room was also completed over work weekend. The Phi Sigma Kappa crest had long hung over the fireplace until it was lost during renovations that happened during the last campaign. Thanks to our Damn Proud donors, a striking new crest was obtained and now once again adorns the wall above the mantle. Remember that we had already finished a related project – installation of a drop-down screen and projector used during house watch parties for games and virtual meetings on Homecoming, Founders Day, and other events.

Following a day of hard work, the alums shared a great dinner with the Actives at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel. It was a great chance for alumni to reconnect and spend some time in the old house, along with an opportunity to teach and mentor the Actives so they learn the responsibilities of property ownership. These are the days that remind the unique value the fraternity experience brings to college life.