With the alumni reunion coming up fast- June 10th-13th 2022- we are hustling to get the many pieces in place to make the weekend enjoyable for all. If you have not signed up yet please do so before May15th as we have to get numbers to our caterer and make sure favors get ordered. The easiest way to sign up is CLICK HERE.
While you are on the site it would be a great idea to click on the membership/dues/donate tab to provide the association with your details so we can make sure you receive correspondence in a timely manner. To Donate CLICK HERE.
While you are thinking about all the good times you had as a brother, please consider joining the alumni association as an officer. I was House Treasurer for 2 ½ years and now have been President for almost 7.5 years. It is time for some refocusing, and I know we have many talented folks who would bring more talent and personal skills to the association. Most positions can be done remotely so do not let being far from Oswego dissuade you from stepping up. Each year we have more brothers retire from the daily 9 to 5 grind and I imagine some of you are looking for something to occupy your time and maybe even a challenge to try something new. I have officially made this my last year as an alumni officer and while I will be around to assist with questions and problem solving, I just can not continue as I have been for the last 10 years. If my wife wasn’t an Oswego alumni and a Sig Tau Pinmate I most likely wouldn’t have been able to do this for as long as I have been able to. Ten years is a long time, and it is time for others to step up. Any brothers who have rental property experience already have WAY more experience than I did when I started as treasurer. Remember that the alumni association will work best if the work can be spread out- since the more who are involved makes things easier for all - that old adage “many hands make light work” is so true.
It is my most sincere wish that we have an overwhelming response to the need for some new alumni blood. We really have not, in my tenure, had the ability to have the 1st and 2nd VP’s step into the role of President after the President's two year term was completed. So I have to be practical and identify potential options for the future of the alumni association. I firmly consider myself to be a pragmatic individual, so I have thought of the possibility of
what happens if no one runs for office. How does this affect the alumni association and consequently the wonderful house we have at 8 Montcalm? Without a crystal ball I can not be sure exactly, however I have explored possible options. We are a legal entity in NY state so certain laws will pertain to our incorporation as a 503C-7 entity and these have an impact on what we can do.
1. One thought is to change the corporate charter to make the officer positions in the alumni association “paid” positions. This could help keep our spouses more tolerant of the time spent dealing with association business. We have always been a volunteer organization, but honestly that could actually be keeping people back from participating. Would a $1000-2000 stipend be enough? Not sure.
2. It is possible that we could retain the house in Oswego and find a property management company to run it for the association, there are several in the area and they may manage the property while charging the association 10-15% of the annual rental income. This would keep legal possession of the property but leave 10-15% less money for repairs and improvements.
3. We could also join back up with our former National Fraternal organization- Sigma Tau Gamma- and they can run the house as an affiliate chapter. All future members would be Sigma Tau Gamma brothers. Positives are that the national has much experience dealing with chapters and has dedicated individuals who work with the college students and everything would be fairly scripted going forward.There are several drawbacks to this arrangement. The costs for the active brothers will be dictated from a distance and will definitely increase out-of-pocket costs. The National will require us to eventually (after 1-2 years) sign over the house to them.
4. We could sell the house and roll proceeds into a scholarship fund for alumni progeny. Any changes in asset ownership would need to be approved though the NY state court system so there are several possibilities of positive and negative results from this possibility that I may not be fully aware of and are therefore unable to list here.
I do not make any claims as to the above options being an all-inclusive list of possibilities, but they are what I have considered to be feasible with my 10 years of alumni association knowledge. My term will end when 2022 comes to a conclusion. We will be holding a business meeting during the alumni reunion, and I’m happy to answer any questions regarding officer positions or anything else regarding the alumni association. I will definitely be able to serve in a past-president capacity to help future presidents succeed.
Yours in Brotherhood- Howard Botting
Alumni Officers:
President-Howard Botting
1st VPReunion Coordinator-Gary Maher
2nd VP- James Guilbeault
Alumni Treasurer- David Morgan
House Treasurer- Jeffry Langdon
Legal Council- Steven Baker
Corresponding Secretary- Greg (Louie) Clark
Webmaster- Adam Kapp
Recording Secretary-Bill Foose
Sentinel- Peter DeMarco