From The History of The Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, written by Charles S. Peyser.

Lambda Chi Alpha is a cooperative. We produce a way of life, for ourselves and for those whose lives we touch. Yet, we must never lose sight of the fact that despite our “product” being different, we operate like other organizations. That means budgets, committees, squabbles, and hopefully, successes.

The danger of a cooperative is that they are human organizations and human organizations are subject to human frailties and there are always going to be people in cooperatives who will want to be the “co” part while they let others do the “operating.” Another danger in the cooperative is that its members, when they become successful, are apt to forget the original purposes for which they were organized.

-Murray Lincoln (Massachusetts)

So, what happens next?

First the Dean of Students needs to approve our return.

Pending that approval, a visit from our International Headquarters Recruiting Team to put together an interest group on campus. The goal is to get a group of 20 men who would be the new base of Lambda Chi Alpha in Whitewater. From there, the Colony Process begins.

When can all of this start?

The Recruitment Team will be on campus starting Sept. 20th, 2008. There are more specific details about the timeline, which will be presented in a future post.

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I was in Oklahoma City last week for a conference and was able to visit our Brothers at Theta-Delta at Oklahoma City University. Their house reminded me very much of our house, except that it was made of brick and was only 1 story (and a basement). Other than that, it was pretty much like being back in Whitewater. Many thanks to Chapter President Matt Schultz for taking the time to give me tour of the house.

(*Note: My apologies for blurry photos…my flash wasn’t working as well as I had hoped. I was told that the house had not been cleaned since Sunday evening, which explains the disarray of the living room/hallway).

	The front of the Oklahoma City University House
	A mosaic tiled Lambda Chi Alpha greets all those who enter the house

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If you have not signed up for Chopper Apps, email me via the Contact Us page on this website for a free account. We only have a limited number to share with everyone, so contact me ASAP to secure your account!

For those of you have taken advantage of the new Chopper Apps we are using (though Google), I am sure you can speak of the great email and other services it provides (free uwwlca.com email and more!)

For everyone else, here is are a few tutorials about what services are available and how to use them.

Tutorial: Using the Start Page

Tutorial: Using Gmail (eMail)

Tutorial: Using Google Docs (Microsoft Office, but online and FREE!)

Tutorial: Using Chat

Tutorial: Using the Calendar App

You can always get to Chopper Apps by clicking the button in the right navigation.

Hey Choppers! Here’s a quick update on the UW-W Lambda Chi Alpha Tourney Pick’Em ‘08 standings.
After the first week (and 2 rounds of games) the standings are as follows:

1. Jeff Reisdorfer (me!) with 45 points
1. Mike Easton with 45 points
3. Fuzz Martin with 44 points
3. Garrett O’Reilly with 44points
5. CJ Kactro with 42 points
6. Chris Zimbrick with 41 points
6. Rich Anderson with 41 points
8. Trent Olsen with 40 points
8. Tom Filak with 40 points
10. Ryan Trezek with 39 points
11. Rick Lyons with 38 points
11. Matt Lahl with 38 points

I’ll post updates after every break in the action. Click the image above to be taken to the group and follow along.

I believe a good deal of stress should be put upon Lambda Chi Alpha Day. Morale is greatly stimulated by wholesome sentiment. Such sentiment is stimulated by anniversary speeches. We stand for something. Let us unite and say so.
…
Lambda Chi Alpha Day is a day upon which articulate expression is to be given as to what the Fraternity stands for, and recognition is to be given to all those who have made it what it is, and any time in its history, before, at, or after that particular anniversary.

John E. Mason - September 26, 1931

(Source: The Cross & Crescent-March, 2007)

There is only 1 week left to get in on our NCAA Tournament Challenge before the tournament starts.

Click the Tournament Banner above to be taken to Yahoo! Sports and create your own bracket. Free to enter and prizes for the Top 3 finishers who are Lambda Chi Alpha, Chi Delta Rho or Delta Kappa Brothers from Whitewater.

The 4th Anniversary of our website came and went as January faded into February…and 1 year (March 7, 2007) since we changed the format of the site to the version you see today.

We look forward to a prosperous year of growth as our Brotherhood returns to the campus of UW-Whitewater, continuing the tradition that has been active since 1929!

A continued thanks to all of our Brothers throughout every incarnation of our Fraternity in Whitewater. Our Brotherhood transcends names and members, and it is our commitment to one another and the Bonds we share that remain true.

I have everything set up at Yahoo! for our 2008 NCAA Basketball Fantasy Tournament.

Our group is called UW-W Lambda Chi Alpha (how original!). To join, click the banner image above or follow this link.

Prizes will be awarded to the Top 3 finishers. To get in on the bracket, you need to have a Yahoo! account (which is free). No fees or purchases are required to play. Good luck!

**Addendum to the Top 3 finishers receiving prizes. The Top 3 finishers who are UW-W Lambda Chi Alpha / Chi Delta Rho / Delta Kappa Brothers will receive prizes. In the off-chance that someone who is not affiliated signs up in our group, they cannot/will not receive a prize for finishing in the Top 3.

Just as we did with the Superbowl, we are setting up a NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket Challenge. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishers. And everyone along the way can enjoy the rabble-rousing on the league message board!

I will post complete instructions on how to join our “League” of tournament play when Yahoo! opens their NCAA Tournament section. Everyone is encouraged to enter. There is no cost. Because we will be using Yahoo! Sports as the League Home… you need to create a Yahoo account to participate.

Many thanks to Brother Garrett O’Reilly who suggested Yahoo!, as it is the best to “view everyone in our group’s picks and to talk trash on a group-specific message board.”

Social-networking websites are all the rage, nowadays. The two front-runners on the social-networking scene, MySpace and Facebook, feature an open, fun, and rather sophomoric approach to networking. Emerging through the online networking ranks, however, is a website called “LinkedIn” — and it’s strictly business.

LinkedIn allows you to post your career profile, network with other players in your field, keep tabs on colleagues and former employees, find jobs, find employees, and catch up with those whom you used to go to school with and/or work with.

As business in America becomes more and more of a who-you-know-not-what-you-know venture, utilizing all of the networking tools at your disposal is vital to your success. If you’re already LinkedIn, I urge you to post your LinkedIn profile link in the comment section, below. If you’re not linked in, I highly recommend that you set up your completely free profile today and link with as many brothers and former college acquaintances as you can.

My LinkedIn profile: Michael “Fuzz” Martin (LI-819)

Have you seen the Lambda Chi Alpha Constitution in recent years? Click the image at the left to view the 2006-2008 version of the Constitution & Statutory Code.

You can also follow the link below, as well.

http://fraternitymanuals.com/images/Lca2006constat-withcomments.pdf

With over 950 Lambda Chi Alpha Brothers, it’s often hard for many of us to keep up with one another’s birthdays.

Fuzzy has written a great application for the website which displays the names of Alumni who have a Birthday in the current month. Be sure to scroll down the page and see the list of Alumni Birthdays in the right column.

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I moved 7 times between my graduation in May of 2000 through July 2006.

If you are like me, you know that updating people on your address can be a real chore. But now, updating Lambda Chi Alpha on your current whereabouts has never been easier.

Click this link to be taken to Lambda Chi Alpha’s Change of Address Form on the Official Lambda Chi Alpha website and update your profile.

Just a quick update on additions to the website.

We just added a Contact Us page. Now you can email us with Alumni Updates, Births, Marriages, and general Alumni communication. Just click into the Contact Us page (see the navigation in the right column), choose a recipient and then fire off the message. It’s that simple.

Also, a lot of you have been emailing me asking when events are happening, etc. I realize that not everyone uses Facebook (where we are posting all Alumni Association meetings, etc) and not everyone has time to browse the website for updates…that is why we have added a new Events Calendar page (also in the right navigation). At this time, we are adding in all Alumni Association meetings and other important events relating to Recolonizing. You will also see some Birthdays listed. At this time, this is a short list. We hope to have it automated and include EVERYONE that we have listed on the roster, shortly. If you have events you would like added to the calendar, use the Contact Us page to make the suggestion.

Thanks for making the website great and continuing to give ideas and suggestions to make it better!

Fraternally,
Jeff “Claude” Reisdorfer

Guys…
Valentine’s Day is approaching…and while some may dread attempting to pick out a gift for that special someone on Valentine’s Day, at least remember to send a card. Yahoo has teamed up with American Greetings to provide some free e-cards that you can send for Valentine’s Day (or any other day *hint*). Plug in your email address, your special someone’s email address and away you go.

It’s easy, it’s fast and it will make your loved ones smile.

Click the link or picture above to be taken to Hallmark to send your e-card for Valentine’s Day.

(L-R) Brothers Dustin Scholz, Mark Volz, Derek Blaszak and Aaron Lauzon posing with their Lambda Chi Alpha snow sculpture. They mixed water, Coke, chocolate syrup, and charcol to darken the background.

Great work guys!

Congratulations to Brothers Joe Pajerski and Dustin Scholz who won Lambda Chi Alpha t-shirts in this year’s Superbowl Grid drawings. Be sure to check the website often as we schedule more contests to win prizes! (no purchases necessary).

Here is the grid for all of you who contacted me to get on the Superbowl Drawing for free t-shirts. 2 winners will be selected at half-time and at the end of the game (using those scores).
If a UG is a winner, a random undergrad will be selected as a winner. If a Lambda Chi Alpha block is the winner, a random Brother from our complete roster will be chosen as a winner. Good Luck!
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Now that this format of our website seems to be working well (for almost 1 full year!), I have decided to make it a little more pleasing to the eye…adding in some elements along the way.

Check out the buttons below, which will be living in the right column from now on. Descriptions have been included if you are unfamiliar with certain web applications. Thanks to Fuzzy for getting the ShareThis function running smoothly!
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Brother Darren Hafford is reporting, shmoozing and trying to get a production deal at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. He sent us some prelim pictures from his camera phone. Be sure to check back for more photos and details.

Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs, Taxi Driver, Contact)

Felicity Huffman (Georgia Rule, Magnolia, Desperate Housewives)

Bill Pullman (Spaceballs, Independence Day, The Grudge)