June 21,2015
Brothers,
Its a rainy Saturday afternoon here in NJ as I sit down to write this letter to you. Our Alumni Editor, Bob “Barney” Shortle ’75 is busy putting the finishing touches on our newsletter and you will receive it about July 1st. In the meantime, I wanted to tell you all about a few important happenings that have taken place and that will happen over the next few months.
In the middle of May, Chapter Advisor, Bob “Justa” Eckart and I performed the year-end house inspection along with House Manager Jonathan Tiller ’16. By and large, I am happy to report that the house has been kept in very good shape by the undergrads. I followed up again with a visit on June 3rd after the seniors had all moved out and the house was closed for the summer. During the summer, we have contracted for the lawn maintenance and the hardwood floors will again be refinished on the 1st floor along with the front stairs and 2nd floor hallways.
The last weekend in May, several of us celebrated a Great Northeastern Trip (GNT) by spending several days on Thorndike Pond in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Jim(Munger) and Anne Banghart ’69 and Jack(Titty) Belletete ’70 and Marcea Gustafson hosted Dan(Spurt) and Joan Burt ’69, Bob(Ruff) and Jean Hutnick ’71, Paul(Cos) and Charlene Cosgrave ’72 and yours truly at their beautiful homes on the lake in Jaffrey. Mung, Spurt and I were rained out on Sunday after 12 holes of golf and we were totally rained out on Monday. Being the resourceful Sigs we are, we rallied Monday with a triathalon of bowling, pool and darts, as the girls were taking a course in glass blowing. Joining us for dinner Sunday and Monday were Bill(Turk) and Barbara Wurst ’71 and on Monday Tom(Hobie) Hey ’72.
On Tuesday morning we all, except for Hobie, travelled to Bethel, Vermont to visit with Gary(Slug) and Joanne Wood ’71. Jim(Cramble) Campbell ’70 met us there as well. Cramble had flown in from Chicago. Gary is doing well, we had a great time and you can read more about the visit in the newsletter. By the way, Hobie is staying in New Hampshire for a while as he is going to work for the presidential primary campaign for Senator Bernie Sanders. Good luck, Hobie.
Many of you may know that Brother George (Earth) Wurm ’71 passed away from conjestive heart failure onApril 30th. George was my oldest friend. We met on the first day of freshman orientation in September 1967 on the 3rd floor of Cary Hall. George had been living in Seal Beach, CA, and a memorial ceremony was held there on the beach. Brother Chris(Zoomer) Serocke ’73 was there to represent us all. George’s younger brother, Jim and his brothers and sister would like everyone to know there will be another memorial held onJuly 20th in Canton, MA. George worked many years for Jim’s company, Exhibit and Event Marketers Association. One of the many things George did was coordinate an annual charity golf event known as the Rally at the Red Diamond. George and Jim apparently used the event as a family reunion site as well as a business event. This year, there will be an All American BBQ lunch following golf at 1:00 PM. George’s Memorial Service will follow lunch, and we will hold Sigma Chi’s White Rose ceremony during the Memorial. Jim has invited us all to play golf and/or come to the lunch with the Memorial to follow. The location is Ponkapoag Golf Course, 2173 Washington Street, Canton, MA 20221. The cost for the golf outing is $150 which includes lunch. The cost of lunch only is $35. Profits will go to George’s family. Please use the following link to register for the event.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the nearby Boston Quincy Marriott. Reservations can be made by calling the hotel directly at 888-236-2427. When you call be sure to tell the reservation agent that you’re with Exhibit & Event Marketers Association to get the best rate.
Golf will start at 8AM with a shotgun start. Transportation will be provided from the Boston Quincy Marriott.
So, whether or not you play golf, sign up and attend George’s Memorial and our White Rose Ceremony.
Our next get-together opportunity will be the alumni work party August 21-23. More information will be in the newsletter and subsequent emails.
The next thing I want to tell you about is a great event on RPI’s campus onTuesday, September 8th, the day after Labor Day. During basketball season this past winter, nobody followed college women’s basketball closer than Jim and Anne Banghart ’69. They travelled to almost every Princeton Women’s game, home and away. Why? Because the head coach for the last seven years is their daughter, Courtney Banghart. In that time the Tigers have won five Ivy League championships. This year they were the only Division I team, besides the Kentucky men, to go undefeated. They then won their first ever NCAA tournament game. In recognition of her many accomplishments, Fortune Magazine has named Courtney one of the Top Fifty Leaders in the world. In April, Bob Bedard ’75 asked Courtney if she would give a talk atRPI. She gladly accepted the offer on the condition that her Dad give her a tour of the campus. Finding out that Courtney was in a sorority at Dartmouth,RPI’s Dean of Residence Life asked if she would speak at the beginning of the Fall Greek Rush period. Courtney, who holds a Masters Degree from Dartmouth in Leadership Development will be speaking about Leadership. This lecture will be sponsored by the Pinewoods Educational Foundation and Sigma Chi Fraternity. I hope all of you who can will attend this great event. It will be held in theconce rt hall of the EMPAC center at 7 PM.
The last thing I want to talk about is a challenge to all our architects and Building Science graduates. Last year we put in a new LED lighting system in the garage. The undergrads created a gym space in one of the car stalls. My challenge is: Is it feasible to do something, such as removing the ceiling and upstairs floor and creating an indoor sports facility of our own? Think indoor floor hockey, soccer or even basketball. So, how about examining the building and figuring if it is even possible and affordable. Let me know what you guys think. Come to Troy in August for Alumni Work Party, in September for Courtney Banghart’s Lecture and/or in October for the 65th Anniversary and Homecoming Weekend. Look at the building structure and let us know what may be possible and practical.
In hoc,
John Leroy Pfaff ’71
Sigma Chi Fraternity 