PHI DELTA THETACLEMSON UNIVERSITY | SC GAMMA CHAPTER

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SC GAMMA FOUNDATION TO SELL LODGE

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George A Long III, Indiana Alpha 1413

George A Long, Indiana Beta 10/19/12

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Granville Moody Jr. Illinois Eta, 3/7/1914 #232

George A Long Jr., Illinois Eta, 6/6/1939 #586

Edward C. Loy, Indiana Theta, 4/5/1

934 #504

Herbert Strawbridge, Indiana Theta, 4/19/1936 #531

Robert Strawbridge, Indiana Theta, 3/18/1937 #539

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Dallas Ryan Long, Florida Gamma, 4/22/2007 #1663

PAGE 1SC Gamma Foundation

to Sell Lodge

PAGE 2Hal Erskine ’81 Reflects on

Gamma Days

PAGE 3Actives Embrace Changes

at Universiaty

PAGE 4Doug Brown ‘02 Encour-

ages Involvement

Welcome Phikeia, Pledge Class Spring 2015

PAGE 5Fall 2015 Active Chapter

Leadership

PAGE 6South Carolina Alumni Groups Taking Shape

SC Gamma Connections

MAILING ADDRESS2185 University Station

Clemson, SC | 29632

IN THISISSUE

Phi Delta Theta at Clemson University.

SUMMER 2015

VISIT US ONLINEWEBSITE | http://www.scgamma.org/FACEBOOK | Phi-Delta-Theta-South-Carolina-GammaTWITTER | @CU_PhiDelt

Shortly after 2000, a group of alumni brothers felt that an off campus facility could benefit SC Gamma. The chapter and its advisors felt that such a facility could nurture brotherhood and enhance success in rush recruitment efforts. For a number of years, several facilities and pieces of undeveloped property were considered.

In mid-year 2011, an attractive property came on the market. In close consultation with the active brothers, it was determined that it met the physical needs to achieve our objectives. Although it is several miles from campus this was not considered at the time to be an issue. In hindsight, this was an incorrect assumption.

On October 19, 2011 SCGF entered into a contract to purchase the property

for $370,000. The foundation used funds on hand and negotiated a 3.5%, 5-year balloon mortgage in the amount of $255,367.73 due on November 18, 2016. The chapter then leased the Lodge from SCGF. In order to make the required lease payments to SCGF, the chapter was responsible for sub-leasing lodge rooms to active brothers.

In March of this year our board had an in-depth discussion about the lodge and the balloon mortgage payment of $255,367.73 due on November 18, 2016 with an eye toward conducting a broad based fundraiser. Our lender had expressed a willingness to extend the loan provided there is a show of support by paying down half the principle. During Founders’ Day on March 7th this year, a group of 16 alumni pledged $27,000 toward the note payment ($20,750 collected to date, with yearend deadline). Unfortunately, based on feedback received from recent networking sessions, there does not appear to be sufficient broad based support to raise the required funds. While the Chapter has expressed their desire to retain the Lodge, they have been unable to provide any residents for the new academic year. With the annual rent paid to the Foundation of $29,700,

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*Legacy; (relatives in parentheses)

HAL ERSKINE ’81 (‘229’) REFLECTS ON SC GAMMA DAYS EXPERIENCES FROM CHAPTER FORMED FOUNDATION FOR CAREER SUCCESS

Marc McIlwain '73 ('115') with his wife, Susan at the Phi Lodge

Hal Erskine ‘81 (’229’)

Growing up in Mooresville, NC, Hal Erskine ’81 (‘229’) wasn’t really sure what to expect when he came to Clemson in the fall of 1977.But he was excited for the opportunities that lay ahead.

“My freshman year, living in the dorms, I became friends with Rodney Rabon ’81 (‘234’) and his roommate Tad,” says Hal. “We just hit it off in the first week of school, and we went through rush together. I remember going to the Phi Delt house and meeting Steve Colson ’78 (‘184’), Doug Hippler (‘208’), Ron “Ears” Winburn ’77 (‘176’), and Jody Hunter ’78 (‘207’), Russ Barringer ’80 (228), Kevin Walsh ’81 (‘223’), Mike Bowley (‘230’), Bill Lawson (‘237’), Tom Petrosewicz ’81 (‘268’), and many others along the way, all of whom I consider lifelong friends.”

While at Clemson, Hal was the Phi Delt Student Senator for the Clemson

Student Government and the alumni secretary for the Chapter. “Being in the fraternity taught me many things that I couldn’t learn in the classroom -- the primary lesson being how to work effectively with people and build relationships,” he said. “You learn how to be a good brother and friend. The South Carolina Gamma experience was a crucial learning opportunity that taught me relationship skills that you just don’t get in the classroom,” said Hal. “I also will be forever grateful to the alumni like Tommy Touchstone ’67 (‘55’) who came back to the Chapter after graduation for cookouts and tailgates. Their advice really helped us think about what we wanted in careers, jobs, and in life.” Thanks to Phi Delts Andy Ronemus ’80 (‘1167’) and Tom Petrosewicz ’81 (‘268’), Hal also managed to walk-on the Clemson golf team.

and no rent income from tenants, the Chapter’s only option is to significantly raise dues. The impact this will have in retaining current members and attracting new brothers is unknown. But it cannot help.

One of our charter brothers, Dr. Allen Edwards ’70 (‘2’), spent his career in secondary education, retiring recently as President of Pellissippi State Community College. “Red” probably has as more experience than any of us when it comes to understanding today's college students. In March Red made the following observation: “. . . the lodge is a beautiful facility on a beautiful piece of land. I wish I could see it as an asset to the chapter but am not sure that it is.”

In discussions with our insurance carrier, the unoccupied status of the Lodge is most undesirable and will result

in an increase in our property insurance premiums. And there is the concern about break-ins and vandalism if no one lives there. In summary, there seems to be less than the needed level of broad based alumni support to pay down the mortgage. The Chapter cannot fill the lodge with residents and will be faced with requiring higher dues that could become an obstacle to retaining an adequate membership level. And, the Lodge could become the target of vandals.

After careful consideration regarding the future financial viability of the Lodge and the economic burden it now has on the local Chapter, the Foundation Board of Directors has unanimously voted to sell the Lodge. We hope to divest of it in the next 60 days. When the property is liquidated any equity will remain under

the management of the Foundation. It is the Foundation’s plan that this money will be reinvested to advance the mission of the SC Gamma Foundation.

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Greetings Brothers. First, I would like to first thank you for your generous support and helping us here at Cson University finish off another great school year as you are the constant that helps us achieve our goals. This past spring, after some internal turnover with Clemson faculty; gaining a new vice president of Student Affairs and a new Associate Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, the brothers of Phi Delta Theta have remained strong at Clemson and been inspired to make some internal improvements of our own. We had our first annual Dunkin’ for Duncan philanthropy event in late March to honor our fallen brother, Duncan McIntosh (‘827’), raising over $5,320 for the American Founda-tion for Suicide Prevention in our first year. We aim to double it in 2016 by increasing our fundraising efforts, but more importantly, by continuing Duncan’s legacy on Clemson’s campus.

ALUMNI SUPPORT CONTINUES TO PROPEL CHAPTER FORWARD

This year also marked the 45th

anniversary of SC Gamma’s founding at Clemson from the local fraternity, Delta Phi Kappa. We celebrated by having a BBQ at the Phi Lodge, with alumni from 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s all attend-ing. For us as actives, it was an enlight-ening experience getting to meet Phis from years past and host them for an afternoon at our beautiful house. On behalf of the Chapter, I would like to thank all the alumni for coming out, and we hope to see you all at our future events, namely our alumni golf tourney on October 16th for the game against Boston College.

ACTIVES LOOK TO CONNECT WITH ALL ALUMNI VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

We also will be making a greater effort to reach out to all of our SC Gamma alumni, not only through events like this, but through social media as well. Once school starts back in August, I will be posting to our Facebook group, Phi Delta Theta (South Carolina Gamma) Alumni, on a regular basis to keep everyone updated on our activities and

accomplishments. Please help us by joining the group and click here!

UNDERGRADUATE GPA REPORT FOR SC GAMMA ABOVE ALL MALE & FRATERNITY AVERAGE

Lastly, but not least, our grade reports continue to improve, putting us above the “All Male” and “All Fraternity” GPAs. We also are excited and already planning for next year’s Homecoming float, with the Chapter partnering with Delta Delta Delta sorority, looking to reclaim first place, as SC Gamma has claimed three out of the last four years. It is a lot of work, but we believe we have the ambition, talent, and partnership to bring home the gold!

Thank you all again for everything you do for SC Gamma!

Proud to be a Phi,

Mark Schimmoeller II ‘17 (’881’) Chapter PresidentColumbia, S.C.mschimm@clemson.edu (803) 807-3261

ACTIVES EMBRACE CHANGES AT UNIVERSITY SOUTH CAROLINA GAMMA REMAINS STRONG AT CLEMSON

After graduation, Hal went on to work for DuPont and later –DuPont’s Endo Pharmaceuticals subsidiary. He then earned his MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, before joining MBNA America and staying for 16 years until the industry leader in affinity credit-card marketing was sold to Bank of America. Hal then started his own credit card bank, PartnersFirst, which he sold in 2014 before starting Erskine Financial Services.

“As a student at Clemson, I studied and worked hard at chemical engineering, and the Phi Delt experience gave me many opportunities to balance out my studies with athletics, trips, events, service projects, social time with brothers and friends, and many other

activities” he says. “From the many intramural teams, great parties, great tailgates, and chapter meetings, learning how to balance work and personal life from my time in the Chapter has helped me immensely today.” Hal encourages the actives to make the most of their time at Clemson, Hal remembered his own years, specifically in 1979 when the Tigers beat Ohio State in the Gator Bowl: “We all went down there to Jacksonville, jamming 15 people into a single room at the Holiday Inn. Most people my age remember the Ohio State coach, Woody Hayes hitting a Clemson player after the game, but my favorite memory was riding back to Clemson from Jacksonville with Jeff Fisher, Paul Keller, and others in Jeff’s car. It was amazing. Your time at

Clemson is the some of the best years of your life. Go make your memories today that you will have for the rest of your life.”

Hal currently resides in Wilmington, Delaware. His daughter Meredith is a junior at the University of Richmond; Jake will start at Clemson this fall as a freshman; Anna is a sophomore in high school; and Peter is a seventh grader. In his spare time, he serves on numerous charitable boards in the Wilmington area including chairman of the YMCA of Delaware’s board of directors. He enjoys playing golf, swimming, running, and trying to keep up with his children’s erskinefinancialservices.org or herskine3@gmail.com.

VISIT US ONLINEWEBSITE | http://www.scgamma.org/FACEBOOK | Phi-Delta-Theta-South-Carolina-GammaTWITTER | @CU_PhiDelt

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Doug Brown ’02 (‘626’)

DOUG BROWN ’02 (‘626’) ENCOURAGES YOUNGER ALUMNI INVOLVEMENT

PPhi Delta Theta at Clemson University, 1987

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMMA EXPERIENCE HAD LASTING EFFECT

Coming to Clemson in the fall of 1998, Doug Brown ’02 (‘626’) was excited to be a Clemson Tiger and even more excited to be a part of Greek Life at the campus. “In the spring of 1999, when I went out to Rush and Phi Delta Theta at Clemson just seemed like a natural fit. I remember meeting David Savage ’01 (‘607’), Adam Russell ’02 (‘612’), and Chris Bowman ’03 (‘625’), and they had a great mix of brothers from different areas of the country,” said Doug. After initiation, Doug went on to serve as social chairman and president of the Chapter in consecutive terms, all while graduating with a bachelor’s of science

in marketing with a minor in communication studies. His first job out of college was selling printers, copiers, and software for Ricoh, paving the way for a successful career in pharmaceutical sales, with Doug serving as a senior sales representative at Depomed, a specialty pharmaceutical company. “Fraternity life played a major role in preparing me for life after college. As a person in business and in sales, one of the most important skills one can have is to become an effective relationship builder. This is a skill that I learned as a Phikeia and early on as a young brother in the fraternity. It was important to me to become close friends with brothers in different age groups, pledge classes, and backgrounds. The relationships that I formed early on in my experience as an active brother proved vitally important as I grew into multiple leadership roles within the fraternity, with many of the brothers I was closest to in college are among my very best friends to this day.”

Doug went on to encourage the active members to be involved with their undergraduate fraternal experience, citing the importance to be actively engaged in the fraternity and being involved with different on-campus organizations. “Your time at college seems to go by faster than anywhere else and the opportunities at Clemson are endless. The leaders of the fraternity should always promote a culture that is in-line with our founding principles. This can often mean doing what is seen as unpopular and difficult, but the willingness to walk the hard road and to lead others down it is what makes a true leader. The brothers of Phi Delta Theta at Clemson share a special bond that is very unique and should not be taken for granted,” Doug said, “It important that we always remember the last line of our pledge oath and be

grateful that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. I was excited to see this was evident with the Chapter today at our Founders event at the 45th Reunion.”Looking forward to the upcoming South Carolina Alumni Golf Tourney, Doug is appreciative of the alumni that came before him and their lifelong commitment to supporting the Chapter. “As an undergraduate, Jim Douglas ’70 (‘11’), David Tibbs ’69 (‘1’), Andy White ’82 (‘259’), Rob Marchant ’86 (‘336’), and Beau Shuler ’68 (‘141’ SC Beta) well all people I looked up to. At our Founders Day in the spring of 2000, I had the opportunity to meet Phi’s that attended Clemson back in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It was very special to meet people like all of them for the first time. Listening to these men talk about how important South Carolina Gamma was to them and how much they loved their time as brothers at Clemson. It was the first time I experienced the power of legacy and it excited me to be a part of the group that would one day return to our Chapter and leave a lasting impression on the actives.”

Doug resides in Easley, SC now with his wife, Beth, of nine years this August, and his two daughters, Ally, 2, and Molly, 3 weeks old. In his spare time, he operates a junior golf program through the SC Junior Golf Association in the fall, and enjoys playing golf, reading, strength and condition training, and shooting. He can be reached at dougb626@yahoo.com

WELCOME PHIKEIA, PLEDGE CLASS SPRING 2015JON DEUTSCH ’18Civil EngineeringCincinatti, OH

JEREMY SCHWARTZ ’17 Production Studies in Performing ArtsHuntington, NY

KYLE HIBSCH ‘18AccountingWoodbridge, IL

DANIEL STAAB ’18Civil EngineeringMonkton, MD

George A

Long III, Indiana Alpha 1413

George A Long, Indiana Beta 10/19/1208 #332

Granville Moody Jr. Illinois Eta, 3/7/1914 #232

George A Long Jr., Illinois Eta, 6/6/1939 #586

Edward C. Loy, Indiana Theta, 4/5/1934 #504

Herbert Strawbridge, Indiana Theta, 4/19/1936 #531

Robert Strawbridge, Indiana Theta, 3/18/1937 #539

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7/19

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Dallas Ryan Long, Florida Gamma, 4/22/2007 #1663

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PRESIDENTMark Schimmoeller II ’17 (‘881’)Columbia, SC | mschimm@clemson.edu (803) 807-3261

VICE PRESIDENTSean Osler ’17 (‘893’) Boca Raton, FL

TREASURERKevin Butkus ’16 (‘839’) Dallas, TX

SECRETARYNicholas Galgano ’16 (‘866’)Roxbury, NJ

SOCIAL CHAIRMANAlex Enter ’17Charleston, SC

PHIKEIA EDUCATORPaul Cucco ’17 (‘882’) Flemington, NJ

PHIKEIA TRAINERRyan O'Hare ’16 (‘885’) Jupiter, FL

PHILANTHROPY CHAIRMANNoah Mayberry ’18 (‘922’)Nashville, TN

ALUMNI SECRETARYJonathan Barre ’16 (‘875’)Fort Mill, SC | Jbarre@clemson.edu(570) 259-8102

SPRING 2015 SC GAMMA UNDERGRADUATE OFFICERS WARDENTony Clements ’17 (‘891’)Poolesville, MD

ALUMNI SECRETARY John Barre ’16 (‘875’)Fort Mill, SC SCHOLARSHIP CHAIR Clark Hooks ’18 (‘910’)Nashville, TN

RECRUITMENT CHAIRMANMichael Bonini ’17 (‘870’)Fairfax, VA | mbonini@clemson.edu (703) 300-6730

RECRUITMENT CHAIRMANDonald Tucker ’17 (‘900’)Fairfax, VA | dtucke@g.clemson.edu(703) 501-3151

PLEDGE MASTERAustin Sanquist ’16 (‘848’)Damascus, MD

PLEDGE TRAINER Paul O’Donnell ‘16 (‘851’)Wayne, NJ

RISK MANAGER Dylan Rice ’18 (‘923’)Franklin Lakes, NJ

Phi Delta Theta at Clemson University, circa 1975

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SC GAMMA CONNECTIONS We want to hear from you! To be in SC Gamma Connections, simply reply back to the official e-mail from the South Carolina Gamma Foundation. We look forward to reconnecting with you.

A Publication of the South Caroline Gamma Foundation, a not for profit corporation dedicated to providing off campus facilities for Alumni and Active Brothers of the SC Gamma Chapter.

In order to ensure that you are receiving future newsletters and updates from the SC Gamma Foundation, please take a few minutes to update our database. The Foundation thanks you for your time and thoughtful consideration!

CONNECT WITH FELLOW CLEMSON PHIS

This past April, the first meeting of the South Carolina Gamma Charlotte Alumni club was held at Quail Hollow country club, with Phis from all years coming and reuniting with fellow brothers. “This was a phenomenal event and something we will continue to do,” said Charlotte President Mike Lunderville ’02 (‘611’). “With the generosity of our alumni, especially Keith Eades ’70 (‘140’) in making this event possible, we can look to develop a sustainable Clemson Phi network here that helps propel the active Chapter forward.” Brothers also in attendance at the event were Tommy Touchstone ’67 (‘4’), Jeff Holloway ’99 (‘582’), Arun Subramanian ’13 (‘797’), John “Beef” Mendes ’81 (‘258’), Ryan Scanlan ’12 (‘758’), Harry Pirie ’84 (‘295’), Austin McVay ’11 (‘762’), Jody Branham ’81 (‘244’), Jody Hunter ’78 (‘207’), Kevin Walsh ’81 (‘223’), Mike Fleming ’75 (‘133’), Stewart McQueen ’96 (‘522’), Mike Duda ’95 (‘509’), Joey Gilliam ’12 (‘765’), and Rad Dallas ’82 (‘273’).

CHARLOTTE CLUB LOOKS TOEMULATE ALUMNI NETWORK

MODEL IN ATLANTA, COLUMBIA, & CHARLESTONWith Jim Douglas ’70 (‘11’)’s longstanding vision of creating SC Gamma networks all over the Southeast region taking shape, alumni like Chris Bowman ’03 (‘625’) and Adam Lee ’03 (‘621’) have taken volunteer roles in creating awareness in Atlanta and Columbia, respectively. “Being in Phi Delt at Clemson was one of the most important parts of my life,” said Douglas. “The Chapter’s recent success of withstanding the turmoil at Clemson University can be directly attributed to the strength and leadership of our alumni. It is this reason why the time is now for our alumni to be involved locally. I’ve had the pleasure to work with Doug Brown ’03 (‘626’), Alumni Relations Adviser for the Chapter Advisory Board, and the goal is to have initial meetings in Columbia, Charleston, and Atlanta before September.” If you would like to head up or assist on an alumni network in your area, please contact Jim at jfdouglas2001@yahoo.com or Doug at dougb626@yahoo.com. For the Atlanta and Columbia clubs, Chris can be reached at bowman625@gmail.com and

SOUTH CAROLINA ALUMNI GROUPS TAKING SHAPEALUMNI ENGAGEMENT CRITICAL TO SUSTAINING CHAPTER SUCCESS

Adam at a.westlee@yahoo.com.

15TH ANNUAL SC GAMMA ALUMNI GOLF TOURNEY SET FOR OCTOBER 16TH Perhaps there is not a better emulation of SC Gamma’s focus on alumni more than the annual SC Gamma Alumni Golf tourney, marked for October 16th this year, hosted continuously for 15 years by Jeff Mackin ’89 (‘399’). “I cannot say enough about Jeff and everything he has done in keeping us connected,” said Lunderville. “Our alumni need to take 100 percent ownership in the success of the fraternity. When I was active we never felt alumni support, making for an extreme disconnect. That disconnect seems to have changed, although we need more out of everyone. It takes a lot to change a culture, but nonetheless there has been progress since I was at Clemson. Now we need to push hard to reach the next steps. When this happens, the sky is the limit. I look forward to celebrating that accomplishment with all our alumni at the golf tourney in the Fall.”