Well, it certainly has been a long strange trip since I first assumed the Psi Diamond Presidency back in the spring of 2000. As many of you know, there was a concerted effort to raise the level of financial responsibility and academic performance among the active chapter, spanning a period of nearly three years. When all else failed, after meetings with men from the General Fraternity, Bethany College’s President and a number of other insightful, caring sources, the decision was made to close the House, temporarily suspending the official existence of Psi Chapter, the second week of February 2003.

Since that time, a number of encouraging events have occurred. The 2003 Homecoming celebration, highlighted by a strong showing of 25-year men from the Class of ’78, was a rousing success. Over two dozen men met in the Lewis-Berkman Room at Benedum Commons to discuss the Chapter’s future. The momentum from this gathering led to the November 2003 chapter house cleanup.

A fundraiser was held during the Spring 2004 Alumni Weekend in the form of a golf outing and cookout featuring overnight accommodations at the chapter house. The event raised nearly $2,000 with the proceeds being used to purchase 20 new top-of-the-line mattresses for the chapter house. The balance went to the Psi Chapter Diamond Association general fund.

Whether you attend Homecoming or not, please help us in the re-colonization effort by making a donation TODAY. Thank you in advance for your support.

At the annual Meeting held on April 8, 2004 the following brothers were elected to the following positions and directorships: President-Art Musicaro, VP-Paul Megna, Secretary-Art Bertol, and Treasurer-Mark Bado. Directors are as follows: Deno Emili, S. Dean Lesiak, Doug Stein, Mark Sniegocki and Blake Rowe.

The house corporation is current. The bank note was paid off in November of 2002. The chapter house currently remains unoccupied, but is clean and secure. Bethany College Security is providing security and will advise if anything seems out of order or vandalized.

Several attempts to lease the house were made with the College and the Mountainside Conference Center (Gresham House). To-date these efforts have been fruitless.

Through the continued generosity of the Charitable Foundation and some loyal Psi alumni, we have been able to keep the lights on, the grass cut and the house heated as necessary. At Homecoming, the Corporation will present cost estimates for needed repairs; i.e. paint, doors & locksets, drapes and blinds and mechanical issues with heating and air conditioning systems.

At Homecoming 2002, a web site for Psi Beta’s was conceived. The goal of the web site is to support the Psi organizations by providing a way to communicate and collaborate on the Internet. The following month, the Psi web site was on-line.

After the chapter was closed, interest in the web site remained high. In June 2003, a new www.PsiBeta.net site was launched and remains in operation today. In the first year, the site had over 10,000 visits! The discussion area is the most popular section followed by the event pages and photos.

We expect the web site to play an important role as we move forward to re-colonization and beyond. Please tell a brother about the web site and visit often!