Pi Kappa Phi '17 Recruitment & More

Hello Epsilon Mu Alumni!

With our biggest pledge class in recent times having just graduated, we face the most essential year for rush we’ve had in a while. Therefore, to do good in rush this year, we have an incredible week of events lined up to help us recruit some great guys.
(see details below).

Aside from the week of rush, we also are looking to make some real change to the chapter house this work week. Ranging from renovating our study room to re-doing our patio  - “the pit” -  we have several projects that we want to get done. We’ve let our house fall into disrepair over the years and we want to bring it back up to shape – not to mention make it an actual good “selling point” for rush.
(see full list of projects below).

We are reaching out to you because, as a chapter, we would really appreciate the support of our alumni. As treasurer, I create the budget firsthand and with all the members that have just graduated, financing these projects will be tough. By ourselves, it would be a significantly heavy burden on each active member – so much so that we can't afford to do most of these things. On behalf of all the Pi Kapps here at Bradley, I sincerely ask you to consider donating towards the chapter. I am confident that with your help, we will have a successful recruitment and continue to make men into leaders.
Haven't seen our rush video yet? Well you're missing out until you do!Eli Book, our current Vice Archon, has planned some great rush events for this upcoming recruitment and we need your help to make them happen.
Monday (8/28/17)
Chicken Spit-Roast & BBQ
Free food, and darn good food (thanks to Eli's father's recipe), is always a great way to bring guys around!

Tuesday (8/29/17)
Sports with the Pi Kapps
What better way to get to know guys than showing them up in a game of ball? Or the other way around.

Wednesday (8/30/17)
KnockerBall
You know the body-sized see-through balls that you wear while trying to play soccer? The ones that make you super off balance and even the slightest breeze will knock you down? Not to mention being tackled. Well they are really fun and I'm sure some freshmen will jump at the chance to injur themselves.

Thursday (8/31/17)
Taco Eating Contest
This one is going to be big, we're going to make sure every freshman dude on campus hears about this. The winner, of course, will win some cool Pi Kapp swag.

Friday (9/1/17)
Formal Dinner
Invite only, good food cooked by the finest of grillmasters (Alex Riva probably). Steaks, potatoes, greens, more steaks, whatever will win over the hearts of hungry guys. Honestly, rush is just hitting on freshman and feeding them.

House Favors
We're still deciding what exactly to give out during formal rounds, but we're thinking either sunglasses, koozies, or drawstring bags.
A chapter’s house reflects to others, inside and outside of the fraternity, what the chapter is like. A dirty and disrespected house shows that the chapter is the same in all aspects.
If you ever lived in the house as an undergrad, you're probably well aware of all its shortcomings. The house doesn't give off the impression that we hold Pi Kappa Phi as close to our hearts as we do, and that is why we plan to fix it up and respect it more moving forward. The projects listed below are what we hope to accomplish minimally, but the more money we're able to raise means getting even more done.

Forgive me if this list seems too detailed.

I believe as treasurer that it's best to be transparent. I would like you to know exactly where your money is going if you so choose to donate.

Renovate "The Pit" (Patio)
As is, The Pit is falling apart. No, seriously, the retaining wall is literally falling apart. We plan on fixing it, amongst other things including releveling the benches & tiles, sanding/painting the benches and tables, de-weeding, building a stone tile pathway from the sidewalk to the fence gate, and possibly rope-lighting. We'll be getting help from a pro to make sure leveling and drainage is done right this time, so it doesn't need to be done again 10 years from now.

Front Yard/Front of House
We plan on sanding & repainting the front columns, benches, and door, as well as planting grass in the dead spots, releveling the pathway to our side door, and fixing the drainage to prevent more erosion. We would also like to do some landscaping and replace the pulley system on our flag pole since we haven't been able to fly our flags in two years.

The Study Room
As many of you know, Frank Licka (#521) passed away in 2014 after his freshman year and we dedicated the study room in his name - his jersey hangs proudly on the wall. It's only fitting that we take good care of this room and show it the respect that it deserves. From being used for studying and holding the chapter's study files, to being a meeting room for exec and the various committees, the study room gets its fair share of use. It's only fitting that we replace the chairs (so they're matching and we have enough for everyone to sit at the table), fix the table, mount and repurpose the old TV from the front room, do some repainting, hang up our best awards, and frame all of the mini-composites  to create a timeline of the chapter. As you can see in the picture below, half the study room in its curent use is basically a storage closet, which brings me to....

Storage
We don't have enough of it. We were locked out of our largest storage closet last year since the university installed some new equipment in it, and we've been cluttering our kitchen, front room, and study room ever since. That is why we're going to build a metal shed to store the stuff we don't use often (which is most of it). P.S. - we will attach the shed to the ground this time so it doesn't blow away in the wind. I'm looking at you, Peter ;)

Party Room
What's a good party room without a stage? Girls love to dance on tables, and when they do that, they tend to break the overhead lights, the tables, themselves, or a combination of all three. That is why we would like to build a small stage of sorts to the side of the party room, where the space is poorly used anyways. We also would like to fortify our DJ booth since, as is, you're able to access the light and music equipment underneath and equipment has been (and continues to be) stolen. We may paint some new murals on the blank walls too.

General Improvements
In past work weeks, we've focused too much on one or two projects. In reality, we should have been paying attention to all the small things we see everyday. Repainting and touching up walls , updating the family tree mural, fixing holes in the walls, sanding/staining benches, organizing various things, and reinforcing our tables and furniture - they are all projects that can and need to be done.


Again, these are all of the projects that we hope to accomplish, so your donations really go a long ways towards making this a reality. If you would like to donate, you can do so on this page or by sending your donation in the mail to:

Pi Kappa Phi
cc: Treasurer
1530 W. Bradley Ave.
Peoria, IL 61606

Don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns you may have. If you would like to get involved with recruitment or work week, you can contact Eli (V.A.) or myself via our emails which are located on the chapter website: http://www.pikappaphiemu.org/about

I speak for the whole chapter when I say we are truly thankful for our alumni and all that you do for us. Thank you for remaining active in our brotherhood and helping us achieve what we could not without you. Please help us turn our plans into reality, and bring our chapter that much closer to being an ideal chapter. Thank you so much, and as always,

OΔH
Alec Nicolaysen
Treasurer
#527 Beta Rho