Category Archives: Uncategorized

House Corp Meeting 2020

House Corp Meeting
The annual House Corporation meeting will be Noon EDT May 2, 2020.

The meeting will stream live on the Eta Iota YouTube channel. An email link to the YouTube channel will be sent out thursday night to all brothers registered on www.etiota.org (your email in the database) and also posted on the Eta Iota and House Corp facebook groups.

House Corporation nominations and elections will be conducted by email, so make sure your address is in the database!

For any questions or concerns call, text or email:
Tom McSwiggan
203-788-1669
HI.HC.pres@gmail.com

Mike Wyble
585-317-5151
Mtwybleex@gmail.com

Eta Iota Website Redesign

You may have noticed a new look for etaiota.org. It’s not just a pretty color change, but a change in the way the pages are put together to make them more mobile-friendly using the Bootstrap framework. While it may look a little different, the content is the same as before, and should work even better on more devices.

The News section, which runs on the WordPress platform, has also gone under a change to the WordPress theme to be more mobile-friendly also. Its appearance is slightly different from the other pages due to this difference.

If you find a page that hasn’t changed or one with a display issue, drop your webmaster, Bill Palmer a note Bill@etaiota.org.

Denzell Wilson Receives Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship

Congratulations to Undergraduate Brother Denzell Wilson for receiving the Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship for Fall 2019! Brother Wilson is a recent initiate from the Fall semester’s pledge class and is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics with an expected graduation in 2021.

Denzell currently serves as an Airman in the Florida Air National Guard where he supports fueling and support operations.  In addition to the Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship, Denzell has received numerous other awards and recognitions, including Florida Air National Guard Airman of the Year for 2019. 

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship was created in 2016 to recognize and financially assist members of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi who are currently serving or have previously served in the US Armed Forces. This scholarship provides a monetary award to be used towards educational expenses while enrolled at Embry-Riddle.

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship is part of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created to provide financial assistance to deserving students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. For more information on the Foundation or if you would like to support future scholarship recipients with a tax-deductible contribution, please reach out to John Banta or Seth Downs.

Trey Pulliam Receives Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship

Brother Trey Pulliam, girlfriend Devin and their daughter, Stella

Congratulations to Undergraduate Brother Trey Pulliam for receiving the Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship for Spring 2018!  Brother Pulliam is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and is expecting to graduate in December 2018.

Trey currently serves in the United States Air Force Reserves as an Aviation Engineer in Cocoa Beach, FL where he is a Craftsman on HH-60 Pave Hawk and CV-22. Since joining Sigma Chi in the Fall of 2015, Trey has ben deployed twice – once to Bagram Afghanistan for Operation Freedom Sentinel and also to Djibouti, Djibouti for Operation Enduring Freedom.

Brother Pulliam was selected for this scholarship based on his current and past military service and solid academic achievements at ERAU.

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship was created in 2016 to recognize and financially assist members of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi who are currently serving or have previously served in the US Armed Forces. This scholarship provides a monetary award to be used towards educational expenses while enrolled at Embry-Riddle.

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship is part of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created to provide financial assistance to deserving students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. For more information on the Foundation or if you would like to support future scholarship recipients with a tax-deductible contribution, please reach out to John Banta or Seth Downs.

EtaIota.org Seeks New Webmaster/Developer

Eta Iota is seeking a new Webmaster/Web Developer to take over the reigns from Bill Palmer (’79) who has held the position since its beginning (with gracious help from several others).

The etaiota.org website is not only our web presence but also hosts our chapter’s membership database. This database has been critical in our chapter’s success in maintaining a close connection with out alumni. Therefore, the new webmaster becomes the de-facto database manager as well, and must monitor activity to ensure against misuse, and provide database functions to meet the needs of the chapter and House Corporation. These functions make this position of critical importance.  The membership database also provides integrated content throughout the website, from birthday and anniversary greetings, lost alumni and officer lists contact forms & biography profiles to brother website listings, and  the Eta Iota Family Tree project.

The interested brother should be familiar with modern web architecture, have a working knowledge of a scripting language (e.g., PHP, Python, PERL) and be able to adapt the website to a mobile friendly platform with tools such as Bootstrap, JQueryMobile, or a content management system (CMS). He should also be familiar with the WordPress CMS as our News and virtual scrapbook sections use WordPress.  As webmaster, he will be responsible for the website hosting and domain name accounts. As a developer , he should also be able to execute a transition of the chapter database from its current flat-file format (using PERL scripts) to an SQL based database, and provide the needed functionality to extract data from the database both for display on the website (i.e., through server-side includes), member record addition and updating via web form, and as needed for email and mass communications. A long-term commitment should be expected.

The interested brother should be able to provide for future enhancements including connection to a mass-email platform (e.g., mailchimp), upgrading the password scheme, expansion of database information, and to provide for updated security measures for the website and database.

This opportunity provides the successful candidate the chance to make a long-term positive impact on the future success of the chapter, become a prominent stakeholder in the future success of the chapter, expand the site’s functions with his own creativity, and remain well connected with both the undergraduate and House Corporation ends of the chapter’s operation. Technical assistance in making the transition can be expected.

The position is not an elected one, and therefore does not appear on the officer nominations form. Interested brothers should contact House Corp President John Banta or Webmaster Bill Palmer.

 

2016 House Corp Officer & Trustee Nominations

nominationsWith Eta Iota’s 45th Birthday coming up soon, House Corp is now taking nominations for officers and trustees for the 2016 term.  We have all 4 officer positions (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, each with a 1 year term) and 3 trustee positions (3 year terms each) to vote on at the annual House Corp meeting on Saturday, April 2.

To speed up the process and save time at the April 2nd meeting, we are taking nominations now and will open the floor for seconds before jumping into voting.

This is your chance to participate and nominate yourself for one of these roles and step up to the plate to make a difference or nominate an alum you feel would serve House Corporation well.

The nomination form is online and super simple.  Check it out here!

Ready for an Alumni Brother Retreat!

In January 1990, the Alpha Tau pledge class was initiated.
In honor of the 25th Anniversary, I was inspired to plan a simple reunion get away to reconnect with our brothers and their families. But of course this event is open to all alumni, spouses, families, undergraduates, etc.

(view a PDF of this information here: 2015 Alumni Brother Retreat

Hershey, PA.
June 19, 20 & 21 2015

Friday June 19, Arrival
Golf outing TBD. Planning to golf at Hershey Country Club in AM with start time in the late morning.
www.hersheycountryclub.com
Troegs Brewery Tour and Tastings: 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30
www.troegs.com
Friday night is open for dinner, campfires, etc.
Note: The Saturday ticket to Hershey Park includes free admission on Friday evening for 2 hours befor the park closes.

Saturday June 20:
Hersheypark, Boardwalk at Hershey (Waterpark), ZooAmerica.
www.hersheypark.com
These three attractions are all included in the one full day ticket.

Sunday June 21
Group Canoe/Kayak 3 hr trip on the Swatara Creek
Outfitter, Cocoa Kayaks of Hershey
www.cocoakayak.com

Cost Estimates
Lodging: Cabin (sleeps 4), $115 per night, Campsite, $65 per night
Troegs Brewery Tour, $5
HersheyPark Ticket
Adult Age 9-54, $33.50
Junior/Senior Ages 3-8 or 55-69, $28.50
John Wrightington: FREE
Canoe/Kayak Trip
Single Kayak: $40
Tandem Kayak: $60
Canoe: TBD, but probably similer to above.
*You can bring your own kayak if local and save rental fee.
* The kayak/HersheyPark ticket prices are based on group discounts. Need 20 people in order to secure that pricing. Lodging price is regardless of group size.

Accomodations:

Hershey Park Camping Resort (www.hersheyparkcampingresort.com)
I have reserved just a modest number of cabins and campsites for the two nights so far in as close proximity as I could based on availability so we can visit with each other during course of the weekend and have campfires and beers at night.
NOTE: All cabins have electricity and air conditioning. There was no availability for any cabins with plumbing. They are heavily in demand and were not available for reservations. The campground does have the bath/shower houses available.

For those not wanting to camp:
Hershey Lodge
www.hersheylodge.com
Hotel Hershey
www.thehotelhershey.com

The above two hotels are affiliated with Hershey Park and have free shuttle service.
Hotel Hershey is the top of the line hotel with a great Spa for the spouses!!!!

Optional activities:

The Troegs Brewery in town also offers free self guided tours you can schedule at your convenience.
Tanger Hershey Outlets www.tangeroutlet.com/hershey
Hershey Gardens www.hersheygardens.org
Hershey Story Museum www.hersheystory.org
Gettysburg – www.destinationgettysburg.com
Flight 93 Memorial – www.nps.gov/flni (about 2.5 hour drive west of Hershey)
Spa at Hotel Hershey www.thehotelhershey.com/spa (reserve in advance)

Contact for reservations:
Mike Gehman, 215 804 5072
m.gehman@comcast.net
Full payment will be needed by February.