Breakthrough Cambridge Thank You

Gentlemen,

Walt and I visited Breakthrough Cambridge on Monday and witnessed the summer program in full swing. On a shoestring budget, this program somehow manages to serve almost 20% of Cambridge’s youth.

We toured several classes with about a half dozen students in each. The students were all either entering 7th or 8th grade. In total, about 100 students participate in this summer program (about 50 per class of about 450 total per class in Cambridge).

We also watched the “Community Meeting” where all of the students participated in some pretty exciting and vigorous leadership building activities.

At lunch we visited with the teacher who is responsible for the “Followthrough” program at the high school. At the high school, students continue to participate and can take advantage of assistance with college placement exams, admissions applications, and financial aid applications.

Walt aka “The Chronicler” took several photos that I hope he will share with the group.

While we were there, we delivered a $15,000 gift from the 484 Phi Alpha Foundation. A thank-you letter from the executive director is linked below.

Breakthrough Thank You

Phi Alpha,
-Fitch

MIT SAE Mourns Loss of Roz Schulte

To Mass Iota-Tau Brothers of SAE:

On May 20, Roslyn “Roz” Schulte, daughter of Mass. Iota-Tau brother Bob Schulte ’71, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Roz was a 2006 graduate of the U. S. Air Force Academy with both academic and military honors. Our deepest sympathy goes to her parents, Bob and Susie and her older brother, Todd. She grew up in St. Louis, MO as did her parents.

A First Lieutenant, she was assigned to Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan in Kabul in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She is the first female AFA graduate to die in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Bob and Susie are establishing a Distinguished Leadership Award at the Air Force Academy to “honor the ideals that were important to Roz.” Several of us intend to participate and we thought that other Mass. Iota-Tau brothers might like to join us.

If you wish to participate, checks can be made payable to “Association of Graduates Air Force Academy Fund” (noting it is for the Lt. Roslyn Schulte Memorial) and perhaps also noting that you are an MIT SAE!

Mail to:
Association of Graduates
3116 Academy Drive
USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475

Bob has been active in MIT alumni affairs, including serving on the Educational Council in St. Louis. He has maintained contact with a number of SAE brothers including especially Bob Dresser ’71, Ken Weisshaar ‘72 and Jack Cater ’72 as well as Tom Thomas ’69, Bruce Wheeler ’70 and Ken Browning ’66, with whom he has met annually for nearly thirty years for golf, dinner, a Cardinal game and brotherhood. Bob continues his life-long love of lacrosse as a national-level referee and apparently passed this love along to Roz who was captain of the women’s lacrosse team at Air Force.

We hope those of you who know Bob join with us in contributing to this fund in Roz’s memory.

In the bonds,
Ken Browning ’66 
Tom Thomas  ’69

SAE Reunion Dinner Photos

We held our annual reunion on June 6 again in the Student Center.  It was again well attended by local brothers, those attending their reunion years of 10, 25, 45, and 50 as well as some whose children were graduating.  Wives and children also were there.  We had a presentation arranged by Carl King of one of the groups funded by the 484 Phi Alpha Foundation and the Cambridge young children who were participating.

Also present were Davey Hunt and Ian Fischer, two of our new SAE
colony members who spoke with just about everyone.  We can all be proud of all of the new SAE’s.  Bill Lenoir gave a talk on our organizing progress with MIT and the IFC and our plans for the future.  Most important now is for any brother who knows of an entering MIT freshman to let us know since rush is the key to our success with a new chapter.

What we did not do well is record the names of all of those who
attended.  So if you identify any one in the pictures which we have attached here that we have not noted please email us and we will make the corrections.  We will do this better next time.

ΦΑ

The Brothers of Mass Iota Tau

2009 Reunion Details Released

To All Mass Iota Tau Brothers,

As June approaches in 2009 it is reunion time and we are making great plans for the event.  Below are the particulars for this year’s gathering and we hope you can come.  Make your reservations as early as you can since hotels tend to fill up in the area.

SAE 2009 Reunion
Saturday, June 6, 2008
Student Center Mezzanine Lounge
(next to the Twenty Chimneys on the second floor)
Stratton Student Center at MIT

5:00-7:00 pm reception with cash bar and passed hot hors d’oeuvres
7:00-8:30 pm buffet entree dinner
8:30-10:00 pm after dinner program

 
The after dinner program will include a brief summary of the recolonization efforts and plans, reports on the activities of the 484 Phi Alpha Foundation and general discussions of future activities.  We hope to have several members of the new SAE colony present if they are still in Cambridge for the summer.  You won’t want to miss meeting them.  They are terrific young men and SAE’s.

The cost to you is $50 per person for dinner plus whatever drinks you get at the cash bar.  The actual costs are about $20 per person for the reception and $120 per person for dinner.  Mass Iota Tau Association will subsidize the reception and $70 of the dinner costs.  If you would like to help us financially with the recolonization effort, you could consider paying your full costs of $120 per person. That would be a most welcome help with our efforts to establish an SAE chapter once again at MIT.

E-Mail your information (Reception and Dinner or Reception Only; Two People, Just You, More) to Eric Fitch and send your checks made out to Mass Iota Tau Association to:

Eric Fitch
251 Pleasant St.
Arlington, MA 02476

It will be a great time and you will get to hear about the recolonization and meet some of our new to be SAE’s as well as hear about plans of some other class related reunion activities.  Every year this reunion has grown in size as many come from across the country.

Please mark this date on your calendar and plan to come.  It is always best to make your reservations as soon as possible.  If you want to experience MIT throughout your visit, please try the “Le Meridien Hotel” which was formerly the “Hotel at MIT”.  It is a regular hotel but all the halls and rooms are filled with pictures of MIT labs, professors, students, lecture halls and class rooms. You can also find information on the 2009 reunion on the web site at www.mitsae.com.   The web site has been greatly revised to support the new colony as well as the SAE alumni by our webmaster Cole Reinwand ’92.  It has a few new features so visit it when you can since it has all the current information on all of our activities. 

ΦΑ
MIT Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Preliminary Success with MIT SAE Recolonization

To MIT SAE Brothers

On March 7 and March 8 we had an alumni banquet for our new colony members at the Union Oyster House and at the Holiday Inn in Cambridge. 

It was an absolutely outstanding success in terms of the impact on the new colony initiates and the infusion of excitement among the alumni brothers.  There are now 5 colony members who are truly outstanding freshmen and sophomore.  Below is a short outline of each.

Cyrus Vafadari (Columbus, GA), Nuclear Engineering, Track & Field

Ian Fischer (Coral Springs, FL), Course 16, Track & Field, Air Force ROTC

Davey Hunt (Hogansville, GA), Course 16, Track & Field

Raven Reddy (Los Altos Hills, CA), Course 20, Golf

Chase Anderson (He is a member of the Laureates and Leaders program for minority students pursuing PH.D/MD program, is a forward on the varsity soccer team, which came second in NEWMAC Championships last year, and is conducting a UROP in cancer research under Professor Wogan. He is on the Baker Executive Committee as Treasurer. When he’s home, he volunteers at a Children’s Hospital, and on the side of  all of that, he is 700 pages through volume one of his own 8 volume novel series.)

What is most impressive about these pledges is the extent to which they have organized themselves and are pursuing Public Service in the MIT and Cambridge communities and are building their connection to MIT SAE and SAE National.  Their plans for expanding their membership are also very promising.

This effort would have not been possible without the tremendous effort and leadership of Neil Kelly, Bill Lenoir and the other alumni who have contributed extensively of their time, energy and work to bring this about.  Bill Dix, Jim Triant, Neil Kelly, Bill Lenoir and Carl King met with MIT and  IFC representatives on March 9 to discuss the process.  MIT was supportive and the IFC appeared open to our application.  SAE National through the good efforts of Hank Perritt has also been very helpful in supporting our efforts.

Now, what can you do to help?

If you have children currently at MIT or planning to attend MIT or you have friends whose children may be coming to MIT, let us know.  Rushing is the life blood of any fraternity and we need to support these new SAE’s.  The current rush chairman of the colony is Cyrus Vafadari or you can reply to any of the brothers below.

Continue to follow our progress on www.mitsae.com

ΦΑ

Bill Lenoir, Neil Kelly, Bill Putt, Bill Dix, Hank Perritt 

December Recolonization Task Force Meeting

The December meeting of our Recolonization Task Force was attended by Bill Dix, Jim Latimer, Jim Triant, Hank Perritt, Bill Michels, Bill Putt, Carl King, Neil Kelly, and Bill Lenoir.  Our goal is to have a colony started by the end of the academic year in June 2009.  The next steps are to screen candidates and invite potential “rushees” to a Founders Day banquet on Saturday, March 7, 2009.  The next task force meeting will follow that on Sunday, March 8th.  We hope the beginnings of a colony will come from that meeting.

June 2008 Reunion Highlights

The reunion began at about 2:00 pm in the Twenty Chimneys with a meeting of the recolonization task force headed by Bill Lenoir. Those present at this meeting were: Bill Lenoir, Bill Dix, Bill Putt, Neil Kelly, Bob Zalucki, Hank Perritt, Russ Cox, Whit Mauzy and Jim Triant.

Details of the discussion will be circulated via the Alumni mailing list.

At 5:30 pm we began the reception followed by the dinner and a talk by one of the groups funded by the 484 Phi Alpha Foundation on the very interesting project which they were undertaking within the Cambridge School System. The speakers from Cambridge Educational Access were:

Ginny Berkowitz, Program Manager
Matt Landry, Media Production Coordinator

Those attending the reunion included those listed below. I hope we did not leave any one off. If so please let us know and we will correct the posting.

1. John & Carol Marsland
2. Steve Reimers
3. Mike Scott
4. Carl & Denise King
5. Bill Lenoir
6. Mal & Donna Wheeler
7. John Golden
8. Jim and Michel Latimer
9. Bill
10. Eric Fitch
11. Ned and Deb Brush
12. Bill Dix
13. Preston & Candy Ford
14. Tom & Jo Comparato
15. Hank Perritt
16. Bob Corwin
17. Don Paul
18. Ken Andersen
19. Jim Triant
20. Rich Haas
21. Walt Colby
22. Stuart Traver
23. Herb Johnson & wife
24. Bill & Ellie Noz
25. David Claypool
26. Peter and Henry Hohorst
27. Neil Kelly
28. Russ Cox
29. Whit Mauzy

Click here to view photos.

It was a great reunion and we hope to see everyone again next year.

ΦΑ

Association Board Meeting Date Change

To the Board of Directors of Mass Iota Tau Association

This is to advise you that the date of our next meeting has been changed from Thursday September 18, 2008 to Saturday September 20, 2008 at 5:30 pm at the Wellesley Faculty Club. The meeting will be preceded by a meeting of the Recolonization Task Force beginning at 2:30 pm also at the Wellesley Faculty Club and all board members are invited to participate in this meeting if they can do so. The Recolonization Task Force which is being chaired by Bill Lenoir is making very significant planning progress which we think you will find both encouraging and quite exciting. The date was changed to accommodate the schedules of some of the key out of town members of the Recolonization Task Force.

As we get closer to the meeting date we will be sending an agenda for the meeting.

ΦΑ
Bill Dix and Bill Putt

Reid Sheftall ‘78 Featured in Technology Review

In the next Technology Review there will be an article on Reid Sheftall who was an MIT SAE 1978 physics graduate who became a doctor and professional golfer in Cambodia. In 2007, he published a book titled Striking It Rich: Golf in the Kingdom with Generals, Patients and Pros which is available in paperback from Amazon. You can find the article here.

It is very interesting.

ΦΑ

Upcoming MIT SAE Board Meetings

Please mark your calendars for the upcoming Mass Iota Tau Association Board Meeting and the 484 Phi Alpha Foundation Board Meeting.

Thursday, September 18, 2008
Mass Iota Tau Association Board of Directors Meeting
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM (EDT)
Wellesley Faculty Club
Wellesley, MA

Wednesday October 29, 2008
484 Phi Alpha Foundation Board of Directors Meeting
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM (EDT)
Wellesley Faculty Club
Wellesley, MA