Party with The Jaybird

With 9 days to go until Homecoming, here's the current list of individuals that will be partying with The Jaybird next weekend. We've got 60 for golf, 85 for dinner, and 48 for the tailgate and football game. If you're among the stragglers that just hasn't gotten your money in yet - or if you're still on the fence - now's the time to buck up and make it happen. Do it for The Jaybird.

Ted Albrecht
Spence Andrews
Steve Arledge
Robin & Paula Barlowe
Hill Beck
Brian Beveridge
Page & Caress Bradford
Wayne Bradshaw
Ryan Buhl
Artie Bunnell
Doug Callaway
Paul & Lynn Cook
Truba & Fran Cooper
Robert Cranshaw
Gabe Crouch
Greg & Jennifer Desautels
Gene & Kathy Donner
Frank Fahrner
Gerald & Cyndee Fallen
John Fuller
Stan Gasiorowski
Tom & Annette Gates
Chris Genier
Jeff Given
Ed Godsey
Steve Goheen
Cliff Gordon
David Harrell
Preston Hicks
Neil Howard
Eric & Greer Hughes
Kevin Hutchinson
Wife Hutchinson
Thomas Kuspis
Jimmy Lee
Alexander Leukhart
Chuck Maguire
Walter Mann
Jim Massengill
Keith McCalla
Reid McClure
Keith & Barbie McGrath
Jonathan Meredith
Skip Muller
Steve & Sharon Murphy
Jim Newins
Milt Nuckols
David & Ann Oakes
Ryan O'Brien
Greg & Ann Pannell
John Peery
Bennett Peterson
Mike Poindexter
Bill Powell
Thomas Pressler
Peter Pruden
Ron Puckett
Mark Railsback
Patrick Regan
William Reisfeld
John Richardson
Mike Sellers
Jim Smith
Fran & Sharon Spanberger
Jason Stapf
Donald Steinbrugge
Richard Stockel
Scott Stolte
Donne & Anita Storino
Wayne Street
Jim & Davidina Sutherland
Bo Taylor
Scott Walker
Charlie Williams
Jay & Brenda Wright

If you don't see your wife's name above, it's because you didn't provide her name with your payment.

Homecoming Roll Call

A great number brothers have stated their intent to join the fun for Homecoming weekend. A lesser number has actually ponied up the money. Below is the list of brothers who have PAID as of September 18, for either golf, dinner or the tailgate. We'll update this list each week as more checks are received.

The deadline to receive payments is October 10.

Hill Beck
Page Bradford & wife
Wayne Bradshaw
Paul Cook & wife
Truba Cooper & wife
Robert Cranshaw
Gene Donner & wife
Chris Genier
Ed Godsey & wife
Cliff Gordon
Preston Hicks & wife
Kevin Hutchison & wife
Chuck Maguire
Walter Mann
Keith McGrath
Steve Murphy & wife
Jim Newins
Milt Nuckols
Greg Pannell & wife
Bill Powell
Ron Puckett
Jim Smith & wife
Fran Spanberger & wife
Richard Stockel
Scott Stolte
Donne Storino & wife

The Nineties Gap

By most measures, last year's Homecoming was a great success for Beta Beta alumni. Nearly 70 brothers returned to campus for an alumni happy hour, a fantastic tailgate, a Spider victory over Villanova, and a dinner reception overlooking Westhampton Lake. However, in one respect, 2007 was also a complete failure.

The above chart shows paid attendees for last year's Homecoming, according to their year of initiation (we don't have accurate years of graduation for everyone). A quick look shows that fellowship is strong among the brothers from the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. Every pledge class from 1960 to 1984 (except '62 and '67) had at least one representative in attendance last year.

This chart also reveals a dramatic drop-off in attendance beyond 1984. For lack of a better term, this is what I call "The Nineties Gap". I don't think this gap is the result of apathy. From what I know about the chapter of 15-20 years ago, these were some of our strongest years on campus. I also don't think it 's a matter of being too young or too busy with our job or families. From what I've seen on Facebook just the last few days, there are plenty of guys in their 30s and early 40s looking to reconnect with each other.

To help close this gap, I'm looking for anyone post-1984 that can help recruit other brothers back to campus for this year's Homecoming. Someone that can organize a golf foursome with their pledge brothers. Or convince a few former roommates to make the trip back to Richmond to smell that lodge smell once again. Drop me an email at mark.railsback@gmail.com if you're interested in helping recruit.

The Brain Trust

Left to right: Rich Johnson, Artie Bunnell , Gene Donner, Scott Stolte, Keith McGrath, Harry Hall, Donne Storino, Wayne Bradshaw, David Harrell, Jon Meredith, Jim Newins. Not pictured: Truba Cooper, Page Bradford and Mark Railsback (behind the lens).

Last Friday night, The Foundation Golf Committee gathered on President Storino’s back deck to strategize over pizza, beers & cigars. Golf Chairman Wayne Bradshaw provided the following summary of the evening:

Rich Johnson and Rodney Poole came through with 100 beautiful golf shirts (first class) with the Kappa Sigma crest on the front (oh , and their company logo on the sleeve). Wow! The first 100 golfers to sign up will each get a shirt.

Our Starter Keith McGrath let us know that he's already collected nearly $3,000 in early sign ups. He's also managed to arrange for a Ford F-150 to be the prize for our hole-in-one contest. Keith will also serve as our Event Bookkeeper, which we appreciate very much.

Brian Imburg’s work on the Program was outstanding, and while he was at the Beach on vacation, Harry Hall and I ate his pizza for him.

Gene Donner and Mark Railsback knocked out the Event Flyer which all agreed was a home run! You should have received one via email.

Jim Newins is handling food and making sure that we have any necessary tents and heaters and power for the band. Jim! What’s for lunch? Jim's also stepped up to help out Jim Massengil with tee-signs sponsorships. This is a big source for easy donations, so hopefully Jim & Jim make this happen.

Scott Stolte, Mr. 501(c)3, stole the show along with Rich! Scott has loaded the golfer Goodie Bags with towels, tees, and a whole assortment of super great items to definitley put a smile on the Brother’s faces when they open their Bag!

Truba Cooper, Page Bradford and Herbie Arnold are donating the Trophies on behalf of “The Zoo”, a snake pit they used to call home back in the '60s.

Donne and I have gathered some great Raffle Prizes (Jim Newins has donated over $1,000 worth of high tech goodies; Harry Hall contributed 2 HON Executive leather chairs! ). If the Raffle grows any more, we may need a separate tent just for prizes!

Artie Bunnell and Truba are handling the Mulligan Sales, and Artie has an idea for even more cheating. Its called string. Will 18 under bring home the Gold?

Lastly, a Designated Driver Program is in “the works” and will be firmed up soon.

All in all, this tournament looks destined for success. We'll continue to bring you more details as planning move along. In the meantime, call up your buddies, organize your foursome, and reserve your spot today.

Homecoming 2008: The Full Schedule

The weekend of October 23-26 promises to be one of the strongest for Beta Beta alumni in a long, long time. The schedule of events for the weekend is as follows:

Thursday 10/23
Model Initiation at the Lodge, 7pm

Friday 10/24
1st Annual Beta Beta Foundation Golf Tournament
9:30am - check in
11:00am - shotgun start
6:00 pm - dinner

Saturday 10/25
Brother's Breakfast at the Lodge, 10am -noon
Tailgate, noon - 3pm
UR vs. Georgetown, 3pm
Open House at the Lodge, post-game

Sunday 10/26
Celebrate Greek Life Brunch, 11am

Tailgate will once again be hosted by Kevin "P-Bear" Hyde '77, and will cost $35/person, including a ticket to the game. Payments can be sent to the following address:

Donne Storino
7650 Idlewyld Road
Richmond, VA 23225

In the coming weeks, we'll provide more detail on each event. So check back often for news & information. For questions, or to offer help with any of the above, please contact Homecoming Chairman Scott Stolte '84.

Homecoming 2008: Friday at The Crossings

This year's Homecoming weekend will kick-off with the first annual Beta Beta Foundation Golf Tournament on Friday, October 24th, at The Virginia Crossings Resort in Glen Allen. Check-in begins at 9:30am with a shotgun start at 11am. There will be a Long Drive hole and a couple of Par 3 Gambling holes. A $150 donation to the Foundation ($75 for students) gets you 18 holes, cart, lunch, dinner, and a loaded goodie bag.

After golf, there will be a full-on Southern Bar-B-Q Pulled Pork dinner with all the trimmings, plus live entertainment. Everyone is invited - including non-golfers and their families - but reservations are a must, since folks are expected from all over the country. For the non-golfers, a $50 donation ($20 for students) gets you dinner, drinks & a full night of entertainment.

Payments for golf or dinner should be sent to the following:

Donne Storino
7650 Idlewyld Road
Richmond, VA 23225

For questions, please call or email:

Foundation President Donne Storino at 804-323-7179
Golf Chairman Wayne Bradshaw at 310-543-9393
Golf Starter Keith McGrath at 804-370-9070