South Florida Chapter
| Spring 1998 |
|
On January 6, we were
elected into the governing body of fraternities on campus, the Inter-Fraternity
Council, by a 6-4 vote. On Monday, January 27, Chris Gardner and Mike Arilaga, from international headquarters, came down to begin our initiation and recruitment. From February 11 to February 13, 17 gentlemen were initiated as Associate Members of the Delta Chi fraternity. On February 21, the following 19 members were initiated into the Delta Chi fraternity at Embry Riddle College in Daytona Beach: Josh Anderson, Darshan Bakriwala, Jorge Bernales, Justin Chaloupka, Jeff Conley, John Davison, Bevan Edwards, Dave Hendry, Jason Krzyzanowski, Jakub Kowalczyk, Randy Moss, Jason Poleyeff, Marcelo Rodriguez, Scott Semanision, Frank Stahl, Jeremy Swiger, Mike Tomasetti, John Toombs, Richard Walther. The weekend of March 6 through March 8, we went to our first regional conference at Jacksonville State in Alabama. It was an experience that will not be forgotten by those who went, Josh Anderson, Dave Hendry, Jason Krzyzanowski and Bevan Edwards. We were very well accepted by our other brothers and were treated very well. Next years Region VIII's regional conference will be in Athens, Georgia at the University of Georgia. On Thursday March 19, the first two members of the Beta class were inducted as Associate Members, Jamey Rabbitt and Bennett Grossman. Our first social was a success when we went "Moonlight Canoeing" with the ladies of Sigma Delta Tau on April 6. The first social that we were bid for was roller-skating with Kappa Delta on April 15. All of the brothers enjoyed the time and only a few minor injuries were obtained. Throughout the month of April, we participated in our first intramural sport, softball. Unfortunately we did not win a single game except for a forfeit by Sigma Lambda Beta. We have concluded school for the semester and our first as Delta Chi on Campus. We have all learned a lot about Greek life and are looking forward to our first fall rush next year. |
| Fall 1998 |
|
Fall 1998 came
with many firsts, including our first homecoming, our first rush, and
our first Founder's Day celebration. From our first rush, we brought in
12 of the greatest guys: Chris Cook, Craig Drabyk, Evaristo "Junior"
Hernandez, Sammy Kalmowicz, Rob Mackay, Steve Martin, Dan "Brickhouse"
McAvoy, Morgan Najar, Justin Percival, Dave Positano, Jeff Scott, Tim
Scott. They were initiated at Embry Riddle in Daytona on November 14,
1998. We got to celebrate our first Founder's Day at the Tampa Club. From those that attended, which included most of the brothers and alumni. The event was definitely one that will never be forgotten. Football continued our Intramural Sports. We started the season off poorly, but finished strong making it to the third round of the playoffs before being eliminated. We look to a strong season next year with many returners and new members. Not only did we play football, but we actively supported the USF football team. As part of supporting the team not only did we tailgate to the games, but we participated in the Coach Jim Levitt Radio Show broadcast from out local Hooters. Because of our regular support at the radio show we received a lot of positive recognition in the USF Athletic Department. For one of the shows we passes out child ID packets to the patrons as a philanthropy. In recognition for our help we got to see Delta Chi grace the JumboTron several times during the game. We also participated in our first homecoming. We bid Chi Omega and had many wonderful memories from homecoming, which was a long and stressful week of events, including a skit, and a parade. In an attempt to show that we were not done with homecoming we held an "It is not over until we decide it is" Pajama Party with Chi Omega, our last event of the semester. |
| Spring 1999 |
|
Since 1999 has started
we have participated in Spring Rush, bringing in three great guys, Eric
Steinbach, Josh McLennan, and Eric Ross. Shortly after we were able to
recruit Courtney Perigo to round out the pledge class. The pledge class
was under the direction of Richard Walther our new AMC. The pledge class
came up with two class projects the first was to make our letters to be
placed in local restaurants such as Benegans and Rocky's Bar and Grill.
The second of their projects was to arrange for Delta Chi to Adopt-A-Road.
We received a section of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near campus. An active supporter of athletics on campus here at USF, Delta Chi made it a point to show up at the Coach Seth Greenberg Radio Show and the basketball games. The radio show was held at our local Hooters once a week. For our loyal attendance at the shows The Team radio station who hosted the Seth Greenberg Show decided to reward us with a final four party with free food and drinks for our members. Unfortunately they were not able to sponsor the party for the final four, but have said that they will sponsor a party in the future. Our local founding was celebrated by going out to eat and then a party. This was a small party but was fun and a great way of celebrating our local founding. The semester's big event was Greek Week. The kick off event was roller-skating. At the roller skating event teams were announced. We were teamed with Kappa Delta and Sigma Chi as team two. The theme for the week was Greeks at Night 80's TV shows. Our team chose "Charlie's Angles" meets "Fantasy Island." We had a great skit written and did well in all the competitions. Our banner "Charlie's Greek Angles" won the best banner competition. Our team also won second place in Spirit Competition. Bevan Edwards, Craig Drabyk, and Josh Anderson all served on the Greek Week Committee. Bevan was in charge of the derby race, and Josh planned out the education night with two speakers on Aids. The Week was a success and the Greek system raised $10,000 for Ronald McDonald's Adult Training Centers, and this donation was matched by a conglomerate of two local businesses. Following Greek Week we held a social with Delta Delta Delta. This was a fun evening of Putt Putt. The brothers and the girls all had a great time. The big event of the semester was Formal. Organized by Randy Moss with a shirt designed by Jason Poleyeff, it was the biggest event held by Delta Chi to date. Held at the Airport Hilton in Tampa, the night started with dinner and was followed by dancing. Several sorority ladies were in attendance as dates, and many stated that Delta Chi's Right of Spring Formal was the best formal they had been to. The highlight of the evening came unplanned. As it was held on the eve of the final four there were several teams in town staying at various hotels. It turns out that Ohio States pep band was staying at the hotel where formal was held. While walking through the lobby one of the band member noticed the sign saying the room was reserved for Delta Chi. It turns out that Jay, which was the band member's name, was an AM to Delta Chi up in Ohio State. We invited Jay in to party with us and he left with a two shirts one for him to wear and one signed by all of us. With the semester drawing to a close we went to bid Alpha Delta Pi to be on our team for homecoming. We decided they would be a great sorority to team with because of their performance in Homecoming and Greek Week in the past few years. The bid was one of the nicer bids we did. We all dressed in coat and tie, and brought Alpha Delta Pi each a white carnation. We also brought them violets, a picture, and a lion wearing our letters for their new house. We have continued on with our Intramural Sports, returning to Softball. We were able to field a team more readily this year with more members. The softball season is almost over and we are heading into the playoffs. We have done better this year than last winning two games. On Saturday April 17th we initiated Eric Steinbach, Josh McLennan, Eric Ross, Courtney Perigo. With four more brothers we head into the new semester. |
| Spring 2000 |
|
Brothers Eric Steinbach, Eric Ross, and Associate Member Anthony Napolitano went to Regionals with Russ Driscoll and Mario Petruzzelli. Our Hard work has finally paid off. WE CHARTERED!!!! After our Charter Review we made it. William Williams, "AA" came down to our Chartering Banquet and presented us with our charter. We also initiated 8 great guys: James Brannan, Kirk Caldwell, Jacob Cole, Joe Rifkin, Mike Stockton, Dave Sinclair, Brad Dorfberger, and Adam Wasser. |
| Summer 2000 |
| Brothers Rob Mackay, Jason Littlejohn, and Jeremy Swiger joined Russ Driscoll and Doc Underwood at the International Convention in Phoenix Arizona. |
| Fall 2000 |
|
During Rush we had the Wing Night with the ladies from Wing house, Ladies Night, and Tradition Night to Bennigan's. We came out pretty well in numbers. Our Pledge Class started out with 10 fresh faces. And it looks to be like a great semester. We had many a great tailgates along with some Brother's Night Outs. The Associate Members hosted a Brother's Event Tailgate for us. They did a wonderful job. Delta Chi teamed up with Lambda Theta Phi and Sigma Lambda Gamma to make up a kickin' Homecoming Team. The game would be USF v. UWK ( Bulls v. the Hill Toppers). We had an awesome banner and float. We won the game…. Initiation Weekend was most fun this year. Unfortunately the Associate Member Class dwindled from 10 to 7, and one was in the hospital. However by their request all but one continued through I-Weekend. According to the brothers the AM class became extremely close through this ordeal with the class president in the hospital. The outcome was very good. Billy Dent, Chris Marshall, Rob Sijan, Paul Rothlisberger, # 55 (Name left out, was expelled from Fraternity), and Mark Frizzell. |
| Spring 2001 |
|
A few brothers took part in volunteering to help out with InterSport. We were able to see and work the behind the scenes portion of the Obstacle Courses of the athletes. And we also scored some service points as well. Richard Walther, Chris Marshall, Eric Steinbach, Jakob Kowalczzk, Dave Sinclair, Sammy Kalmowicz, and Doc Underwood went to the Delta Chi Regional Leadership Conference 2001. It was hosted at Embry Riddle. We were able to make new friendships and catch up on old ones. The guys of Embry Riddle were very hospitable to us. Cory Shigamatsu from IHQ did a great job in speaking. It was a very interesting and edifying experience. Rush was very interesting this semester. We had a few obstacles to overcome with Wild 98.7 canceling out on us at last minute during Ladies' Night, and a few other quirks here and there. But, Overall it turned out very nice. Our Brothers were in record number at all events. We bid 6 pledges, but only 3 accepted. And on that note one of our new pledges had an accident and was forced to drop to get his car fixed. C'est la vie. From our last AM Class the Class President was in the hospital during Initiation weekend. Therefore we held another Initiation for Anthony Bacon. The "newer" brothers were touched by the event. To start off Greek Week everyone went to Tahiti Joe's for Greek Night Out. There Delta Chi was "Surfin' the USA" with Delta Gamma and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, who were our teammates for the 2001 Beach Theme of Greek Week. The Friday of Greek Week was Philanthropy day where our team hosted a ring toss event for the children of the Joshua House and Florida College Academy. Saturday was Games Day. Our team won in the chariot derby. And we made valiant efforts in the tug of war. With the ladies of SDT we went to Sidesplitters Comedy Club to see Carl Labove. It was a great performance. The ladies enjoyed themselves very much. We took the ladies of KD to United Skates of America. We had a 70's Roller Jam theme. It was great. The ladies had a great time showing our brothers how to skate. We have decided to change our RUSH tactics. We have already started to look into our Iota Class. We went to Fatso's to hang out with one of the new guys interested in us. The University of South Florida hosted a Leadership Conference for the students on how to be a leader. The entire Delta Chi Chapter was in attendance. We learned to treat our organization as a business and not a club. We also learned how to network with those around us. The Conference was so good that we have decided to impliment it into our Associate Member Program. We have bid our first for Iota class. This is new to this chapter, but something we look forward to make more standard. Mike Dozois accepted our bid. Unfortunately our Theta AM class dwindled to one. On the bright side 4-22-01 we initiated Seth Kapp into our brother hood. |
| Summer 2001 |
| We tried our luck at Summer Recruitment and Brotherhood events. We had Recruitment BBQ's all over the Tampa Area, one in St Pete, one in Brandon, one in Lutz, and one in Tampa near the Airport. |
| Fall 2001 |
|
This year we teamed up with AOPi and PKA for homecoming. Our team was the "Wild Things".
The float was awesome. We had James Brannan and an AOPi sister dressed like Tarzan and Jane
and we had another Nathan Stevic's girlfriend, an AOPi in a tiger costume under a cage. The
Pikes wanted to do their own thing, so they did; they had a Fire truck in the parade. For our Fundraiser we had a Date Auction at the Red Zone. Our handsome studs raked in a decent chunk of change. Our Iota Pledge class went very well, and we initiated some new brothers: Michel Dozois, Joshua Logue, Jeff Brown, Nathan Stevic, and Mike Zukusky. These guys are awesome. |
| Spring 2002 |
|
We had our 1st, soon to be annual, Active vs the Alumni football game. We have dubbed it the Red & Buff Bowl. Although the weather was sub-par, it proved to be a great success as the actives beat the alumni 18-12. We teamed up with Tri-Delta and Sigma Chi for Greek Week. Our theme was "Viva Las Vegas". We had this cheesy skit which featured an Elvis impersonator (enough said). Billy Dent and some other brothers repainted the chariot for our race. But the race was cancelled due to the weather. In Intramurals James Bacle almost got knocked unconscious when tagged a runner in softball. We had an awesome Rush and are now initiating our Kappa class: Andrew Feliciano, Sean Roberts, Tom Raad, Justin Littlejohn, Ryan Mahaffey, Kevin Whitlock, James Bacle, Dave Owsiany (Oshani), and Steve Thaw. |
| Summer 2002 |
| Andrew Feliciano, wanted a try at Summer Recruitment, so he, Jeff Brown, Dave Positano, and Chris Marshall set to make it happen. With the Recruitment Plan so new it did not fly nearly as high as it could have, but we were able to get some wonderful guys over the Summer. |
| Fall 2002 |
|
With a larger group of guys and a great Rush, we had a kickin' semester. Our Tailgates were awesome. We had an awesome Founder's Day at the Tampa Club. The Halloween Party at Littlejohn's house was fantastic; or rather all except the ladies of Tri-Pi and Mace in his Dixie Cup outfit… Hard work has paid off again. We are slated to get a Chapter House!!!! It is going to be a dream come true for many brothers and alumni. Our guys worked hard for Intramurals. We had a kick ass semester. We are getting better and better. Sammy Kalmowicz was elected Homecoming King… Homecoming went well for the most part. We teamed up with Chi Omega and the Lacrosse team, neither of which showed up to anything except the parade. (Okay Chi Omega helped a little on the float… a little.) We initiated a great group of guys: Christopher Crawford, Christopher Cook, John Magulick, Jonathan Andrews, Mike Dunn, Brandon Gogue, Steve Giddens, Jon Bowman, Gary Mechler, Brett Gonzalez, Jayson Uriarte, and Kyle Johnson (Who had Band on Initiation Weekend so he went through in the Spring). |
| Spring 2003 |
| The spring semester started with a very divided chapter. Many brothers believed that the end was near and they were just going to give up. Others felt that it was just growing pains, and some just didn't care. A couple of the newly initiated brothers went inactive for a wide range of reasons. This hurt the chapter in numbers, and morale. Spring Rush brought a bit of relief when Delta Chi rushed and bided 8 guys. With a brand new house on its way, and no one to fill the beds, the grim reality was coming clear. Either the chapter would grow-up or give-up. The chapter decided to grow-up. The first note of change began during the Second Annual Red and Buff Bowl. This years bowl was planned around the 5th Anniversary of the Chapter. Chapter Alumni came from all parts to celebrate this great milestone. The next highlight of the semester was when Delta Chi won Intramural Bowling by almost 300 points. Things began to look up for the chapter. Through the semester Delta Chi began to spread its self through out the campus. Chris Crawford participated in Kappa Delta's Big Man on Campus competition. His outstanding talent and kickass rendition of the National Anthem helped him place 4th out of 14 gentlemen that entered. Brother's Caruso, Cook, Marshall, and Crawford all were elected into student Government. Ryan Caruso was elected Senate Vice President. Chris Cook and Chris Marshall were elected as the Arts and Science College Council President and Vice President respectively. In the IFC Andrew was working diligently on the new rush season. Joining Andrew on IFC were Chris Crawford, Ryan Caruso, and John Bowman as directors of Public Relations, Awards and Recognition's, and Corporate Sponsors respectively. The chapter enjoyed the company of Delta Gamma during its first social of the semester at a "ComeonIwanalaya" Luau party. Thanks to all brothers that help put this together. As the semester keep progressing the chapter began to address their difference and work together. Greek Week was a great time for everyone. Delta Chi bided the beautiful ladies of Alpha Omicron Pi for Greek Week. They also enjoyed the company of the brother from Sigma Chi. The theme we chose was "the world is in our hand" to honor the overall theme of "back to basics." The AOPi, Sigma Chi, Delta Chi team had a great time working together. We placed 1st in the school drive, and Third in the Greek Olympics. Soon Formal came. This year we took a new twist to an old theme of "Black and White." All who attended had a great time. With the semester coming down to a close things were beginning to look bright for the chapter. This year Delta Chi swept the Greek Life awards banquet. Out of the 11 IFC awards given out, Delta Chi took home five. Awards included "Most Improved Chapter"," Best Recruitment Program", "Outstanding Brotherhood", "New Member of the Year" and "Brother of the Year." Initiation came and went with out a hitch and we proudly welcomed 8 new guys into our brotherhood: Paul Haynicz, Jay Tomblin, Darryl Block, Jason Popp, David Scarborough, Jon Llama, Christopher Wessler and Mike Rosenthal. All the brothers are excited about the new chapter house schedule to be finished in summer of 2003. |
| Spring 2003 |
| Summer 2003 Andrew Feliciano set up a Recruitment Plan that had never been seen before. He and Brandon Gogue, Paul Haynicz, and Dave Scarborough set out and recruited 15 guys before the Fall semester ever began. |
| Fall 2003 |
| WE HAVE A HOUSE!!!!! We just moved into our new House, we have 26 Associate Members, an Excellent Executive Board, and a strong Chapter. Things are excellent, and they are just beginning… |
