MEMBERS
Washington State
A Letter From the Association President
Hello Brothers!
First off we apologize for the lack of recent newsletters. In a cost conscious move the Alumni Association elected to move away from Pennington as our alumni engagement partner and move to the new offerings provided through the FarmHouse Fraternity International office. The transition has come with some changes and bumps in the road, but we believe that the financial savings and close working relationship with the international office will help with our short term goals.
Second, we’re excited about the easing of restrictions so that we can all safely gather and enjoy the company of our friends and brothers. We hope to see all of you soon at an alumni or chapter event in the coming months to reconnect. Due to timing this year, we combined our Spring Association Meeting with the Chapter’s Founders Day celebration April 9-10th. Even if you aren’t able to make certain events in person we will continue to offer virtual options for participation. Look for an email with a Zoom link as we get closer to quarterly meetings.
The last item that I have on my agenda is to provide some perspective on the state of the Alumni Association. While many of us enjoyed our time in the house and the strong bonds of friendship while there, we’ve never had a particularly active, strong alumni network. The chapter had some ups and downs over the decades, but even strong periods of membership never translated to more active alums or increased financial support. As such, the Alumni Association has long depended on the rental income from the chapter and annex to support the maintenance and upgrade of the facilities. Yet, in recent years several factors have impacted house numbers and the Alumni Association has not collected the full rent from the chapter in nearly five years. With the reduced income from the chapter we have become increasingly dependent on the rent from the annex to support our activities. The overall decrease in income has forced the Alumni Association to defer a lot of the desired upgrades and improvements because the money just hasn’t been there, but with the chapter house beginning to show its age at 62 years we need to make an investment in order to support the young men in the chapter in their recruitment efforts.
We are asking for your help to face these challenges. We need more of the alums who loved their time in the house to step forward with their time, wallets, or both. The Alumni Association surpluses help cover small projects and repairs, but what would really make a difference is your support towards prioritized projects (online resources coming soon) targeted to improve both the appearance and function of the chapter. The members and the alumni need to work together to try to face these challenges and make the house a place that young men want to live and FarmHouse an organization that they want to be a part of. Whether it be some hours of your time or a financial contribution of any size, we hope you can help and get behind some of the projects we need to complete.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to one of the Alumni Association Board members!
Ryan Nottingham (WA 98)
Association President
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Washington State
MEMBERS
Washington State
A Letter From the Association President
Hello Brothers!
First off we apologize for the lack of recent newsletters. In a cost conscious move the Alumni Association elected to move away from Pennington as our alumni engagement partner and move to the new offerings provided through the FarmHouse Fraternity International office. The transition has come with some changes and bumps in the road, but we believe that the financial savings and close working relationship with the international office will help with our short term goals.
Second, we’re excited about the easing of restrictions so that we can all safely gather and enjoy the company of our friends and brothers. We hope to see all of you soon at an alumni or chapter event in the coming months to reconnect. Due to timing this year, we combined our Spring Association Meeting with the Chapter’s Founders Day celebration April 9-10th. Even if you aren’t able to make certain events in person we will continue to offer virtual options for participation. Look for an email with a Zoom link as we get closer to quarterly meetings.
The last item that I have on my agenda is to provide some perspective on the state of the Alumni Association. While many of us enjoyed our time in the house and the strong bonds of friendship while there, we’ve never had a particularly active, strong alumni network. The chapter had some ups and downs over the decades, but even strong periods of membership never translated to more active alums or increased financial support. As such, the Alumni Association has long depended on the rental income from the chapter and annex to support the maintenance and upgrade of the facilities. Yet, in recent years several factors have impacted house numbers and the Alumni Association has not collected the full rent from the chapter in nearly five years. With the reduced income from the chapter we have become increasingly dependent on the rent from the annex to support our activities. The overall decrease in income has forced the Alumni Association to defer a lot of the desired upgrades and improvements because the money just hasn’t been there, but with the chapter house beginning to show its age at 62 years we need to make an investment in order to support the young men in the chapter in their recruitment efforts.
We are asking for your help to face these challenges. We need more of the alums who loved their time in the house to step forward with their time, wallets, or both. The Alumni Association surpluses help cover small projects and repairs, but what would really make a difference is your support towards prioritized projects (online resources coming soon) targeted to improve both the appearance and function of the chapter. The members and the alumni need to work together to try to face these challenges and make the house a place that young men want to live and FarmHouse an organization that they want to be a part of. Whether it be some hours of your time or a financial contribution of any size, we hope you can help and get behind some of the projects we need to complete.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to one of the Alumni Association Board members!
Ryan Nottingham (WA 98)
Association President
