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Chapter News
 Chapter
assists chapter alumnus in Central Mississippi band festival
On the morning of Saturday, September 20, 2008, brothers of the
Theta Upsilon chapter of Phi Mu Alpha travelled to Florence, MS
to volunteer at the McLaurin Band Festival. Brothers Joe
Raymond, Timothy Powell, Coday Anthony and probationary members
Daniel Payne and Travis Hall participated in assisting alumnus Burell
Leach (Theta Upsilon, '86) in the operations of the festival.
Performing bands included McLaurin Attendence Center, Hillcrest
High School, Ridgeland High School, and Franklin High School.
The brothers assisted in parking arrangements, escorting bands to
and from warm up areas and escorting units to the performance field.
The participating brothers had a great time meeting alumni of Theta
Upsilon, Lambda Phi (Mississippi State University), and Iota Gamma
(Univerisity of Iowa). Theta Upsilon was extended the invitation
to assist in this festival throughout upcoming years.
 Chapter
has begun to plan the Skene Halloween Haunted House fundraiser
With two months to gather information, resources, and volunteers,
the chapter is now looking to plan and implement the annual Haunted
House at the now abandoned, privately-owned Skene High School.
Early on the morning of Friday, August 29, Brothers David Dunavent,
Andrew Owen, Wes Patrick, and Joe Raymond assessed the damage to
the property since the last Haunted House. They found that
the facility was in surprisingly good shape, only having sustained
some minor damage from the elements and vandals. Friday's
investigation showed that cleaning up the facility would not be
tremendously difficult for the chapter to take care of as the date
of the event quickly approaches. The chapter welcomes any
person interested in volunteering to make this event a great one
to contact either the president, Joe Raymond, or the chair of fundraising
and projects, David Dunavent. The chapter also welcomes any
ideas from anyone on possible themes and rooms. [Read
more...]
 Four chapter brothers participate
in Lyrecrest Work Weekend
From May 15 until May 17, 2008, four brothers from the Theta Upsilon
Chapter visited Lyrecrest, the fraternity’s national headquarters,
for the annual work weekend. In an act of volunteerism to better
the fraternity and develop strong bonds with brothers from around
the nation, the chapter made a lasting mark on Lyrecrest. Brothers
Johnathan Gibbs, Mark Helmstetter, Andrew Owen, and Joe Raymond
did many tasks around Lyrecrest, including pressure washing the
entire facility, staining the front ramp with Mahogany Flame, painting
the doors to the cottage, and removing the back porch of Lyrecrest
North. The experience was memorable for not only the four
chapter members who went, but also for the other brothers who came
from other chapters. The trip strengthened bonds among the
brothers, showing how much fun being at Lyrecrest is, while at the
same time reminding the chapter that it is united with hundreds
of other chapters through its common experience. [Read
more...]
Housing plans to demolish dormitory,
including chapter room
During the first week of April, Housing and Residence Life Director
Elsie Lynn Ervin mentioned to Brother Joe Raymond in passing that
the chapter would lose its chapter room at the end of the 2008 spring
semester. She expressed to him that the Bond-Carpenter and
Whittington-Williams dormitories were not very suitable places in
which to live, and that Housing had thus decided to demolish all
four dormitories, figuring out how to house the many incoming students
with the other remaining male dormitories. Housing had no
plan at all for rehousing the chapter any time before the construction
of a new dormitory, which is scheduled to happen around 2012 at
the earliest. Even though this development puts the chapter
behind a great deal, the chapter will work hard to maintain its
morale without a chapter room for a few years. [Read
more...]
 Swap
with Phi Mu successful
On the evening of Sunday, April 20, the Delta State chapters of
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Phi Mu Fraternity had a luau-theme swap
on the Pavilion near New Men's dormitory. Everyone was invited
to come dressed in tropical shirts and enjoy a good time.
The swap was filled with different luau activities, including an
exciting game of limbo and an on-going game of throwing the beach
ball around. The chapter had the band Cobalt Cali play at
the event to keep the air filled with lively music. The chapter
invited all brothers from the province to attend, and a few brothers
from the Lambda Rho chapter at Northwest Community College came
to the Delta State campus to join the festivities. Everyone
who spoke about it said that the luau swap was a very successful
event, and proof that a lot of fun can be had without alcohol. [Read
more...]
Large Mills Music Mission
In the early days of the fraternity, Father Ossian Mills would take
several friends and visit hospitals and care homes in Boston in
order to give the gift of music and flowers to those there so that
they might be comforted during their hardships. To commemorate
that practice (the "Flower Mission," as it was called),
the chapter planned its Mills Music Mission (as it is now called).
The chapter scheduled singings in eight different places, including
nursing homes and hospitals, to take place over two days. On the
weekend of March 29-30, the chapter went down to central Mississippi—to
Brandon, Raymond, Jackson, and Vicksburg. After singing at
all eight of these places, the chapter went back to Brother James
Koestler's home in Vicksburg to reflect on the mission. It
was an extremely moving experience for everyone involved.
After that event, the chapter strongly wanted to do more of them.
[Read more...]
Rho Iota Chartered
Theta Upsilon attended the chartering of Province 24’s new
chapter at Tougaloo College, Rho Iota, on March 28, 2008.
We look forward to watching the chapter grow and continue to be
strong.
[Read more...]
The chapter sings to Kossman on her 98th Birthday
While planning for Juliet Kossman's 98th birthday party, Brother
James Robinson suggested that the chapter sing to her as part of
the festivities. The chapter, of course, did so, giving its
gift of song to her for her birthday on March 24, 2008. The chapter
took tremendous pleasure from bringing her joy on her birthday.
 2008
Province 24 Workshop Successful
Every January during MLK weekend, Province 24, which includes all
the chapters of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia that are in Mississippi, holds
a Province Workshop. The 2008 Province Workshop was held at
Northwest Mississippi Community College. The Theta Upsilon
chapter sent thirteen brothers to the event. Several speakers
reported on matters like risk management and about how to improve
chapter activities and brotherhood. The Workshop also had
several breakout sessions on different matters such as the national
strategic plan and how to develop brotherhood. The province traveling
trophy, the "Mag," was unveiled in its full form.
Points for the "Mag" were tallied up and Theta Upsilon
won the most points for provincial interaction with the prototype
"Mag" over the previous year. The province also
used this workshop to elect a Collegiate Province Representative
(CPR), Assistant CPRs, Province Fraternity Education Officer, and
Province Alumni Coordinator. The chapter enjoyed attending
the event and looks forward to the next Province Workshop.
[Read more...]
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