Mid-year 2013 was held in the Southern city of Charlotte, North Carolina. The turnout of Brothers was astounding, with over 30 alumni and actives attending events.
The weekend festivities began on Friday with Brother Nick Rosencrans (Zeta), Brother Garrett Cooperman (Nu), and Brother Brittany Ondraka (Zeta) taking a historic tour of the “Uptown” Charlotte area. This “tour” basically consisted of following tiles on the sidewalk and coming across plaques describing what historically USED to be there – Charlotte isn’t known for maintaining its historical artifacts. But much was learned about the Queen City and the exploration was enjoyable.
Dinner that night was at Farmer’s BBQ where Brothers got to take a taste of Southern cuisine. Brothers from Omicron met with various alumni from Delta, Zeta, Mu, and Nu. The dinner was a great reunion for many of the Brothers who had not met since Convention, or even the previous Mid-Year. After dinner was an evening at the Dave & Busters Arcade playing games, where Alumni and Brothers from Pi and Alpha met up with the group.
The Alumni Association met Saturday morning at Brother Cooperman’s English classroom at Vance High School, which was graciously granted to us for our meeting. By popular vote, the AA decided that since the meeting space was unexpectedly free this year, the budgeted money of $175 for a meeting room be donated to Vance High School’s music program.
Quite a lot of business was resolved. Executive Board Elections resulted in AA President Chrissy Fleming (Mu), AA Vice President Christopher Ciarlariello (Pi), AA Treasurer Ryan “Kryztof” Hauck (Delta), and Mal-E Garrett Cooperman. Old goals were reviewed, and new goals set. A new committee was created, co-chaired by Brittany Ondraka and Brother Amanda Griffeth (Kappa) for a service project to help students in the Philadelphia area where music and the fine arts have been cut from academia completely. Other committees were handed over to new management: Gathering is now chaired by Brittany Ondraka and the Alumni Association Restructuring Project (AARP) is now chaired by Brother Erica St. Lawrence (Mu).
A new mascot for the Alumni Association was brought into the Mu Beta Psi world – a fuzzy pink elephant named B.L.T. (Brotherhood. Loyalty. Trust.) He will be taking the Rhoad Trip to Michigan for Convention 2014 where he will make his official debut.
After the meeting, local Brother Daryl Johnson (Alpha) offered his home and grill to a Brother’s cookout social. The afternoon was spent eating burgers and hot dogs, and playing corn-hole, soccer, and goofing around on the playground in Brother Johnson’s neighborhood. Brothers from Zeta and Kappa shared their knowledge of Euchre with those Brothers not brought up in the Midwest. Many Brothers gathered around the table to watch the game where cheating without being caught is a primary rule of the game. All in all, it was a wonderful time of Brothers re-connecting after a year or more.
Later that evening, the group broke up to do various activities. Some Brothers returned to the hotel for some swimming, some stayed at Brother Johnson’s house for more card games, and a few Brothers made their way out to Lucky Lou’s Tavern for some karaoke.
The next morning, the whole gang met up at O’Charley’s for some Sunday Brunch before heading their separate ways. Alpha and Kappa Brothers decided to visit Carowinds, a local amusement park. The Omicron contingent spent the afternoon with Brother Scott Bennett’s (Alpha) family in the local area, and those who traveled so far from the New Jersey, New York, and Michigan areas set their trails home.
This concludes the story of Mid-Year 2013 in Charlotte, NC. To take part in the fun and excitement that is the Alumni Association, become a member upon graduation and join us on our next adventure. You never know where it may take you.
