EA Installation help
 

We have to plan an Installation Ceremony. I am working as an Advisory Co-Chair with our Vice President. We've arranged for Tom Purinton (Kansas State '63, President of the Board of Trustees) to be our "speaker", so that's exciting. I've got an invitation list started, and it's resting at 75 individuals, but some of them are for chapters (as a whole), so the attendance could be much higher.

Obviously, our small chapter budget will not be sufficient to cover the costs of this event. My question: how much is TOO much to ask for someone to pay to attend this event? (Keep in mind this event is going to be rather expensive.)

I was an undergrad when we were installed back on 4/8/1995. I believe we charged $25 per head back then. I will try to check our invite (yeah, I still have a copy somewhere) to see what we charged. Then again, I didn't put any work into organizing it, so I don't know if we had a lot of alumni donations or financial assistance from the A.O.....

Let me know if you want more detail, I could put you in contact with a few brothers who actually helped plan our event.

-kai-

^ Thank you ZZ.

... ... ... whats an installation?

East Carolina was rechartered at convention, so I am guessing it is a celebration for receiving the charter/becoming installed.

Somewhat....

Receiving your charter at convention is like saying your colony has been accepted onto the 'roll' of chapters (after your group petitions for it obviously). At convention, the colony receives it's charter and a name (I.E., our Omega Tau Phi colony was granted its charter at Marco Island, FL, Convention 1994 and became the Zeta Zeta chapter of Beta Theta Pi. A.E.bot's is Alpha Epsilon of Beta Theta Pi.) Then, to celebrate the chartering, the now 'chapter' hosts an Installation Banquet, to go through rituals.....then to celebration.

Hope that explanation helps!

Oh Ok... I get it... hopefully I will see ours in a year and a half.


(p.s. its alpha eta, not epsilon... i chose the name right when i got my bid, so I was unaware of greek letters or anything, so a.e. was for alpha eta... and BOT was because I thought out letters look like BOT... i have often thought about changing it so its correct, but im lazy)

Or, to be a bit more elegant, the "chartering" wherein the CHAPTERS in convention vote to grant the charter is like the chapter meeting voting to grant membership (there are two gates, colony and chapter, just like the two gates of pledge and brother).

The installation, then, is the "initiation" ceremony of the chapter, and there are indeed prescribed rituals, as the authority to "install" the chapter (the formal beginning by ritual) is delegated to the General Secretary (or to another designated brother) BY the convention. You see, it is the CONVENTION - not the "Board" or "general fraternity" which grants charters.

I have been at just a few, including the re-chartering of two old chapters: Phi and Zeta, and the new chartering of Zeta Epsilon. The Phi ritual was awesome, done by "Misty" Shoop in the Egyptian Room at Penn's Museum of Ancient History... big sphinxes and dim lights, very awesome.

When you are at an installation, there is a definite flavour of the convention, as the Installing Officer is using the C's power according to its resolution to grant the charter - also because of the attendance of many chapters, and (of course) the singing...

So then we have a banquet (what did you expect from a fraternity which uses the letters E-A-T twice! hee hee) and often more celebrations, etc.

I forgot to mention that sometimes the new CHAPTER immediately performs her own ritual of installation of officers and then an initiation ceremony for her current pledges.

Best wishes in your efforts towards that happy time! And for those who read this who already have their charters, you ought to look through your archives and find out about your own history. And have your own private party on that date... esto perpetua

Oh yeah, duh. Alpha ETA...I have your chapters history with me in my office, I started reading it a while back, but it's back on the shelf for now....

Did you know that Shep. passed away shortly after your chapter's history was formally written???

-kai-

no, i had no clue, but I have read all of the chapter books, along with all of Sheps Beta and Denison books. I love that I was able to get my hands on them, otherwise none of my bros would of known where our chapter came from.