[EE-BO]

zhbeta158- well said. I think you have hit on the key frustration many feel at times. I know I did- as the guy who was Philanthropy chair basically every semester I was an active member and had a hard time getting people motivated to participate.

I note you guys have a new house from your post and I am glad you said that because it has been my observation that a big new house is not an automatic magic pill that suddenly makes a chapter all it can be. That is certainly the perception, but a new house alone does not motivate people (if anything it can be a bit of a de-motivator since guys who do not have a big new house will tend to work hard to make it happen.)

In terms of motivation in general, Coramoor has wise words I think. Fraternities are like any organization- and when you go out in the work force you will find that a majority of people just get by while a very few really put in the hours. This is not a measure of a person's devotion- but merely of Beta's time priority in their life, and we all have different lives going on. Think of it like moving out of state after college. Just because you only see your immediate family twice a year if you live far away does not change your love for them- there are just practical aspects of life that mean you see each other face to face less often.

There is a difference between people who don't do much beyond pay dues and those who actively work against the best interests of the chapter. It is my experience the former are the majority- and you need them because they do pay dues and come to social events and form the basis of a chapter of a social fraternity. Beyond needing them, they are brothers and they do care for the most part. They just might not have the time or interest to go the extra mile of the officers or other leaders. Those who are a true detriment to a chapter are a rarity however.

I don't have any solution to that frustrating problem you are talking about- I sure was not able to get my entire chapter to come to philanthropy events even when I could get sororities to partner with us. My chapter today is doing a better job of that- so maybe part of the problem was me and my approach back in my time as an active.

But the events did happen, and some guys went and we did good work. So it was not a total loss.

I started my career at one of the largest Arthur Andersen offices in the world. I was one of the guys who worked 100 hour weeks with some frequency and was put on all the big jobs traveling around the country. I resented friends of mine who worked 40 hours a week auditing benefit plans and other stuff- getting the same salary as I did. Same as what you speak of being in a fraternity- everyone paying the same money, but some doing far more work than others to make it all happen.

But over time I got a far greater benefit. One year out of school I was meeting face to face with CEOs and CFOs and company leaders- including a few people you may have seen on MSNBC a few times. I also developed a real taste and expertise for a fast paced life operating at a very high level.

Being a Beta says something good about you for the rest of your life. Having worked at Arthur Andersen or any of the other major public accounting firms says something good about you for the rest of your life.

However, the degree to which you achieve personally in such an organization has a whole other level of benefits and personal fulfillment that- at least for me- are only something you realize at some future point when you look back and see how far you have come compared to your peers.

I came back to Beta over a year ago as an advisor and I have had a great time. In college I thought only dorks and people with nothing to do would spend time as adults working with the fraternity.

I was so wrong about that, and I am glad of it- because right now my role in Beta means more to me than anything I did as an active.

Anyway, I'll stop now before I fill a whole page. I have watched your posts in general and I hope your enthusiasm will continue and that you will maybe come back as an alumnus to do good things. Beta, like any other grouping of people in any setting, will have many devoted members but few key leaders. And those leaders can find a whole new level of the Beta experience- though it does not make them any better or more worthy than any other Beta.