Building Back Connections

[boz130]

Alumni Affairs or the Development Office would be good places to start. Keep in mind, however, that nobody (the University, IHQ OR your alums) will have a completely correct list.

The reasons for this conundrum are complex. Combine an increasingly mobile society (especially for younger alums) with new USPS postal regs (how long can you be "temporarily away"???), and it's REALLLLLLLLLLY frustrating.

In most instances. all we can go by is "last best known" addresses. For many alums who simply drop off the grid, this is their parent's house. I tried to reach my Big Bro for a reunion a year ago, and contacted the address received from IHQ.

I wound up talking to his mom (80+). She had been ill and couldn't locate his address just then...you get the idea.

Another problem is finding someone to do just the address list fixing. If done properly, it can take hours. Not many of us volunteers have that luxury.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by boz130

Alumni Affairs or the Development Office would be good places to start. Keep in mind, however, that nobody (the University, IHQ OR your alums) will have a completely correct list.

The reasons for this conundrum are complex. Combine an increasingly mobile society (especially for younger alums) with new USPS postal regs (how long can you be "temporarily away"???), and it's REALLLLLLLLLLY frustrating.

In most instances. all we can go by is "last best known" addresses. For many alums who simply drop off the grid, this is their parent's house. I tried to reach my Big Bro for a reunion a year ago, and contacted the address received from IHQ.

I wound up talking to his mom (80+). She had been ill and couldn't locate his address just then...you get the idea.

Another problem is finding someone to do just the address list fixing. If done properly, it can take hours. Not many of us volunteers have that luxury.

You said it all!!!!!

Hard work and time!

[TechSigmaNu]

That seems to be the trend for many situations of a chapter's regrowth. But I kinda like the hard work because it makes the end so much sweeter.

[kchaptergphib]

I agree with the other Gamma Phi, that the University's Alumni Association often has more accurate addresses than the international fraternal orgs. However, schools vary on whether they classify alumni by greek organization. I would imagine, though, that a Texas school would have done that by now. For more recent grads, just try facebook. They may not have a ton of cash to donate, but they may still feel connected to the chapter and help out in person. Good luck, updating info is a long, thankless task