Building off of the momentum of the inaugural 2021 event, the PA Theta Alumni Association hosted its second reunion from Sept. 9 to 11, 2022, at the Wyndham Garden State College in Boalsburg. The event saw a turnout of nearly 200 brothers, family, friends, and a few special guests.
New to the event this year was a golf scramble that kicked off on Friday morning, consisting of nearly 20 brothers grouped into pairs, trios, and fours. Special thanks to Frank Marcinek ’81 for putting the event together! The weather was beautiful on the course at the Mountain View Country Club, just minutes away from the hotel.
On Friday night, Alumni Association President Joe DiRenzo ’06 and Vice President Tim Wilkinson ’83 welcomed brothers and their families with a reception in the hotel banquet hall, fully stocked with beer, wine, and spirits, as well as Hors d’oeuvres. Many brothers had a great time catching up with guys from their generation.
On Saturday morning, we held our annual corporation meeting. The main topic of the meeting surrounded the excitement about recolonization efforts of Phi Delta Theta to Penn State. As it stands, Penn State, Phi Delta Theta, and the PA Theta Alumni Association are all involved in conversations of bringing our active chapter back. Special thanks to Rob Grimes ’80, who gave a very informative presentation on the subject.
After the early-morning meeting, brothers, family, and friends boarded buses to ride over to our annual tailgate. Special thanks to Jim Gajewski ’84 and Paul Wharton ’85 for leading the charge on transportation and tailgate setup.
“Saturday was an incredible day,” Wharton said in a Facebook post. “The weather couldn’t have been any better for a tailgate and football game. The tailgate was again fully catered where hardly anyone had to set up or clean up. We had three 20-by20-foot tents in a row with plenty of food and beverages for the over 170 people who stopped by.”
The game started at noon and a bulk of the tailgate attendees headed in to enjoy a good old fashioned beat down. The Nittany Lions came out victorious, 46-10. Brothers and guests stuck around to tailgate some more before returning to the hotel for the Saturday evening reception, where we had two guest speakers.
Along with us to enjoy the event all weekend long was former Phi Delta Theta General Council President Dr. Chris W. Brussalis (Allegheny ’87). Additionally, Penn State’s Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims gave a short speech to all of the attendees. Both men were warmly welcomed with open arms and it was an honor to have them both!
The weekend wrapped up on Sunday morning where our guests said their goodbyes. Wilkinson, who spearheaded all of the efforts to make this event come to life, was already recruiting advocates to invite more brothers to next year’s event, which is tentatively taking place Sept. 8 – 10, 2023, during the home game against the University of Delaware.
We look forward to seeing you next year!
