Convention 2007
by Charge Consultant Eric Kelley, Sigma Triton ’04 (Penn State)
The 160th Convention of our beloved fraternity took place August 8-11th and saw a multitude of brothers converge on lovely Charlottesville, Virginia. The long weekend celebrated the 150th anniversary of the chartering of the Nu Charge and was a testament to the longevity of the fraternity and the dedication of this great body of alumni. In addition, over 60 undergraduate brothers from 22 Charges and one Colony participated in the Convention in a variety of events.
The majority of the Convention attendees stayed at the beautiful Omni Hotel in downtown Charlottesville, right next to a plethora of shops and restaurants. The first evening, many alumni and undergraduates broke the ice with an a ppetizer reception at the South Street Brewery, a few blocks from the hotel before going out for a night of revelry on the town. The Thursday and Friday business sessions ran smoothly with Bro. Adam McCready, Chi Deuteron ’02, a former Charge Consultant, being elected President of the 131st Grand Lodge. Other new members of the Grand Lodge include Brian Bertges, Sigma Triton ’00, as Graduate Secretary and Josh Sowell, Gamma Triton ’09 (Michigan State) and George Henry Aulson IV, Iota Triton `08 (UMass-Dartmouth) as the Treasurer and Secretary respectively. Graduate Treasurer Jerome Arnold, Xi Deuteron ’00 (Washington), will complete the two-year term to which he was elected in 2006.
Thursday evening saw many great events including a group picture at the Rotunda of the University of  Virginia, the traditional Omega Service at the University Chapel honoring brothers who passed away in the previous year, and a wonderful reception at the Nu Charge house. The Nu alumni, wives and undergraduates hosted the barbecue with fantastic food and showed off their newly renovated house. It definitely showed that that Charge would be around for another 150 years!
Saturday kicked off with a fantastic morning tour of Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello. About 100 undergraduates and alumni spent about four hours visiting the estate before returning to the Omni for lunch. We were blessed with perfect weather for the morning and everyone enjoyed the snapshot of colonial life.
After lunch the undergraduates participated in CampusSpeak’s Recruitment Boot camp sponsored by the Theta Delta Chi Educational Foundation. The program taught our members how to stick to the fraternity values and brand their organizations on their campuses to better recruit members. The program also gave them tangible methods for increasing the size and quality of their Charges.
The Grand Banquet on Saturday evening was truly ‘Grand’ in every way. In addition, to being one of the largest banquets in the last few years with over 160 guests, it took place at the famous Boars Head Inn.  There was a wonderful spirit in the air as we once again celebrated the 150 years of the Nu Charge as well as formally presented the charter for our newest group, Theta Triton at Binghamton University. The awards ceremony recognized many individuals for their service to the fraternity and many Charges for their successful years. Nu Alumni Peter Hoyt ‘63 and Mike Perfater ‘69 took top honor as Theta Delts of the Year for their service to Nu. Howard Cosgrove, Nu ’65 was also recognized with the Theta Delta Chi Achievement Award for his long career in business and public service.
The Alumni of the Year awards were given to Bob Ferguson, Eta Deuteron ’46 (Stanford) for his service to his Charge and Jacob Dababneh, Lambda Deuteron ’03 (Toronto), for his work with both his own charge and the Epsilon Triton Colony. Three men were recognized as Undergraduates of the Year: Brian Kohn and Trevor Johnson from Nu and Jeff Blake from Lambda Deuteron.
The Charge awards were very competitive this year with Iota Triton (UMass-Dartmouth) claiming top honors with the Victory Cup for Charge of the Year. Sigma Deuteron (Wisconsin) won Most Improved, Xi Deuteron (Washington) won the Presidents Cup for strongest ritual and Delta Deuteron (Cal-Berkeley) won the Ritual Improvement Cup. The newest Charge, Theta Triton (Binghamton) won the inaugural Robert N. LoParo Community Service and Philanthropy Cup named for outgoing PGL Bob LoParo to commemorate his eight years of service on the Grand Lodge. The award will bear his name for the next eight years until the 2015 Convention.
All told, the 160th Convention was an amazing time. Brothers from all over the country converged to tell stories of the past and look to the future. In addition to the large contingent of brothers from the Nu Charge, we also had many alumni from Charges around the country with only a few groups unrepresented. Next year’s Convention in Las Vegas looks to be even bigger, as only a city like that could provide. We look forward to seeing everyone again when we all reunite next year for the 161st Convention of our beloved Fraternity
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