With the holidays upon us we are once again closing out another year for Sigma Alpha Epsilon in San Diego. This year has been different though as we said goodbye to our ΣΑΕ brother, Dick Troncone. Dick meant many things to many of us. For ΣΑΕ in San Diego he meant everything. Although his passing brought sadness, I also witnessed many of you continue to fight on as they say. Whether that was in memory of Dick or his passing renewed your zeal for ΣΑΕ it is a pleasure to see. We still have work to do to ensure that ΣΑΕ has a bright future in San Diego.
Our best chance at doing that is to continue to grow our association. There are many brothers that reside in San Diego that are not members. Some are not aware of us and that is something we have to get better at. Some are aware of us, but due to work and life constraints don’t feel they can devote the time to becoming a member. Although we do need and want active members, the financial support that is made when pledging membership in our association allows us to provide for our members and undergraduates alike. With that said I ask anyone reading this who is not a current member to consider re-pledging your membership to ΣΑΕ and support our cause in doing so. You can join or renew you membership at any time simply by going to www.saesd.org/shop.
“So I am happy to be a member, but what do my dues go to?” That is a great question. Each year our association provides opportunities for brothers to come together. These opportunities come in the form of quarterly luncheons involving current and topical speakers, after work gatherings in our Brews with Bros series, as well as our annual Holiday Party and Founders Day Dinner. We subsidize our events in order to make these opportunities affordable to our members allowing for more brothers to gather.
The other component of our association is the support we provide to our three local chapters at UCSD, Cal State San Marcos, and San Diego State University. The challenges that these chapters face are mounting and it is our responsibility to provide support to help them navigate these challenges. Education plays a huge role in this. For decades the National Fraternity provided education once a year at Leadership School. This has evolved and there are now three institutes that undergraduates can participate in. Our association recognizes the merit in each of the programs and it is our goal to be able to provide scholarships for each institute. That of course is a budgetary item which is why you can see that your dues play an important role.
Another form of education we provide as an association is our own annual Leadership Transition Forum. This Saturday morning retreat brings newly elected officers from each chapter together to connect with one another, break bread, discuss best practices and challenges, and to hear from a well-respected and successful ΣΑΕ who talks about leadership and how it played a role in their personal, fraternal, and professional lives. The past two years we have had a retired general and dean of business address the group. This year in September we were honored to have our own Brother Ron Roberts (CATH ‘65) speak. We are proud to be able to provide this type of award winning programming to our undergrads and it certainly could not be done without your support.
Every year we like to show our thanks for this support through our annual Holiday Party. This year’s evening was special as we returned to the San Diego Yacht Club. It is always such a beautiful place during the holidays and this year did not disappoint. Collecting unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots certainly added to the holiday cheer.
We are also working on our program schedule for the beginning of the year and will make an announcement once we have finalized speakers and dates. Should any of you have suggestions on speakers you may have heard recently or topics that you feel might be interesting to our group please send them to president@saesd.org.
It’s hard to believe that the end of the year is upon us. I want to thank all of you for your contributions and participation. It is truly what makes our award winning association one of the best in the country. Phi Alpha!
Adam
Adam Porter, President - San Diego Area Alumni Association
email: president@saesd.org