Thanks to the hard work of many, our Association enjoyed another successful kick off to the new year. In January the Supreme Council held its first quarterly meeting of 2018 here in San Diego. Many of you joined us as ESA Thomas Dement (Tennessee Beta '90) and the rest of the Supreme Council hosted San Diego Area ΣΑΕs for an alumni reception at the Kimpton Hotel Palomar in downtown San Diego. The well attended event garnered praise from the Supreme Council for the large number of alums who were present. Aside from the chance to hear from ESA Dement and others, many of you were recognized for your long association with ΣΑΕ and received recognition for 25 and 50 years of being a Brother. Another bright spot to the evening was the chance to meet many alumni who reside in San Diego and are not currently members of our Association. We look forward to having these gentlemen join us and support the great things we do in the name of ΣΑΕ.
It’s hard to think that the year is half over. So much has happened since January and your board is continuing to working hard to finish the year strong. If you had the pleasure of joining us for our May luncheon you got to hear from Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione. His presentation which was based on his book “Inside Camp David” gave us a look into the private Presidential retreat and the many dignitaries who have visited the property. The presentation was visually rich which was a treat as we had the opportunity to see many intimate photos of Camp David not readily available to the general public. The afternoon was truly top notch and we recently received word that the Rotary Club of Coronado designated the Rear Admiral’s presentation the Outstanding Program of the Year out of the 46 presentations the club hosted.
To ensure we continue to bring you high level programming the Association will be hosting two more luncheons in 2018. We are pleased to announced we will have San Diego State Aztec Coach Brian Dutcher joining us in August as we anticipate the Aztecs will be poised for a return to form this coming season. Coach Dutcher will get us up to speed on a number of exciting players that will round out the starting 5 as well as a strong bench that will be exciting to watch. We are also pleased to announced that our last luncheon in October will feature Vice Admiral Charles Martoglio who will discuss a number of issues involving China, Korea, and the surrounding areas. Both are a must see and we look forwarding to having you join us. We will also be holding our next Brews with Bros in August in Del Mar. This is a great event for anyone who would like to connect, but finds making a luncheon hard to do.
Aside from providing our membership award winning programming your board has also been working hard on bringing our Association into the current technological age. If you haven’t had an opportunity, I highly encourage you to visit the Association’s website at https://www.saesd.org. Board Secretary Mark Scannell (CA-TH ‘84) has worked tirelessly updating our website with a new, fresh, and easy to use platform. Most notably our website has been updated with two new features that we feel will make things easier for you. The first feature gives you the ability to register and pay for Association Events online. Simply go to the Association website and click on the Events link at the top of the page to find our upcoming events. Then use the Register Now link to register and pay for the event online (pay at the door option is still available). The second feature, and if you ask Association Treasurer Christopher McCoy (CA-TH ‘02) the more important of the two, is the ability to join or renew your membership online. We felt strongly that bringing this new feature was crucial not only to aid in our recruitment efforts, but to allow for our Minerva Club members an opportunity to join or renew prior to any Association events taking place. You can simply go to the Association website and click on the Membership link at the top of the page then select Join/Renew Membership. There you will find our four Membership levels and benefits can be found by clicking on the different options.
While on the topic of dues, I wanted to take a moment and make you aware of an addition to our yearly dues solicitation. Many of you are accustomed to receiving your renewal notice with our Founders Day invitation. This coming January, in addition to the Founders Day solicitation, each member will receive a renewal email with a link to pay your dues electronically as well as our Association mailing address should you wish to mail in your dues. We encourage you all to take a moment when you receive your emailed reminder to pay your 2019 dues then. This will save the Association time and effort and will also allow the Association to have a stronger cash position leading into Founders Day.
On that note I do want to thank all of you who have payed your 2018 dues. Without your contributions we could not provide the many programs and undergraduate support that we do year in and year out. If you have yet to join or renew your membership for 2018, there is still plenty of time. It’s just a few clicks away!
Thank you and Phi Alpha!
Adam Porter
President