The San Diego Area Alumni Association celebrated Founders’ Day on March 10, 2023 at the Catamaran Resort. This year marked the return of the glorious celebration of Brotherhood that had been postponed three years due to the pandemic. A vigorous campaign was conducted to promote the event, and the response was outstanding. We had over 130 Brothers in attendance (in spite of a two-day rainstorm that had us feeling more like Seattle than San Diego)!
Gary Losey (Cal Theta ’76) was Master of Ceremony for the dinner and kept us entertained with his banter and wit. We paid respect to the Brothers who have passed to Chapter Eternal since our last Founders’ Day, with a special tribute to Dick Troncone. Past Brothers of the Year in attendance were each identified.
We were honored to have Chris Hancock (Eminent Supreme Recorder and CEO) as our keynote speaker. Chris touched upon the strength of our chapters across the country, and the growth curve we are currently experiencing. Overall, the number of active brothers is increasing, and ten new chapters are scheduled to open next year. Also joining us was Ben Johnson (Eminent Supreme Herald) who gave a quick speech about the concept of brotherhood for life, and how it differentiates SAE from other fraternities.
Nick Ashton (EDA at Cal Theta) led us in SAE Grace prior to dinner. Current chapter EA’s Caeden King (Cal Theta) and Beau Korthals (Cal Alpha Gamma) gave “state of the union” presentations of their respective chapters. Suffice to say that both chapters are in good hands, and the actives present for dinner were enthusiastically supportive of the evening’s events.
We honored Mark Scannell (Cal Theta ’79) as Brother of the Year. Mark served on the alumni association board for the past eight years and was instrumental in further advancing our website and event promotions. Mark also brought many great ideas and initiatives to the table. He also was very involved as an undergraduate where he earned The True Gentleman Award (from Cal Theta) and Order of the Phoenix (by past ESR Ken Tracey) for his outstanding “commitment and loyalty” to SAE.
We closed the evening with brother Bill Marckwardt (Cal Theta ’76) leading us in a rousing rendition of various songs of SAE! This was a highlight of the evening and a perfect close to a great night! We are sorry if you couldn’t attend this year’s event but look forward to seeing you next year. We’re already thinking of ways to enhance the program and to increase the number of alumni who come back to celebrate with their friends and brothers! Check out our photos in the Picture Gallery.
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