Minutes of Mississippi Fijis Inc.

24 March 2001

            Mississippi Fijis Inc. (The House Corporation)  held its 2nd quarterly meeting on the 24th of March 2001.  Brair Jones, President, called the meeting to order followed by a prayer by House Corporation member Stephen Palmer.

Roll

            Members present were Todd Campbell, Robert Cook, Briar Jones, F.C. Lee, Stephen Palmer, and Paul Welborn.  Members excused were James Brooks, Mike Dietrich, John Parks, Jay Richardson, and Sean Sullivan.

            The undergraduate Sigma Mu chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was represented by Jonathan Aguilar, Blake Macon, Greg Whitehead, Brad Paczak, Bill Shearer, and Charlie Stewart.

Undergraduate Reports

President:    Jonathan Aguilar reported that the field secretary would begin his visit on the 26th of March 2001.  He also reported that the fraternity house was recently vandalized during a burglary.  The big screen television was destroyed, a member's amplifiers were stolen, the game table was damaged, and other chapter property was vandalized.

Treasurer:    Blake Macon reported that one of the goals for the coming year is filling as many rooms as possible in the Fraternity House.  New housing contracts are to be signed on the April 2, 2001.  Blake also reported that he is working on collecting past dues from several older undergraduates.  One member was asked to leave Fiji Island for failure to pay dues.  Blake also reported that 12 to 15 brothers are planning to live in the Fraternity House this summer.  All rent proceeds are to be retained by the undergraduate chapter.  In return, improvements to the chapter house and lawn are to be implemented by the undergraduates. 

Corresponding Secretary: Bill Shearer reported that the undergraduate chapter recently mailed a Bulldog Fiji.  15 to 20 of the newsletters have been returned to date because of incorrect addresses.  He also reported that two electronic mailings have been made.

Rush Chairman: Bill Shearer reported that the undergraduate chapter has made contact with around twenty rushees.  Three or four rushees called to say they could not attend Fiji Island.  Four rushees were in attendance at Fiji Island.

Pig Dinner Chairman: Greg Whitehead reported that the date for the 2002 Norris Pig Dinner was announced in the Bulldog Fiji.  The date for that event is February 16, 2002.

The keynote speaker has not been set.

Mississippi Fijis Inc. Reports

Officers Reports

President: Briar Jones reported that a new contract with Mrs. Baldwyn needs to be signed for the coming year.  It was recommended that she receive a 10% raise.

Committee Reports

Fence / Fund Raising: F.C. Lee presented a plan that would enable construction to begin on the fence May 1, 2001 (See attachment A-1).  The highlights of this plan include the undergraduate chapter raising $7,500.00 and Mississippi Fijis Inc. borrowing an additional $25,000.00.  F.C. Lee stated  he contacted Thomas Mize, a Sigma Mu graduate, with BancorpSouth about financing.  Mr. Mize in turn suggested F. C. Lee contact Grady Mitchener with BancorpSouth in Starkville.  Mr. Mitchner needs a balance sheet and income statement for the previous two years before he can develop specific refinancing options for Mississippi Fijis Inc. 

Jonathan Aguilar, undergraduate chapter president, felt that the undergraduates could raise the additional $7,500.00 by August 1, 2001.  The idea will be presented to the entire undergraduate chapter for a vote.

Todd Campbell stated that he felt the undergraduates need to transfer the $7,500.00 to Mississippi Fijis, Inc. before they leave for the summer if they vote to raise the additional money.

Briar Jones stated that he felt that Mississippi Fijis Inc. should not pursue any additional funding unless the undergraduates are willing to contribute $7,500.00.

F.C. Lee stated that we will start a major fundraising campaign as soon as ground is broken for the fence project.  Mike Dietrich suggested to F.C. Lee in a previous phone conversation that Mississippi Fijis Inc. continue to fundraise independently.  F.C. Lee stated that the other option is to contract with an outside fundraising company to raise money for Mississippi Fijis Inc. 

Mike Richardson, Purple Legionnaire and university fund-raiser, stated that the professional fundraising organizations typically charge between 25% and 33% of what they raise.  Some of the top firms charge as much as 40%.  He also stated that he taught it was very important for people to be able to receive a tax deduction for donations.  This is currently not possible unless the donation is made specifically for a fraternity education fund.

Stephen Palmer stated that he thought the tax situation would be hard to change.

A motion was made by F.C.  Lee and seconded by Todd Campbell to proceed with MS Fijis Inc. Fence Project / Fundraising Committee Plan of Action 2001 with financing option D-2 (See Attached A-2).  The motion passed.

Graduate Relations: Robert Cook stated that ms.fiji.com is up and running again.

He stated that the site should be used as a rally point for graduate relations.  Robert is working to build a library of photos for the web site.  Robert stated that he met with Clay Bolton, Asst. Director of Student Life, to get a university perspective on the status of the chapter and obtain any chapter grade point averages they had on file.  Robert was able to obtain G.P.A.s for the last five years.  Robert stated that he needs current financial information for Mississippi Fijis Inc. from John Parks. 

F.C. Lee stated that John has been very busy at work and made the suggestion that we consider hiring an outside accounting firm to help make the Mississippi Fiji Inc. Treasures position more manageable and to give more continuity to the organization as officers change in future years.

A motion was made by F.C. Lee and seconded by Robert Cook to hire an outside accountant as soon as the budget will allow for the additional expense.  The motion passed.

Robert Cook recommended that international headquarters be contacted to see if they have a historic record of the chapter grades.

A speaker still needs to be booked for Pig Dinner.  Briar Jones suggest Mac Wall and gave Cook a letter containing his address and phone number.

Robert Cook stated that some form of call campaign needs to be initiated.  Cook's suggestion was that each undergraduate call one graduate per year.

Cook stated that we need the date for rush and rush workshop in order to effectively recruit graduates to help out.  F.C. Lee stated how important graduate support is to a successful rush.  Stephen Palmer agreed to be the liaison between Mississippi Fijis Inc. (The House Corporation) and the B.C.A. (The Board of Chapter Advisors).

Correspondence: It was determined that the next mailing from Mississippi Fijis Inc. to all graduates needs to be made the day ground is broken for the fence project.

House Committee: Paul Welborn stated it was imperative to develop a long range plan for house maintenance.  In the short term it is important to remedy safety issues including service of fire extinguishers and exit lights. (Jones and Welborn are to meet April 3, 2001 at 7:00 p.m. to review this.)  F.C. Lee suggested that we get an estimate on an air conditioning system service contract. Welborn stated that routine inspections of the fraternity house need to be made by the House Corporation.

The Meeting was Adjourned.