Minutes of Mississippi Fijis Inc.

20 October 2001

Mississippi Fijis Inc. (The House Corporation) held its 4rth quarterly meeting on the 20th of October 2001. Brair Jones, President, called the meeting to order.

Roll

Members present were James Brooks, Robert Cook, Briar Jones, F.C. Lee, John Parks, and Mike Richardson (Purple Legionnaire).

Undergraduate Reports

President: Jonathan Aguilar reported that Jamie Osbirn has taken over as pledge educator. 29 men were pledged on bid day. 26 men remain in the pledge class. Two more are expected to drop due to financial difficulties. The parents of three pledges must see mid term grades before they are willing to make additional payments to the fraternity.

Treasurer: Blake Macon reported that the chapter is "running in the black" to date.

All but two men have paid Fall room rent. Funds are available to make the $7,500 payment to the fence project.

Kitchen: Matt Sanders reported that 49 men are on a 9 meal plan and 24 men are on a 6 meal plan. Only 4 men are not on a meal plan. The cost for the 6 meal plan is $375.00 and the cost for the 9 meal plan is $625.00. Meals are served for 15 weeks. Tax forms will be mailed in the "next few weeks". Collections are going well.

Rush Chairman: Kirk Donahoe reported that a rush party in Jackson and Memphis are planned for the summer. Pledges are bringing potential rushees to football games.

Pig Dinner Chairman: Craig Chapman reported that a mailing for Pig Dinner will go out by the end of the week.

Community Service: Tyler Cummings reported that an event to raise money for the March of Dimes will be held February 28th. The goal is to raise $3,000 to $6,000.

House: Charles Tanner reported that the plumbing in bathroom upstairs is still leaking into the basement. He was reminded that MFI has requested that undergraduates obtain estimates from plumbers on numerous occasions. As soon as the undergraduates obtain three estimates a plumber will be hired to fix the problem. Work parties at the house are going well. There is a $50 fine, plus cost of repair, for individuals who damage the house.

The AC above the kitchen has been fixed.

Mississippi Fijis Inc. Reports

Officers Reports

President: Briar Jones reported that construction is progressing well on the fence. Jones reported on response to the latest mailing concerning donor bricks. Around 50 responses have been received. Jones gave Robert Cook all of the returned mail for coordination with the graduate database.

Treasurer: John Parks presented a budget for FY 2002.

A motion was made by F.C. Lee and seconded by James Brooks to approve the budget. The motion passed.

Parks gave a report on the status of brick donations from the latest fund raiser. He also gave an overview of donations for the project and the status of the graduate draft.

Parks outlined collections from the undergraduates for room rent and the undergraduate draft.

Parks stated that financing to complete the fence project is in place.

Committee Reports

Graduate Relations: Robert Cook reported that a good work plan for Pig Dinner is in place. The undergraduate effort is being headed up by Craig Chapman. Pig Dinner will be held at the chapter house. Golf will occur the morning of the event. The undergraduates need to reserve a block of rooms for graduates.

Mike Richardson suggested we rent chairs and tables for the event from the university. It was also suggested that the chapter rent tents and heaters for the event.

It was suggested that memorabilia of previous years be spaced in ten year intervals around the fraternity house. Robert Cook is working on putting old slides in a digital format.

Purple Legionnaire: Mike Richardson reported that the election of officers will take place in three weeks. The cooks and house mother are pleased with how things are going. Things with the kitchen are going okay.

Mike Richardson reported that the chapter has voted to ban Josh Lee from the Sigma Mu chapter house because of inappropriate behavior at a football party. The chapter has three options from the international standpoint of how to sever ties with a member. The board recommended to Mike that he lead the chapter in initiating option 1 or option 2.

Fence / Fund Raising: F.C. Lee presented an overview of construction progress to date. The board decided to use both floodlighting and accent lighting for the backyard. The board decided to proceed with the landscape package as presented by Gene Merkl. It was decided that a brick grill was the only acceptable grill for the project. The grill is to have two cooking surfaces, one large and one small.

Old Business: Briar Jones presented a proposal from Southern Alarms and Communications to update the fire alarm system. The board decided that all work should be done at one time as opposed to phasing the work. Additional bids are to be secured if possible. No long term maintenance contract will be agreed to.

A motion was made by F.C. Lee and seconded by James Brooks to proceed with the Update to the Fire Alarm System. The motion passed.

New Business:

John Parks is going to check on a revolving line of credit up to $30,000 as opposed to tapping into the additional funding secured by the refinancing of the mortgage. The current loan balance is $281,000 and we have secured a loan for $313,000.

F.C. Lee presented a draft of his Fraternity House Administration document.

Robert Cook presented his data proposal. The university has plans to install a system with an initial cost of $450,000 and an annual maintenance fee of $35,000. Cook believes we could achieve similar results on our own at and initial cost of $3000 with a monthly service fee of $50. For $1,500 we can find out if the plan will work. If it does not work the equipment can be returned.

A motion was made by F.C. Lee and seconded by Robert Cook to make an initial $1500 provision for the new network as long as the chapter pays the $50 monthly fee. The motion passed.

The Meeting was Adjourned.