BUILDING TRIANGLE’S FUTURE
When Will Our House Be Done?
Don Hatfield msu88, Director – TBHC
The Chairman of the TBHC asked me recently to write an article about our success with the Illinois Chapter Home remodel. To gather some details, I reached out to our Executive Director. He seemed to disagree, as he gave me a list of the things that weren’t done! Time Out!
It’s nice to claim success, but at the same time I felt conflicted. If you’re truly viewing this “through the Transit”, not all aspects of the original Illinois project are done. For instance, the “Sun Deck” has turned out to be much more expensive and requires some serious engineering and construction to finish it to code and make good on the agreed design. As with all projects, you find new things that can throw your timeline and budget off track. How can I write about success when it’s not 100% complete?
Is it possible to reconcile these diverging points of view? Or do I present this with two different points of view? I saw something different. They are both right.
The fact is a Chapter Home is never “done”. The men in our Chapters are never done working on themselves and the collective chapter. If we do our job right as Triangles, a man is never done developing and improving. The TBHC knows and understands that the physical Chapter Home is in the same boat. In this world of HGTV home makeovers that seem to take “30 minutes”, it’s easy to assume the timeline and budget will work out, and we all arrive at a happy ending with everything as we imagined.
TBHC exists to take care of that Chapter Home so our Brothers can spend their time and effort on growing and strengthening their Brotherhood.
Instead of just focusing on the specific case of the Illinois Chapter Home, let’s review what it takes to get a house of your own. Then we’ll get to the Illinois Chapter Remodeling Project later in this newsletter.
Let’s Start at the Beginning – A Strong Chapter
The main focus that all of Triangle must keep its collective eyes on is the Member – not only the Active (undergraduate) and keeping that focus on our members as they become Alumni. Without our members, we have no Fraternity Triangle creates and cultivates an environment in which friendships may be formed and strengthened. This is the true core of our Chapters, whether they have a Chapter Home or not.
Once we begin to look at the services and tools to foster and strengthen that environment, we quickly realize that all members need some place to live. If you’re a budding Colony, it doesn’t take long to realize that everyone has to pay to live on/near campus. Normally, that money goes to the university or landlords.
The Chapter can redirect those otherwise-spent resources to themselves, and the Chapter Home is the vehicle that allows the Chapter to not only have a place for its Members, but a place for the future members and Alumni to gather and foster its environment. Those resources would still be spent elsewhere with the university or a landlord, why not channel them to serve our needs as a Chapter?
As Engineers, Architects and Scientists, we rejoice in digging into the details and solving problems. We also understand that
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every Chapter is different. Some Chapters may find just having a meeting place is acceptable. Some locales are very difficult or impossible to acquire a Chapter Home. The fact is, you can redirect money that Members are already spending elsewhere toward the Chapter. That improves the Chapter income and cash flow, and benefits the Members and Chapter directly. That is true regardless of the location of the Chapter. This reveals the next issue – more members mean more resources and the ability to do more. We still haven’t got to the physical house yet.
Strength is Not Enough – Size Also Matters
Back from my days as an Active Member of my Chapter, I watched many interactions between visiting Alumni and Actives. Alumni who happened to visit the house almost always asked the same first question. “How big is the house?” or “How many guys do we have in the house?” Size may seem like a one-dimensional way to summarize a Chapter’s success about a Chapter. Our decades of experience and the experience of Triangle’s leadership knows better… If a Chapter doesn’t reach and maintain a critical mass, the Chapter must either grow or die.
This is a simple fact, and the number of members limits how a Chapter can participate socially, get projects done, and how strong of a Chapter (environment) it can grow. Keep in mind the “80/20 rule”: 20% of the Members get 80% of the work done.
There are those who say they prefer a smaller Chapter, they have a “tight Brotherhood”, or they want to limit their Chapter size. It seems like that approach is keeping a good thing a secret. Wouldn’t you want to share that Brotherhood and gather even better members to further strengthen the Chapter?
Consequently, one of the toughest “reach goals” is acquiring a Chapter Home. If you don’t have enough Members to guarantee the income needed for a Chapter Home and its maintenance, a Chapter Home isn’t viable.
Size is Not Enough – You Need a History of Sufficient Size
Just when you thought your Chapter is ready to start shopping, there’s another key fact one needs to think about first: Keeping a steady flow of members living in-house. Vacancies and uncertainty about the future are kryptonite to any conventional lender. You need to guarantee that the house will be full and will continue to be filled during the life of that loan. How?
The thumbnail guide both the TBHC and National Office use for membership size to support a Chapter Home is pretty simple:
1. Your Chapter Size must be 2-3x the number of beds in your House
2. #1 must be true for at least two full years, with a solid plan to maintain that chapter size
3. You must have strict rules that members must live in the House (a key part of your solid plan)
Items 1 and 2 are general rules, which for certain situations one might bend given other facts. But the last one is the most important and you cannot bend on that rule except for those who have extenuating circumstances. Chapters that do not require men to live in the house to keep it full find out that there’s not enough money to pay the bills let alone maintain the property This is a central part of that plan to keep your house full and successful.
Owning a Home Is Not a “Poor Man’s Game”
You have several major challenges that are very difficult to handle on a volunteer basis. This is a partial list of the potential challenges you will face:
•Acquiring a Property
•Getting Permits and Licenses
•Working with Municipalities
•Major Maintenance of the Property
•Continuing Assistance with Remodels
Few chapters have the resources to keep up on major projects. Alumni are often busy with their own lives let alone managing another house on the side. I can guess your Chapter Home is an older building, and suffers from lack of consistent maintenance. I’d be right about 80-90% of the time. Very, very few chapters have the resources to buy a house then immediately dump $100,000+ into the house they just purchased.
This is where the TBHC fits into your plan to acquire and maintain your Chapter Home for you and future generations of Brothers.
The TBHC has the resources and knowledge to maintain all properties it owns/manages, and to do that into the foreseeable future. The TBHC’s “horizon” is infinite – that is to say, we plan on keeping all our properties in proper order in perpetuity. We have already tackled legal issues, major projects, restoration to historic district codes, interfacing with the city on permits and conformance, and more.
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In other words, you can focus on your main “job” as an Active or Alumnus: creating and strengthening that environment called Triangle in your Chapter.
Maybe We Don’t Want a House?
It should be noted that not all chapters want or need a Chapter Home. One might think the idea of a Chapter House is passe. After all, as Alumni and even Members, we are Zooming or joining Teams meetings with workmates and classmates constantly. We don’t need to be in the same physical location. Just in the last week, I’ve “met” with workmates throughout Europe, China, Korea and Japan, while working out a meeting in Riyadh with my workmates in India.
Fraternities are environments, and as such, it’s like doing a zoom meeting to see the Grand Canyon. As most anyone that sees it and explains it to someone, they almost always say something like “you just have to ‘see’ it to believe it.” The same can be said of our Chapter Home and our Fraternity in general. Although you can cocoon in your dorm or apartment, meet via Zoom or Teams, and get your groceries delivered, and interact
The Power of Shared Meals: The Power is in the Sharing
Don Hatfield msu88
This might sound fictitious to some of you, but it does happen… Every weekday evening, Chapters “gather around the table”, the scent of hot food in the air. Although most Triangle Chapters gathered together for meals back in the 70’s and 80’s, some Chapters have upheld this as a tradition over the decades. It’s an intentional pause from busy college lives, a moment to connect, and share a meal together. While to outsiders it might seem like a simple routine, the TBHC knows that this is part of the “glue” that binds the Fraternity, strengthening Members' relationships and that environment we call Triangle.
The commitment to shared meals is more than just an artifact. It’s rooted not only in tradition, but also in the understanding of its profound benefits. Studies have shown that groups who
via social media and chat, that leaves something to be desired. You can’t interact fully with your Brothers. You can’t necessarily see body language, social interactions, and the experience of being face-to-face with your Brothers.
There are also unexpected benefits – the simple act of eating together is grossly underrated, and there’s studies to show it. Suffice it to say that the TBHC always strives to encourage chapters have common meals if at all possible. More on that in this newsletter.
A Chapter Home is not for every Chapter nor for every situation. There are a myriad of factors that affects a Chapter’s choice, and the TBHC can help you think about your needs and help you evaluate what path you’d like to take as a Chapter.
regularly share meals experience improvements in social and emotional well-being. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine highlights that communal meals lead to better communication and stronger relationships. For those who honor this tradition today, these dinners serve as a safe space to discuss their achievements, challenges, and goals, deepening trust and camaraderie.
This is especially true of Triangle, where we create our environment purposefully – a Fraternity of Engineers, Architects, and Scientists – the only STEM Fraternity Experience in the Greek world. Shared meals are another facet of intentionally creating an environment where friendships may be formed.
The benefits of shared meals aren’t just emotional. Nutrition experts at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education emphasize that eating together often results in healthier food choices. College life often pushes us into quicker, less healthy food choices. A shared meal strategy helps to prioritize meals that fuel our Brothers’ active lifestyles. The kitchen buzzes with collaboration as members rotate cooking duties, learning valuable skills and fostering teamwork. These experiences help Brothers build healthy habits that last well beyond their college years.
Beyond the physical and mental benefits, these shared meals create a powerful sense of belonging. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, eating together fosters a sense of community that is essential for emotional well-being. For those who have shared meals, the bond is clear in the laughter that fills the dining room, the spontaneous storytelling, and discussion about the last weekend or the weekend to come.
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Not every Chapter has such a tradition, and I feel that many miss out on the profound impact it can have. In the fast-paced world of college life, where schedules are packed with classes, labs, social events, and other activities, prioritizing communal meals is challenging. Yet, those Chapters who accept that challenge prove that the effort is worth it. Whether it’s a quick
Illinois Chapter Remodeling Project
The Illinois Chapter of Triangle Fraternity embarked on a $2.5M remodeling project starting in the winter of 2021 to modernize its Chapter House and improve living conditions for Members. It should be noted this project actually started in 2018 – when the Chapter started to research building a new Chapter Home. By 2019, architectural plans were drawn up. A dedicated group of Alumni headed by Ward Hand ill92 and Keith Lewitzke ill76 acted as project managers and interfaced directly with the general contractor.
The Triangle Education Foundation funded educationrelated expenses such as networking, the Maker Space, and other education-related items; they also headed up the effort of fundraising from the Illinois Alumni. The TBHC helped by providing some funds and assistance in securing the remaining funds needed to finance the project upfront while fundraising efforts were underway.
Completed Aspects of the Project
• Structural and Safety Updates: Repairs to structural components and updates to electrical and plumbing systems were completed to meet modern safety standards.
• Aesthetic and Functional Improvements: Common areas, bedrooms, and study spaces were redesigned for functionality and comfort. Kitchen and dining areas were modernized with new appliances and fixtures.
• Technology Enhancements: High-speed internet, smart home devices, and security systems were installed to meet contemporary needs.
weeknight dinner, or a leisurely Sunday meal paired with the Chapter meeting, the simple act of coming together—free of laptops, phones and other distractions – can transform relationships and enhance the college experience. Ultimately it enhances the man. After all, isn’t Triangle about Building Better Men?
• Energy Efficiency Upgrades: Outdated systems were replaced to reduce environmental impact and operating costs.
Incomplete Aspects
The only remaining incomplete aspect of the overall renovation of the facility is the “Sun Deck”. Based on the city’s code requirements, this project has presented some unique engineering issues and a much higher cost to gain an occupancy permit for the area. We continue to work with our architects, city officials, and the chapter leadership to seek solutions to these issues.
This ongoing project reflects a commitment to fostering a better environment for the Fraternity’s Members and aligning the Chapter House with modern living standards.
WE IMPROVE THE ENTIRE CHAPTER
The chapters we service are generally more successful on their campuses, have more members, and perform better in academics. How does the TBHC measure its own success?
We measure success by the success of the chapters we support.
Reach out to us through any National staff member or contact Triangle Building & Housing Corp. Executive Director, Mike Fouts at mfouts@trianglebhc.org or (317)837-9640
Check out triangle.org/tbhc for more information