October 2022 | University of Wisconsin - Madison
A 'BREESEY' READ: OSCAR'S NEXT VOYAGE
RECRUITING THE NEXT GENERATION Hello, my name is Harrison Battist, and I am the recruitment chair of the Wisconsin Chapter. With my second semester in the position, I was able to apply all I learned from last semester and give my all to this endeavor. With the chapter’s goal to have over 50 members by the end of the 2022 calendar year, we had our work cut out for us. Rush didn’t officially start until the second week of September with tabling events like the Organization Fair at the Kohl Center and IFC Tabling, but for the committee and me, rush started in midAugust with a high volume of social media outreach. Logan Chart, Alex Delmore, Sam Dougherty, Tyler Gibson, Jack Gomez, Jared Johnson, Owen Petrich, and Brayden Schaeuble brought their unique skills to the committee to cultivate interest from our potential new member pool. Their combined labor through Instagram outreach, tabling, and event setup was invaluable to coordinate this fall’s class of 17 new pledges. Another event that was new to our chapter this fall was our first-ever Brotherhood Retreat. Many of our brothers seized the opportunity to spend nearly a week together in northern Wisconsin to bond and plan out goals for this semester and how to best achieve them. On my end, this included a workshop where I presented the best topics to talk to potential new members at events, simulate tabling interactions, and review what we are looking for in new Triangle men.
Welcome to the relaunched edition of “A 'Breesey' Read: Oscar's Next Voyage” – the official newsletter for alumni of the Wisconsin Chapter of Triangle Fraternity. Please send your comments and content suggestions for future editions to Jerry Brown wis63 (jdbrown41@hotmail.com).
Our rush events this semester kicked off with a BBQ and yard games at the house and a sports event near the Lakeshore Dorm area that included basketball, kickball, football, and spikeball. Interviews & Bonfire is always the event that allows us to truly get to know these potential new members and discover what they can contribute to our chapter. This fall’s rush was rounded out with a poker, pool, and pizza event, as well as an invite-only watch party for the Badgers @ Ohio State football game. On the night of initiation, we held our bid dinner at one of Union South’s private dining rooms with a catered meal to celebrate these new pledges taking their first steps to become Triangle brothers. I am excited to see what the future of the Delta Chapter holds, and I thank you for your ongoing support. In F, S, and C, Harrison Battist wis20
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THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN ’62 ERA TRIANGLES
This past September 8-11, the ’62 Era Triangles
celebrated their 60th reunion of graduation from the University of Wisconsin. Our group started in 1987 when a handful of brothers realized at that time it had been 25 years since graduation in 1962 and that called for a celebration. A poll on who would like to attend a reunion was taken by those Tringles who graduated around 1962; the response was great and led to the first gathering of the ’62 Era Triangles (any Triangle who graduated on or around '62 could join). The reunion format was simple: Friday meet at the Brat House (now called State Street Brats and next door to the then Triangle Fraternity house). On Saturday the gathering started at the fraternity and included the UW football game followed by a group dinner. Sunday morning was a Bon Voyage breakfast/brunch ending the reunion.
Last year the active chapter sent out a newsletter reflecting their activities and successes along with future goals, one of which referenced “getting serious” about future housing needs (aka Breese Manor). When we sent out our advance notice for this past September's reunion, we included the active chapter’s reference to housing and asked if our group should initiate support. The response was universally very positive so initial contacts were made with the active chapter, the alumni board and Triangle National regarding proceeding to plan for the needed new housing. The lowlight of this September’s reunion was a football game all want to forget. However, the highlight was having Triangle National on board providing basic information on the steps necessary to
The response to this first reunion was so great all agreed to continue with the same format on a fiveyear cycle, which we have done to date; we always receive the same positive response.
obtain financial support for needed future housing. It was good to hear that Wisconsin Triangle has one of the nation’s best Triangle fraternity locations as it relates to the university’s Engineering campus. Listed on our '62 roster, we currently have 42 brothers residing in 11 states. We had 23 at the football game and 27 attend the Saturday evening dinner (unfortunately we had 6 who had to cancel due to health reasons just prior to the reunion). We closed out the reunion with the hope that the '62 Era Triangles, in coordination with the active chapter, alumni board and Triangle National, will be successful in procuring the necessary resources for the housing needs, aka Breese Manor. -Mike Jaskaniec wis62
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ACTIVE CHAPTER UPDATE
Hello brothers and families! We here at Wisconsin are excited to be heading into the new academic year! We will be looking to continue building off of a tremendous three-year stretch that has seen us almost double in size from around 25 to over 45 before graduation next year. We began the year just as we ended the last, with some strong brotherhood building, taking more than half the brothers up to Tomahawk for a five-day retreat, where we cooked meals together, held workshops to build leadership skills, hung out, and explored the northern parts of Wisconsin. When we returned we got back on schedule, picking up the house before our first tailgate of the season! Not only have we made strides within the household, we’re hoping to continue our constant service with groups in the community as we look to be the top philanthropic chapter of Triangle once again this semester. Whether it’s through what is looking to be a semesterly food drive for the River Food Pantry, the homes we help build with Habitat for Now we are looking forward to our rush season, during which we expect to bring in another 15-20 new members to raise our numbers by late May back to around 50. Our recruitment chair, brother Harrison Battist, will be looking to make the most of the large committee he’s formed to help him out. As we look to continue to fill the household over the coming years, recruitment will continue to be the key to our success as a chapter. Speaking of, the houses here on Breese Terrace have changed quite a bit lately. With the constant renovations, our brothers have been making to the house, the place looks a lot different than it did even five years ago. Around 10 brothers have renovated bedrooms themselves, installing new flooring, painting, and restoring the rooms to maintain their quality, and other projects have included living room renovations, the creation of a make-shift study room in the 146 property, and even the creation of a small computer space in the office to have household access to a 3D printer and house personal computer.
Humanity, or picking up the local Vilas Park, we have a lot of service opportunities we are looking forward to this semester. Along with that, we have two active IFC executive board representatives, helping all of the fraternities here on campus make strides in the right direction. With everything going on around here, we hope that you get a chance to stop by some weekend, especially if it is Homecoming weekend (October 21-23) as we will be continuing the pig roast tradition and are looking forward to possibly having the Illinois and local Wisconsin active chapters around as well. As we continue to progress throughout the semester, you can look forward to hearing more from me and others here at the active chapter, and if you ever have any questions, feel free to reach me at cgrossnickle@wisc.edu. Here’s to another great year, and hopefully, a 10win season from the Badgers. Brother Connor Grossnickle wis19 Alumni Relations Chair
A 'Breesey' Read | October 2022
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SAVE THE DATE: Parents Weekend: 11/04-11/06 Tailgate 11/05 – Will begin 3 hours before game time Fundraiser 11/05 – Talent Show at the house Brotherhood Week: 11/27-12/3 Events every night starting at the house from around 6/7 PM – 8/9PM. Capped off with Ritual on Saturday morning 12/3
CHAPTER HOUSE RENOVATIONS
RESOURCES National website www.triangle.org Chapter website wis.triangle.org Active Executive Board President Diego Arredondo (dearredondo@wisc.edu)
The Alumni Board has recently implemented a plan to renovate/rebuild our two houses on Breese Terrace. We've already contracted with Triangle Education Fund to start a fundraising program. Second we intend to hire an architect to determine the feasibility of renovating or to do complete rebuild. Third we are working with the active chapter to start a construction fund. Hope to start construction within 3 years. Jerry Brown wis63 Alumni Board Member
Alumni Board President Anthony McCann (mortmccann@gmail.com)