The 5th annual Sigma Chi Chipping In to Fight Cancer Golf Tournament date has been set. The tournament will be held on Saturday, May 31st. We will play be playing at the same place we have always played, The Meadows Golf Course, in Harpersville just outside of Birmingham. Shotgun tee-off will be at 8:00 SHARP!!! Please do not come late as it messes up the entire tournament by throwing off the groupings.

As always we will be donating all proceeds to benefit those stricken with cancer. This year our proceeds will go to "The Rashel Foundation". Rashel lives in Birmingham and has an incredible story. Please go to her website, www.therashelfoundation.org, to read about it. She is not only battling this disease, but is doing tremendous things inspite of it. Her foundation provides assistance to others in need and I know she will be a wonderful steward of our donation.

The format, as always, will be a two-man scramble. We will recognize the longest drive, closest to the pin, as well as net and gross winners. The cost, just as last year, will be $80 per player. You can buy 2 tee busters (hit from ladies tee) and 2 mulligans for $5 each. As tradition holds, after the tournament we will move on to Buffalo Wild Wings for food and beverages.

Daniel Clem will again be soliciting businesses for donations in exchange for advertisement on the course. This helped generate additional income last year and hope that we can produce similar results this time around. Please get with Daniel to help out with this important aspect of the tournament.

As the tournament has evolved, I have decided to allow a "member/guest" format, if you so choose. This means that you can have someone who is not an Eta Phi Alumi play if you would like, but they must be your partner. We will still not allow groups of non affiliated members to pair up. I still want to maintain "fellowship" as one of primary reasons for the tournament, but recognize that some might want to invite a "friend of the fraternity".

Please feel free to go ahead and start sending me your team and handicaps (if known). As always, the sooner I get this information, the better. Thank you all again for continuing to support this worthy cause. In the three years we have done this tournment, we have donated over $15,000 and I am so grateful to be a part of a group that recognizes the importance of giving back to those in need.

Look for another email with more information in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to seeing all of you on May 31st!!!!

The date for the 4th annual "Chipping In to Fight Cancer" Sigma Chi Golf Tournament has been set. The date is Saturday June 2nd at the Meadows Golf Course just outside of Birmingham. This is the same site we have held the tournament for the previous three years and seems to be perfect for this type tournament. For those of you who might be new to the fold, let me give you some background. After realizing how so many of us (Eta Phi members) had been touched by the effects of cancer, either through a family member or close friend, I felt that we could do something as a group to show our support against this awful disease. At first the though was to donate to some type of research and development group, but after thinking and discussing it others we decided our money which be much more valued on a more individual level. With that in mind, we seek out a family each year that is struggling either with the current financial strain caused by a loved one stricken with cancer or a family who has recently lossed someone to cancer and still might need a little help getting back on their feet. This year is no different, and I will speak on that in a minute. We generally raise between $2,000-$3,000 and get between 50-60 golfers. My lofty goal is eventually $5,000 and 100 golfers. This will happen!!! All in all it is a great time to get together with other fellow Eta Phi alumni and fellowship for a good cause. If you have never attended, I urge to to give it a shot this year and I trust that you will find it to be a Saturday well spent.

The tournament is a 2 man scramble, handicapped with recognition given to the best gross score, net score, longest drive and closest to the pin on a par 3. The cost is $75.00 per player. The course charges us around $43.00 and the remainder(after other expenses) goes to the family we adopt. We also sell mulligan's and tee busters, which help raise additional money. You can set up your own 4-some, or I will do that for you if you have no preference who you play with. Play will start with an 8:00 shotgun start!!!!!! It is imperative that everyone gets there early to sign in so we can go off on time or it can really mess up the entire tournament(other golfers coming in at the turn, etc.) This has been better the past couple of years and I plead that everyone understands the importance of this. After golf, we head to Buffallo Wild Wings on Hwy. 280 for food and beverages. Obviously golf does not provide many opportunities to interact outside of your group, so the afternoon at BWW has been a nice addition over the past couple of years.

One thing we are looking at doing this year is selling some corporate sponsorships. Daniel Clem is actually heading up this aspect of fund raising, so please get with him for more information, but basically we are going to allow donors to advertise their company with a sign on the tee box in exchange for a donation to the fund. This is something I have considered for many years, but have someone know have someone willing to head that aspect up, which will make this possible. To be quite honest, we are not going to be very stringent on how much this cost, because it is nothing but profit to us, and every bit we can get helps. I have also invited the undergraduates this year. Again, anyway that I can grow this tournament I am open to and I thing this might add an additional 20-30 players.

Now to the most important aspect of the tournament, the family. This family was proposed by alumni Steve Adams as a possible candidate and after hearing about their story, I am sure their is no one more deserving at this time. Chris Gorman of Atlanta had been battling for several months now, and was very terminal at the time Steve put me in touch with them. I just learned this morning that he passed away on Saturday, March 31st. I have been following his story through their my space page at myspace.com/davidcgorman. Chris leaves behind a wife and two beautiful children. Not to get into all the details, but I know that expenses have been mounting up and I know that the sooner we can get some money into their hands the better.

Please go ahead and start responding to this email with your partner (4 some if you already know it) and handicaps. The sooner I get this information this better.

I am sure I left out some details and please feel free to email me with questions. I look forward to seeing you all in early June, and please help me make this the best tournament we have had yet.

In Hoc,

Dendy