A Stronger Foundation
New Housing Corp. officers have grand vision
By Adam Nekola
January 16, 2009
Homecoming is usually about meeting old friends and seeing campus again, but for the Upsilon Housing Corporation, it serves another purpose.
For what has been the largest annual gathering of Upsilon Alumni for some time, the Housing Corp. has used the occasion to elect new members. This fall was no different as four members joined the eight-member board. Jim McMahon (Y965), Eric Chen (Y1008), Gene Giannotta (Y1030), and Andrew Ostendorf (Y1068) were elected to the board, while Mile Nolte was appointed as the Undergraduate representative.
Members are elected to at-large positions and the board itself appoints members to offices. Returning members James Nelson (Y1005) and John Hankus (Y1009) take over as president and vice-president.
"Since the house has been completed, HC has been a very lopsided organization - the president did most of the work, and took most of the blame from the undergraduate chapter," Nelson said.
"The VP now acts as the sounding board to the chapter or undergraduate liaison, and is also in charge of handling all of the repairs needed in the house. By the end of Jeff (McMahon)'s term (as President), we had some structure to all of the positions on HC."
For the newly-defined vice-president position Hankus seemed to be the perfect fit. As a former house manager himself, he knows what it takes.
"Since the primary function of VP was to communicate with the House Manager and coordinate house repairs, I figured this would be a natural role for me," Hankus said. "I also have a good background of maintenance with plumbing, electrical work, and construction so I figured I could help out with repairs and can help diagnose problems over the phone or give preventative maintenance advice."
It's communication that the Housing Corp. has identified as their biggest problem. With a knowledgeable alumni in the vice-president position, the organization hopes to streamline how the undergrad chapter asks for house repairs, and to prioritize in order to get these repairs completed.
Improving the quality of the house will help the undergrads recruit better. Better recruitment will help the finances improve. And with a budget earning a surplus, the Housing Corp. hopes to soon own the house - they the possibilities will be limitless.
"Finances are looking good and so are house numbers - a great basis to start on. Now we need to work on improvements to make housing corps more active in day to day operations of the house," Hankus said.
Nelson has the same plan, but with the formation of the alumni chapter, he sees things differently.
"This might sound unusual, but my main goals for HC in the future are about reducing responsibility," he said.
"The chapter wants greater ownership of the house's costs and repairs, and we hope to work out a solution to give it to them. The chapter is already streamlining rent payments for the first semester ever. Instead of us collecting rent from each individual in the house, the chapter will collect rent from everybody, and the chapter will be responsible for paying HC. We're hoping to work out a way where we can allow the chapter to make house repairs faster, without having to go through 3-5 different people just to get something done."
By giving more responsibility to the undergrads and sharing goals with the Alumni Chapter, he sees the Housing Corp. becoming a smaller group in the future. The idea is not to burden one individual or one alumni body too much. The Housing Corp's sole focus on house operations will allow it's members to specialize better.
Hankus wants to take that focus to the next level, though.
"Hopefully we can pay off the mortgage to the house as soon as possible in order to create a house where expenses are low and provide a cheaper alternative to dorms and some apartments. This will help to keep a flourishing undergraduate chapter at U of I. Having a place to call home on visits to Champaign is something every alumni would appreciate," he said.
OTHER NOTES
--- "Jim McMahon is now our Scholarship chair, and he's already off on to a great start with getting our scholarships out to the students. By the end of our term, I hope to have a set schedule and scholarship process for the students, making sure the Upsilon 451 scholarship is giving away at every Homecoming, and the Charles Moka Jr. Scholarship is presented at the students' Rose Ball each year." - James Nelson
--- "A key addition to our group is Gene Gionnatta. Gene is our Dues Drive chair, now called our Alumni chair. As the oldest and most organized alumni organization in the Upsilon chapter, I want to enable both our BOAA and AC to succeed. By having Gene working across both AC and HC, he can help build up the AC with Adam Nekola and Nick Stoczanyn, while at the same time using the HC to lean on for support during initial growing pains." - James Nelson
--- "Alumni can be involved by showing up for the new alumni chapter meetings, showing face at the house during homecoming, attending the annual housing corps meeting, donating there time to serve on one of our 3 alumni boards, and provide financial support/donations if possible. Any one of the above actions would be greatly appreciated. With the HC board, AC board, and BOAA, there are more alumni serving in an active role than in the past 10 years. Serving one small part is easier to manage in post graduate lives and still allows you to be in touch with your collegiate roots and friends. This helps you to live up to your oath taken as an undergrad." - John Hankus