Sigma Chi
Centennial Chapter House
Washington State University
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"The best new fraternity house in America"
1980's Sigs Dave Kraft and Eric Bolstad. Eric is the sponsor of the Bolstad Chapter Room and one of The Seven Pillars. He is our second largest donor at more than $150,000, led our Construction Loan Task Force and is also leading our House Bill Task Force that will set the budget for the new house. Thank you, Eric!
It was the largest gathering of WSU Sigma Chis in our 100-year history. They'll be talking about how we celebrated the Beta Upsilon Centennial for the next hundred years. We came together, laughed, embellished stories, ate fantastic food, sipped a few cold ones and donated more funding to keep the momentum going as we build our gleaming new Centennial Chapter House after 67 years of talking about it. We immediately reverted back to the old nicknames: "Tito." "GA." "Bones." "Bear." And more. Brothers from the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, 2010's and current undergraduate brothers. 300 attendees altogether.
The proud 26 members of the Centennial Pledge Class paraded into the crowd in unison on Saturday to meet more Sigs than they could ever imagine.
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Speeches from WSU President Kirk Schulz, quarterback Jack Thompson, former Sweetheart Ericka Doran, construction supervisor Brian Phair and many more spoke about Sigma Chi, it's values and how it helped make us the men we are today.
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We took more than 1,000 photos of our historic event. In coming days, we'll upload as many as we can, including your individual commemorative photos standing on the construction site with the sign that reads "I was here from the start." Meantime, click the link above to see a few more that you can download right now.
1980's Sigs reunite on the construction site. Undergrad legacy Mitch Shapley, his mom Robyn, Major Donor Jeff Kraft ('86), Kurt Sandstrom ('84), Major Donor Mike Shapley ('87), Jim Lawson of the Sigma Chi Foundation and Executive Committee Member Brad Fulton ('85), who is also a major donor.
ABOVE: Undergraduate brothers chow down. BELOW: Hundreds of Sigs signed the main support beam before it gets installed.
1980's Sigs, including Jeff Kraft and Eric Bolstad, get a close up look at the construction of the Centennial Chapter House. On left, Executive Committee Member Brian Phair ('90), who is supervising the construction project for the alumni, compares notes with the construction manager for our contractor Ginno Construction of Coeur d'Alene.
ABOVE: Undergraduate Sigs pose on what will become the Hansell Dining Room floor with Sigma Chi Grand Praetor Duane Ray and Sigma Chi Ritual Director Loren Butler. BELOW: "I was here from the start." Jars of dirt from the groundbreaking were handed out to brothers who got their commemorative photo taken on the construction site. BELOW LEFT: Undergrad brother Isaiah Barragan.
LEFT: 1980's brother Tony Ferrante, owner of Ferrante's Marketplace in Spokane, catered 450 meals over the weekend to rave reviews, especially that Cougar Gold Mac and Cheese! Thank you, Tony.
UPPER LEFT: 1980's Sigs Mickey Portnoy and Kurt Sandstrom mug for the camera with friends. ABOVE: WSU President Kirk Schulz and our lead donor Gordy Davis. BELOW: Legendary WSU Quarterback and WSU leader Jack Thompson. BELOW LEFT: Major Donor Larry Culver poses with the new construction in his nice tux prior to being honored at the WSU Foundation Gala; Frank Nance and Major Donor Garith Krause look at architectural plans.
1980's Sigs: Major Donor Pat Nevin, Mike Augustine, Gregg Anderson, Major Donor Erik Morgan, AGD Laura Reilly Falter holding Fireball, Mike Pirello, Gregg Matthews and Major Donor John Hale.
Good times: Legacy undergraduate Mitch Shapley (dad is Mike Shapley, '87), Robyn Shapley, far right is current Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
BELOW: Brothers begin to arrive for the reunion under two giant tents in view of the construction site next door. We had 300 total attendees.
FAR ABOVE:1980's brother Tony Ferrante, owner of Ferrante's Marketplace in Spokane, was our caterer. His food conjured rave reviews. RIGHT: The most senior brother attending the reunion, Jim Sweeny, Consul in 1952, hangs out with current 2019 Consul Garrett Gluck. ABOVE: Our live Centennial Construction Camera shows the main floor now taking shape. View it live on the main page of this website.
