Labor Day 2023

On behalf of the alumni board, the 9th annual alumni work weekend was a huge success!!!

We had 16 Alumni and 9 actives present from Sept. 1-4 at 14 Leroy.

Thanks to below who attended:

Actives: 

Josh Pike (25)
Joe Kerekes(26)
Mark Lajessure (24)
Austin Field (24)
Andrew Gadziala (26)
Caleb Gardener (24)
Matt Trifaro (24)
Matt Arnoldo (24)
Walter Sutton (24)

Alumni:

Jim Dwards Edwards (79)
Jerry Rushak (78)
Chris Duroe (84)
Mike Adams (84)
Tom Sexton (84)
JR Augustine (79)
Kevin Moriarity (79)
PJ O’Connor (88)
Wayne Chase (92)
Tim Dammann (15)
Jerry Child (66)
Bill Forward (66)
Bob “TM” Dolan (88)
Scott Akins (84)
Scott “Frenchy” Lalumier (91)
Terry ” TZ” Moran (81)

Projects done

  • Cleaned flower beds
  • Planted new bushes
  • Mulched all around the house (360 degrees)
  • Trimmed trees using a lift
  • Burned brush
  • Re-cemented stairs on front porch
  • Installed gutters on back porch
  • Cleaned up inside of house
  • Threw out much junk
  • Fixed bathroom by kitchen
  • Worked on sun porch (completely re-modeling it)
  • 5 brand new bed mattresses installed
  • “Alumni Guest Room” on 3rd floor completed: Free furnished room for any alumni visitor

7th Annual Alumni Labor Day Work Weekend 2020

For the past 7 years, each Labor Day a small group of Alumni volunteers make the trek to Potsdam, to show the active members what work looked like “back in their day”.  Labor Day 2020 was another record-breaking year. We absolutely crushed our goal of $18,000.  Over 120 alumni donated $22,000.  Over the past 7 years, we have raised $120,000. With roughly $50Kgoing toward the roof.
Thank You Alumni!

We thank Tim Dammann (15) for heading up the work crew in 2020.  The Actives accomplished a fair amount of work over Labor Day 2020. Due to Covid, only actives worked on the house.  Our main goal in 2020 was to re-paint the eaves.  We also cleaned up the yard and did some trimming, which made our neighbors happy.   

Labor Day 2017 – Another Record Breaking Year

2017 was another record breaking year. We absolutely crushed our goal of $18,000. At the time of this post, our total stands at $22,720 with donations still making their way to us. Simply amazing!!

This year, due to a scheduling conflict with the start of classes, work took place a week prior to Labor Day. As such we had a few less workers than previous years, but a fair amount was still accomplished.

We started with a little light yard work-pulling weeds, mulching beds, and disposing of a stump (a project we started last year).


While the yard was being tended to, some other brothers started on (the now time honored tradition of) painting eaves.



With the yard work complete, it was time for lunch.
(18 feet of sub – before and after a bunch of college guys got to it.)

Finally, it was on to the main task of the weekend – striping and painting the porch decking.

However the biggest news of the weekend is with this year’s fundraising nearly complete, we are now in a position to begin scheduling the roof repairs. Keep an eye out for more updates about this exciting news throughout the year.

We thank you all immensely and know we could not do this without your support.  Thank you to all of the donors, all of the volunteers, and all of the families who continue to put up with our shenanigans year after year.

On behalf of Terry -TZ- Moran, The Alumni E-board, and the Active Chapter we sincerely appreciate your continued support of the Organization.

Thank You,
Chris Welsh ’06

 

Labor Day 2016 – Another Rousing Success

Year after year we the brothers of OPiO continue to amaze me with their generosity, determination and hard work. 2016 was no different. We set a substantial goal, and everyone rose to the challenge.

  • 3 months of campaigning
  • A googleplex of emails sent by TZ
  • 25 breakfast sandwiches
  • 6 cubic yards of mulch
  • 23 shrubs
  • 6 alumni volunteers
  • 2 girlfriend volunteers
  • 99 Donors
  • $18,525 raised

While all of those numbers are impressive, that last number is simply astounding.

This year’s work continued the focus of restoring the exterior beauty of our beloved 14 Leroy St.

A crew was set to task repairing and painting the eaves, windows, and other various around the house.

While others tackled the landscaping.

Finally, a last group set about repairing a section of front porch that had fallen victim to the elements.

Some seldom seen neighbors dropped by to see what was going on.

Something even more scarcely seen at OPiO stopped by to lend a hand,

while the guys took part in some good old fashion government work.

The crew manged to stay on budget for the weekend, keep all the work to $3,000. The results speak for themselves.
Awesome job guys!

Sticking to the $3,000 budget allowed us to bank just over $15,000 toward the roof replacement. Putting us well on our way to having that project completely funded. If you would like to know more about the roof replacement plans, please take a moment to read through them at the bottom of the Labor Day page.

With Labor Day 2016 behind us, we set our sites toward the coming school year, a great pledge class, continued roof replacement work, and of course Labor Day 2017.

We thank you all immensely, and know we could not do this without your support.
Thank you to all the donors, all the volunteers, and all the families that put up with our shenanigans year after year.

On behalf of; Terry -TZ- Moran, The Alumni Eboard, and the Active Chapter we sincerely appreciate your continued support of the organization.

Thank You
Chris Welsh ’06

Spring Alumni Weekend 2016

Greetings;

The 2016 Spring Alumni Weekend will be held from Friday, February 26th, 2016 to Sunday, February 28th, 2016.

This coincides with the first annual Clarkson “Cold Out, Gold Out” (COGO) Event. Clarkson will be holding numerous on campus activities. As well as providing transportation to/from some north eastern metropolitan areas and shuttle service around Potsdam for the weekend.

If you have not made it back up to OPiO in a while, now is the time to do so. Take advantage of the Clarkson sponsored transportation and coerce your fellow brothers to come relive a simpler time.

Look forward to seeing you.

 

Christopher “Head” Welsh

14 Leroy Recognized in National Register of Historic Places

The culmination of a mult-year effort was finally recognized today as the National Parks Service has included our beloved 14 Leroy in its National Register of Historic Places. Thanks to hours of time donated by esteemed alumni Cordell Pearce, Bill Sheldon, and Jason Morganson, our house is now recognized as a historically significant structure in Potsdam.

Additional thanks to all of the folks who were kind enough to donate to various causes over the last few years. Your generosity allowed us to make the repairs necessary to be considered for this list.

Among other key features, the house is noted for both its architectural and industrial significance, having been linked to both Henry A. Watkins and George W. Sisson.

Here’s a link to the official listing for further reading:

http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/places/13000697.htm

Recap on alumni weekend

Thanks to all those who were able to make the trip to potsdam for the Spring 2010 Alumni weekend. For those who attended, i think we can all agree to say it was fun to be had by all. Thanks again for the insight by the elders to the current actives on what steps to take in the relative directions. Hope to see everyone at Pig Roast.

Rush BBQ

This past saturday we had a rush Bbq. A few brothers bought some lawn games before hand which turned out to be a huge hit. Horse balls were fun for all.