2008 Woodie Awards
AEPi teams for local restoration
Domenic Poli, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: News
Henry L. Pope III felt the brothers of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at the University of Massachusetts had been unfairly dealt a poor reputation.
Like a stereotypical fraternity, AEPi had been labeled as a group of lazy troublemakers and were looked at negatively by some Amherst residents. But Pope felt there was more to the Jewish fraternity than that and decided to ask the brothers for a favor.
The exterior of the Strong House of the Amherst Historical Society & Amherst History Museum hadn't been touched in at least three decades, and Pope, who does volunteer work as the museum's chair, offered to pay AEPi to help renovate it.
"I approached AEPi because I was neighbors with them [on Sunset Avenue in Amherst] and I came to befriend them," said Pope, who thought the project could be a chance for the fraternity to improve its image.
AEPi, who in the past had assisted Pope and his family with similar projects in and around his house, agreed to help.
"They really did a bang-up job," he said. "The guys really came through for us. They were very helpful."
Pope, also the founder and CEO of a marketing company called ECSI (electronic commerce solutions incorporated), said in an e-mail that the brothers showed up on time every morning and worked with little to no necessary oversight.
He said that Mike DeFord, the fraternity's project manager, helped him market the opportunity among the brothers and got recruits.
Every morning, DeFord, along with brothers Paul Brigandi, Dan Ochs and Steve Miller, brought a crew of workers to the site and began work at 9:00 a.m. Pope said they managed their own time, kept tabs on one another's safety and cleaned up the site at the end of the day.
The project, done in two parts over the last year, was completed two weeks ago.
But the brothers of AEPi weren't the only community members who pitched in. Pope also received help from community members, corporate sponsors and local businesses such as Sherwin-Williams in Northampton, Athena's Pizza and Subway of Amherst.
Like a stereotypical fraternity, AEPi had been labeled as a group of lazy troublemakers and were looked at negatively by some Amherst residents. But Pope felt there was more to the Jewish fraternity than that and decided to ask the brothers for a favor.
The exterior of the Strong House of the Amherst Historical Society & Amherst History Museum hadn't been touched in at least three decades, and Pope, who does volunteer work as the museum's chair, offered to pay AEPi to help renovate it.
"I approached AEPi because I was neighbors with them [on Sunset Avenue in Amherst] and I came to befriend them," said Pope, who thought the project could be a chance for the fraternity to improve its image.
AEPi, who in the past had assisted Pope and his family with similar projects in and around his house, agreed to help.
"They really did a bang-up job," he said. "The guys really came through for us. They were very helpful."
Pope, also the founder and CEO of a marketing company called ECSI (electronic commerce solutions incorporated), said in an e-mail that the brothers showed up on time every morning and worked with little to no necessary oversight.
He said that Mike DeFord, the fraternity's project manager, helped him market the opportunity among the brothers and got recruits.
Every morning, DeFord, along with brothers Paul Brigandi, Dan Ochs and Steve Miller, brought a crew of workers to the site and began work at 9:00 a.m. Pope said they managed their own time, kept tabs on one another's safety and cleaned up the site at the end of the day.
The project, done in two parts over the last year, was completed two weeks ago.
But the brothers of AEPi weren't the only community members who pitched in. Pope also received help from community members, corporate sponsors and local businesses such as Sherwin-Williams in Northampton, Athena's Pizza and Subway of Amherst.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Sigep Brother
posted 12/03/08 @ 5:17 PM EST
The brothers should have recruited their nerd herd captain - Ryan Lynch. I bet he'll work for a painting company later in life, probably quite talented there. (Continued…)
Post a Comment