by Brandon E. Weghorst, Associate Executive Director of Communications

The charter hanging on the office wall of Dick Troncone (San Diego State ’65) was issued in January 1932 and includes some high-profile names like Alfred Nippert. This official Sigma Alpha Epsilon charter, however, has nothing to do with a chapter, but its function is equally as important.

While most members may perceive their fraternal experience as something limited to college, more than 75 associations affiliated with the Fraternity know better. They are the alumni associations, and they fully embrace the concept that membership is for life.

The San Diego Alumni Association has been operating continuously for decades in order to serve the needs of alumni in southern California. Now, at 203 members strong, the group continues to grow and enjoy success. Like chapters, the association experienced its ups and downs, but in the past decade, the group has earned accolades for its operations and its ability to keep alumni engaged with positive feelings about the Fraternity.

Troncone, who’s been a member of the group since 1967, serves as the president and considers himself lucky to have eight other men who serve on a board that help govern the group. In fact, one of the highest honors an alumnus can earn from the group is titled the Richard A. Troncone Brother of the Year Award. Yet he’s humble about his leadership role and says the real success of the group lies in the membership. While many mature gentlemen make up the more than 200 members, Troncone says the association has been making strides attracting younger members because they understand the need to continue growing the group and keeping their gatherings alive.

There is no recipe for a successful alumni association, and each group is different. Troncone says San Diego continuously evaluates the process, learning what works and what doesn’t work. “You have to start small and build on your successes,” Troncone says. “Do things that will be successful but are not overly ambitious. We’ve found that there’s nothing wrong with taking ideas from other associations.”

In the past year, the association sponsored a dinner for graduating seniors at California Theta and even offers a year’s worth of free membership to recently graduated members in an effort to keep the twentysomethings involved. They’ve even set up a chairman specifically for young alumni. “The seed for me was planted as an undergraduate,” says Cliff Bee (Western Michigan ’61). “I’m nearing 70, and I’m still involved. It’s not a time-measured commitment.”

The group’s governance is simple. Nine alumni serve on the board, including the positions of president and secretary, who meet once a month over breakfast to discuss business. The San Diego Alumni Association offers two levels of membership: a regular one for $25 a year and a Century Club one for $100 a year. And in this group, more than half of the brothers have opted for the Century Club membership.

San Diego’s group meets about every other month for a luncheon, which involves a social hour, a meal and a guest speaker. The speakers are not necessarily brothers, and they may speak on a wide range of topics that interest the group. Leaders even collect feedback from members on the topics they’d like to hear. The annual traditions also include a Founders Day event, which has been held at the same hotel on Mission Bay for two decades. And, at that same gathering, the group honors a brother of the year — the member who most excels in either his commitment to Sigma Alpha Epsilon, to his profession or to his community or to all three.

Other practices of the group include publishing a quarterly newsletter, keeping members connected through a website, conducting a summer get-together and organizing a holiday party that includes spouses and a toy drive to benefit those less fortunate than themselves. This past summer, the group also sponsored a recruitment event to attract young alumni and to showcase the association and its members for them. During their luncheons, the men wear nametags that include members’ names, chapter and graduation year. That way, they help to bridge the gap between brothers and help them feel like they can identify with others. Troncone and other board members even make it a point to introduce new members personally to everyone else so they can feel at home.

John McMullen (San Diego State ’67), who serves as the group’s secretary, says networking plays a critical role in their success and also provides them a direct benefit of membership. “Almost all of us had networked off of some relationship because of the Fraternity,” McMullen says. “I would tell a young alumnus that one of the best things he can gain from membership is the opportunity to network and build a career.”

For their efforts as a well-run association, San Diego has earned some top honors, including the Bill Fiscus Outstanding Alumni Association Award and an award for its website. The group is also proud to use members’ dues toward six scholarships for undergraduates to attend the annual John O. Moseley Leadership School.

And while they enjoy an award-winning routine as a group, they still focus on what can make them better. In the coming year, the association expects to redesign their website and hopes to provide a printed directory of all their members so brothers can stay in touch even more often outside of their regular gatherings.

To learn more about the San Diego Alumni Association, visit www.saesd.org.