1998 Volume 121 No 1–4 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

the balance sheet from the
first meeting of Nov 18,1957.
"Our first stock we bought
was 18 shares in Cosden Petroleum,"
says Davis of a
company that is now defunct.
"We had $7.29 in the bank
and $319.50 in investments."
Though meetings are more
casual now—members say
the club is really more social
than serious—some rules do
apply. The host for the month
gets to be first to suggest a
stock to buy and
make the decision
of where to eat. If
he has nothing to
submit, another
member may then
recommend an
investment opportunity,
with a
usual limit of
$3,000 per stock.
The wealth of
expertise among
the club members has led to
some wise investment decisions—perhaps
the most
memorable being the purchase
of stock in Texas Instruments.
A visiting speaker
told the club of the advice he
was giving his own clients—
to sell TI when the stock
reached $30. Taking another
path, however, the club decided
to buy at $27 a share
_ and held it until it reached
more than $200 per share.
This bonanza lead to a
memorable trip for the club,
one of several the group has
taken.
Dan Stansbury, an investment
and asset manager, recounts,
"We decided to
convert a lot of the stocks and
go on a trip. We had made a
lot of money on Texas Instruments
and took our wives to
Las Vegas and San Francisco."
The trip proved so much
fun, he says, laughing, "as
soon as we would accumulate
[earnings] we would liquidate
and go on a trip."
Referring to the dinners the
investors enjoy with each
meeting, Stansbury readily
admits, "We would have a better
portfolio if we hadn't eaten
so well."
The investors also have
managed to avoid a number
of dubious investment
proposals.
"We have had our times of
people coming up with diamond
mines.. .even a man
"We had the 'cheapies'
and the 'richies'—either
$5 a month or $10 a
month."
who wanted us to invest in a
candle factory^' says Poole.
It is the club's short-lived
stint in silver trading, though,
that still evokes the most
reaction among members involved
at the time. One investor
refers to it as "Hi ho.
Silver."
On March 17,1977, the
brothers decided to try their
hand in the silver trade.
"We bought five silver contracts
... right before the huge
silver inflation, which would
have been 25,000 ounces of
silver at $5 an ounce as an
option," says Davis. "The market
dipped temporarily and
we had a $9,000 margin call."
Bernet vividly recalls
making midnight visits to get
$500 from each member.
When the club sold the contracts
on May 23,1997, the
loss amounted to
$9,480. But the
worst was yet to
come.
"If we could
have stayed in for a
week or so, it got
up to $40 an
ounce—so it
would have gone
up to a million
dollars," says
Davis. "We laugh about it
now, but that is just the way it
goes."
Through thick and thin—
and silver—the steadfast
bond among the members
has remained.
"We have all been good
friends all this time," says
Davis.
Have Phi Delta Theta host
your alumni club web site.
For $100, Phi Delta Theta can host
your internet site. This fee is for the
domain only and does not include
design of your site. Your web site
will automatically be linked to Phi
Delta Theta's GHQ site. For more
information, contact Brett Circe:
Brett@tkonet.com.
Footnotes
Washburn: Don A. Bobo,
'64, is the Chief Operating
Officer of AuditForce, a professional
staffing services
firm located in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. Don and his
wife, Vicki, have two Phi
Delt sons. Curt, Oregon
State '93, and Don, CA Poly
Tech State '91. University
of Mississippi: Doug
Hederman, '93, of Little
Rock has been promoted
to vice president and director
of public policy at
Cranford Johnson Robinson
Wood (GRW), the largest
full-service communications
firm in Arkansas, Louisiana
and Mississippi.
University of Tennessee:
Tom Hale, 76, was installed
as President of the Knoxville
Bar Association, a position
that he will hold for
one year. He is currently
with the law firm of Kramer
Rayson Leake Rodgers &
Morgan. University of
Texas-Austin: G. Lee Griffin,
'60, chairman and CEO
of Bank One Louisiana, will
become president and CEO
of the Louisiana operations.
Griffin started with Louisiana
National Bank in 1962.
He has worked closely with
Banc One Corp. since its
acquisition in 1996 of Premier
Corp. where Griffin
served as chairman/CEO.
Sonoma State: Jeffrey
Mclllwain, '97, has been
chosen to attend The National
Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) summer
institute entitled "Ethnicity,
American Identity, and Cultural
Transformation in
Twentieth-Century America:
The Case of New York."
Mclllwain is an associate
professor of criminal justice
at Sonoma. Butler: Richard
Orr, '84, is promoted to Director
of Marketing and
Advertising for AMC, Inc.,
the world's largest trade
mart/trade show
organization.
http://www.phidelt-ghq.com
SUMMER 1998 THE SCROLL 11