The 2023 Fresno Sigma Chi Wine Tasting was enjoyed by 100 participants. As we meandered around Susan and John Ballinger’s (65-S) backyard, one of the most beautiful in Fresno, we snacked on hors d’oeuvres from Sam’s Deli. T.A. Heckel (82-F) poured wine from his personal wine cellar which we tasted as we chatted with our Sigma Chi brothers, some of whom we had not seen for years.Tom Kusaka (79-F) sponsored (6) undergraduate brothers who helped immensely at the entrance giving out name tags after helping set up the tables and chairs. Although the event is really a brotherhood event, the silent auction and wine raffle raised $28,485 for our endowment which is managed by the Fresno State Alumni Association. Epsilon Eta’s endowments has more than $50,000 for scholarships to Fresno Sigs. The amount given to each brother was raised to $3,000 for the 2023/2024 school year.  Our scholarships are given to reward academic excellence, and 40% of the Active Chapter are on the Dean’s List.

2023 Registered Attendees (100 Total): Jerry Bender (56-F), Tony Flores (56-S), Gary Renner (62-S), Tom Downing (62-F), Alex Audelo (63-S), Mike Patton (63-S), John Ballinger (65-S), John Marinovich (68-S), Tom Beggs (68-F), Michael Elliott (68-F), Jim Norquist (69-F), Dave Reuland (69-F), Mark Scott (69-F), Larry Calvino (69-S), Dennis Schmal (69-F), Peter Britton (70-F), Tom Licouris (70-F), Bill Robinson (70-F), Mark Sanchez (70-F), Marv Helon (71-F), Chris Visser (71-F), Bill Smittcamp (73-S), Patrick Beggs (72-F), Paul Porter (74-F), Serge Tomassian (74-F), Kirk Wethey (74-F), Kevin Wren (74-F), Blake Gunderson (75-S), Darryl Horowitt (75-F),  Rob Hauser (76-S), Steve Coleman (78-F), Brad Fischer (78-S), Steve Bachand (79-F), Jon Hollenbeck (79-F), Tom Kusaka (79-F), T.A. Heckel (82-F), Joel Armstrong (87-F), Sergio Ilic (87-F), Rob Bell (95-F), Mark McCullough (96-S), Ravi Batth (97-F), Pat Geil (97-F), Brandon Cohrs (98-F). Matt Garcia (00-S), Dustin Gallegos (00-S), Brian Stenklyft (00-S), Brian O’Rourke (01-F), Mark Springer (09-F), Mike Colgate (14-F), Trenton Benevedes (20-F), Christian Cruz (20-F), Logan Mann (20-F), Bassel Khoury (21-F), Cooper Lilles (21-F), Austin Tuell (21-F) and Tito Gomez (22-F).

On April 7, 2023, Mark and his wife, Lori, were featured with the headline, Rolling Hills Vineyard: 2023 Idaho Winery To Watch. Mark donated (6) of his fantastic wines to the 2023 Fresno Sigma Chi Wine Tasting event which took place on April 22. Although Mark received his Fresno State degree in accounting, Lori was raised on her grandparent’s vineyard in the San Joaquin Valley. Our wine committee tasted Mark’s wines last year, and they were compared to more expense Napa wines. They were judged equal or better in quality, and it turned out this was his first vintage. Obviously they learned fast. You can order wines at their website, https://www.rollinghillsvineyard.com/.

To read the entire article, please click on this link:
https://greatnorthwestwine.com/2023/04/07/rolling-hills-vineyard-2023-idaho-winery-to-watch/?fbclid=IwAR0qG27qmBU4TRIRtWoqOkcm_CaaLi_-EssdWQoc6v5o-Oot9JdTkUy3Jns