The Reflector VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1 ALPHA ETA CHAPTER SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
SPRING 2008 EDITION
Chapter Update
Formal 2008
It has been an exciting year for the Alpha Eta Chapter at Samford University. We recently initiated an outstanding new pledge class who show great signs of furthering our fraternity and chapter in the future. We have survived the stresses and terrors of Step Sing. Our show this year was excellent, and we received the award for Best Costume (as you can see in the picture). Our theme was “Pi Kapp in Denial” which was a play on words for “The Nile” as our costumes took a rather Egyptian appearance. A few upcoming events we are looking forward to our annual Brotherhood Retreat and Formal. Speaking of Formal, I am excited to say that any Alumni who want to attend Formal are welcome and invited to come and join us. We would be very excited to see as many alumni as possible in attendance. Please see the left column for details.
-7:00p.m. Saturday, May 3rd at the Summit Club in Birmingham, AL -$30/couple -RSVP so we know how many to expect brfreder@samford.ed u
New Members As I mentioned previously, we have an awesome new group of “Shiny Badges” or new brothers. Like always, they are a great group of young guys who will bring great things to Alpha Eta. They come from all over and share many different interests, but they each share a common loyalty and pride for Pi Kappa Phi. Here are our new initiates: Rolllins Brock Jake Cantrell Brian Daniel Austin Davis Ryan Fee Matt Fennell Hunter Fleenor Bo Jones Rick Lee Jay Lindsey Zach Long
Andrew Luig Jake McPherson Geoff Moore Townsend Owens Cameron Phillips Will Phillips Nick Piazza Scott Richardson Kennan Sanders Jeremy Schmeissing Matt Sutter Jack Wilgus Preston Williams Adam Witcher Erik Wright
Brother Spotlight I would like to first thank all of you who sent in recommendations for brothers to spotlight in this issue. I must say that there are many of you who are very involved in your communities and I commend you all for representing Pi Kappa Phi in that manner. However, this issue’s Brother Spotlight is on Steven Gum, ’97. Steven graduated in 1997 and had a great four years as a Pi Kapp at Samford. He was Rush chairman his sophomore year, and then Archon. He married Christy (an Alpha Deltal Pi at Samford), and moved to Knoxville, TN. He sold commercial property/casualty insurance for five years, before feeling called by God to work with kids full time. He left the business world to become a teacher/coach at a Christian School in Knoxville. During his six years teaching and coaching, Steven and Christy had two girls of their own. In the Fall of 2006 they felt God calling them to take another step.
Steven, Christy and their two daughters moved to Springville, AL. They are now house parents at The Big Oak Girls Ranch which is “a Christian home for children needing a chance”. The ranch has 7-9 homes where a Christian couple raises up to 8 girls. Steven and Christy currently have their two biological girls plus three girls ages 8-16, and they hope to get more girls in the coming months. In addition to raising the girls, the house dads take care of the ranch two days each week. According to Steven, “The kids that come to the ranch are not bad kids, but instead children that come from bad situations”. Many of the children have suffered neglect or abuse, while others just didn’t have anybody to raise them. For Steven and Christy, it is a family ministry. In the words of Steven, “Not only do Christy and I get to love these girls, but our biological girls love their new big sisters”. The Ranch is a great place to live, with horses, a lake, and a beautiful gym. The children from
the Ranch attend a private Christian school in Gadsden, AL, and are involved in sports and extracurricular activities. Steven would like to end with a charge to the Brothers of Alpha Eta: “Brothers of the Alpha Eta Chapter, God may lead you to work in industry, or He may lead you to ministry. Regardless, don’t waste your life serving yourself and living “The American Dream”. Instead, die to yourself and allow God to direct your path and serve Him through whatever you do. Only then will you experience the fullness of the life He has for you.”
Where are they now? Jay Aiken AH 496 – Jay has two sons, 18 and 17. His eldest is serving in the Army. He is active in his home church, Smokerise Baptist in Stone Mountain, GA, where he conducts the hand bell choir. Bruce Brady ’94 – Two years ago he left a great 12 year career in real estate in Atlanta, GA, to help plant a church in Dothan, AL. He now lives in Nashville, TN and just started a second church called Cumberland Church (a partnership church of Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta). He is happily married with four great kids. Craig Shadinger ’99 – Craig and his wife Libby have a new baby boy named Austin Glen Shadinger. They currently reside in Nashville, TN. Aaron Pelz AH 980 – Aaron currently lives in Atlanta and is in sales at Design Cinema and Automation, which does home theaters and home automation systems for luxury homes in the $1million+ range. He has worked with people like PGA golfer Stewart Cink, Erik Snow of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and NASCAR President Mike Helton. Blake Elliott ’96 – Blake and his wife Leigh Anne have two daughters ages 3 ½ and 10 months. They live in Memphis, TN where he is a Commercial Relationship Manager for Regions Bank. Blake has been very involved in the Phoenix Club which is an organization of young professional men whose sole philanthropy is the Boys & Girls Clubs of Memphis. He has been on the board in various capacities for the last 7 years and is the president of the club this year. Mike Clifton ’69 – Mike is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel. He now teaches high school ROTC. His wife, Genelle, is a wonderful full time mom for their two teen daughters. They live in Jacksonville, FL. Ben Schmidt ’07 – Ben is a financial analyst for CNL Income Company who acquires lifestyle real estate properties like golf courses, ski resorts, theme parks, etc. Ben is in the golf course sector and is responsible for making sure that the 48 golf courses they own are making money. He is engaged to Sarah Newman (also a ’07 Samford grad), and they will be married on July 12th, 2008 Jason Duke AH 1105 – Jason lives in Ft. Myers, FL, where he works as a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley. He is actively involved with the Republican Party of Lee County and the Red Cross, of which he is on the board of directors for both organizations. Dwayne Todd AH 807 – Dwayne is the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at CCAD. He is continuing his work on his dissertation for his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from The Ohio State University. He serves on the Governing Board for ACPA, which is the largest comprehensive student affairs professional association. Dwayne just began as Chapter Advisor to the Alpha Nu
Associate Chapter at The Ohio State University. Jim Daley ’69 – Jim works in Europe where he has a company called Masefield. Masefield is involved in energy trading. He and his wife, Becky (also a Samford grad), have two children ages 31 and 29. Clayton Hollis AH 538 – Clayton has been married to Beverly for 20 years, and they have two kids; Clay, 19, and Jill, 17. He is currently Vice President, Public Affairs for Publix Super Markets, Inc. Clayton is Vice Chairman of the Board of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL. He also serves on a local Hospice board, our Congressman’s Finance Committee and his Young Patriot’s Foundation. John Crist AH 1184 – John lives in Colorado Springs, CO, and works in marketing and sales for the Glazier Clinics. In his own words “he continues to be a mentor and father figure to the likes of Matt Thomas and Andrew Boyd”. Hugh Brindley ’67 – He and his wife, Carole, have two daughters and seven grandchildren. He and Carole live in Trussville, AL, where Hugh is in the private practice of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery. Richard Smith ’82 – Richard is the managing partner for Christian & Small, LLP, a law firm in Birmingham, AL. Mark Cottingham AH 683 – Mark and his wife, Rebekah, live in the East Cobb/North Atlanta area of Georgia. He has been an Associate Pastor for Worship & Arts at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, GA. They have three kids, Sarah (19) freshmen at Samford, Andrew (16) and Benjamin (10). Mark recently completed his 5th studio solo recording project entitled “Reflections”. Todd Fleenor AH 1171 – Todd worked last year in medical research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with Cardiac Surgery and just recently had a paper published in Circulation Research.
Current Historian: Oliver Jones Phone: (404)4314149
New EC Members: John Ward Weiss – Archon Michael Suess – Vice Archon Hamlin Caldwell – Warden
Email: okjones@sam ford.edu
Alex Stoner - Secretary Bee Frederick – Treasurer Oliver Jones – Historian Zach Seanor - Chaplain