Omega - August 2007

THE • PI • KAPPA • PHI • FRATERNITY

Omegalite AUGUST 2007 Omega of Pi Kappa Phi, Inc. Housing Corporation P.O. Box 2700 West Lafayette, IN 47996-2700 Chapter web address: http://www.purdue.edu/ pikapps Corporation Officers JAY SEEGER PRESIDENT 3817 Old Farm Road Lafayette, IN 47905 765/742-4529, work 765/474-1986, home jay@shf-law.net

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Omega alumni toast anniversary Rekindling old friendships, reliving past events and celebrating the accomplishments of 85 years were on the agenda the weekend of June 8 and 9 for the Omega chapter (Purdue University).

“I’ve seen people here tonight I haven’t seen since I left school (in 1971),” David Lane, former national council president and Omega alumnus, said. “And because of that brotherhood developed years ago, we could strike up a conversation like it was yesterday.”

Lane, who traveled 650 miles to attend the weekend’s festivities, found that four of his pledge brothers were among the 57 Omega initiates and 10 guests who attended the chapter’s first-ever, large-scale summer alumni event.

“We learned a lot from everyone here tonight,” Lane said. “What we went through as pledges and brothers means a lot more to us now than as students. It’s those shared experiences 40 years ago that had a dramatic impact on your personal

lives, our career choices and on our character.”

The weekend’s activities included golf, various house improvement projects and a formal banquet over a two-day span. At the two-hour Saturday evening banquet, housing corporation president, Jay Seeger, chapter representative Geoff Zindren, chapter advisor Pat Kuhnle and Lane spoke.

Afterwards, a traveling microphone allowed all those in attendance to Continued on Page 2

BRANDT HERSHMAN VICE PRESIDENT 6142 Maderia Lane Lafayette, IN 47905 574/581-2000, cell b.hershman@insightbb. com STEVE BOHNER TREASURER 194 Twin Springs Ct. Carmel, IN 46234 317/846-3008, home 317/844-2250, work 317/844-2296, fax steve@langdonan company.com PAT KUHNLE SECRETARY 720 Chelsea Road W. Lafayette, IN 47906 765/743-1111 ext.

205, work 765/743-6087, fax 765/743-1256, cell pkuhnle@purdue exponent.org

As his wife, Gay, looks on, alumnus Jim Berlien toasts the Omega chapter upon its 85th anniversary at the June 9 banquet attended by nearly 70 brothers and guests.

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regale the audience with old stories.

“Today, we celebrate 1,701 initiates, 85 years and an extremely strong chapter,” Kuhnle said. “I ask you to join me in congratulating ourselves and the undergraduates by assisting the chapter in some capacity – by financially supporting our efforts, volunteering in some role and by recognizing our amazing accomplishments.

We’re third most in terms of chapter initiates in Pi Kappa Phi, we’ve never been shut down – we’re the only single-letter chapter that can say such even though it’s been close – and we have the longest-standing continuous housing in all of Pi Kappa Phi.” The Saturday banquet ended with a toast to the chapter and its 85 years by Jim Berlien of Fort Wayne, who afterwards led the group in singing the Purdue fight song.

“As we reflect upon our careers, as husbands and fathers, we realize that so much of what we are today is attributable to what we experienced at Omega years ago,” Lane told the group.

The oldest alumnus in attendance, 77-year-old J.T. Wolfenden of Shaker Heights, OH, praised the 102man chapter for its success and was warmly appreciative of those who traveled so far to be at the event.

“You planned and executed a beautiful weekend for the 85th anniversary of Pi Kappa Phi,” Wolfenden wrote in a letter to the chapter afterwards. “I appreciated seeing the many improvements at the chapter house and the fine fellowship of the returning graduates.”

Brent Wunderlich of Buena Park, CA, was recognized as traveling the furthest by coming more than 2,100 miles to be at the event. Others traveled from the states of Washington, Florida and Texas. They came to celebrate the past but also the hope of the future.

Student responder Zindren, a Terre Haute native and education major, explained how he became a Pi Kapp – a move he values more today than as a freshman.

“It’s four years and three majors later and I’m coming to the end of my Pi Kapp journey,” Zindren said. “In that time I have spent a year and a half on the executive council as secretary and vice archon. I’ve made excellent friends and I’m leaving with even Greg Linder addresses the better stories.

“I also have to say audience during the microthat I love how I’m phone pass at the 85th.

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ending my journey with the chapter,” he said. “It has grown as much as I have and I am proud of the achievements we’ve made.”

Those achievements have included being No. 2 in athletics last year, No. 9 in academics and size (out of 41 Purdue fraternities), raising $8,500 for Push America, being named a Pi Kappa Phi Champion Master Chapter and having numerous members involved in campus leadership positions including the current IFC president.

“Today is my birthday,” the 22-year-old student responder Zindren said. “I can’t think of any other way of spending the day than with a room full of people that I can call my friends; that I can call, my brothers.”

JT Wolfenden, Lois Wolfenden, Bob Rust, James Jackson and Barbara Ann Jackson.

Don Porth, Brent Buroker, Bryan Williams, Marc Zubeck, Mike Porter, Mark Nigh, Matt Stuve, Steve Beeler and Ken Johnson.

Ian Koehler, Tim Kamerud, Brian Heiwig, Sally Heiwig, Mike Wilkins, Mark Chyba, David Ring and Brad Rochford.

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Alumnus assists multinational forces in Iraq Years ago, heads of state would visit the place where an Omega alumnus is calling his temporary home.

However, a palace is downtown Baghdad, Iraq, can hardly be considered a vacation site nowadays.

Stationed in the former strongman Sadaam Hussein’s Republican Palace, Naval Cmdr. Tim Boyer (Omega 1247), works with a multinational force in planning security for the military.

“Working in the Republican Palace has been interesting,” Boyer wrote in an email in July. “It’s a pretty large place – lacking the grandeur that it most probably had before, say 2003, or so – but still fairly posh compared to where one could be working over here.”

He described his accommodations inside the so-called “heavily fortified Green Zone” as hot – well over 100 degrees – brown and dusty.

“Overall, it’s pretty secure. The biggest threat is the indirect fire in the form of mortars or rockets that are lobbed in from time-to-time.”

Boyer, 39, is nearing the end of a four-month assignment inside Iraq, but it’s hardly his first duty in the area.

“My other tours in the theater have been served deployed in the Persian Gulf aboard aircraft carriers. So, while having spent numerous hours flying above the country, this has been the first time on the ground.”

During his various six-month assignment on ships, he was a Naval Flight Officer aboard the E2c Hawkeye and the USS George Washington.

Permanent assignment for Boyer nowadays is in Texas, where his wife resides. He works for the Joint Information Operations Warfare Command in San Antonio, providing support for troops in the Middle East.

“As with any deployment, it’s

Cmdr. Tim Boyer, an Omega alumnus, poses in his Navy garb in Baghdad, Iraq. Boyer assists in intelligence for the multinational forces in the fortified “Green Zone.” tough being away from my wife, degree and then serving in Iraq, Lisa, but at four months this is Boyer was promoted to Navy shorter than the standard sixCommander. “It’s a pretty cool month sea deployment that I am place to pin a new rank on,” he accustomed to, and far shorter than said. the 15 months that a lot of my He finds his interaction with Army counterparts are serving international support forces, meethere,” he said. “It’s been easy to ing Gen. David Petraeus and the keep in touch with the homefront U.S. Iraqi Ambassador as most via email and the occasional phone memorable. call.”

“It has been a great personal Much of Boyer’s duties are clasexperience that I have found quite sified, but in essence he’s an onrewarding,” Boyer said. He anticithe-ground planner. pates being sent back home to “I have been working in the Texas in August.

Information Operations cell here at One of his undergraduate brothMNF-I (Multi-National Forcesers, James Briggs (Omega 1213), Iraq),” he said. “We basically prohas kept in contact with Boyer vide the staff and supporting comsince their Purdue days. mands with planning, integration “Although Tim and I don’t talk and coordination of the elements of or see each other as frequently as information operations in order to we once did due to life pulling us influence the adversaries’ actions.” all over the place, I still consider The 1991 Purdue graduate myself fortunate to include him as earned a Master’s degree in a friend and brother,” Briggs said.

Military Operational Art and “Whenever we do speak, it feels Science from the Air Command and like hardly a day has passed since Staff College, in 2006. our last conversation.”

“It (the advanced degree) works Briggs is both surprised and not well for what I’m doing here, but surprised that Boyer has made a it’s probably not real marketable on career in the military. Others the outside,” he joked.

Briggs has known have spent one After receiving the Master’s Continued on Page 4

OMEGALITE Continued from Page 3 or two tours of duty.

“On one hand, I’m not surprised he is still in the Navy, due to his passion and enthusiasm, the people he has worked with and the quality of his assignments,” Briggs said.

“At this point, I cannot imagine him working anywhere else.

“Given all the negative news we receive on a daily basis from Iraq, I was of course concerned for Tim’s safety … but Tim has always had an unique ability to defuse any situation with jokes and laughter, which quickly alleviated my concerns.”

Briggs is the CEO and cofounder of Briabe, a company based in the Los Angeles area with offices in New York and Washington state.

Briabe is a marketing firm for consumer products for telecommunications and technology firms. And Briggs, who earned a bachelor’s of economics degree from Purdue and an MBA in marketing from Penn State, has worked for Verizon, Verizon Wireless and BT Infonet.

Although in Iraq, Boyer was also somewhat connected to Omega’s 85th anniversary celebration in Indiana. He emailed his alumni questionnaire and sent greetings from Iraq, which were conveyed at the June 9 celebration.

After learning of Boyer’s assignment overseas, Marc Zubeck (Omega 1139), told his family a fraternity brother was in Iraq.

“My son, Michael who is 8, said we should pray fo him so that he gets home safely,” Zubeck said. “We have been praying for all the solidiers since the start of the war and specifically for any soldiers we know who are in harm’s way.”

Zubeck first made contact with Boyer soon after the June alumni event.

“I noticed that Tim had an email address and decided to send him a message,” he said. “My first correspondence was one of ‘thanks’ for service and of prayer for his safe return.”

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Alumni directories available Copies of the alumni directory will be updated for the Oct. 27 homecoming celebration and are available for mailout.

There are a limited number of copies of the 58-page directory, which was handed out at the June 9 anniversary banquet. Alumni who wish a copy may obtain one by contacting chapter advisor Pat Kuhnle (his contact information is on the front page of the Omegalite).

Also, a new alumni questionnaire is included in this mailing.

All alumni who fill out a form will be included in an updated version of the directory that will be available at homecoming. If you fill out a questionnaire and cannot make it to homecoming, a copy will be mailed to you just for filling out the form.

The new versions of the directory includes email information, so please send the enclosed form and reunite with your alumni brothers.

The Omega of Pi Kappa Phi updates the alumni directory every five years when we celebrate another milestone anniversary.

Almanac

Erin Kighlinger, Indianapolis, IN

WEDDINGS: June 2, 2007 Ryan Rossiter (Omega 1441) and Charity Huff, Terre Haute, IN. July 7, 2007 Jon Majerski (Omega 1594) and Courtney Russert, Crown Point, IN. July 14, 2007 Phil Jones (Omega 1598) and

Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Rossiter

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85TH ANNIVERSARY OMEGA ALUMNI DIRECTORY

This is what the cover of the 58-page directory looks like.

July 28, 2007 Travis Conley (Omega 1497) and Erin Weatherwax, West Lafayette, IN. Erin is the younger sister of Todd (Omega 1529) and Kent (Omega 1545) Weatherwax.

Sept. 1, 2007 Matt Clark (Omega 1583) and Jainie Ehrenzeller Sept. 22, 2007 Peter Todd (Omega1457) and Lisa Mleczko, Milwaukee, WI

Mr. & Mrs. Jon Majerski

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Anniversary giving continues through early ’08 Alumni financial support for the chapter and housing corporation in celebration of the 85th anniversary will continue through the first half of 2008.

The kickoff for alumni gifts started in June with the anniversary celebration on campus.

Through the end of July, $13,830 has been donated to the housing corporation by alumni. Most of that amount has been designated to specific project funds – Past, Present and Future.

• The Past helps reduce the mortgage on the property that stands at $230,000. A total of $2,660 has been donated to that effort thus far.

• The Present helps support chapter improvement projects, such as the $15,000 fund-raising effort to air condition the first floor; $2,975 has been donated thus far.

• The Future represents donations to the Omega Chapter Investment Fund, an account for educational purposes, held by the national organization’s Pi Kappa Phi Foundation; $2,080 has thus far been earmarked for this effort.

There has been $6,115 in unrestricted gifts as part of the campaign.

Please consider giving, or adding to your previous gift to one of the above funds. Donations for The Past or The Present should be payable to “Omega of Pi Kappa Phi.” Payments to The Future should be payable to “Pi Kappa Phi Foundation.” All financial support should be sent to: Omega of Pi Kappa Phi; PO Box 2700; West Lafayette, IN 47996.

Please refer any questions you have to chapter advisor Pat Kuhnle. His contact information is on the front page of this Omegalite.

The following people have financially supported the 85th Anniversary Campaign and at least one of its three objectives – Past, Present and Future.

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“THE PAST” mortgage reduction 282 Edward Masline 425 Ted Michaud 435 Tom Hahn 448 W. Kelley Carr 490 David Peggs 509 Duane Davis 520 Al Kirchner 566 Robert Hall 589 Gordon Shaw 632 Mike O’Reilly 672 Ron Lema 720 Warren Cline 736 John Anglin 759 Bob Harvey 852 Tim Tubergen 858 Bernard Platt 1251 Dan Coppersmith 1258 Tim Smith 1272 Todd Spaulding 1283 Jeff Rollo 1367 Matt Bouma 1415 Rob Curtis 1517 Brad Eckerle 1457 Peter Todd 1480 Brian Huseman 1488 Brent Wunderlich 1542 Matt Maczka 1591 Brandon Delia Psi 436 Bill Newell “The Present” chapter improvements/AC 418 JT Wolfenden 436 Richard Lowe 464 Robert Rust 509 Duane Davis 530 Christos Ziogas 634 David Davis 672 Ron Lema 835 David Lane 852 Tim Tubergen 1176 Doug Davis 1180 Don Porth 1251 Dan Coppersmith

1272 1278 1281 1384 1437 1457 1488 1591 1599

Todd Spaulding Jake Rohleder John Bowling Ryan Davis Jayson Munoz Peter Todd Brent Wunderlich Brandon Delia Tim Kamerud “THE FUTURE” Omega CIF account 418 JT Wolfenden 612 Michael Kerr 621 Hugh Flanagan 951 Jay Seeger 1197 Pat Kuhnle 1461 Kevin Johnson Psi 436 Bill Newell Undesignated Gifts 197 Ed Thomson 295 William Swager 325 Grafton Houston 436 Richard Lowe 449 Jack Powers 506 James Jackson 528 Larry Hines 534 Phillip McCarthy 571 John Weaver 634 David Davis 636 Fred Lyijnen 722 Jack Berlien 724 Mike Ohaver 769 Jay Hackleman 785 Jim Seeds 827 Phil Newhouse 819 Jim Berlien 835 David Lane 852 Kim Tubergen 1030 Lars Kneller 1031 Mark Higgins 1077 Steve Bohner 1168 Matt Stuve 1179 Carl Gerlach 1191 Steve Noth 1197 Pat Kuhnle 1243 Kirk Felbinger 1277 Pat Lyons 1279 Jae Sparks 1286 Mike Porter 1292 Scot Swenberg 1437 Jayson Munoz 1459 Nate Damasius 1519 Pat Schweigel 1597 Sean Cowley

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Make plans to attend Oct. 27 homecoming A later-than-normal homecoming will give Omega alumni a second opportunity to reconnect with the chapter during its 85th year on the Purdue campus.

The traditional homecoming fare of a pregame meal and alumni gathering will occur in conjunction with the noon, Oct. 27 game against Northwestern.

Alumni who wish to order tickets as part of a Pi Kappa Phi group can do so by sending in

checks payable to “Omega of Pi Kappa Phi” in the enclosed envelope by mailing it to the Post Office box listed on the front page of the Omegalite. Tickets are $45 each and the deadline for sending in payment is Sept. 15.

The schedule to be followed at homecoming includes: • 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., lunch provided at the chapter house.

• 11:30 a.m., leave the house

85th anniversary attendees Initiates who attended in the June 8 & 9 festivities 418 JT Wolfenden 464 Robert Rust 506 James Jackson 632 Mike O’Reilly 724 Mike Ohaver 759 Bob Harvey 785 James Seeds 804 Dennis Dayton 819 Jim Berlien 835 David Lane

Brent Buroker cleans up extra mortar used to fill in cracks along the Grant Street limestone retaining wall as part of the 85th improvement projects.

857 890 964 897 951 1031 1168 1077 1139 1168 1179 1180 1191 1197 1206 1262 1265 1268 1278 1286 1295 1379 1394 1401 1405 1408 1412 1436 1450 1488 1506 1509 1571 1599 1611 1616 1622 1659

Mark Wilson David Brown Greg Klein Jay Seeger Greg Linder Mark Higgins Matt Stuve Steve Bohner Marc Zubeck Steve Beeler Carl Gerlach Don Porth Steve Noth Pat Kuhnle Ken Johnson Mark Nigh Brent Buroker Bryan Williams Jake Rohleder Mike Porter Sean Keegan John Cimino Kevin Hofer Porter Draper Jim Taller Jeff Babich Gene Ward Tom Bentley Andy Paker Brent Wunderlich Phil Leslie Jerry Budd Ian Koehler Tim Kamerud Jason Cooper Mark Chyba David Ring Brian Heiwig

for the Purdue-Northwestern football game.

• Noon, gametime.

• 6 p.m. to ?, Post-game informal alumni gathering at Where Else? Bar, 304 W. State St. (in the Village). Please note that all public establishments – including bars – are now smoke-free in West Lafayette. If you choose to smoke, you must do so outside the business.

1649 1629 1645 1650 1658 1669 1677

Mike Wilkins Geoff Zindren Jason Wade Jeremy Schutz Brad Rochford Troy Wright James Vasil

Bob Harvey and Mike Ohaver share a light moment before the 85th anniversary banquet.

Davd Brown, Mike O’Reilly, Mark Wilson and Jay Seeger share a moment with their spouses at the 85th.