Fall 2011/Winter 2012 Beta-Rho Bulletin

BETA-RHO!BULLETIN!

Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity

California State University, Northridge

Volume 40, Issue 1

Thinking out of the box. Jorge Reyes (second from left) looks at the solution for a visual perception puzzle that was being projected on a screen while attending a True Leader afternoon class during the Southwest Pacific Conclave at CSUN on March 3.

Pacific Conclave Returns to CSUN Chapters from three states converged on CSUN over the weekend of March 2-4 for the 2012 Pacific Southwest Conclave.

About 60 brothers took part in the mini-leadership conference at a cluster of meeting rooms near the recently built freshman dorm annex of the North Campus Satellite Student Union.

Among those in attendance were 16 Beta-Rho undergrads and two alumni, Rob Press (BP 495) and Rick Childs (BP 83).

Brothers from as far away as UC Davis, University of Nevada - Las Vegas and Arizona State dropped by the Lindley House over the weekend during the evenings.

Other chapters that sent reps were from Cal Poly San Luis

Obispo, Loyola-Marymount, USC, UCLA, UC San Diego and the University of San Diego (USD).

According to General Headquarters’ website, “The purpose of each conclave is to

Watermelon Bust Is Back, page 5

Alumni Reception, Open House, page 6 1

Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

offer undergraduate brothers extensive educational training and to foster regional, interchapter brotherhood.”

When original conclave host Epsilon-Sigma Zeta of UCLA ran into a scheduling impasse with the university and needed a change of venue on fairly short notice, Beta-Rho stepped in and found ample seminar space. As the conclave’s co-host, the chapter’s choice of venue, excellent staff moderators and great food made for a winning combination for the attendees.

This was only Beta-Rho’s second experience with hosting a conclave. The last time brothers from southwestern chapters converged on the CSUN campus for a conclave was in March of 1995. Former chapter president Mike Cooperman, who helmed the chapter’s first conclave, had a less-than-favorable impression of that weekend.

“It was a nightmare,” was all that Brother Cooperman could offer when asked about his CSUN conclave recollections.

High Alpha Alex Samowitz took the conclave preparations in stride and played down any worries about the event’s Next Page >>>

Corp. Board Annual Meeting, page 8

<<< Pacific Southwest Conclave preparations.

“Conclave was good,” Brother Samowitz reported at the house corporation meeting on March 20. “We had every chapter represented from the Pacific Southwest on top of UC Davis, which is in the Pacific Northwest Conclave.” The latter chapter opted to save on gas and commute to CSUN instead of its conclave host’s campus – Washington State in Pullman, Wash.

One of the main presenters was Director of Education Tim Reuter. According to Brother Samowitz, he was the chapter’s educational leadership consultant during the 2001-02 school year when it was re-colonizing.

“It was kind of cool to have him back out here,” Brother Samowitz said.

Steve Swafford, a Master Steward, took turns with Brother Reuter teaching leadership skills.

Brian Watt, another educational leadership consultant, also conducted workshops. Although he normally worked with East Coast chapters, he took the place of the chapter’s current ELC,

Nolan Ryan, who was attending the Ozark Conclave in Missouri that weekend. The Grand High Gamma, Bob Koch, stayed in the background until Saturday’s banquet when he gave the keynote address. Brother Koch was the Pacific Southwest Conclave adviser.

Jamison Keller, a Sigma Nu Fraternity member, actively participated as a True Leader facilitator with Brother Watt during workshops. He is currently the Greek organizations adviser at CSUN, and was a presenter during the chapter’s rechartering banquet in 2004.

The 2012 conclave agenda offered a stark contrast to at least one of the sessions offered in 1995. Instead of “Everything You Wanted to Know About the Opposite Sex – Featuring the Women of Northridge’s Sororities,” participants at the afternoon True ID session conducted by Brother Reuter tackled “Gender Issues.” Brother Reuter took brothers through date rape scenarios. At one point members were separated into groups who had made various

choices on how they had handled situations where brothers had made poor choices while intoxicated at chapter activities.

During the breakout session before dinner, Brother Childs conducted a chapter communications presentation devoted to teaching how newsletters and directories are made. His talk was punctuated

by Keynote slides projected with the help of Brother Samowitz’s laptop. Each chapter at the conclave was given a copy of the presentation notes and recent issues of the Beta-Rho Bulletin and some leftover 2011 directories.

Brother Reuter also obtained a copy of the handout and Keynote slides so he could share them with some of his staff at General Headquarters.

After brothers dined on tri-tip catered by Stonefire Grill, Jacob “Jake” Les, the Student Advisory Committee rep and a UCLA chapter member, presided over the SAC election. SAC reps from the 14 conclaves work with the Grand High Zeta at General Assemblies to handle legislative matters. Three candidates were

Conclave stewards. Master Steward Steve Swaffod (far left) worked with Director of Education Tim Reuter (top photo) on Harm Reduction Programming. ELC Brian Watt (above) ran one of the True Leader sessions.

called forward to speak: Ruben Torres of UCSD, Max Holden of UCLA and Shane Kozup of ASU. Brother Torres won the election.

Immediately following the SAC election, Brother Les recognized various chapters with conclave awards. Arizona State’s Zeta-Psi chapter was singled out for the highest of the conclave chapter’s overall GPAs. For the highest recruitment in the spring and fall 2011 semesters, a lot of “ahs’ were uttered as Phi-Sigma Zeta of Cal Poly SLO took the honors for the spring with a class of 36 men. This past fall, Epsilon2

Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

Sigma Zeta of UCLA attracted 30 men; all of the ones at the conclave were from that AM class, Brother Les noted.

“The implementation of the True Brother is made to build our associate members into prestigious men that make Lambda Chi Alpha what it is today,” Brother Les said while commenting that his notes had become jumbled. “The third award goes to the retention of this, and a good Kappa program will give you good retention.”

For the highest retention rate of their associate member classes for initiation, two chapters were again recognized for the spring

and fall. Delta-Gamma Zeta of the University of San Diego (USD) and UCLA were asked to stand.

“Both of these chapters had 100 percent retention during the spring,” Brother Les added.

“Very amazing.”

Arizona State took top honors for its fall new member retention rate – also at 100 percent.

The final awards Brother Les gave out were presented to the two chapters that sent the most men the furthest distance to the conclave.

Brother Les said that “this was a really close award. We had guys from Davis and Arizona.

But beating out Davis by 60 miles

were the boys from Arizona State.”

Before Brother Reuter gave out an award of appreciation, he said that more than 1,000 undergraduate brothers had either already or were about to attend one of the conclaves.

“I was extremely excited to be back here again,” Brother Reuter commented. “Just because I have so many fond memories of your chapters, starting your colonies.

And trying to recruit Josh Lodolo to be on staff.”

Brother Reuter recognized two additional groups. “First off, we’d like to thank Jake and the brothers from UCLA for their work in getting us ready for this,

and second — obviously — our host chapter here at CSUN. Honestly, this is pretty darned good food for a conclave; I was pretty stoked about that.”

Instead of playing Jeopardy, Brother Reuter invited all initiates who could stay after the dinner to take part in a ZAX session exploring the fraternity’s exoteric mysteries. With a very familiar sounding piece of classical music playing in the background and a gorgeous slide projection of iconic ritualists, he spent the last hour reflecting on and discussing what he felt was the favorite part of his job: honing and sharing the ritual.

Bob Koch: State of the Fraternity Address my commitment to Lambda Chi. I’ve been on the House Corporation. I was the High Pi, and then, through some error, I received the Order of Merit in 2000. That kind of got me reinvolved. It got me involved at the national level, and I met some guys. I met Phil Parker, and Phil’s the one who suggested that I be appointed in 2004. So I am a living, and in most cases a breathing, example of what we say: Lambda Chi isn’t four years - it’s for life.

When I was a pledge at Lambda Chi, we had pledging; we didn't have associate members. Associate members came in 1972, and at our most recent quarterly Grand High Zeta meeting, we had some statistics on the AM program. After 40 years, a little more than half of our chapters have fully embraced the AM program.

That was really disappointing to hear that for me. The difficulty as I see it – and I lived through it – was that there was nothing really substantial to take its place.

There was a hole, a gap. The AM program was great. For those schools that hazed, for the guys that got sick and hurt, they were denigrated in the pledging process. The AM situation solved that, but it left a void. And it’s taken us until 2007 to replace that. We recognized education was missing, and the True Brother program has taken us from the start: recruitment, all the way through to guys like me in faithful steward.

It is an educational process for your entire time in the fraternity and beyond. To reinforce that, about the same time we came out with True Brother in 2007.

I think the smarter staff members realized that to make this process work, we needed more support. And we went out and actively recruited.

We created a new position in Lambda Chi called the master steward. And if you go to any event, you see guys walking around with white collars.

They’re not servants – they’re not out there to serve food – that is our master steward collar.

Next Page >>>

Introduced by Epsilon-Sigma’s SAC rep Jacob Les at the close of the Pacific Southwest Conclave dinner on March 3, Bob Koch stepped forward to present a State of the Fraternity address. Currently the Grand High Gamma, Brother Koch is a Vietnam veteran, an Order of Merit recipient and the UC Riverside chapter’s past High Pi. I’m Bob Koch. I joined [the Grand High Zeta] in ‘04. I was appointed because in 2004 our fraternity was in trouble and needed some help. So they wanted a West Coast clown that was also a banker, and I met both descriptions. I served for Epsilon for two years as an appointee. I ran and became four years as Tau and now ran again; thanks to you all for voting for me, and am Gamma for four years which is exciting; I still serve on the finance committee. I’ll talk about my other role in a minute.

These [conclaves] are fun. We did these when I was in school. They weren’t educational; they were social. And you know what that means. And as a result the General Fraternity said, “You know what, we're not going to do those anymore.” And they were smart. But they were brought back [about] four years ago. We did a couple of test markets for awhile, and it was successful.

Not all of you are going to go to the General Assembly in Phoenix. Not all of you will attend other functions. But you can come to these and, in most cases, it’s a relatively short drive.

I’ve been a Lambda Chi since 1965 at UC Berkeley. We had pledging then. I was the [pariah] of my pledge class. I [had] the worst grade point average. The government felt I was better off to have a gun in my hand than a book, so I was drafted. I came back to Berkeley in 1969 after serving a year in Vietnam and two years in the Army. I didn't know one guy in the chapter house.

More importantly, they didn’t know me. And they welcomed me back into that chapter house, no questions asked. That’s why I'm here tonight. That’s Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity

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<<< Bob Koch: State of the Fraternity And they have proved to be a huge, valuable, and oh, by the way, relatively inexpensive resource for our fraternity. They assist us in colonizations. They assist us in helping, train, recruitment. They assist us in problem chapters. They’re almost the first ones to get there.

So there is now a huge effort on behalf of our fraternity to reengage alums. And, with any luck, most of you will become alums... that's a joke, dammit. It took me seven years to get out of Berkeley, okay, so I know what I’m saying.

We have master steward, and now we have fraternal steward, which is a step off that. Again, a resource to help our chapters.

Everything that we do in Lambda Chi is for one purpose: you guys. Everything we do: fundraising, training. Everything we do is focused at the undergraduate group because you run our fraternity.

And if you don’t believe me, show up in Phoenix July 26, 27, 28.

‘Cuz you are the ones that call the shots.

We went through and had a strategic plan last year, and Drew Hunter, who was our Grand High Alpha, made sure that the process didn’t die. The staff last year came up with a lot of the support for what we do, and we have five initiatives.

Naturally, our number one goal is to continue the process for True Brother. We began this in 2007. In 2007 it was “we hope this will work.” In 2012 we know that it does work. We have the data to support it. What we don’t have is a hundred percent participation.

That’s where we want to be.

The second initiative is alumni identification and training. We talked about master stewards, fraternal stewards. We are on the road to expanding our resources in terms of alums. And these are alums we don’t ask money for; in fact, we move them. We transport them to events. This is not foundation. This is fraternity.

The third group is healthy chapter. And I chair that now that I’m not the Tau for the Grand High Zeta. And it’s a committee that Drew started that deals with the chapter environments that we all have. Whether it's a chapter house owned by a house corporation, it's a chapter house owned by the university, like

USC. It’s a bunch of guys living in other places that get together at university housing for meetings. Whatever the physical environment, if there’s a chapter house entity, a house corporation entity, and we realize that we need to do a better educational process to help understand what our resources are and what our needs are and, at the same time, to create a base of alums that can help on a regional basis put out information on house corporations. We had our first house corporation training session last month. It was successful – it it wasn’t a barn burner – but it was a start, and we’ll keep going.

The [next] area is co-curricular. You’ve heard that term now for four or five years, I hope. We partner with the universities. If the university doesn’t want us there, we’re out of there. We work together with the university. We see ourselves, and more importantly, the universities see us as an educational piece. Now sometimes, we don’t live up to that, and we get ourselves in trouble. In fact, now we see university people come back to tell us, “Look, you said you were going to do this, but this is what your chapter did. You guys are out.” High standards we set we have to live up to.

The last area is fraternal growth. And that can be emotional, but since I’m a finance guy, it’s financial. We raised your insurance costs this last year because our insurance costs went up.

You can control, to some extent, your insurance costs by how you run your chapters. If you didn’t know that, go back and talk to your Alpha and your Tau because there’s a range of insurance costs. And you can play a significant role in cutting your costs by doing the things that we mandate that you do.

As I said, we started the True Brother program initiative in 2007. We hoped it would work. We know it does work. We want you all to buy in. We want your chapters to buy in. We want you individually to buy in. You’ll be better people – not that you aren’t great people now – but you’ll be better people as a result of that.

And to drive that point home, in 2017 – five years from now – True Brother will be mandatory in all chapters. Just like our standards we have. It will be the standard by which all chapters will be judged. So we’ve got five years.

SAC elections. Jake Les (standing by tables) introduced the three SAC candidates, from left: Shane Kozup, Max Holden and Ruben Torres.

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Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

Watermelon Bust Returns After 23-Year Hiatus For the first time since 1988, Beta-Rho resurrected its annual Watermelon Bust on Nov. 13, 2011. The chapter hosted four of CSUN’s Panhellenic sororities off-campus to participate in various games and contribute to the fraternity’s official charity, the North American Food Drive.

Nearly 90 attended at its peak, including 50 sorority women, 32 undergrads, several alumni and a Daily Sundial photographer.

Sororities taking part at the Lindley House events were Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta and Delta Zeta. Kappa

off Lindley. A soggy weekend forecast curtailed use of the campus, so the events were staged at the Lindley House.

“The backup facility was going to be one of the gyms,”

Kappa Gamma donated a dressed up pumpkin (see page 1) in absentia plus 26 lb. of food drive cans.

The sororities collectively donated 349 lbs. of cans to the food drive. Most of the rest of the cans had been collected during a Halloween weekend event, about 876 lbs. total. This fell short of the chapter’s record of 1,300 lbs.

AOPi took top honors at the games. They also dropped off the most cans of any sorority: 250 lbs. Alpha Phi finished second.

The Watermelon Bust was to have taken place on campus at a lawn on the west side of Redwood Hall (formerly the P.E. Building)

Fall Rush Adds 16 Initiates With the opening of the Lindley House, the chapter could bring prospective members to a place they could call home. But its most creative and noteworthy rush events happened on campus.

Formal rush took place over the week of Sept. 12-16, 2011.

One of the favorites of the week took place on the pool level of the student union where a portable rock wall was set up for climbing. Alumnus Christopher Aston (BP 452) and several of the undergrads scaled the faux rock wall along with numerous guests.

High Delta Yesai Fstkchyan and other High Zeta officers presided over the Associate Member Installation on Sept. 25 in the Nobbs Auditorium of Sequoia Hall. A last-minute room change was made from the chapter’s normally scheduled meeting room in Sierra Hall 182 to accommodate the AM class, parents and guests.

Sixteen new brothers were initiated over the night of Dec. 2 at an undisclosed location. Each of their big brothers presented them with Lambda Chi hoodies.

The class of Fall 2011. Yesai Fstkchyan (upper right) addresses AMs during the installation. Rock climbing (below) was offered on Sept. 15. New initiates, front row from left: Nelson Tobar, Jorge Reyes, Jordan Brown, Kamran Karamooz and Eric Roberts.

Second row: Ladi Saka, Wesley Lamphere, Nikko Trinidad, Luis Canton, Christian Cruz, Justin Pardo, Leon Kozlowski, Michael Jackson, Paul Gritsch, Simon Fessahaye and Myles Cunanan.

Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity

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event organizer Douglas Centeno (BP 553) said. He felt that the Lindley House backyard would be preferable for the carnivalthemed activities in case it rained; however, sunny skies prevailed.

Lindley Open House: ‘What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been’

Nearly two-dozen alumni returned to the Lindley House on March 11 for a reception. It was the first opportunity for them to attend an open house at the Lindley residence since the alumni-active softball game’s barbecue exactly six months earlier. Almost as many actives were on hand to provide alumni with impromptu tours of the accommodations. Spouses, children and guests brought the grand total of the day’s attendees up to around 50.

Hosts Scott (BP 55) and Sue Press kept busy in the kitchen bringing out trays of hot hors d’oeuvres as guests filtered in throughout the afternoon.

Actives took turns filling out name tags at a table by the front door. For some alumni, it was their first look at the house since some of the chapter’s membership started moving in to the residence in late August.

Among the first wave of alumni arrivals were Mark Eskander (BP 18), Dennis Crain (BP 22), Dr. Dave Cary (EΣ 491), Tom Lawrence (AI 620), Rob Press (BP 495) and Rick Childs (BP 83). Several brothers took notice of Brother Eskander’s immaculately restored 1957 cream-colored Lincoln Continental parked near the driveway.

Rick Isaac (BP 67) and Richard Greenberg (BP 76) took a look around back by the (filled in) pool and spent some time in the ‘rainbow room’ perusing some of Brother Lawrence’s photo albums from the Eighties, Nineties and early 2000s.

Brother Greenberg added several pages of his own vintage black and white images of some brothers practicing for the Intramural softball season on the Science Field during the spring of 1976.

According to Brother Isaac, Brother Greenberg had been paring down some of his memorabilia and had recently given him an old Rolling Stone copy with Paul McCartney on the cover. He also plopped a newsprint copy of the Feb. 26, 1976 Rolling Stone atop the albums to add to Brother Childs’ collection of memorabilia. The front page featured the Grateful

Dead standing on a hill with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and the headline “What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been.”

“I had a really good time,” Brother Greenberg recalled in a phone conversation on March 19. “One of the guys took me on the tour.” He mentioned that he also donated a check toward the chapter’s upcoming Relay for Life charity event.

Accompanying first-time Lindley House visitor Randy Ziskin (BP 134) was his son, Jake.

After reminiscing about his chance meeting with actor Martin Sheen during a no-nukes rally at the Nevada Test Site in March of 1988, Brother Ziskin lamented that he had missed the alumniactive softball game in September; however, he had a very compelling reason.

“The doctor told me to lay low for a couple of weeks,” Brother Ziskin remarked.

He had driven himself to a hospital in West Los Angeles one night, tracing his chest from front to around back with his finger and noted that stomach or chest pains had migrated from one side to the other. After he arrived at the ER, he said he doubled over just as he was getting out of his car and could barely move. A

Taking the tour. Randy Ziskin dropped by with his son, Jake. Mark Eskander’s ’57 Lincoln Continental gets its close-up (top). A 11976 Rolling Stone joins the scrapbooks.

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Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

staff nurse who saw him through the window immediately summoned some staff to wheel him inside and take an EKG. After doctors examined him, he was told that his timing was impeccable: he’d just suffered a heart attack. Brother Ziskin had just turned 53 on March 13.

High Rho Christian Cruz (BP 614) has been gathering details to send out thank- you emails to the

alumni who attended, but he took the task a step further. He asked the actives to send their own personal thank-you notes to alumni that they talked to at the reception.

“Everyone was pretty proud of the event,” Brother Cruz said.

Alumni who also dropped by were Steven Finkle (BP 49), Jon Rice (BP 82), Jeff Watson (BP 104), Terry Lucero (BP 149),

Beta-Rho Mk. 2 founding family.

A family portrait of the chapter’s second generation founders and the hosts of the open house were, from left: Robert, Susan, Scott and Mike Press.

Directory Revisions

Rick Martinez (BP 216), Mark Widawer (BP 220), Spencer Schmerling (BP 288), Rick Trevino (BP 451), Cesar Ayllon (BP 453), Mike Press (BP 455), Neil Sanchez (BP 535) and A. J. Jaegle (BP 543).

Other chapter actives at the reception were Douglas Centeno (BP 553), Matt Rice (BP 567), Steve Shapiro (BP 575), Jaryd Tashiro (BP 594), Corey Davis (BP 596), Joey Solano (BP 597), Yesai Fstkchyan (BP 598), Nestor Mendez (BP 600), Jacob Holmes (BP 609), Simon Fessahaye (BP 612), Ladi Saka (BP 613), Nelson Tobar (BP 616) Jorge Reyes (BP 618), Justin Pardo (BP 619), Jordan Brown (BP 620), Paul Gritsch (BP 622), Michael Jackson (BP 623) and Leon Kozlowski (BP 624).

James G. “Jim” Emmerson (A) BP 137 (808) 371-1252

Volume 40, Issue 1

Version 3.2

Editor, reporter, designer & photographer: Rick Childs The Beta-Rho Bulletin is the official publication of Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha, Inc. at California State University, Northridge and is distributed at no charge to all of its members and affiliates whose mailing addresses are current. Articles, directory revisions, weddings, bir ths and professional info should be snail mailed or emailed to the editor at 44044 Engle Way Apt. 65, Lancaster, CA; 93536-6660 or rc4x4profit@verizon.net, respectively. MS Word, Excel, JPG, PDF, TIFF files, press releases and photos are accepted. All other correspondence to the corporation should be sent to P.O. Box 280311, Northridge, CA 91328-0311. The next deadline is June 21, 2012. Made on a Mac Mini with iWork Pages ’09. Last revised on April 22. Editor’s phone number: (661) 948-3260

2012 House Corporation Board of Directors: Spencer Schmerling Rick Childs Scott Press Rob Press Chris Dyer 1 Vacancy Eric Gonzalez Alex Samowitz Nick Serenil Christian Cruz Steve Shapiro

On the Web: Headquarters

Chapter Website

Fraternity Journal

Facebook

www.lambdachi.org Under Construction www.crossandcrescent.com Lambda Chi Alpha, BP Alumni CSUN Beta-Rho Zeta

John M. Heatley (A) BP 152 13002 South 30th St. Bellevue, NE 68123-2107 (402) 291-3507 Jean Chaplain, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, Douglas County John.heatley@us.army.mil Josh R. Lodolo (A) BP 459 1615 Enfield Rd., Unit A Austin, TX 78703-3841

Christopher C. “Chris” Lynch (A) BP 360 1216 Deer Trl. Alpharetta, GA 90004-8591 (770) 712-0359 Insurance Agent chrislynchga@gmail.com Welcome back!

Ernest A. “Ernie” Prieto III (A) BP 390 2282 Caminito Pajarito #156 San Diego, CA 92107-1938 (619) 572-8480 Lisa Mieding Owner/Operator, Chubasco Sportfishing ernie@chubasco2.com Welcome back!

E. Bates Reed (F) ZΦ 651 4865 Cypress Woods Dr., Apt. 2107 Orlando, FL 32811-3763 Shay D. Rhodes (A) BP 565 17954 Rinaldi St. Granada Hills, CA 91344-3327 (818) 585-0287 Adam Salgado (A) BP 518 2633 Buckingham Rd. Los Angeles, CA 90016-3035 Robert I. “Bob” Schneider (A) BP 54 (925) 429-3136

Becky (630) 812-3847 Marketing Service Manager MOL America, Chicago, Ill. Drew S. Singer (A) BP 545 9610 Zelzah Ave., Apt. 211 Northridge, CA 91325-2036 Mark E. Travers (A) BP 219 5646 Slicers Cir. Agoura Hills, CA 91301-1948 (818) 991-0156 mtravers2000@hotmail.com Information Security Manager Welcome back!

Lamphere Wesley (U) BP 611 He was incorrectly listed in the 2012 directory as John W. Lamphere.

Randy E. Ziskin (A) BP 134 (818) 907-7572 randy.ziskin@gmail.com

Beta-Rho’s newest goalie. Kristy Nevarez and her daughter, Sasha, get in some playtime during the alumni reception.

Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity

President

VP, Communications

VP, Activities

Secretary

Treasurer

Alumni Directors

Chapter Adviser

High Alpha

High Tau

High Rho

House Manager

Brian J. Gannon (A) BP 287 Chief Business Officer, 3iCorp.com

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Corp. Board Annual Meeting: The Lindley House Saga Rivaling its long residency at the White Horse Inn two decades ago, the housing corporation of Beta-Rho settled in for the fourth consecutive year in observance of its Annual Meeting at the Golden Hunan Restaurant in Northridge on Dec. 6, 2011. Despite the chilly weather, 37 alumni and undergraduates convened.

After the recitation of the Creed, Corp. Board President Spencer Schmerling (BP 288) recounted the saga leading up to the nearly full occupancy of the Lindley House. Before launching into his commentary, however, he introduced the new and past High Alphas in attendance and asked Vahan Khodanian (BP 562) to reflect on his past year as chapter president.

Brother Khodanian voiced his appreciation for the close relationship the corp. board had nurtured with the chapter.

“We really appreciate the housing corp’s help this year,” he said. “We love that the associate members knew Spencer and Rick; they knew them right off

High Alpha report. Chapter President Vahan Khodanian voiced his appreciation for the corp. board’s close working relationship over the past year.

the bat. As an associate member, I didn’t know anything about the housing corp. I didn’t know anything about the alumni, so I’m glad that we had that close relationship this year.”

Reports were also heard from corp. board VPs Rick Childs (BP 83) and Scott Press (BP 55); plus High Pi Eric Gonzalez (BP 528).

When the High Alphas were asked to be recognized, 11 stood by their seats. Aside from Brother Khodanian, newly-elected High Alpha Alex Samovitz (BP 568) was introduced. Other past chapter presidents in attendance were Mike Cooperman (BP 386),

Dennis Crain (BP 22), Chris Dyer (BP 500), Jay Friedman (BP 249), Rick Isaac (BP 67), Mike Press (BP 455), Rob Press (BP 495), Neil Sanchez (BP 535) and Gary Thomas (BP 146).

The chapter’s newest initiates who attended were also singled out. Among the 16 who had experienced the Ritual four nights earlier were Christian Cruz (BP 614), Michael Jackson (BP 623), Leon Kozlowski (BP 624), Ladi Saka (BP 613) and Nelson Tobar (BP 616).

Other brothers at the banquet were Darren Arrieta (BP 533), Cesar Ayllon (BP 453), Howard

Brightman (EΣ 528), Justyn De Leon (BP 602), Mark Eskander (BP 18), Terry Lucero (BP 149), Tim Pena (BP 264), Anthony Pinkett (BP 484), Matt Rice (BP 567), Howard Sapper (BP 257), Nick Serenil (BP 569), Scott Seward (BP 295), Steve Shapiro (BP 575), Joey Solano (BP 597), Nick Volkov (BP 601), Mark Widawer (BP 220) and Steven Zavala (BP 581).

In a departure from the previous year’s proceedings, newly-elected corp. board members ran unopposed. Of the five seats available, only four were filled. Elected for two-year terms were Brothers Schmerling, Pinkett and Dyer. Rob Press accepted a one-year term. Corp. board positions remained unchanged except for the secretary’s post, which Brother Rob Press accepted.

As of this writing, there was one directorship vacancy on the corp. board. Any Beta-Rho alumnus who would like to be considered for an appointment should contact either Brother Schmerling or Brother Childs.

Past chapter presidents. Former High Alphas in attendance at the Annual Meeting were, from left: Mike Cooperman, Chris Dyer, Vahan Khodanian, Neil Sanchez, Rob Press, current president Alex Samowitz, Jay Friedman, Gary Thomas, Rick Isaac and Dennis Cr ain. Spencer Schmerling fields a question from former corp. board president Howard Brightman (below) during his speech.

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Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

Highlights From the Vice President of Communications’ Report ~ Rick Childs

out recently on Facebook for guidance on how to produce newsletters like ours, so they must be getting some notoriety beyond our conclave.

Paper Beta-Rho Bulletins are a luxury item in this era. Enjoy them with my complements. The future newsletters will be forging a path online. We’ll see how it shakes out next year.

These days I still feel like a chapter historian, but it’s more like chapter historian emeritus. I’m still an avid collector of our chapter’s history, even if it has meant going to extremes, like peeling up the floor tiles in the storage room off the kitchen of the Cantara House in

Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity

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Christian Cruz

It takes a lot of glue to keep this chapter connected, but from looking at the size of this crowd tonight, it’s safe to say that a lot of it is sticking.

When you’re the vice president of communications, you wear a lot of hats. The most conspicuous one is photographer, and it’s safe to say that I rarely show up to a fraternity event without one of my cameras. Nevertheless, I also devote my time as a writer, editor, publisher, graphic designer, data miner, planner, advertising manager, press agent, sleuth and, in Scott Press’s words, a onehanded weed cutter.

What drew me back to the corp. board in the fall of 2006 was the chance to improve its publications and get its directory published after a one-year absence.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of our alumni that the new directory you picked up on your way in tonight is already out of date. Tom Lawrence liked to tell me that directories are obsolete the minute after they are printed.

In fact, this edition’s up-to-date status went out the window at around 4:15 on Sunday when I was calling alumni to remind them about tonight’s Annual Post-election results. Members of the 2011-12 housing corporation at the close of the Annual Meeting were, from left: Eric Gonzalez, Scott Press, Rob Press, Anthony Pinkett, Spencer Schmerling, Nick Serenil, Chris Dyer, Vahan Khodanian and Rick Childs.

Meeting. I ran into bad phone numbers for two of the 14 brothers I called. So this one was out of date before it was even finished at the Reseda in 1977 and finding photos of our original charter banquet at printer! the Sheraton-Universal Hotel underneath them.

I didn’t really have a clue on how to make a directory at first.

My work on the corp. board is never done, but I really enjoy my Brother Lawrence, the directory’s editor and designer for more than stewardship. It’s like the big white candle that we used to use as the 20 years, had set the design template that is still used today around centerpiece for the little sister initiations we did back in the old days 1980, and brothers like Mark Widawer were carrying the project at Halsted 1 and even earlier at the Cantara House. Back in those forward into this century. Some of you may recall that I brought a days we referred to our little sisters as Crescents. When I went to my copy of the first draft of the directory I worked on to the Annual first General Assembly in 1976, I even met the Lambda Chi Alpha Meeting in December of 2006 at the University Club, and we were All Crescent Girl, Beulah Smith, and had my picture taken with her. passing it around and making address and phone changes to it before She looked a lot like the pop singer Katy Perry, but I digress. Getting it was finally printed and mailed later in the month. Nowadays, it’s a back to the little sister initiation, we used one of those trick birthday lot easier to obtain contact information revisions and publish the candles with a tiny sparkler wrapped inside the wick. During our directory, especially since a lot of the membership is using Facebook. ceremony the little sisters were instructed that their lives and What challenges me even more than producing a completely servitude are works in progress, and when one of them was brought revised and attractive directory is coming up with a really unique forward to blow out the candle, it would keep relighting. (General newsletter. I’ve produced as many as four in a calendar year, but this Headquarters eventually banished all of the little sister organizations, year I went for something more like a news magazine. What I ended their charters, constitutions and initiation rites in the 1980s.) up with were two color 16-page editions, and that might be the norm That’s the way I feel about my stewardship as keeper of the flame in the future, especially if the chapter becomes more involved with for the membership’s whereabouts and its publications: you keep providing articles and photos. An alumnus from the High Point, trying to blow out the big white candle, but nothing is perfect; it’s North Carolina chapter named Chris Corrigan actually sought me still a work in progress. And there’s always another story to tell.

Duke Anderson 1967—2012

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Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

Photo courtesy of Stacey Rigney. Special thanks to Stacey Rigney, Jack Keleshian and Scott Seward/Tuesday Creative.

several of the audience members would ask for his autograph after each concert,” Ms. Rigney wrote.

Brother Anderson joined the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity in the fall of 1988 and was initiated on Jan. 21, 1989 as BP 332. He kept in close contact with many of his fraternity brothers over the years. Luckily, a few of them got together with him on Jan. 20, two days before he needed to be rushed to the hospital.

He graduated from CSUN in May of 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in French language and culture.

During his final undergraduate year he also went to the University of Hawaii as an exchange student. In 1993 he enrolled in a master’s program in international business at Pepperdine University.

A talented magazine and newspaper editor, Brother Anderson worked for many publishing houses around Los Angeles. Among them were Petersen Publishing, Travel Age West, Cahner’s, Morris Communication, McGraw-Hill and, most recently, Miller Publishing Group.

Fr. Wakefield recalled Brother Anderson’s work ethic. “There were certain times when I would see him at work as an editor. And there he would be with his red pencil, and quite often when a page was finished, it looked as though somebody had bled all over on that page.”

After more than a decade of friendship, Brother Anderson approached Fr. Wakefield and asked him if he could convert to the Catholic faith.

“There were three who were [taking sessions] together,” Fr. Wakefield said. “Duke was one, Judi [Siirila-Paskowitz] was another, and Susan [Taylor-Mills] was the third.” Brother Anderson was baptized in 2003. “From that point on, Duke was a fervent, devout Catholic for the rest of his life.”

Ms. Siirila-Paskowitz also served as the cantor during his services.

Aside from his faith, fraternity, singing, and his passion for the English language, Brother Anderson had a wide range of interests.

“He enjoyed cooking,” Fr. Wakefield reminisced. “He had eclectic tastes in music. He loved to socialize. He was a roller coaster enthusiast. He loved gardening. And anyone who ever mentioned anything remotely political, and Duke was within earshot, you knew within two seconds, exactly where he stood, what he thought, and what he thought you should think.”

He didn’t drive. “He took the bus everywhere, and he preferred it that way,” Ms. Rigney wrote.

After the conclusion of the Mass, friends and family drove across town to take part in a reception hosted by the Keleshian and Ratz families at the Rise-N-Shine Café in Shadow Hills.

Among the other fraternity brothers who attended Brother Anderson’s memorial service were Tom Lawrence (AI 620), Rick Childs (BP 83), Patrick Schaefer (BP 245), Robert Hartung (BP 252), Joe Nguyen (BP 261), Ellis San Jose (BP 283), Frank Estrada (BP 286), Spencer Schmerling (BP 288), Scott Seward (BP 295), Antony Gluck (BP 302), Roy Redulfin (BP 303), Pierre Ismael (BP 309), Jim McFarlane (BP 313), John McFarlane (BP 314), Mike Gregory (BP 320), John Wielmaker (BP 336), John Saxton (BP 339), Brian Krueger (BP 341), Jason Budow (BP 343), David Ohlberg (BP 348), Chris Lynch (BP 360), Ryan Flahaven (BP 370), Bill Beemer (BP 371), Andrew Carricato (BP 380), Rich Bongiorno (BP 383), Mike Cooperman (BP 386), Ernie Prieto (BP 390), Robert Bedley (BP 408) and Neil Sanchez (BP 535).

ccomplished editor, linguist, choir lead vocalist, and devoted parishioner Philip Duke Anderson passed away on Jan. 26 from complications with cancer. Family members and friends were by his side during his final days at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank. He was 44.

Nearly 200 friends and family gathered at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Sherman Oaks on Feb. 3 for a Memorial Mass. The choir loft was filled with around 50 friends and colleagues who had performed with Brother Anderson from both St. Francis de Sales and St. Cyril’s parishes. Also among the guests were 31 Lambda Chi fraternity brothers, mostly from his chapter, Beta-Rho Zeta. Fraternity brothers traveled to the church from as far away as Georgia.

Parents Duke Anderson and Judy Adams, sisters Stacey Rigney and Karen Baumgart, and a brother, Paul Anderson; and several aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews survive Brother Anderson.

At his memorial service, longtime friend and church mentor, Father Michael Wakefield, presided over the occasion with a trove of recollections. After the introductory rites, fraternity brother Tim Pena (BP 264) gave the first of two Scripture readings: the Book of Wisdom, Chapter 4:7-15. Later in the service, Brother Anderson’s close friend and little brother Jack Keleshian (BP 347) eulogized him.

“My earliest memories of Duke are when I was an associate member in Lambda Chi Alpha [in the fall of 1990],” Brother Keleshian said. “Fourteen years later, I asked him to be my Best Man. He was truly a man that walked in Christ’s footsteps. I had never met anyone that blessed, that gentle.”

By the time he had turned 16, Brother Anderson had secured a position as a manager of the Christmas department at a Robinson’s department store. According to Fr. Wakefield, he was eventually promoted to become a manager of the store’s crystal and china department, “giving him a lifelong love of crystal and fine china. This led to a managerial position for six years [at Geary’s] in Beverly Hills.”

He was born in Simi Valley on Nov. 10, 1967 and grew up in the San Fernando Valley. At Chatsworth High School, he played in the marching band and sang in their choir. After graduation, Brother Anderson enrolled at Cal State Northridge. During the 1986-87 school year, he joined the university’s choir. What had started out as a general education course evolved into a lifelong pursuit.

Fr. Wakefield had been involved with the university choir as it grew into a community chorale.

“When I handed out the season’s music, Duke bounded up and asked if I needed any help,” Fr. Wakefield recalled. “And so our adventure began. We never could figure out how such a beautiful, powerful, deep sound was produced by someone so slight in stature.”

His singing vocation bridged his affiliation with the Northridge Chorale and later with the church choirs at St. Francis de Sales and St. Cyril’s. Performances took him through Europe, South America, and a number of tours in Japan. One of the Northridge Chorale’s many tours took first place at the International Acoustic Festival in Russia. A St. Cyril’s Choir tour of Italy took part in a celebration of Pope Benedict XVI’s 80th birthday on April 16, 2007 and sang at Mass while visiting the Vatican according to his sister, Stacey.

“When touring in Japan, Duke thought it was so much fun that

Remembering Duke on Facebook

Courtesy of Stacey Rigney

Today I attended a memorial service for a fraternity brother who passed away last week. I saw many old friends and shared many great moments. It’s a shame it took this occasion for this to happen. Reach out to someone you have lost contact with, for life is too short. – Frank Estrada The endless nights when I lived in the house kicking it in Duke and Chris’s room drinking all sorts of different beers while listening to Steve Miller, Motorhead, and Led Zeppelin. – Jason Budow We were at a beach house in Carpinteria one night. Some party or other…. Duke and I were on the beach, watching and listening to the sea. We both came to the realization that “the ocean knows” – that at the end of the day and the end of human endeavor and consciousness, the ocean knows, that the ocean wins, but in a gentle way. It’s been over 20 years and I can STILL hear him saying, “Skip! The ocean knows.” When I see the Pacific, I often think of that, especially when the waves break. I remember. So then Duke: the ocean indeed does know how special that was and what a great guy you were.

– Danny Klass

Katherine Udell-Mulder

God bless you Duke. It’s been twenty years. I can still remember the poker nights and Del Taco runs. When I look back at my time as an active, Duke Anderson was always a kind heart, a true brother. I am grateful to have known him at CSUN. It’s time to drink a toast to a good man. – Mike Gregory

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Courtesy of Stacey Rigney

Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity

Courtesy of Stacey Rigney

Celebrating the good times with Duke. (Clockwise from top.) The last profile picture Duke used on his Facebook page showed him standing in front of the Iguassu Falls in South America. Friends and colleagues of Duke sang during his Memorial Mass in the choir loft. Many of the brothers from Duke’s undergrad days attended his services. Front row (l-r): Frank Estrada, Jim McFarlane, Chris Lynch, Roy Redulfin. Second row: John Wielmaker, John Saxton, Brian Krueger, Antony Gluck, Joe Nguyen, Ellis San Jose, David Ohlberg, Tom Lawrence, John M c F a r l a n e , B i l l B e e m e r, A n d r e w Carricato, Rich Bongiorno, Ryan Flahaven.

Third row: Rick Childs, Scott Seward, Robert Hartung, Jason Budow, Tim Pena, Mike Gregor y, Pierre Ismael, Mike Cooperman, Spencer Schmerling, Ernie Prieto, Jack Keleshian and Robert Bedley.

One of his church choir tours spent part of their trip in Brazil on the Amazon River in 2004. Duke with Jack Keleshian, probably during the 1990 Crescent Ball on March 30 at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel.

Matt Frerer 1966—2012

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any of Beta-Rho’s membership learned about the passing of Matt Frerer on Feb. 17 when Robert Hartung (BP 252), posted a message on the chapter’s Facebook alumni page. He posted a Facebook memorial service announcement three days later, and by then pictures of Brother Frerer’s fraternity days started appearing with comments and fond remembrances from several brothers.

Brother Frerer died at home after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 45.

Nearly 150 friends, family, fraternity brothers and co-workers congregated at the United Methodist Church in Simi Valley on Feb. 25 for his memorial service. After reciting Psalm 23 and Scripture readings from Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, John 14 selections, and an extensive reflection, Rev. Andy Mattick eased into an extensive biography of Brother Frerer. However, he freely admitted that he had not gotten to know him beforehand.

Matthew Scott Frerer “was born Nov. 4, 1966 in Dearborn, Mich. and moved to Encino, Calif. with his family when he was about five years old,” Rev. Mattick began. “He graduated from Birmingham High School in Encino and attended CSUN and UCLA, graduating from the latter with a BS in economics [in 1990].

“He was a proud member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity and, not surprisingly, Matt remained close with many of his college friends through his life.” He was initiated on Jan. 11, 1986 as BP 263.

Rev. Mattick continued. “Right after graduation and near the end of 1990, he started dating the love of his life, Alicia, after meeting her at the traffic school where Matt was her boss (laughter). I’m so impressed that worked out so well for them. They were married sevenand-a-half years later on May 17, 1998. Together they built a loving family. Matt was a great father and husband to his family.”

Besides his wife, his son Jake, daughter Sarah and twin sister Michelle survive Brother Frerer.

“Matt spent several years as a financial planner at first, and then worked for Cole Emerson & Associates, specializing in business continuity and risk management,” Rev. Mattick said. “And 15 years ago with several other opportunities before him, he chose to work for Amgen where he remained employed until the time of his passing.”

Brother Hartung was the first of four friends and colleagues to eulogize Brother Frerer.

“Matt was one of those special people that, if you’re fortunate, you meet once or twice in your life,” Brother Hartung said. “I met Matt in 1985 through our fraternity.

“When Matt came by our fraternity house, we were thrilled - so much much so that we asked him to join the same day. That usually didn’t happen. He was rare. Matt got along with everyone and quickly became just another one of the brothers, just a regular guy.

“Fraternities have a habit of doling out nicknames, and a couple floated around for Matt. But the one that stuck was Sunshine (more laughter). When he walked into a room, it got bright. Matt became my fraternity little brother, and I’ve always been grateful for the honor. We hung out a lot back then playing guitars together, and he became one of my dearest friends.

“One of the things that was most memorable about him for most all of the brothers was his guitar playing.

He was great. Already in ’85 he was great. He had this fantastic feel for notes and played with such a passion.

“Matt helped start the first band in [the chapter].

He was a pleasure to play with and a pleasure to watch. One of our brothers, Tim Pena (BP 264), commented about one of Matt’s performances.

‘Matty’s axe smoked.’

A band member and brother, Ellis San Jose (BP 283), said the most memorable moments about those times were jamming with Matt. He remembers Matt’s patented smile, and the childlike joy he had whenever playing guitar, or just being around others.

“Matt had a love of fly fishing, camping, golfing, billiards and bowling, among other things. I went golfing with him a bunch of times. But I’ll always remember one time where we went to this pitch and putt course over in Van Nuys. And by the third hole, it just started pouring in buckets, which just never happens here… and we just kept playing on. I think it was probably one of the most horrible scores either of us ever had. But the whole time he would just laugh and smile. It’s still so memorable to me. The most memorable game I’ve ever played.

“Matt and Alicia invited me into their home many times, or invited me along for bowling or softball.

“Today I mourn his passing, but more importantly, I’m so relieved at what he gave to me and to so many others.

“Thank you Sunshine for everything.”

Amgen colleague Chris Wright eulogized Brother Frerer next.

“According to the Bible, Matthew means gift of the Lord,” he said.

“And I know that Matt was that to all of us in life….

“Matt and I had worked together at Amgen since 1999. He was truly a business continuity professional. And others learned much of what we know from our interactions with Matt. He can never be replaced.”

Sandy Lobenstein spoke on behalf of brother-in-law Mark Watts.

“He was my best friend. No other friend has taught me as much about life and love, and friendship. Matt has always been there for me, and he was always there for my daughters Paige, Jessica and Melody.”

Friend and neighbor Bart Sumner quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics, and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

“Matt did more than succeed. He triumphed.”

After the services concluded, a reception followed at the Frerer’s home. On the way out of the church, blue rubber bracelets inscribed with Matt’s nickname “Mattman” and “Cancer Sucks” were given out in the front hallway.

Other fraternity brothers in attendance were Brother Pena, Rick Childs (BP 83), Mark Widawer (BP 220), Mitch Silberman (BP 237), Gary Goodstein (BP 244), Tim Boyd (BP 255), Spencer Schmerling (BP 288) and Gilbert Lopez (BP 260).

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Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

We miss you Mattman. Matt played guitar in the chapter’s first rock band. One of Matt’s college era portraits, plus a more recent one (inset). Brothers at Matt’s memorial service were, from left, Rick Childs, Spencer Schmerling, Mitch Silberman, Robert Hartung, Mark Widawer, Tim Pena, Gary Goodstein and Gilbert Lopez.

Back at the Chapter House. Matt Frerer is shown with Mark Widawer (in front of him), Brian Quint, Mark Swedelson, Kevin Tully and his sister, Mike McKelvey, Carl Walinski and Gary Goodstein posing somewhere near the Halsted 2 volleyball court during the 1985-86 school year.

Photos of Matt Frerer courtesy of the Frerer Family.

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Courtesy of Robert Hartung

Courtesy of Joe Nguyen

Gina Brown Giraldin/Courtesy of Joe Nguyen

Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity

Courtesy of Rick Trevino (2)

Alumni Announcements

Rick & Brandi Trevino Wed Family, friends and fraternity brothers gathered on Dec. 3, 2011 for the wedding of Rick Trevino (BP 451) and Brandi Baruck. The couple chose the Malibu Lake Mountain Club in Agoura Hills for an outdoor ceremony and adjourned to the clubhouse for their reception.

Brother Trevino’s Best Man was Mike Press (BP 455). Among his groomsmen were Cesar Ayllon (BP 453) and Jason Barner (BP 490). Other Lambda Chis at the wedding were Josh Lodolo (BP 459), Scott Press (BP 55) and Rob Press (BP 495).

The couple first met at

The Trevinos take the first dance. Rick Trevino danced with his bride, Brandi.

Wearing the blue shirts were Best Man Mike Press with groomsmen Cesar Ayllon and Jason Barner, They were joined by Rob Press and Josh Lodolo.

a Pajama Jammy Party at Halsted 1 about six years ago, according to Brother Trevino.

After the wedding, the Trevinos jetted to the Caribbean and stayed in St. Lucia at Sandals Grande, an all-inclusive resort.

“We were bouncing back and forth between the beach and the pool for a week, and it was great!” Brother Trevino wrote.

Paul Lorson/Courtesy of Amante Bartolome Juanita Ljosdal Brown/Courtesy of Amante Bartolome

Amante Bartolome & Ashley Lorson’s Wedding Amante Bartolome (BP 491) took some time off from his firefighting duties to wed Ashley Lorson on June 4, 2011.

The couple attracted about 250 family and friends for an outdoor wedding at the Lakeside Community Center in Lindo Lake County Park. Among them were 50 firefighters and captains plus fraternity brothers from as far away as New York. Danny Bjelajac (BP 476), C.J. Stangl (BP 483) and Gabe Lockwood (BP 497) represented Beta-Rho. They originally met at In Cahoots, a country bar in San Diego.

Soon afterwards, the couple took off for a honeymoon at, coincidentally, Sandals Grande in St. Lucia.

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Fall 2011 / Winter 2012

Fall & Winter Birthdays September 23 Jon Gardner & Mark Swedelson, 24 Erwin Avendano, Eric May & Bill Van Beek, 25 Mike Gregory, 29 Rob Prushan, 30 Mike Moeller.

October 1 Henry Martin Lederman, Jim McFarlane, John McFarlane & Tony Webb, 3 Lloyd Cristobal, Tomas Gallegos & Mark Widawer, 4 Steve Hartwig, 5 Rick Gross, D.O., Steven Shapiro & Craig Simon, 6 Sean Butler, 8 Bates Reed, 10 Steven Zavala, 11 Jim Greene & Carl Walinski, 13 Darren Arrieta & Larry Burns 14 Edwin Bolanos, 15 Mitch Brian, Frank Bushnell, Chris Lynch & Mike Press, 16 Rick Isaac, Jeff Kagan & Jeff Turnbull, 17 Mark Aaldering, Charles Doff & David Eisenberg, 18 Ed Kacic & Russell Tuazon, 19 Chris Zorc, 22 Mike Peros & John Wielmaker, 23 Pierre Ismail & Virgil Schwab, 24 Jessie Arciniega, Robert Bedley & Wil Krug, 26 Jason Budow & Sandy Rosenberg, 29 Howard Sapper.

Chuck Pfarrer Reveals the Inside Story on Osama bin Laden’s Demise in New Book

November 1 Brandon Cesmat 2 Matt Ahmadi, Nestor Michelena & Bob Wendt, 3 Rob Hartung, 4 Paul DePascale, Vahan Khodanian, Dustin Mirochnick & David Ohlberg, 5 Joseph Coyne, Ph.D., 7 J. R. Rodine, 8 Daniel Ramos & Nick Volkov, 9 Ladi Saka, 10 Mike Horan, 12 Steve Finkle, 14 Brian Megginson, 15 Patrick Schaefer & Brian Schneider, 16 Mark Travers, 17 John Westerbeck, 18 Zach Payne, 19 Eric Bossuk & Adam Salgado, 20 Walt Bollinger, Jim Cavezza & Jeff Gardner, 21 David Primes, 25 Cesar Ayllon, Tao Chang, Maury Sanders & Steve Senderling, 26 Danny Bjelajac & Neil Sanchez, 28 Richie Herrera, Roger Marte & Wayne Wohler, 29 Robert Gantman, CFLS; 29 Scott Press.

Counterterrorism consultant Chuck Pfarrer (BP 109) went on a media tour to promote his latest book SEAL Target Geronimo in November, 2011. He compiled numerous interviews with Navy SEALs to engage readers with a more accurate retelling of the mission that culminated with the death of Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

The book climbed near the top of the New York Times Nonfiction Bestseller list near the end of November.

Brother Pfarrer spent eight years as a Navy SEAL.

Jessie Arciniega Runs the L.A. Marathon

Courtesy of Jessie Arciniega

Even though he wasn’t quite as fast as 1st place finisher Simon Njoroge of Kenya, Jessie Arciniega (BP 516) ran with thousands of others at the 27th annual L.A. Marathon on March 18. His unofficial time was 4 hours, 28 minutes and 59 seconds. Njoroge’s time was 2 hours, 12 minutes and 12 seconds. A rainy forecast gave way to postcard sunny skies. The route began at Dodger Stadium and ended near the Santa Monica Pier.

Craig Simon’s Family Gains Another Daughter

December 3 Mark Duerre, 8 Joe Musacchio, 10 Greg Vilkin, 11 Craig Rubin, 12 Chris Mirkovich, 13 Scott Arager, Ph.D.; 15 Gio Pernudi, Scott Seward & Jeff Simon 16 Kent Lowry, 17 Glen Boyd & Tim Pena, 18 Tom Quek Winter Solstice 21 Kamron Karamooz & John Yao, 22 Kevin Daum & Carlos Valdez, 23 Carl Ashton, Keith Morris, MD; & Daren Springett, 25 Kevin Mojaradi, 26 Eric Roberts & Ron Taix, 27 William Johnson, Gary Thomas & Nikko Trinidad 30 Ernie Prieto.

Courtesy of Craig Simon

February 2 Douglas Centeno & Matt Rice, 4 Kurt Helin, 5 Dan Fitzgerald & Mark Taubman-Walker, 7 Cory Hanh, 9 Glen Longarini, 10 Mike Alcouloumre, 11 Doug Green & Eddie McCoy, 13 Walter Brown & Ellis San Jose, 15 David Weiss, 17 Jan Van Muyden, 20 David Kelley, 21 Phil Griggs, DDS & Christian Yoss, 25 Gary Glickman, John Hart & Mike McKelvey, Ph.D., 26 Steve Honeywell, 27 Christian Cruz, 28 Tom Poovakad & Ted Staff.

Craig (BP 465) and Rachelli Simon welcomed Naomi Reena into the world on March 16. She joins their other young daughters Bridget and Bayla. Naomi checked in at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md. at 1:45 a.m.

She weighed 6 lbs., 13 oz. and was 19 ¼ inches long.

Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity

January 2 Justin Chapman & Doc Ellis, 3 Steve Abrams, 5 David Stonefield, 8 Jason Barner, Justin Bloomfield, TSgt. Steve Bridges, Jr.; Jeff Flocken, Jerry Jordan, David Serrano & Charles Smith, 11 Larry Cormier, 13 Mark Green, Leon Kozlowski & Alain Romi, 14 Pat Duffy, 15 Michael Jackson, 16 Craig Turnbull, 17 Sung Kim, Roy Redulfin & Luke Weiss, 18 Jack Keleshian, 21 Percy Megginson, 22 Todd Baker, 25 Capt. Bill Kane (ret.), 26 Bahman Farahnik, 27 Mark Jacobs, 28 Bodhi Severns & Charles Stepczyk, 30 Ken Zwicker.

March 1 John Bonilla & Nestor Mendez, 2 Chris Lundahl, 4 Chris Krokos, 5 Jim Raft, 10 Austin Matelson, 11 Col. Dave Gill (ret.), 12 Don Ashton, 13 David Adelman, James Richardson & Randy Ziskin, 15 Mike Brown & Joe Heredia, 17 Tom Kilsheimer & Dan Perl, 21 Richard Shulman, Ph.D. 15

BETA-RHO BULLETIN Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity P.O. Box 280311 Northridge, CA 91328-0311

Address Service Requested

Editor’s Journal When Apple and Pixar Animation CEO Steve Jobs lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Oct. 5, 2011, I spent a lot of time reflecting on how much his inventions and imagination have influenced my life. For most of the past 27 years, one of his products has helped me express myself. I’m staring at one of them now.

His world and mine started to intertwine on SuperBowl Sunday in 1984.

When Apple introduced the Macintosh computer during a TV commercial with its female hammer-thrower taking aim at a giant video screen, it piqued my imagination. In a way it was like taking the blue pill in the first Matrix movie: I didn’t want to conform to using the DOS-based computers that had started replacing the IBM Selectrics on the business desks down the hall from where I worked: the Associated Students Office at CSUN. Coincidentally, my first desktop publishing project turned out to be a Beta-Rho Bulletin after I got my first Mac in 1985. I did it on my own time after the office closed to learn the skills that I later applied to designing the Sunburst yearbooks, Matador Reporter newspaper and many other projects.

While the Mac eventually enabled me to remake myself as a desktop publisher, Mr. Jobs’ achievements affected my relationship with the fraternity in other ways. His company’s motto, “Think Different,” probably underpinned my desire to work independently and re-establish myself on the housing corp. board in late 2006 as a communications specialist.

Then there was that speech Mr. Jobs gave during the Stanford University Commencement in 2005. He told three stories that could loosely touch on my own experiences and my passion for Lambda Chi Alpha. They were deceptively deep life lessons: connecting the dots, love and loss, and death.

As with Jobs’ college career, I zeroed in on the courses that inspired me, not necessarily the ones that had dollar signs on them. Unlike Mr. Jobs, I managed to graduate after changing my major three times and wound up in the theatre department.

Once I had joined the chapter in my fifth semester, I eventually stumbled across my first career when Brother Phil Virga, one of the student government’s senators, introduced me to the A.S. director of personnel in the summer of 1979. He realized that my years as a chapter historian might make me a good fit as a

yearbook editor even though I hadn’t worked on one. The dots connected.

Regarding love and loss, Mr. Jobs told the Stanford graduates that he was fired from Apple, the company he co-founded. His return from exile after 12 years is now the stuff of legend. In 2006 my realtor, chapter alumnus Robert Kacic, helped me select a soon-to-be-built KB home in the Antelope Valley.

After my first year working there as an English teacher, I lost my job. My home foreclosed in 2010, but my family has been content to live more modestly. “Protect your family, save your home,” Brother Kacic once told me.

I will eventually buy another home, but my family is irreplaceable.

Another Halloween has passed, and kids celebrated another sugar-coated version of the holiday that, in an oddly American way, celebrates death. Mr. Jobs discussed death in the final third of his speech – and every Lambda Chi initiate can relate to this excerpt.

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.”

As we age, we initiates die a little after every rush week, each initiation, each graduation. The chapter renews itself every fall and spring with new recruits. Others move on with their lives, but a handful stay on as faithful stewards to work as volunteers for the fraternity.

Near the end of Mr. Jobs’ address, he invoked this declaration: “Don't let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Everything else is secondary.”

Perhaps if I didn’t think different, I might’ve never joined Lambda Chi Alpha. I rushed four other fraternities at CSUN. I related better to this group. My fears of being hazed like my brother had been when he joined a fraternity at Linfield College in Oregon quickly subsided; there would be none of that here. I followed my heart and intuition, and the rest is history.



BETA-RHO BULLETIN Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity Fall 2011 / Winter 2012 edition

Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity 2012 Alumni Loyalty Fund

The chapter’s alumni loyalty fund could use your first-time or continuing help! Newsletters are a vital part of keeping in touch with what’s going on with the chapter and our alumni. Efforts to discontinue a printed version of this newsletter and make it into an e-zine on a web page has made printed copies of these publications an endangered species due to the difficulty we have had sustaining it with alumni donations. Digital PDF file copies of nearly every Beta-Rho newsletter since 1975 are already posted at Dropbox.com where they can be downloaded. If you would like to gain access to this members-only website’s user list, contact the editor, Rick Childs, at (661) 948-3260 or rc4x4profit@verizon.net. Any financial support you could provide in these fiscally restrictive times would help.

Use the P.O. box address at the top of this page. Thank you in advance for any support that you can offer. And please, send your email address!

$25

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I’ve moved - new address New email address:

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Name:

Address:

Find me on Facebook ______________________________________ ______________________________________

City, State, Zip ______________________________________ Telephone

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