June 2014 Pearl

the Pearl June 2014

An

Inside 02 Recurring Gifts Online Auction

03 Presidents’ Academy Successes

04 Ken Riley on Paying the Debt and Presidents’ Academy

(l) matt (r) Steve

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Ohio State Brothers Share Unique Experience Deptola twins look back at their relationship through the eyes of the Fraternity

V

ery few members get the chance to experience having a biological brother in their chapter at the same time they themselves are undergraduates.

Even fewer have the opportunity to serve in the two highest positions in a chapter and be Founding Fathers at the same time as twins.

Matt and Steve Deptola, Ohio State ’12, did just that. Matt took the reins of the new chapter at Ohio State as President, and Steve served as Vice President. “[Serving together] made camaraderie and chemistry feel very easy, or at least served as model of those things,” Matt said. “There is a lot of bantering back and forth, and we aren’t afraid to speak our minds to each other and tell the other how we feel or what we are thinking.

“The bantering between us hopefully led to a little more fun and relaxed mood,” Matt said.

“We knew when we had to be serious, but we also understood when it was time to pump the brakes and have a little bit more fun with things.“ “One of the nicest things for the chapter was that we aren’t afraid to confront each other. Usually if you don’t know someone too well and they are serving above you, you aren’t exactly sure how you want to approach them about an issue,” Steve said.

“If we had a problem with how each other’s leadership style was reflecting on the chapter or had an issue with how an event was being run or how our brand was being marketed, we could easily go up to each

other and say ‘hey I don’t like what you are doing’ without being afraid of negative feedback. “ Both brothers agreed that the chapter benefited from having brothers lead chapter. Because the chapter was just restarting, they didn’t re(l) matt (r) Steve ally have a strong sense of what brotherhood was or what it could be.

Luckily, they had a constant example of brotherhood set by Steve and Matt.

“Especially within our executive roles, there was a very open line of communication,” Steve said. “The open line of communication was definitely something we tried to portray to the chapter and embody the fact that were there for anyone and we communicate freely with each other. “ The other chapter members weren’t the only ones reaping the benefits of having brothers serving as President and Vice President—Matt and Steve also benefited from it.

“We were both thrown into these positions where we wanted to try something new and commit our time to it. I’ve always looked at him as a good source of guidance,” Matt said. “Through the day-to-day operations of the chapter, we tried to create a sustainable and workable chapter. We didn’t know what we were doing a lot of times, but having him there to work through those issues with was really important to me. If I didn’t have him it’d be a lot tougher.” to read the rest of Matt & Steve’s Story, visit: deltasig.org/deptola

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1. Easier to budget and easier on your wallet 2. Your gift renews automatically 3. It’s paperless, so it’s easier on the environment

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Delta Sig’s monthly giving program allows your gift to be deducted monthly from your debit card, credit card, or through your bank account. You remain in control - cancel or alter your gift any time by calling us at 317-634-1899 or emailing us at foundation@deltasig.org • $50/month provides training for one student to attend the Presidents’ Academy.

• $35/month provides a Regional Leadership Academy for 12 Brothers.

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Signing up for a recurring gift is a great way to help Delta Sigma Phi by providing steady, reliable funding for students through a monthly, quarterly or annual gift to the Fraternity. You determine the amount and frequency of your

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Avoid those pesky credit card fees by utilizing the No Chex method versus a credit card.

P.S. Help us finish our fiscal year with a bang! Submit your gift before June 30, 2014. Visit www.deltasig.org/ makeagift.

Delta Sigma Phi Foundation to Host Inaugural Online Auction The Delta Sigma Phi Foundation invites you to participate in the inaugural online auction July 18-21, 2014. For four days, you can bid on unique, one of a kind Delta Sig memorabilia, collector items, vacation packages, and more.

We could really use your help securing items. Do you have an item you’d like to donate? We’re looking for things like: Delta Sig relics, event tickets, unique experiences, vacation packages, gift baskets, etc… Contact Alaina Cutler to donate (cutler@deltasig.org) or 317-634-1899 ext. 466.

Visit deltasig.org/auction for more details!

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Your Gifts at Work: Chapter Presidents See Tangible Benefits from Presidents’ Academy T

he reviews are in from the participants in Delta Sig’s first ever Presidents’ Academy! Not only are the undergraduates as excited as we are about the success of the three-day academy itself, but participants have continued to see tangible benefits back at their chapters & universities.

We asked Chapter President Josh Noble, Eastern Michigan ’13, how he thought we did.

“I mean, obviously it exceeded my expectations. I was expecting generic leadership, ‘how to better yourself,’ tips and hints and things that I could bring back to my whole chapter,” Noble said.

“I certainly didn’t expect as much as we got out of it. I didn’t think that it would be so personable; I wasn’t expecting to spend as much time in close quarters. I wasn’t expecting it to be so over-the-top fantastic,” Noble said.

Presidents’ Academy represented a unique opportunity: the chance to tailor a program to a specific position within the chapter, while potentially offering an enormous benefit to the chapter—no matter what size—at large. A couple months later, just how exactly that benefit would make it’s way back to the chapter as a whole began to be seen.

“When I came back, I feel like the rest of my chapter was expecting it to be tips and hints and things that would benefit the whole chapter,” Noble said, “but the program was for us as presidents.”

“The biggest thing was that,” Noble goes on, “if I need something to get done, and I’m having a hard time finding the person to do it, I really need to just take the reins myself and do it on my own—and that’s okay if I have to do that.”

Here is where the unique environment provided by Presidents’ Academy really kicks in—higher level concepts and conversations turned into small group discussions.

These small groups helped attendees figure out the best way to leverage a necessity like, say, “delegation” without upsetting the delicate balance of their specific chapter and culture.

“I don’t need to delegate every single thing, but at the

same time I need to be just as good at delegating as I am at doing everything else,” Noble said.

Of course, our chapter presidents already know the basics. But what happens when you try to actually delegate, or to inspire a shared vision, and your chapter doesn’t respond?

This might be the coolest part of the whole experience for our young men: not only did they have the chance to learn it, discuss it, figure it out, and try to take it back— they made friends. They met guys who are just as inspired as they are to make the fraternity better than when they arrived. They met men who will hold them accountable, and support them if times get tough.

Bence Tamas, Case Western ’13, explained: “The biggest thing we don’t realize is that other chapters are dealing with the same things.”

“I think it’s a great opportunity or all of us to get together to share our ideas,” Tamas said, “and really bring this Fraternity into it’s greater whole as a national organization.”

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On Paying the Debt

I often used to think that paying the debt meant that if I put in enough work, if I put in enough hours, if I did enough for the Fraternity, that I had paid that debt off— and I wanted to pay the debt off, I don’t like owing anybody anything. Every single time I come to one of these programs [like Presidents’ Academy], what I realize is that I end up owing more. I’m not sure who gets more out of these programs—if it’s the guys, or if it’s me. I walk away from every single one of these completely inspired by the guys, ready to move forward, excited to do the work that I continue to do in my professional life, and looking forward to the next opportunity that I have to come back.

On the Presidents’ Academy

Presidents’ Academy was a great launch; it was an amazing program, especially in its inception, because it resembles the Leadership Institute so much. We can really start to make an impact and get a really good start with Presidents’ Academy. I’m really excited to see where Presidents’ Academy moves forward in the future, especially as we continue to re-look at, re-design it, and just make it better [each year].

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Ken Riley Wisconsin-La Crosse ‘85