The Carnation - Spring 2010 Issue

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Delta Sigma Phi | Spring 2010

Delta Sigs Making an Impact in the Visual Arts


letter from the editor

Brothers, Leadership. It’s a term we talk about often in Delta Sigma Phi, but I can’t help but wonder if everyone understands that being a leader isn’t incumbent upon having a title… You don’t have to be the top person in your company or even your department to be a leader. You can be the lowest on the totem pole so to speak, yet still lead. This became clearer and clearer to me as I attended Delta Sigma Phi’s Regional Leadership Academies this January. I had the pleasure of co-facilitating a planning and goal setting session for new members at the Chicago RLA. In that session, I met and spoke with brothers who had recently initiated, yet they were talking about the numerous things they’d already done to make their chapters better. It was refreshing, and I was proud that our newest brothers were already leaders even without the executive board titles. As I was looking through our plans for this issue of The Carnation, a theme of leadership became evident. As you read this issue, I hope you’ll keep in mind the fact that leaders come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life and in many different disciplines. You’ll meet a number of brothers throughout this issue that are leading in different areas of the world, all of whom have one thing in common – Delta Sigma Phi. For instance, on pages 9-14, you’ll read our feature story about brothers in the visual arts. It encapsulates a number of different disciplines with brothers leading in each of them. In our Health & Fitness section, you’ll meet Dave Franks, East Carolina ’79, who along with co-workers, is leading the development of a gaming system to help kids with autism communicate more effectively. Franks has three children

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with autism, and has taken it upon himself to help them and the millions of others with autism have better lives. In our Business & Finance section, you’ll meet a leader with a title – Mark McCutcheon, Auburn ’74, who serves as president and CEO of Golden Flake Snack Foods. Our Leadership & Education section speaks for itself with a story by regular contributor Jim Lucas, Missouri S&T ’69. Our Tech Trends section includes a piece written by Brendan Crowell, Georgia Tech ’04, a graduate student who is leading a research study on using GPS technology to measure early earthquake signs. In Sports, we’ll talk to three brothers from the same chapter who’ve had amazing success as high school football coaches in the Midwest. To close the issue, we’ll get a glimpse into a day in the life of Brandon Carroll, Virginia Tech ’08, the president of Virginia Tech’s student body, and read a story by Brian Beaupied, Grand Valley State ’06, who along with three other chapter brothers, is working on the campaign to elect a fellow chapter brother to a seat in the Michigan State House. This issue is full of stories on leadership, and I hope you enjoy reading each of them. As always, if you have any comments on the magazine, please contact me at either Hammond@deltasig.org or (317) 634-1899 x425. I remain… YITBOS,

Bruce Hammond, Ohio Northern ’98 Editor


Letters to the Editor General Comments on the Fall 2009 Issue

Never lean your seat back if there is a person in the seat behind you. I always

Opposites Come Together to Lead at Fox

It was fun playing Where’s Waldo with

thought this was common etiquette

I enjoyed the article on Dean Hallett

myself in the Convention picture. You

knowledge, but recent overseas travels

and Keith Feldman at Fox, however,

should’ve written an article on our (Zeta

have shown me otherwise. No one

USC is definitely not a public universi-

Omicron) 35 hour (70 round trip) drive to

wants to fly twelve hours to Italy with

ty as claimed in the article. The

Convention. Now THAT’s a pilgrimage!

your seat crushing their kneecaps.

University of Southern California is a

YITBOS,

YITBOS,

private school and is not part of the California university or college system. I just wanted to set things straight. Hugo Diaz (via Facebook)

Benjamin Finkel

CSU East Bay ’05

Oswego State ’98

YITBOS, Ron Winkler

Editor’s Note: Undergraduate brothers from the Zeta Omicron Chapter at CSU East Bay drove from Hayward, California to the 2009 Convention site in St. Louis, Missouri. It WAS a pilgrimage that we’re sure none of them will soon forget!

In terms of airport procedure, my big belief is to smile and be friendly to airport staff – you catch a lot more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. They are not going to help you very much if you’re acting like an idiot. When going through security, I always

Responses to The Etiquette of Flying You’ve probably sparked a whole list of complaints from frequent travelers, but here’s my latest and greatest. When an airline boards by zones, rows, etc., stay seated or out of the way until yours is called. Don’t stand in the boarding area, in the way of people trying to board, vying for the first space in your section. And especially, don’t get in line trying to “time” when your zone or row will be called and then step out when you get to the podium and it hasn’t! The plane isn’t going to leave until everyone has boarded, people. YITBOS, Mark Shaw

Georgia Tech ’90

UC Berkeley ’65

Editor’s Note: This is one we totally missed. According to its web site, USC “is one of the world’s leading private research universities.” We apologize for the mistake.

have my boarding pass and ID out for the initial TSA rep. When I approach the line, I remove my belt and shoes and then put my watch and pocket items in one of my shoes. I always grab two trays, one for my laptop and the other for my shoes, belt and jacket. The second container also holds any liquid or gel prescription items that might otherwise be deemed too big to travel with. I walk through the security frame with my hands up, holding my boarding pass. I think if people were aware and proactive about getting

Editor’s Note: It was pointed out to us that we failed to properly mention or congratulate the 2009 winners of the Harvey H. Hebert Awards in the Fall 2009 story about the Convention. The four winners of the Hebert Award in 2009 were: Tony Blanton, Transylvania ’85 Chris Northern, Texas ’77 Jim Rath, UW Oshkosh ’71 Scott Wiley, Oswego State ’97 We regret the oversight, and congratulate these outstanding brothers who received one of the Fraternity’s top alumni awards.

through the security line, it would be a lot easier and less stressful. YITBOS, Terrence Donovan

High Point ’90

Have comments about a story or on the magazine in general? We’d welcome your feedback by e-mail at Info@deltasig.org or on our new Facebook Fan Page dedicated to The Carnation by going to www.facebook.com/thecarnation.

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Contents

CARNATION THE

Editor Bruce Hammond, Ohio Northern ’98

9 Feature: Delta Sigs in the Visual Arts

Contributing Writers Brian Beaupied, Grand Valley State ’06 Brandon Carroll, Virginia Tech ’08 Keith Cecil, Transylvania ’99 Brendan Crowell, Georgia Tech ’04 James R. Lucas, Missouri S&T ’69 Art Director Shelle Design Incorporated

18 Health & Fitness – Del Worthington’s Efforts in Haiti

28 Sports – A Cradle of High School Football Coaches

Address publication materials and correspondence with national office to: Delta Sigma Phi 1331 North Delaware Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 (317) 634-1899 FAX: (317) 634-1410 E-mail: info@deltasig.org Web: www.deltasig.org THE CARNATION OF DELTA SIGMA PHI (USPS 091-020), official publication of Delta Sigma Phi, 1331 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis, IN 46202, is published semiannually. Publication postage paid at Indianapolis, IN and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to THE CARNATION OF DELTA SIGMA PHI, 1331 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Subscription price to non-members is $8.00 per year. Single copies $3.00. Copyright 2010 by the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity; 1331 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis, IN 46202. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner. THE CARNATION® and Delta Sigma Phi® are registered trademarks of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, Inc.

DEPARTMENTS 2 3 6 8 9 15 18

Letter from the Editor Letters to the Editor News Feed Fraternity Confidential Feature: Delta Sigs in the Visual Arts Business & Finance Health & Fitness

24 26 28 32 34 36 38 39

Leadership & Education Tech Trends Sports A Day in the Life In Their Own Words Books by Brothers I Spy Delta Sigma Phi Bond Eternal

Mission: The Carnation is a lifestyle magazine meant to entertain, educate and inspire the members of Delta Sigma Phi to become better men and lead better lives, while also educating and entertaining other readers who may not be members. 4

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www.deltasig.org


News Feed Fraternity Leadership Training Continues Since the last issue of The Carnation, Delta Sigma Phi has continued its impressive march toward becoming America’s Leading Fraternity. The leadership of the Fraternity feels as though providing top notch leadership training opportunities for our undergraduate men is the first step in that process, and has continued to make developing these opportunities a top priority. In fact, during the Fall semester, Delta Sigma Phi unveiled new online webinars for undergraduate leaders to gain knowledge on a number of different chapter operations and personal development topics. In the program’s initial rollout, over 200 brothers took part in these sessions. As 2010 began, the annual Winter leadership training programs took place, including The Summit and the Regional Leadership Academies. The third annual Summit program trained over 180 undergraduate chapter presidents and recruitment chairmen the weekend of January 8-10 in Indianapolis. With 85% attendance from the Fraternity’s chapters and colonies, many of our chapters will be better prepared to head into the Fall 2010 recruitment period on a high note. Throughout the remainder of January and early February, the Fraternity also hosted five Regional Leadership Academies across the country that trained nearly 800 undergraduate leaders and alumni volunteers from across the country. Add that to the 180 at the Summit and the 200 in the webinars, and just since the last time The Carnation mailed, the Fraternity has trained nearly 1,200 men. For more information on the Fraternity’s events, go online: http://www.deltasig.org/about/history/meetings_and_events.

Attendees of the 2010 Summit listen attentively to the presenters.

2010 Membership Directory Work Underway As it has every five years, Delta Sigma Phi is in the midst of developing its 2010 bound Membership Directory. Data gathering efforts began in early February and will continue throughout 2010. According to Executive Director, Scott Wiley, “We are excited to again be partnering with Harris Connect to develop a membership directory for our alumni. This is an excellent opportunity for Delta Sigs to connect and engage with their fellow brothers from across the country, and I’d like to encourage all of our alumni to participate in the data gathering process so our 2010 membership directory can be as accurate as possible.” Since you’re receiving this magazine, you will likely also begin receiving postcards asking you to call a toll-free number to verify your contact information for the directory. Please take a few moments to do so, as this will allow the Fraternity to provide as much correct information to your brothers as possible. This will also help the Fraternity clean its data to better serve members. Should you have questions about the directory project, please feel free to call the Fraternity’s Director of Communications, Bruce Hammond, at (317) 634-1899 x425, or e-mail him at Hammond@deltasig.org.

Sam Jabara, Nick Lessnau, Chris Atallah, and Mark Stevenson from Alpha Tau Chapter at Albion at the 2010 Chicago RLA.

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News Feed Fall 2009 Expansion Projects Extremely Successful Returning to two campuses where the Fraternity previously had a presence, Delta Sigma Phi’s Fall 2009 expansion projects were great successes. Eastern Michigan University is the home of 45 recruits who make up the Gamma Tau Colony. After being gone from campus since 2006, Fraternity staff members spent approximately six weeks in Ypsilanti, Michigan recruiting men for the recolonization. Colorado State University welcomed Delta Sigma Phi back after a five year hiatus during Fall 2009. During the expansion process, 52 new members were recruited to start the Theta Zeta Colony. A mixture of freshmen and older students make up this group of men who were interested in a different Fraternity experience than was available on their campus. According to Executive Director, Scott Wiley, “We’re extremely excited to have returned to these two campuses, and are looking forward to these groups becoming the top groups in their respective Greek communities in the near future.” Both of the new colonies are supported by excellent alumni volunteers, all of whom have dedicated themselves to serving as mentors and advisors to the undergraduate members as they develop into chartered Delta Sigma Phi chapters. If you’re in either of these areas and are interested in assisting, please contact Regional Director, Ry Beck, at Beck@deltasig.org.

Delta Sig Supports CHIA Along with Other Greek Organizations In January, Delta Sigma Phi, along with a number of other Greek letter organizations, asked alumni members in the state of Ohio to urge their U.S. Senators to sponsor Senate Bill 781 – the Collegiate Housing Infrastructure Act. This act is meant to make college more affordable by preserving not-for-profit student housing, such as Fraternity housing. According to the web site of the Capital Fraternal Caucus, a group that represents fraternities and sororities in Washington, DC, “A quirk in the tax laws allows colleges and universities to use charitable contributions to build and maintain student housing while preventing other not-forprofit student housing entities from doing the same thing.” The web site continued, “The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act erases this disparity, allowing tax deductible contributions to not-for-profit student housing

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entities such as fraternity and sorority foundations to be used for the same purposes that a college or university could use such contributions.” The outreach effort by numerous members of fraternities and sororities in the state of Ohio led to U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown adding his name as a sponsor to the bill. At press time, Senator George Voinovich had yet to sign on a sponsor, but it is the hope of the caucus, including Delta Sigma Phi, that he will sign on soon. To see how you can support this effort in your state, go to the Capital Fraternal Caucus’ web site at http://www.fraternalcaucus.org/.

Longtime Former Delta Sig Executive Director to Retire Former Fraternity Executive Director Allen James, NC State ’65, has announced that he will retire in the third quarter of 2010. Since 1991, James has served as the President of Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE), a national trade association representing the manufacturers, formulators James and distributors of pesticide and fertilizer products. As he did during his time as Delta Sig’s Executive Director from 1978-1987, James made quite an impact as the leader of RISE. In fact, a new award called the E. Allen James Award will be presented annually starting in 2010 to honor an individual who makes outstanding contributions to the specialty pesticide and fertilizer industry. According to Bill Culpepper, president and CEO of SePRO Corp, who was also one of the founders of RISE and a member of the initial search committee that hired James as RISE’s President in 1991, “Allen is an incredibly gifted leader who has done a great amount for RISE as an organization and for the industry as a whole. He has exceeded all expectations with the things he has accomplished since joining RISE, and his professionalism and consistent quality of work have become the trademark of the organization moving forward.” Delta Sigma Phi’s outstanding undergraduate award was named for James in the late 1980s, just as RISE has recognized his success with its own award. James continues to volunteer regularly for Delta Sigma Phi as an alumni advisor to the Rho Chapter at North Carolina State University and in other ad hoc roles. He will return to North Carolina upon his retirement.


Fraternity Confidential

RECRUITMENT FROM THE PROS

The Fraternity recently asked its chapters and colonies to nominate their top recruiters in an effort to identify the organization’s leading experts on recruitment. After 70 names were submitted, The Carnation talked to a few of them who attended The Summit to learn more about recruiting today’s college students. The Carnation: What is the most important aspect of recruitment in your eyes? Nick Naddaf, Illinois State ’08: I think the most important part is getting everyone involved. A lot of people stop when they get older thinking they have paid their debt, or even just after formal rush is over. Recruitment really needs to be going on all year by everyone. Andy Bremer, Oregon ’07: I agree with Nick in terms of getting everyone involved. The hardest part about being a Recruitment Chairman is when you have all of these people around you who aren’t doing anything. It puts all the pressure on you. On top of that, recruitment is about understanding who your key recruiters are in the chapter. Sharing the workload with the workhorses that you know will be there is also important. The Carnation: What are some traits of an effective recruiter? Henry Negrete, San Jose State ’07: It is important to have knowledge about

your brothers so you can introduce them to a potential member that might have similar interests with them. This can also come in handy when a potential member might have the same issue with joining that a previous brother had. For example, we had a brother who pledged another fraternity before us and dropped because of hazing. When a potential member brought his fear of being hazed up, we had him talk to our brother who used to have the same fear. Naddaf: To be an effective recruiter, I first think you need to be ambitious and not a procrastinator. You have to work hard. Secondly, you need to be extremely outgoing and be able to meet and interact with a lot of different people. Lastly, I think recruitment is all about sales, and you need to be able to sell your chapter. In Greek Life, it’s a bunch of different groups competing for the same guys, so you need to be able to differentiate your chapter from the others. Bremer: I think you need to buy into what Greek Life is on your campus, and then believe and live by the values of the Fraternity. You can’t get someone to join if they’re not sold on Greek Life in general. I think being open is also extremely important, because sometimes people are not what they seem when you first meet them. There are times when I meet someone, and it’s not until the end of the term that I

really think they’d be a great brother – perhaps even a future president. Be open and look for the good in people. The Carnation: Are you using any new recruitment techniques to spread the word about the organization? Naddaf: We have set up a Facebook Group, which has been a lot of work, but we had around 200 people who joined the group. We also use personalized text messaging to reach out to recruits when we are working on them. It’s been a great way to connect with them since everyone texts these days. Bremer: Facebook is definitely important. I comment on a lot of posts where people are talking about Greek Life. I would link to our Facebook Group and to our web site. Having the web site was also key. We have one that is in pretty good shape and is updated often with a contact form on it, which sets us apart from the other organizations on our campus. We also use the text messaging stuff that Nick talked about, and just began using something for our web site called Chapterspot, which includes a recruitment section. Lastly, we used YouTube to post our Anchor Splash videos, which was helpful for people to be able to find out about us.

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DELTA SIG Fact or Fiction Are the following statements about Delta Sigma Phi fact or fiction? Answers may be found on page 39, on the same page as the list of Bond Eternal brothers. 1. A Delta Sig invented Big League Chew, the shredded bubble gum in a pouch. 2. A Delta Sig holds the patent for the athletic shoulder sling that you oftentimes see players wearing after suffering a separated shoulder. 3. A Delta Sig is the only kicker to ever

The Carnation: What have you found undergraduates on your college campuses are looking for these days in their Fraternity experience, and how can that be instructive to others across the country? Negrete: A lot of the undergraduates in my chapter are looking for the brotherhood. This is common among guys who are far away from home and have a void to fill with missing family and friends. Oftentimes they are just looking for somewhere to belong, and for some Delta Sig is that place. Naddaf: The perk of our chapter is the brotherhood aspect, much like what Henry said. The way we treat people who we meet is also a big perk. The thing I most remember from when I was going through recruitment was the way I was treated, and thinking that when I go to Delta Sigma Phi, they give everyone a fair chance no matter what you look like or what your beliefs are.

be named MVP in the NFL. 4. Two current NFL coaches who are both Delta Sigs were roommates in college. 5. A Delta Sig founded the business

Bremer: In addition to what these guys said, I think what sets my chapter apart in recruiting today’s students are all of the leadership opportunities available. The fact that we have been involved on campus and visible has been an asset to our recruiting.

newspaper called Investor’s

Business Daily. 6. A Delta Sig is currently on the Supreme Court in two states. 7. Delta Sig’s tallest known alumnus is 6’6”. 8. Delta Sig alumni have the same name as ten past presidents of the U.S.

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The Carnation: What are two pieces of advice you’d give to other chapters about being successful in recruitment? Naddaf: First, never give up on a potential member. Second, get everyone involved, because the difference

that everyone working together can have as opposed to one person working by himself can be exponential. Bremer: Specifically to recruitment chairmen, just realize that planning and preparation are great, but nothing will ever go exactly according to plan. Recruitment is a lot of go with the flow, which is ok. Negrete: I’d say the first piece of advice is to know your strengths. If you are not good at approaching strangers then try talking to guys you already know. Second, don’t be afraid. The worst that can happen is someone will say no. As the interview concluded, Naddaf added one final thing that is the perfect way to end this piece: “Hopefully a lot of people will be reading this, but every university is different. You can take these ideas, and then mold them to your own campus and chapter to make them work for you.”

Do you have recruitment tips to share with brothers? Go to

The Carnation’s Facebook Fan Page to make your voice heard. We will print some of your comments in the Fall 2010 issue. Go to www.facebook.com/thecarnation.


Think back to when you were in elementary school, and you picked up the paint brush to develop your first watercolor masterpiece. If you were like many kids that age, it made you proud to be able to take it home and show your family what a great artist you were. Yet your pride was likely no match for how proud your family was. Well, it’s years and years later now, and most of us have long since put those paint brushes, colored pencils, and markers down. However, there are a great number of people who haven’t, and who make a daily living through the arts. Later in the story, we’ll tell you about a few Delta Sigs making a living and an impact in the visual arts, a chapter who annually competes in a contest related to the visual arts, and a brother who is an ardent supporter of the arts through volunteerism and philanthropy. But first, did you know that as of 2009, an Americans for the Arts study showed that there were 686,076 arts

businesses in the U.S. that employed 2.8 million creative workers? Pretty amazing, right? Did you know that the economic impact of the non-profit art industry is $166.2 billion according to another Americans for the Arts study, and that the arts generate approximately $29.6 billion in tax revenue? Did you know that only 1.4% of students with a high level of arts involvement drop out of school by grade 10, as opposed to 4.8% of students who have low arts involvement, and that in 2008, students with four years of arts classes outperformed non-arts students by 85 points on

the SAT according to a study by The College Board? The fact is that the arts are an important part of the fabric of our society. As you take a look at the following pages where we talk to some Delta Sigs either doing or supporting the visual arts specifically, we hope you’ll keep in mind how important they are, and potentially think about how they affect you on a daily basis. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thecarnation, or by e-mailing the editor at Hammond@deltasig.org.

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Now, learn more about our first Delta Sig Artist, Derek Anderson, Iowa State ’88.

DEREK ANDERSON – NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATOR For Derek Anderson, Iowa State ’88, it took a lot of time and effort to be able to make a living from his passion for illustration, and a lot of rejections too. After all of the hard work, however, Anderson has made a significant impact in his lifelong passion, as a New York Times bestselling illustrator of children’s books. Anderson’s passion for art and illustration goes back all the way to kindergarten. He had drawn a picture of an Easter Bunny, and his principal hung it on his office wall for the remainder of the school year. Proud of his accomplishment, he went on and in second grade, he recalls the first story that he was able to write, about a pirate ship. He has not stopped writing or drawing since. Growing up, while some people idolized athletes or movie stars, Anderson idolized Charles Schulz, the creator and illustrator of the Peanuts comic strip, even meeting the well known artist before he died. Anderson said, “He was so nice, but it was one of those moments where I didn’t know what to say to my idol.” As he was making his way through his young life, drawing and illustration became, and still remain, an instinctual part of his life. He has always been struck graphically by things and people, and because of this, he has looked at the world in a different way than many others. In fact, one of the things that he enjoys doing the most is people watching, because he can record little

nuances in his mind that he can then use in his illustrations in the future. Some of those nuances include things that people wear, mustaches and beards that look interesting, or the shape of a face or nose. “An illustrator’s mind needs to be like a bank, constantly storing imagery, because when we go to the easel, we can’t stop to think ‘now how does light hit the corner of the room if it’s shining from this side’,” he said. “I’m constantly looking at those things and remembering them so when I do go to the easel, it’s automatic.” His ideas and inspiration come from everyday interactions with people. He might hear something that someone is saying and turn it into the name of one of his characters, or might see something that he can utilize in one of his illustrations in the future. He carries sketchbooks often writing down ideas, and is always looking for inspiration that he can use. “If you’re a creative person, and that’s your line of work, you learn to look for ideas everywhere,” he said. And while artists may look at the world in a different way than many people, finding ideas and inspiration where others might not, Anderson is quick to point out that everyone has artistic ability early in life. He says that for some reason, a lot of people let that ability go. Kids’ imaginations are an amazing thing, and authors and illustra-

tors grow up holding on to that creativity and imagination. Anderson said, “I still have that six year old boy in me, and I look at the world with that sense of awe and wonder. When you don’t let that go, you’re constantly wondering about things, and that’s where stories come from – that curiosity.” After graduating from Iowa State with his degree in Fine Art, with an emphasis in drawing, printing and printmaking, Anderson began submitting his work to publishers in New York. It was a lot of hard work marketing his illustrations and took years and a number of rejections before he got a deal. A few years after he started his marketing efforts, he went to New York to meet with publishers face to face with a portfolio. Two weeks after that trip, he finally got his first deal, a

Copyright ©2010 Derek Anderson from the book HOT ROD HAMSTER (Scholastic Press) by Cynthia Lord and Derek Anderson 10

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Random House Step into Reading book called Ready? Set. Raymond! Quickly thereafter, he began his next project, his first picture book called Little Quack. That was when he finally hit the big leagues, as he needed to put together 20-30 illustrations in the same style, palette and character. “It was scary,” he said. “I didn’t know if I could do it, but I believed I could and pulled it off. That really set everything in motion for me.” The process for illustrating a book is an interesting one. In fact, the timeline is approximately two years from when the contract is signed until the book is ready to go. It includes conceptualizing how the characters will look, which Anderson said may take 200-300 tries before it’s exactly right. Then come the thumbnail sketches where he figures out the composition for each page, and then he develops the final sketches that he sends to the publisher. He then paints the book. Interestingly, Anderson says that his job is not just to illustrate the author’s words. “As an illustrator, your job is to bring a world to life. A lot of times, we create visual arcs within pictures that don’t exist in the words. Throughout the process, I have to keep track of every little thing in that world I created, and I’m always thinking about those small details as I’m working on the book.” He doesn’t use computers in his work. He manually draws and paints each and every illustration he does because he likes the tactile feeling of putting the brush to paper. There are no 40-hour workweeks, and really no weekends either when he’s working on a deadline. The best part about his job is the feedback he gets from kids either by e-mail on his web site or at some of the talks that he gives. The Little Quack books have been translated into nine languages, and are reaching kids all over the world. “I got an e-mail from a little girl in Japan once, and it was written in the sweetest broken English

about how she loved Little Quack, that she had three of the books and she carried them everywhere she went. That’s a really amazing thing that I am reaching a child that far away and that they’re enjoying the work,” he said. Since he began his career in illustration, New York Times Best Selling Illustrator Derek Anderson has written and/or illustrated 15 children’s books. In March, his latest book called Hot Rod Hamster came out to rave reviews. You can find more information about it in the Books by Brothers section at the end of this issue of The Carnation. That’s the power of the visual arts – the ability for them to make a difference in the lives of children and even adults who come into contact with them. Next, we’ll talk about how the Beta Pi Chapter at Michigan Technological University annually competes in the Winter Carnival’s Snow Statue Competition – another visual art that has made an impact in the local community.

BETA PI CHAPTER – ANNUAL SNOW STATUE COMPETITION DURING CAMPUS WINTER CARNIVAL Each year for the last 80 plus, the campus at Michigan Technological University has been the place to be in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula during the winter months, as the campus has held its annual Winter Carnival. During the carnival, campus organizations take part in a number of interesting contests and events, none larger than the Snow Statue Competition. Delta Sig’s Beta Pi Chapter began its involvement in the event when they were a colony, and each year since has made the statue competition an integral part of their chapter’s involvement on campus and in the community.

According to Tom Schneider, one of Beta Pi Chapter’s Statue Chairmen, “History-wise, we entered Winter Carnival and the statue competition as a colony and we won. We then earned our charter a few months afterward, so it has been a large part of our efforts ever since.” So what is the snow statue competition? It’s likely exactly what you’re picturing, except it’s probably much, much larger in scale. To put it in context, the chapter utilized approximately 160 tons of snow and water to create this year’s statue, and spent nearly 4,000 man hours to erect it. Each year, each organization participating must develop their structure based on a theme – 2010’s being Games We Know Covered in Snow. The process is led by three statue chairmen who are chosen the September prior to the event (which takes place in February) to streamline the project. These chairs draw rough sketches and site design layouts, and by the end of October, the chapter has determined its theme for their specific statue. They submit their ideas to a committee before Christmas break, and when they return to school, they work

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nearly non-stop to erect the best statue they possibly can. You’re probably wondering how they actually make such an elaborate statue. Over the years they have developed forms made of plywood where they place the snow to shape it. They call this massing it, and according to Schneider, the 10-11 days that they are massing are the most physically demanding. By the time they are massing, they’ve also put up their scaffolding, which is used to build the walls of the statue higher and higher. They use no machinery in the entire process, aside from when they need more snow to be brought to their site. After the massing period is finished, they begin slushing. They develop a slush consistency with snow and water that they use to make their walls as stiff as possible. They take the slush in five gallon buckets to the men who are working on the walls. Those men slap the slush onto the walls and then smooth it to help them stay sturdy. One week is used to do a rough slush, and then they also use the slush to do additional details on the walls and in other areas of the statue. The slushing takes up the remainder of the four weeks of the process. The whole process of developing the snow statue culminates with an all-nighter to finish the last of the work. The all-nighter is the kickoff to Winter Carnival, and is an amazing rallying point for the groups making the statues. At that point, all of the fine features are finished, and the chapter brings out its ice. The ice is used for things like ice swords, ice bananas, and suspended rope bridges made of ice.

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Most weekdays, chapter members work from 6:00 pm – Midnight, and leading up to the statue deadline the hours get longer and longer, culminating in the all-nighter the night before the statues must be completed. Every member of the chapter is expected to take part in the statue competition, and they even have a saying that has been around since the 1960s that says “If you have time for anything else, you have time for statue.” According to Schneider, “The mentality is that you’re expected to be outside working on the statue unless you’re in class or working on homework.” That just shows its importance to the chapter. The event is important to the community as well. During the Winter Carnival, mostly because of the snow statue competition, the size of the area surrounding Houghton, Michigan doubles. It’s great for tourism, and with an estimate that thousands of people come to see the statue each year, those in the Houghton area get to see some outstanding visual art created by undergraduates. Even though in 2010 the Beta Pi Chapter’s Statue, which had a theme of “When Kong Island is in Peril, DK Saves it with a Barrel”, placed second, the chapter still had an amazing experience coming together to develop it. Schneider said, “It’s one of those things that you’ve achieved this monumental task. When someone goes into their first statue, they don’t understand the significance of it. However, as the process goes along, it’s great to see them understand why it’s so important – because we’re all out there together giving it everything we have to develop the best possible statue we can. It’s a sense of pride in the chapter.” For more photos of the statue, check out the chapter’s web site at www.deltsigbetapi.org. Our next Delta Sig in the visual arts is in a little more traditional artform

than developing snow statues – photography. Check out Tom Donoghue, Missouri ’66, who has had an amazing career photographing stars in a variety of disciplines.

TOM DONOGHUE – TELLING STORIES THROUGH THE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY “Photographs are experiences captured.” – Tom Donoghue Just like all good visual art, good photography tells a story, allowing those viewing it to feel the emotions of those being photographed and capturing the essence of the moment. Tom Donoghue, Missouri ’66, began telling stories through photography while he was a junior in high school and has never stopped. While attending Farmington High School in Farmington, Michigan, he was also serving as a photographer for the Detroit Pistons basketball team and the Detroit Tigers baseball team, roles which propelled his career forward upon his graduation from the University of Missouri. Along the way, Donoghue served as the lead photographer of Hollywood Park Race Track, as the west coast photographer of the Republican Party during the 1988 presidential campaign, and in many other interesting roles.


Today, Donoghue contracts with the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to shoot all of its events, Planet Hollywood Casino and other Las Vegas venues, and the Taste of the NFL. His career has taken him from the Midwest to LA to Washington to his current home in Las Vegas, always with his trusty Nikon camera by his side helping to tell the stories of the events he covers. One of the many interesting things he’s done is his work at the Super Bowl. For the last 18 years, Donoghue has photographed it through the Taste of the NFL, the large charity event the night before the big game. The 2010 event was special for him, as his 22 year old son was back from his second tour of duty in Iraq, and through Donoghue’s work with the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, he worked it out so his son could be Miss America’s official escort throughout the Super Bowl festivities. What a story to take back to his fellow soldiers! Donoghue has photographed in a number of different genres, including entertainment, sports and politics. Among them, however, photographing sporting events is his favorite. He said the excitement of not knowing what’s going to happen next excites him and provides opportunities to really make an impact through photography. “If you can capture that one moment in your camera, you’ve got something really special and a story to tell.” His web site is littered with photographs of the rich and famous, from Mickey Mantle to Hugh Hefner, Gerald Ford to Celine Dion, but even with all of the famous and important people he has photographed, Donoghue says that photographing his sons growing up has been his most amazing experience in photography. In fact, the one most significant event he has photographed was his oldest son’s wedding. “Everything was going great, and then as I was doing close-ups of him and his wife exchang-

ing vows and rings, I realized this was my son and my eyes welled up. I couldn’t even focus anymore,” he said. “It was a great experience.” While most of us won’t ever have an experience like that as a professional photographer, many of us still want to be better in the art of photography. Donoghue had a few insights to share about the most important things to think about when taking photographs. First, having good equipment is key. He never leaves home without his Nikon Camera, which has become an extension of him and a part of his life. To show his loyalty to the brand, he named a horse and one of his golden retrievers Nikon. Second, getting up close to the subject you’re shooting and understanding that different angles give you completely different shots are important. “Sometimes, if you bend down a little bit or get up a little higher, the picture will be completely different,” he said. “Also, too many people are too far away from the subject to get a good shot. You need to get up close to capture the experience.” Lastly, help the audience feel the picture to help them understand the story you’re trying to tell. “The greatest thing is when you can tell a story through a picture, and if you can make

the audience feel a picture,” Donoghue said. “If you’re taking a photo of your parents, have them hug or look at each other, or say something funny to have them show some kind of emotion. Try to create that special moment.” By doing so, you’ll be helping the audience understand the feelings and tell them a story from that moment in time. The stories that Tom Donoghue has been able to tell throughout his career as a photographer are amazing. His photographs are on display throughout Las Vegas, and allow people a glimpse into moments that most of us could only imagine. They capture the feelings and emotion of a moment in time, and allow them to last forever. Like any artist, what else can you ask for? To see some of Tom Donoghue’s photos, check out his web site at www.donoghuephotography.com.

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From a successful photographer to an alumnus who has made helping the arts a part of his life’s passion, we’d now like to introduce you to Frank Basile, Tulane ’58.

FRANK BASILE – ARDENT SUPPORTER OF THE ARTS IN INDIANAPOLIS As we have talked about with the previous Delta Sigs, the arts really do make an impact on people. No one knows that better perhaps than Frank Basile, Tulane ’58, a retired executive who is an ardent supporter of the arts in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. While two of the brothers we highlighted have been able to make a living off their work in the arts, many organizations that support the arts struggle to get adequate funding and dedicated volunteer leadership to help make a difference in their communities. For years and years, Basile and his wife, Katrina, have supported arts organizations in Indianapolis in a number of capacities – as volunteers, Board members, philanthropically, and just as regular attendees and observers of art in the city. The couple’s support comes from their desire to make a difference for the disadvantaged and to make art available for those who otherwise would not have the opportunity to enjoy it. For Basile, that desire to make a difference stems from his childhood. “One of the reasons we lean toward art and cultural causes is that my parents were not educated; they worked most of the time and did not have the knowledge, time and money to expose my five sisters and me to art and culture while we were growing up,” he said. “I want to help ensure that others will enjoy art and culture at an early age, regardless of their

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circumstances. That’s why outreach efforts of organizations appeal to me.” Basile’s lifelong mission has been to help people realize their potential, and through their support of the arts both in outreach programs and philanthropically, the couple is helping make that happen. Take their work with the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis for example. Their main way of contributing with the school is by sponsoring programs where students work with businesses in the local area to get commissions for sculptures and paintings while they are in school. Thus, these students are getting real-world experience in the visual arts while they’re still getting their education. Basile also has served as the chairman of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the school, which is another way he’s able to make a difference for the students. Basile and his wife also work regularly with the Indianapolis Art Center. He served on the Board of the organization for over 20 years, including time as its Chairman of the Board. Also, he and his wife are heavily involved in the outreach efforts with the Center, once again helping make art available for both aspiring artists and those who want to view it. We could go on… Basile and his wife support so many arts organizations in Indianapolis that we’d need many more pages to talk about them all. However, what’s evident is that they feel strongly that the arts make an impact on people’s quality of life. “In my opinion and in the opinion of many other people, the arts add to the quality of our life,” he said. “For example, I couldn’t imagine living in a city without the opportunity to view paintings and sculptures, listen to classical and popular music, or watch plays, opera and dance performances. I think all of this adds to the quality of life for individuals and the community.” And without the support of individuals and corporations, none of these

things would happen. According to Basile, the arts don’t pay, which is why you don’t find many for-profit organizations in the business of providing arts and culture. An example is that if you were to go to the opera, the ticket price you pay only covers approximately 30-40% of the cost to stage the production. It has to be supplemented by individuals and corporations. He and his wife take in at least two art forms per week ranging from plays to art exhibits to concerts. On a daily basis they look at sculptures and paintings they have in the house. “It just adds so much to the enjoyment of life as we go on,” he said. As they do go on, their efforts will continue to add a great deal to the lives of those individuals and organizations they touch. It’s a testament to the dedication of the couple, and the importance people like Frank and Katrina Basile can make in their communities. It’s evident that Frank Basile and his wife find a tremendous value in the arts, as do the other brothers who we’ve spotlighted in this piece. When we joined the Fraternity, we heard a lot about one of the Fraternity’s core values: culture. Supporting the arts, not just the visual arts, provide an excellent way for us to live one of our organization’s core values on a daily basis. Take a moment to think about how you can be enlightened through the arts, or how you can help enlighten someone else: how you can be a better man today like these brothers who are working in the arts. Think back to your first watercolor masterpiece that you showed your family. Even though it was many, many years ago, how did it make you feel? We hope this piece helped you remember that the arts can make you feel that way again – and help you live one of the Fraternity’s core values at the same time.


Business & Finance

LEADING WITH INTEGRITY AND HONESTY MARK MCCUTCHEON, AUBURN ’74 Walking across the stage to receive your college diploma from the university president or your college’s dean is an exciting day. It’s likely that you’re even more excited when you’ll start a job soon after graduation at a great company. But how many of us walking across that stage think we’ll be with the same company 30 years into the future? Probably not many…

One person who definitely wasn’t thinking that way is Mark McCutcheon, Auburn ’74. In fact, he thought he’d only work at his current company for one year and then find a real job. But, he’s now spent the last 30 years moving up the ladder at Golden Flake Snack Foods, maker of “the South’s original potato chip.” He began as a plant supervisor and now serves as the president and CEO of the savory snack food company based in Birmingham, Alabama. In January, McCutcheon served as the luncheon speaker at Delta Sig’s Regional Leadership Academy in Atlanta. With a southern twang, and sometimes with his excitement sounding more like a Baptist preacher than a high powered CEO, he started his talk by enthusiastically telling a story about a basketball team and their goal of winning the championship. The team came out excited, and on the first play of the game they had an alley oop dunk! Unfortunately, it was in the wrong hoop, and the team ended up losing the game by one point. The moral of McCutcheon’s story to the undergraduate Delta Sigs in the room – making one mistake isn’t what keeps us from meeting our goals, just as the basketball team’s mistake at the beginning of the game wasn’t what kept them from meeting their goal. For the next 25 minutes, he preached that leadership is about making difficult decisions, while at the same time making sure that attendees remembered to lead with integrity and honesty. As the speech ended, he was surrounded by undergraduates thanking him for his advice and pledging to lead in their chapters. McCutcheon

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Business & Finance The reason McCutcheon can speak so eloquently on the topic of leadership stems from his career-long passion for bettering the company for which he works. Even with 1,000 employees, Golden Flake is known as a family organization, and McCutcheon embraces that through his continued understanding of the company’s past. He also understands and respects the traditions of those leaders who have come before him in the company. In fact, the president before him was also an Auburn alumnus, and is a mentor to him. That family atmosphere that has been the culture of the company since its founding shines through in McCutcheon’s approach to leading his employees and taking care of them. He lives by a three word philosophy that he asks all of his staffers to live by as well – the three F’s. “If you put these things in this order, all will be good,” he said. “It’s your faith first, family second, and every ounce of energy you have left for Flake.” The philosophy is one that permeates throughout the entire company, and one that shows that while Golden Flake is important, it’s not more important than your faith or your family. The company’s culture is one that is embraced, as even with 30 years of time with Golden Flake, he is 75th on the seniority list with the company. “I just had a woman retire who had been here since 1945, so I’m not the weird one here with 30 years of seniority,” he said. The culture that we just spoke of has been embraced by the employees because they feel as though they are a part of a family at work. Essentially, Flake = a work family… And there’s a reason they feel that way – Golden Flake has never laid an employee off from one of its plants. Yes, you read that correctly. Not one employee has been laid off. The fact is that when people leave the company, it’s usually because of retirement or attrition, hence McCutcheon’s 75th place on the seniority list with 30 years of experience. With the economy the way it is, the easy thing to do in order to continue to be successful is to lay off some workers to take expenses off the top.

McCutcheon with several brothers from his home chapter at the 2010 Atlanta Regional Leadership Academy

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McCutcheon and the other leaders at Golden Flake have resisted the urge to do so, and their employees have embraced them for that. The other thing that employees find comforting with McCutcheon and the other company leaders is that they have all been in the employees’ shoes. McCutcheon started by working at a plant, and understands the business from the bottom level all the way to the C Suite. “Not just me, but other officers can all run a sales route or run a production line,” McCutcheon said. “I may not do it well, but I can certainly do it. I give credit to my predecessors who allowed me to learn all those things. I was able to work every shift and go start a new plant at the age of 29 in Ocala, Florida. I think there’s no doubt that having those experiences gives us as leaders more credibility with the employees.” Speaking of his fellow company leaders, McCutcheon works well with them also. His philosophy is to let them run their area without interference. “I tell them you may have gone to the left, and I may have gone to the right, but as long as we get to the end goal, it really doesn’t matter.” The great thing for McCutcheon and the company is that they have met those end goals much more often than they haven’t. Even in the very difficult economic times that the country has experienced in the last year and a half, Golden Flake, and the snack food industry as a whole, has done very well. According to McCutcheon, it’s because they have such a loyal customer base that wants comfort food. They don’t eat out as much, and take their lunch to work or school. That works well for Golden Flake, as they provide a great product for a great value for what they sell. “We’ve had some of our best growth in tough economic times,” he said. “We’re spending more in capital expenditures than we have in the last ten years. We’ve been blessed and are certainly bucking the trend with how a lot of other businesses are doing in these times.” Right now, you might be asking yourself why Golden Flake has been able to be successful, and why people aren’t eating Lays or Ruffles or one of the brands from the bigger companies like Frito-Lay. It’s simple according to McCutcheon – Golden Flake has created a niche with their customers through their unique flavors and quality. “As an example, if Frito-Lay were to make a hot potato chip and sold it in Louisiana, it probably wouldn’t be hot enough,” he said. “However, that same chip in Illinois would burn someone’s mouth. That makes them have to make more of a generic flavor, while we can tailor it for the unique tastes of our customers. We often do blind taste tests in areas where we don’t even sell our snacks, and we win! It’s because of our attention to taste and quality.” In addition to flavor and quality, the company has had a long-standing relationship with the two major universities in the state, Alabama and Auburn, as well as the SEC as a


whole, serving as one of the sponsors for each entity for a number of years. In Alabama’s case, the relationship started 50 years ago, and was followed by Auburn a few years later. In the 1980s, the company became a sponsor for the entire SEC to show its commitment to the southeastern part of the United States. Because of the fact that football is king in the South, and tailgating is a huge part of the football experience, Golden Flake placed itself in the perfect location for visibility and exposure for its products. In addition, the footprint of the SEC fits almost exactly with the footprint of the company, making it a win-win relationship. Even with tailgating being a huge part of their business, McCutcheon proudly talks about the fact that all of the company’s products are trans fat free and cooked in vegetable oil. However, there is one big exception to that – the company’s pork skins. They are big business for Golden Flake, which is the second largest brand of pork skins in the United States behind only Frito-Lay. At the same time, the company is working hard to make its products healthier, but also feels that moderation is just as important. “We’ve reduced salts on products and try to do the best we can to make our products healthier. The biggest thing we’ve done is introduce 100 calorie packs, so junior can have the real stuff but have portion control,” he said. “We believe that there are no junk foods, only junk diets.” Under McCutcheon’s leadership, the company has also embraced making the environment healthier with its Green is Golden initiative. The company reuses its shipping delivery cartons as many as eight times, which then go to the cardboard recycler. Between its two plants, the company is also keeping about 30 million pounds of waste out of landfills by providing its wet waste to cattle and its dry waste to a chicken feed additive. According to McCutcheon, the only thing that’s not recyclable at this point in the process is the bag, and their packaging folks are working on that as we speak. Most recently, the company put in a waste treatment facility at its main plant where they treat their process water and put it into a downtown Birmingham industrial creek to help clean it up. “In fact, this technology is so amazing that we may be able to chlorinate it and reuse the water,” McCutcheon said. “We don’t make a big deal about our recycling and reuse program. It’s just something that we do.” As you can see, Mark McCutcheon is a business leader working hard to enhance his company. But he’s also someone who makes time to give back to the community. His focus is on kids and youth, as he works with the Boy Scouts, Junior Achievement, and Campus Outreach. He also works with the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and as a company representative with the United Way to ensure that the company is represented in making a difference.

McCutcheon speaking to the Atlanta Regional Leadership Academy crowd.

Even though he wasn’t thinking he’d be at Golden Flake for 30 years when he was walking across the stage at his college graduation, his family of coworkers and the community at-large are happy that he made the decision to stick around. A leader with strong Alabama roots, Mark McCutcheon was right on when he was talking to the crowd at Delta Sig’s Regional Leadership Academy – leadership is difficult, but you can meet your goals if you work together and lead with integrity and honesty. Mark McCutcheon is one of three members of his family to join the Kappa Chapter of Delta Sigma Phi. His brother, David, joined in 1970, and while Mark was an undergraduate, the chapter initiated Mark and David’s father, who was a pledge when he went off to fight in World War II. Mark resides in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife of 32 years, Terri. They have two daughters – Meagan, who is a graduate of Auburn, and Whitney, who is a graduate student at Auburn.

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Health & Fitness A Delta Sig’s Efforts

BEFORE AND AFTER THE

EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI We all know about the devastation that hit the impoverished country of Haiti following the earthquake in January. It was yet another setback for a country that is the poorest in the western hemisphere. We also heard a lot about those who went to Haiti to help with the relief efforts in Port-au-Prince, and the celebrities who lent their name and stature to the numerous telethons to raise money for the victims. One person you probably didn’t hear much about is a Delta Sig named Del Worthington, USC ’75, who has been traveling to the country since 2003. For six years, Worthington, who is an orthopedic surgeon by trade, has gone to Haiti twice per year for around two weeks at a time working at the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, located in Saint Louis du Nord, about 140 miles northwest of Port-au-Prince. About a week following the earthquake, Worthington made his way to the mission to provide support, and he spoke with The Carnation about not only the earthquake, but his whole experience working in Haiti. The Carnation: Tell us about the mission. Worthington: The mission has been there for 30 years, and it has an extensive network of programs. It has a nutrition program, a birthing center, a school for kids, and outreach churches throughout the northwestern part of the country. It also has the medical program, and I go in and do orthopedic surgeries. We’ve built two operating

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rooms down there through volunteer support, and we get a group of other doctors, nurses, technicians, and other volunteers to take care of patients for two weeks at a time.

Del Worthington with one of his patients in Haiti.

The Carnation: Can you tell us more about the people and what you see while there? Worthington: The mission is located in one of the most impoverished areas in Haiti. The people are desperate. I see starvation. I see terrible diseases. I see people who have had fractures for years who have never been treated because they can’t get anyone to take care of them. At the same time, the people there are also exceedingly gracious, are appreciative, and have huge open hearts welcoming people who are there to help them.

The Carnation: Can you tell us a story of an inspiring person that you’ve met while there? Worthington: On one of my early trips, someone came up to me and said “I’ve got a friend who has two broken legs. Can you help him?” He had gone to one of the hospitals in Haiti, and they had turned him away because he couldn’t pay. In the back of a pickup truck, he went to a second hospital a long way away from where he lived, and they turned him away because they didn’t have any orthopedic doctors. He then came to our mission, in the back of a pickup truck, with two broken legs. He had a hip fracture on one side, a broken leg on the other side, and we did surgery on him. Following the surgery, he had a number of fevers, and it turns out he had malaria. So, I had to treat his malaria at the same time. We also had to give him blood transfusions. Haiti doesn’t have a blood bank, so the missionaries gave their blood to give to him. At the end of the whole thing, he was inspired by the people at the mission who were taking care of him. He suddenly began feeling guilty because he had been living with a woman who wasn’t his wife, and he decided to get married to her. We had the whole wedding ceremony at the mission. I still see him when I go down there. In fact, when I went down in January, I stopped by his house and he and his wife are doing fine.


The Carnation: Talk about how you feel about the impact you’re making in your efforts there. Worthington: I go down there and work really hard, but the need is so big, so sometimes I feel like I’m not really doing very much. But, to those individuals, it’s something that is helpful. The last time I was down there, I didn’t feel like I was treating that many people, but I did treat some terrible infections and some people who showed up very ill whose lives we saved. If I hadn’t been there, they’d be dead. While it wasn’t a lot of people, it was still people. The Carnation: How does it make you feel to be making this difference? Worthington: I feel like I get more out of it than they do. It’s really enriching to go down there for everyone on the team, and I think universally when people begin going down there, they feel like they’re getting more than they’re giving. It really makes me feel grateful for the opportunity. The Carnation: Let’s talk about the earthquake that happened in January. What was your first reaction when you heard about it? Worthington: Having been in Port-auPrince many times and having seen the construction there, I was hearing the news reports and knew how devastating it would be. I usually go to Haiti in April, and my immediate thought was that when I went in April 2010, I’d be seeing patients that would need treatment that had not been treated. The Carnation: How did you going down in January come about, and what was it like trying to get to the mission? Worthington: I got some calls to go to Port-au-Prince, which is not what I wanted to do because it’s not where I usually work and I didn’t think I could do anything there. Some of the people from the mission had gone there to help, and a week later, people from Port-au-

The Northwest Haiti Christian Mission

Worthington in the operating room in Haiti

Prince started filtering up to the mission for assistance. The mission called me, and I went down to offer my assistance about a week after the earthquake. We couldn’t go through Port-auPrince to get there, so we had to find a different route. We flew to Miami and then to the islands of Turks & Caicos. From Turks & Caicos, we chartered a plane and flew to Cape Haitien, which is a city in northern Haiti. From there, we found some volunteer pilots who had come from the United States with their small planes. They flew us over closer to the mission, and we took a truck from there. It took a couple days to get there.

Worthington: I saw some people who were trapped in the earthquake, and they were very psychologically traumatized, as well as physically traumatized. I also saw a lot of the disease rate go up for people in the area of the mission, since most of the food comes in through Port-au-Prince, and none of that was making its way to the area. The malnourished lost the little bit of food they were getting. A lot of the women in the birthing center started premature labor because of their physical and psychological stress. The stress level was just very high, and the amount of sickness was worse than it usually is.

The Carnation: What were your first impressions when you arrived? Worthington: A lot of the people who had been waiting were dead. That was sombering. My first impression was that it was like their 9/11. I went to New York within a few days after 9/11, and you could really sense how somber everything was. That’s how it was in Haiti – the entire country.

The Carnation: Is there a message that you’d give to other Delta Sigs about the importance of getting involved to make a difference for others? Worthington: I don’t necessarily think what I’m doing is for everybody, but I think it’s important for people to give back to the community. I think we learn that through the Fraternity, and we learn that through life, and this is one of the ways that I do it.

The Carnation: Was there any damage in the area of the mission? Worthington: The people in the area felt the earthquake, but there wasn’t much damage to speak of, aside from a crack in one of the walls of the mission. The Carnation: Tell us about some of the people you saw.

Del Worthington is a 1975 initiate of the Alpha Phi Chapter at USC, and currently resides in Phoenix with his wife, Diana. They have four kids ranging in age from 15-24. His father, Bill, was a 1953 initiate of the Beta Omega Chapter at the University of Arizona.

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Health & Fitness

Using TECHNOLOGY to AID

Children with

AUTISM

David Franks and his wife Deok Soon, pose with children Jacob (back row), Joshua, Hannah and Grace. Joshua, Hannah and Grace all suffer from varying degrees of autism.

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Did you know that today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined? It’s true according to Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization. A total of 1.5 million individuals are affected by the disorder, and these numbers continue to climb, making autism and its related developmental brain disorders a point of emphasis for many researchers and doctors across the country and world. However, it’s not all researchers and doctors who are doing their part to help children with this disorder. Dave Franks, East Carolina ’79, who in his day job is a producer and director at U.S. Animation Sales, is doing his part by trying to bring an interactive program to market that is meant to help autistic children better learn to communicate. Along with a team of others, Franks has been working to develop his interactive program, called Robo Rocket, with a goal of further assisting autistic children to develop their speech, communication and understanding of the English Language. Franks has a vested interest in doing so. His family is affected by autism daily, as three of his four children have been diagnosed with it. This has made him a fervent supporter of research that’s being done, and caused him to try to do his part to help children afflicted with the disorder. “I never would have designed this program if it had not been for my children. Seeing the effects of autism everyday has changed me,” he said. “Now, the development and creation of our software has become a life goal. All of my training and experience is needed for the development of this program.” The program Franks and his team members have developed helps build a foundation for the child by engaging them with animated characters and interactive learning modules, allowing them to learn letters, vowel sounds, words and their meanings, and pronunciations. The child is interacting with the software, thus engaging and developing their speech and language skills at their pace. You might be asking yourself why an interactive program like this is necessary. According to Franks, it’s because while speech therapy can be effective, sometimes children aren’t receptive to learning at the time the therapy appointment is taking place. “We have taken our children to speech therapy, but the problem with that is it takes a lot of therapy to have even minimal results, and at $75 per half hour, this becomes quite

expensive,” he said. “Also, we noticed that the time we had scheduled was not always the time that our children were receptive to receiving speech therapy.” In addition, as many of our readers can attest, children become bored easily, causing them to tune out a therapy tool that might not be as interactive as say, a movie or cartoon. “My family has bought other products on the market, and has found that these products are not tuned to the needs of our children,” he said. “Our children lose interest in them after just a couple of uses, and then the learning opportunity stops completely, rendering the programs useless. Our children love watching animated movies and television shows, and are very receptive to using computers, preferring edutainment that uses animated characters.” While Franks and his team have the idea, design, and manpower to make this project happen, they are still in the funding stage to be able to get it off the ground. While in this phase, however, they have a high powered ally on their side that has seen the product and signed on to help – Harvard University. “Harvard University has seen our design for the language program and has agreed to assist in the testing, affecting the design to maximize the achievable results for autistic children,” he said. “Everyone that learns about the program has loved it, especially the schools, parents and providers for autistic children.” The launch of the product can’t happen soon enough for Franks, as his children continue to deal with the difficulties brought on by autism. He has made helping autistic children his life’s calling, and this project is one that he feels can enhance these children’s life experiences quickly and efficiently. “These children need help now, not later,” he said. “They are our future. We can provide them with the tools now to help them succeed in life.” If you’re interested in talking with Dave Franks about his efforts to bring his product to market, or just to learn more, you can reach out to him at david@usanimationsales.com or (919) 961-6063. For more information about all of the research that’s being done to combat autism, visit Autism Speaks’ web site at www.autismspeaks.org.

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Health & Fitness FROM THE COUCH TO A MARATHON:

Tips to Train Without INJURY By Keith Cecil, MS, CSCS, Transylvania ’99

Have you ever considered running a 5K, half-marathon, or even a full marathon? Perhaps you used to be more active, ran when you were younger and want to try to get back in shape. Odds are you absolutely can. There are many marathon runners that didn’t run a mile until they were well into their 40s or 50s. If running is something that interests you, read on. This article will provide you great advice to get started. Even if your current activity level’s apex is stalking for the nearest parking spot to walk into a fast food joint, you can start making incremental changes to experience a more fit, active, and healthy lifestyle through running. Before you get going, an important question to address as you begin a distance training program is what is your motivation? Are you fulfilling a life-long dream to tackle the feat of completing a marathon? Are you trying to shed some pounds and strengthen your cardiovascular health? There are as many reasons for running as there are runners, but it is important to identify what drives you so you can persevere when you face foul weather, sore muscles, and the temptations of quitting. Identify your goal and motivation and keep a constant reminder of this. When you are

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feeling low, or that you might cut your run just a little short, remind yourself why you started this process. The most important place to start this journey is with your health care provider, and a full physical exam to ensure you are ready for a distance running training program. Your physician may clear you to begin immediately or recommended a few steps to take before you begin. Either way, this is an invaluable and essential step in implementing any type of exercise program. Even if running is not recommended by your physician, there countless alternative exercises to help you reach your fitness goals. Once cleared by your physician, your first stop is the local running specialty store for the right pair of running shoes. It is important to select a running specialty store over your local sporting goods store to have a professional shoe fitting. There are many different brands and styles of shoe to fit all types of feet. You may want to consider custom inserts that conform to the shape of your feet. For those with high arches, flat feet, or other types of special needs, orthotics may be something to consider. Even if you already have a good pair of shoes, you still should drop by a running specialty store to make sure your shoes

are right for you, and that they still have responsive and supportive midsoles (400-500 miles maximum) for the miles you will be putting on them. Your body will thank you in the long run! (Pun intended…) As you progress in your training program, you may want to revisit the running specialty store to consider investing in other types of running gear. There are a multitude of options to help you continue to train and perform in all types of weather conditions. There are breathable, moisture-wicking shirts, shorts, and socks to keep you cool and dry on hot days, and wind resistant thermal gear to keep you warm on cooler days. Also, pick up some reflective gear for early morning, or evening runs, when the sun is down. There are a variety of great resources online to do everything from track and plan your running route, to logging your miles, to getting more information about improving and advancing your training program. You can find everything from applications for your mobile phone to track your miles and give you motivation, to precise training regimens. Use these great resources; however, always consider the source. A runner’s forum is not the place to seek medical advice,


but it might be just the place to research reviews of a new products or area races. Bottom line, the Internet is an invaluable resource if you use it wisely. Running is a fabulous cardiovascular exercise that burns calories and builds lean muscle. However, if you are serious about achieving long-distances you should pair your running with complimentary resistance training and flexibility exercises. The best investment you can make toward advancing as a runner is investing in a few personal training sessions at a local gym. Find a personal trainer with whom you feel comfortable sharing your physical strengths and limitations, as well as your goals. Discuss a resistance training program to build the necessary strength to balance the muscles required for running. Learn to properly use the machines and free weights, and discuss the proper intensity of your program. A few sessions with a certified personal trainer at the outset of your new regimen will give your body the capacity needed to gain real miles and prevent serious injury. Reputable certifications to look for in a trainer include the NSCA-CPT and CSCS, ACSM, ACE, and AFAA. As you begin running you will need to pay increased attention to your nutrition. Increasing miles means burning more calories. Even if you are trying to shed some pounds, you should consume enough calories to maintain adequate energy levels throughout the workouts. Be sure to eat regular, well-balanced meals. Incorporate lean meats, vegetables, fruits, and plenty of water into your diet. It is very important to eat right, and stay hydrated when you are expending a great deal of energy through distance running. Even if you do not feel hungry, you still need to replace the calories you are burning through running. When you are ready to start your training, be sure to find a great training program that will take you through a

day-to-day regimen to help you get to your goals. Many of these programs are based around the principle of starting slow, while progressing through interval training to prepare your body for longer distances each time you run. You might want to find a partner or a group to train with to provide motivation, camaraderie, and for safety purposes. Also, remember to get a brief warm up and some light stretching prior to your run and some nice static stretching following your run. Stretching can reduce muscle tightness and increase your range of motion. When running, remember to keep a comfortable pace, especially if you are just starting out. Also, remember to utilize your off day. You will need this to recover, so you can progress to a greater distance the next day and not put yourself at risk for injury. But be sure to listen to your body. It will tell you if you need extended rest, or if you need to see a doctor or possibly a sports medicine specialist. Distance running is hard work, but if you enjoy the journey, it will take you to great places. Be sure to track your progress. There are several

acceptable tracking devices online that you can use to record your workouts. I hope the information here provides a roadmap of how to get started running and possibly even achieve your goals of completing a marathon. If you start at the beginning and follow the steps, you will identify exactly where you need to start and how to make safe and surprising progress toward that first marathon. Remember, this is a lifestyle change and you should be prepared to commit the time and effort needed. Keep challenging yourself and your body, but remember to seek qualified professional assistance along the way. Training for marathons is a serious undertaking that will require serious commitment and investment; however successful training and completing that first marathon will provide inexplicable pride and adventure. Keith Cecil serves as the Assistant Director of Fitness and Wellness, Strength and Conditioning Coach, and Assistant Tennis Coach at his alma mater, Transylvania University. He resides in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Leadership & Education

RETURN ON

HUMAN INVESTMENT Raising our View of People and Their Possibilities By Jim Lucas, Missouri S&T ’69

We’re all familiar with risk in the financial world, but we want to talk here about organizational risk and personal risk. Have you learned more in your life from mistakes or from your successes? Most people say from their mistakes, but how much good do mistakes do in organizations? They are like… evil! We all “know” that we shouldn’t make any mistakes. With that mindset, instead of trying to learn from our mistakes, we bury them. At Luman we talk about making Intelligent Mistakes™ – mistakes that come from trying something new, trying something different, burning the box, moving beyond the status quo. Maybe the new idea didn’t quite work the way we had hoped, but there is still a lot of value to be gained. For example, there may have been five things we learned from the effort that we wouldn’t have learned otherwise. We can even take this to higher level and celebrate mistakes – the ultimate pathway to learning and growth. You certainly know that high expectations are critical – they make high performance possible. However, you have to have high tolerance too, because we are all human and imperfect and we simply make mistakes. So here’s a paradox: high tolerance is what makes high expectations tolerable. If I am in an environment that has high expectations and there is no safety net, I know instinctively that if I make a mistake it could be a career-limiting move. I assure you, I am not going to take any chances at all. I will not make any attempts at changing things for the better in that area at all. It’s just not a smart thing to try. And so, that means, especially in tough times, that we can end up in one of four categories: • First, there are a lot of people right now who are Cynics – which is terrible. They say to themselves, “I don’t see how it’s ever going to get better” or “There is no use trying to change things.” This is not an okay place to be, because this mindset creates frustration, aloofness, and finally hopelessness. They’ll take no chances. It’s contagious and will spread through an entire department and organization. • Second, there are Skeptics. They think, “Well, I’d like it to be better, but I don’t quite see how.” That attitude is okay as long as they don’t plan to stay there. They’ll

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take a few chances. It’s okay to have a few skeptics in the organization, but what you really want in tough times are lots of a third group… • Supporters. These are the people who are going to try to help you build something special in the midst of all the challenges and problems that we’re facing today. They’ll take real chances. And if you’re really lucky you will retain some… • Visionaries, the fourth and highest category. These are the people that say, “Take a risk”, “Maybe we could try that”, and “Surely we could do this.” They are the ones who propose real change, like “Let’s spend less time over here so we can spend more time on this new idea over there.” They’ll explore the future and try it on for size. Now, this is where I’m going to bother you just a little bit. This is where we’re really limited in getting more out of people and getting them to really put more of themselves and who they are into the operation. I have seen that there’s four ways leaders look at people, and these viewpoints help create cynics, skeptics, supporters, or visionaries. The first way came out of double-entry bookkeeping, created in the 1400s. Back then how much was an individual human being worth? If you weren’t a king or queen, what were you worth? Not much. So is it any surprise human beings came out as costs? If I buy a desk, that is valuable. If I hire a person and train them, it’s an expense. And so we say people are important, but we end up treating them as costs. I would like to see this change in how we figure things in the accounting world. This “cost” notion gets played out in a lot of ways. One is the infamous “Bell Curve” of human performance. You get to say to most of your people, “Wow, you are really average! In fact, you’re one of the best average people we have!” Not a formula for success. About 50 years ago we wanted to get around that idea of “cost” a little bit, so we said, people are a valuable human _______________. It’s an ‘R’ word. Resources. Okay, we’re getting better. What do we do with a resource? We use it up. Use it up? “Abbey, we’re really glad you’re coming to work for us and we intend to use you up.” I just don’t know about this. I know I don’t want to be a resource to be used up.


So, as progress would have it, about 15 years ago we tried to improve on that. People became our most important _____________. It’s an A word. Asset. What do you do with an asset? Is that appreciate? No, we depreciate it. Doesn’t that sound like just the kind of job we all want to get? They are going to use me up for my useful life and then something else is going to happen – I am going to be depreciated! All of these ways of viewing people can’t help but be demeaning. In fact, I think they’re just terrible. I’ve been encouraging people all over the world to change the name of the “Human Resource” department to something different. Instead of using terms like human capital, human assets, and human resources, here it is: I urge you to view people as investors. I challenge you to start the mindset shift in your organization with a change in the name of your HR department – to the HI or Human Investment department. People as investors. This vantage point gives us a whole new perspective. Just as a company tries to create an attractive place where people want to invest their money, so it should do the same so people will invest their lives. We can view them as investing themselves and the best of who they are, the best of the ideas they can contribute. I see people who are totally creative, resourceful, and energized when they are working on hobbies, remodeling their home environments, devoting themselves to volunteer activities, pouring themselves into church activities, and so on. Then they enter the workplace and they aren’t permitted to do anything. They can’t try anything new, and they can’t take any risks. Here’s the problem. If a leader thinks you are a cost, resource, or asset, do you know what their question is? “How do I get more out of you?” This is not a very uplifting question. But, if a leader thinks you are an investor, the question changes to “How do I create an environment, how do I design a culture, how do I

put together a team where you are more likely to invest everything you are into it?” It’s about generating a high Return on Human Investment™ or ROHI™. This view gives us a whole new target, something to replace the Bell Curve. Why shouldn’t we want 95% of our people investing , performing, delivering results, adding value? We’ll always have 5% over on the left. Great leaders move the bulk of their people all the way to the right. They provide a culture that provides the freedom for the majority of their people to deliver results. These performance percentages are what Luman calls The Rule of the 95 and the 5™. Here’s how it plays out. My daughter was a high school teacher. She noted, “If you have 30 kids in class and one that’s kind of a bad apple, if you’re not careful, you can spend the whole semester working on the bad apple rather than on the 29 that could really get a lot out of you as a teacher.” We can do that as leaders as well. Do you know where a lot of policies and procedures come from? Some are necessary, but many are put in place when somebody makes a mistake. We don’t have the courage to deal with the mistake so we create a policy that applies to everybody. Who do you think follows the new policy, the 5 or the 95? The 95 of course. Who still tries to get around it anyway? The 5! We would be much better off focusing on elevating the 95 and taking a hit from the 5 than spending all our energies on the 5 and rigidly over-controlling the 95. That’s the bottom line of how leadership works best. Knowing leaders say, “This is what we need as a result.” They give plenty of latitude, the broadest possible boundaries, and leave it up to their people to achieve the results. Football legend Vince Lombardi said, “Those who have invested the most will be the last to surrender.” That is what leaders and organizations really need, what you really need. People who have invested the most and who won’t give up! This means that as a leader, you should find ways to encourage people to take more personal risk. Why? Because they want to make your organization great, and you’ve made it safe, really safe, for them to try. In the future, there’s no Investor like people who fully invest themselves into excellence. Create the environment, send them the invitation, and watch excellence soar! James R. (Jim) Lucas is an acclaimed author, popular speaker and recognized authority on leadership, culture design and organizational development. He is president and CEO of Luman International, a firm that for more than twenty-five years has worked with thousands of leaders to build Passionate, Thinking, Pure-Performance Organizations™. This article is supported by Jim’s new books The Passion Principle and The Attraction Principle, which are now available. To order copies for your team or organization visit www.lumaninternational.com.

SPRING 2010

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Tech Trends

USING GPS TO MEASURE THE POTENTIAL FOR

EARTHQUAKES By Brendan Crowell, Georgia Tech ‘04, Ph.D. Student in Geophysics

Did you know that the San Andreas fault system moves almost two inches per year! While this does not seem like much, it is my job to measure exactly how much it moves and the implications for large earthquakes in southern California. We like to say that the San Andreas fault is currently 10 months pregnant, because the last great earthquake along the southern segment of the San Andreas was in the 1600s. Many public outreach programs have been taking

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place in California to prepare major metropolitan areas for the big one (see http://www.shakeout.org). Currently, I am in my third year of my Ph.D. program at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in sunny San Diego, California studying geophysics. Geophysics, in short, is the use of data and models to understand the underlying physics and composition of the Earth. Geophysicists study everything from oil and mineral mining, the magnetic field


of the Earth, earthquakes, volcanos, tsunamis, groundwater flow, features on other planets, and features at the depths of our oceans. My research centers on using Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements to study the earth. Over the past 15 years, scientists have been permanently installing GPS antennas all across the United States and world. There was a great push five years ago to install 800+ more GPS stations in a project called EarthScope, which also included installing hundreds of seismometers and strainmeters, as well as drilling a hole into the San Andreas fault. Around this time, many of the permanently installed GPS stations upgraded to transmitting data in real-time to look for rapid events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and landslides, as well as to help surveyors in the construction and farming industries map out their projects with greater accuracy. The measurements that we take are much more accurate than the GPS measurements that you get on your handheld GPS devices because we use multiple broadcast frequencies and other processing techniques. We are able to measure latitude, longitude and altitude as accurate as a quarter inch. Because of this accuracy, we are able to track very small changes in the movements of different faults. During a large earthquake for example, a fault can slip greater than 10 feet, and someone can measure the fault slip with a ruler. There are exponentially more small earthquakes than large earthquakes, for which a fault might only slip an inch or two, which is why we need to monitor faults continuously with GPS. For a point of reference, the recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti produced between 6 and 9 feet of slip along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault, and the magnitude 9.2 Indonesian earthquake in 2004 produced maximum slip up to 60 feet. My main research project looks at how earthquakes along small faults in southern California actually add stress to the San Andreas fault. We do this by surveying hundreds of small metal discs called benchmarks with GPS, and look at the change of position over many years. You may have seen surveyors around construction sites set up their tripods on these monuments to measure the relative position of the building to property lines. From the change in position of the different monuments, we are able to measure how much different parts of the Earth’s crust are being deformed, and how much motion is occurring along every fault. The San Andreas fault system is very complex because it represents a change from a fault system with tension (pulling apart) into one that has lots of shear motion (side to side). We have noticed that a few faults in the Salton Sea have had a great deal of anomalous motion recently, which is transferring

stress to the southern San Andreas, heightening its risk for rupturing. Another research project that I am working on involves using real-time GPS data to supplement an earthquake early warning system currently underway for southern California using seismometers. The concept of earthquake early warning is fairly simple: if you record the earthquake at the starting location, this information can be transferred to cities before the seismic waves get there. If an earthquake were to occur on the southern San Andreas fault, the seismic waves would take upwards of 70-90 seconds to reach the Los Angeles Basin. By looking at the first few seconds of the earthquake recorded at GPS and seismic stations near the epicenter, we can potentially characterize what the magnitude and the amount of shaking in a given area before the earthquake strikes populated areas. GPS has the advantage over seismometers in that GPS measures the actual displacement of the ground during an earthquake, whereas seismometers only measure either the velocity or acceleration of the ground. Seismometers are however, much more precise instruments, so the combination of the two measurements can provide a robust system that will have fewer false alarms, increasing public confidence and awareness. While most people don’t think a minute of warning time is enough, this amount of warning can prove very valuable for the automatic shut down of trains, bridges, gas lines and power plants, as well as provide a physical warning to schools and municipal buildings. Also, emergency agencies could be notified of where the most damage took place to better help those in need. In most cases, simply getting under a desk is the difference between life and death. If you do live in an earthquake prone area, make sure you know the safe areas of your home. People usually don’t get hurt from the actual earthquake, but from structures collapsing and objects falling. Don’t hang things above your bed. Secure bookshelves and other tall pieces of furniture. Use earthquake locks on your kitchen cabinets. And finally, stay calm. Make sure you read the recommendations from FEMA for more suggestions (http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_during.shtm). With all of the recent earthquake issues hitting Haiti and Chile, we thought this story would be timely and relevant for our audience. Also, it provides some information about how one Delta Sig is making a difference in his graduate school studies.

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Sports A CRADLE OF HIGH SCHOOL

FOOTBALL COACHES The stories flew around the room like stealth bombers – you weren’t sure where they were coming from or what was coming next. Memories were exchanged… Information came to light, some of which can’t be printed in these pages… Adventures from years ago were told (and probably embellished a little)… It was like they had gone back in time and what they were talking about just happened yesterday. In reality, it happened 30-40 years ago when these men were undergraduates. On February 22, The Carnation, with the help of fellow alumnus Delbert Christensen, Morningside ’71, brought together three Delta Sigs to talk about their excellent careers as coaches at small Midwestern high schools. In the coming pages you’ll find out more about their careers, how they promote accountability and teach leadership, all the while promoting Delta Sig’s mission by helping their high school players be better men.

THE PARTICIPANTS: • Curt Bladt, Morningside ’65 •Tracy Hirt, Morningside ’74 • Rex Mehrhoff, Morningside ’75 The Carnation: What made you want to become a coach? Hirt: I knew I was going to do it from the start. When I was in high school, I was mentoring over at the elementary school. Being from Iowa City, with the tremendous facilities there, I had the ability to watch all of the amazing

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athletes come through, which was great. We all love sports and were raised competing in sports, and I just knew that coaching was for me. Bladt: I actually stopped by Harlan while I was on my way to St. Louis, Missouri for an interview. I looked at the newspaper, and saw they had an opening for a Biology teacher, and didn’t get any further. (Laughs) The football coach at that point was also from my hometown, and while there wasn’t any space on the football staff that first year, the next year I began as an assistant coach. I did start as wrestling coach that first year though. Mehrhoff: I got into coaching because I can’t keep my opinions to myself. It seemed like a natural fit. I can’t get my classroom kids to listen to me, but I can get the athletes to listen to me. (Laughs) Actually, I sat out a year from coaching, but I just couldn’t stay away from it. It gets in your blood, and then the fact that you can work with great kids is a bonus. The Carnation: How has coaching changed since you first started in the business? Bladt: They’ve changed rules a lot since we started coaching. The emphasis on trying to knock guys out of the game is gone now, which makes

the game a lot more fun for the kids and for us as coaches. Hirt: I think things have not changed as far as the game itself, because you still just want them to go out there and hit and tackle. The biggest change is not the kids – it’s the parents. The last four years you can see the changes in parents in what they expect from their kids and how they handle the game. You have to be a little more hands on with them now than you used to. The thing I have always stayed true to is the mantra of being honest. We always told our kids “if you wonder why you’re not playing and you can’t figure it out, come in the room with your position coach, and we’ll tell you exactly why it is. You may not like hearing it, but we’ll tell you exactly what’s going on.” The Carnation: How are today’s high school students different than they were 10, 15, or even 20 years ago? Hirt: You know, athletes know what coaches expect from them. I’d say kids are more open today. They like to joke with you a little bit more, and they also want you to talk with them a little more. I think the kids today want leadership, because a lot of them don’t have dads anymore. They’re looking for a male figure to take care of them. They come to us for advice,


and we know we’re important for that reason. Bladt: They read you really well. You’d better not be a phony, because they’ll see through that instantly. You have to be very honest with them. Also, they’ve got all these electronic devices like cell phones and the (Nintendo) DS’, but you just have to deal with that. The other thing is that they come in and say “Coach, I don’t think I’m going to play anymore. I want to get a job so I can get a car.” I try to talk them into staying, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. The Carnation: How are you able to teach accountability to your young men, and have them hold one another accountable? Mehrhoff: Especially with our upperclassmen, we tell them that it’s up to them to show the younger guys through positive enforcement what they learned from those that came before them. We put accountability then on the underclassmen to pay attention when we’re working with them. They’re accountable to be at practice and weightlifting everyday, and for some of them, it’s the first time they’ve been held accountable for anything. It’s a lesson that we hope they learn through our efforts. Bladt: An example of senior leadership and accountability is something that happened this past year. We had this one player who was really good. He was a middle linebacker who played offensive tackle the year before. He really wanted to be a fullback, but we’d never really had a 6’5”, 240 pound fullback before that could run 4.7. I said that if he could find somebody to take his place and do an adequate job on the offensive line, I’d let him try fullback. He spent the entire summer with a couple kids who shared

the offensive tackle position, and we moved him back to fullback. He was a pretty good hammer. The Carnation: Talk about how important it is not to give up on kids. Bladt: That is one of my points of emphasis for myself and those who coach with me. I had a kid one time that as a freshman, I didn’t think he’d ever play. As a sophomore, he wasn’t much better. But as a junior and a senior he turned out to be a starter for us. It was an unbelievable transformation, and it taught us a lesson to not give up on someone. Hirt: I think kids really thrive off success. When they see success, the next bunch comes in and says “That’s what they did, and we want to do more of that.” It reminds me of a kid we had who we never gave up on. He was 5’10” and 155 pounds, was slow, wasn’t very strong, and we said “You’re a senior, and you need to step up.” He said, “Coach, I play music. Football’s fun, and I love to play the game, but I don’t know that I want to step up.” That kid led us in tackles that year, and in a playoff game, he was bleeding from his mouth at halftime. I asked the trainer whether he was ok, and the trainer said he thought he was. After the game, we checked and he had a broken jaw. He played the whole game with a broken jaw, and we had him wired shut a half hour after the game. I saw him the next day at school thinking “what have I done”, and I apologized to him. He said “I never would have let you take me out of that game. I knew I was hurting, but I wanted to finish it.”

The Bladt File: • 41st year as a head coach, last 32 of which at Harlan Community High School in Harlan, Iowa • Career Record of 345-35 • 11 time state champion, eight time state runner up, 24 time state semifinalist • Two time national coach of the year in 2006 and 2009 • Also coaches wrestling and track and field

The Hirt File: • Retired after 31 years as head coach at Platte/ Geddes/Dakota Christian in Platte, South Dakota • Career Record of 185-105 • Inducted into the South Dakota Coaches Hall of Fame in 2009 • Also coached wrestling and track and field in his career

The Mehrhoff File: • 26th year as assistant coach at Cumberland/ Anita/Messina High School in Anita, Iowa • Coaches line of a team that in the last two years has gone 18-4 in 8-man football • Also coaches wrestling

Bladt: Did you say he was in music? I hope he was a drummer or piano player. (Everyone Laughs)

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Sports Mehrhoff: I think that story illustrates how kids will rise to our expectations as well. It’s wonderful to see that if you don’t give up on that little freshman, who then becomes a little bigger but is now clumsy, that he can become your next great player because he knows you didn’t give up on him. It’s sometimes a great transformation when you let it happen and expect that they’ll be great. Hirt: What was great for me was when I was substitute teaching at my old high school. I couldn’t wait to walk into that teacher’s lounge and have some of those teachers say “It can’t be! You can’t be teaching.” My thought was, “See! You shouldn’t have given up on me!” (Laughs) We know there are kids out there that need to find some motivation in order for them to reach their potential. The Carnation: Is it easy to pick out who the leaders are when they first come into the program, and if not, how do you develop them throughout their four years? Bladt: You can kinda see who are going to be the leaders. Some lead by example, while some are more verbal, and others lead by what they do physically. We try to emphasize leadership in the classroom, and there’s not a day that goes by that after practice I don’t remind them what their number one priority is. This year, we had four kids who were 4.0 students, which means they’re taking what we have to say to heart. One even had a 35 ACT. I didn’t talk to him much. (Laughs) I didn’t want to sound too stupid… (Laughs) If you give them some ownership, they’ll lead. Mehrhoff: It really doesn’t take long for the group to assign leadership to a person. As soon as we see that some kid is being a leader to kids younger and older than him, I start assigning

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him with little tasks to help him have a little ownership. Something like, “Why don’t help this freshman have a better stance.” You give him a little responsibility, and by the time he’s a senior, he’s the team leader. The Carnation: How satisfying is it to see someone you’ve coached go on to do great things? Mehrhoff: There are certain kids you see who you know are going to rise to the top and be successful, and you can basically only get in their way; but there are also the ones that everybody else has said, “he’s not going to go anywhere.” If you can teach them the team concept, responsibility, and accountability to stay with it, even if they just barely graduate from high school, it’s great to see them succeed. What scares the hell out of me is when a kid comes back and says, “I remember in 8th grade you said this to me” and I don’t remember saying it to them. If they remember the good stuff, imagine how much hurt you can put on them with the bad stuff you say to them. For the last 20 years I’ve been trying to watch the bad stuff I say. The Carnation: What is it like winning state championships? Bladt: We had a basketball coach who, after we had won a few state titles, would ask the day when I came back to school, “Who you gonna play for the title next year?” Nothing like a little pressure… (Laughs) The thrill of a state title is in the pursuit and trying to get there, because once its there, while exciting, it’s over. It’s definitely exciting for the kids though. Hirt: The excitement is before and after the game. The game itself is still the game. State championships are more about the town and the school, not just the football team. Those teams always come back smiling to you. It’s the teams that don’t that

hurt, because someone has lost. The ’92 team of mine sticks out to me because it wasn’t full of a bunch of great football players. It was just a team that came together after starting 0-3 to win nine straight games, beating a team that was going for its fourth straight state title. The Carnation: Tell us how large the towns are that you coach in. Hirt: Platte is around 1,200. We have 45 on our football team. Bladt: Harlan is around 5,000. We have 365 students in our top three grades. Mehrhoff: We’re three communities in one school. Anita has around 1,200 people. Messina is around 900 people. And Cumberland is around 500 or 600. Our top three grades have around 96 students. The Carnation: As such, you all are probably well known when you walk around town. How have you gotten involved in the local community to better it? Hirt: There’s no doubt that when we walk downtown, people know who we are and want to talk to us. All I’m called in town is “Coach”, and you don’t know how important that is until in my experience, when friends from Iowa City come up to visit me, they say “Geez, everybody knows you!” As the coach, giving back to the community is expected and important. We all are asked to help, and we all do so. Bladt: If there aren’t a couple of calls each week asking for our involvement, it would be a bad week. Things like asking us to play Santa at the Hy-Vee, emcee a baseball game, sell tickets for something, or speak at the Kiwanis. They ask and we help.


Rex Mehrhoff, Tracy Hirt, and Curt Bladt in front of the Morningside College banner on campus

The Carnation: On a sad note, did you know Ed Thomas, the head coach in Pakersburg, Iowa who was shot and killed by a former player? What was it like for you all to hear about that? Bladt: Parkersburg was also the place that had a tornado in 2008, and it took Coach Thomas’ house. Our team loaded up a busload of kids and went up to help them clean up, because I knew Ed for many years and he was a good guy. The devastation opened a lot of kids’ eyes. I can tell you exactly where I was when I got the news that he’d been shot. I was at a wrestling camp at our middle school, and I got the call. It happens that my mother-in-law lives down that way, and she heard on the radio that a famous coach in Iowa had been shot in the weight room that morning. She knows I go to the weight room every morning, so she was in a bit of a panic thinking it might have been me.

As I watched the trial as it went on, it just shows that all of us are vulnerable. I recently had a good friend that was killed in an accident, which just shows that’s the case. Ed probably had no idea that this could happen, and it’s just sad. The Carnation: To get close on a happier note, what’s the best thing about coaching? Hirt: The kids. It’s all about the kids.

The three chapter brothers are joined by another famous Iowa coach named Randy Hinkel who was unable to join them for the interview due to an awards banquet he was involved in. We hope to bring you information about Randy in a future issue of The Carnation. A very special thanks to Gene Knudsen, Morningside ’68, for taking the photos that accompany this story.

Bladt: I agree. It’s fun to see the light go on. That was great in the classroom also. A kid finally figured out how to balance that chemical equation. It’s just fun to see that happen and the success that kids have. Mehrhoff: Watching a kid have success is great. They just brighten up.

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A Day in the Life

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF

BRANDON CARROLL Student Government Association President at Virginia Tech

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

7:00 am I begin to prep myself for the big presentation scheduled for 8:30 am. I am presenting SGA’s strategic plan to the entire academic council, which is made up of the President of the University, his Vice Presidents, and all of the Academic Deans. 7:50 am

I pick up Shane McCarty, SGA’s Vice President, so that we can run through the plan one more time.

8:00 am

I arrive at the Latham Ballroom in the Inn at Virginia Tech, and Shane and I begin to prep. We find ways to create synergy and play off each other’s strengths. During the presentation, there are technological errors, so our Powerpoint isn’t visible for the audience to see. Fortunately, we have practiced so many times that we don’t give it another thought. We give the hard copy of the strategic plan to everyone in attendance and answer their questions. Because SGA represents the official voice of the students at Virginia Tech, some administrators wanted to gauge my opinion about a variety of issues. A major source of concern for professors and students is the evaluation process. I explain the importance of evaluations occurring midsemester to provide professors with feedback to adjust their class, and lessen the grade dependent responses as they relate to the actual performance of the teacher.

9:30 am

I have my business writing class, where we talk about writing a business plan and how to structure a formal report. My report discusses my ideal non-profit called Actively Caring for People.

11:00 am I have a conference call after class with Tatango, a group text messaging company. I sit as a member of their user advisory board. Derek Johnson, their CEO, was just named a top 30 CEO under 30 by Business Week. I try to guide him in terms of the overall user experience, which is essential because his biggest market is college students. 32

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Credit: Kelsey Kradel/Virginia Tech

11:45 am

My mom is calling me about my plans for Thanksgiving. Every year, I usually go to see my grandmother (on my dad’s side), but this year she is sick. We talk briefly about school and other things, but I have a meeting at 12:30 pm with the Provost, and I like to be very prepared for each meeting.

12:30 pm

I have a meeting with Provost McNamee to talk about ways to actively engage students inside a classroom. The size of a classroom is expanding, and our quality of education is diminishing. I suggest that we look into near-peer learning environments like Berkeley and Emory. In my opinion, teaching is the greatest opportunity to learn and remember, so I suggest implementing a program where students teach other students. I feel like it is important for the upper-administration to hear tangible ways to empower students. We need to do more to let students be creative and innovative.


1:30 pm

I grab lunch at the Au Bon Pan kiosk, which is a “grab and go” kind of place in our Squires Student Center, where the SGA office is located. I go to the office to relax for a bit, but people need to book reservations and have general questions, among other things. After taking care of some mundane tasks, I call Austin Gage, a Delta Sig pledge and a sophomore from Alexandria, Virginia. We had a really good conversation about why he was interested in Delta Sig, why he chose Virginia Tech, what he can add to our brotherhood, and many other interesting topics. I really like this pledge class a lot – they all add something to our brotherhood.

2:45 pm I go back to the SGA office to try to tackle some e-mails. I usually average around 80-90 a day that I need to either read or respond to. I will always respond to e-mails within 48 hours, but I usually have to block off around 3-4 hours. One e-mail sticks out to me. I find out that a Delta Sig, Bob Veazie, and my mentor, Dr. Geller, are dedicating their latest book, When No One’s Watching, to the SGA at Virginia Tech and they even included me as a character in the book. 3:45 pm I am about to head over to my final meeting with an administrator. After this meeting, I can finally take off my suit! 4:00 pm

My last meeting for the day with administrators is with another mentor Dr. Anne Moore. I meet with her weekly to discuss how to break down the separate silo and improve collaboration. Dr. Moore used to work with the State Council for Higher Education, has been a public sector lobbyist, and now she serves as the VP of Information Technology and acts as the head of Learning Technologies. She knows how to make change within a University, and she has a very different way of thinking. I usually tell her all of the issues, and she helps me evaluate my priorities. The meeting is extremely productive, as we talk about how to make Torgersen a 24/7 study facility. As I am leaving, she hands me a book called The Innovator’s Dilemma, which talks about why mature companies (like a college institution) fail. The analogy I will use is that it’s like we are a train on a track and if we keep just doing barely enough to keep the train afloat, we will eventually run ourselves to the ground. Although it is not foreseeable in the near future, we have to look at reinventing our processes, building a “new train” before it is too late.

5:30 pm I make my to-do list for the night. This includes sending follow-up e-mails, doing some homework, preparing for meetings tomorrow, and organizing my binders for the final stretch in the semester.

Transportation, Brianna Farr. We’ve been working on getting real-time tracking on the Blacksburg Transit all semester, which has been an uphill battle. We are trying to make sure we are all on the same page, discuss some issues we have been having with their IT department, and the best way to approach this moving forward.

7:30 pm

I finally make it home and begin on my homework (or try to). I try to get all of my homework done on Thursday and Friday, so I can have the weekend free. My hardest class is called Financial Planning for Professionals, where my professor assigns around 3-4 hours of homework per class. Thankfully, we only have class on Mondays and Wednesdays, but I do have to be very disciplined in order to maintain that balance between school, SGA, and a social life.

9:00 pm My goal is to clear my inbox by 10:00 pm. My pet peeve is having any e-mails in my inbox when I go to bed. I have an e-mail from the VP and Dean for Undergraduate Education, and he wants me to appoint two people (a sophomore and a senior) to sit on a strategic planning committee for undergraduate education. Talk about an opportunity. The University can do a lot in terms of academic advising, near-pear learning, and I am privileged in this opportunity to choose two students to help the University with the future of undergraduate education. 10:30 pm

I am just finishing up with e-mail and trying to prepare for tomorrow. E-mailing really tires me out. A lot of times, they require long thought-out responses. I head over to the living room and watch a little bit of the 49ers vs. Bears game, but it is boring. I am still contemplating if I am going to go to the Virginia Tech vs. Maryland game this weekend. I am from Maryland, and I would be able to see my mom, but I still have to remind myself that I am a broke college student.

11:30 pm

It is my brother’s birthday tomorrow, so I call to wish him a happy birthday, and then head to bed. Reflection: It’s been an eventful day, and I am feeling beyond privileged and humbled to be the SGA President at the best University in the world. As SGA President, I have learned the importance of surrounding yourself with people passionate about the mission; experience is not necessary (although it helps). Higher Education should be about raising the bar for students and meeting their needs. However, this isn’t always the case. Next semester, I plan on tackling the major issues at this University and making carefully crafted recommendations to the University that will ultimately shift the focus to the students.

6:00 pm I go to dinner with the Vice President, Shane McCarty, the Chief of Staff, Bo Hart, and the Director of SPRING 2010

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In Their Own Words

FRATERNITY BROTHERS ON THE

CAMPAIGN TRAIL By Brian Beaupied, Grand Valley State ’06

The wake up call was set for 4:00 am this particular Saturday morning. We had just walked in the door some two hours before, after hosting a welcoming event on Mackinac Island during this year’s Michigan Biennial Republican Leadership Conference. The rest of the evening was spent cavorting around with different state legislators and gubernatorial candidates.

Now it was off to catch the first ferry back to the island, and another day of events, speakers, and welcoming receptions. Not every day begins so early in our campaign to elect brother Frank Foster, Grand Valley State ’05, to the Michigan House of Representatives, but each day often plays itself out the same way: finding and meeting with the movers and shakers in one of Michigan’s largest House districts; an area that covers the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula and as far north as the U.S.-Canadian border town of Sault Ste. Marie. It is, at times, every bit as glorified as it sounds with various cocktail receptions, free dinners, and public appearances. But in reality, we spend most of our days setting up meetings, doing tedious database entry and other menial office work. Our evenings include knocking on strangers’ doors, hoping not to be mauled by their dogs. After living up north some six months now, I am convinced Northern Michigan has more dogs per capita than it does people. Frank and I had begun to conjure a plan to run for public office in April of last year, at our last undergraduate White Carnation Ball. The election

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proved to be a culture shock as the rest of us had been raised in the suburbs of metropolitan areas.

The Delta Sigs on the Foster for the Michigan House team

for this particular House race was still more than a year-and-a-half away. We began to research, analyzed voting statistics from previous races and consulted with contacts in the capital and at Grand Valley. Not long after, Frank filed to run. Epilson Tau brothers Steve Smith, ’03, Tom Ebenhoeh, ’07, and Mike Krombeen, ’08, decided to join myself, ’06, and another Grand Valley State University graduate, Jason Puscas, in what is surely the largest and most extensive campaign team for any House race in the state of Michigan. After completing classes and finishing earning our degrees, we relocated to rural Northern Michigan, where Frank was born and raised. This

A GROUP OF FRESHLY-MINTED COLLEGE GRADUATES put their personal goals and aspirations on hold to help a fraternity brother get elected. Let’s just say our friends and families were less than enthused, especially after the investment our parents had just made to help us get jobs. But the sad reality in Michigan is there are no jobs to be had. We live in the state with the highest unemployment in the nation, and we’ve watched our friends and peers leave the state in droves to find employment elsewhere in the country. In addition to not having employment opportunities in a state we all love, where our families still live, we all believe in the difference we can make by taking part in our great democracy. If we didn’t think Frank had a shot, and if he wasn’t a brother, I can assure you we wouldn’t still be enduring a brutal Northern Michigan winter. I have no personal political aspirations, but I know that taking chances leads to opportunities. I know that loyalty is a value this fraternity has instilled deep within me, and that if


I come across a brother in need, I’ll invest myself in assisting him in any way I can. For being a young, wide-eyed group of young adults, most of us had been very involved in student organizations and various leadership roles. Frank was a two-term student body president who lobbied for higher education in Lansing. He also was an intern in Michigan gubernatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra’s congressional office in Washington, D.C. Mike and Jason had also served as vice presidents of our student senate and had political internships and Steve was heavily involved, well, in just about everything on campus. I had served as vice president of the fraternity, president of the Interfraternity Council, graduate of the Delta Sigma Phi Leadership Institute and the editorial staff of my college newspaper. So it’s not like we haven’t had any sort of leadership experience. The campaign officially kicked off during the Fourth of July this past summer. That day we had two parades; one in Petoskey and another in a nearby resort town called Harbor Springs. After showing up ill-equipped for the first parade, we spent our brief two-hour window between parades at a local Office Max, frantically making signs and decorating Frank’s Ford Explorer to look more festive. We caught the next parade just as it was beginning. We heard of another parade in Sault Ste. Marie, an hour-and-a-half drive north, and another early the next morning in Curtis, another popular summer town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and another twoand-a-half hour drive west of the Soo. I realized very early that there would have to be a lot of personal sacrifices made. At times we would usually spend relaxing on weekends, holidays, etc., we would spend working, and putting in long days at that.

IT’S NOT FOR A LACK OF HARD WORK that to date we’ve knocked on more doors and raised more money than any of the other four candidates who have filed to run. We’re continuing to go to chicken dinners, pancake breakfasts and any community events we come across. We’re determined to make a difference and won’t stop until we get Frank elected. We have the most to gain from this state turning around. We want to

reinvent our state and help bring it back to prominence. More importantly, we want to stay in Michigan, it is the perfect place to work, live, learn and raise a family. For more information on our campaign, where Frank stands on the issues, or how to get involved or contribute, you can visit our web site at www.fosterforhouse.com, on Twitter (@frankfoster) or on Facebook (FrankDFoster).

Foster

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Books By Brothers FICTION

Hot Rod Hamster The View from Brindley Mountain: a Memoir of the Rural South By Gene Scruggs, Transylvania ’59 ISBN: 978-1439261316

The View from Brindley Mountain is a memoir of a place and a time: the place – the sandy, pine-forested hills of northern Alabama; the time – a span of two decades embracing the nineteen forties and fifties. This was an era of hardships brought on by world war, but also a time of rebirth and prosperity. On the surface today, the place seems little changed beyond the network of paved roads and ubiquitous, gaudy shopping malls. But time has wrought a remarkable transition in the local ethos. Gone are most remnants of a simpler lifestyle, combining the joys of civic solidarity and family reunions with the rough and tumble existence on a hard-scrabble farm. Gone are the childhood games and the innocence born of geographic and ethnic isolation. For one well-journeyed native son, the limited view from Brindley Mountain has morphed into a world-view with limitless possibilities.

Kalup’s Crossroads By E.T. Lewis, Waynesburg ’62 ISBN: 978-1607498193

In the late nineteen-seventies, when the Federal Government began its “War on Drugs” in earnest, the Drug Enforcement Administration, much to the chagrin of the FBI, emerged as the most important and visible of all federal law enforcement agencies. In those days, the FBI lacked the jurisdiction to compete in the area of drug investigations and they simply could not tolerate another agency beating them to the front page. From that was born, within the hierarchy of the FBI, an all-out effort to change this deprecation. Using their enormous influence in Washington, the FBI kept pressure on the heads of government until, in the early eighties, the Attorney General of the United States granted them concurrent jurisdiction in matters concerning drug smuggling and trafficking. Kalup’s Crossroads is a fictional story that speculates on how far the FBI might be willing to go in order to accomplish their goal.

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Illustrated by Derek Anderson, Iowa State ’88 and Written by Cynthia Lord ISBN: 978-0545035309

Old car, new car, shiny painted blue car Rust car, clean car, itty-bitty green car. WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Newbery Honor-author Cynthia Lord and New York Times bestselling illustrator Derek Anderson put the pedal to the metal in this endearing, rhythmic, rip-roaring race to the finish line where a hamster creates a sizzling hot rod with a little help from his new furry friends and YOU!

NON-FICTION Buzzed by Wilkie Wilson, LSU ’63, Cynthia Kuhn, and Scott Swartzwelder ISBN: 978-0393329858

Buzzed is an authoritative guidebook to help people make healthier decisions about drug use with the help of easy-to-follow explanations of the most recent discoveries about drugs. From caffeine to alcohol to nicotine to steroids and hallucinogens, this book gives real explanations from three PhDs in the Duke University Medical Center about the negative effects of drugs, potential dangers associated with them, and their addictive properties. It also includes an extensive list of references so readers can continue to research on their own.

Real Role Models: Successful African Americans Beyond Pop Culture by Joah Spearman, Texas ’05 and Louis Harrison, Jr. ISBN: 978-0292718326 All young people need good role models, and black youth especially need positive and real examples beyond the famous and wealthy people they see on SportsCenter highlights and MTV Cribs. While success as a celebrity athlete or entertainer may seem like an achievable dream, the reality is that


young African Americans have a much greater chance of succeeding in the professions through education and hard work – and a mentor to show them the path. Real Role Models introduces high school and college-age African Americans to twenty-three black professionals who have achieved a high level of success in their chosen fields and who tell their stories to inspire young people to pursue a professional career and do the work necessary to achieve their dreams.

of every issue starting from the 1950s. It profiles the history of television programs by decades and tells collectors where and how to find back issues. This is the first time every TV Guide digest-size cover has been printed in one publication.

Ultimate Catholic Trivia: 1001 Fun and Fascinating Facts

The Passion Principle

by Scott Frush, Eastern Michigan ’92

by Jim Lucas, Missouri S&T ’69 ISBN: 978-0-9823161-0-8

ISBN: 978-0974437446

Great organizations pursue great visions–visions forged by the passionate, committed people in the organization. A passionately shared vision draws on all of their ideas, personalities, and passions to build a unique organization, one whose success can be admired but not replicated. Do you want an organization with an unmistakable identity, a vision so compelling that people invest themselves in the cause and compete for a chance to join you? This booklet shows you how to fashion a powerful charter for success. And world-class leaders don’t stop there: they design organizations that draw out and align the passions of all their people. When a passionate organization meets an organization whose people are merely engaged, the passionate organization will triumph every time. This step-by-step guide will show you how to identify five enemies of a passionate organization, redesign seven components of your organization around a powerful core, and build ten key elements into your organization to sustain its passion.

ENTERTAINMENT Official Collectors Guide: TV Guide by Dr. Steve Hofer, Wittenberg ’59 ISBN: 978-0977292714

TV Guide: The Official Collectors Guide is the ultimate price guide for collectors, as well as a history of television as seen through the pages of TV Guide® magazine. The book contains almost 38,000 covers – all in color, as well as the values

Ultimate Catholic Trivia reveals 1001 fun facts and tantalizing trivia that are sure to entertain, educate, and surprise. Along with little known trivia that will bring history to life, this one-of-a-kind extravaganza of curiosities on all things Catholic will prove fascinating for Catholics and a lively feast for trivia buffs of all backgrounds! The primary categories of trivia include: • Jesus and the Holy Bible • Saints, Angels, and Popes • Vatican, Shrines, and Churches • Events, Origins, and Miscellaneous • Teachings, Beliefs, and Structure • Seasons, Holy Days, and the Mass • Sacraments, Sacramentals, and Prayers • Organizations, Orders, and the Clergy

Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry by Brent Morris, SMU ’69 ISBN: 978-1592574902

Mysteries revealed… truths uncovered… and myths dispelled. What is the truth about the Masons suggested in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code? Can Freemasonry really be dated back as far as Babylon? Did they really coordinate the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution? What really goes on at a Mason lodge during an initiation? Here is the real story behind the secret society that now boasts nearly five million members (and has included such illustrious fellows as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin), as revealed by a Master Mason. The book offers a highly illustrated field guide to Masonic jewelry and symbols, and includes further reading, a glossary, a list of famous Freemasons and information on Freemasonry in popular culture.

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i spy D ELTA SIGMA PHI i spy DELTA SIGMA PHI is a feature where Delta Sigs, or Delta Sigma Phi’s letters, are found in interesting and unique places. Have you taken the flag to the top of a mountain, worn your letters in a foreign country, or done something unique with fellow brothers? If so, send us the photo and we will include the best of them in this section each issue.

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Photos submitted must be at least 300 DPI (taken on the highest resolution of the digital camera you utilize and NOT on a camera phone), and should be e-mailed to Hammond@deltasig.org with an explanation and a proposed caption. We look forward to sharing more photos like the ones on this page in future issues!

Carlos Murillo, Utah State ’09, at Zion National Park in Utah

Mike Wims, North Texas ’66, and Alain Balmanno, Utah State ’07, at the Pyramids in Egypt in October 2009

Michael Bryant, Morningside ’05, Maurie Tomke, Morningside ’06, and Chapter Faculty Advisor Greg Guelcher, Morningside ’03, at the Great Wall of China in May 2008

Jimmy Goode, Millikin ’05 on a trip to the Pyramids in Egypt in September 2009

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Answers to Delta Sig Fact or Fiction Questions 1. Fact… Former New York Yankees pitcher Jim Bouton, Western Michigan ’59, invented Big League Chew along with fellow pitcher Rob Nelson in 1980. 2. Fact… Duane Saunders, Kansas State ’58, holds the patent for the shoulder sling used by many of today’s college and professional teams when someone is recovering from a separated shoulder. 3. Fact… Mark Moseley, Stephen F. Austin ’67, a kicker for the Eagles, Oilers, Redskins and Browns in the 70s and 80s, was named NFL MVP during the strike shortened 1982 season. Moseley still is the Redskins franchise’s all time leading scorer with 1,207 points. 4. Fact… Mike Shanahan, Eastern Illinois ’74, and Mike Heimerdinger, Eastern Illinois ’72, were roommates on campus at Eastern Illinois. Shanahan currently serves as head coach of the Washington Redskins, while Heimerdinger is the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. 5. Fact… Bill O’Neil, SMU ’53, founded Investor’s Business Daily in 1984, and is continuing to have a very successful investment and entrepreneurial career. O’Neil invented the CAN-SLIM investing philosophy, which was formulated by looking at the 500 best performing stocks since 1953. O’Neil is also an author of a number of books on investing. 6. Fact… Mark Martin, Western Carolina ’81, is a Senior Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, and Michael Cavanagh, Detroit ’59, is a Justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. 7. Fiction… The tallest known alumnus is Dave Schlesser, Morningside ’74, who stands at 6’11”. More than 25 years since his graduation, Schlesser still holds Morningside basketball’s records for career scoring average – 20.6 points, and rebounding average in a season – 17.3 rebounds/game. 8. Fiction… Actually, there are brothers in the Fraternity’s database with the same name as 14 previous U.S. presidents (# of brothers with that name in parentheses) – John Adams (6), Thomas Jefferson (1), James Monroe (1), John Tyler (1), James Polk (1), Zachary Taylor (1), James Buchanan (1), Andrew Johnson (6), Chester Arthur (1), William McKinley (3), Woodrow Wilson (1), John F. Kennedy (1), Richard Nixon (1), James Carter (10).

bond eternal NAME Walter Steril Daron Kenneth W. Henry William Scatchard, Jr. Christian Paul Erickson Milton Edward Adams Henry Watson Ivey II James Eugene Headley, Jr. William A. Churchill James Henry Clippard, Jr. Ronald Roger Danella John B. Legge Russel A. Bechtel Clarence B. Brewster III Robert Paul Trunick Willard Kells Walter George Wanamaker William Carl Ziemke Roger Kurt Hildebrand Albert F. Schuchardt Robert Ivan Boyd Louis J. Blanc, Sr. Richard M. Howard Donald R. Owings Robert H. Churchill John David Scott Leo C. Hammerschmitt Robert J. Latham Raymond E. Prochnow, Jr. Timothy Gene Watkins Charles S. Doll, Jr. David Harry Morgan John Howard Hardin Walter J. Leach II David Lawrence Grabowski John BillCalhoun Millard Davidson Gary Eugene Eddings Richard Deuel Granville Lewis S. Neeb Rene J. Belisle Jerry Fillmore Campbell James Alf Iverson, Jr. Delbert Max Grigsby Earl Nicholas Dawson, Jr. Richard F. Donnelly Watson Robert Hanscom David John Ross Ronald Mark Schroeder Thomas Alfred Johnson Bob Ed Osborn Robert Alan Watkins Robert Earl Bennett, PhD. William Fredderick Schuck Robert Martin O’Shea Willis Conway Pierce, Jr. Jeffrey Alan Diggs Jason Christopher Rozakis Mark Andrew Fanion

CHAPTER EPSILON EPSILON EPSILON ETA KAPPA KAPPA NU HILGARD RHO RHO TAU UPSILON CHI OMEGA ALPHA GAMMA ALPHA GAMMA ALPHA IOTA ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA PI ALPHA RHO ALPHA RHO ALPHA RHO ALPHA TAU ALPHA UPSILON ALPHA PHI ALPHA PHI ALPHA PHI ALPHA PHI ALPHA CHI BETA ALPHA BETA GAMMA BETA GAMMA BETA IOTA BETA KAPPA BETA XI BETA OMICRON BETA OMICRON BETA PSI BETA TAU BETA UPSILON GAMMA ALPHA GAMMA DELTA GAMMA IOTA GAMMA UPSILON GAMMA UPSILON GAMMA UPSILON GAMMA UPSILON GAMMA OMEGA GAMMA OMEGA DELTA DELTA DELTA IOTA DELTA OMICRON EPSILON GAMMA EPSILON RHO ETA IOTA ETA NU THETA IOTA

JOIN DATE 12/2/51 12/17/54 2/8/31 12/2/94 4/27/56 11/10/56 4/16/51 2/22/53 4/9/57 5/3/64 11/21/54 5/30/53 4/9/49 1/7/49 2/26/55 3/4/39 5/1/49 11/4/51 11/20/49 1/24/50 4/18/31 2/25/51 10/28/51 4/20/40 3/10/63 3/9/36 9/28/47 6/11/44 12/21/85 7/9/47 2/14/60 12/17/84 2/14/43 11/15/64 12/16/53 3/5/50 5/11/67 1/11/58 2/7/54 5/16/48 5/27/51 2/7/54 5/25/52 5/21/50 12/16/56 12/16/56 5/2/55 1/13/64 6/19/60 1/30/71 12/12/76 12/11/64 4/17/05 5/24/64 10/27/56 12/12/86 5/9/93 11/22/96

DECEASED DATE 9/2/09 12/1/09 10/1/09 11/19/09 5/16/09 4/9/09 9/16/09 11/18/09 4/27/09 9/8/09 4/1/09 9/30/09 7/1/09 9/5/09 11/1/09 10/22/09 6/6/09 10/8/09 5/1/09 8/16/09 9/10/09 1/1/09 2/1/09 7/29/09 11/1/09 10/1/09 6/9/09 2/1/10 11/28/09 9/25/09 10/25/09 10/12/09 6/2/09 5/20/09 1/26/09 4/15/09 2/8/09 10/6/09 11/1/09 11/20/09 10/16/09 2/19/09 11/30/09 1/17/10 1/1/10 1/1/10 7/1/09 1/1/10 2/1/10 1/1/10 7/13/09 9/9/09 2/7/10 6/26/09 11/1/09 10/14/09 1/8/10 3/5/10

Due to incomplete information, deceased dates may reflect the date the fraternity was notified.

SPRING 2010

39


CARNATION THE

OF DELTA SIGMA PHI

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE

PAID

1331 N. Delaware Street Indianapolis, IN 46202

GREENFIELD , OH PERMIT #286

SHOULD THIS MAGAZINE BE DELIVERED TO A DIFFERENT ADDRESS? UPDATE THE ADDRESS AT WWW.DELTASIG.ORG OR CALL 317-634-1899

S AV E T H E D AT E

2011 Delta Sigma Phi Convention July 28 – August 1, 2011 Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate


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