Gamma Gram

Gamma Gram

Laufenberg Appointed Ritualist

Laufenberg

On January 28, the Archons named the newest Appointed Volunteer Leader, Josh Laufenberg (Illinois 2008), as Ritualist. Josh served on the staff from 2008-14 as a Field Secretary, Director of Expansion, and Director of Development, working most closely with provisional and recently chartered chapters. Following his time on staff, Josh served the Nu Eta Chapter at Northeastern in a variety of volunteer roles, and he assisted with various Section Days, charterings and model initiations that the Ritualist was unable to attend. He has also been an active member of the Ritual Revision Committee. Professionally, Josh is a Senior Manager of Public Sector Channel Sales at Amazon Web Services (AWS) based in Washington, D.C.

Josh was appointed following the departure of Justin Burns (Ohio State 2007), who served as Ritualist since 2017. During his tenure, Justin oversaw 15 charterings and led the Ritual ceremonies at four Ekklesiai and the Model Initiation and Ritual Education at five Academies. He also participated in Section Days, coached individual chapters on the Ritual, and guided the Archons, staff and chapters as they overcame challenges performing the Ritual during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Headquarters Staff Updates

Corso

In December 2022, Cat Corso joined staff as the Director of Accountability. In this new position, Cat oversees all aspects of the Fraternity's undergraduate chapter conduct process, including investigations and sanctioning of alleged violations of Fraternity laws and policies. She also advises chapters with accountability and discipline of members and coordinates the Alcohol-Free Housing Exemption process. Previously, Cat served the Sigma Kappa Sorority as a Collegiate Support Manager, and she also held various residence life roles at the University of South Carolina. Cat earned her B.A. in English from Clemson University, where she joined Sigma Kappa, and her M.Ed. in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina.

Allen

Johnathon Allen (Indiana State 2007) also joined staff in December 2022, as the Director of Graduate Engagement. In this role, Johnathon oversees graduate engagement efforts and outreach, supports graduate chapters, assists with relations between undergraduates and graduates, and helps with reunion planning. He is also responsible for the graduate awards program and supporting graduate advisors. Before joining staff, Johnathon worked as a school counselor for the Fayette County, Indiana Elementary School (2012-14), Terre Haute North High School (2014-19) and DeVaney Elementary School (2019-22). Johnathon earned both his B.A. (2007) and M.Ed. (2012) in school counseling from Indiana State University. Additionally, Johnathon serves as the Pastor at Eighth Avenue Baptist Church in Terre Haute, where he lives with his wife and four children.

Fisk

Tyler Fisk (Wayne State 2020) departed staff in March after serving for nearly three years. He first joined staff as a Field Secretary in May 2020, serving for one year. Then he served as Director of Fraternal Growth from June 2021 to March 2023.

Hess

Graham Hess (Akron 2021) assumed the role of Director of Fraternal Growth upon Tyler's departure in March. In this position, Graham is primarily responsible for leading all expansion projects and finding opportunities for the Fraternity to establish or re-establish chapters across North America. He also oversees recruitment resources and educational programming, including the Growth System. Graham previously worked as a Field Secretary for nearly two years, traveling the Northeast and assisting with expansions. He earned a B.S. in political science, with pre-law and American politics minors, from the University of Akron.

15th Annual Archives Weekend

Phi Gamma Delta celebrated its 15th annual Archives Weekend on March 8-12, 2023, at the International Headquarters.

This year, 31 brothers (8 graduates and 23 undergraduates) from 9 chapters volunteered at the event.

By the Numbers:

• 6,803 pictures & documents scanned

• 30 scrapbooks digitized

• 441 media files added to our collection

• 118 chapter charters photographed

• 1.2 TB of data added to our digital archives t

Pictured (L-R): Jon Bott (2014) and Paul Lawson (2013) hold the original Indiana State University charter thought to be lost. The charter was one of 118 photographed during the weekend.

A new display case was added to the museum at Headquarters. It displays a variety of jewelry, Ekklesia memorabilia and novelty items.

10th chartering anniversary celebration program for the Lambda Chapter at Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University).