THE ALUMNI NEWSLETTER OF PI KAPPA PHI AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
FALL 2012
THE ALMICRON
frank parrish named mr. pi kappa phi
In June 2011, Frank Parrish (AO 390) was awarded the distinguished Mr. Pi Kappa Phi award, the fraternity’s highest honor to be bestowed upon a member. Brother Parrish is the 45th Mr. Pi Kappa Phi recipient and fourth from Alpha Omicron. To celebrate Brother Parrish’s award, the Almicron sat down with Brother Parrish for an alumni spotlight. and let’s do that.” It was kind of one of those things that evolved and from not saying no. We served a greater fraternity within the fraternity. It was something I just kind of did, and I enjoyed it. Having received this award, what does it mean to you? A: It certainly means a lot. It’s recognition by your peers. It has to do with having a good time with it. I was kind of surprised by the award in many ways. It’s just kind of recognition of the service. It’s not given freely, and it’s certainly a very cherished award. I never thought about it too much. It also came on my 50th year of initiation. What meant most to me was that Kelly Bergstrom also received the award. That’s really unique having two from the same pledge class, let alone the same chapter. I bet that won’t happen again for some time. What is your intitiation number and undergraduate degree? A: #390, I was initiated in 1961. I had an industrial administration degree, which was a pre-cursor to the College of Business. As an undergraduate, what drew you to join Pi Kappa Phi? A; I thought I was pledging Pi Psi. I was a naïve kid from the sand hills of Nebraska, and I didn’t know the difference between Psi and Phi. My friend from high school was pledging Pi Psi, but Tom Tucker got me into pledging at Pi Kappa Phi. But we had a great pledge class with Kelly Bergstrom and Larry Stella. It was a tough time, and we were down on numbers, but we had a great pledge class so I kinda hung around and stayed because of the friendships. What positions did you hold as a collegiate member? A: Well I was archon for two terms. Back then you were on the board for six months, so I spent a year as archon. I was house manager one time and served as the IFC rush chairman for one year. There were also some lower level committees and central stuff that gave me something to do. Also, I think I was the first summer rush chairman that we employed to recruit during the summer. I traded that for room and board. You’ve held numerous positions at various levels of the fraternity. What drove you to continue your service to the fraternity? A: I served as field staff [leadership consultant] right after graduation. It was a traveling secretary as we called it then. That was at the very beginning of Durward Owen’s tenure. Those were times of bonding that occurred from being under fire. As a fraternity we were very mediocre, the average chapter size was about 15 to 20. But Durward kept calling me with “Let’s do this,
As a Mr. Pi Kappa Phi you are certainly in good company with the three past winners from Alpha Omicron. Are there any outstanding mentors or role models who helped guide you along the way? A: Probably not, other than Durward Owen and in some ways Kelley. He and I have always been very close. We’ve always been very good fraternity brothers that could rely on each other. I always looked up to Wayne Moore. I found it very useful to know him at the university and as we were building the new chapter house. People like Wayne Moore were critical to the fraternity and to me. What do you consider your best reward from your years with Pi Kappa Phi? A: The associations through the friendships. The contacts with the greater fraternity and other chapters, and within our chapter itself. What is the best leadership advice you have received? A: The best advice I received was during my doctorate. It was a management course. We were doing a case study and one student was asked for a recommendation by the professor. He hesitated and tried to find an answer. The professor said, “God damn it, man. When will you learn that a second-rate decision implemented immediately is better than a first-rate decision implemented later?” That always stuck with me. You don’t always have to make the best decision, but implement it well. The Almicron would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Brother Parrish on receiving this award and thank him for his service to Alpha Omicron and Pi Kappa Phi.