Omicron - Spring 2010

Published by Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Spring 2010

FROM THE ARCHON - JOE MONROE Dear OMICRON Alumni: It is with great pleasure that I am writing you as the Archon of the OMICRON Chapter. We are halfway through our spring semester, and the ball is definitely rolling in the right direction. We have really focused on more campus and community involvement and the newly elected Executive Council has been working hard to make sure that all of the Chapters plans are put into motion.

A main focus of the past Executive Council was to increase the Chapter GPA and through a new Pledge Program and several incentive-based programs our Chapter has now climbed into 7th place on campus with a 2.77 overall GPA. This is a huge improvement from the last several years and has resulted in an increased excitement around the house.

As I touched on earlier we are making a concerted effort to increase our involvement on campus and in the community. We have already conducted a philanthropy event, “Be the Match” a blood drive and bone marrow registry, with the Chi Omega sorority in honor of Blaise Finnegan. The drive was a huge success as we filled the bone marrow registry quota for the rest of the quarter. We also have a disability awareness week planned for Push Week, April 12th-16th. In addition, we will be hosting our annual Push America Golf event this July, and I would like to encourage all of you to come and participate.

As always we strive to maintain and improve upon our outstanding tradition and reputation, this year we

have several brothers who hold leadership positions outside the fraternity. Elliot Rowe, a rising junior, was elected Vice President of the Inter Fraternity Council; his pledge brother Grant Cochran was recently elected Vice President of External Affairs for the SGA. In addition freshman Hamilton Dilbeck now holds an SGA Senate seat in the CB&A college. We are extremely proud of our brothers’ involvement around campus and are very confident that they will represent us well.

In the past we have been very fortunate recruiting great quality brothers into our chapter and we hope to continue to add to the OMICRON legacy. If you know of any current or future Alabama students that you feel would be a good addition to our brotherhood, we would encourage you to get in touch with myself or the Rush Chair, Mike Foxhall, so that we can begin the recruitment process.

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to our annual Founders Day Dinner, April 16th which will be followed by an alumni chapter and A-day Celebration the following day, April 17th. The OMICRON chapter achieved its outstanding reputation because of your continued involvement and dedicated support. I would like to thank you for this and encourage you to contact me if you have any ideas, suggestion, comments, or simple conversation. I look forward to seeing all of you soon and wish you the best.

“we are making a concerted effort

to increase our involvement on

campus and in

the community”

Fraternally yours, Joe Monroe #1956

FROM THE VICE ARCHON ELLIOT ROWE Dear OMICRON Alumni,

OMICRON 2009-2010 Executive Council Archon: Joe Monroe wjmonroe@crimson.ua.edu (912) 658 – 6396 Vice Archon: Elliot Rowe earowe@crimson.ua.edu (205) 520 – 3785 Treasurer: Nick Brubaker nnbrubaker@crimson.ua.edu (404) 579 – 1059 Secretary: Patrick Burk jpburk@crimson.ua.edu (205) 568 – 0801 Warden: Paul Salter pcsalter@crimson.ua.edu (205) 746 – 7755 Historian: Grant Cochran pgcochran@crimson.ua.edu (662) 719 – 2219 Chaplain: Austin Greene algreene@crimson.ua.edu (256) 345 – 8140

First of all I would like to thank all of you for your continued support of Pi Kappa Phi OMICRON. We are extremely proud of our most recent pledge class, which initiated twenty-four outstanding young men, and helped sky rocket our fraternity GPA to seventh out of twenty-five fraternities on campus. OMICRON is at an all-time high, and we fully intend to continue building on our success with this upcoming fall pledge class. It is our goal to find only the best men to represent our fraternity and carry on our legacy, and with this in mind, we have opted to forgo a spring pledgeship to focus on the fall.

Michael Foxhall, our new Rush Chair, and I have come up with several different new rush events and plan to expand the fraternity involvement in the rush process. We have created a rush committee that has a member that represents every single pledge class to gain experience and insight from brothers of all ages. As you all know, rush is the backbone of a fraternity and is extremely important to a fraternity’s success and reputation. Any recommendations or advice will be openly received by Michael and me. Once again we thank all of you for everything that you do.

Fraternally, Elliot Rowe #2013 The Omicronicle will still be published twice yearly and mailed to your home. We welcome your contribution of $10 or more to help offset the rising costs of producing and mailing the newsletter. Please send your donation to Grant Cochran at the Pi Kappa Phi house, 312 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.

Name________________________________________________________ Address ______________________________________________________ Class and Initiation Number _______________ Email Address _________________________________________________ Phone Number_________________________________________________ Donation Enclosed ___ Check

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Omicronicle is published by the brothers of the Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Phi for members and alumni. Any news, announcements, photographs, change of address or contributions should be sent to Omicronicle c/o Historian, 312 University Blvd., Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 or to pgcochran@crimson.ua.edu. Please fill out the section above to submit your updates.

Blood and Bone Marrow Registry Drive The Omicron Chapter in conjunction with LifeSouth and Chi Omega sorority held this event on February 24th in support of Blaise and Madeline Finnegan.

Blaise is a freshman of the Omicron Chapter and his sister Madeline is a student at Huntsville High School.

Both have Fanconi Anemia (FA) and Aplastic Anemia which are diseases of the bone marrow and blood that often leads to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The reason for the drive is that due to the effects of the diseases, Blaise and Madeline are susceptible to other infections and diseases that, in many cases, can be life threatening. Currently neither Blaise nor Madeline have a bone marrow donor on registry should a situation arise where they needed a life saving transplant.

This drive was held to register volunteers who will be entered into a national database of donors.

The process was quite simple and entirely painless, simply a cotton swab of the inside of the cheek which will tell doctors all they need to know should a situation arise where donation is needed.

Although painless and simple for the person registering, make no mistake, this small act could be the difference in life and death for Blaise or Madeline.

The event was held with great success. The drive was publicized through the Crimson White and t-shirts were made to be worn the day of the event. On the

Alumni Spotlight Warren DeBardelaben, Jr. Brother Warren DeBardelaben, Jr. belongs to one of, if not the most, extensive family legacies in the history of the Omicron chapter. Brother DeBardelaben is preceded by six Omicron members and is father of two sons, both of whom are Omicron initiates. Adding on to the DeBardelaben family legacy, Brother DeBardelaben’s grandson, Warren DeBardelaben IV, was recently initiated as the 2,040th initiate into our chapter. The family legacy even includes one of our chapter’s most famous initiates, Omicron #63 Joseph Wheeler Sewell, renowned for his accomplishments on the baseball field. Brother DeBardelaben commented on when he was looking for a college to attend, saying his father told him he could go anywhere, but if he chose Alabama “[his father] would pay for it”.

After graduating from Alabama in 1960 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Brother DeBardelaben went on to hold a position at Scott Paper, Lee Brothers Foundry, Gulf States Paper Company, and Rust Engineering Company, where he would finish his career. Now retired and living outside of Birmingham, Brother DeBardelaben spends his time playing golf and working in the yard. Living close to his son David, Brother DeBardelaben also has opportunities to spend his time with him and his family. Brother DeBarde-

day of the event, there was an abundance of people who came to make blood donations. The bone marrow registry portion was beyond a success. The LifeSouth team collected the bone marrow registries for the first hour until they were unable to continue. A LifeSouth member was quoted as saying, “We registered about 115 potential donors today, which is amazing…at today’s drive, the Central Alabama Chapter met its quota for the entire chapter.” The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi brought hope and optimism to Blaise, Madeline, and their family along with many others who may benefit from similar drives. Blaise’s mother was quite pleased with the effort, saying “The support for Blaise and Madeline has been phenomenal.”

laben is also active in his church St. Stephens Episcopal.

Brother DeBardelaben stays in contact with Omicrons that were active during his years at the University, and he takes an annual trip to the coast with a handful of them, including his Big Brother, to golf, fish, relax, and “tell lies”. He commented that “it is a comfort” to be able to be in regular contact with friends from the chapter.

Brother DeBardelaben made remarks on the size of the University compared to its student population during his time, saying that it is roughly three times the size now.

He also made a point to compare the sporting venues. He mentioned how during his time when the chapter house was located on Hackberry Lane, brothers needed only to walk out the back door to attend a basketball game in Foster Auditorium. He made further comments that when he was in school “we were always hoping for a good football team,” but “we were horrid.” During 1958, however, two things happened—Brother DeBardelaben married his wife Mae, and Coach Bryant came to Alabama. He identifies with the experiences of the brothers now and Nick Saban’s term.

When prompted for any advice he may have for the brothers, Brother DeBardelaben recounted on how his own years at Alabama were so fleeting. He encourages the active members, saying “It’s hard to make yourself understand that this counts” and that one can “study hard and still have a good time.”

312 University Blvd.

Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

Schedule of Events 2010

April 16th – Founder’s Day Banquet/Alumni Chapter April 17th – A-Day and Silent Auction May 8th – Spring Commencement July 24th – PUSH Golf Tournament September 4th – Alabama vs. San Jose State September 11th – Alabama vs. Penn State

Alumni Updates John Hudson—#955

Brother Hudson graduated in 1970 and recently welcomed his first grandchild in January of this year. His son Phil Hudson, also an initiate of the Omicron chapter, recently returned from service overseas in Afghanistan. For his bravery and service, Phil Hudson was decorated for valor and is now out of the army.

Donald “Chip” Flournoy, Jr.— #1083

Brother Flournoy graduated in 1978 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and currently holds the position of President and COO of Listerhill Total Maintenance Center LLC (TMC) and President of Alabama Electric Motor Service LLC. During his time at UA, Brother Flournoy served as Warden and Homecoming Chairman, successfully leading Pi Kappa Phi one year to 1st Place in Lawn Decoration. Brother Flournoy has one son and daughter and one grandson. He is still married to his wife Pam, a former UA Zeta Tau Alpha member, whom he met in the party room at the chapter house after a football game during his time in college. He and Pam currently live in Muscle Shoals, AL where they are licensed Coast Guard captains and spend their time sailing and restoring cars.

Jimmy “Slash” May—#1020

Brother May graduated in 1974 and cur-

October 1st – Brothers’ Night Out October 2nd – Alabama vs. Florida October 16th – Alabama vs. Ole Miss November 13th – Alabama vs. Mississippi State November 20th – Alabama vs. Georgia State November 27th – Alabama vs. Auburn

rently resides in Mobile, AL where he works for Quality Printing and Office Supply. He has been married to his wife Karen for 27+ years and has one daughter, Kelly, and a son, also Jimmy. Brother May meets regularly semi-monthly with a handful of other Omicron alumni for lunch and welcomes any and all other Omicron alumni to join the group.

Todd Spivey—#1747

Brother Spivey graduated in 2000 and currently serves as District Sales Manager for Cornerstone Therapeutics, Inc. where he is responsible for sales representatives in the Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee areas. Residing in Huntsville, AL, Brother Spivey and his wife Amy are expecting their first child in April 2010. They will name their child Landon.

Patrick W. Bussey III—#1717

A former Archon, Brother Bussey finished his time at UA in 2000, graduating with a B.S. in Finance. He currently resides in Gulf Shores, AL and serves as the President of Bussey Capital Management LLC. His firm, associated with Sterne Agee Financial Services, serves a select group of high net worth individuals, corporations, and foundations. Brother Bussey fulfilled many young men’s dream and married the Homecoming Queen of 2000, Mrs. Amanda Bussey, a former Pi Beta Phi member. Brother Bussey and his wife welcomed their first child

Patrick Finnigan “Finn” Bussey in October 2009.

David Richardson—#1732

Brother Richardson is member of the 2001 graduating class and currently resides in Tuscaloosa, AL. He and his wife Nikki have one son Hartley, age 3, and one daughter Libba, age 1.

With a B.S. in Accounting, Brother Richardson works as an accountant at Steve Richardson & Co. During his time a UA, Brother Richardson was a member of Jasons, the top senior men’s honorary, and The Blackburn Institute. During his spare time, Brother Richardson enjoys supporting the Tide, hunting, golfing, and spending time with his family.

Omicron Alumni Contacts Omicron Club President - Harry Caldwell hecoldwell@aol.com, 205- 936-9765 District Counselor - Steve Smith Gulfsands26226@aol.com, 205-758-2222 Chapter Advisor - Jeff Cull jcull@inline.com, 205-343-1990