The Emerald - Summer 2017

Brother Spotlight

TO NY SIRESS Chapter Success

AWA R D S S E A S O N Volunteers

PROVINCE WORKSHOPS SUMMER 2017

F ROM T H E E X E C U T IV E D IRECTO R

Brothers, I have just finished my first year as Executive Director of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International. The year has been a whirlwind to say the least. It was and still is humbling to be chosen to hold this position and lead the day-to-day operations of the Fraternity that I joined 25 years ago. To say this is my dream job is an understatement.

I appreciate the faith that you, our membership, has placed in the Grand Council, Executive Office staff, and me.

As I look back at this first year, I am able to see that we have made progress in many areas. With the guidance and leadership of the Grand Council, a dedicated staff and volunteer base, and the devotion of our chapters and members, we have stabilized our financial standing, recommitted to supporting our membership, and revitalized our communications. This is just the beginning. There is much more to come as we grow the vision laid out to all at Convocation in Las Vegas in 2016.

Sigma Pi University (SPU) is another step in the right direction. SPU was designed for personal and professional growth of our members; not just our undergraduates but all members. This was the focus when the programming was developed for the 2017 conference. Topics covered will consist of finances, social media presence, facilitation of meetings, technology, job searching skills, and many others areas. This year we will also see the introduction of the M. Atlee Ermold Ritual Institute. This ritual institute is named after Past Grand Sage Ermold (Temple ’09) who was instrumental in the creation and adoption of the ritual we have used since 1910. It will teach those in attendance how to live our ritual every day and the meanings of what is taught in the ritual we embrace to become Sigma Pi brothers. I encourage each of you to attend and develop yourselves as not only men, but Sigma Pi men of honor.

I am looking forward to the years to come and the progress we will make as a Fraternity.

The first year has been good, but the future holds greatness for Sigma Pi. As we move forward, you will see a continued commitment to our membership beyond graduation.

There is also a renewed focus to partner with the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation (SPEF) to better support our chapters and members. With the leadership of our Grand Council and SPEF Board, the dedication of our staff and volunteers, and the devotion of our membership, we will accomplish many great things.

I am proud to be among this fellowship of kindred minds on our Quest for Excellence.

Fraternally,

A B O U T T HE EM ERALD Volume CI, Number 2 - Summer 2017 (ISSN 1074-5289, USPS 011-013) The Emerald has been published since 1911 by Sigma Pi Fraternity, 106 North Castle Heights Ave, Lebanon, Tennessee, 37087 and additional mailing offices.

Submission Deadlines Spring - February 10 Summer - May 10 Fall - September 10

A B O UT SI GM A PI Sigma Pi Fraternity, International was founded at Vincennes University, Vincennes, Ind. on February 26, 1897. The Executive Office is located in Lebanon, Tenn. Sigma Pi has chartered more than 230 chapters in North America and has initiated over 100,000 members since 1897.

The founding fathers of Sigma Pi Fraternity are: Rolin Rosco James (1879 - 1953) William Raper Kennedy (1877 - 1944) James Thompson Kingsbury (1877 - 1950) George Martin Patterson (1877 - 1960)

S H A R E YO UR STO RY Send pictures & stories to: Emerald@sigmapi.org or 615.921.2300 or Sigma Pi Fraternity 106 N. Castle Heights Ave. Lebanon, TN 37087

E DI TORI AL STAFF EDITOR/CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Chris Carter (Middle Tennessee ’11) BUSINESS MANAGER

Jen Wyatt EMERALD COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

Steven Haskell (Monmouth '15) CONTRIBUTORS

Tom Fosnacht (Penn State '70) GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State '07) Rhett LaRose (UTSA '12) Joe Allen Mattingly (Murray State '90) PGS E. Andrew Morris (Murray State '70) GSC Joe Palazzolo (Monmouth '03) Sal Popolillo (Monmouth '17) Brad Rolfe (Central Michigan '87) Bob Wankel (Monmouth '08) GFC Les Wright (Murray State '70)

Jason Walker (Georgia ’96) CEO & Executive Director

sigmapi.org theemerald.org mysigmapi.com

Copyright © 2017 Sigma Pi Fraternity; Sigma Pi, ACE Project and the crest are trademarks of Sigma Pi, all rights reserved.

Member, North-American Interfraternity Conference

@sigmapi sigmapi.org/linkedin FRATERNITY COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION

CON T EN TS

I N THI S ISS U E 04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Awards Season 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sigma Pig Roast 12 . . . . . . . Persistence: The Story of Tony Siress 16 . . . . . . . . Wilford Beisel Memorial Dedication 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Undergraduate Spotlight 38 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Province Workshops

04

11

34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Executive Director

I N EVERY ISS U E 02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . International Digest 03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From The Grand Sage 08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sigma Pi Partners 09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Emerald Online 10 . . . . . . . . . . Sigma Pi Educational Foundation 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conferences & Programming 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter & Colony Reports 33 . . . . . . . . Philanthropy & Community Service 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volunteers 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alumni News 49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adytum On High 50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chartering Announcements 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colony Updates

12 PERSISTENCE: THE STORY OF TONY SIRESS

16

WILFORD BEISEL MEMORIAL DEDICATION

62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Archives 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo Finish

34 UNDERGRADUATE SPOTLIGHT

ABOUT THE COVER

38 PROVINCE WORKSHOPS

58 ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The cover of the Summer 2017 issue of The Emerald embodies the symbol of the emerald to showcase our chapters and alumni clubs. The photo features submissions from Ursinus (ThetaSigma), Wayne State (Gamma-Omega), Florida State (Eta-Epsilon), Drury (Epsilon-Rho), and the Mountain City Alumni Club.

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 1

F ROM T H E E X E C U T IV E O FFIC E

INT ER NATIONAL DIGE ST

CO LO NIZATIONS

DRAIN PROMOTED TO ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Epsilon-Eta at Illinois State University (Colonized on October 23, 2016)

After the conclusion of an extensive search process, the Executive Office of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International is proud to announce that Joe Drain (Florida State ’10) has been promoted from Regional Director to Assistant Executive Director. He will begin serving in his new role on March 15, 2017.

Colony at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham (Colonized on January 22, 2017) Alpha-Xi at California State University-Fresno (Colonized on February 21, 2017)

“Joe has continuously performed at an exceptional level during his time on the Executive Office staff,” said Executive Director Jason Walker (Georgia ’96). “His skillset and past experience at the university level give him the tools to succeed in this role, and I’m confident at what he will bring to the organization at the next level.”

Drain joined the Executive Office staff in August 2015, serving as the Region II Director and supporting chapters and colonies across the Southeast and MidAtlantic. Prior to working at Sigma Pi, he worked with several SEC universities and their fraternity and sorority life systems. In those capacities, he oversaw the various Greek housing operations at the University of South Carolina and the University of Arkansas.

“During his time as Regional Director, Joe provided excellent service to our undergraduate members, which is evidenced by the legacy of success he leaves behind in his Region,” said Grand Sage Steve Lawler (Iowa ’82). “I’m excited that his enthusiasm, energy, and expertise will be elevated and amplified in his new role as Assistant Executive Director.”

Zeta at Ohio Northern University (Colonized on March 18, 2017) CH ART ER INGS

Beta-Kappa at Arizona State University (Chartered on November 5, 2016) Iota-Upsilon at Stockton University (Chartered on November 19, 2016) Epsilon-Beta at University of Kentucky (Chartered on February 18, 2017) Eta-Kappa at Eastern Carolina University (Chartered on March 18, 2017)

REEVES, LITTRELL TO SERVE AS REGIONAL DIRECTORS The Executive Office of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International is proud to announce the hiring of two new Regional Directors – Dalton Reeves (Missouri State ’15) and Zachary Littrell (UMSL ’15).

The Regional Director is broadly charged with strategically developing Sigma Pi in size and operational strength in one of the regions of the Fraternity. They will also serve as the primary contact for their chapters, colonies, alumni associations, housing corporations, host institutions, and members within each established region.

“I’m proud to welcome these two dedicated Sigma Pi brothers to our team,” said Executive Director Jason Walker (Georgia ’96). “I’ve seen both of these men grow over the last several years. With Dalton continuing on staff in a new role and Zachary—who was instrumental in the success of his chapter as Sage—joining staff, our Regional Director program will continue to excel and provide our membership with the valuable resources they need to succeed.”

2 + SUMMER 2017

Beta-Iota at Northern Arizona University (Chartered on April 1, 2017) Epsilon-Nu at California State University-Fullerton (Chartered on April 23, 2017) CH APT E R CLOSINGS

Re eve s

Phi at University of Illinois (Closed on November 10, 2016 - The chapter was not closed, but rather it voluntarily surrendered its charter) CO LO NY CLOSINGS

L ittre ll

Epsilon-Gamma at Illinois Wesleyan University (Closed on March 8, 2017)

FROM T HE GRA N D SAGE

From the Grand Sage A M E S S AG E F R O M G R A N D S AG E ST E V E L AW L E R Brothers, The first year of the biennium is almost at a close. I have enjoyed every day of having the privilege to serve Sigma Pi as your Grand Sage. I have especially enjoyed the travel to charterings and events and the opportunity to meet many outstanding undergraduates and alumni.

Common themes of my presentations are the three areas of the fraternity experience that I often highlight: leadership training, brotherhood, and social excellence.

G R A ND SAGE STE V E L AWLER ( I OWA '8 2) G RA N DSAG E@S I GM API .O RG

Sigma Pi offers two national leadership training opportunities for our members: the Mid-Year Leadership Conference each January and Sigma Pi University during the non-Convocation summers. Both programs offer training in fraternity leadership management and life skills.

A good fraternity experience today is much more than just the social aspect. The fraternity once promoted its members as “The Next Generation of Leaders� and, as such, it is our obligation to provide national, regional, and local leadership training to our members. Some training is academic through our conferences and some is by practice with the opportunity to develop leadership skills in officer and committee work.

A fraternity chapter is like a little business or small country where the brothers rally together as a team to work for common goals. It is a great place to practice group dynamics within an organizational structure. This training serves to prepare our members for competing in the business world and for becoming great leaders in their communities.

I often say that fraternities are more relevant and more important today than ever before.

Our country, businesses, and our community organizations are constantly searching for great leaders and fraternities are one of the few places that young men can receive this training now, in their formative years.

The ultimate goal for every Sigma Pi brother is to have a happy and productive life as an undergraduate and alumnus. Becoming a Sigma Pi offers every member an opportunity to make great lifelong friendships through the brotherhood. This brotherhood and the social opportunities allow us to develop our social excellence skill set and ultimately the leadership training obtained through the Fraternity gives us the leadership skills to organize and maintain our structure to bring the membership full-circle and launch each new generation of leaders on the pathway to a happy and productive life.

Finally, thanks to all the volunteers and staff who contribute their time, talent, and treasure to enrich the lives of all our Sigma Pi brothers through leadership, brotherhood, and social excellence. Your passion and dedication to the cause benefits every brother who takes the oath and wears the badge of Sigma Pi. Fraternally,

GS Steve Lawler (Iowa ’82) Grand Sage #46 of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 3

During the 2016-17 academic year, many Sigma Pi chapters, colonies, and brothers across North America took home awards at their university recognition events. Sigma Pi is proud to acknowledge the success of those who achieved their goals this year and advanced their quest for excellence.

4 + SUMMER 2017

AWAR DS S E AS ON

AUBURN

CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS

A L P H A- D E LTA CH AP TE R

ETA-I OTA CHA PTER

EPSI LON -RHO CHA PT ER

Alpha-Delta Chapter Sage Jamie Gnan ('16) won the award for IFC Chapter President of the Year

Eta-Iota walked away from Greek Awards with Outstanding Greek Relations Award, Top Performance in Chapter Management, Top Performance in External Relations, Fraternity Man of the Year - Bryant Plasencia ('17), and Standards of Excellence First Place Organization

Epsilon-Rho won: Highest Fraternity GPA Best New Fraternity Member - Patrick Ponder ('20) Best Fraternity Officer - Branson Kellen ('18) Outstanding First Year Honors Student - Jacob Hubers ('20) KDRU Top Performer - Clayton Baumgarth ('18)

CORNELL

EAST STROUDSBURG

BRIDGEWATER STATE E TA- E TA C H AP TE R

Eta-Eta has won many awards, including: IFC Man of the Year - John McGowan ('18) IFC Advisor of the Year - Matt Quimby ('04) IFC Greek Pillar of Excellence - David Tice ('17) Bridgewater's Best Award - Jacob Ames ('17) Plus many other great awards

BUFFALO

E P S I LO N - O M I C RO N C H AP TE R

Epsilon-Omicron was honored with two individuals with awards: Marwan Elbliety ('16) & Mohsiur Rahman ('16) were awarded Outstanding Service Awards for their work as Inter-Greek Council President and Secretary

MU CHA PTER

Mu Chapter won the two highest annual awards from the Cornell Interfraternity Council (IFC): Most Outstanding IFC Chapter of the Year, and Outstanding Service to the Community award

DETROIT-MERCY

GA MMA-A LPHA CHA PTER

Gamma-Alpha took home several awards, including: Greek Man of the Year - Christopher Clark ('17), Outstanding Greek Scholarship Program - Nick Waters ('18) (pictured), and Outstanding Engineering Student of the Year, Leo LaBond ('17)

DRURY

B ETA-PSI CHA PT ER

Brandon Wallick ('18) of Beta-Psi Chapter won the Anthony Messenlehner Award for Leadership, which was awarded by the Beta-Psi Alumni Association

FDU-METROPOLITAN EPSI LON-XI CHA PT ER

Epsilon-Xi received gold status on their Greek Awards Accreditation Packet. Additionally, Michael Lichardi ('18) received the Greek Man of the Year award, and Rashard Mills (William Paterson '10) won Greek Advisor of the Year and FDU Advisor of the Year T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 5

AWA RDS SEAS O N

GRAND VALLEY STATE T H E TA- R H O CH AP TE R

At Greek Awards, Theta-Rho won the "Greek Chapter of Excellence" Award

MICHIGAN TECH

Z E TA- E P SI LO N CH AP TE R

Zeta-Epsilon Chapter won the Most Improved GPA award at the Michigan Tech Greek Awards

MIDDLE TENNESSEE T H E TA- O M E G A CH AP TE R

Kyle Kutler ('17) of Theta-Omega Chapter proudly received the Senior of the Year at Middle Tennessee Greek Awards

6 + SUMMER 2017

MISSOURI STATE A LPHA-R HO CHA PTER

PENN COLLEGE

THETA-PHI CHA PT ER

Alpha-Rho Chapter received the Living Your Values award at Missouri State Greek Awards with a sincere submission for the award about how chapter and individual values reinforce one another and impact the lives of those involved

Jeffrey Hasiak ('19) was honored with the Greek New Member of the Year award at the Penn College Greek Awards

MONMOUTH

SAGINAW VALLEY STATE

DELTA-B ETA CHA PTER

Delta-Beta won many awards this year, including: New Member of the Year - Inan Sikel ('18) Unsung Hero of the Year - Nick Infante ('18) IFC Scholar of the Year - Mike Stigliano ('17) Greek Week Champions

OREGON STATE OMEGA CHA PTER

Omega Chapter secured the Most Improved Chapter award at the Oregon State Greek Awards this year

THETA-B ETA CHA PT ER

Theta-Beta Chapter won several awards at Relay for Life, including Top Greek Online Fundraising Team and Last Man Standing. The Chapter also won Saginaw Valley State Homecoming for the second consecutive

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS EPSI LON -KA P PA CHA PT ER

Epsilon-Kappa did it again, winning the 5-STAR Fraternity, Risk Management Excellence Award, Greek Week Champs and Fraternity of the Year

ST. JOHN'S

I OTA-TAU CH AP TE R

For the second year in a row, Iota-Tau has won the IFC Fraternity of the Year award. The Chapter has also been recognized all over campus with many other awards, including: Student Government Awards:

UTSA

WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH

Iota-Delta secured numerous awards on campus: President of the Year - Ricky Norwood ('17) IFC President - Ricky Norwood ('17) Greek Week Lip Sync - First Place Greek Week Overall - Second Place Alpha Sigma Alpha Big Man on Campus - First Place

Gamma-Mu proudly received the Most Improved Chapter Award this year, along with being recognized for having the most improved GPA and named as a Chapter of Excellence

GA MMA-MU CHA PT ER

I OTA-DELTA CHA PTER

• Service Award St. John's Greek Life Awards: • • • • •

Scholarship Programming Award Civic Engagement Award Outstanding Interfraternalism Award Innovation and Change Award Excellence in Brotherhood and Sisterhood Development • Outstanding Alumni Cultivation Award • 3rd Place Greek Week • IFC Fraternity of the Year Individual St John's Greek Life Awards: • • • • •

Unsung Hero - Yugi Paul Outstanding New Member - Anthony Savino IFC Basketball Champions IFC Dodgeball Champions IFC Softball Champions

The Chapter also received many campus awards!

If your chapter won awards and was not featured here, please email emerald@sigmapi.org to be featured across Sigma Pi Fraternity's social media channels

HELP US LOCATE LOST BROTHERS WHAT IS A "LOST BROTHER"?

A "lost" brother is an alumnus who is missing at least one piece of communication information, such as their phone number, email address, or primary mailing address.

Keeping your record up-to-date with the Fraternity ensures you will receive future communication from Sigma Pi including issues of The Emerald and info from your chapter.

UPDATE YOUR OWN INFORMATION Step 1: Go to mysigmapi.com Step 2: Click on "Establish Access" if you have never had an account.

URSINUS

T H E TA- S I G M A C H AP TE R

Theta-Sigma received the award for Best New Member Development Plan for the spring semester

Step 3: Once you are approved and have access, login to the site.

Step 4: Click on "Edit My Profile" Step 5: Enter your current information (mail, phone, email, etc.) and click to save it.

Or you can visit sigmapi.org/updateinfo to complete the online form!

T HEEMERAL D.ORG + 7

S I G MA P I PA RT N E R S

CHAPTER 4

SIGMA PI PARTNERS

FINANCIAL CHECKLIST FOR EACH CHAPTER OF LIFE

by Brett Stewart, Sigma Pi Relationship Manager at Nationwide Affinity Solutions

Each chapter of life brings a new assortment of financial decisions you will have to make. We compiled useful information from Forbes, USA Today and Daily Worth to create this checklist of financial issues you may face—and how to address them.

"Financial Checklist for Each Chapter of Life" is a four-part series from our partner, Nationwide, to help provide information about financial situations that our members may face throughout their lives.

Nationwide Insurance is a proud partner of Sigma Pi. Join your fellow brothers and start saving today.

Call 1-866-633-5747 OR VISIT nationwide.com/sigmapi

8 + SUMMER 2017

"It’s tough to think about the end of a journey when you’re just starting out," Says Nationwide Director of Business Consulting John Kerr (Wake Forest ’89). "Thinking about retirement when you land your first full time job? Wrapping your head around sending your newborn off to college? These feel like the last things in the world to be considering but in reality, its the best thing you can do to insure you’re prepared for the next stage of your life."

CHAPTER 4. PREPARING FOR RETIREMENT R E AC H I N G FO R S O M E R & R Have a savings/withdrawal strategy in place • Determine how much you want to save and how much you’ll need to withdraw from your nest egg Review your beneficiary designations Estimate out-of-pocket healthcare costs, excluding Medicare Revisit your retirement date • Determine if the date you planned to retire lets you make the most of your employer’s 401(k) contribution match • If it doesn’t, consider delaying retirement Create a financial plan • Review what your sources of income will be, how much you expect from each source and for how long • Go over your company’s retirement benefits (pension, 401(k) plan, etc.)

• Estimate your gross and after-tax income to determine if it’s sufficient to live on Create an investment plan • Go over your current investments and make sure your portfolio is designed to hit your retirement date and beyond Know your expenses • Determine an appropriate income-replacement ratio • If you plan on moving to a new area, figure out what the cost of living will be for your lifestyle there Work with a financial planner • A financial planner can help you to build a retirement plan that best fits your situation Consider relocating • Downsizing your home could help reduce a variety of expenses, including utilities and property taxes

T HE EMERA L D ON L I N E

THE EMERALD ONLINE

A S N A P S H OT O F W H AT YO U C A N F I N D O N T H E E M E R A L D .O R G Don’t wait for The Emerald magazine to find its way to your mailbox. Just visit theemerald.org for the most up-to-date news and information on what is going on in the world of Sigma Pi. With the implementation and development of theemerald.org, nearly every Sigma Pi member in the world now has the ability to get the most current up-to-date information about our brotherhood–on any device! You can expect Sigma Pi-specific content, including many features and columns, to be provided on the online platform, plus much more. This addition to The Emerald lineup helps deal with the challenging economics of print publishing and distribution while remaining more connected to our subscribers.

F E AT U R E D A R T I C L E F R O M T H E E M E R A L D .O R G JAY JACOBS (AUBURN ’85) NAMED ATHLETIC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR Sigma Pi alumnus Jay Jacobs (Auburn ’85), who serves as the Athletic Director for Auburn University, has been named a 2016-2017 NACDA Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year.

The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics award voted on by a select committee of athletic directors “highlights the efforts of athletics directors at all levels for their commitment and positive contributions to student-athletes, campuses and their surrounding communities,” according to NACDA’s news release.

Auburn President Jay Gogue nominated Jacobs, who was named athletics director in 2005 after working in nearly every area of the department for 20 years.

“This is a great day for Auburn and a tremendous honor for Jay Jacobs, his staff and all those who are responsible for this well-deserved recognition,” Gogue said.

The Auburn president said Auburn Athletics has excelled in each of the areas he deems important for a balanced and successful athletic program.

“Under Jay’s leadership, our student-athletes are excelling in the classroom and in competition,” Gogue said.

R E A D MO R E O N L I N E AT T H E E M E RA LD.O RG

H AV E S O M E T H I N G TO S H A R E ? V I S I T T H E E M E R A L D . O R G / S U B M I T

T HEEMERAL D.ORG + 9

S I G MA P I E D U C AT IO N A L FO U NDATIO N

Letter from the Chairman

Scholarships

Brothers, Your Sigma Pi Educational Foundation is responsible for providing funding to assist the fraternity in providing educational programming, scholarships, and grants to the many undergraduates that we serve. The educational programming consists mainly of our Mid-Year Leadership Conference which is held in St. Louis each January, the Sigma Pi University program that is held every other year in the Nashville area, and our Province Workshops.

There are two individuals that have come forward to help underwrite our two major leadership programs. Don Cox set up an account with the Foundation to help fund the Mid-Year Leadership Conference and Tony Siress set up an account to fully fund Sigma Pi University. We are all eternally thankful to have these two brothers step forward and want to help train our undergraduates to not only be leaders on their respective campuses, but leaders in life as well.

Our programming truly prepares our young men to be the leaders of tomorrow.

The Foundation is very happy to have PGS E. Andrew Morris now serving as its Development Director. Andy is doing an excellent job of reaching out to our members and securing funding for all the programs that the Foundation funds.

He is truly the face of Sigma Pi and with his name recognition he has opened the lines of communication with many of our alumni. Andy also established the Sigma Pig Roast, which enables chapters to raise money to fund their Chapter Educational Funds. The first such events occurred this spring.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the thousands of our undergraduates that we serve I encourage you to support Sigma Pi by making a tax-deductible gift to the Foundation so we can continue to provide these valuable educational services. Over the years, more than 10,000 alumni have donated to the Foundation and these donations do make a difference. The question now is, what role will YOU play in the success of Sigma Pi? I thank all of you that have contributed in the past and hope that if you have never donated that you will reflect on how Sigma Pi enhanced your life and will consider now the time to give back to Sigma Pi.

Delta-Beta Chapter at Monmouth University recognized two undergraduate members who have excelled this academic year.

The Red Clover Award was presented to Inan Sikel ('18) in recognition of overall contributions to the growth and success of Delta-Beta Chapter, and the Dr. Joseph B. Mosca Scholarship was presented to Joseph Stingo ('19) in recognition of outstanding academics and leadership.

Ways to Give ONLINE Giving with your debit or credit card online at sigmapi.org/donate is a quick and secure way to make a contribution to the Educational Foundation, which accepts Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover.

Fraternally,

Lester C. “Jay� Joern, Jr. Chairman of the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation

1 0 + SUMMER 2017

MAIL You can mail a check or credit card gift to the SPEF at the address below: Sigma Pi Educational Foundation 106 North Castle Heights Ave Lebanon, TN 37087

SIGMA PI EDUC AT I ON A L FOUN DAT I ON

About the Sigma Pig Roast

Iota-Tau Chapter - First Event

The development of the Sigma Pig Roast concept began in June of 2016 and was introduced at the Mid-Year Leadership Conference in St. Louis this past January. The vision is for each chapter or alumni club to have the annual event to draw graduates back and stay connected with the undergraduates.

The purpose of the event is, in coordination with the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation, to produce revenues that can offset the costs each year for leadership training programs at the International level and fund the individual Chapter Educational Funds (CEF) for each chapter’s scholarships.

On April 2, 2017, the first Sigma Pig Roast was held at St. John’s University by Iota-Tau Chapter. The event took place on the Great Lawn in front of St. Augustine Hall on campus. It was open to the St. John’s Community with faculty, public safety officers, and facility workers attending as guests of the chapter.

The brothers of Iota-Tau Chapter roasted a pig, along with hot dogs, burgers, and many side dishes to serve to the St. John’s students and alumni of Sigma Pi in the New York City area.

At the present time there are 26 chapters that have CEF accounts with the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation. These accounts started with just $1,000 but have grown, in some cases, to over $200,000. The earned revenues go into each chapter’s account and once the $10,000 minimum is reached, the chapter can begin to use the earnings for local scholarships, grants, travel stipends to educational events like the Mid-Year Leadership Conference and Sigma Pi University, and so much more. This is not the only way to grow the accounts and chapters can do other events, plus alumni can donate directly to the CEF program. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Contact the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation for more information about alumni donations.

Many different games such as Kan Jam, Spikeball, and Cornhole were played throughout the afternoon event. The Sigma Pig Roast was so successful that next year the chapter plans on making it a fall rush event and spring campus event. Since this is a Sigma Pi Educational Foundation event the proceeds will be used to support the Foundation and establish a Chapter Educational Fund for scholarships for Iota-Tau Chapter.

There are several chapters that have already signed up to sponsor the Sigma Pig Roast on their campuses and information can be obtained by going online to sigmapiedfund.org/pigroast or by contacting PGS E. Andrew Morris at ritualstuf@aol.com.

Packets of information can also be obtained by contacting the Executive Office.

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 1 1

PERSISTENCE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND PHILANTHROPIST, TONY SIRESS SHOWS HOW PERSONAL SUCCESS HAS LED TO A LIFE OF GIVING BACK TO SIGMA PI

by Chris Carter (Middle Tennessee '11), Editor

The affinity that Tony Siress (Santa Clara ’87) gained for Sigma Pi Fraternity while in college led him to a path of continuous service and dedication to the Fraternity. However, attending college may never have happened had it not been for a decision Tony’s parents made during his high school years.

“I went to public schools until high school,” Tony said. “My parents wanted me to go to the local Catholic high school, which only four people from my middle school went to, so it was tough at first. It turned out to be the best thing to happen to my education, as I was the first in my family to go to college.”

Upon enrolling in college, Tony never planned to join a fraternity.

But an opportunity at Santa Clara University presented itself that was too good to pass up. In 1984, Sigma Pi Fraternity was new to campus, and was facing the challenge of establishing a colony at a new university. Through two high school friends – Rich Bodine (Santa Clara ’87) and Mike Maciag (Santa Clara ’87) – who lived on the same floor as a recent transfer to Santa Clara, Craig Vallarino (Loyola Marymount ’86), Tony soon formed a friendship that would lead to the opportunity of building his own legacy at Santa Clara.

At this point, Tony began pursuing other opportunities including working for a network integrator until he was recruited into Sun Microsystems in 1991.

While still working full time for Sun, Tony and co-worker Mark Fitzpatrick were granted permission by Sun to start a new company called Tidalwave Technologies. The two developed server failover management software for SunOS and used Tidalwave Technologies to market and sell the product. Soon, they drew the attention of Veritas Software, who ultimately acquired the company in 1995. Upon the purchase, Tony left Sun to develop business as Veritas’ Director of International Sales for Japan. After recruiting managers and setting up sales offices for Veritas in Asia, Tony returned to the United States to build sales for the company and later served as the Product Line Manager in their marketing department.

“Sigma Pi taught me about true trust, loyalty, and friendship… About what it means to be a brother and how amazing and accepting my brothers have been of who I am,” said Tony.

PGS Ed Panconi (Loyola Marymount ’84) – then a recent graduate of Epsilon-Sigma Chapter at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, who also knew Craig from Epsilon-Sigma – helped Craig and the new Colony find the right formula to chart a course for the soon-to-be Zeta-Eta Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity. PGS Panconi would go on to serve as the first Chapter Director of Zeta-Eta. Meanwhile, Tony was selected as the Colony’s treasurer during his sophomore year. Upon chartering on January 19, 1985, he was elected to serve as the Chapter’s first Sage in his junior year. Tony then went on to serve as New Member Educator of the chapter’s Delta Pledge Class for his senior year. While serving as New Member Educator, Tony wanted to make sure he instilled strong values of inclusive behavior and respect. Thirty years later, Zeta-Eta Chapter is “better than I ever could have expected,” according to Tony.

During those formative years, Tony also began chasing his professional dreams. In his junior year he started a technology company – Personal Touch – with two chapter brothers, Mark Lemma (’86) and Kurt Pagnini (’86). Tony worked to grow his company through graduation in 1987 and into the beginning of his post-college career. The opportunity led him to learn important lessons about business. However, the most important lesson he learned came when the company shut down in 1988 and he had to begin a new journey in his professional life.

At that point in his career, Tony felt that he had exhausted his opportunities for challenges at Veritas, so he rejoined Sun and for the next seven years advanced through the company’s divisions culminating in senior directorships. There, he grew in sales, marketing, and global business development. In 2004, Tony decided to leave Sun and start a venture capital firm, Siress AG Venture Capital, where he has since spent time investing and advising companies. He continues to be actively engaged in his community including service as the President/Chief Executive Officer of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce as well as service to the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation.

Tony gives one important word when asked how he reached that point in his career: persistence.

“I really never understood what ‘can’t’ meant. I failed a number of times, but I never gave up. I found that I am extremely good at either leading an idea or building a team to execute a plan.”

This mindset led Tony to become a highly successful businessman, but also led him down a path of dedication and service to the organizations he cares most about, including Sigma Pi. In 1998 through the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation, Tony established the “Anthony G. Siress Endowment Fund” with contributions exceeding $615,000. Tony felt that there were T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 1 3

To ny ( r i g ht ) w i t h cha p ter brother Mark Lem m a ( Santa Clara '87 )

many aspects of life that could not be taught in traditional college courses. The support and guidance that he had been given during his personal and professional rise gave him the mindset to “pay it forward” to the Fraternity. This feeling was a direct result of what the Fraternity had instilled in him and how Sigma Pi helped him in his personal and professional development.

“Sigma Pi taught me about true trust, loyalty, and friendship…

About what is means to be a brother and how amazing and accepting my brothers have been of who I am,” said Tony.

With the endowment in place, the Fraternity was able to develop Sigma Pi University (SPU). The conference is designed to support members in further advancing leadership and management skills that will help them excel in the professional world. The intensive three-day program provides undergraduates with the knowledge and ability to affect real change in the chapter/colony.

“Grand Sage Steve Lawler (Iowa ’82) asked me to work with a Grand Council committee and the Executive Office to develop new programming this year that was more in line with Tony’s original charter for Sigma Pi University back in 1999,” said Nicholas Zeisler (Colorado State ’93), who serves on the Sigma Pi University Committee. “We surveyed and conducted some focus groups to find out what our brothers wanted when it comes to real world professional development.

That’s what Tony always wanted the conference to emphasize: better preparing our brothers for professional life after college and putting them a couple of steps ahead of their graduating 1 4 + SUMMER 2017

peers. This will be the first year we’ve deliberately catered the programming to meet the interests and requests of brothers.

It’s not intended that this will be ‘the best SPU ever,’ but it is a turning point, and the conference will keep getting better from here on out.”

In 2004, Tony was honored with the The Founders’ Award - the highest honor within Sigma Pi. This award is strictly reserved for the most exemplary members of our organization for high level and transformative contributions to their profession, their community, and/or the Fraternity - a description that describes Tony perfectly.

The award resonated with him. “I am not sure I can put it in words [how much it means]. I was overwhelmed and honored and extremely thankful. I will always feel that much of my success and generosity came from those who supported me and only asked that I do the same when I am able.”

When asked, Tony bestowed some parting wisdom for the brothers of Sigma Pi. “Leverage your alumni. The wisdom available to you is priceless and I have NEVER met a Sigma Pi who would not take your call or answer your note.”

Tony has had a tremendous career and because of those who impacted him in college he has chosen to pay it forward to an organization that means the world to him. Sigma Pi University would not have been possible without the initial contributions from a guy who never planned to join a fraternity.

CON FER EN CES & PROGRA MMI N G

TO N Y S I R E S S I N ST I T U T E

M . AT L E E E R M O L D

SIG MA P I UN I V E RS I T Y

R I T UAL I NST IT U T E

by GFoC Brian Kurisky, contributing writer

by Michael Grant (Oakland '97), contributing writer

Sigma Pi University (SPU) was created in 1999 as a way to further educate members of the fraternity on issues that may not come up in standard fraternity training programs. To this end, SPU focuses on educating members on topics ranging from professional dress and etiquette to business communications to personal growth and so much more. This year's SPU will be hosted at Middle Tennessee State University and will kick-off a day earlier than usual for the inclusion of the inaugural M. Atlee Ermold Ritual Institute.

At the 2017 Mid-Year Leadership Conference, Executive Director Jason Walker (Georgia '96) approached me as Chairman of the Grand Chapter Ritual Committee with his dream of the M. Atlee Ermold Ritual Institute. I was very excited to hear his vision for a meeting of Brothers who each feel a deep longing to incorporate the Secrets & Mysteries of Sigma Pi “in my own daily life.”

While previous SPUs focused on topics that were less about individual development and more about team development, the 2017 conference will return the program to its roots by refocusing on the topics of professional and personal growth. Participants will attend sessions hosted by working professionals that are active in the fields of personal finance, budgeting, savvy social media usage, using technology to be prepared for life after graduation, and facilitating large and small group learning, among other industries. One of the unique aspects of SPU is that participants will learn about these topics from facilitators who have extensive professional experience in the topic being presented.

Participants will be asked to join in the conversations both inside and outside of the sessions. They will be able to interact with undergraduates and alumni and create connections that will benefit not only themselves but also their chapters. While in session, participants should be prepared to share personal experiences relating to the topic being presented. However, participants should also be ready to take any information presented back to their chapters so that their fellow brothers can also grow and learn from the SPU experience. Out of session, participants will be able to engage in a networking session with alumni and other active members during the evenings, as well as participate in social activities.

Brother Paul Ke (Purdue '93) took on the task of developing the syllabus for the institute. He was assisted by Brother Rhett LaRose (UTSA '12). His intent was a meeting that feels like a “mountain top retreat”. While there is a classroom style component to the institute, it was specifically designed to encourage the exchange of ideas between attendees and to develop deeper connections with Brothers across the Land of Sigma Pi that we hope will last a lifetime.

I hope that this will be the first of many Ritual Institutes. Your attendance at this inaugural event will not only benefit you as having attended what we hope will be a historic occasion, but will serve to demonstrate to all in the Land of Sigma Pi that our Ritual is not merely a historic tradition, but a living document that touches our very souls and that, if lived out by all our Brothers, could very well change the face of college fraternities as we proceed through the 21st century.

The inaugural M. Atlee Ermold Ritual Institute will take place on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.

Sigma Pi University begins on Thursday, July 13, 2017, and concludes on Saturday, July 15, 2017.

For more information, visit sigmapi.org/spu

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 1 5

C HA PT E R SP OT L IG H T

TH E TA C HAPTER AT PEN N STATE

WILFORD BEISEL MEMORIAL DEDICATION

by Tom Fosnacht (Penn State '70), contributing writer

On November 12, 2016, a military ceremony was held on the front lawn of Theta Chapter at Pennsylvania State University to officially dedicate the Wilford Beisel World War II Memorial Flagpole and Plaque. Attached to the three-foot high stone base of the flagpole is a brass plaque adorned with Sigma Pi Fraternity’s coat of arms and the names of the 96 brothers of Theta Chapter who are veterans of World War II. In addition to honoring the 96 who served during the war, the Theta Chapter house itself was mobilized, as it was requisitioned by the US Navy during World War 2 and used as billets for the V-12 program, which was a pre-commissioning course of undergraduate studies for aspiring naval and Marine Corps officers.

The memorial flagpole was the idea of Wilford Beisel (’48), who served as a first lieutenant in the US Marine Corps Reserve during the war and had bequeathed funds for that purpose in his will. Brother Beisel died in 2015 but his son, Jim, was present for the ceremony, having traveled from his home in Charleston, South Carolina, together with his wife, to attend the ceremony.

1 6 + SUMMER 2017

Former chairman of Theta Board, Keith Kennedy (’86), carried out the wishes of Beisel by enlisting the aid of two of the last surviving brothers from “the Greatest Generation,” PGS Frank Fryburg (’49), and Harry Isabel (’48), who together compiled the list of 93 veterans, many of whom they had lived with in the house following the war. Tony Detato (’75) oversaw construction of the flagpole, while Phil Simmons (’71) handled arrangements for the dedication ceremony.

Tom Fosnacht (’70), a retired US Army colonel who was commissioned via Penn State’s ROTC program, functioned as Master of Ceremonies and was able to acquire the Penn State Joint ROTC Color Guard to hoist the inaugural US Flag - a flag which had been used in the burial of a WWII Army Air Corps veteran from his hometown of Hershey, Pennsylvania. The military flair was enhanced by the appropriate bugle calls which the Color Guard was able to perform along with a stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Despite rather cold wintry conditions, a group of near 50 persons attended the outside ceremony, among whom, of course,

CHA PT ER SPOT L I G HT

were the current undergraduates of the Chapter. Senior ROTC Professor of military science and Air Force Colonel Eugene McFeely, a 1989 Penn State graduate, represented the University and the ROTC Department. In attendance from the Penn State Alumni Association was Jeff Kukitz, Executive Director for Alumni Operations, and from the State College American Legion Post 245, Commander Rich Seifert. Director of the Centre County Office of Veteran Affairs, Brian Querry, escorted one of the remaining WWII veterans of State College, US Navy veteran Charlie Sullivan, a 1950 graduate, who survived several deadly kamikaze attacks to his destroyer during the Battle of Okinawa in the Pacific.

Local media coverage was remarkable in that reporters from the Centre Daily Times and the University student newspaper, The Daily Collegian, managed to have their articles appear on the front page of their respective newspapers replete with photos.

Representing Sigma Pi Fraternity, International was PGS Christopher Brown (Rutgers ’81). Representing the Grand Council, Grand Sage Steve Lawler (Iowa ’82) sent a congratulatory e-mail in recognition of Theta Chapter’s singular efforts in honoring its WWII veteran brothers. A very welcome, pleasant surprise for many of the Theta alumni present was the attendance of Robert Meyer (’66) and past House Adviser in the 1960s. Also returning for the event was Rick Boyer (’69) and George Olson (’65).

be separated from the team for any reason, exclaiming that only as a unified team had they arrived at their unbeaten status, and only together would they play as one in the Cotton Bowl because, he yelled: “WE ARE…” to which the other players yelled back: “PENN STATE!” The impasse was resolved when the US Navy allowed the team to be billeted together at the local Naval Air Station. Theta Chapter, thus, was very pleased to have one of Suhey’s sons, Larry, attend the ceremony.

For too many of the plaque's names, details on their military service are lacking. Theta Board was, however, able to locate two surviving veterans. Brother Isabel was awarded the Bronze Star for valor while serving as a private first class rifleman with the 27th Infantry Division when, during the Battle for Saipan in June 1944, he evacuated several wounded comrades while under heavy enemy fire. Brother Stanley "Whitey" von Nieda (’47), was a paratrooper who made the jump across the Rhine in March 1945 with the 17th Airborne Division. An outstanding basketball player both at Penn State and later in the NBA, he led the wartime college conference in scoring as a member of the Fort Benning military team

The greatest honor, though, for Theta Chapter was having one of the veterans listed on the plaque present for the ceremony – 90-year-old PGS Fryburg. A US Navy electronics specialist, PGS Fryburg remained in the Naval Reserve after WWII and reached the rank of Ensign during the Korean War. PGS Fryburg, a former Theta Sage, also had a prominent career as a Sigma Pi alumnus, having been elected Grand Sage for the years of 1962 to 1964. PGS Fryburg provided the invocation for the ceremony and in separate remarks fondly recalled the memories of several of those listed on the plaque. He paid particular tribute to the three brothers who were killed during the war and who have been honored since 1946 with a special bronze plaque in the foyer of the House: Thomas Harris (’42), John Spangler (’37), and Leonard Urquhart (’47).

One of the names on the plaque is that of Steve Suhey (’48).

Brother Suhey, an Army Air Corps veteran of the Pacific War, is a legend at Penn State, not simply because of his athletic career as an All-American guard and captain of the undefeated 1947 Penn State football team, but because he is credited by many as being the originator of State’s iconic cheer: “WE ARE…PENN STATE!” As the story goes, none of the Dallas hotels would allow Penn State’s two black football players to reside in the same hotel with their white teammates. Suhey convened a team meeting and said it was unacceptable that their black teammates

The ceremony was concluded with closing remarks by the current Chapter Sage Nathan Case (’17) who led all present in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Theta Board took advantage of the dedication ceremony to organize a “virtual homecoming” in which alumni and undergraduates adjourned that afternoon to Lettermans Restaurant to watch the Penn State Lions win a thrilling comefrom-behind victory over the Indiana Hoosiers, 45-31.

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 1 7

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS Editor’s Note: Reports are submitted by undergraduate members of each Chapter and Colony. Along with updating and correcting basic guidelines, reports have been edited to only provide the most important content. All reports are accurate as of March 1, 2017.

$

85

LEGEND Ø

$

Zero Balance

Owe Money

452

Number of Undergraduate Members

47

Total Brothers

0

ALABAMA

ARKANSAS TECH

THETA-OMICRON CHAPTER

IOTA-LAMBDA CHAPTER

Theta-Omicron Chapter underwent a transformative semester in which we emphasized community service with projects like the B+ Hero’s Day where we spent the day with a young cancer patient and got him to throw out the first pitch at an Alabama baseball game. The Chapter also built a tornado shelter with the Carroll’s Creek Fire Department. We also won our intramural championship in indoor soccer, and grew the house further with nine spring new members.

The spring 2017 semester was eventful for Iota-Lambda Chapter.

We took on five new pledges this semester and plan to initiate them as soon as we return in the fall. The money raised for our Philanthropy with the Amazing Day Foundation totaled around $750. The Chapter co-hosted the Out of Darkness Walk for suicide awareness again this year and the turnout was great. We have a new system in place for summer recruitment that will hopefully help gain more members of Sigma Pi. IotaLambda finished the semester by leading three of our brothers through the graduation ceremony in order to see that they became Omegas.

Ø

53

221

8

0

Lost Brothers (Missing Contact Information) Donors to SPEF this fiscal year (undergrad & alumni)

BENTLEY

NO REPORT SUBMITTED

IOTA-THETA CHAPTER

Arizona State (Beta-Kappa) $

Arkansas (Alpha-Sigma) Auburn (Alpha-Delta)

46

Cal State Chico (Theta-Mu) Cal State Long Beach (Beta-Omicron)

167

California-Irvine (Eta-Upsilon) East Carolina (Eta-Kappa)

10

East Stroudsburg (Beta-Psi) Eastern Illinois (Beta-Gamma) Emporia State (Epsilon-Epsilon)

0

FDU-Florham (Florham Colony) Georgia (Alpha-Phi) Georgia Tech (Iota-Mu) Iowa State (Sigma)

Arkan s as State (Alph a- P i)

In the spring, we welcomed ten new members to Iota-Theta. Our new members have already shown promise as they were elected to several committee head positions and have eagerly attacked their work. We had full participation with our annual Sean Williams Memorial Basketball tournament and raised over $1,600, and had nearly 20 teams participate with lots of other organizations on campus and several alumni. Additionally, we hosted an appreciation BBQ for facility members on campus. Iota-Theta finished strong this semester and is pleased to congratulate our graduating seniors, and all other brothers on their achievement!

Louisiana Tech (Delta-Lambda) Michigan (Alpha-Beta) Middle Tennessee (Theta-Omega) Mississippi (Beta-Mu) Morehead State (Delta-Rho)

Ø

Oklahoma State (Iota-Pi) Penn State (Theta)

20

Radford (Theta-Lambda) San Diego (Epsilon-Chi)

1324

South Florida (Iota-Sigma) Southern Arkansas (Epsilon-Kappa)

539

Texas (Gamma-Theta) Vincennes (Alpha) West Chester (Zeta-Alpha) West Virginia Tech (Gamma-Xi) William & Mary (Alpha-Eta

1 8 + SUMMER 2017

10

ARKANSAS STATE

BRIDGEWATER STATE

ALPHA-PI CHAPTER

ETA-ETA CHAPTER

Alpha-Pi has been working to strengthen the Chapter both internally and through our relationships on campus. The brothers have participated in a risk management seminar and a ritual review workshop. The Chapter participated in many fraternity and sorority events both on and off campus. Our annual Firetruck Pull was a success raising $1,100 for the Miracle League of Jonesboro, which helps provide children and adults with disabilities the opportunity to participate in sports in a safe environment. We also volunteered at the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas. Contact us for upcoming alumni events.

Eta-Eta initiated 12 new brothers during the spring semester. EtaEta’s own and most recent Chapter Director, Matt Quimby, has been elected as the new Province Archon.

Denny Soares has been elected as Eta-Eta’s new Chapter Director. Sage John McGowan won the IFC Man of the Year award. Jake Ames won the “Bridgewater’s Best” Award, also was awarded the NGLA Greek Leader of Distinction. Matt Quimby won Greek advisor of the year. Eta-Eta won the Relay for Life March madness tournament. The Chapter was the runner up for the Organization of the Year award. We also held our ACE Project and our second annual 5k.

Ø

51

470

134

3

BUFFALO EPSILON-OMICRON CHAPTER

Ø

22

405

137

3

Epsilon-Omicron has been hard at work this past semester participating in various philanthropy events such as Relay for Life and Clean Up UB. Marwan Bliety (Buffalo ‘17), serving as UB’s IGC President won an award for Most Outstanding Greek for his hard work in the Fraternity and Sorority Life Community. Epsilon-Omicron is looking forward to spearheading next year and building up the organization.

We would also like to congratulate all of the brothers who are graduating both from Epsilon-Omicron and Sigma Pi. Califor n ia- S an ta C r u z (Io ta- E ta)

Ø

85

469

111

8

$

31

386

145

1

CAL POLY

CAL STATE FULLERTON

CALIFORNIA-SANTA CRUZ

ETA-DELTA CHAPTER

EPSILON-NU CHAPTER

IOTA-ETA CHAPTER

Eta-Delta had great success during the academic year and look forward to summer as well as the upcoming school year. The brothers are proud to welcome 13 newly initiated members from Winter recruitment. Eta-Delta Chapter held the annual Orchid Ball in Las Vegas which was a funfilled weekend at the MGM Grand Casino. The spring quarter was busy for the brothers, who participated in numerous philanthropies and community service events while also excelling in their academics. EtaDelta Chapter is the most involved it has ever been, with members constantly looking to improve and strive in the quest for excellence.

Spring semester was successful for the Epsilon-Nu. We have re-chartered as a Fraternity and consistently showed leadership and involvement on campus, while also maintaining one of the highest GPAs throughout all Fraternities. We won Sigma Kappa’s Philanthropy Event of SKBDC and placed second in intramurals for the spring semester. The Chapter also began the first philanthropy event on campus partnering with the Center of Autism and raised over $2,000. We held a successful softball tournament between local Chapters which consisted of both actives and alumni.

Epsilon-Nu is back and ready to show what we are made of.

The Sigma Pi members of Iota-Eta were highly involved both on and off campus with philanthropic events past month of April and early May. On campus, brothers worked for the ACE Project dedicated to maintenance of UC Santa Cruz’s environmentally friendly trails. Off campus, the Sigma Pi members volunteered local elementary schools with one of their annual fundraisers by working with food preparation as well as event set up/clean up. Our second counselor joined other on-campus organizations in a meeting with city police department to discuss improvement in relationships between Greek life and the residents in Santa Cruz.

Ø

84

1049

505

6

$

72

409

37

0

CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS

CALIFORNIA

CARLETON

ETA-IOTA CHAPTER

IOTA CHAPTER

ETA-RHO CHAPTER

Eta-Iota started the spring semester off strong, and were able to carry on the momentum through the rest of the semester. The EC board really pushed for higher percentage of the school’s and the Executive Office’s Standards of Excellence, and the Chapter was rewarded with “Outstanding Greek Relations Award”, “Top Performance In Chapter Management Award”, “Top Performance In External Relations Award” “first Place Organization At CSUDH” & “Fraternity Man of the Year” at this years United Greek Council Banquet. We are looking to really push the momentum through summer, and start on the fall semester’s quest for excellence.

Iota Chapter had a strong finish to its spring 2017 Semester. Iota saw the crossing of its Alpha Mu class who are very eager and excited to be a part of the Fraternity. Thanks to the efforts or Philanthropy Chair Simeon Giverts (‘18), Iota Chapter got third place in Zeta Tau Alpha’s bra decorating contest, helping to raise both awareness and funds to battle breast cancer. Iota Chapter also took a fun brotherhood building trip to San Luis Obispo, CA in order to spend time on the beach and de-stress before finals to guarantee strong finish to the semester both academically and fraternally.

The gentleman of Eta-Rho have had a phenomenal year. As we wrap up the school year we would like to recognize our fellow brother, Liam Harrington (‘18) for being voted on to Carleton University’s Board of Governors. This is a highly prestigious position achieved only by the most elite students of Carleton University. As part of our annual service to the Ottawa community, EtaRho participated in a park cleanup.

This year has probably been one of the most successful ACE Projects that we have had in a while. For an entire week, we gave away food, drinks and even bubble wrap to calm the stress of exam season.

$

37

1031

463

3

$

46

448

178

1

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 1 9

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS

$

83

1029

511

3

$

72

832

434

6

Ø

137

953

280

0

CENTRAL MICHIGAN

COLORADO STATE

DETROIT-MERCY

DELTA-ALPHA CHAPTER

ETA-SIGMA COLONY

GAMMA-ALPHA CHAPTER

Delta-Alpha Chapter has secured three IFC executive positions Vice President, Recruitment Chair, and Risk Management Chairman. 11 members graduated this semester and 12 members were initiated.

Sigma Pi and respective partners won Greek Week this year and helped to raise almost $84,000. DeltaAlpha organized it’s first Dog Days Philanthropy event and raised over $2,500 which was donated to the Midland County Humane Society.

Multiple brotherhood retreats have taken place and more are planned for the summer such as Faster Horses Music Festival. Delta-Alpha had a successful parents weekend.

The Eta-Sigma Colony of Sigma Pi at Colorado State University has continued it’s quest for excellence on campus. Throughout the year, EtaSigma accomplished raising $4,475 for the St. Jude’s Foundation through their event “Up Til Dawn”, and created and distributed study packets as part of their ACE Project for finals week. The Eta-Sigma colony also would like to recognize brothers Mike Lensky, as the out-going Student Body Vice-President, Hunter Pierce as an incoming student senator, and Colton Stott, as the incoming Recruitment and Retention Officer for their service to the students through their work in student government.

Gamma-Alpha Chapter had a successful winter rush with four members crossing. In addition, Gamma-Alpha earned many accolades. Leo Labond (‘17), earned the “Engineering Student of the Year” award and Gamma-Alpha also earned the most improved overall GPA among fraternity and sorority life.

Christopher Clark (‘17) also earned “Greek Man of the Year” and James Parchell (‘19) earned “Best New Greek Male”. ACE Project was a success with multiple organizations participating in a campus cleanup. Furthermore, Gamma-Alpha nominated a new sweetheart: Allie Madonna of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.

$

37

328

180

1

Ø

25

605

265

8

CENTRAL MISSOURI

CORNELL

DRURY

GAMMA-GAMMA CHAPTER

MU CHAPTER

EPSILON-RHO CHAPTER

Gamma-Gamma recently wrapped up a busy spring semester. With events such as Greek Week, Pie a Pi, Family Day and a Founders’ Day dinner, the semester never let up. GS Steve Lawler (Xi, University of Iowa, ‘78) visited Gamma-Gamma on Founders’ Day as an accolade for being a Grand Sage Chapter winner in 2016. We also completed another successful ACE Project to help show the campus custodians our appreciation with snacks daily and a full service breakfast that Friday morning. Alumni Bobby Hilvert (‘17) received the Charno Award from the University, which is presented annually to the top male and female of the graduating class.

Mu Chapter has increased its positive momentum and continues to thrive here at Cornell. Our rush chairs, Griffin Py (‘18) and Shailen Doshi (‘17), came in this year with a clear mission to improve the way we recruit new members. Mu Chapter gained 25 new members from a diverse array of backgrounds. Parents Weekend also highlighted the first few months of the spring. We had the pleasure of welcoming many new families into the Pi House. Many of them expressed gratitude and relief that their sons had joined such a strong organization.

The brothers of Mu Chapter continue to be extremely involved on campus.

Epsilon-Rho Chapter began the semester with renewed vigor. The mid-year retreat was a time of reflection and planning, as well as a time for the newly elected executive counsel to complete their transitions.

The beginning of the new semester was also a time to look forward to our biggest philanthropy event of the year: Sip & Savor. This year the brothers of Epsilon-Rho Chapter raised $4,000 for Rare Breed and Harmony House.

At our last meeting of the semester, we ceremoniously transitioned graduating brothers Christopher Cook and Ethan Williamson from undergraduate to alumni status.

Ø

78

1797

775

5

COLORADO

DELAWARE

ZETA-DELTA CHAPTER

IOTA-BETA CHAPTER

Zeta-Delta Chapter had another successful semester, initiating a new class in February. We are proud of our big philanthropy event this past winter, the “March Madness” special needs basketball tournament, which saw a great turnout of players and fans. Zeta-Delta Chapter also enjoyed a great visit from our Regional Director, Scott Courter. Special thanks from all members to Scott for making the trip out to Boulder! We are looking forward to the fall again, where we will be doing our best to attract another strong fall pledge class. Wishing everyone a fun and safe summer, hope everyone is ready for another fall of Colorado Football!

This spring, the brothers of IotaBeta Chapter participated in the annual UDance charity, as a part of UD’s Greek week. The fraternity and sorority life of UD collectively rose close to two million dollars in the process. UDance provides financial aid to childhood cancer patients and finances cancer research. The brothers at Iota-Beta was joined by our Hero, Lukas Kusters, and our chapter came together to raise over $10,000 for his family. As a fraternity we celebrated Lukas’ courage and strength during this difficult process. Earlier this semester we extended bids to our new members; the new members joined their fellow brothers as of April 2017.

20 + SUMMER 2017

$

64

300

13

3

Ø

24

586

261

1

De laware (Io ta- B e ta)

FITCHBURG STATE ETA-TAU CHAPTER

Ø

31

350

73

0

D e tro i t - Me rcy (G a mma-Alpha)

$

57

718

218

3

$

17

266

118

4

Eta-Tau Chapter at Fitchburg State University had a productive spring semester that saw a lot of growth for its younger undergraduate members.

With a handful of seniors graduating, Eta-Tau will be looking to replenish its membership with quality young men in the fall. To help in doing so, we have worked with the rest of fraternity life on campus to establish an IFC Chapter. This past week, IFC held its first joint event in a BBQ dedicated to all of the students on campus for their work done over a long semester. With the semester over, Eta-Tau is poised to bring in a good class of new members, strengthen our brotherhood, and improve our Chapter.

EASTERN KENTUCKY

FERRIS STATE

FLORIDA STATE

EPSILON-LAMBDA CHAPTER

THETA-THETA CHAPTER

ETA-EPSILON CHAPTER

This spring, Epsilon-Lambda initiated seven new members into Sigma Pi. We also completed officer transitions which introduced three different faces to Executive Council. We held “Paws for a Cause” this spring with Delta Zeta where we made dog toys for the local animal shelter. We also participated in Donate Life where we had people on campus sign up to be organ donors. Next semester we want to focus on being more involved with other Greek Chapters on campus.

Theta-Theta Chapter has finished its 14th year at Ferris State University.

This year we initiated nine new members and had four members graduate. The Chapter is looking forward to the next school year, because we now have a seven person house. During Greek week at Ferris State University, we placed first in Greek games! All in all, another year is in the books and the Chapter is ready to see what next year will bring.

This past spring was a very successful semester for Eta-Epsilon Chapter.

With regards to the pledging process ten new members were initiated bringing the total number of members to 90. This marks the most undergraduate members the Chapter has had since re-chartering. The semester was also a very productive time for fundraising as Brothers David Moorhouse (‘19) and Jack Maguschak (‘17) led our Dance Marathon and Relay teams, respectively, to raise over $12,000. In other accomplishments Eta-Epsilon Chapter competed in the Phi Mu “battle of the bands” philanthropy, Bonnamu, and took home first place.

$

23

264

40

3

$

106

849

274

1

FDU-METROPOLITAN

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL

EPSILON-XI CHAPTER

NU CHAPTER

As this spring semester concludes here at Epsilon-Xi Chapter, at this year’s Greek Awards Banquet, our Chapter received gold status on our Greek Awards Accreditation Packet.

One of our Chapter brothers, Michael Lichardi (‘18), received the Greek Man of the Year award. In addition, we are proud to introduce five new members, Johnny Chavez (‘17), Jonathan Berrios (‘20), Vladimir Bruno (‘17), Justin Walcott (‘18), and Andrew Polo (‘20).

$

19

1291

522

Nu Chapter began the spring semester with 17 brothers. Nine are graduating in May and we have recruited two new members. We had an end semester meeting to outline our goals for next fall, and we plan to meet over the summer to cement a plan for the upcoming fall. Next year in April, Nu Chapter will celebrate 100 years on unbroken activity at Franklin & Marshall.

7

FDU-Me tro po litan (E ps ilo n -Xi)

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 21

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS

$

12

127

93

0

FRESNO STATE

INDIANA

ALPHA-XI COLONY

BETA CHAPTER

During the past year, Alpha-Xi colony was an interest group at Fresno State.

Through hard work and dedication, a group of 12 great men colonized on April 21, 2017. Our Growth Specialist, Lanse Macke, helped us reach greatness and finally pinned the interest group pledge class. This was one of the hardest things we could ever do, but our brotherhood became strong and created a strong bond between all of us. Alpha-Xi Colony would like to thank everyone for their support and welcoming us to the brotherhood of Sigma Pi.

A variety of events have occurred this past semester including Sigma Pi Mother’s Weekend, the Little 500, and countless other activities. This school year, Beta Chapter spent the Little 500 with the women of Alpha Omicron Pi. Our bike team, through their hard work and dedication, were able to qualify, but fell short in the main event. On April 23, Beta Chapter hosted our first annual Tex’s BBQ, in honor of our brother Nic Smith, who tragically passed away earlier this semester. The event was publicized all throughout the campus of Indiana University and raised awareness on mental health.

$

144

2459

786

8

Ho u sto n (T h e ta- Nu )

Ø

21

241

28

HOUSTON

INDIANA OF PENNSYLVANIA

THETA-NU CHAPTER

THETA-EPSILON CHAPTER

Sigma Pi hosted a mixer with Phi Mu which came out to be a great success.

Sigma Pi is still creating different ways to have more sorority involvement but the mixers are not the only route being used. Fraternity members still keep a strong relationship with sorority members. The journey to create a bigger presence with sororities on campus is still strong!

This spring semester the Brothers of Theta-Epsilon Chapter set new goals to raise the individual GPAs for each Brother. These goals and expectations will continue to rise as semesters continue pushing each individual Brother to show their excellence.

Also, the Brothers set up and put together a wonderful spaghetti dinner for the on-campus police as a thank you for their hard work and dedication to keeping our campus safe. As per each spring semester, the annual brotherhood softball game and pig roast occurred with many alumni and their families.

1

Ø

28

248

12

2

Gra nd Va l l ey St ate ( Theta-Rho)

Ø

90

344

21

2

GRAND VALLEY STATE

ILLINOIS STATE

IOWA

THETA-RHO CHAPTER

EPSILON-ETA COLONY

XI CHAPTER

Theta-Rho has another fruitful semester under their belt; recruiting 12 outstanding gentlemen to be a part of the Chapter and donating over 2,000 non-perishables to the Women’s Center in the annual “Stuff the Bus” food drive. Additionally, we actively pursued volunteers to sign up to become organ donors through Donate Life, where they successfully became one of the top colleges in Michigan for the number of individuals they got to sign up. As we look forward to next fall, the Chapter prepares itself for our second-annual Sigma Pi Climb for Kids when we hike the tallest mountain in New York State, Mount Marcy.

The men of Epsilon-Eta have had a busy spring semester working towards obtaining their carter. The Sigma Pi members have reached both their philanthropy and community service goals, won multiple fraternity and sorority life sports tournaments, hosted their first alumni barbecue, and completed their ACE Project.

The future looks very bright for the men of Epsilon-Eta as they prepare to petition in the fall.

Xi has had an absolutely incredibly groundbreaking semester. We have acquired a lodge, where we host Chapter and executive board meetings, brotherhood events, and much more.

The lodge is a great space for Sigma Pi members to hang out, relax, and enjoy the brotherhood. Xi Chapter hosted an very different ACE Week this year, teaming up with Facilities Management in a campus-wide recycling campaign and a campus cleanup. We held the traditional Sorority Super Bowl, our annual philanthropy. We hosted a Brotherhood Weekend in the Wisconsin Dells at Brook Resort, where fun was had by all. Another year in the books for Xi!

22 + SUMMER 2017

$

55

548

324

1

Ø

80

1145

392

6

$

36

295

63

1

$

33

129

7

0

KANSAS

KENTUCKY

LOUISVILLE

BETA-DELTA CHAPTER

EPSILON-BETA CHAPTER

IOTA-OMICRON CHAPTER

The spring semester has been very productive for the Beta-Delta Chapter. After pinning in a pledge class of 11 men, we initiated ten in our Delta class, and we look forward to seeing our new initiates begin to take leadership positions in the Chapter.

Besides a successful semester for recruitment, the Beta-Delta Chapter has enjoyed a schedule full of quality events, including a brotherhood retreat at Clinton lake, Royals games, date parties, and our recently concluded formal at Lake of the Ozarks. We’re excited to get things ready for fall semester and make it our most successful yet!

This semester was a very productive one for the Epsilon-Beta Chapter at The University of Kentucky. The biggest event of our semester was our chartering banquet that occurred in mid-February. Where undergraduates, alumni, and the Executive Office all came to Lexington to celebrate our Chapter’s rechartering. Our Chapter also got involved in several philanthropy events held by other Fraternities and Sororities as well as hosting our own philanthropy event called Dog Days where people can sign up to be organ donors and can play with a bunch of adorable service dogs that are brought by a University organization we partnered with.

The Iota-Omicron Chapter gained two new members this spring after initiating the largest pledge class in Chapter history earlier in January.

Continuing the new tradition of a bowling tournament to raise funds for ACE Project, this year’s event was the largest in the three year history.

Raising over $3,000 at the event, the Chapter then went on to hold a field day for the Best Buddies organization which provides volunteer mentors for individuals affected by intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Chapter is now preparing for fall recruitment and hopes to continue the growing trend of past fall new member classes.

$

56

1329

677

8

KEENE STATE

LAWRENCE TECH

IOTA-RHO CHAPTER

ZETA-OMICRON CHAPTER

Iota-Rho Chapter this year grew vastly in size gaining 13 new members in the spring semester bringing with them a spectrum of different skills, ideas, talents and much more that they have to offer. This past semester our ACE Project chairmen and committee put forth a great event to raise awareness of depression on college campuses called Sigma Puppies.

Overall 300 individuals attended the event, including administration, and other members of Fraternity and Sorority life. We are looking forward to planning a brotherhood camping retreat over the course of the summer, goal setting, and striving for greatness in the upcoming semester.

The brothers of Zeta-Omicron just finished up the school year with a third place finish at Lawrence Tech’s annual Greek Day. During the event the brothers, under the guidance of Sage Joseph Solomon, ran our campus wide Pig Roast. At the conclusion of the semester, we get to see nine brothers join the ranks of the alumni.

The brothers of Zeta Omicron are looking forward to a fall 2017 recruitment to grow our numbers.

$

22

410

138

Ø

44

142

8

0

4

L aw re n ce Te c h (Ze ta- Om i cron)

KENNESAW STATE EPSILON-ALPHA CHAPTER

Ø

15

591

279

2

It has been a busy spring ‘17 for Epsilon-Alpha Chapter. The Chapter placed second on KSU Greek Week with its partners, as part of a series of fun events that brought together fraternities and sororities to compete in good spirit. Semesterly Red Cross blood drive sponsored by the Chapter was also a success with good attendance thanks to the hard work of members. Finally, EpsilonAlpha welcomed its new sweetheart Chasity Cagle.

Kenne s aw State (E ps ilo n -Alph a)

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 23

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS MIAMI (OH) ETA-PHI CHAPTER

Ø

112

780

276

2

$

79

688

177

0

Ø

27

392

177

1

Eta-Phi had multiple alumni visits with Alumni Jeff Lioon, TJ Twigg, Tyler Anderson as well as others. EtaPhi held multiple philanthropy events including a blood drive, drop the puck on cancer, a basketball tournament for testicular cancer research, as well as a march madness tournament for the Oxford Family Resource Center. Eta-Phi Chapter participated in multiple sorority philanthropy events as well such as Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash and Delta Zeta’s Poth.

Undergraduate Stuart Coulston was awarded for his outstanding campus involvement, Jack Plasket for being an emerging leader, and Austin Bean for scholarship.

Min n e s o ta (Io ta-Ze ta)

MICHIGAN STATE

MINNESOTA

MISSOURI S&T

ZETA-MU CHAPTER

IOTA-ZETA CHAPTER

ALPHA-IOTA CHAPTER

The brothers of Zeta-Mu had a very productive spring semester. We initiated a strong spring class. We also celebrated and said goodbye to 16 brothers who graduated this spring.

Saint Patricks day was an awesome time, where we celebrated many of our brothers Irish heritage. Our parents weekend was very successful.

We had a fun barbecue where parents were able to check out our awesome house and meet our interesting brothers. Overall, it was a very solid spring semester. Be on the lookout for our alumni golf outing in the fall.

In the past few months the Iota-Zeta Chapter has hosted the Province Workshop, a successful ACE Project week, and has organized a Chapter fundraiser in benefit of The Aurora Center, a center for all those associated with either the University of Minnesota or Augsburg College whom have been affected by sexual assault, relationship violence, or stalking. During our ACE Project, the Sigma Pi members, along with teams of sorority members, raised money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, packed meals for Feed My Starving Children, and sent care packages to service members overseas through Operation Gratitude.

Over this past academic year AlphaIota Chapter has accomplished many things, including an 11 man pledge class, a very successful formal, St Pats, and ACE Project week. The Chapter has come together with numerous community service events including highway clean up, park clean ups, and linked in hearts foundation. With our members exceeding our GPA goals for the year the Alpha-Iota Chapter is very pleased with the direction the house. We also have two members graduating and moving into the work place. Our recruitment chair has already singed six new members for the new school year coming and are half way to our goal.

$

83

245

11

1

MICHIGAN TECH

MISSOURI

ZETA-EPSILON CHAPTER

GAMMA-SIGMA CHAPTER

With the majority of our undergraduate brothers being juniors and Seniors, The Zeta-Epsilon Chapter is ready for the participation of our five newest brothers this fall, who consist of First years and one second year. In the summer of 2016 our School made an 18 hole course along one of our many trails. As a part of our ACE Project we made maps and sign posts for each hole of the Disc Golf Course. This summer, with luck on our side, renovations on the house will begin. The spring Semester was sent off with a celebration of the successful year while looking forward to the excitement that recruitment will bring in the fall.

It’s been another productive semester for Gamma-Sigma. We currently have 66 undergraduates, and will be initiating seven more this fall.

We participated in five sorority philanthropy events, highlights include placing second in the Sigma Kappa Cup soccer tournament and top five in Alpha Phi Poker. We used a Go Fund Me and profit share with Panda Express to raise money for Donate Life. We did very well in Intramurals as well, participating in nearly every sport Mizzou has to offer. Lastly, our Founder’s Day celebration was a big success with a great turnout from alumni, including GS Steve Lawler and GFC Les Wright.

24 + SUMMER 2017

Ø

75

876

303

15

Ø

41

1145

470

5

Miss o u r i (G am m a- S ig ma )

Ø

12

347

128

MISSOURI SOUTHERN STATE

MONMOUTH

ETA-MU CHAPTER

DELTA-BETA CHAPTER

Eta-Mu initiated two new members during spring. Eta-Mu is looking forward for next year. Due to the school’s budget cuts, we already plan to work with the Missouri Southern State dance team to help bring them back to the school. During the summer the chapter plans to go on a camping trip week to hangout and to start working on the rush week and alumni events during the fall.

The brothers of the Delta-Beta Chapter added 12 new members in the spring. As Herald, it is my responsibility to educate our new members on the history of our Chapter.

I educated them on many things, from the names of our founding fathers, to our creed and motto. I also stressed the importance of contributing to the fraternity once they get initiated. One person that I mentioned in particular to our new members is Inan Sikel (‘18). He has won many awards since he got in, and he deserved every one of them. Everyone has to pull their own weight, and I’m positive our new members are going to pull theirs.

2

$

50

433

106

30

$

44

158

1

2

Mo n m o u th (De lta- B e ta)

MONTCLAIR STATE

MURRAY STATE

IOTA-IOTA CHAPTER

GAMMA-UPSILON CHAPTER

Iota-Iota Chapter was extremely busy in the spring 2017 semester. We held numerous co-sponsorship events with other organizations on campus, set up and attended some community service project and philanthropic events and initiated 11 new brothers into IotaIota Chapter. As the semester comes to a close we will be hosting our annual Donate Life BBQ and our ACE Project as a send off to the Montclair State University community. We are hoping to finish off the year strong and on a positive note.

The undergraduate brothers here at Murray State University have had a successful spring semester.

Gamma-Upsilon Chapter added one new brother to its roster as well as finishing the spring semester with five new members. The undergraduates hosted their annual ACE Project “Dog Days” this spring. The Chapter gives back to the local animal shelter by holding an event on campus where dogs can be played with and adopted.

Congratulations to alumni Joseph Morgan (‘94) on becoming Morehead State’s new president. Our Chapter celebrated its 49th anniversary on May fourth and will have our summer reunion the third weekend in July.

M i sso ur i St ate (A l p ha -Rho)

Ø

53

812

362

20

MISSOURI STATE ALPHA-RHO CHAPTER

$

103

1537

653

16

Alpha-Rho Chapter had a very successful 2017 spring semester with lots of individual awards, and Chapter awards. First, Zachary Riel (‘17) won the “Living Your Values” award at Greek Week this semester. Past Sage, Benjamin Phillips, was AlphaRho’s candidate for Greek Week, and finished second overall in the talent show, and first in overall Greek God! This semester we initiated nine brothers, to continue to keep our total over 100 members! To finish out the semester, our sand volleyball team took second place, while our intramural soccer team won the championship and finished first.

Murray State (G am m a- U ps ilo n )

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 25

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS NJIT ALPHA-MU CHAPTER

$

64

1143

524

21

$

82

1145

427

9

Ø

72

622

330

3

The members of Alpha-Mu had their second annual charity softball tournament for their past brother Stivel Ramirez (‘16). Over $1000 was raised for a scholarship fund in his name. The fund will be given to a deserving NJIT undergraduate.

Our ACE Project was conducted in conjunction with Student Senate and included tabling to raise Earth Day awareness, a campus wide cleanup, flower planting, and a prize giveaway which were donated by Waste Management Inc. The Alpha-Mu Chapter is most proud to announce that our brother Mark Neubauer (‘18) was elected Student Senate President.

NJIT (Alph a- Mu )

NORTH CAROLINA STATE

OAKLAND

RHO CHAPTER

ZETA-PI CHAPTER

Rho Chapter had its most successful Break the Silence 5k this spring, with over 400 participants and donations totaling over $12,000. Our philanthropy partners with the NCSU Health Center and means a great deal to our Chapter. Rho Chapter wrapped up the semester with the Alumni golf tournament in April. We would like to give a big shout out to everyone that could make it. Rho Chapter initiated three new brothers in the spring, and we are big plans for the fall.

It was another fantastic semester for us here at Oakland University!

In the last couple months, much has happened. We held our 31st Orchid Ball and everyone who attended had a remarkable time. Mid-April, five new members were initiated. They have proven themselves to be full potential and all plan on taking advanced roles within the Chapter. A new Executive Board was elected, with many coming from the ranks of those initiated in the fall semester. All who were elected are incredibly excited to be serving and have detailed out a wide array of ideas for the upcoming year. It was a great year and we will make next year even better!

Ø

30

444

115

5

NORTHERN ARIZONA

OHIO

BETA-IOTA CHAPTER

EPSILON CHAPTER

Hello Gentlemen, you will be pleased to hear that on April first of 2017, Beta-Iota at Northern Arizona University received their charter from the Executive Office. 66 brothers initiated on the morning of April first along with a banquet that night. The banquet was held that the High Country Conference Center at 6:00 PM with friends, family, and the amazing alumni of Beta-Iota. Brothers of Beta-Iota and Executive Office gave speeches during the banquet.

The banquet had a silent auction and raffle to raise funds for the Chapter.

The night went great and set a precedent for the wonderful things to come from this newly found Chapter.

Over the course of the spring semester the men of Epsilon Chapter contributed to the local community in a number of ways. Continued partnership with the South East Ohio Food Bank allowed our members multiple opportunities for community service. In April, our Chapter participated in the annual Athen’s beautification day, which we had over 55 members in attendance. We are pleased to announce that we raised over $3,000 in the fourth annual Queen’s of the Beach Volleyball Tournament, supporting the national ovarian cancer coalition.

26 + SUMMER 2017

$

72

838

201

0

Oaklan d (Ze ta- P i)

Oh io (E ps ilo n )

OHIO NORTHERN ZETA COLONY

$

42

1469

713

0

$

61

1300

486

14

Ø

45

333

42

4

Zeta was recolonized on March 19th with a group of 42 outstanding men, making it the second biggest fraternity on the campus of Ohio Northern University. We participated in Relay For Life a week after colonizing and raised over $2,500, making us the top fundraising team - this gave us excellent publicity in our first week back. In early April, we adopted Donate Life as a philanthropy. We brought a speaker in, and had a table set up all week to raise organ donation awareness and get students to become organ donors. Zeta is going to be very successful here, and we are excited to rebuild our reputation and recruit more great men.

Orego n State (Om e ga)

OHIO STATE

OREGON STATE

PENN STATE

GAMMA CHAPTER

OMEGA CHAPTER

THETA CHAPTER

This semester Gamma Chapter initiated 11 new members through our pledge ship and have 12 brothers graduating either at the end of this spring or at the end of the summer.

We also had our Sigma Puppies philanthropy event to raise money for the Almost Home Dog Rescue of Ohio where we raised over $100 from donations and had our Chapter donate another $250 to the organization.

In addition, for the ACE Project this year Gamma Chapter collected leftover food from Fraternity and Sorority dinners on campus, where we collected a total of 224 pounds of food to donate to the Clintonville Resource Center.

Omega Chapter had a strong spring recruitment gaining ten potential new members on top of our running total of 17 initiates for the year. This spring started very successfully by winning Delta Gamma’s Anchor Slam philanthropy for the third year in a row along with finishing in the top two in Kappa Alpha Theta’s Iron Brawl philanthropy for the fifth year in a row.

Additionally this spring we had our Pi for Life philanthropy where we raised over $3,300 for the Amazing Day Foundation. Finally we were in the top five for Chapter GPAs for the winter term out of the 22 Chapters on campus and Omega Chapter is excited to carry on this momentum!

Theta chapter participated in THON raised over $100,000 benefiting childhood cancer, placing in the top ten of fraternities and sororities. Our Chapter added 40 new members this year. Recent events have forever altered the landscape of Greek life at Penn State, and our Chapter will be adapting to the new climate of the campus. Theta is saddened by the loss of a fellow Greek life member and our prayers go out to the family and friends in this hard time. Going forward, we request any alumni that wish to provide positive advice, mentoring, training, or leadership development, to contact CD Brent Smith at keypa@sigmapi.org.

Ø

72

1171

360

7

$

115

1930

719

8

OLD DOMINION

PENN COLLEGE

PENN STATE-ALTOONA

THETA-ETA CHAPTER

THETA-PHI CHAPTER

THETA-IOTA CHAPTER

The brothers of Theta-Eta spent the semester advancing our Chapter is several aspects. The semester concluded by winning multiple awards at the Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards, including our Chapter Director GFoC Brian Kurisky receiving the Student Engagement and Enrollment Services Advisor of the Year award for the campus. Brothers Jon Henson, Mario Raden, Casey Gupton, and Zhyar Abdul were also awarded in addition to our Chapter receiving an overall Excellence in Leadership Development. Lastly, we closed the semester with an Omega Ceremony for our graduating brother, Steele Clay. We wish him well as he starts PT school in Pennsylvania!

After a long eventful semester, Theta-Phi Chapter is ready for a long summer. We have accomplished a lot this semester. Most notably, we were graced with our Grand Second Counselor’ appearance as he witnessed our spring 2017 initiation.

Just as importantly, Theta-Phi was incredibly enthusiastic in the Relay for Life event showing our support for cancer research. Our Chapter generously supported the local college police station by washing all their squad cars. Overall, the future is bright for this small chapter in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as we continue to strive for excellence in the upcoming academic year.

With the empowerment of the new executive board the Theta-Iota has begun to steer in a more positive direction. Also with our growth this year we have started to become more involved across campus and have started planing more events with other Greek and non Greek organizations. We had a successful ACE Project this spring as well. Our Chapter initiated a class of three this spring. On behalf of the Theta-Iota Chapter we would like to thank the Hissong family for hosting our local initiation. We plan to have a very productive 2017-2018 school year.

$

25

175

15

1

$

25

233

23

1

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 27

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS

Ø

38

1573

484

9

PURDUE

RUTGERS

SALISBURY

ETA CHAPTER

GAMMA-ETA CHAPTER

THETA-XI CHAPTER

Eta Chapter had a very successful spring semester, started by bringing in our largest spring pledge class in recent memory, with six new members joining the Chapter. We’ve also stayed active on campus with our ACE Project Food Pantry and by participating in as many intramurals and philanthropy events as we can.

We are all excited to see what the fall semester brings us and are eager to continue to improve our chapter.

We’d also like to congratulate all of our graduating seniors, and wish them the best of luck in all of their future endeavors.

Gamma-Eta Chapter had an excellent end to the school year. We successfully initiated 15 new members in early April, and all have been involved in improving our Chapter by joining committees. We had our ACE Project where we cleaned the streets of New Brunswick of trash and debris.

Brothers also volunteered at the New Brunswick Farmers Market by gardening. We participated in Rutgers Dance Marathon that raised over $1 million. And finally we had the Tackle Sickle Cell Blood Drive with the McCourty twins where we recruited the most Rutgers students to the event.

This year The Sigma Pi members of The Theta-Xi Chapter went on their first brotherhood retreat to the Poconos. The trip involved wellstructured leadership workshops and group workshops, and a cookout for all those whom attended including multiple alumni.

Besides the brotherhood retreat the Theta-Xi Chapter went to VA Beach and set sail on the Spirit of Norfolk for a starlight night on a boat with great food. To close out the year Theta-Xi had our Sigma Cutie Pi, which is one of our on campus event. The turnout was a success and we would like to thank you to all of those contestants whom were involved.

$

75

770

354

8

$

61

272

37

0

RHODE ISLAND ALPHA-UPSILON CHAPTER

$

82

1195

473

7

It was a very busy spring semester for the brothers of the AlphaUpsilon Chapter at the University of Rhode Island. We took part in an Earth Day inspired beach cleanup at Narragansett Town Beach with the sisters of Delta Zeta. We are proud to announce 12 newly initiated brothers, all with outstanding GPAs. The Alpha-Upsilon Chapter now has 95 active members. Our new Sage, Phil Miguel, has big plans for the Chapter including community service over the summer and numerous beach oriented philanthropy events. It was another successful year here at URI. Rutge r s (G am m a- E ta)

$

84

499

152

2

ROWAN

SAGINAW VALLEY STATE

ZETA-CHI CHAPTER

THETA-BETA CHAPTER

On the campus of Rowan University, Zeta-Chi Chapter is continuing to progress in the eyes of the school and community. This semester we have had a lot of success on campus when it comes to intramural sports and sorority pageants. We have won three of the last five pageants, including the competition during Greek Week, paired with Delta Phi Epsilon. Along with that, our community service and fundraising has been going very well. We raised money with a “Pie a Pi” event outside our student center, all money went to “K9 for Warriors”.

We also participated in “Back To The Boro”, an event to clean up Glassboro by picking up garbage around town.

Theta-Beta Chapter has accomplished many feats so far this year. Seven new brothers were initiated into the Chapter, and three brothers achieved alumni status. In intramurals, ThetaBeta had teams in three sports, hockey, flag football, and soccer, and all three teams made playoffs. David Terrio, the philanthropy chairman, had raised over $2,000 in Saginaw Valley State University’s Relay for Life event. Theta-Beta also hosted a formal in Houghton Lake this year.

28 + SUMMER 2017

Ø

36

363

77

1

S agin aw Valley State ( The t a - B e t a )

SANTA CLARA ZETA-ETA CHAPTER

Ø

107

848

393

Zeta-Eta has had an outstanding winter and spring quarter. We had our annual mother-son and father-son weekends and are looking forward to alumni weekend coming up soon.

Our multiple sclerosis volleyball tournament was a huge success this year having raised over $50,000.

It has been a great year for ZetaEta and we are looking forward to progressing further.

4

Santa C lara (Ze ta- E ta)

Ø

63

502

190

4

Ø

40

1235

608

7

SETON HALL

SIU-EDWARDSVILLE

ST. JOHN’S

DELTA-EPSILON CHAPTER

DELTA-OMEGA CHAPTER

IOTA-TAU CHAPTER

The end of the spring semester is bitter sweet for Delta-Epsilon because 20 of our seniors are graduating and moving onto the real world. They all were great paragons of The Sigma Pi creed and will be missed next year. DeltaEpsilon completed its ACE Project this semester, which successful raised almost $100 for the fallen Firefighter Foundation and gave out more than 300 tips to students on fire safety.

We also raised over $300 dollars for Relay For Life, where the Greek Organizations on campus walk for cancer at the Walsh Gym. Additionally, Delta-Epsilon accumulated over 50 community service hours from each brother this semester as well.

Delta-Omega has had a successful semester as far as building and maintaining relationships with other Greek organizations and the university itself. Delta-Omega’s ACE Project was a faculty appreciation day in which the Chapter provided lunch for employees of the university. DeltaOmega Chapter took in 17 pledges this past semester. Pledge class DeltaEpsilon held their own ACE Project events in which they raised money and purchased a seal for the new oncampus police department.

Iota-Tau Chapter received numerous honors this past April at the university’s Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards dinner. In total the Chapter walked away with ten awards (two individual & eight Chapter). IotaTau received the St. John’s University Interfraternity Council Fraternity of the Year award as well awards for civic engagement, innovation and change, and outstanding interfraternalism.

Iota-Tau also raised the most money amongst campus organizations ($16,190) for St. John’s University Relay for Life.

Ø

47

712

219

6

Ø

76

116

2

2

SIU-CARBONDALE

SOUTHERN INDIANA

ST. JOSEPH’S

BETA-NU CHAPTER

THETA-PSI CHAPTER

THETA-CHI CHAPTER

Beta-Nu Chapter did multiple phenomenal things this semester; this included getting many individuals to register as organ donors for Donate Life, raising awareness and support for suicide prevention with our Amazing Day event, and handing out school supplies as well as study tips for our ACE Project. In addition, we had a successful and extravagant Orchid Ball! To close out the school year, we are gearing up for recruitment for the fall, as we hope to further increase the size of our Brotherhood.

Though the summer is not as busy for Theta-Psi Chapter our officers and committee are still working to ensure a successful and productive fall semester. A significant portion of planning for the fall occurs at our annual summer retreat. Planning through summer, meeting as a Chapter before the fall semester, and continuing to communicate will allow Theta-Psi Chapter the accomplish its goals for the fall semester especially in recruitment and scholarship. The spring marked ten years since ThetaPsi Chapter chartered. We plan to grow and progress even more in the fall, and even further into the future.

Theta-Chi Chapter had a wonderfully successful 2017 spring semester as we initiated 12 new members into our brotherhood. Our brothers also supported the Amazing Day Foundation during our second annual Candle Light Vigil to raise awareness for suicide prevention. The Theta-Chi extended their social media presence nearly doubling followers and engagement rates with posts. ThetaChi Chapter is eager to return to campus next semester as our brothers look forward to recruitment.

Ø

27

148

7

1

Ø

63

245

7

0

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 29

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS

Ø

37

54

2

8

STOCKTON

UCF

UMSL

IOTA-UPSILON CHAPTER

IOTA-KAPPA CHAPTER

DELTA-ZETA CHAPTER

Upon returning from winter break, Iota-Upsilon is very excited to be a active members of Stockton University and its surrounding community as it was our first semester as a Chapter.

We took in nine new members who have already proven themselves to be very enthusiastic about Sigma Pi and most have shown great interest in taking on leadership roles despite their young age. Community service has been exceptionally great this past semester as we worked very closely with Habitat for Humanity among other organizations. Philanthropy wise, Amazing Day and Donate life was a hit within our student body. We will keep up the good work

Throughout the spring 2017 semester, the Iota-Kappa Chapter of Sigma Pi accomplished many great things.

Iota-Kappa initiated ten young men into the brotherhood in order to begin their quest for excellence. Also, Iota-Kappa raised a total $6,500 for the Blue and Red Movement, a foundation which fights for Floridian first-responders to receive medical treatment for PTSD, at our annual Sigma Pig Roast. Iota-Kappa also won (for the first time in it’s history) Greek Cup: the trophy for best in fraternity sports. Finally, Iota-Kappa’s past fourth counselor Nick Larkins was elected Student body president of the University of Central Florida.

Delta-Zeta congratulates its six members for becoming Alumni on May 7, 2017. The following member are expected to graduate in the 2017 academic year: Michael Clark (‘17), Jake Dicker (‘17), Tom Grossman (‘17), Ryan Schwent (‘17), Kyle Williams (‘17), and Tyler Votaw (‘17). We would like to congratulate Micheal Clark(‘17) on receiving Fraternity and Sorority’s Man of the Years. DeltaZeta accomplished having the top GPA of Fraternities on campus for our sixth year in a row. Delta-Zeta is planning with our alumni volunteers for the 50th Annual Orchid Ball.

Please contact Brandon Macias at deltazeta1c@sigmapi.org.

Ø

121

416

16

0

$

79

1891

629

42

TC N J (The t a - De l t a )

$

48

394

77

0

Upsilon Chapter successfully crossed eight undergraduates in the Winter, and is also maintaining eight new members in the spring. Founders’ Day was hosted on the 25th of February celebrating 120 years of Sigma Pi, with around 60 alumni attending the event.

It was an interesting experience for many of the newer members of the Chapter to meet alumni from multiple decades ago and hear recollections about the house in their time.

Upsilon Chapter has also dedicated time to philanthropy, by spending a Saturday to install fire alarms in a low income neighborhood, and running a charity music event to raise funds for the homeless.

This spring semester the ThetaSigma Chapter at Ursinus College continued developing and advancing both nationally and locally, thanks to a renewed sense of brotherhood among undergraduate and alumni members. Great alumni relations led to a great turnout on Founder’s Day, while meetings and frequent communication throughout the semester have set our Chapter on an ultra-light beam headed for national recognition. Our ACE Project this year reestablished our campus’ formerly defunct Organic Farm, one of many efforts taken this year to develop our Chapter and campus.

Theta-Delta Chapter is coming off of a successful first full year as an independent Chapter. This summer we have two brothers attending Sigma Pi University to further develop their leadership skills and bring back valuable lessons to our Chapter for the upcoming year. We look forward to a parent’s barbecue this July as well as alumni events throughout the summer. In addition to brothers traveling abroad for the summer semester, we have brothers who have accepted internships at some of the most prestigious firms in the tri-state area. We look forward to the summer months to plan for another successful year.

Life’s a beach and Alpha-Omicron has been playing in the sand. Spring quarter kicked off with our members extending 27 bids, of which 24 were accepted, along with a host of socials that included the world renowned DJ, Chris Lake, making an appearance.

The brothers had a blast welcoming back Gauchos of ages past during the All-Gaucho reunion, and look forward (or perhaps not so much) to enjoying similar festivities when our time in Alpha-Omicron comes to an end.

Finally, the brothers recently returned from our yearly date trip to Las Vegas, a recently started tradition that has proven to be a favorite amongst the members of Alpha-Omicron.

30 + SUMMER 2017

5

7

THETA-SIGMA CHAPTER

ALPHA-OMICRON CHAPTER

217

281

URSINUS

UC SANTA BARBARA

769

644

UPSILON CHAPTER

THETA-DELTA CHAPTER

132

32

UCLA

TCNJ

Ø

Ø

Ø

33

145

11

0

U C S an ta B ar bara (Al p ha - O mi cron)

UTSA IOTA-DELTA CHAPTER

Ø

42

326

14

3

Since our last report in February, our brothers of the Iota-Delta Chapter went out in full force to help the sisters of Alpha Sigma Alpha in their Big Man On Campus philanthropy raising money for the Special Olympics and we successfully took home first place as the fraternity that helped raise the most. We also participated in Greek week and took home second place in the overall men’s division. In addition, our very own brother Ricky Norwood (‘17) won fraternity man of the year as well as president of the year. We also have a new herald and vice president going into the fall.

Wayne State (G am m a- Om e ga)

Ø

32

672

308

10

Ø

61

1015

498

4

VALPARAISO

WAKE FOREST

WAYNE STATE

BETA-TAU CHAPTER

ALPHA-NU CHAPTER

GAMMA-OMEGA CHAPTER

Beta-Tau continues to flourish and our ten new members have acclimated nicely. Half of our Chapter was able to attend a Province Workshop at Purdue’s Eta Chapter. We’ve also returned to rock out for Valpo’s SongFest. Graduating members are Nick Harris, Petr Hayden-Roy, John Moreland, Brad Wright, Tristan Good, Anton Ruban, and Jake Williams.

They’re great guys and they’ve done tremendous good for our fraternity so we hate to see them go. In terms of philanthropy, we hosted five local bands and Chunky’s Taco Truck for our Donate Life JamFest, which was a smashing success.

Alpha-Nu Chapter had a remarkably strong spring semester. We succeeded in welcoming 11 members into the fraternity, who are already bringing positive contributions. We participated in philanthropic events such as Wake ‘N Shake, Project Desk, and even held our own events, such as Pie a Sigma Pi. The year saw Alpha-Nu take home the Wake Forest University Vice President’s Award, which is given to the most outstanding Greek organization. Finally, we elected and installed our new executive board, who will work diligently to further improve our Chapter. We look forward to the fall semester, and the chance to further our quest for excellence.

Gamma-Omega Chapter has had a successful winter semester! We initiated seven upstanding gentlemen into our Chapter. For our ACE Project, we distributed pens displaying Wayne State University’s mission statement on campus to assist with accreditation. Our second annual No Place Like Home softball tournament for the Haven foundation was a huge success! Many other Fraternities and Sororities made teams to participate, totaling us at over $2500 donated to the Haven foundation. We have big plans for next fall, and are currently still searching for a Chapter house.

Any alumni, please feel free to contact us at gammaomega1c@sigmapi.org!

$

48

1351

714

9

$

46

591

220

1

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON STATE

WEST ALABAMA

BETA-PI CHAPTER

IOTA-NU CHAPTER

THETA-GAMMA CHAPTER

Beta-Pi Chapter enjoyed a successful spring rush process in which the brotherhood took on 15 new members. Furthermore, the Chapter made great philanthropic strides in the past semester through the annual Surf ‘N Turf fundraiser, raising money and spreading awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association. This year, we raised over $1,800 in benefit of this worthy cause. Overall, the brotherhood of Beta-Pi is going into the summer feeling accomplished, confident, and optimistic about the future.

Iota-Nu Chapter is excited to report the upcoming initiation of the Xi pledge class following the conclusion of summer, adding eight newly initiated members to the brotherhood.

We also held the omega ceremony for ten of our brothers who graduated at the end of spring semester. We hope to pin 35 new members this upcoming fall semester and are already setting up future recruitment events for this summer. We are also excited to announce our Chapter’s revamping of the Color Your Life philanthropy by including a 5K color run and aerotag tournament in order to give us the chance to give the most we can to the Amazing Day Foundation.

With spring coming to an end, we have a lot of positive things to look back on.

Theta-Gamma went to Mobile, AL for Orchid Ball. For our ACE Project we once again held an oozeball tournament which we provided $1,000 in scholarships for UWA. In April we partnered with the Phi Mu Chapter on campus to raise awareness on the importance on becoming an organ donor through an online and on campus campaign that talked about Phi Mu sister Libby Hankins about her personal experience with organ donation. During Greek week we won three out of the four awards, Greek Week Champs, Greek Game Champs and Highest GPA.

Ø

64

275

15

6

Ø

29

299

52

4

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 3 1

CHAPTER AND COLONY REPORTS WESTERN ILLINOIS EPSILON-ZETA CHAPTER

$

24

807

385

3

$

24

Epsilon-Zeta Chapter has had a great semester and has big plans for the upcoming year. We’ve had a successful social with a couple of local Chapters and on top of that we made our mark with our first annual Shots Against Suicide philanthropy put together by our own Marcus Taliaferro. We also put together a philanthropy with our local Chi Omega Chapter. This specific philanthropy involves collecting toiletries and donating them to the Sylvia Center. This provides for kids without the means to acquire said toiletries. Our plans for next semester is to recruit more intensely and give back as much as we can.

Wi s co n s in - Os h ko s h (G am m a- Mu )

WILLIAM PATERSON

WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH

THETA-TAU CHAPTER

GAMMA-MU CHAPTER

Our Chapter initiated two great guys this semester! Theta-Tau Chapter is looking forward to seeing what these two men accomplish. We also participated in many community service activities!

The brothers at Gamma-Mu Chapter have been continuing in their quest for excellence through successful events we have put on such as recruiting three new members as well as launched a campaign raising awareness for veteran suicide awareness. The campaign was a social media blast and our initial video was very popular reaching over 4,000 views in just a few hours! Again, this year the brothers participated in Walk a Mile In Her Shoes to raise awareness for sexual violence. The Chapter even took home awards this semester for most improved GPA, most improved Chapter and Chapter of excellence from Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Ø

35

170

598

9

315

2

4

Ø

36

334

15

2

Wo rce ste r Po lyte c h n i c (G a mma - I ot a )

WISCONSIN

WISCONSIN-PLATTEVILLE

WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC

TAU CHAPTER

DELTA-IOTA CHAPTER

GAMMA-IOTA CHAPTER

Tau Chapter had a very eventful spring semester. We are excited to welcome eight spring initiates, and look forward to their futures in the Chapter. Tau Chapter also participated in many events and organized several service projects.

We enjoyed participating in Greek Week on campus, and our team took second place out of ten total teams in the Greek Week competition.

Additionally, members participated in a highway cleanup service project, where we worked to remove garbage from a highway near campus. Later in the semester, we cleaned up the lakeshore nature preserve on campus for our annual ACE Project.

Delta-Iota hosted and volunteered at many events this semester, ranging from handing out edible bugs at our campus Earth Day carnival to providing a free lunch of hot dogs and chips to student/staff for our ACE Project. Spring rush was also a success with four new initiated brothers who we’re proud to call our own. To top it all off, Delta-Iota was nominated for the UW-Platteville leadership award for our role in providing a positive environment within the Platteville community. As always, we are excited for recruitment to meet new potential brothers and expand the Chapter.

Here at Gamma-Iota Chapter, 29 seniors will be leaving our house and moving into the working world. We are saddened by their departure, but are thankful for all they have taught us and contributed to the Chapter.

Looking to fill their shoes are the 33 new brothers from this year’s new member class (our largest class yet). This aspiring class has planned and will be running a bubble soccer event in the fall to welcome back the students and to raise money for the Amazing Day Foundation. In the past months, the Chapter’s intramural teams have been doing well. Soccer and Basketball both made it to the finals and volleyball made it to semis.

32 + SUMMER 2017

Ø

25

603

282

5

Ø

80

828

254

10

PHILA N THR OPY & COMMUN I T Y SERV I CE

THETA-GAMMA CHAPTER AT WEST ALABAMA

DONATE LIFE MONTH Because of Libby Hankins, Theta-Gamma Chapter has created a movement in Livingston, Alabama.

Libby—who attended the University of West Alabama (UWA) and is a member of Phi Mu Fraternity—was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at two years old. She was treated at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama, and later, the University of Birmingham Hospital. In February 2016, Libby was sent to Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina where she received two new lungs. Unfortunately, her body rejected her new lungs and she passed away at the young age of 23.

In 2016, during the time the transplant took place, Theta-Gamma Chapter and the KappaXi Chapter of Phi Mu partnered together to sign up the students of UWA as organ donors through Donate Life. Though Libby was unable to make it to what would have been her graduation this spring, because of the actions of Sigma Pi and Phi Mu, her legacy on campus lives on. This year, Theta-Gamma wanted to take it one step further.

“At the beginning of the year I knew I wanted to

incorporate Libby [into the campaign], because she just had her double-lung transplant in the month of April,” said Will Tittle (University of West Alabama ’18), who leads the campaign for Theta-Gamma Chapter.

For more information about the partnership between Sigma Pi and Donate Life, visit: sigmapi.org/donatelifemonth

Tittle asked Libby’s sisters at Phi Mu to join the mission. The group decided to set a goal of 500 organ donor registrations. This goal was a dramatic increase in comparison to what Theta-Gamma had achieved in past years, when typically the chapter saw numbers around 30 organ donor registrations per year.

Through the month of April 2017, ThetaGamma set their goal to be 1,130 people registered through their Donate Life Month campaign. After the chapter exceeded this goal, they changed their goal to 1,500 total registrants. However, by the end of the month the chapter was able to add 1,744 people to the national organ, eye, and tissue registry. Sigma Pi Fraternity, International is excited to continue our partnership with Donate Life America and looks forward to more outstanding results like what the young men of Theta-Gamma have been able to achieve.

CHAPTERS: FIND YOUR LOCAL CONTACT SIGMAPI.ORG/DONATELIFEMONTH

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 3 3

UN DE R G R A D UAT E SP OTLIGH T

U N D E R G R A D U AT E S P O T L I G H T

M E E T I N G O B S E R VAT I O N S

by Bob Wankel (Monmouth '08), contributing writer

Each year, the Grand Council invites representatives from Grand Sage’s Award winning chapters to attend Grand Council meetings during the MidYear Leadership Conference. This year, Iota-Zeta Chapter at Minnesota was represented by Sage Ben Varick (Minnesota '18) and Eta-Delta Chapter at Cal Poly was represented by Sage Cole Grigsby (Cal Poly '18). We caught up with Cole and talked to him about his experience.

Co le Gr is by (r igh t) w ith B e n Var ic k (le f t), w ho re p re s e nte d E t a - D e l t a an d Io ta-Ze ta C h apte r s , re s pe c tive l y, at t he M YLC me e t i ng s .

34 + SUMMER 2017

UN DERG RA DUAT E SPOT L I GHT

More than 500 total attendees and representatives from over 110 chapters and colonies across North America gathered in St. Louis this past January for the 2017 Mid-Year Leadership Conference. The event brought undergraduates, alumni volunteers, facilitators, Executive Office staff, Grand Council members, and the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation Board of Trustees together in a collaborative effort to further build the Fraternity’s desire to become one the best Greek organization in the country. The three-day gathering was a showcase of the best and brightest of Sigma Pi Fraternity and afforded a select few of its leaders the opportunity to sit in on the Grand Council meetings. The Emerald recently had an opportunity to catch up with one such leader in Eta-Delta Chapter Sage Cole Grigsby to talk about the importance of the event and his chapter’s recent success under his guidance.

Grigsby, a third-year undergraduate computer science major, has a story familiar to many members of Sigma Pi: a successful and popular high school student finds himself in a foreign environment and wants to replicate the camaraderie and comfort that exists in a close-knit friend group from his hometown, so he becomes interested in joining a fraternity.

“I was impartial to fraternities before I got here,” Grigsby said. “But a few things happened. My friends from the dorms encouraged me to see what it was about and my father told me it would be a good idea to see what the different groups had to offer, so I did, and it was amazing.”

Grigsby’s story, however, is partly unique and it’s that part of the story that led him directly to Sigma Pi Fraternity. After all, not too many students are willing to travel across the country to find the right place to study.

“I knew I wanted to go to Cal Poly since my sophomore year when I began programming,” he said. “When I got there and rushed Sigma Pi, the thing that stood out to me was how much the guys reminded me of my friends from home. It felt like the right fit.”

Grigsby, who will remain in the Bay Area this summer working for a Sigma Pi alumnus, soon became involved in Fraternity affairs serving as new member education chair, social chair, Third Counselor, and eventually as Sage of a Grand Sage’s Award winning Chapter. It’s that type of commitment that led him to St. Louis this past winter to take advantage of a chance to observe and participate in the Grand Council meeting.

“Going in, I didn’t know what to expect, honestly. They talked about things on a national level that mirror what we talk about—things like risk management, recruitment, and other procedural stuff. Everyone gets that having a great chapter is more than hitting Standards of Excellence goals.”

The experience also allowed him to identify what his own chapter needs to do in order to improve.

“I think our biggest obstacle right now is our lack of housing. We’re a mid-size fraternity here and it’s hard to establish a chapter as a top-tier fraternity without a house that holds 20-30 guys,” he said.

“We’re looking to establish that type of house in the next 5-10 years as more of our involved and dedicated alumni begin to graduate.”

Upon obtaining his degree, Grigsby hopes to initially work as a programmer for a start-up before moving to management and ultimately starting his own company.

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 35

VOLU N T E E R S

VO LU N T E E R S P OT L I G H T

WHY THEY VOLUNTEER MICHAEL COLETTI (PENN COLLEGE '15) T H E TA- P H I C H AP TE R D IRECTO R

JEFF CLINE (NORTH CAROLINA STATE '88) SOU TH ATLA N TI C PR OVI N CE A RCHON

Why do you volunteer for Sigma Pi?

Why do you volunteer for Sigma Pi?

It was during my first convocation in San Antonio that I first realized the bigger-picture of what I had joined as a freshman at Penn College. Having this sense, combined with the desire picked up in my last year as an undergrad to do what I can to help guide the men after me, as well as the need for volunteers at Penn College specifically, were all motivating factors. Additionally, I saw volunteering with Sigma Pi as an opportunity to expand my knowledge base and abilities into multiple fields beyond what I can get from work alone.

After graduation, I was involved in fraternity activities and regularly attended convocation events. Subsequent work assignments required significant travel, including international destinations in Asia and Europe that has been invaluable from an educational, social, and spiritual perspective, but limited the time I could devote to regular fraternal engagement, let alone consistent volunteerism. As I conducted interviews for leaders around the world, I found the successful candidates routinely conveyed a sense of amassing knowledge through learning and experience, followed by a desire to give back through teaching and sharing. Now that I enter the twilight of my career, I feel a sense of responsibility to give back, with time and the willingness to listen, the way others did for me as an undergrad.

How long have you volunteered for Sigma Pi?

I have been the Chapter Director of Theta Phi since the end of the Spring, 2016 semester, and have joined the Diversity and Inclusion committee in early 2017.

Where do you see yourself and your role in the next two years?

During the next two years, it is my plan to develop the alumni support of Theta Phi into one that can function as a system over individuals. Additionally, it is my plan to commit more towards developing closer bonds in Greek communities as a whole so that there can be more focus on all of the other aspects of fraternity life for undergrads and alumni.

What is your biggest accomplishment in your role as a Volunteer?

Anything positive that the Chapter has produced, it is best to know that it was their effort and their experiences that went into the accomplishment. Not mine. It feels great to witness and be a general presence during undergraduate development, without doing the work for them.

What is your biggest struggle in your role as a Volunteer?

Utilizing the most our alumni have to offer is a work in progress, and will involve effort to develop this as a Chapter Director.

What do you think is in the future for Sigma Pi?

At this point, I see Sigma Pi as a whole becoming a more household name in the Greek community. I also hope to see it become a leader in developing and interacting with all Greek communities as a whole.

How have your chapters challenged you?

Knowing when and when not to step in are continuous decisions a volunteer needs to make.

36 + SUMMER 2017

What do you think is in the future for Sigma Pi?

Fraternities face significant challenges going forward.

Social media can be a blessing when our chapters exceed expectations, but a curse when that momentary lapse in judgment results in unintended consequences, posted online in the blink of an eye. Big Brother is watching indeed, probably to a much greater extent than George Orwell could have imagined. But this should strengthen our resolve to make real the Fraternity's ideals in our daily lives. If we hold ourselves—and each other—to the standard worthy of our Creed, we can thrive and grow. Seek out the best, the rest will soon follow.

Who do you model your volunteer experience after?

It was 1986, and as an undergrad, I had little knowledge of and probably less appreciation for volunteer roles and the impact they can have in the lives of others. But that soon changed. I met a man who led by example, demonstrated the selfless behavior that made it not about him, but how he could help you. He did so in an unassuming way and always with a smile on his face. He quickly became a trusted mentor and friend. Over the next 20+ years, his words of wisdom and sage advice remained with me and regularly became a source of reflection in many aspects of my life. The day I saw the call for volunteers in The Emerald, he was the one I called to ask him if I "had what it takes" to be a successful volunteer, as I wanted have an impact on others that he had on me. He gave me the encouragement I needed to take that next step and formalize my volunteer commitment to Sigma Pi. It seems like 1986 was only yesterday. That was the day I met PGS Gary Tash (Virginia '68).

G E T I N V O LV E D

VOLUNT E ER OP P ORTUNI T I ES CHAP TE R /CO LO N Y D I R EC TO R S Arizona State (Beta-Kappa) Cal State Chico (Theta-Mu) Cal State Fullerton (Epsilon-Nu) East Carolina (Eta-Kappa) Eastern Kentucky (Epsilon-Lambda) Fresno State (Alpha-Xi) Georgia Tech (Iota-Mu) Miami (OH) (Eta-Phi) Mississippi (Beta-Mu) Ohio (Epsilon) Penn State (Theta)

Purdue (Eta) Salisbury (Theta-Xi) South Florida (Iota-Sigma) Southern Arkansas (Epsilon-Kappa) UC Santa Barbara (Alpha-Omicron) Vincennes (Alpha) Wayne State (Gamma-Omega) West Virginia Tech (Gamma-Xi) Western Illinois (Epsilon-Zeta) Wisconsin-Platteville (Delta-Iota)

PROVINCE ARCHONS ARKANSAS

NORTH CAROLINA

Arkansas (Alpha-Sigma) Arkansas State (Alpha-Pi) Arkansas Tech (Iota-Lambda) Louisiana Tech (Delta-Lambda) Southern Arkansas (Epsilon-Kappa)

East Carolina (Eta-Kappa) North Carolina State (Rho) Wake Forest (Alpha-Nu)

FLORIDA

Florida State (Eta-Epsilon) South Florida (Iota-Sigma) UCF (Iota-Kappa) NE PENN/LONG ISLAND

Cornell (Mu) East Stroudsburg (Beta-Psi) St. John's (Iota-Tau)

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Cal State Chico (Theta-Mu) California (Iota) California-Santa Cruz (Iota-Eta) Santa Clara (Zeta-Eta) WISCONSIN

Michigan Tech (Zeta-Epsilon) Wisconsin (Tau) Wisconsin-Oshkosh (Gamma-Mu) Wisconsin-Platteville (Delta-Iota)

ADVISORY BOARD ME MB E RS Sigma Pi Fraternity has a vested interest in developing our members to be the very best they can be in all aspects of their lives. In an effort to further that goal, we believe that it is important to provide each of our Chapters/Colonies with an established Advisory Board.

The bottom line is this: a successful Chapter/Colony has strong alumni support. Advisory Boards exist for one reason—to support the efforts of the undergraduate Chapter/Colony.

This team, made up of committed and dedicated alumni, university staff or friends of Sigma Pi will serve as mentors to our undergraduate men as they pursue their quest for excellence. We feel that this team is pivotal to a successful organization because of its ability to assist and guide the undergraduates in various aspects of Chapter/ Colony operations.

Each advisor is responsible for training and advising one undergraduate officer or committee head. The advisor will become an expert in his area of Chapter/ Colony operations and will help maintain continuity through officer transition and long-term planning in that area. The advisor is not expected to attend every committee meeting; however, we recommend attending committee meetings when possible, as well as provide advice, assistance and encouragement. We hope that you choose to serve on a local Advisory Board, because we know that any real-world and fraternal experiences you share with the active brothers will help the Chapter/ Colony continue to grow for years to come.

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 37

SI G MA PI VO LU NTEERS

PROVINCE WORKSHOPS

by Sal Popolillo (Monmouth '17), contributing writer

A notable alumnus of Sigma Pi Fraternity, John Zimmer (Cornell ’06), once said, “the times in my life I’ve felt the most alive is when I’m having a connection with people. We need to hack cities in a way to bring back that community culture.” He may be referring to Lyft and the concept of carpooling in cities, but his words can be shifted to the idea of province workshops.

ABOUT PROVINCE WORKSHOPS Sigma Pi Fraternity’s 123 active chapters and colonies are divided into 33 different provinces. These provinces may consist of just two chapters like the Northern Indiana Province or a large group of chapters like the 11 chapters that comprise the New Jersey Province. Each province is led by a volunteer Province Archon who is tasked with achieving many goals on behalf of the fraternity. One of the Province Archon’s primary goals is to host at least one province workshop each academic year, though some provinces are more accustomed to holding one workshop each semester. The best province workshops are events where chapters meet and connect with other chapters in their province, learn about how to successfully manage critical aspects of fraternity life (recruitment, new member education, community service, and fundraising come to mind), and interact

with both alumni volunteers and executive office staff members.

Province workshops are often used as ideal gathering places for other events to take place, too. For example, local alumni clubs may choose to have their annual meetings before or after the province workshop and at the same location as the workshop in an effort to show support for the Province Archon and the undergraduate chapters.

CONNECTION TO BROTHERHOOD Members of Sigma Pi Fraternity are naturally divided by chapters and, to a larger degree, by provinces. Regardless of those divisions, all of our members wear the same letters. Those two letters - Sigma and Pi - unite our brothers, our chapters, and our provinces into one common community seeking success on our shared quest for excellence.

While this concept could be - and often is - discussed at the local P h o to f ro m New Je rs ey Prov i nce Work s hop

38 + SUMMER 2017

VOLUN T EERS

New E ng l a nd P rov i nce Workshop

chapter level, it is the unifying force of province workshops that really help to build the bonds of brotherhood beyond the walls of our own host institutions. One could describe our brotherhood as the culture that we take on as an international community of fraternity men and our shared quest for excellence. Pythagoras himself wrote that “friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aide each other to preserve in the road to a happier life.”

This sage advice comes life in the world of Sigma Pi Fraternity when we join together as brothers, chapters, and provinces at province workshops to better learn about the ideals that unite us.

EDUCATION Province Workshops are primarily attended by undergraduates as their Province Archons seek to provide them with training to both strengthen their chapters and themselves. In the hectic craze of collegiate life, a student may not be presented with an opportunity to learn some behaviors that are better observed in one-on-one interactions. For example, an individual may graduate with honors and a bachelor’s degree in business management. The graduate may be incredibly knowledgeable about the field and a shoe-in for the best job offerings in the market. However, if the young graduate dresses poorly for his job interviews, he may not receive the opportunities that he should based on his academic credentials. Province Workshops not only instruct undergraduates on how to achieve Sigma Pi Fraternity’s ideals, but a good workshop will also bring in professionals to help undergraduates be their best selves. To this end, Anthony Galbo (Monmouth ’13) and Bryan Duarte

(Monmouth ’13) presented at the Fall 2016 New Jersey Province Workshop on how to dress for success. They covered topics including suit color combinations and the proper length of a well-tied neck tie. It’s education like this that may not be taught in a college classroom, but that the fraternity hopes is presented at province workshops.

Below are some reviews of Province Workshops from the last academic year. If your province is not currently hosting an annual workshop, then reach out to your Province Archon to ask about when the next workshop is scheduled to take place - and how you can help make it happen!

NEW ENGLAND PROVINCE The New England Province provided another example of an excellent province workshop during the last academic year.

Dedicated alumni like Province Archon Matthew Quimby (Bridgewater State ’04) spent many hours organizing what turned out to be a record-breaking workshop for the province.

The workshop, which was hosted by Eta-Eta Chapter, brought in a record-breaking 173 undergraduates, which represented six different campuses. This Province Workshop was so important that Eta-Eta alumni Zack Cocco (’16) and Josh Derouen (’13), came back to volunteer during the event. However, these weren’t the only notable alumni that were in attendance.

The speakers list consisted of Grand Second Counselor Joe Palazzolo (Monmouth ’03), Past Assistant Executive Director Kevin Pons (Johnson & Wales ’06), Father Mike Hobson (Worcester Polytechnic ’84), Regional Director Joe Turck (SIUT H E EMERAL D.ORG + 39

VOLU N T E E R S

Edwardsville ’98), PA Quimby, and finally, Past Grand Sage and current Grand Herald Ed Levesque (Bridgewater State ’89).

The workshop started with an introduction by PA Quimby, which was followed by GSC Palazzolo and a presentation on True Greek Leadership within the context of the Grand Council’s Next Steps plan for the fraternity. Next, Father Hobson outlined the importance of the Amazing Day Foundation and the good that giving back to the community can do. GH Levesque, GSC Palazzolo, and RD Turck then took the stage to talk about leadership and answer questions from the audience.

Additionally, RD Turck spoke on goal setting and how to manage the Standards of Excellence progress tracker. Finally, the workshop split into two groups, where Gamma-Iota (Worcester Polytechnic) Chapter Director David Magnano (Worcester Polytechnic ’13) conducted the ritual on balloting new members while GH Levesque spoke to non-neophytes on professional interviewing tips. Shortly after, CD Magnano performed a graduation ritual for seniors, while Eta-Tau (Fitchburg State) Chapter Director Tim Callahan (Fitchburg State ’07) spoke on personal budgeting.

In a reflection on the Province Workshop, PA Quimby said “I would like to thank the brothers of Eta-Eta Chapter at Bridgewater State for hosting our New England Province Workshop this year. Our active brothers were fantastic about arriving early to help us with various tasks. I would like to thank all six of our New England chapters for being there to shatter the New England Province Workshop attendance record with 173 undergraduate brothers in attendance. Everybody looked sharp as we were dressed to badge (suit and ties). I'm looking forward to visiting each of our chapters over the 2017-2018 academic year.”

NORTHERN INDIANA PROVINCE Even though Sigma Pi chapters aren’t always clustered in large groups, the Fraternity still has a strong showing for province workshops. For example, the Northern Indiana Province Workshop included just two chapters: Beta-Tau Chapter at Valparaiso and Eta Chapter at Purdue. Despite the 90 miles that separate the two chapters, Beta-Tau drove to Eta and kicked off the workshop with a cookout. Including social events at Province Workshops help brothers to get to know one another. The cookout also allowed Eta to show off their impressive chapter house before showing off the Purdue University campus.

At the start of the workshop, Province Archon Michael Gardner (Vincennes ’08) and fellow Alpha alumnus Eric Griffin (Vincennes ’06) lead the chapters in an overview of how workshops work. Not all provinces have had a long tradition of 40 + SUMMER 2017

workshops, so this concept was relatively new to the Northern Indiana Province. Following introductions of the Chapter Directors and Executive Board members of both chapters, Gardner led the group in discussing what the roles and responsibilities are of being a brother. This was accompanied by a speech on risk management by Griffin to help the chapters understand what may work for their chapter. After a brief break, Gardner and Griffin then spoke to the chapters about involvement outside of the group. This entailed recruitment of new members and community involvement to help get Sigma Pi Fraternity’s name out to new audiences.

Notably, this province’s workshops may be new, but with the success of this year’s event, it is easy to believe that this will become a much-anticipated annual tradition. This success should be attributed to Gardner’s appointment as Province Archon in 2016. It’s alumni dedication like Gardner’s that makes this communal education possible and helps the fraternity grow together. Of the workshop, Gardner enthusiastically said, “It was wonderful to see the bonds of brotherhood holding strong as Eta Chapter hosted the NIPA Workshop with the brothers from Beta-Tau in attendance. Along with the hot topics discussed during the workshop, we hope to keep this new tradition of chapter hosting alive so brothers get the chance to view one another’s house and campus and to learn different practices and hopefully take something back to be applied at their home chapter.”

SUNBELT PROVINCE The Sunbelt Province is pretty spread out, to say the least.

Chapters are in five states, which include Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. West Alabama University is over 430 miles from SIU-Carbondale, so getting everyone together can be a monumental task. However, since 2011 the Sunbelt has made it work. Sunbelt Province Archon Paul Wydra (UMSL ’01) has seen some new chapters join the group while other chapters have been moved to different provinces over the last six years.

This past February, the Sunbelt Province Workshop was once again held at Middle Tennessee State University. Middle Tennessee is near the middle of the province and also where PA Wydra is currently employed. In addition, it is located nearly 30 minutes from the Executive Office in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Every Sunbelt Province Workshop focuses on sessions that are different from what the undergraduate attendees learn at the Mid-Year Leadership Conference, since the workshop usually takes place just a few weeks later. PA Wydra also asks

VOLUN T EERS

S u n be l t P rov i nce Wo r kshop

for feedback from his chapters to determine which topics they would like to learn more about at the event. They are the ones who take a Saturday to travel and take part in this, so PA Wydra wants the day to be beneficial for them.

Sunbelt had a number of wonderful speakers and sessions at its latest workshop. Grand Third Counselor Will Wojcik (Minnesota ’08) spoke on personal accountability and knowing your rights as college students on campus. It was very worthwhile and also entertaining. Alumnus Jon Bryan (Middle Tennessee ’08) spoke on building the right chapter culture, which was a lively presentation on all things from chapter operations to risk management to accountability in the chapter. Great Plains Province Archon Chris Ruth (UMSL ’08) spoke on getting from college to career, where he discussed using social media during the job hunt, tips on searching for a job, and putting together a winning resume. PA Wydra spoke on a topic that all chapters and colonies struggle with from time to time: chapter accountability.

He discussed how to hold your chapter and brothers to higher standards while helping them achieve their goals, which will consequently help the chapter reach its goals. There was also time for each chapter to give a brief 10 - 15 minute overview of their past year including the good, the bad, and the ugly. This gives all of the chapters a chance to learn more about the other campuses in the Sunbelt Province and presents an opportunity

for the chapters to help each other out since many of our undergraduates have faced the same challenges.

Sunbelt Province Workshops are successful due to the students who show up, who take time out of their busy schedules to want to learn more on how to better themselves and their chapters, and the speakers that are involved. Theta-Omega Chapter at Middle Tennessee always hosts a cookout at their chapter house beside campus where undergrads have a chance to meet and talk after the workshop ends.

“Oftentimes, you think you are in a Sigma Pi bubble because you only see it at your college or university,” said PA Wydra, “So the workshop is a way to shed some light on problems and possible solutions to issues affecting your chapter or colony.”

MISSOURI PROVINCE After several years without a meeting, newly appointed Province Archon Paul Ke organized the Missouri Province for a province workshop at the end of April 2017. The workshop was hosted by Delta-Zeta Chapter at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and featured two Grand Council speakers as well as risk management training, among other topics. In total, nearly 90 undergraduates gathered together from five (of six) different chapters in the province for a half day of instruction, fellowship, and fun.

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 41

VOLU N T E E R S

The workshop started by Delta-Zeta Chapter Sage Robert Michael Clark welcoming the attendees to the University of Missouri-St. Louis. This was followed by a brief province update from PA Ke where each chapter’s progress was discussed. The first large-scale presentation for the workshop was conducted

by GSC Palazzolo and Grand First Counselor Les Wright (Murray State '70). The Grand Counselors joined together to give an hour-long update on the fraternity’s progress relative to the Grand Council’s Next Steps plan for improvement. Topics covered included physical improvements at The Mitchell House, the growth of organic expansion efforts led by local alumni, taking a more business-like stance with the fraternity’s national vendors, and the Grand Council’s continuing support of independent chapters including Gamma-Sigma Chapter at the University of Missouri.

Following the Grand Council presentation was PA Chris Ruth and his discussion around how to properly format a resume as well as which information to include in a resume.

PA Ruth brought a wealth of professional experience to this conversation and provided excellent information and tips to the undergraduates. Several undergraduates asked questions about how to include certain details in their resume, which PA Ruth answered by providing real world examples. After a brief break, the workshop continued with Colony Director Tyler Manning discussing risk management by utilizing Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity’s Ladder of Risk presentation. The discussion began with a lively interactive quiz regarding various risk management topics before leading into the Ladder of Risk presentation itself.

The day ended with a conversation around recruitment led by Delta-Omega Chapter Director Tony Hanks. This was another lively session where the attendees were able to get out of their seats and conduct mock recruitment interviews with the men sitting near them. When reflecting on the day, PA Ke said, “The event was a great opportunity to meet brothers from Chapter within the area as there are several within and hour of each other and could offer support to each other for each others events. My hope is that we all look beyond our own campus and continue building the bonds of brotherhood within our areas.”

HEARTLAND PROVINCE The Heartland Province held it's annual workshop on March 4th, 2017, at the Bell Museum at the University of Minnesota.

Over 100 undergraduates from Iota-Zeta at Minnesota, Sigma at Iowa State, and Xi at Iowa attended as well as ten alumni.

Speakers included Grand Sage Steve Lawler (Iowa ’82), Grand Herald Ed Levesque (Bridgewater State '89), Regional Director Rhett LaRose (UTSA ’12), Chapter Director and Sigma Pi 42 + SUMMER 2017

H e ar tlan d P rovin ce Wo r ks h o p

Educational Foundation Treasurer Tim Quick (Iowa State ’02), and Iota-Zeta Assistant Chapter Director Dan Kobler (Minnesota ’15). Additionally, the workshop was organized

by Chapter Director Brandon Schroeder (Minnesota ’14)— who did most of the heavy lifting regarding organizing and scheduling the event—and Province Archon Eugene T. Hibbs (Iowa State '93).

Guests and keynote speakers included Robert Collins (Iowa State '92) and Darin Lynch, CEO of Irish Titan. Collins is the current Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for Buffalo Wild Wings. His presentation was titled Finding Your North Star and covered topics related to career development and priorities, mentoring, the importance of patience, and networking. Mr. Lynch's presentation was titled Being Yourself in Business. His tips included conducting a personality assessment like Don Lowry’s True Colors, finding and playing to your strengths, sources of inspiration, and finding a mentor.

Both speakers were excellent and emphasized that a career is a long journey and suggested strategies to manage and improve our members’ careers and lives.

Iota-Zeta Chapter and CD Schroeder executed the Province Workshop brilliantly and, in good Midwestern-style, were superb hosts!

NEW JERSEY PROVINCE A province that has constantly shown growth in their province workshops is the New Jersey Province. The most recent workshop was hosted by Delta-Beta Chapter at Monmouth University and was organized by Province Archon Ian Wolf (Rutgers ’14). The New Jersey Province hosts two workshops

VOLUN T EERS

each academic year (one each semester) and this past spring’s workshop continued the tradition of focusing its content on newly initiated members of the fraternity. Dubbed the 12th Annual New Member Experience, this spring’s workshop broke all attendance records for Province Workshops with 258 brothers in attendance (the prior record was 253 attendees set in Spring 2016 at a combined Mid-Atlantic Province and New Jersey Province Workshop). With such a large attendance number, the 12th Annual New Member Experience became the second largest Sigma Pi Fraternity event in the country for 2017 behind January’s Mid-Year Leadership Conference (MYLC) in St. Louis. These 258 attendees represented all ten of New Jersey’s active chapters as well as all of the new members currently building the fraternity’s colony at FDU-Florham.

Like the Northern Indiana and New England workshops, the New Jersey workshops are usually organized into a series of speakers, accompanied by networking between chapters. PA Wolf commented on the overall concept of province workshops, saying that “Province Workshops are a great way to learn about various topics relating to Greek affairs. They bring together chapters and colonies from a geographic region. I believe that you get out what you put in when it comes to your Sigma Pi experience, which includes your attendance and participation in province events like these workshops.”

First, the workshop started with Delta-Beta Chapter Sage Vincent Matano (Monmouth ’18), who welcomed the attendees to the Monmouth University campus with some information about the campus Greek community and the history of DeltaBeta Chapter. Next was the introduction of the FDU-Florham Colony and a speech by its executive council to introduce the new Colony to the full province. FDU-Florham President Anton Pezzano (’20), remarked that “[the New Jersey Province] will greatly encourage our Colony to reach getting chartered and become the next elite chapter in our already successful province.” The rapid success of the new Colony can be attributed to excellent support from local alumni volunteers, the tight knit bonds of brotherhood that quickly formed among the Colony members, and the Colony’s dedication to Sigma Pi Fraternity.

Next, PA Wolf gave a speech on making the most of campus resources, followed by RD Turck who spoke about the Executive Office. These speeches help brothers know how their organization works and how they can get the most out of their universities. Prior to the large group photo outside of Monmouth University’s historic Wilson Hall, Gamma-Eta Sage Alex Nazzaro (Rutgers ’18) gave a speech encouraging attendees to support the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation’s Delta Society.

This membership society was started for undergraduates to

begin giving back in a small way to the Foundation, which in turn, raises money for leadership programs like the MYLC, Sigma Pi University (SPU), scholarships, fellowships, and grants.

Finally, chapter Sages gave updates on their chapters to keep the province informed on what they were working on and areas where they could use assistance. This communication helps chapters within a province accelerate those programs that are working and avoid those programs with bad histories at other chapters. This was followed by Michele Kaplan, Monmouth’s Assistant Director of Student Activities for Fraternity and Sorority Life, and a discussion on the expectations of being a fraternity man and how to exemplify the ideals of Sigma Pi Fraternity. The last presentation at the workshop was provided

by GSC Palazzolo, who spoke about how to empower Greek communities through living the fraternity’s core values and not yielding to the relativism of the day that tries its hardest to condemn fraternity men simply for wearing letters on their chest. The workshop ended with a trivia contest where the giveaways were t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts and the questions were based on the presentations of the day. After the workshop ended, Past Grand Sage Chris Brown (Rutgers) and RD Turck provided a special instruction session on successful risk management and how to elevate chapter operations to both Gamma-Eta Chapter and Delta-Epsilon Chapter.

CHECK I T OU T Summaries of additional Province Workshops are available on The Emerald Online at theemerald.org

F lo r ida P rovin ce Wo r ks h o p

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 4 3

ALUMNI NEWS, EVENTS, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS JERSEY SHORE ALUMNI CLUB The Jersey Shore Alumni Club (JSAC) hosted its fourth annual Founders' Day dinner on Friday, February 17th at Porta in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The event was attended by over 60 Delta-Beta Chapter brothers ranging from being initiated in the 1990s to current undergraduates. The event was a tremendous success and included a short welcome speech by Delta-Beta Sage Vin Matano followed by some brief remarks

by Delta-Beta's own Grand Second Counselor Joe Palazzolo. Everyone who attended had a wonderful time and all are looking forward to next year's event in Asbury Park!

In addition, the JSAC would like to congratulate new alumni Michael Cisero, Andrew Mucci, Ryan Kennedy, and long-time friend of Sigma Pi Daniel Sokolich for their graduation from Monmouth University this past December. Additional congratulations to new alumni Danny Acerra, Tighe Blazier, Billy Carlock, Bill Kavanagh, Clint Keeney, Sal Popolilli, Robbie Sawyer, Craig Smith, and Mike Stigliano on graduating this spring. Brothers Kavanagh and Stigliano both graduated with honors, too! And a final congratulations to Chandler Nichols, who graduated from Monmouth University a second time - this time with his MBA! Finally, it's time to pay your annual dues for membership in the JSAC. Please contact Jeremy Victor at JerseyShoreAC@gmail.com for details. Payments may be made via cash, check, PayPal, or Venmo.

NEW JERSEY LAW ENFORCEMENT ALUMNI CLUB Members of Sigma Pi in New Jersey are working to form an officially chartered alumni club for law enforcement officers in the area. Membership would be restricted to accredited law enforcement officers at the federal, state, county, or local level who are also alumni from a New Jersey chapter or living in New Jersey.

The efforts are being led by Andrew Beuschel (Monmouth '12), a police officer for the Evesham Township Police Department. If you are interested or know someone who fits the criteria for membership, please contact by email at beuschela@eveshampd.org or by phone at 609-678-6775.

KENTUCKY THOROUGHBRED ALUMNI CLUB

TRISTAR ALUMNI CLUB

Murray State’s Homecoming in October was well attended.

Summer Reunion will be the weekend of July 15th and Homecoming is October 28th. Contact us for details at sigmapialumni@hotmail.com.

On April 21, Sigma Pi announced that the Petition to Charter for the TriStar Alumni Club of Sigma Pi Fraternity was approved by a unanimous vote of the Grand Council. The membership in Tennessee now has a valuable resource in the area. They will help to reconnect alumni who may have lost touch with the Fraternity. The Club will work to rekindle the spirit of brotherhood among alumni members in the area, as well as allow for networking opportunities. It will recreate the beneficial friendships that are so vital to the personal and financial growth of our members. Membership is open to all who live and work in the area, along with all alumni from Epsilon-Eta at Tennessee-Martin and Theta-Omega at Middle Tennessee.

We have three brothers on the Murray State University Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. Shawn Reynolds is the President and is joined by James Jennings and Taylor Cline.

Colin Kelly is now a contractor in Murray. Trace Stevens and the Henderson Parks Department won two awards from the Kentucky Parks Society. Greg Sexton is a Training Manager with the Kraft-Heinz Group. Chuck Ries, Mark Hillberry, and Matt Watts ran the Spartan Race near Nashville.

MOREHEAD STATE ANNOUNCES MORGAN AS PRESIDENT Morehead State University announced Dr. Joseph A. ‘Jay’ Morgan (Murray State ’93) as the 14th President.

Morgan had previously been the Chief Academic Officer and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education (CPE) since July of 2015.

Before joining CPE, Morgan had been a professor at Murray State University.

He began teaching in 1997 in the College of Agriculture and served as the faculty regent from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015 he served as associate provost and then provost of Murray State.

44 + SUMMER 2017

Morgan earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Murray State and his Ph.D. at from Oklahoma State. As an undergraduate, he was the chapter’s Second Counselor .

He currently serves on the board of trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges and is Vice Chair of the Kentucky Teachers Retirement System Board of Trustees. Morgan has also served Sigma Pi as a past member of the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation’s Grant/Scholarship committee.

ARNETT NAMED MASTER DISTILLER OF THE YEAR Jeff Arnett (UT-Martin '89), who's role as Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller, has been named Master Distiller of the Year at the 2017 Icons of Whisky America Awards by Whisky Magazine.

Arnett is responsible for overseeing production of the world’s supply of Jack Daniel’s. The Jack Daniel Distillery, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2016, is located in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Arnett, a Tennessee native who grew up in Jackson, has been at the helm of the Tennessee Whiskey since April 2008.

SENECA RECOGNIZED AS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI Dean Seneca (Buffalo '90) has been awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the University at Buffalo.

This award is given in recognition of exceptional career accomplishments, community or university service, and research and scholarly activity.

Seneca has been with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta since 1999. He serves as a senior health scientist, policy health analyst and project advisor for global health programs in the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support.

KEYES JOINS OHIO NORTHERN BOARD OF TRUSTEES The Ohio Northern University Board of Trustees welcomed Richard Patrick “Rick” Keyes III (Ohio Northern ’92) to the board in the fall. Keyes is the president and CEO of Meijer Inc..

photo by James D. Smith

ROMO RETIRES AFTER RECORD-BREAKING CAREER On April 4, 2017, Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois '02) announced his retirement from the National Football League to pursue a career in broadcasting.

Romo spent his entire 14-year career with the Dallas Cowboys after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He went on to be voted to the Pro Bowl four times (2006, 2007, 2009, 2014) and set numerous NFL and Dallas Cowboy franchise records.

For the NFL record book, Romo holds the spot for five records including: • Most passing attempts through 100 starts • Most consecutive road games with at least one touchdown pass: 41 • Highest QB Rating in month of December (133.7) • Highest QB Rating in 4th quarter • Most games with 135+ passer rating in a season (6) Romo also break many franchise records set by NFL Hall of Fame inductee Troy Aikman, including: • Games with 300+ yards passing: 46

He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Grand Rapids, Mich. with their two children, Elizabeth and Richard IV.

• Career passing yards: 33,626

Meijer, Inc., is a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer that operates 230 supercenters and grocery stores throughout the United States.

• Touchdown passes: 245

• Lowest career interception percentage: 2.6% Additionally, Romo is the Dallas Cowboys career leader in passing touchdowns and passing yards.

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 45

ALUMNI NEWS, EVENTS, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

M O U N TA I N C I T Y A L U M N I C L U B

T H E R EST OF T HE STO RY

by Brad Rolfe (Central Michigan '87), contributing writer

The Fall 2016 issue of The Emerald featured a timely article titled Re-engaging with the Fraternity: Alumni Clubs. The article presented ideas to initiate alumni clubs and contained a picture of Delta-Alpha Chapter in front of Central Michigan University's Warner Hall with the picture titled Mountain City Alumni Club. As an appropriate follow-up to that article, here is the rest of the story of the Mountain City Alumni Club (MCAC).

As the article points out there are both regional and chapter alumni clubs. The MCAC is a chapter-based club for DeltaAlpha at Central Michigan University (CMU). The MCAC was originally chartered in 1982. As is the story with perhaps many fraternity alumni clubs, over the years there has been great involvement, but then in the late 1990s and early 2000s involvement decreased to nearly no activity. Life after college, marriage, raising a family, and career demands can all influence alumni involvement. In the case of the MCAC there were two primary events that shook the fraternity and our over 700 Delta-Alpha alumni to action. The first was the revocation of Delta-Alpha Chapter’s charter in August 2008 due to several infractions and, as is usually the case, a lack of active leadership and alumni involvement. Interestingly enough the Delta-Alpha chapter house is owned by the alumni. However, there were many financial issues that arose with the alumni running the chapter house, including back taxes owed and the risk of losing the chapter house.

The Chapter’s charter was revoked by the Executive Office and no brothers were allowed to occupy the chapter house with thousands of dollars in back taxes owed. Delta-Alpha alumni were presented with a difficult and desperate circumstance, but, thanks to the alumni who rose to the occasion, the proper steps were taken to get the chapter back to its former glory. Emergency meetings were conducted with the first step to place new alumni leadership in charge of the housing board - the Delta-Alpha Association (DAA). The DAA under new leadership communicated with all alumni to raise funds to pay the back taxes. After several months, $16,310.00 was raised to pay the back taxes. The house at 1016 South Main was no longer a fraternity house but it would be rented to CMU students and managed by the DAA. Once the house circumstance stabilized, attention turned to rechartering the MCAC with new leadership. Elections were held and the MCAC board was formed. The board met with CMU administration to update them on the status of the theninactive Delta-Alpha Chapter. With the house back taxes paid and new alumni leadership put in place, the MCAC discussed

46 + SUMMER 2017

the possibility of having Sigma Pi return to the CMU campus.

The proactive response in August 2008 from Sigma Pi and the relationship built with CMU administration left the door open to return to campus.

The MCAC re-chartered with the Executive Office on February 16, 2012. The 132 charter members were made up of the alumni that had contributed to pay-off the back taxes on the house. The re-chartering process helped drive the MCAC to put proper leadership in place, with a functioning board and bylaws to conduct business. With the MCAC alumni club now intact and functioning, membership growth and returning to campus became its primary goals.

May of 2012 proved to be a pivotal point for Delta-Alpha Chapter. A meeting was conducted with CMU administration and the Executive Office to discuss how the MCAC would support the international organization by providing leadership to the new chapter and ensuring its success. CMU and the Executive Office agreed to bring the chapter back to CMU’s campus. The Executive Office went to work on-campus to colonize the inactive Delta-Alpha Chapter. On February 17, 2013, 31 undergraduates reformed the Delta-Alpha Colony.

Delta-Alpha Colony was well on its way to re-chartering.

Yet another challenge arose for the Colony - what to do with the century-old house in need of major renovations and foundational repairs? Once again the MCAC provided the forum to discuss, debate, and decide what to do with the house. After a lengthy meeting and investigation of options, it was decided to demolish and rebuild the chapter house. While much of the cost could be covered, alumni contributions were necessary. The MCAC marshaled its resources and a fundraising chairman was identified. The MCAC raised $51,551 with 164 alumni contributing to the new chapter house. The Delta-Alpha Chapter now occupies the new house at 1016 South Main in Mt. Pleasant.

The story of Delta-Alpha Chapter demonstrates the difference that a lack of alumni involvement can make and the positives that can happen with strong alumni involvement and leadership. In our view, the alumni club must support the active chapter and maintain a relationship with the university, where possible. The MCAC and the role of an alumni club must extend to all alumni. The MCAC has established four social events, the thought being to establish four events and build a tradition around those events. This gives alumni brothers and their families the opportunity to get together, catch-up, network, and reminisce. The four events MCAC conducts are:

• A holiday party between Christmas and New Year's Eve • A Detroit Tigers baseball game • A summer golf scramble • CMU Homecoming All four events are organized and operated by an alumnus.

Homecoming has taken on particular significance in that the alumni club works directly with the active chapter to plan and fund homecoming. The MCAC also awards two $500 scholarships to deserving undergraduates at Homecoming.

The award of each scholarship has generated competitive interest and excitement at Homecoming.

While the MCAC and Delta-Alpha alumni have many great accomplishments there are still challenges. Year-to-year fluctuations in membership and succession planning for key positions are primary challenges that the MCAC continues to face. Ideas such as regional alumni get-togethers and rush for MCAC have all been tried and continue to help maintain membership. While supporting the active chapter and CMU

is vitally important and never ending, each time the MCAC conducts one of our social events new connections are made with brothers from different eras including brothers that we may not have been in contact with since graduation.

The story of MCAC continues to be written; with strong alumni involvement and leadership that story will continue for generations. The MCAC leadership consists of brothers that joined Sigma Pi in the late 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. By the way, that picture in the last issue of The Emerald was taken circa 1987 - about 30 years ago. Many of the brothers in that picture are today’s leaders of our alumni club. Before ending, we’d like to offer a special thanks and express our appreciation to all Delta-Alpha Chapter alumni that have contributed time, money, knowledge, and their leadership talents to our alumni club, active chapter, and housing association.

A member of Delta-Alpha Chapter not part of MCAC yet, or a Sigma Pi alumni wanting to learn more about joining an alumni club, can contact us at delta-alpha.com.

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 47

ALUMNI NEWS, EVENTS, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

VETERANS COMMITTEE

P R E SENTATION OF CE RT IFIC AT ES

by Mark Reed (Georgia '69), contributing writer

On February 25, 2017, Veterans Committee Chairman Mark Reed (Georgia ’69) attended the Founders' Day Banquet of Alpha-Delta Chapter at Auburn University. The banquet was held in the Banquet Hall at the Chapter House and was the culmination of Founders' Day weekend for alumni and undergraduates.

After a prime rib dinner was served, Chairman Reed was introduced by Alpha-Delta Sage Will Brock (Auburn ’18).

A history was given of the establishment of the Veterans Committee in 2014 by then-Grand Sage E. Andrew Morris (Murray State ’70), and his appointment of Reed as Chairman.

The first directive given to the Veterans Committee was to complete the design, fund raising, permitting, and construction of a Sigma Pi Veterans Memorial at the Executive Office on the grounds of The Mitchell House in Lebanon, Tennessee. The Veterans Memorial was dedicated on July 17, 2015, and was fully funded and gifted to Sigma Pi by the donation of $50,000 by fifty loyal alumni known by the Veterans Committee as "The 50."

having been wounded or having paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country.

The first recipients of these certificates were all alumni of Alpha-Delta Chapter. During the Founders’ Day dinner, these men were called up to be recognized and were presented their Veterans Committee certificates.

The on-going commemorative brick and chapter paver program has seen almost one hundred bricks and pavers sold.

The sales of these bricks and pavers are funding scholarships in partnership with the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation.

With 1,198 bricks at a contribution $250 each and 142 chapter pavers at $500 each, this program will ultimately raise over $350,000 to fund college scholarships for Sigma Pi veterans, active duty military personnel, and ROTC students.

• MAJ GEN James E. Livingston (Auburn ’62), USMC (Ret), serving from 1962 to 1995, Medal of Honor and three Purple Hearts in Vietnam.

The next project for the Veterans Committee was the design and construction of The Veterans Alcove of Honor at the head of the grand staircase on the second floor of The Mitchell House. The cabinets and display cabinets showcase donated veteran’s memorabilia. There is a sign-in book for visitors to leave a message. The Veterans Alcove of Honor was fully funded by the donation of $6,250 by twenty-five loyal alumni known by the Veterans Committee as "The 25."

• CAPT Kenson Reeves Vance, Jr. (Auburn ’60), USAF, serving from 1960 to 1971.

The most recent project of the Veterans Committee was the design of three different certificates to recognize and honor our Sigma Pi Veterans. The Sigma Pi Order Of Military Service may be presented to every Sigma Pi brother who honorably served in a branch of the military of the United States and Canada. The Sigma Pi Order Of The Valor Cross may be presented to each Sigma Pi warrior who was awarded a medal for valor (The Medal Of Honor, The Silver Star, etc.).

The Sigma Pi Order Of The Purple Cross may be presented to those warrior brothers who received the Purple Heart for

48 + SUMMER 2017

• COL Neil Wayne Chase (Auburn ’61), U.S. Army (Ret), serving from 1957 to 1991, Bronze Star in Vietnam.

• CAPT Paul William Hall (Auburn ’61), USAF, serving from 1961 to 1969.

• CDR Robert Hollis Cochran (Auburn ’12), USN, serving from 1974 to 1994.

• Presented posthumously to PILOT Thomas O’Neal Zorn (Auburn ’69), Jr., USAF, KIA Vietnam 17 September 72 (shot down and killed off the coast of North Vietnam).

The Veterans Committee is hopeful that every chapter of Sigma Pi will institute a similar ceremony to recognize and honor their warrior brothers.

To receive a Veterans Certificate, contact Chairman Mark Reed at veterans@sigmapi.org and provide him with the following information: Full name, rank at discharge, branch of service, dates of service, chapter, date of graduation/chapter year, and name of the recipient’s college or university. A copy of the recipient’s DD214 is requested or else a photo of any award or documentation of service is requested, if available.

A DY T U M O N H I G H "Our Ancient Sage firmly believed in the persistence of the soul beyond the grave, and although we mourn our brother’s passing from this world, we take comfort in sharing this belief that life is not ended, but changed, and that he now enjoys the reward for a life well-lived and guided by the ideals of our Fraternity."

ARIZONA STATE

INDIANA

James Friesen Kempton ('89)

Peter Lewis Barritt ('86) Nicholas William Smith ('16) Patrick A. Webster ('72)

ARKANSAS STATE

Del Allan Pagan ('76)

KANSAS

BARTON

Charles William Hayes ('54) E. Leroy Houser ('53)

Bobby Lee Lynch ('64) BELOIT

Jean Quentin Jones ('46) Christopher Shippee Spencer ('68)

Robert Benson Evans ('63) Samuel Ray Rockey ('65)

Leslie Earl Inman Jr. ('61) CENTRAL MISSOURI

LOUISIANA TECH

William John Dampf ('78)

Michael Dean Slezak ('79)

CORNELL

LOYOLA-CHICAGO

Robert Reber Carroll ('75)

Thomas Bernard Ewers ('55)

DREXEL

George Vannett Robertson ('70) Victor James Vondrasek ('70)

LYCOMING

Nelson Bradley Hertzler ('58) MISSISSIPPI

EASTERN ILLINOIS

Richard K. Armstrong ('61) Kevin Thomas Bischoffer ('83) Philip Robert Doster ('76) James Roy McCracken ('67) Clifford Mack Nugent Jr. ('57) Alan Dale Porter ('74) EMORY

William Franklin Davis ('58) Benjamin Franklin Johnson Jr. ('36) FRANKLIN & MARSHALL

Robert Erwin Deemer Jr. ('58) Rev. Dennis Wayne Haas ('56) Pell Somers Rogers III ('58) Robert Lee Entrekin Jr. ('68) Kermit Boone Felker ('50)

Ryan Jake Dorfman ('11) LOCK HAVEN

CALIFORNIA

GEORGIA

KUTZTOWN

Martin William McKinnon II ('55) MISSOURI S&T

Walter Orr Pearson ('51) MISSOURI STATE

Dennis K Chappell ('65) John Harry Croak ('75) William Aaron Horrell ('59) David Michael Hudson ('61) MOREHEAD STATE

Thomas Grant Roark ('95) Calvin Randall Tackett ('73) NJIT

John True Bachelder ('49) George Nelson Blount ('47) George Marvin Kohn ('48) Richard Stephen Polacek ('47)

Herbert Schreiber Jr. ('49) Manning Mott Stair ('49) Russell Gardner Stair ('44) A. Robert Tillotson ('52) Frederick Lewis Wiegleb ('55) NORTHERN ARIZONA

Mark I. Klein ('76) Melvin Lloyd Risch ('64) Ronald Keith Simonsgaard ('66) Robert Fielding Veazey ('62) Charles Felix Wrona ('72)

RUTGERS

Greg Richard Hale ('77) SAN JOSE STATE

Donald Richard Bertoldo ('69) SIU-CARBONDALE

Joseph Windfield Simons ('60) SIU-EDWARDSVILLE

Johnathan David Carrico ('10) Joseph Michael Mannisi ('72) SLIPPERY ROCK

Joseph Timmons Bailie ('69) John Cassius Wimer ('69)

NORTHERN ILLINOIS

Donald Andrew Miller ('96) OHIO NORTHERN

Robert Bernard Cavendish ('56) Howard Cochran Jones ('53) Wayne Leroy Warren ('63)

TEMPLE

Rodney Martin Manifold ('52) UCLA

Nicholas Dale Zorotovich ('57)

PENN STATE

UMSL

Payson Watt Burt ('56) Gerald Cornell ('59) Richard Eugene Denison ('54) John Richard Finley ('49) Kenneth Henry Klinkel ('51) Michael Lawrence Monack ('42) George Samuel Rigg ('49) Russell Joseph Williams ('50)

Gary Lee Younce ('71) UT-MARTIN

Scott William Sipple ('89) UTAH

Danny Karen Hardy ('58) Andrew Wixiters Pratt ('53) Jack Gunn Salmon ('57) Paul Alfred Young ('56)

PURDUE

Edward Allen Brink ('57) Richard Keenan Erwin ('50) Dr. Thomas Carlyle Hutsell ('61) Darrell Lynn Taylor ('81)

WAYNE STATE

Robert Joseph Nicosia ('70) WILLIAM & MARY

Andrew Wilburn Hogwood Jr. ('70)

RHODE ISLAND

Robert Dylan Garrett ('91) ROCHESTER TECH

James Michael Buhay ('67) John Peyton Old ('67)

To report a brother’s death, visit sigmapi.org/adytum-on-high to let us know.

C HA RT E R IN G A N N O U N CEM ENT

RE-INTRODUCING

E P S I L O N - B E TA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

by PGS E. Andrew Morris (Murray State '70), contributing writer

HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY The University of Kentucky was originally established in 1865 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky. Though many other name changes took place throughout the years, it went on to be known as the University of Kentucky in 1916. The University of Kentucky is one of only two land grant universities in the state, and has an enrollment of over 30,000 students. The University is comprised of 16 colleges, a graduate school, 93 undergraduate programs, 99 master programs, 66 doctoral programs, and four professional programs. Sigma Pi Fraternity was the 25th fraternity established on the UK campus as a colony in 1971.

5 0 + SUMMER 2017

CHA RTE RI N G A N N OUN CEMEN T

HISTORY OF THE COLONY

INSTALLATION TEAM

Epsilon-Beta Chapter received its initial charter on October 20, 1973, with 54 founding members. The group initiated over 1,000 members in the shortest period of time of any chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity at that time. The chapter went on to receive recognition for its quality from both the university and the Executive Office through the years, with many Triad Awards, as well as a Grand Council Award in 2000. After 38 years of operations, the Chapter was closed in 2011.

On October 26, 2014, Epsilon-Beta Colony began their journey to re-establishing Sigma Pi Fraternity on the UK campus. The process of re-colonizing with 52 members was executed promptly by then-Expansion Consultants Zachary Kishpaugh (Oklahoma State ’14) and Andrew Locke (Kansas ’14). Over the next year and a half, the Colony blended into the community, participating in organizational events and its first Colony philanthropy “Dog Days.” In the summer of 2016, the Colony was fortunate enough to have gained access to a chapter house one year ahead of schedule. Through the combined efforts of the brothers, they were able to move back into the house in time for Fall recruitment. Their efforts paid off with 25 new pledges and the largest class in the Colony’s existence. With the membership now over 60, the Colony was ready to petition for chartering and was approved by the Grand Council in January 2017.

GRAND SAGE

GS Steve Lawler (Iowa ‘82) GRAND SECOND COUNSELOR

PGSC Craig Donnelly (Chicago Loyola ‘01) GRAND THIRD COUNSELOR

PGS E. Andrew Morris (Murray State ‘70) GRAND FOURTH COUNSELOR

Daniel Daugherty (Morehead State ‘92) GRAND FIRST COUNSELOR

GFC Les Wright (Murray State ‘70) GRAND HERALD

Chance Staley (Kentucky ‘10)

CH ART E RI NG OFFICER S SAGE

Alec Prew SECOND COUNSELOR

Devon Hurley THIRD COUNSELOR

Walton Draper IV FOURTH COUNSELOR

CHARTERING

Dakota Tate

The initiation ceremony was held on February 18, 2017, at the historic Campbell House in Lexington, Kentucky, where 40 new brothers were initiated into EpsilonBeta. The chartering was led by members of the Grand Council including GS Steve Lawler (Iowa ’82), PGS E. Andrew Morris (Murray State ’70), and GFC Les Wright (Murray State ’70), as well as undergraduate and alumni members from many chapters in Kentucky, and staff from the Executive Office. The installation banquet was held at the Campbell House that evening, where over 200 members and guests were in attendance.

The Master of Ceremonies was newly installed Sage Alec Prew (Kentucky '17) who recognized individuals from the chapter, university officials, and alumni that made the rechartering a success. PGS Morris (Murray State '70) gave a brief history on how the colony started in 1971 on a basketball court on the campus… which was the appropriate way to start a fraternity at UK. Grand Sage Lawler (Iowa '82) spoke on the expectations of the Chapter and read the Presentation of the Charter Proclamation, officially welcoming Epsilon-Beta Chapter back to “My Old Kentucky Home” at the University of Kentucky.

The first Sage of Epsilon-Beta in 1973, William Wassmer ('74), with current Sage Alec Prew ('18) and Founding Father Sam Burchett ('76). Wassmer and Burchett presented memorabilia from the 1973 chartering, to be displayed at the chapter house.

FIRST COUNSELOR

Justin Deyhle HERALD

Wesley Shiflet

FO U NDING FATHER S Chandler Aulick Jacob Bargo Lorenzo Batallones Kyle Bessen Camden Booker Evan Bowman Alec Bradley Conner Cloyd Jordan Collins Michael Derrow Justin Deyhle Sabbyasachi Dhar Walton Draper IV Logan Fuqua Joseph Gordon Stephen Gutka Alejandro Hernandez Austin Hogan Devon Hurley Matthew Jeanmougin Griffin Johnson

Reza Katanbaf Evan Kemper Adam Lyons Jackson McKinley Andrew McMahon Burk Meyrose Tyler Montgomery Israel Porron Jacob Powell Alec Prew Wesley Robinson Jeremy Robison Alex Rosenzweig Ethan Russell Michael Sandell Wesley Shiflet Dakota Tate Ethan Thomas Dominic Trivison Ning Yeh

T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 5 1

C HA RT E R IN G A N N O U N CEM ENT

RE-INTRODUCING

E TA - K A P P A AT EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

by GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State '70), contributing writer

HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY East Carolina University was first founded as a teachers college in 1907 in Greenville, North Carolina. The main reason for the school’s location was the fact that local residents offered a significant tract of land and $100,000 to the new school to entice it to open. Since then, the university has evolved immensely. In 1967, East Carolina Teacher’s College became known as East Carolina University, and in 1972, the university joined in the University of North Carolina System of Higher Education. Today, ECU is the third largest university in the UNC-Higher Education system. Today, ECU enrolls over 20,000 students, offering over 100 undergraduate degrees and 85 graduate programs.

52 + SUMMER 2017

CHA RTE RI N G A N N OUN CEMEN T

HISTORY OF THE COLONY Eta-Kappa returned to campus on October 18th, 2015, when 59 brothers were pinned to recolonize at East Carolina. The colonization was spearheaded by thenExpansion Consultant Joey Manglardi (UFC ’15) and Growth Specialist Dalton Reeves (Missouri State ’15). The first brotherhood retreat took place just one day after the pinning ceremony. One of the very first events that the Colony did to promote a positive image within the fraternity and sorority community was a joint tailgate with Tau Kappa Epsilon, where a relationship was started that carries to this day. The Colony also joined forces with Alpha Omicron Pi and club soccer to host social events with various themes, all of which have not only brought the brothers together but, have established positive relationships within the campus community. Thanksgiving was an opportunity that the Colony took to get the brothers together for a meal as well as give thanks for the strong start to the Colony and a chance to give thanks for each other. As the fall semester of 2015 was drawing to a close the biggest event in the young colony’s tenure was to put on a semi-formal for the brothers and their dates.

One of the highlights of the spring semester was participating in Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity’s “Striking out Cancer” softball tournament. The Eta-Kappa softball team took on not only the previous year’s champion, but many of the wellestablished chapters on campus and came away with a very respectable second place finish - and a donation to Sigma Pi Fraternity’s national philanthropy to show for it. In the spring the men of Eta-Kappa signed up 117 people to become organ donors through Donate Life and partnered with the Amazing Day Foundation for the full semester to collect philanthropic donations.

CHARTERING On Saturday, March 18th, colony members and the chartering team met in the Mendenhall Center in one of the social rooms on the lower level for to conduct the initiation ritual. The chartering was led by members of the Grand Council including GS Steve Lawler (Iowa ’82) and GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State ’07), alumni members from several chapters in North Carolina and Virginia, as well as Executive Office staff. At the chartering, 50 men went through the initiation and became full brothers of Sigma Pi Fraternity.

The Chartering dinner occurred at the Hilton Hotel in Greenville, and was attended by 117 brothers and their dates. GS Lawler, on behalf of the Grand Council and all the chapters in North America, read the Presentation of the Charter Proclamation, officially recognizing the re-installation of Eta-Kappa Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International.

INSTALLATION TEAM GRAND SAGE

GS Steve Lawler (Iowa '82) GRAND SECOND COUNSELOR

GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State '07) GRAND THIRD COUNSELOR

Wes Seaton (North Carolina Wesleyan '92) GRAND FOURTH COUNSELOR

John R. Ingram III (East Carolina '16) GRAND FIRST COUNSELOR

Adam Agee (East Carolina '09) GRAND HERALD

J. David Edwards (Christopher Newport '96)

CH ART E RI NG OFFICER S SAGE

Justin Myers SECOND COUNSELOR

Nick Hilliard THIRD COUNSELOR

Blake Hammond FOURTH COUNSELOR

Russell Littlejohn FIRST COUNSELOR

Brandon Beam HERALD

Joey Casadonte

FO U NDING FATHER S Ryan Allshouse Marcus Anthony Austin Bailey Brandon Beam Blake Bedford Steven Brauer Joey Casadonte Chandler Church Christopher Clancy Andrew Cook Wesley Foy Grant Francis Robert Goodacre William Hains Marc Hamilton Blake Hammond Nick Hilliard Austin Johnson Christian Kelley Mike Kennedy Anthony Lacovara Devin Larson Brandon Leslie Justin Litofsky Russell Littlejohn

Connor Lukowiak Grayson Mayberry Tyler McLeod Daniel Miller Robbie Milton III Mason Mire Charles Morgan Justin Myers Olamide Ozah Colin Quaste Scott Quesenberry Jeffrey Raymond Jack Riley William Serrano Stephen Sharpe Tyler Smith Jordan Sprouse Ty Tabb Ryan Tortorelli Maxwell Tyeryar Byron Uzzell Greyson Vann Brent Williamson David Wyckoff Dustin Younts

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 53

C HA RT E R IN G A N N O U N CEM ENT

RE-INTRODUCING

B E TA - I O TA

AT NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY

by GFC Les Wright (Murray State '70), contributing writer

HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY On September 11, 1899, Northern Arizona Normal School opened its doors with 23 students and just one professor.

In 1925, the college had its first name change to Northern Arizona State Teachers College, and in 1929 again changed its name to Northern Arizona Teachers College at Flagstaff. During the years of the Great Depression, enrollment rose almost 200%. During World War II, the college and its students contributed to the war effort.

After World War II there was yet another name change to Arizona State College due to a broader range of curriculum. During the 1950s, ASC went through a period of exceptional growth under the guidance of Dr. J. Lawrence Walkup. Dr. Walkup played a key role in making Sigma Pi Fraternity the very first IFC-sanctioned fraternity on the ASC campus and was subsequently made an honorary member. On May 1, 1966, ASC was again renamed - this time to Northern Arizona University. Today, NAU ranks in the top 4% of colleges in the nation with an enrollment of approximately 30,000 students system-wide.

5 4 + SUMMER 2017

CHA RTE RI N G A N N OUN CEMEN T

HISTORY OF THE COLONY Beta-Iota Chapter was first chartered on April 28, 1951 and remained active until its closing in 1991. Beta-Iota returned to campus after handing out their first bids in January 2016, and on March 6, 2016, the officially pinned 20 new members.

On April 1, 2016, the soon-to-be-colony held its first big social event with Kappa Delta Sorority and Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, making their first big impact on the fraternity and sorority community at NAU. On April 10, 2016, they officially became Beta-Iota Colony with 61 brothers. The recolonization was spearheaded by then-Expansion Consultant Andrew Locke (Kansas '14) and Growth Specialist Lanse Macke (Oregon '15).

On December 19, 2016, Macke submitted his letter of recommendation to charter along with the Colony’s impressive Petition to Charter. Accomplishments included a total membership of 67 men (above the campus average of 45), an average GPA of 3.10 (above the campus average of 2.71), and 100% of the Colony’s brothers being involved in other student organizations. The Grand Council approved the Colony’s Petition to Charter at the 2017 Mid-Year Leadership Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.

CHARTERING The initiation ceremony was held on Saturday, April 1, 2017, at the Drury Inn & Suites in Flagstaff, Arizona, where 67 brothers refounded the Beta-Iota Chapter.

The chartering team included members of the Grand Council including GS Steve Lawler (Iowa '82), GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State '07), PGS E. Andrew Morris (Murray State '70), and GFC Les Wright (Murray State '70) as well as Province Archon Tracy Nadzieja (Arizona State '89), undergraduate members from Arizona State University and alumni from NAU, as well as representatives from the Executive Office staff.

During the chartering banquet, newly-installed Sage Matthew Romero gave a testimony regarding the character and value that each Founding Father brought to the group. To pay homage to NAU’s origin as a forestry school, four newly-initiated brothers carried the Petition to Charter, which was placed within a tree slice, into the room and presented it to GS Lawler. Following, GFoC Kurisky, on behalf of the Grand Council and all the chapters in North America, read the Presentation of the Charter Proclamation, officially recognizing the re-installation of Beta-Iota Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International.

INSTALLATION TEAM GRAND SAGE

GS Steve Lawler (Iowa '82) GRAND SECOND COUNSELOR

GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State '07) GRAND THIRD COUNSELOR

PGS E. Andrew Morris (Murray State '70) GRAND FOURTH COUNSELOR

Tracy Nadzieja (Arizona State '89) GRAND FIRST COUNSELOR

GFC Les Wright (Murray State '70) GRAND HERALD

Andrew Locke (Kansas '14)

CH ART E RI NG OFFICER S SAGE

Matthew Romero SECOND COUNSELOR

Eric Babbit THIRD COUNSELOR

Riley Bettin FOURTH COUNSELOR

Nick Maxwell FIRST COUNSELOR

Angel Vandegrift HERALD

Edward Chance

FO U NDING FATHER S Albert Acosta Garry Ancheta Brett Aylward Eric Babbitt Max Basemann Daniel Baytosh Robert Belzner Riley Bettin Scott Bourget Eduardo Caraveo Mathew Castillo Edward Chance Raul Chavez Jack Corless Dylan Corriveau AJ Davalos Kyle Davis Apolinar Diaz Esarjohnly Divinagracia Anthony Duggin Lacey Eastburn David Elizondo Jake Farrar Zachary Fischer John Freudenberger Christopher Galus Kade Greenhalgh John Hortareas Melvin Hutchinson Cole Jennings Jaeson Juarez Gavin Kirby Russell Kizior Christopher Kocay Bradley Kukuk James Lemarr Carson Lester Aaron Lipinski Ty-Michael Maes Alexander Markwardt Turner Marsolek Nicholas Maxwell

Ethan McDonald Earl Meredith Ryan Meza Tyler Millidge Jeremiah Nickerson Andrew Ormonde Blake Owsley Anthony Peters Dylan Pinder Richard Powers Collin Pullum Russell Ready Duncan Reidhead Cameron Richards Kieren Rigney Jesse Rodriguez Joseph Rolle Matthew Romero Aaron Ross Brandon Ruiz Anthony Rusk Samuel Ryckman Christian Sailor Samuel Salcido Dakota Sallaway Grant Saville Trevon Scott Clayton Shaw Connor Sheridan Juan Sotelo Perez Harold Sturgeon Nicolas Tanquary Kiefer Thomas Angel Vandegrift Luke Vanderbroek James Walkup Theodore Wallace Christian Walton Kenneth Webber Jr. James Weston Christopher Whitney James Williams

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 5 5

C HA RT E R IN G A N N O U N CEM ENT

RE-INTRODUCING

EPSILON - NU

AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON

by GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State '70), contributing writer

HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY In 1957, California State University-Fullerton became the 12th state college in the California State College system approved by the Legislature. Fullerton, California is located in the northern part of Orange County in southern California, about a 45-minute drive from Los Angeles and a two-hour drive from San Diego County.

The historic elephant race was held at Cal State-Fullerton, giving this university its famous “Tuffy the Titan� mascot. Originally named the Orange County State College, the university prides itself in its forward thinking and diversity. In the early 2000s, Cal State-Fullerton grew exponentially, and now serves more than 40,000 students.

5 6 + SUMMER 2017

CHA RTE RI N G A N N OUN CEMEN T

HISTORY OF THE COLONY After many years of being off the Cal State-Fullerton campus, many key alumni such as PGS Larry Rovira (’85), Carlos Leija (’88), former Sigma Pi Educational Foundation Trustee David DeFilippo (’92), and Ed Gogin (’82) worked with both the university and the Executive Office to re-colonize. The official colonization ceremony was held on October 15, 2015. Sigma Pi has a long and successful history on the Cal State-Fullerton campus, and the Colony took many steps to recreate their winning image at Cal State-Fullerton. From the moment each brother accepted their bids to join Sigma Pi, a strong sense of comradery began to build.

The Colony went on to participate in many events, especially in the fraternity and sorority life community. Members also spent time developing themselves as leaders. From hosting communications and goal setting workshops, to presenting on public relations and marketing, the leadership of the Colony began to show through. Epsilon-Nu also has had a number of brothers who served in leadership positions on the University campus.

The alumni played a key role in this leadership development. Their vision of creating a capable Executive Council and brotherhood came to fruition when the Colony was recognized at Convocation in 2016 for having the most members in attendance. From that point forward, they knew that their hard work was paying off, but still continued to strive for excellence.

CHARTERING On Sunday, April 23, 2017, the Colony members were initiated at the George G. Golleher Alumni House, where Epsilon-Nu was the first and only fraternity to host their initiation. The event took place both inside and outside in a courtyard of the house. The chartering was led by GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State ’07), alumni members of the originally-chartered Epsilon-Nu Chapter, alumni members from other chapters in California, as well as Executive Office staff. At the chartering, 80 men were initiated and joined the ranks of Sigma Pi Fraternity.

At the Chartering dinner, which occurred at Embassy Suites, Dr. Tonantzin Oseguera (Associate Vice-President for Student Affairs) gave the keynote address. Both Dr. Oseguera and GFoC Kurisky were gifted from the Chapter engraved paddles commemorating the re-chartering. GFoC Kurisky gave a point of privilege and requested PGS Rovira to officially charter the newly installed Chapter in recognition of all of his hard work and dedication to Sigma Pi Fraternity and Epsilon-Nu Chapter. PGS Rovira read the Presentation of the Charter Proclamation, officially recognizing the re-installation of Epsilon-Nu Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International.

INSTALLATION TEAM GRAND SAGE

GFoC Brian Kurisky (Ferris State '07) GRAND SECOND COUNSELOR

PGS Larry Rovira (Cal State Fullerton '85) GRAND THIRD COUNSELOR

PGTC Brian Devot (Cal State Long Beach '00) GRAND FOURTH COUNSELOR

PGS John Merino (Cal State Long Beach '58) GRAND FIRST COUNSELOR

David DeFilippo (Cal State Fullerton '92) GRAND HERALD

Scott Tucker (Cal Poly '10)

CH ART E RI NG OFFICER S SAGE

Jordan Lim SECOND COUNSELOR

Daniel Vasquez THIRD COUNSELOR

Anthony Pierce FOURTH COUNSELOR

Nicholas Weller FIRST COUNSELOR

Chris Keith HERALD

Adrian Maningding

FO U NDING FATHER S Tyler Ambrose Kevin Asgari Sergio Bedolla Joshua Borjas Spencer Briglio Joseph Bruccoleri Nicholas Calvert Ian Cervantes Victor Contreras Joshua Cooley Gilbert Diaz Sean Doorly Derek Dorr Jacob Elder Richie Fall Brody Ferretta Alejandro Flores Miguel Flores III Luis Fraire Mathew Friedman Cyrus Ghomashchi Darius Ghomashchi Omar Gomez Quincy Gonzales Anthony Hernon Sean Hiller Ryan Huey Bryce Ingalls Joshua James Michael Jimenez Nick Johnson Christopher Keith Jack Lee Christian Leon Jordan Lim Jared Lopez Victor Lugo Josiah Maese Adrian Maningding Jacob Mansur Robert May

Ted Medina Vincent Mendoza Alex Merkert Vincent Messina Lawrence Nguyen Paul Nguyen Thanh Nguyen Daniel Okorocha Hasani Olalde Edward Orellana Demetrio Oseguera Jr Anthony Pierce Shafin Rahman Ben Rivera LaMar Roberts Armando Robles Miko Rojas Fernando Salgado David Sanchez James Evan Segovia Spenser Selbo Kristian Sjoberg Tyler Smelcer Devin Smith Jerod Stevens Louis Tagatac Daniel Tapia Aqil Thanawala Andrew Tisdale Michael Tjaden Kenny Tran Anthony Vasquez Daniel Vasquez Jason Verdi Benjamin Vu Nicholas Weller Weston White Brandon Zamora Michael Zhao

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 57

G E T TO K N OW T H E N E W

ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

by Chris Carter (Middle Tennessee '11), Editor

Joe Drain (Florida State '10) began his role as Assistant Executive Director on March 15, 2017, after serving as Regional Director August 2015. I sat own with Joe for this interview to share his story, his thoughts on Sigma Pi, and how past experiences will aid him in his new role.

Chris Carter: Tell us a little bit about your background:

CC: You mentioned some aspects of your family. Tell us a

where you were born, where you grew up, and some notable

little more about them.

experiences from your childhood.

JD: My parents met in college at Troy University, where my

Joe Drain: I was born in Homewood, Alabama (a suburb of

mom was a member of Alpha Delta Pi and actually was a little sister at our Delta-Psi Chapter in the late 70s. I’m the oldest of three sons, and we had the typical upbringing with our days of getting along and being at odds as brothers do.

Birmingham). I spent the early part of my life growing up there before moving to Jacksonville, Florida to spend the rest of my years up through high school. There was a brief stint (1 ½ years) living in northern Illinois due to my dad’s job. Fortunately, it began my affinity for the Chicago Cubs, and it was during the peak of the Bulls’ run with Jordan, Pippin, and Rodman. Aside from that, I spent a lot of my days outdoors and around Alabama football thanks to my grandfather in the fall, then spring and summer were filled with days at the beach.

5 8 + SUMMER 2017

My wife, Kelly, and I met at Florida State University (FSU) through student government. We knew of each other through the same social circles, but it wasn’t until we were paired with Kappa Kappa Gamma for homecoming one year and the simultaneous SGA campaigns that our relationship actually took off. Since then, we’ve been together as we’ve made our travels

across the country for graduate school at Auburn together, then moving place-to-place for our various job opportunities.

CC: Tell us a little bit about your time on the Executive Office

CC: Your undergraduate degree is from Florida State where

JD: I started at the end of summer 2015 as the Regional Director

you were a Founding Father of Eta-Epsilon Chapter. You went

for the southeast, where I was told that the office was looking for a vacancy that had abruptly come about. I believe my name had traveled around due to the professional circles in the fraternity and sorority life community, and I felt as though my understanding of schools in the south was the appeal. It was a quick turnaround in our move from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Atlanta, Georgia where I’ve been based. There was little time to let things sink and I had to hit the ground running. Since then I’ve loved every minute of the position, even when the job gets difficult. It’s allowed me to be impactful to an organization I care deeply about on different levels, and hopefully my efforts have resonated well within my region as well as throughout Sigma Pi as a whole.

on to graduate school at Auburn. Tell us about your views of witnessing two chapters from different perspectives.

JD: Being able to bring back Eta-Epsilon Chapter at FSU was

definitely a highlight of my experiences in Sigma Pi and in life.

I was so in awe to see the hard work we all put in pay off when getting to the chartering point and seeing the Chapter continue to flourish. My Chapter and Auburn’s have had a longstanding relationship since we originally were founded in the 1980s, which is great to see persist. I was fortunate to have made strong relationships while at FSU with Alpha-Delta Chapter at Auburn and it allowed me to have a working knowledge of their culture, making it easier for me to connect with them. I think personalities between the chapters meshed as they were both similar, but the difference was that Alpha-Delta was a lot more well-established and had such a rich history to recount with its new members, actives, and alumni that surpassed what EtaEpsilon had been able to experience. The interesting thing is despite the difference in age of each chapter, both experienced their difficulties in the same areas: alumni engagement, finances, risk management, tackling the social hierarchy of their campuses, etc.

CC: Before joining Sigma Pi Executive Office staff in 2015, you’ve worked in higher education at several universities.

Tell us about those experiences.

JD: Working in higher education was a rewarding experience

that allowed me to develop quickly as a professional. Working with a fraternity and sorority life community on that side of the aisle lent its challenges, since in some cases I was coming in as an outsider. For instance, while working at the University of South Carolina, I lived in the Kappa Alpha house and was their advisor. Therefore, I had to learn how to connect with them and build a rapport with their alumni quickly in order to be effective. Transitioning to my role overseeing Greek housing at the University of Arkansas, I shifted my scope to working with a higher level in the community and refined my tools as a professional with capital campaigns, alumni/donor relations, housing development projects, meetings with boards of trustees and university leadership, and networking with other campus partners to achieve the university and local housing corporations’ strategic plan.

staff so far: when did you start, how did you get the job, etc.

CC: What has been the biggest surprise for you so far since joining staff?

JD: Not that it’s much of surprise, but I’d say the quick turnaround

for me to start imparting my background and knowledge in key areas of the organization’s operations, as well as the great degree of camaraderie among those on the Executive Office team were welcomed new experiences.

CC: What challenges do you believe that Sigma Pi will face in the near future?

JD: I think that the landscape of higher education and the

fraternity and sorority life community in general will continue to shape how we approach our development of members, and so there likely will be new conversations to be had and may be processes that need to be reexamined in order for us to not only adapt, but to advance.

CC: What message do you want to share with the membership of Sigma Pi? JD: I like to take advice from some of my favorite coaches

and there’s one from my alma mater’s current coach that still resonates, “Trust the Process.” I ask that all members (undergraduate, alumni, volunteer, etc.) have faith in the work being done by everyone in our Fraternity. It takes everyone to play their part and to work as a team through this process in order for Sigma Pi to be a better version of our yesterday’s self.

Continue to be not only the best version of a Sigma Pi you can be, but the best version of yourself.

TO C O N TA C T A S S I S TA N T E X E C U T I V E D I R E C TO R J O E D R A I N , E M A I L H I M AT J D R A I N @ S I G M A P I . O R G T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 59

ROAD WA R R IO R S

R OA D WA R R I O R S

COLONY UPDATES

AN UPDATE ON OUR CURRENT EXPANSION EFFORTS

by Growth Specialists Dalton Reeves (Missouri State '15) and Lanse Macke (Oregon State '15), contributing writers

COLORADO STATE

FRESNO STATE

MICHIGAN

ETA-SIGMA COLONY

ALPHA-XI COLONY

ALPHA-BETA COLONY

The men of Eta-Sigma Colony have paved the way for Sigma Pi to become a very successful group on their campus.

By going above and beyond in terms of community service and philanthropy, these men continue to make strides in recruitment, brotherhood, and all aspects of social events. With a petition in the works, the fraternity can hopefully see a chartered group by next Fall 2017.

The Interest Group at Fresno State colonized on April 21st, 2017. The Colony has been working very hard to get to this point and we are so proud of them for their effort and drive. As an Interest Group, they had a lot working against them, but with continual support from the Executive Office as well as members of the IFC and Panhellenic Communities they pulled through. The Colony has been active in the community and has been a heavy participant in philanthropic causes, as well as being recognized by multiple sororities for their efforts - even when they were an Interest Group at Fresno State. The fraternity is very proud of the men of Alpha-Xi Colony.

Alpha-Beta is working hard to ensure the betterment of their group by developing brotherhood, discovering what makes them unique, and working hard to set themselves apart from the other groups on campus. After gaining knowledge at the Mid-Year Leadership Conference, this group is more determined than ever to succeed and bring this colony to chapter status.

ILLINOIS STATE EPSILON-ETA COLONY

FDU-FLORHAM FLORHAM COLONY

The FDU-Florham Colony was colonized on January 22, 2017, with 17 men. The Colony is moving right along on the northern New Jersey campus of FDU-Florham and are growing stronger every day. The Colony leadership had the opportunity to attend MYLC 2017 with the sponsorship of local Sigma Pi alumni as well as the Grand Council of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International.

The men received training for their Executive Council as well as recruitment at MYLC and it shows. The Colony is on track to Charter in Spring 2018 and will make an excellent Chapter and addition to the New Jersey Province.

6 0 + SUMMER 2017

Epsilon-Eta is making great strides on Illinois State University's campus by hosting philanthropy events, partaking in community service, and establishing themselves socially on a very diverse campus. This group is building the foundation of this colony so that as chartering approaches, they have the tools to be a well-established chapter.

With a successful Amazing Day Foundation event completed as well as several brotherhood events, this colony is becoming a leading group on their campus.

OHIO NORTHERN ZETA COLONY

Zeta Colony colonized at ONU on March 19, 2017, with 42 men, immediately making them the second largest fraternity on campus. The Colony is easily the most diverse group on campus, with the likes of Student Government, Athletics, Founders of Clubs, and members of honor societies all represented. The Colony is already competing in Greek Week and making their presence felt along with winning and raising the most money for Relay for Life just weeks after Colonization.

The Zeta Colony should have no issues with Chartering in less than a year.

ROA D WA RRI ORS

Q U ESTIO N S FRO M TH E ROAD:

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCES HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE

by Regional Director Rhett LaRose (UTSA '12), contributing writer

Once upon a time…

There was a college freshman who was a “rising star” in his chapter, or at least that’s what he was told. The truth was he wasn’t really sure what that meant. All he knew was that he really enjoyed his Fraternity - Sigma Pi. It was because of this that he decided he wanted to experience everything it had to offer. Chapter meetings were “okay” since they got everyone together each week, like a mini-reunion. Brotherhood and service events were fun, but never seemed to get a big turnout.

The freshman would attend events, after-meetings, aftersocials, and so on; always thinking “This is great and all but... I feel like there has to be more.”

Then, during a chapter meeting, the Sage stood at the front of the room going on with the weekly business. However, there was something unusual on the agenda: Election of delegate to Sigma Pi University. “What is that?” thought the member.

He never heard of Sigma Pi University during new member education and he would know - he was pledge class president and scored a 100 on his exam. The member waited patiently to hear what this could be.

Finally, the chapter Sage explained, “This summer there will be a Sigma Pi University or SPU for short. SPU is a leadership conference put on by the Executive Office for every chapter to send their next generation of leaders to. We need to…” At this point the freshman’s big brother began elbowing him in the ribs. He leaned over and whispered, “You should totally go for this!” The freshman thought, “Maybe I should…” then focused once again on the Sage: “SPU will be in Tennessee this year and the chapter budgeted for the expense to send someone, so cost shouldn’t be a factor. Whomever we elect to send will be receiving some of the best leadership training that the Fraternity has to offer. Not only that, but they will meet and get ideas from brothers at every chapter in Sigma Pi, which is pretty cool by itself.”

His mind was now made up, the freshman wanted to attend this “SPU.” Waiting for the Sage’s speech to roll to a stop, he heard the words he was waiting for: “I’ll open the floor for nominees to attend SPU on behalf of our chapter.” The young member’s hand went up and he immediately saw a grin spread wide across his big brother’s face. He quickly scanned the room for the competition he may face. Much to his surprise, there wasn’t much to speak of…

After the election process concluded, the young freshman had secured his ticket to Sigma Pi University.

L aRo s e w ith Jo n F ro st (U MS L '02 )

After the meeting, he found his big brother and asked him a question. “Hey, why do you think no one else wanted to go to SPU? I thought it would be a much harder fight.” His big brother looked at him with that same grin and said, “Listen man, someone once told me something about fraternities that I’m going to tell you.”

The young member nodded and listened. “He told me ‘Getting the most out of the Fraternity is up to you, completely. You just have to be willing to put the most you can into it!’ I think if you stick to that, you really can’t go wrong, okay?”

Seeing the confused look on the freshman’s face, he realized he needed to dive a little deeper. “Look, the reason the others didn’t jump at the chance to go to SPU has a lot to do with how they see the Fraternity. They keep waiting to ‘get the most,’ without ‘putting the most’ in. I went to SPU when I first joined, too, and it was amazing! I still keep up with some of the guys I met there from both California and Canada. But I knew it meant giving up time during summer break. Time where I could be making money, taking an extra class, or just relaxing.”

The freshman then realized all of the things he planned to do that summer. His big brother continued, “The bottom line is - it was worth it! When you go this summer, you’re the kind of guy who is going to go out of his way to meet brothers, take photos with the Grand Council, visit the museum and meet the staff, and come back with a plan to improve everything in our Chapter.”

The young member finally recognized his big brother’s grin for what it was - he was proud of him. “In other words, when you come back from this summer's leadership conference, you will be the future.” *Based on my true experiences as a freshman member of Sigma Pi T H EEMERAL D.ORG + 61

A RC HI VE S

THE EMERALD RECOVERED

WHAT A FRATERNITY SHOULD DO FOR ITS MEMBERS

C The sixth issue of The Emerald, volume IV, issue II was published in July 1917, with Raymond A. Hoyer (Temple 1913) serving as Editor-in-Chief and Layton S. Shaffer Sr. (Ohio Northern 1913) serving as Business Manager. Additionally, Robert B. Fall (Purdue 1912) served as Alumni Editor, J.J. Woltmann (Illinois 1914) served as Exchange Editor, and Luther Tate (Kenyon 1918) served as Collegiate Editor.

In this series, The Emerald staff finds past articles from the archives that are still relevant in today’s fraternal world.

The following excerpt is from an article written

by Eta Chapter alumnus M.L. Fisher (Purdue 1915), a professor at Purdue University.

The remainder of this article is available in volume IV, issue II (July 1917) online at theemerald.org/archives

6 2 + SUMMER 2017

ollege fraternities have been in existence for many years and their number is constantly increasing.

In some institutions they are organized without much restriction on the part of the college authorities; in others they are closely limited or denied altogether. The general public has grave doubts as to the value of fraternity life to the student and the fraternities may well consider if their product warrants their existence. The question of what a fraternity should do for its members ought to receive careful consideration by every chapter.

societies, athletics, musical and dramatic organizations, YMCA, the college paper, etc. all should receive the stimulating effect of the fraternity men. Of course, no man should participate in all these activities, but he should ally himself with two or three of those for which he is best fitted. Such participation promotes democracy and removes much of the antagonism frequently apparent because of the exclusiveness of fraternity men.

While in college, the student must learn to work with his fellow-man and get along agreeably with him.

Inasmuch as the acquiring of an education is the primary purpose of a man's attendance at a college, it is logical that the first thing the fraternity should do is to help its men to study effectively.

Freshmen usually do not have wellformed habits of study; in many cases the older men have acquired it only in part and that after harsh experience. A large part of student failure is due to the inability of the student to apply himself to his lessons. Regular study hours should be maintained and enforced. Instruction in how to concentrate on the task in hand and how to expedite work should be given by upperclassmen who are outstanding in their studies. The outstanding man is usually not so because he is more brilliant than others, but because he concentrates on his work and systematizes his efforts.

He works at high efficiency.

Participation in college activities tends to broaden a student's viewpoint and at the same time develop in him some sense of his relation to his fellow-man. Courtesy and deference to others mark the cultured man. These qualities in a man are valuable assets. Many men are rude and crude because they do not know better. The rules of good form receive very little attention in the training of most young persons.

Many men have attained greatness in spite of their crudeness and we have charitably said that they were "peculiar."

Many other men have failed to accomplish all they might because of the lack of culture limiting them. It is important that a chapter teach its members the rules and practices of good social usage. While it may seem unnecessary at first thought, yet it is not too much to expect a chapter to form its new members into a class and put them through a rigid drill in good manners. The pledge so trained will have reason to be thankful to his brothers a hundred times in his future life.

While scholarship is being maintained the value of participation in college affairs should not be lost sight of. Fraternity men should take a live interest in all forms of college activities. Literary and technical

A RCHI V ES

THOUGHTS ON THE EMERALD RECOVERED We asked two members what their thoughts were on the excerpt "What a Fraternity Should do for its Members."

PETER LAGREGOR (TCNJ '02)

TIM SCHWEISS (MISSOURI ’17)

The question of what a fraternity should do for its members is an interesting one. After all, a fraternity IS its members.

If the members flourish, then so does the fraternity. This is just as true on the local chapter level as it is on the national level. Ultimately, a fraternity must endeavor to push its members to be better than they were before they were initiated and ensure they are in a better position to succeed in today's world.

The profound words of M.L. Fisher (Purdue 1915) are still true today: "The general public has grave doubts as to the value of fraternity life to the student and the fraternities may well consider if their product warrants their existence."

Today, chapters must distinguish themselves and provide valid proof of value they contribute. Above all else, they should support our goal to promote fellowship, develop character and leadership, advance heightened moral awareness, enable academic achievement, and inspire service.

There are a number of traits that a fraternity should foster in its members, such as academic achievement, social experience, brotherhood, and many others. But above all, a fraternity should prepare its men to take their next steps in life into the "real world." This has become increasingly important in recent generations when most schools fall short of this goal.

An independent chapter is unique from other chapters in the sense that, unlike an affiliated chapter, independent chapters lack the support or recognition from their local university. As a result, the challenges faced are multifaceted, and in some ways more difficult than an affiliated chapter.

A fraternity is very much a model of the world in which we live. There are local chapters, larger provinces, and a national office. The majority of governance and decisionmaking in a chapter is, and should be, done at the local level.

Guidance and oversight may come from the national level, but autonomy and accountability must be present on the local level. This is no different than the way governments and businesses are run. In this way a fraternity's members learn the skills of leadership, teamwork, responsibility, and achievement that allow them to succeed.

To enable academic achievement for its collegiate members, an independent chapter must take advantage of the most valuable resource it possesses: an experienced group of upperclassmen who have valuable academic knowledge and insight, and the ability to inspire younger members to organize and prioritize their goals with respect to the region’s culture. These chapters must adapt strategies to work with the challenges they face by not having affiliation and, in some instances, lacking any cooperation from the school whatsoever.

However, much like a government or a large corporation, the fraternity owes a responsibility to protect and serve its members just as much as the members owe a responsibility to serve the larger fraternity. We live in an age where fraternities all over the country are failing their members.

Fraternities are failing to educate them in simple things such as recruitment and pledge education, while failing in larger tasks such as shifting media coverage to positive activities. As a result, fraternity men are increasingly under attack from the very institutions that they attend and local chapters are often ill-equipped, through no fault of their own, to face off against these larger institutions.

Although an independent chapter may not have access to the same resources an affiliated chapter might, such limitation should not prevent community service. They still have the obligation to dedicate service to local charity organizations.

Resources that enable a member to serve his community should be encouraged and readily available. One of the most vital strengths of any chapter, regardless of status, is the ability to educate, spread awareness, and encourage the efforts of local philanthropic opportunities.

Tradition for tradition’s sake has no value. However, when those traditions are shown to add value to a member’s college experience (and beyond) then they are something that should be protected on every level. It is also a fraternity’s responsibility to reexamine its traditions regularly to ensure that they continue to add value to its members’ lives just as it is the chapter’s responsibility to grow with increased knowledge and adapt to the present society.

In this way, a fraternity will be better able to protect its members, continue to be in a position to prepare them for their future, and enable both the individual member and the fraternity as a whole to flourish.

The challenges faced by an independent chapter are unique because they force leaders to adapt to situations that may not have an established course of action. This enables such executive members to grow and develop a deep sense of integrity, as well as the patience and innovation to provide solutions to such distinct issues. They should encourage and cultivate an environment which motivates the development of these important leadership characteristics.

Above all things, an independent chapter must have a priority on developing fellowship. It is often argued that the strongest of bonds are created through trial and tribulation.

The issues faced often provide a unique advantage in creating opportunities for that bond to develop. After all, there is no greater reward than success in the face of adversity.

T H E EMERAL D.ORG + 63

A RC HI VE S

FROM THE MUSEUM ARCHIVES

S IG MA D E LTA R ITUAL BOX

by Michael Grant (Oakland '97), contributing writer

Editor’s Note: The "From The Museum Archives" spotlight will be an ongoing series in each issue of The Emerald that introduces an important historical item from the museum at the Executive Office.

When, in the spring of 1908, PGS M. Atlee Ermold (Temple 1909) was confronted with the task of preparing a ritual for the newly formed Sigma Delta Fraternity at Temple University (of which he was a founding member), he “cast around for a guiding motif with a Grecian atmosphere.” Drawing upon the university for inspiration, the “Owl” and “Temple” offered Ermold a focal point around which to build - the former being his school mascot and the latter the name of the institution itself. He found that the “Owl-headed Goddess” in ancient Greece held a promise. So, “with the aid of the latest edition (11th) of the Encyclopedia Britannica and a humble page of an almanac," the work began.

According to PGS Ermold, “Sigma Delta Fraternity was the successor to the Sigma Delta Science Club of Temple, an organization drawn largely from those pursuing the Civil Engineering Course. All members were mathematically inclined and it would only be natural that the story of [our Ancient Sage] should be blended with the other ideas.” PGS 6 4 + SUMMER 2017

Louis L. Moore (Temple 1909) wrote that Ermold’s work was adopted by the local fraternity on December 5, 1908. Thus was born the Sigma Delta Ritual, which would later become the basis of The Golden Quest, the present initiatory rite of Sigma Pi Fraternity.

ABOUT THE BOX This box contains the earliest existing copy of the Sigma Delta Ritual. The words are extremely faded, but are still mostly legible. While significantly different from the present day version of The Golden Quest, it is similar enough that any initiate of Sigma Pi would recognize it. The Sigma Delta Ritual was adapted into the first version of The Golden Quest between July 1909 and April 1910. It was adopted by the Fraternity at the Second Biennial Convocation held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in October 1910. It was at this Convocation that PGS Ermold was elected Grand Sage. *Words appearing in brackets have been redacted to protect their esoteric meaning.

PHOTO FINISH This photo was submitted by Theta-Lambda Chapter at Radford University. Donnie Stewart (Radford '16) is a junior at Radford University who studies Geospatial Science.

Stewart previously served as Herald before he took leave for his deployment to Kuwait and Afghanistan.

To submit your own photos for consideration as the Photo Finish, please email them to emerald@sigmapi.org or use #sigmapi on your social media accounts.

Non Profit U.S. Postage PAID Lebanon Junction, KY Permit No. 441

SIGMA PI FRATERNITY 106 North Castle Heights Ave. Lebanon, TN 37087

ELECTRONIC SERVICE REQUESTED

On Founder's Day, the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation kicked off a year-long campaign celebrating 120 years of Sigma Pi Fraternity. In recognition of this milestone anniversary, we hope you consider showing your support for the Fraternity by making a one-time donation of $120 to the Foundation. Or, you might honor the 120th anniversary of Sigma Pi by committing to making a $10 donation each month for the next 12 months.

More donation options are available at the link below. Progress is possible with your support!

si gm ap i.org/d onate As a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code, gifts to the Educational Foundation are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.