The Kappa Alpha Journal - Zac Brown Feature

Photo by C. Taylor Crothers

soon become a state-of-the-art facility that practices cutting-edge programs to assist and rehabilitate children with neurobehavioral and learning difficulties (including ADD/ ADHD, Dyslexia, Tourette’s Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders) as well as serve children with diverse backgrounds and socio-economic levels.” Brown, the youngest of 14 children and himself the father of four, no doubt understands how important it is for young people to be given the chance to experience everything that life has to offer, and he’s doing his part to provide them that opportunity.

While Brown’s schedule may preclude him from having a round-the-clock hands-on involvement in Camp Southern Ground, he has a capable staff that includes Executive Director Jean Peck overseeing the development of the project.

“Zac is a genuine person with a genuine heart,” said Peck, who has a long history of success herself as a military pilot and in business and real estate. “Zac is a man of his word and is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of others. He has carried this dream to build this camp for children who are in need since he was a teenage camp counselor himself.”

Camp Southern Ground, when open in 2014, will be a model of an operation that is designed to help our less privileged children, offering rehabilitative and therapeutic activities designed to help stimulate the mind and body, and encourage development of special-needs children in a setting of nurture and nature. “The camp will be primarily used for summer camp during the months of May through August,” Peck said, “but we see many ways to utilize the facility to serve the needs of others. Offering retreats and special events during the off-season, we hope to serve many groups that would not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy this type of recreational facility. In addition, Zac would like to offer programs with an educational backdrop for the parents of children with special needs.”

“The desire to locate the camp in Fayette County was so that Zac and his family

Photo by C. Taylor Crothers

He doesn’t wear a cowboy hat and doesn’t bang out chords on a steel-string acoustic guitar. He wears a kind of funky crocheted beanie, plays a guitar with nylon strings like a classical player uses, and leads a band that’s big on a lot of vocal harmony. Among today’s country musicians he’s really as non-Nashville as anyone can be.

But Zac Brown’s got a slew of Grammy and Country Music Television awards to prove that what he has brought to the entertainment industry is a freshness and originality that the public loves and the music industry hasn’t seen in a long, long time.

Brown, is a 1998 initiate from Zeta Kappa chapter at the University of West Georgia. He

is known worldwide as the leader of the Zac Brown Band, an act that has taken the music industry by storm. Brown may well be one of the best-known Kappa Alpha Order members alive. But there’s a lot more involved here than show business, as Brown is first-rate example of how the values and ideals that a young man develops as a brother can change the lives of so many.

Brown’s success, as with the success of anyone in any field, has been hard-fought in a business known for intense competition and no small amount of corruption. Brown toiled in obscurity for years, practicing, touring constantly and writing songs as he developed his talent and built a band that now includes some of the most respected players in America. But there’s a lot more to Zac Brown the man than just the superficial image of an entertainer.

Service to others is a core vow of our fraternity, and Brown is taking that ideal to its furthest reaches with the construction of Camp Southern Ground, a 500-acre camp for children with various disadvantages and life obstacles. Located near Fayetteville, Georgia, the camp, according to its website, “…will

Zac (front right, in black cap) was initiated in 1998 at University of West Georgia.

“My prediction is that Zac ... will be most well-known as the generous and kind man who founded and sponsored this wonderful camp for kids with special needs.”

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Zac with children on the land that will become “Camp Southern Ground.”

could be very involved while not touring or recording,” Peck continued. “He and (wife) Shelly see the value and the rewards that come along with strong family values, and creating an atmosphere for their own children where they will be able to help in the camp is important to them.”

Philanthropy aside, Brown has shown himself to be an astute businessman as well as a great artist and humanitarian. Brown launched his own Southern Ground Artists,

Photo by C. Taylor Crothers

Zac and his band members.

They’re known to be down to earth and fantastic musicians.

Above: “She has two Dreamy Eyes of Blue: The 1998 ‘Songs of Kappa Alpha Order’” album was recorded with Zac on guitar and vocals.

To purchase this CD contact the National Administrative Office at 540-463-1865.

Inc. record label in 2009, and his band’s latest album (You Get What You Give, with guests Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett) was produced through that label in conjunction with Atlantic Records. Brown has signed Atlanta-based artists Sonia Leigh, Levi Lowrey and Nic Cowan to the label as well.

And going beyond music, Brown is known as a guy who likes to cook, so he launched his own line of steak rubs and barbecue sauces under the Southern Ground label, and released his first cookbook, Southern Ground, in 2010.

In the end, though, Brown’s passion for people, and his building of Camp Southern

Ground, speak to the kind of person he is.

“My prediction is that Zac will be recognized for many years to come for his great talent as a country music entertainer,” Peck said, “but he will be most well-known as the generous and kind man who founded and sponsored this wonderful camp for kids with special needs.”

Zac Brown is the personification of what a KA gentleman should be: Caring, industrious, successful, respected and loyal to his family and friends. He is a great role model for all of us, and sets the bar that much higher for the brothers of Kappa Alpha Order to reach.

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never met. Long story short, her and I are now married and have a four-year-old son.

Fittingly, we were lucky to have Zac play at our wedding atop a houseboat on Lake Lanier, right where we live today. The video for “Toes” was filmed there years later.

I recall that Zac had this great idea that he wanted to live in California out of my orange 1974 VW Westfalia van. The song “Free” talks about him “living out in his old van,” when before hand it was actually my old van.

This van is on the inside cover of his album.

I remember he just had to have my van, and so one day I told him to come drive it.

On the test drive, some kids in a Jeep drove by him and threw a frozen water balloon right through the front window, sealing the deal. I told him that I didn’t want it back after that. It was now, “his old van.” He eventually traded it for the orange Scout that you see in the “Chicken Fried” video.

Zac is a kind-hearted person that will go to any length to make what he wants to happen, happen. He is very creative, and has taught me that there are not only two ways to skin a cat, there are about thirty

One night Zac introduced me to a girl ... we are now married and have a four-year-old son.

After I graduated, I started to go see Zac play at Dixie Tavern, in Marietta, Ga. He had assembled “The Zac Brown Band,” although it was not the current line up. Every show got better, and better. Zac and I would hang out all day, then go to his show at night and while he played, I would hang out with the friends of the band. It was a lot of fun, and we did this for about a year.

Then one night, my decision to stay in school and in Georgia finally made sense.

Zac introduced me to a young lady that he knew from West Georgia, whom I had

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ways, and they all get the cat skinned! He is not afraid to try things that most people would laugh at, and most of the time these things turn out to be very successful. Most of all, Zac loves his family. He has sacrificed a lot of time with them by being out on the road, and cherishes every moment he gets to spend with them when he’s not playing for the crowd. ~ Shawn (Bo) Palmer (Zeta Kappa – West Georgia ’97)

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Rich O’Toole (Epsilon Delta – Texas A&M University ’02), a rising star in the field of country music, has released his latest CD, Kiss of a Liar, on Nashville-based record label Average Joe’s Entertainment, featuring his original music as well as the songs of some notable Music Row songwriters and a duet with fellow Texan Pat Green. O’Toole has been a mainstay in the top 10 of the Texas country music charts for several years, working with a Grammywinning producer and Nashville songwriters who have composed for the likes of the Oak Ridge Boys, Steve Earle, Billy Currington and others.

O’Toole has relentlessly traveled the highways of Texas and other states for the better part of decade while honing his craft, and can be seen with his band on just about any weekend in a honky-tonk or opening for the likes of Willie Nelson, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley and others at a major performance event. Left: O’Toole is an up-and-coming performer in the world of country music.

met Zac Brown on the front porch of our fraternity house in 1996 or 1997. He was playing his guitar on the porch, alone, sitting all by himself in the dark. I am a guitar player as well, so I was immediately drawn to him by my curiosity.

I sat with him and he played me a few songs. I was a founder of Zeta Kappa Chapter at West Georgia and we had just gotten our charter. A few nights later, at the weekly meeting, one of our brothers encouraged that we all go show some support for Zac. A lot of us attended, and we were very proud to learn that he was so good! We thought we could sure use some talent like that to pull in some new guys, as we were still very small, but growing.

Time passed, and Zac played the local bars, fraternity parties, and just about any event that he could. He would travel when he wasn’t playing in Carrollton. Music was, and is his whole being. It’s what makes him.

He has a gift for it, and we have discussed many times that he has a photographic memory for music, if you will. He can hear something one time, and play it instantly, usually note for note. It is incredible.

One day he told me that he was quitting

school to play music full time.

I remember thinking to myself that it was going to be a mistake.

I thought, what if he doesn’t make it? I remember being sad about his decision to quit school, because I knew he would not be active in the chapter anymore as well.

Well, one night after a show Zac played in Carrollton he asked me if I would go out on the road with him and run his sound.

I thought for about 5 minutes about how my Dad would kill me if I didn’t finish school.

I politely explained that I couldn’t and have thought about it ever since. However, I think things happened that night for a reason.

“Proud KA”

n March 25th, I had the opportunity to meet Zac Brown. At the Zac Brown Band’s unconventional but widely lauded fan event dubbed an “Eat ‘n Greet” band members serve the food then dine with you like you’re family. While the food line formed, I snagged c50 m70 y80 k70

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a couple minutes with Zac. I was able to bring him a copy of his paper Report 2 (Induction) card from when he joined the Order in 1998.

The dinner was amazing, as was the following concert with the band.

The band is off to a great 2012 with a new album due out this summer.

The next day, after the tour busses had taken the band home overnight to Georgia, Zac and I were able to connect via the phone. We had a great conversation about his appreciation for KA values, essential support an alumnus provided him, and his most important passion in life beside his family—surprisingly, not his music!

JESSE LYONS, EDITOR: Did you make

by Jesse S. Lyons (Delta Alpha – Western Carolina ’98)

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You’re likely the most well-known KA today. Brothers across the country are proud of you and want to know about your values and success.

I know that I owe a lot for everything that I have. I owe a lot for my family, for my life, and for my career. And my way of giving back is to help build Camp Southern Ground. I worked at camps similar to what I’m trying to build in Dahlonega at Camp Glissen, at Camp Mikell in Toccoa.

I’ve seen the impact it (a camp) can have in one kid’s life in one week. If you can plant a seed in a kid’s head, to give them something they can carry forward, it’s amazing that in one week you can change their perspective and the way they look at everything.

[Editor’s note: The Mikell Camp and Conference Center was established in 1941 by the Right Reverend Henry Judah Mikell (Alpha Alpha – Univ. of the South 1904), Bishop of Atlanta—and Former Knight Commander.]

What are some of your aims for Camp Southern Ground?

We want to help the kids with developmental disorders, including Autism, Asperger’s syndrome, even ADD and ADHD. We want them to understand that there is actually help now that can them improve their lives.

That’s the primary function of my whole camp—to connect the kids with some of the smartest people in the world. We want to educate our kids and teach them the things that matter.

Also, sometimes these kids don’t have the opportunity or resources to go do special things such as attend a camp.

We want to help provide that by giving underprivileged scholarships for kids to attend.

This camp sounds pretty special.

How much effort are you personally contributing?

This is my life’s work, and besides my family, it is the most important thing in my life, to get this camp built.

This camp stands on all of the same standards that a KA would stand on – the way you treat other people, the way treat your lady, the way you’d be a servant unto your people in a gentlemanly fashion.

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“I know that I owe a lot for everything that I have. I owe a lot for my family, for my life, and for my career.

And my way of giving back is to help build Camp Southern Ground.”

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Zac Brown discusses his Camp, what it means to be a KA, and his philosophy on life.

Photo by C. Taylor Crothers

it back to Georgia all right?

Zac Brown: Yes! Hopped off the bus, threw the kids in the car, and we’re headed to the Lake.

The Camp will be located in Fayette County so Zac and his family can be close by.

for my whole company, for all my companies. Bo Palmer [Zeta Kappa – West Georgia ‘97], some people call him Shawn, I call him Bo. We’ve remained really close. Randy Green [Zeta Kappa – West Georgia ‘99] and Eric Warren [Zeta Kappa – West Georgia ’97] are a couple more. Justin Dial [Zeta Kappa – West Georgia ‘98] is actually out on the road working with one of my artists Nick Cowan, on my label [Southern Ground].

I’ve stayed in touch with a lot of them and I see a lot of from time to time out at the shows. I’ll reconnect with some I haven’t seen. We all still cross paths and help each other out when we can, its great.

Do you ever see other KAs at your concerts, from time to time in the crowd?

I do, yeah. Every once in a while I’ll see the [KA] flag out there. I’ll see somebody holding it up in the crowd.

“So that’s the basis of what I feel like a KA should be, dedicating your life to the service of others and doing things with good intentions.”

How can your fellow brothers help with Camp Southern Ground?

It would be very welcome and very appreciated from the KA community, alumni and students, to come and be a volunteer. We also need donations. We need a lot of help to get it done and I’m helping to make sure we see it through.

When do you hope to open Camp Southern Ground?

April 2014 is the goal and we have a lot of fundraising to do between now and then. We’re in the architectural phase now. We’ve received zoning approval with the county. It is going to be state of the art—like something that’s never been built before.

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As KA is a lifetime experience, do you still stay in touch with your brothers from the chapter?

Yeah I am. Adam Chance [Zeta Kappa – West Georgia ‘98] sells us insurance

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Thank you Zac, we sure appreciate your time and best wishes on your future.

Thanks brother, come back to a concert and eat with us, hangout, and see us again.

For more information on how to donate, h volunteer, or otherwise contribute to Zac’s h most important work, please check out: h www.campsouthernground.org

Are there any KAs that really helped you out or helped you get started?

You know, one of the guys that believed in me when nobody else would and one that has been such a great friend to me when I was young was Dr. Richie Bland [Alpha Sigma – Georgia Tech ‘78] who lives in Carrollton and is a Radiation Oncologist.

When I came to him hat in hand early on, and asked him to loan me some money, he did it. Without any guarantee of getting paid back, he did it. He took a chance on me. And later on, he did it again. He’s been nothing but a great friend. That’s a great example of a bond that started off as being a fraternity brother. I had a meeting with him and he believed in me enough to help me.

I can attribute a lot of the beginnings of pulling together my success to Dr. Bland.

I know you’ve got some time off with your family and I want to let you go.

Is there anything you’d like to share with all KAs? The biggest thing I can say to them as a mentor, is you really do get what you give. So the better you can be as a person and the more gracious you

Proposed rendering for the layout of Camp Southern Ground, to be built from 2012-2014 in Fayette County, Ga.

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Why did you join Kappa Alpha Order?

You know, the chapter at West Georgia, when I was in school there, was a group of guys that were all genuinely good people. They took care of each other and cared about being respectful, about opening doors, and really just

understanding that the heart of a KA is a gentleman. That meant a lot to me as far as being a person. It’s a southern hospitality trait and after traveling all over the world and seeing everything that I’ve seen it’s so nice to come home where people have those qualities.

I remember that the brotherhood that I found with KA instilled that.

I remember that anytime there were ever problems with fraternities and girls at school whether it was a sorority or others, we were kind of the justice squad. They (the women) would come talk to us about any issues and we would actually go confront the people in the situation and try to, you know, defend the honor of the ladies—in a very respectful way.

I just love the things that a KA should stand for. Proud to be a KA.

can be to everybody in every possible scenario, the more that your life will be rewarded for it and the more that it will unfold for you. So that’s the basis of what I feel like a KA should be, dedicating your life to the service of others and doing things with good intentions. And, if you have to wonder whether or not you should do something, you probably shouldn’t do it.

That’s been the guiding force for me and since I have been living my life with that law everything has been taken care of and beyond blessed.