March 1, 2007
ALPHA ALPHA ARTICLE who is john fair? John Fair, Alpha Alpha 420, graduated from Mercer in the Spring of 1993. He has been married for the past ten years to his wife Jeannie and is the father of three children: Erin-7, Jackson-5, and Reagan-2. As social committee chairman, John spent most of his time on the lighter side of the fraternity, such as planning functions. He ran for every Executive Council office at least once but never was elected. “By the time I was a senior it had become a well-entrenched joke and spectacle.” When asked what his favorite area of Pi Kapp had been, John said, “I liked rush. I liked the social side of school, and I had an ease of speaking that made rush easy for me. It didn't hurt that I liked to goof off a lot also.” To the question of ‘How does the fraternity affect your life now?”, he responded, “I pledged 17 years ago and I still have contact with several of the guys I shared my Mercer time with. My brother-in-law is also a pledge brother, Christian Webb. I still go to ball games with guys like Jason Bliss and Mike Harris, though not as often as we used to due to family time constraints, and I conduct business with others in the Atlanta area.” “Fraternity does not ‘Affect’ your life after school, it is not an outside force that is seen and noticed. Rather, it has an ‘Effect’ on your life. The time as an active is where you cut your teeth and make bonds that last forever. I can go a year or two without seeing someone and we pick up right where we left off at our last visit”, John said. It was 17 years ago this month that John Fair was initiated, and he hopes that if all goes well, in 13 more years he’ll be able to walk his son, Jackson, through the ritual.
WHAT’S INSIDE??? CHAPTER NEWS
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BROTHER SPOTLIGHT
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PUSH
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NEW MERCER
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ALUMNI FAMILY EVENT
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ARCHON’S LETTER
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR! FOUNDER’S DAY FEBRUARY 24, 2007 REGIONAL CONCLAVE, MERCER UNIVERSITY MARCH 31, 2007 GAP WEEKEND, ROSWELL, GA APRIL 13-15, 2007 ALUMNI FAMILY EVENT! APRIL 21, 2007 PLEASE CONTACT LEIGHTON ELLIOTT WITH QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: PKP.AA696@gmail.com
-Lee Baldwin AA 674 PAGE 2
gold and white, never die. The Alpha Alpha Chapter is committed to preserving the traditions and image of Pi Kappa Phi at Mercer University. We do this by abiding by what is written in the White Diamond—being Men of C.L.A.S.S. Character is the first and most important subject of our acronym. At Mercer, we are well known as the “gentleman” on campus: holding doors open for ladies, pulling their chairs out, and never forgetting that with every move we make, we represent over 100 years of brotherhood. This “Character” quality is comprised through the rest of the acronym C.L.A.S.S.: Leadership, Academics, Sportsmanship, and Service. At Mercer, the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi are most known for their Leadership on campus. The Alpha Alpha chapter fills six seats on the Student Government Association (SGA), two of which are class presidents; has five Peer Advisors (PA) and have recently had five brothers commit to do the same next year; has the president of the Interfraternity Council (IFC); has the president of the cycling club; fills six positions on the Student Admissions Team (SAT) and even more members of the Special Events Team for the Admissions office; has the Project Manager for the South Route of Journey of Hope (JOH) for this summer; and sent twelve brothers to Pi Kappa Phi’s Mid-Year Leadership Conference this Winter. And that’s just a smidgen of the leadership position we hold on campus. We also have many brothers participate in several Honor Societies demonstrating how we uphold the Academics aspect of C.L.A.S.S. Alpha Alpha earned the highest Grade Point Average (GPA) of all fraternities on campus last Spring and the 2nd highest this past Fall semester. Two brothers just scored impressively high on the LSAT and one brother has recently been admitted to Mercer’s School of Medicine. Although we prosper academically as a chapter, we fully comply with the Sportsmanship aspect of C.L.A.S.S. Last year, our chapter won the Intramural Trophy, earning the most points in intramural sports of all other organizations on campus. There are currently five Division I athletes in our chapter as well, and many more with the potential. In all our successes though, we stay respectful and keep sportsmanship through the wins and losses we may endure, never forgetting what and who we represent as Pi Kappa Phi’s. The last letter in C.L.A.S.S. stands for Service and is as equally important as the other subjects. The Alpha Alpha chapter recognizes that and that’s why we are sending a chapter history high of six brothers on the Journey of Hope this summer. Journey of Hope is part of Push America, Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropy in which 75 men will ride their bike across the United States of America to raise awareness and funds for children with disabilities. As you can see, the Alpha Alpha chapter is still thriving in your absence, but would love for your return. Please attend the Alumni Family Event on April 21 to catch up with your life-long brothers and get a glimpse of how Gold and White still flourishes at Mercer University! -Leighton Elliott AA 696
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what’s going on? ALUMNI EVENT
AA’s INVADE JOH
Calling all alumni of all ages, it’s your time to sit back and reminisce about all of the great times you had with your brothers, and especially your pledge class. Bring your families to the Alpha Alpha Alumni Family Event! Everyone will have the opportunity to play 18 holes of golf at the Fox Run Golf Course in Macon, GA, eat lunch at their clubhouse, and, as part of Mercer’s Spring Fling, hear Chris Gardner speak at the Grand Opera House. Chris Gardner is a stock broker on whom the movie, “Pursuit of Happyness” is based on. If you’ve seen the movie, you know how much of a loveable character Will Smith portrayed him to resemble, so he should definitely hold the interests of his audience. Alternate activities will be scheduled for those disinterested in playing golf. A Mercer Woman’s softball game will also be played that day. Don’t forget, you will have the opportunity to see our Chapter House, part of Mercer’s Greek Village built in 2001, and the University Center, built in 2005, if you haven’t already. So, come one, come all! APRIL 21, 2007. -Leighton Elliott AA 696
When people first hear about the Journey of Hope, many think about cycling the 75-mile daily average and the 4000-mile distance from the Golden Gate Bridge to Steps of the U.S. Capitol Building. What people initially overlook is that the Journey of Hope is not about the bike. There are many difficult cycling days climbing the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, as well as fighting the Arizona heat and headwinds, but the bike is just a tool to reach each new town while fulfilling the mission of Push America. The summer is about visiting and encouraging the children with disabilities, and teaching America about the abilities of people with disabilities. The Alpha Alpha chapter will be setting a new chapter record by launching six team members this summer. There are four brothers cycling, one crewing, and one serving as project manager over South Team this year. Each team member has his own individual fundraising goal to meet, but when combined together we will be responsible for raising a minimum of $24,000. After a successful Push Week, speaking to each sorority on campus, appealing to all the Macon Wal-Marts, hosting an empathy dinner, and initiating a widespread letter campaign we have raised over $16,500 and we are well on are way. -Bradley Bodiford AA 672
THE NEW MERCER
As R. Kirby Godsey’s twenty-seven year reign as president has come to a close, William D. Underwood, whose notable career includes serving as Baylor University’s interim president and a full professor of Law, has taken up the position with fervent diligence. Underwood, a self proclaimed man of the people, takes an active part in student life, attending several basketball games and other student events throughout the year. Underwood has “lofty ambitions” of raising the schools current 176 million dollar endowment to 1 billion in ten years. Although Underwood is working for the betterment of Mercer, his plans have resulted in significant budget cuts with many part-time professors being let go. President Underwood has committed himself to preserving Mercer as a Baptist establishment. -Eddi Udvadia AA 692
BROTHER SPOTLIGHT
As an upperclassman pledging in Pi Kappa Phi, Jesse McMillan was a model of brotherhood for both fellow associate members and brothers alike. After being initiated McMillan has remained very active and has served as Historian for the past year. After studying two years at ABAC, and then at Mercer, McMillan will graduate with a degree in biology and head to dental school. Recently, McMillan became engaged to his girlfriend of 6.5 years, Mandy Carter. They are planning to wed around May of 2008. Looking back on his time in the brotherhood, McMillan said that his favorite event was the new member retreat his pledging year. “I really enjoy the feeling and atmosphere of the fireside talks,” said McMillan. -Ben Burch AA 679
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letter from the archon. Dear Brothers, I hope this letter finds you well, wherever you may be. For some of you brothers, you have never spoken to me and for others we have talked as recently as the past few weeks. Through almost four years of school and fraternity I’ve come to realize how difficult it is to keep communication between such wide ranges of generations. Some prefer to hear about things through text messages or e-mails, where many others prefer a letter in the mail or a simple phone call. I’ve also realized that college students, especially guys, may never understand how much advance notice alumni need in order plan to come to events. It can become rather difficult to manage all of these things and I believe over the past few years many of our Alpha Alpha contacts have been lost. I promise that we have realized where we have gone wrong in this area and are working to improve. Hopefully this newsletter will be a start to improving our communications. The national fraternity keeps a record of all alumni’s information, but this information does not help us if it is not correct. As we try to work hard to plan alumni events we ask that you help us by updating your information and encouraging the brothers that you keep in contact with to do the same. You can do this by visiting www.pikapp.org, calling the national office at (704)-504-0888, or contacting our historian whose information is in the box below. Currently the Alpha Alpha chapter has 35 active brothers. A few of the things that our chapter excels in are Academics, Athletics and campus involvement. We currently have the 2nd highest GPA out of all fraternities with a 3.0. Last year we won the Intramural trophy and are in position to win it again this year. We have brothers active in many organizations across campus that do tremendous amounts of work for our fraternity and the organizations they’re involved in. I’ll spare you the time of listing all the organizations. This year we also have six brothers participating in the Journey of Hope. In June Bradley Bodiford, Stephen Hammond, Chris Kiker, Ben Nelson, Leighton Elliott and Clint Green will begin their trip from San Francisco to Washington D.C. to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. I hope that you find this letter informative and enjoyable. If you are ever in the Macon area around Mercer please feel free to stop by the house and say hello. In Brotherhood, Kevin Berry Archon – AA670 (706)-836-4747 Kevin.berry@student.mercer.edu
THE BOX 35 ACTIVE BROTHERS! 3.0 FALL 2006 AVERAGE G.P.A. 21 ACCEPTED BIDS! JOH FUNDRAISING $16,500/$24,000