Delta Alpha - Spring 2006

Delta Alpha Alumni Association Newsletter Spring 2006

Archon Report Brothers, I am very pleased to share with each of you that the Delta Alpha chapter is the best it has been in many years. Our chapter is 83 brothers strong and the future of Delta Alpha is bright. The remainder of this semester is loaded with events, including our Formals and Sudflood; it is an exciting time to be a Delta Alpha.

Our chapter has been growing by leaps and bounds and recently we were rewarded greatly for our efforts. For the previous three years our chapter’s grades have been on a steady climb. This past semester our QCA was 2.955. Pi Kappa Phi was seventh among all fraternities and finished above the all male average, 2.858. In late February, Pi Kappa Phi, “stole the show” at the Greek Awards. We walked away with seven of the fifteen awards handed out that night. These awards are listed following the letter.

Many brothers are taking full advantage of the summer events offered by our national philanthropy, Push America. We have four DAs participating in the Journey of Hope, Scott Campbell, John Caldwell, Randy Morgan, and myself. In addition, Marc St. Raymond is project managing the Gear-Up Florida trip. Also, brothers are very active with the Special Olympics bowling program, as well as the Community Opportunities.

The Community Opportunities program, headed by Mike Moshier and Marc St. Raymond, allows people with disabilities to hang out with our chapter in a social setting. Our fundraising this year has hit record numbers, with our annual philanthropy, War of the Roses, raising over $3000 last Fall. The efforts of each an every brother ensured this success!

Sudflood, an annual concert put on by our chapter, is going to be a big hit this year. Andy Howell has put in countless hours of hard work to make sure that the event is a HUGE success. Mark your calendars now, Sudflood will be on April 22. The brothers are looking to set up another alumni event at TOTS, similar to last year, right after the spring game.

Many of our brothers are reaching beyond the chapter and getting involved in numerous campus committees, groups, and councils. Ryan Heider, one of our younger brothers, has risen to a position on the IFC council as secretary. Our brothers are taking an active role in presenting an image of Men of Class and being very visible within Virginia Tech and the community as a whole.

I am proud to present the chapter in a great state of growth and accomplishment. The future presents many opportunities and it will be very exciting to see how these opportunities become realities. Proud to be a Pi Kapp, Proud to be a Delta Alpha.

Yours in Pi Kappa Phi, Matt Widders DA 564

Delta Alpha Alumni Association Newsletter Spring 2006 Vital Statistics: 83 Brothers 8 Associates 10 Graduating Seniors QCA: 2.955 Awards: Local: Excellence in Academics Excellence in Membership Development Outstanding Membership Enrichment Excellence in Community Involvement Outstanding Chapter Philanthropy Fraternity Chapter of the Year Academy of Excellence President of the Year (Marc St. Raymond) Outstanding Fraternity Scholar (Marc St. Raymond) National: Best Chapter Management Award Partnership Award (Special Olympics Bowling) Thomas H. Sayre Award (Mike Moshier) AccessABILITY and Partnership Grant Awards Red Rose Club Award (Push America Fundraising)

Historian Report Brothers, First off, I would just like to say how excited I am about being the current Historian of the Delta Alpha Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. Being historian and a member of the executive board has taught me important leadership skills that I will use for the rest of my life. Our organization is running better than ever. We are one of the largest and most recognized fraternities on campus and it is a real honor to be a part of it.

The rest of the semester is packed for us. The most important upcoming event is the rebirth of Sudflood. On April 22, I hope to see as many alumni as possible.

Everyone around campus is extremely excited about Sudflood and we’re counting the days to Sudflood. If any alumni need tickets for Sudflood do not hesitate to contact me.

The week before Sudflood is the Annual Virginia Tech Spring game. I am currently working on an alumni event for that day. If everything goes according to plan we will have a little gathering at TOTS after the game.

Delta Alpha Alumni Association Newsletter Spring 2006 Next Fall I am planning a few events that recognize specific pledge classes from the past. I encourage everyone who has not seen our relatively new house to please visit so you can see for yourselves see what the chapter is doing and where we are living. It is quite a site. We have major plans in the works to fix-up the house through the growth of our new housing committee.

Finally, I would just like to thank Aaron Herrington for all his help this past semester. He has been a great role model for our chapter and has given us many ideas to improve the chapter. I hope to see all of you at Sudflood!

Yours in Pi Kappa Phi, Patrick Carpenito ΔΑ 577

Recruitment Report Dear Brothers, I’d like to introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me or forgot since the last time we saw each other. My name is Christopher Hunter Carey, but it’s just Hunter in general. Wow, pretty soon I’ll be reading this letter from your side. I came to Virginia Tech in the fall of 2001 and God-willing I’ll be leaving in the fall of 2006.

Believe me; my parents are far more ready for this to finally happen than I. Enough about me, let me summarize our spring ’06 recruitment. First, of all it started strong early during fall semester ’06 with a pre-rush list of over 40 potential rushees. With such a large group, this overwhelming number of hopefuls allowed us to be very selective in choosing the current 8 solid guys of the Gamma Omicron associate member class. My Rush slogan is “Who’s next?” and they have definitely provided the brothers with a good answer.

One of my main goals for Rush this year was to eliminate the lack of motivation and excitement which often accompanies attending the on-campus dorm Rush events.

To alleviate this problem I focused the events not just on the rushees’ enjoyment, but on also on the brothers’ participation by increasing common interests, brother-rushee interaction, and entertainment during the Rush events.

The entertainment was really the first domino in the chain reaction of increasing common interests and interaction. For example, TV, Xbox video games, and laptop slideshows made regular appearances to keep up conversation and interest. At one event our own brothers Aaron Thompson and Alex Farmer played guitar and sang through their own PA system which rocked the entire dorm study lounge, if not the whole floor.

To really spice things up, the all-female a Capella group Sensations came to an event to serenade us with a free 20 minute show. We caught them off guard at the end, however, with individual roses for each girl and our on-bended knee rendition of “The Rose”. Needless to say, many of the rushees attending that event are now in our current pledge class. This became the most popular on-campus event yet.

Delta Alpha Alumni Association Newsletter Spring 2006 Instead of being a mandatory obligation, campus Rush events became something more enjoyable for brothers to attend. At the end of formal rush, our 30 minute bid handout was the fastest I have ever seen. I am also happy to inform you that there are around 20 potential rushees looking forward to the beginning of the next recruitment period. A decent number of these guys were already given bids, but unfortunately were not able to accept until the upcoming semester. We bring these guys out as often as we can so they know we still want to see them around.

I have been working with Aaron Herrington on a scholarship offered to incoming freshmen as a means to give back to the academic community while at the same time providing an excellent medium for introducing ourselves to the new guys of VT. Other than Rush, my other duties include the internal structure of the fraternity, mainly the committees. We have given birth to several new committees this year in an effort to increase our efforts to be known as men of CLASS. The 3 new committees are: • housing planning • public relations which includes 3 new positions: a) campus activities b) sorority relations c) t-shirts • scholarship I would also like to speak on behalf of the Sudflood committee…being one of the last active brothers who has actually attended a Sudflood before (luckily 2 of them), take it from me; it will be just like old times. These guys are busting their butts to make this as memorable an experience as possible for anyone attending. I hope you all get a chance to come down Saturday, April 22 and experience that feeling of being in college again with Pi Kappa Phi. For those familiar with the internet sites “My Space” and “Facebook,” please check out Sudflood on “My Space” at http://www.myspace.com/sudflood or on “Facebook,” Sudflood is listed as a personal profile, a group, and as 2 events, so check those out and join the list of friends, group members, or event RSVP’s. Can’t wait to hear all your college stories when you come down!

Fraternally Yours, ~Hunter Carey

Delta Alpha Alumni Association Newsletter Spring 2006

Alumni Association News Dear Brothers of DA Pi Kappa Phi, I am writing to you today with exciting news. I am writing to announce the start of a new initiative by the Delta Alpha Alumni Association that can benefit all brothers of Delta Alpha. The initiative is called the Delta Alpha Career Net. For those whom have been on the website lately, www.pikapps.org there is a new section called DA Career Net where we have started to host announcements for internships and jobs that we wanted to share with the Pi Kapp undergraduates. The vision of this site comes from the desire of alumni to be able to make the undergraduates aware of potential opportunities available to them. By participating in Career Net these are some of the potential benefits to a more junior brother and to the brotherhood as a whole: •

• • •

As a senior member of an organization with knowledge of potential hiring’s within his company, an alumnus could bring more potential candidates into his company while also helping an undergraduate/recent graduate find a potential career.

As an alumnus with knowledge of potential co-ops or internships you could announce these opportunities to the undergraduate brotherhood giving an undergraduate the opportunity to gain valuable experience.

As an alumnus you will be able to offer your experience to undergraduates and alumni with less experience than you about your career field in a mentoring atmosphere.

As an alumnus you will have the opportunity to learn from other alumni whom are participating in Career Net and continue to grow as brothers.

This idea is a concept, a dream really. So far we have given career advice to a couple of recent graduates and have received a couple of requests for help finding internships.

We as a brotherhood can make this as strong as we want to. I urge you to participate in any way you can. We as a brotherhood come from a common background a common desire to be successful in all facets of life. Lets start by helping brothers reach their full career potential.

Yours in Pi Kappa Phi, George J Flick, III DA 349 gflick22207@yahoo.com