Spring 2006
The Miner Pi Kappa Phi Gamma Lambda Chapter
Officers: • Archon: Andy Wolf apwtd4@umr.edu • VA: Alec Bass tabgz7@umr.edu • Treasurer: Shaun Honeycutt sdhwxc@umr.edu • Secretary: Blake Mitchell bam365@umr.edu • Warden: Cody Polodna cjp2nf@umr.edu • Historian: Brian Bailey bjbht7@umr.edu • Chaplain: Mark Serra mas97b@umr.edu
Individual Highlights: Push America
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Fundraising
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Alumni Spotlight 4 Grad. Seniors
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Reports
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Poised For Success With a new strategic plan that emphasizes growth and additional alumni outreach opportunities, Pi Kappa Phi National Fraternity and the Gamma Lambda chapter are partners poised for success. In a bold effort to help set the course and illuminate a vision for Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity as it enters its second century, a panel of alumni volunteers, staff, and students participated in a two day planning retreat in Charlotte, North Carolina, to survey the landscape of the American college fraternity and set the priorities for the greater Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. Together, they proposed a new mission, vision statement, and strategic plan for Pi Kappa Phi that will directly build upon the fraternity’s vision to be America’s Leading Fraternity. Today’s Pi Kappa Phi is
a vibrant organization with approximately six thousand undergraduate members at one hundred thirty-six chapters nationwide. Over the course of one hundred years, the fraternity has chartered a total of two hundred chapters and has initiated over ninety thousand men. By today’s standards, as codified by the North American Interfraternity Conference (the trade association for men’s college fraternities), Pi Kappa Phi ranks in the top ten (out of fifty seven) in most major indices. Only about half as old as the fraternity itself, Gamma Lambda has provided a meaningful fraternity experience for men at University of Missouri - Rolla for over 41 years. Nevertheless, Gamma Lambda and Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity is in an ‘industry’ that is increasingly under
external pressures that make joining a fraternity an increasingly difficult ‘value added’ experience in one’s college career. Pi Kappa Phi’s new vision and strategic plan plot the course for the fraternity’s continued success. The plan is focused on seven areas of strategic priority: Mission: We will lead Vision: Pi Kappa Phi will redefine fraternity as a lifelong brotherhood of leaders. 1. Strengthen our Brotherhood by living our ideals and instilling a true sense of duty and responsibility. 2. Recruit and build better men by providing a quality experience for all members through leading chapters. 3. Build lifelong Brotherhood by providing all alumni meaningful experiences and opportunities for involvement and investment. CONTINUED PAGE 2
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Success Cont’d 4. Grow the fraternity by increasing the size and number of our chapters. 5. Strengthen and leverage our collaborative relationship with the higher education community to support the academic and student development mission. 6. Leverage technology “But now that I’ve been here almost three years I can see all the good things that the Gamma Lambda Chapter has done.”
to effectively fulfill and promote our efforts to educate and communicate with our key constituents. 7. Provide quality local chapter homes . To help provide the organizational infrastructure that effectuates the third goal regarding lifelong Brotherhood. Your involvement as an
alumnus of the Gamma Lambda chapter not only helps to advance the goals of fraternity as found through your bond in Gamma Lambda, but it also helps to forward the precepts of lifelong brotherhood as defined and encouraged by the greater fraternity.
Push America When I joined Pi Kappa Phi I didn’t really understand that much about PUSH and what it meant to be joining a Fraternity that had actually started our own philanthropy and how that was just one of many things that make us stand out from every other Fraternity. But now that I’ve been here almost three years I can see all the good things that the Gamma Lambda Chapter has done. This year I’ve got some great things planned. We will be sending out letters to family, friends, and alumni asking to give a
donation to PUSH America if they would like (there should be a letter attached to this miner.) as well as doing a Toll Road in St Louis to raise even more money hopefully surpassing the $1,000 dollars we raised last year with this event alone. Some time in the next year the Pi Kapps at Gamma Lambda will be working with the local community and building a wheel chair ramp for someone in need of one. If anyone out there would like to help by giving their time and
money feel free to call the house or myself (417-770-4031) and on that note I hope everyone has a great year! Fraternally, Ryan Francka PUSH Chairman
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Push Fundraising Started in 1977, Push America is a nonprofit organization-serving people with disabilities and is the national outreach project of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. The mission of Push America is to provide service, promote volunteerism, and foster education and awareness on behalf of persons with disabilities nationwide. A few of Push America’s programs include The Journey of Hope which is a bicycle ride across the United States where members of the Fraternity raise money and stop along the way giving their time at different camps for children with disabilities. In another program called Build America, members raise money and go across the country building ramps and equipment for
people with disabilities. Since the founding of Push America these programs as well as the Chapters of Pi Kappa Phi men across the nation have raised over
$10,000,000 dollars total. As the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, we do our part to raise money for Push America and promote awareness on our campus here at UMR. In the past year we have put on an Empathy Dinner, a Push Week on campus raising money and awareness, participated in a Toll Road collecting donations at an intersection for a day, built a wheelchair ramp for a woman in the local community and two of our members participated in Build America last summer. Overall we were able to raise over $1000 dollars.
This year we are planning another Toll Road as well as the construction of another, if not multiple, wheelchair ramps in the local community. Enclosed is a donation form on which you can indicate your pledge to help children and adults with disabilities. 100% of your donation is given to Push America and is tax deductible. All of your help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your support of Pi Kappa Phi and Push America. Please send all donations to the house; address is located on last page. We will mail a receipt if you like for tax deductions, if needed please note that in letter.
“The mission of Push America is to provide service, promote volunteerism, and foster education and awareness on behalf of persons with disabilities nationwide.”
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Alumni Spotlight: Randy Curtis
“I’ve joined Task Force Guardian. Our team’s job is to restore the greater New Orleans area’s levees to their pre-Hurricane Katrina protection levels.”
For more information about Randy’s adventure you can visit http://www.intergate.com/~curtisfa mily/Katrina.htm
On Sunday 2 October I flew into New Orleans to help the postHurricane Katrina efforts of the Corps of Engineers on a 30 day deployment (actual time will vary). I was strongly requested to volunteer so after the third "offer" to go, I said “Well OK then”. So this is my spin after my first week. I’ve joined Task Force Guardian. Our team’s job is to restore the greater New Orleans area’s levees to their pre-Hurricane Katrina protection levels. The team includes a group of us from the St. Louis District, as well as a larger group from the New Orleans District. The mission leader is Col. Setliff, our commander in St. Louis, which is why so many St. Louis folks are part of the group. As
the New Orleans District personnel get back in the swing of things (many have damaged or destroyed homes), they will take over the mission and we’ll return home. Initially I wondered if they were calling us carpet baggers behind our backs but we getting along pretty well with them (they definitely think we’re better than the army of contractors lurking about). The group’s target is to finish restoring the levees protection for the Mississippi River by 1 December and the hurricane protection by 1 June 2006, the start of next year’s hurricane season. Although they look the same to the untrained eye, there are differences. The short answer is that for hurricanes you need
another couple few feet of height on top of the levee for river flooding. Repairing the flood protection built with Federal $ is a Corps of Engineers mission and it exists always for us. Our job differs from more than 80% of the other Corps personnel deployed (3100+ as of 1 October; about 10% of our work force). They deployed in direct support of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) missions. Under the National Response Plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides support to
FEMA (a relatively small organization) by executing assigned missions typically: providing water, power, debris removal, ice, temporary housing, temporary roofing (blue roofs), and logistical support.
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Graduating Seniors
Josef Seale I plan to go work for the summer. I don't know where yet. If nothing pans out I can go work in the oil field; they are always looking for people. After the Summer I am going back to Rolla for Graduate School. I will get a Masters in Aerospace Engineering, emphasizing in Structural Composites. I am glad that I joined the house. I have had disagreements with some
in the house; some I didn't even like. But, I am glad to have joined this house and that I am a Pi Kapp. I have found my best friends here, I have brothers here, I know that I have people I can count on when the chips are down, and I know that I have grown here. I will miss this place when I am gone.
I am happy to have been part of such a close brotherhood and made lifelong friends. I know it will never fail me.
“I know that I have people I can count on when the chips are down, and I know that I have grown here.”
Amos King Adam Klunick Plans After graduation: Work in the Computer Engineering field and acquire my PE. I will be looking to open my own company at that time, either doing computer science or computer engineering work.
Amos is graduating in May; On Monday February 6, 2006 his son Noah Scott King entered the world. He has many job interviews lined out and he is up and raring to go in to the “Real World”. He has been a great member and we here at Gamma Lambda will miss him. Best of luck Amos!!!
Treasurer Report As a chapter, we are trying to raise funds through fundraising and work days. Last semester’s pledge class raised over $400 by selling t-shirts. The money was raised for their class project, and they want it to go towards buying the house a new wood floor in the foyer area. The total amount for the floor to be done will be over $1000 though. The house manager and I are working together to try to improve the house. Being as old as the house
is, it needs improvements. All but one of the toilets in the house broke this semester, along with doors falling off their hinges. We are trying to build shelves in all of our closets to organize all of our chapter belongings. We also built lofts upstairs in the Hot Box to help with rush, and hopefully soon, living quarters. We are also starting a fundraising committee. We are already setting up work days in St. Louis at Six Flags and the Stadium
for games. Hopefully this will bring our chapter to help us meet Minimum Chapter Standards of saving 5% of our budget.
“The house manager and I are working together to try to improve the house.”
Archon’s Report Pi Kappa Phi Important Dates •
March 16-19 St. Pats
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March 18th Pig Roast & Parade
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April 7th, 8th, 9th PreInitiation
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April 21st, 22nd, 23rd Initiation
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April 28th Push Toll Road in St. Louis
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May 13th Grad.
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June 17th Float Trip
As the newly elected Archon of the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, I look forward to a very productive next two semesters for our fraternity. One of the first tasks I undertook was planning a chapter retreat. On Saturday th January 7 , almost every member attended our chapter retreat. Helping facilitate the retreat was our regional governor, Chuck Howard. From this retreat, a new study program emerged along with a plan for formal recruitment this semester. Everyone on executive council and all committee chairs laid out their plans and goals for this semester. Hopefully, we can all stay focused and remain accountable for
the entire semester. This semester we will have our first spring semester pledge class since 2003. Our two pledges are Taylor Woehl and Tariq Rajab. I know that they are excited about being Pi Kapps and our Warden Cody Polodna will do an excellent job teaching them. This semester’s workdays were filled with many projects. Most of the bed rooms in the house now have loft beds. The house is looking good (considering how old a lot of things are) and remaining pretty clean. We are also changing some storage rooms in the house for the better. This should help members from becoming complacent and accepting the status quo. We are
always trying to make the best with what we have. As Archon, I am making sure that we are complying with what campus and National require of us. I plan on holding all Exec members accountable for their responsibilities. I have restructured the committee system to give more responsibility to the heads of the committees. My main goal for this semester is to have this chapter operating smoothly by: holding everyone accountable, having well-defined roles and do away with the idea that status quo is okay. I believe that this will allow this chapter to hit the ground running next fall in which we will have at least a 10 man pledge class.
Association (BOAA). With this Alumni can get together, have events, and deal with chapter issues. This would be separate of our Housing Corp. But I need all your help to get that started, because here at the house we have run low on chapter advisors along with low Alumni relations. I want to create a better bond between the Active members and our Alumni members. With a BOAA it will provide a place for Alumni to participate with the chapter after graduation. We here at the house would love to meet the older members and hear the stories of
how it used to be. In order for our chapter to grow we need to stay connected with Pi Kappa Phi throughout all of our brotherhood. That is why we would like to start a BOAA, because you don’t have to be in St. Louis to be involved. But a devoted Alumnus is needed to help me out with this huge project. If you are willing to step up to the challenge contact me. Also there will be a Housing Corp meeting here right after the pig roast during St. Pats, everyone is encourage to come. Hope to see all of you.
Historian Report We’re on the Web! See us at: http://web.umr.edu/~pikapps/
Expected Alumni during St. Pats: Chris Steeger Kyle Mitchell Zack Dolan George McCandliss Adam Baird Ian Baird Jay Patel Brandon Hubbell Brad Molander John Schomogy Greg Hale Ben Doering Tony Rich Barry Riggs Josh Steele KC Snyder Bob “Bear” Bentzinger Jeff Obermark Phil Caruso And Many More!!
Hello all Alumni!! I am the new historian and I plan on changing/improving a few things here at Gamma Lambda. As you can see now the new and improved Miner, this will also be offered on the web page when the secretary is done revamping it. I would like to make available an E-Miner that I can send through e-mail so we can cut down on cost, also I would like to be able to send out multiple ones a semester. If you are interested please e-mail me and I will put you on the contact list. Also other plans for my position, I would like to start a Board of Alumni
PI KAPPA PHI 1704 PINE STREET ROLLA, MO 65401 (573)364-1927
Brian Bailey