The Pride A Publication of The Gamma Phi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Spring 2008
The Archon’s Corner
From Where I Sit
David Shaw
Tom Peterson
Archon
Chapter Advisor
Dear Alumni,
Welcome to the Spring 2008 edition of The Pride, the newsletter for alumni of Gamma Phi. The goal is to make this newsletter something that you can use to keep in touch with your chapter and other Alumni.
This semester has been filled with exciting events that will make you very proud. We have been involved with every facet of campus and Greek life. I believe that we started our semester looking for ways to improve our chapter. At the beginning of this semester the new executive council, the old executive council, Brother Jay Hunt, and Brother Tom Peterson held an officer transition retreat. At this retreat we evaluated the chapter as it was and decided what to focus on to better the chapter. One week later eight other actives and I attended Mid Year Leadership Conference in St. Louis. The next weekend we held a leadership retreat, where Brother Hunt and Brother Peterson guided us on how to become good and effective leaders. During this retreat we decided on a mission statement for the semester, "Building a Stronger Brotherhood." A few weeks later we began working closely with Brother Richard Rose and Brother David Rose for a special Homecoming celebration. Brother Hunt helped and guided us as we … continued on page 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1
The Archon’s Corner
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How Can You Help The Gamma Phi Chapter?
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Support PUSH AMERICA by Surfing
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After we leave college, our mix of friends change and our priorities shift. As we navigate through our careers and kids (and grandkids for some), we encounter a lot of people, but we really only get to know a few of them beyond the level of acquaintance. Why then is it that after we have experienced true brotherhood in Pi Kappa Phi, we are willing to let those relationships slip away? I am glad that I have church, family, and friends, but without my Gamma Phi Brothers, I’d be missing a crucial piece of the puzzle. For some, professional lives and family obligations can make Gamma Phi seem like a nice little college memory that doesn’t have a place in their busy aftercollege life, but I would challenge you to set aside just half an hour this month to call a brother that you haven’t seen in a while. Talk about the old times and catch-up with what’s going on in his life. A little bit of your time to keep in touch will enhance your life and his beyond measure. Contact me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about this newsletter or about your chapter, Gamma Phi. Yours in Lifelong Pi Kappa Phi Brotherhood, Tom Peterson, Gamma Phi 93
Officer Reports; Alumni Briefs; Scholarship
TPeterson93@bellsouth.net 20 Year Anniversary; Homecoming Celebration
251-621-9377 (h), 251-689-5730 (c), 251-436-8238 (w) The Pride 1
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did maintenance on the house to get it ready for the special weekend. During the week of Homecoming we competed in the window painting competition at the Student Center (using the talents of Brother Bao Pham) where we placed third over all the Greeks. We also had 12 brothers give up their Saturday morning for a community service project at Hillsdale Middle School. The Friday before Homecoming day we alumniinitiated Gaylon Levens. On Homecoming night we held our largest alumni event ever at the house. During this alumni reunion we performed a rose ceremony for all the women present and pledged in seven associates. Six Brothers attended the annual Greek Awards Banquet where Pi Kappa Phi was honored by winning the Pledge of the year award, which went to Andrew Schneider. We were also honored with awards in chapter excellence, softball, water polo, and Lam Pham was inducted into the Order of Omega. Our new leadership consultant, Tom Harzula, visited with and evaluated the chapter on our progress and helped us to identify and resolve our problem areas. Our new Regional Governor, Stephen L. Smith, Sr., visited us at the same time. The famous M.O. party took place March 28 and 29 and we all had a great time. Our Rose Ball, was held on April 12th where we announced winners of the Christopher Eric Nash Brother of the Year Award, the Ashley Michael Delaune Community Service Award, Alumni of the Year Award, Rose Queen, and many other awards. In April, the Administrative Office sent a very distinguished alumnus to facilitate us on the ''Ladder of Risk Program." After finals we will be taking a brother’s retreat where we will be camping, shooting skeet, and tubing. The final event for the semester is the initiation of our pledges which will be held on May 9th. This semester has been a very busy and productive one. In Pi Kappa Phi, David Shaw, Gamma Phi 439
How Can You Help ΓΦ? Jay Hunt Assistant Chapter Advisor
Are you looking for some small way that you can "give back" to the Gamma Phi Chapter and to Pi Kappa Phi for being there for you and your Brothers all those years ago? Here are some ideas for how you can help make our chapter the best on the USA campus. You can give of your time and talent. You can help the current Brothers improve their leadership skills by volunteering to help on a Brother's Retreat, Pledge Retreat, or Officer Retreat. You can volunteer to serve on the Board of Alumni Advisors for the chapter or on the Gamma Phi Housing Corporation or help start a Gamma Phi Alumni Association. You can give career advice to Freshmen Brothers or Brothers about to graduate. You can tutor Brothers who need help in classes pertaining to your profession. You can search for contact information for Brothers that were in the chapter when you were and provide that to the Historian. You can ask to be alerted to upcoming community service projects and sweat alongside the current active Brothers while helping others. You can speak on a topic that you feel passionate about at a chapter meeting or a pledge meeting. You can attend an alumni event, come by and meet the current active Brothers, and share some stories from long ago (or not so long ago). The active members enjoy meeting alumni from our chapter. You can give of your financial resources. If you are out of town or short on time, giving financially may be better for you. Buying a bucket of paint, funding a chapter scholarship, pitching in to buy a couch, donating a pool table or ping pong table, giving to repair old composites or plaques, funding a new chapter website, or giving for any specific purpose that you would like would be extremely beneficial. Pi Kappa Phi believes in lifelong brotherhood and wants you to be involved in Gamma Phi. Be creative and email me to tell me how you would like to help. Yours in Pi Kappa Phi, Jay Hunt, Gamma Phi 147 jah402@jaguar1.usouthal.edu
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As the Vice Archon Sees It Brad Seibert Vice Archon
Dear Alumni, I’d like to start off by thanking everyone who was able to attend Homecoming this year. Without your help and support it wouldn't have been the success it was. For those who made Homecoming, you got to witness something that you as an Associate Member went through as well. We pledged in 7 Associate Members for the Spring class of 2008. We have high hopes for these Associates. We have also extended two bids this semester for a summer class and are in the process of talking about a few more. In the near and upcoming future we will have a few different Rush events and we will notify you of the dates as soon as we establish them. Also with the help of Alumni Brother Jay Hunt we will be creating a Gamma Phi Brothers book with all the important information that an active Brother needs. I look forward to speaking with you and dealing with you in the future. Fraternally Yours, Brad Seibert, Gamma Phi 464
Have You Moved? If you have moved, or any of your important information has changed, or you have some news to share with other Gamma Phi alumni in the next newsletter, send it to the Chapter Historian, Mark Davis, at msd302@jaguar1.usouthal.edu.
The Warden Report Nick Sherrill Warden
This Spring semester, Gamma Phi chapter pledged in new associate members at the house during our Homecoming festivities. So far, they have taken the majority of their pledge tests and everyone is looking forward to Initiation-week. They have been working hard to meet all their requirements. This semester’s Iweek took place May 5 – 9. All alumni are always welcome to attend any of our initiation ceremonies. We hope to see you there! Fraternally, Nick Sherrill, Gamma Gamma 960
Support PUSH AMERICA by Searching the WEB and Shopping online GOODSEARCH.COM is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half of its advertising revenue to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up! In addition, GOODSHOP.COM is an online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase from stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble. Every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting Push America. Go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Push America as the charity you want to support. Be sure to spread the word to your family, friends, and your co-workers! Brother Ray Hartwell was the first initiate of Gamma Phi. His brother Tommy Hartwell, Alpha Iota, serves on the Board of Directors of our national philanthropy. Tommy stays in contact with Gamma Phi even when he is 2 ½ degrees south of the equator, deep in the Amazon Jungle. Pi Kappa Phi worldwide!
The Treasure Chest Lam Pham
Treasurer Since taking office in January I’ve set up an account statement for each active Brother and they are passed out at every formal chapter meeting or the last chapter meeting of every month. Each brother is on a 4 month payment plan by default unless they come to me with a personal payment plan. We are in good standings financially and have everything paid off until insurance which is due on May 21st. Recently, the laws have changed and we are now required to fill out an IRS 990 form. If there are any alumni who know anything about the 990 form, I could really use your help. Your Brother, Lam Pham, Gamma Phi 459
View Homecoming Pictures go to… http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20495 65&l=c1739&id=51204378
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Twenty Year Anniversary
Join the Tech Revolution
On April 23, 1988 the Gamma Phi chapter was re-chartered. Every Brother who was a part of that group has reconnected in recent months. A reunion is in the works for this Summer. It just goes to show that Brotherhood is for life.
Want to re-connect with Brothers, post pictures, share stories, make fun of each other, and laugh your butt off? Join Facebook! Brother Todd Blackwell has recently spearheaded a campaign to get a bunch of his Gamma Phi Brothers on Facebook. Those who have joined have really enjoyed seeing pictures, both old and new. We have found missing Brothers and re-kindled friendships from years ago. It is a modern high-tech tool to keep in touch. Joining is easy and free. Log onto the internet and go to www.facebook.com and find simple-to-follow instructions on how to set up your account profile and locate your Gamma Phi Brothers.
Homecoming Celebration On February 16, Gamma Phi hosted nearly 75 alumni, their families and guests as part of the 2008 University of South Alabama Homecoming celebration. Brothers Richard Rose and David Rose worked with the undergraduate chapter in planning the reunion event. Alumni drove in from Memphis and Birmingham, and Brothers from as far away as Pittsburg were in attendance. Many of the original founding fathers were present including Don Carter and our first initiate, Ray Hartwell. Curtis Weems came in from Ohio for the event. Weems is a founding member of the Kappa Phi colony which formed in the late 1960s. It was great to see brothers of all ages sharing fraternity stories with each other.
Four decades of Gamma Phi Brotherhood. From the left, David Shaw (439), Wes Ellard (193), Stacy Sergeant (157), and Curtis Weems (18).
The active brothers hosted the two-day Homecoming event with activities that featured an alumni initiation ceremony, an associate member pledging-in ceremony, and a pre-game dinner/reception that included a welcome from the chapter and a moment to remember our Brothers who have passed to the Chapter Eternal. Guests were shuttled to group seating for the men’s basketball game and during the game the scoreboard welcomed the Pi Kappa Phi alumni. After cheering the USA Jaguars to a 91-74 victory over Florida-Atlantic, everyone gathered at the house for a post-game celebration. The event was a great success and will be remembered as one of the most significant alumni functions in the history of the chapter. Brother Dan Carre, who drove in from Birmingham, said “It was great to see the guys after all these years. And watching the initiation ceremony and reflecting on all the times we shared together reminded me of why I joined Pi Kappa Phi in the first place – brotherhood.” The feedback after the weekend has been tremendous. Everyone enjoyed the event and the time together. After reflecting on the occasion, Brother Weems notes “The Reunion was a great experience! I'm thankful that I had a chance to visit with friends from long ago and to meet new Brothers.” He added, “Upon reflection, I see clearly now I learned much from being involved in the Pi Kappa Phi experience. If the young men of Gamma Phi graduate with half of the lessons and experiences I gained, they will be “rich” beyond belief and they will be very productive good citizens.” The Gamma Phi chapter is proud of their heritage. Nothing shall ever tear us asunder!
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From The Historian
The Chaplain’s Epistle
Mark Davis
Brandon Petty
Historian
Chaplain
I have been in touch with most all of you throughout the semester. My apologies that it took so long getting this newsletter to you guys. We will make sure that does not happen again. With that being said, this semester has been a busy one as you all can tell. Our Homecoming event went over much better than any of the actives could have hoped for and I believe that our alumni would agree. Without the help of Jay Hunt, Tom Peterson, Richard Rose, David Rose and all of the other alumni and actives it would not have been as much of a success as it was. I am currently in the process of setting up the alumni/active softball game once again, but without your help there will not be much of an event. I have also been updating our mailing list with the much needed help of alumni such as the above mentioned as well as Brian Bradley and Todd Blackwell. I will be sending out the updated list as soon as possible but as you can imagine, it is not easy obtaining that much information. I am putting together a physical scrapbook from events such as Rose Ball, Homecoming, and a few others. We really appreciate the help that we have received from alumni but we could always use more. I know that there are many alumni that would like to do things for the chapter but they really do not know who we are. The trouble I believe is relating to one another once again. A great way of doing that would be to come to I-week. You are always welcome to attend any time we initiated new brothers. I really would like to see you all there and I will keep you posted on any other upcoming events.
The beginning of the semester found the newly elected EC members on a journey to St. Louis, Missouri, for our Mid-Year Leadership Conference. The new council returned with many new ideas which they immediately set into action. We held an alumni initiation on the evening of February 15, which brought one more brother into our midst. February 16 brought a pledge-in ceremony, which consisted of 7 associate members, followed by a rose ceremony to honor the ladies of Pi Kappa Phi. Spring initiation was May 9th and initiated five new brothers.
Fraternally, Mark Davis, Gamma Phi 457
Gamma Phi History Being Written. The chapter has embarked on a task to compile a history of the Gamma Phi chapter from our Kappa Phi colony days through today considering that we are quickly approaching the 40th anniversary of our chartering. Send your recollections, copies of documents and pictures to Mark Davis, Gamma Phi Historian at msd302@jaguar1.usouthal.edu.
Fraternally Yours, Brandon Petty, Gamma Phi 428 Gamma Phi is proud of our house and all the hard work that went into building it ten years ago. We have the reputation of taking care of our house and it shows. It is the best house on campus!
The Secretary’s Minutes Nate Silva Secretary
During these past few months the brothers of Gamma Phi have been busy with leadership programs that have helped our chapter tremendously, social events, which alumni are more than welcome to attend, community service projects, and working on ideas to better our chapter. During the beginning of the year the new EC came together and learned what our positions in the executive council mean, and talked to the old EC to see how they ran things in order to get a better clue how to improve our chapter. A week went by and we got together again to make up a calendar for the chapter of all the events that were going on this year. We came up with a vision statement for this year that is focused on membership and brotherhood. We hold EC meetings every week and have chapter meetings every Sunday. Our social
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Alumni Briefs
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events have been very successful. We had swaps with Phi Mu and Chi Omega. We had a Super Bowl party and used it as a rush event. We had Homecoming on Feb.16 for the alumni. The outcome was amazing and everybody had a blast. Rose Ball was held on April 11th and some alumni attended. The chapter helped out at Hillsdale Middle School cleaning up the school for the children to have a better and safer environment to learn and play in. We helped out with the Relay for Life on April 4th from 6pm to 12 midnight. We are planning other community service projects around Mobile and Mississippi. One idea that we came up with and that has been enforced this semester in scholarship is to have a 3.0 GPA for the chapter. Every brother has to complete so many study hours a week. Our chapter has been very busy and very successful with everything that has been going on. We appreciate your support.
We would like to fill this area with news FROM YOU! This section is where you can share important life changes and accomplishments with other Gamma Phi Alumni. Include news about you and your family, wedding and birth announcements, promotions, moves, etc. Your Brothers are interested!! Please send any personal announcements that you would like to see in this section of the newsletter to Mark Davis, Gamma Phi Historian at msd302@jaguar1.usouthal.edu. •
Curtis Weems (18) leads his own management consulting firm in Avon Lake, Ohio
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Richard Healy (54) is living in Hoover, AL and is a Project Manager for Mustang Engineering
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Brian McGuire (91) is Chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law at the Univ. of Southern Indiana and lives in Evansville, IN with his wife (Jean) and two boys (Adam and Andrew)
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Eric Kaempfer (116) lives in Huntsville, AL and works at Redstone Arsenal. His oldest child, Erica, began classes at USA this past Fall
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Chin White (154) moved back from S. Korea and now lives in Roseville, CA with his wife and kids
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Paul Hendrix (245) is on staff at the University of South Alabama library and resides in Mobile, AL
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Ray Jones (344) lives in Mobile, AL and works for the University of South Alabama
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James Rhodes (398) works for Southern Earth Sciences and lives in Mobile, AL
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Johnny Esfeller (440) is living in Mobile, AL and is looking forward to Law School
In Brotherhood, Nate Silva, Gamma Phi 469
New Member Scholarship Created by Brother Christian Mehl. Brother Christian Mehl (Gamma Phi 363) has generously donated $1000 in academic scholarships each semester for new members of the Gamma Phi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. To qualify for the scholarship, the new Brother must make a 3.0 or better GPA as an Associate Member and in their first semester as an Active Brother. Thanks to Brother Mehl for his generosity and for stressing academic excellence!!
Gamma Phi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity P.O. Box U-1208 USA Mobile, AL 36688
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