216 Kappa Chapter
Featured in this Issue: Chapter Introduction Letter from Head Chef Philanthropic Activity Update Keeping Up with Alumni Letter from the Archon
“Our chapter takes a lot of pride in having one of the top GPAs among other fraternities every semester. But even more important, I think, is the fact that the guys have become especially close this past year.” -TJ Begg, Secretary
Summer 2017 A Pi Kappa Phi Newsletter Published by the Kappa Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein. The Kappa Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, nor Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity is liable for errors or omissions. © 2017
The Chapter Today It is not uncommon upon visiting our chapter to find people in the Charleston room at any point during the day. This is where the brothers often go to study or work on homework. Our chapter takes pride in our academic success year after year. Our brotherhood carries a diverse range of majors from the sciences to a plethora of brothers in the competitive Kenan-Flagler Business School. In the fall semester of 2016, Pi Kappa Phi finished third in GPA among the 24 fraternities at UNC Chapel Hill with an average of 3.444. The chapter is filled with well-rounded individuals that excel both in the classroom as well as in extracurriculars on campus. Pi Kapps are involved in Student Congress, Honor Court, Young Democrats, Best Buddies, Extraordinary Adventures, and Habitat for Humanity, just to name a few - not to mention brotherhood involvement in over 10 competitive, club sport teams including basketball, football, water polo, and baseball. The large amount of brotherhood involvement in extracurriculars attests to the collective passion and diversity of interests the entire chapter exudes. After graduation this May, there will be a new, enthusiastic wave of brothers pursuing further education or joining the workforce. The impressive range of post-collegiate activities include investment banking jobs at McKinsey and Goldman Sachs in New York, leadership programs in our nation’s capital, and graduate school programs at Yale and right here in Chapel Hill. We are very proud of our chapter’s academic success, extensive campus involvement, and especially proud of the young men we are sending out into the world. We would like to extend our gratitude to the following Pi Kappa Phi Alumni who have made financial contributions to our chapter: James Patrick Ryan John Short Taylor Anderson Mick Charles Mike Stout Scott Self Ciaran Bermingham
Ryan Myrick Britton Lewis Marty Lindsey Mike Collins Steve Shaw Wayne Tumlin
Summer 2017 | A newsletter from the Kappa Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi | Page 2
Philanthropic Events Kappa’s philanthropic efforts this spring have been more successful than ever! Our marquee event of the semester was Joy Prom, which took place this March. We partnered with Best Buddies and the Class of 2017 to throw a “Prom Night” for people with disabilities. We had over 400 volunteers attend and welcomed nearly 200 guests to come celebrate the evening. The event took place at the Carolina Club on campus and was highlighted by Performances from five of UNC’s premier a capella groups, tons of dancing, and 2 proposals! Our brotherhood left with warm hearts, filled with gratitude after our biggest Joy Prom yet. Pi Kapp hosted fundraising barbecues with Alpha Phi and Phi Mu. We showcased our house off to hundreds of guests each time, serving some delicious food along the way. Our brotherhood felt especially proud of these events, as they served as great opportunities to demonstrate our commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities. The national fraternity held a “March Madness” fundraising competition, paralleling the basketball tournament. While we only took home the natty in one, Kappa made it to the Final Four for the
Ability Experience fundraiser. This means that we had one of the four most successful fundraising campaigns out of all the chapters of Pi Kappa Phi across the Chapter! All and all, Kappa Chapter raised over $10,000 to benefit people with disabilities! This is nearly as much as we raised all of last year. We could not be more proud. Pi Kapps also spent numerous evenings volunteering at group homes, and playing baseball at miracle league. While we take great pride in our fundraising prowess, these volunteer events are most important to us, as they are opportunities to make friendships and directly influence the lives of people with disabilities. Stay posted for major Pi Kapp fundraising events coming this fall including an alumni golf tournament and an all-sorority volleyball tournament.
Best, Tyler Kelly The Ability Experience Chairman
Pictured above are guests and volunteers having a great time at UNC Chapel Hill’s 2017 annual Joy Prom at the Carolina Club helped run by brothers of Pi Kappa Phi.
Summer 2017 | A newsletter from the Kappa Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi | Page 3
Letter from Pi Kappa Phi Alumni
A Day in the Life: Perspective from the Chef
April 8, 2017 To the brothers of the Kappa Chapter –Congratulations to the Tar Heels for winning the national championship on Monday, I was out on Franklin St. celebrating with so many others from our community that night. On Tuesday I drove up to get a few souvenirs – parking was thick so I wound up at the end of Rosemary St. After picking up 2 shirts at the school store and stopping by the Daily Tar Heel Office I headed back to my car. I began to hear music up the street, as I got closer I could see a large group of fraternity brothers dancing on the front lawn. As I walked by, they gestured to me to join them in the celebration. These fellows don’t know me, but they certainly were sociable. I had noticed by this point this was was the fraternity of Pi Kappa Phi. I crossed the street to be greeted with a beverage. I took a generous draw and informed them I was a Pi Kapp from UNCG, and broke out our fraternity motto. Someone handed me a cigar to enjoy, and we danced on the lawn for a bit. I was initated back in 1988, but it gave me a great feeling to see the UNC brethren to be so true and friendly. I couldn’t stay for long, but I want to thank you for helping bring back some old memories, and help make a new one. I’m 25 years removed from my fraternity days, but I still keep good friendships with many of those guys (a lot of them liked the pic I posted on facebook from the occasion), and I have a group of four who are still very close. It’s a wonderful place to make great friends for a lifetime.
By way of introduction, I'm Mike Stout '84 (warden, social chair, general ne'er do well). I took over the kitchen as the new house opened in 2009 and am still going strong. I am going to take you through an average day from my point of view as the head chef here at 216 East Rosemary Street. Here's how the day goes: Around 7:15am I arrive at the house for breakfast (yes breakfast) with groceries and a great attitude. Unless the place is trashed, then I get a little upset. By 8am, I’m ready to feed the masses. That means bread, bagels, cereals, fruits, yogurt, coffee, juices, milk, etc on the cold bar. The more adventurous may get eggs to order, omelets, burritos, breakfast sandwiches or bagels. We normally feed between 25-30 for breakfast. My assistant and sous chef of four years, Michelle, arrives shortly thereafter to prep for lunch whilst I throw eggs. Breakfast ends at 10:30am. Lunch starts at 11:30am with fresh salads, fruit and normally big boy sandwiches, hoagies, or wraps. The salad and fruit bar stays open all day so no young man will fall out due to starvation. Dinner is a bigger production, with entree favorites chicken carbonara, grilled flank steak, veal parmesan, jambalaya, pork tenderloin, chicken and waffles on the menu, just to name a few. Grace burgers on Friday have been replaced with angus beef burgers & grilled, marinated chicken. I know... fancy. Special events and football tailgates round out the food fiesta here at Pi Kapp. Please feel free to stop by for a meal, check out the house improvements and shoot the bull with your newest brothers. Remember, we're at 216 East Rosemary now, not Finley.
Sincerely, Alan F. Butler (Epsilon Iota #187)
PeaceStout
Summer 2017 | A newsletter from the Kappa Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi | Page 4
Letter from the Archon
Alumni Update: Al Bowers
Brethren,
In 2013, Pi Kapp alumni Al Bowers opened up Al’s Burger Shack on West Franklin Street here in Chapel Hill. The restaurant has quickly become one of the most popular places to grab a bite to eat in the area. Any student or Chapel Hill resident upon being asked will sing the restaurant’s praises, based both on the delicious food and welcoming atmosphere. Al was the first African American Pi Kapp in our chapter and still remains an active member in the chapter’s activities today. Currently, Al is helping the brotherhood by consulting on improvements being made on our chapter house’s backyard. In addition to operating AlMel’s Catering and the Burger Truck, this year Al and his wife Mel are opening up a new restaurant in downtown Carrboro called Mel’s Commissary and Luncheonette. Be sure to stop by one of Al’s hit restaurants next time you come to visit Chapel Hill!
It has been another exciting year for the Kappa chapter. The fraternity added 26 new brothers to the chapter, 13 in the fall and 13 in the spring. Renovations to the bathrooms and new flooring in the house were a huge success. Also, the addition of breakfast to the meal plan has been a hit. Our annual Joy Prom went extremely well and we look forward to our continued involvement next year. We are excited for the fall semester and are looking forward to the future growth of the chapter. I want to congratulate all 24 of our seniors who graduated this year. They are filled with bright futures from Yale and UNC doctoral students to Goldman Sachs investment bankers. I hope you have enjoyed our rejuvenated newsletter this year as we hope to continue to publish it every year. If you would like to contribute, please inform me, or the chapter’s historian, Connor Murphy, on information for how to do so. Finally I would like to thank our amazing alumni who have donated either their time or money to the chapter this past year. We are so grateful and could not continue to grow and accomplish our goals without your help. Please feel free to come back to Chapel Hill and visit the chapter anytime, as one of our brothers once said, “There is something special about that house at 216.” Best Regards,
Summer 2017 216 East Rosemary Street, 27514 http://www.carolinapikapps.com Historian email: cjmurph@live.unc.edu Archon email: mfreije7@live.unc.edu
Michael D. Freije