Sigma Speaks Pi Kappa Phi Featured in this Issue Hilinski’s Hope Danny Epstein wins Archon of the year Alumnus Spotlight
Jeremy Coliton (Philanthropy Chair) and Johnny Fewell (Archon) with South Carolina’s new quarterback Ryan Hilinski.
Hilinski’s Hope As many of you know, South Carolina has a new five-star quarterback named Ryan Hilinski. The future of South Carolina looks bright, but it is the past that you should know more about. Ryan Hilinski’s family is from Orange, California. Ryan’s older brother Tyler was the starting quarterback at Washington St. University. Unfortunately, Tyler suffered from CTE and took his own life on January 16, 2018. The Hilinski family has now focused on helping those who suffer from CTE and mental depression. They created Hilinski’s Hope foundation and their goal has been to team up with the NCAA sport science institution to promote mental wellness in college athletics. The sigma chapter decided that we wanted to welcome the new quarterback and his family by helping show our support for their cause. The chapter successfully raised over $3,000 for their cause. Our chapter looks to continue working with the Hilinski family in the future. We encourage all alumni and friends to donate to Hilinski’s Hope.
Danny Epstein wins Archon of the year
DATE/ISSUE A Semesterly Newsletter Published by the Sigma Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein. The Sigma Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, nor Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity is liable for errors or omissions. © 2013
We are extremely proud of our former Archon Danny Epstein (1627) for winning Archon of the year at Pi Kappa Phi leadership conference. He also won president of the year through the university. Danny will be living in Charlotte after graduation. We are very grateful for his tremendous leadership and continuing to better our fraternity.
Sigma Speaks | A newsletter from the Sigma Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi | Page 2
Alumnus Spotlight Karl Long Karl met with leaders of our fraternity in Columbia to discuss the current status of the chapter. It was great to hear his ideas on how we can continue to strengthen our relationship with our alumni. He was very helpful and gave us the idea to start an alumni board. We are asking for a couple of alumni to volunteer for the positions to represent their brothers who they went to school with. We believe that this will only help us strengthen the fraternity and our relationship with alumni of all ages.
Letter from the Archon As the first semester of my leadership comes to a close, I am proud to say that this has been one of the best semesters the Sigma Chapter has seen in every asset of fraternal operations. One of my goals coming into the Archon role was to increase the visibility of our chapter online to enhance the experience for the members, rushees, and alumni alike. This goal came into fruition with the creation of a chapter website, a chapter LinkedIn, and a chapter Instagram. I urge all alumni to connect with us and to reach out to me personally—I would love to hear the stories and wisdom you have to offer. Philanthropically, we raised over $7500 for a multitude of charities. Of course, we continually support The Ability Experience, our national philanthropy, but we also expanded our horizons and fundraised for new organizations. We began a relationship with Hilinski’s Hope, a philanthropy that hits close to home with Ryan Hilinski coming in as a freshman quarterback this upcoming fall. I urge you to research their organization and learn more about Tyler’s story. We also participated in Dance Marathon, the first ever IFC-wide fundraising effort hosted at the Univeristy of South Carolina. Furthermore, we sent five members to Haiti in January to deliver water filters to families in need with Filter of Hope. The state of the fraternity is strong. I am extremely proud of the job the entire executive council has done this semester and I foresee great things for the future of this fraternity. -Johnny Fewell
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ALUMNI UPDATES The Sigma chapter has a new linkedIn page @PiKappaPhiSigmaChapter. Please connect with the page to follow the Sigma chapter and to stay engaged with the fraternity. Please feel free to message the account with any suggestions or ideas.
S Edition 4 Fraternity Circle, Columbia, SC 29201
picture Historian: Kyle Schwitzer (443)-370-8805 schwitk@email.sc.edu Archon: Johnny Fewell Vice Archon: Ray Braun Treasurer: Jonathan Jones Warden: Reed Davis Secretary: Jack Sessler Chaplain: Zack Rassmussen