Issue #2 – March, 2007
The Raider Reader The Monthly Happenings of Pi Kappa Phi By Kevin Whitehead, Historian of Theta Beta
I n t r o duc t i o n Brothers, Associate Members, Alumni and friends of Pi Kappa Phi: before you is the March issue of Theta Beta’s monthly newsletter. This issue is a little smaller than last month due a smaller amount of material available. I appreciate the feedback and the help by those who contributed.
Associate Members This spring rush Theta Beta has 5 associate members: • Taylor Sumrall
• Matt Fisher
• Matt Hoffman
• Daniel Thompson
Officer Reports Archon Report by Jeremy Duff
Dear Brothers, I am pleased to inform you that things are going well for us at Theta Beta. Right now we are leading in points in both the Challenge Cup and Greek Cup. We have just initiated twelve new members into the chapter and right now have four new pledges. As far as chapter size goes we are second on campus with 55 active brothers. We are also planning on
working the Taladega Race in April to raise money for house repairs and Fall Rush. Founder's Day weekend is also just around the corner. Right now the plan is to have it April 6th and 7th. Hopefully many of you can come back and see what's going on. I hope to hear from you all very soon. Sincerely, Jeremy Duff
Vice Archon Report by Dustin Skelton
First off, I want to say Congratulations to the Basketball team. They played hard all year and got us a clutch playoff win to keep our difference between the Z-6ers in the Challenge Cup ten points. The team they lost to was the old basketball team and they only lost by seven. Good job fellas. Softball is the next sport beginning the week of March 12. The One team will consist of: Eric Boone Brian Jones Clint Cannon Philip Ellison Tommy Donovan Scott Smith Dustin Skelton Mark Poole Brian Wright Tyler Beal Steven Shannon
David Gray We are playing in a preseason tournament the week of March 5. We have a solid team this year and hope to win the Championship. The #2 team is also playing in the preseason tournament and they hope to make it the third year in a row that they make the playoffs. That team consists of: Cliff Eberhart Skip McLeroy Brandon Stapp Jeremy Duff Josh Thomas Pug Clements Matt Patterson Kevin Whitehead Brian Tyrell Sean Massey Jason Clark We will hold the annual War of the Roses competition on April 2 through April 5. Each event will begin around 7:00. So if you are around town, feel free to stop by and support all the sororities that will be competing. We will also hold the Push pageant on April 5. Through this week, if everything goes as planned, we should raise a little over 1,000 dollars for Push. Spring Formal will still be in Fort Walton this year. It will be on May 11- May 13. We are going to try and stay at the same place that we have stayed the past few years. If you are interested in going, just send me and email soon at mskelto2@my.westga.edu. You can also call me at (770) 3170874. I need to get a pretty good idea of how many people we have going so I can plan accordingly. I am not sure on a price at this time, but once everyone gets back to me that is going, I will know how much it will cost.
Treasurer Report by Nick Singleton
Financially, the chapter is doing well. Although it could always be better, our accounts receivable is fairly low. I have created a budget for the spring semester, which has made managing the chapter's income and expenses much easier. In April, we will be participating in a chapter fundraising event at Talladega. The money we receive will be placed into a new fundraising account. This account will only be used if the E.C. finds it necessary (For rush, improving the house, etc.).
Secretary Report by Stephen Gray
As secretary of the Theta Beta chapter of Pi Kappa Phi I recently filled out and sent in the chapter's Green Report. We are still a large chapter even after losing 6 men to graduation. We initiated 13 new members last
semester, bringing our current total to 55 men. With 4 associate members for the spring semester, we can be just under 60 by next year. We still maintain our status as one of the largest chapters on campus and with a continual increase in our new members we can stay strong for years to come.
Warden Report by Matt Peeples
This spring we have an associate member class of four. We are bringing quality vs. quantity to a new level. All four guys show massive potential and we expect to have a 100% retention rate. Having gone through two pledgeships, I have several new ideas to expand the sub-rituals to involve more brothers as well as making initiation a mandatory event for all active brothers. Many rituals will be held on the pledge retreat as well as throughout the semester. I plan on taking the new members on several trips such as hiking, camping, and canoeing. I have also looked into several rope courses throughout northwest Georgia and look forward on seeing the pledge brothers having to rely on each other. Through hard work from the new members, I plan on doing some re-modeling, renovating, and landscaping to the fraternity house. Of course the house will be cleaned spotless twice weekly as well repainting the outside siding and trim throughout the spring and summer.
Historian Report by Kevin Whitehead
I would like to take this time to announce to the alumni the dates of Founder’s Day. Please be prepared for it on the weekend of April 6. We hope that this newsletter will increase attendance because many others and I wish to see people to put names with faces. There will be a dinner plus some kind of athletics, probably a softball game like last year. I hope to see you all there.
Chaplain Report by Daniel Suwinski
We will be trying to secure The St. Andrews Methodist church for initiation. Also Pre-I was held on Tuesday February 27th, thanks for those who attended.
Alumni Interview with Jason Barnes
Question: Answer:
Where do you live and currently work? Are you married? After college I moved back home to Fayetteville, Ga. I got a job teaching at the same middle school I attended. I teach Georgia History and serve as the boy’s basketball coach. I married Erin Flohr in 2004 and in 2005 we had a little girl named Madison "Maddie" Grace.
Question: Answer:
What do you miss most about your college\chapter experience? I miss a lot of things. I miss the people and the lifestyle the most. I miss the freedom. I miss being able to do what you want when you want. Back then, I spent a lot of my time wishing I was out of college and in the “real world”. Now, I wish I was out of the "real world" and back in college. That would be my advice: stay in college as long as you can!
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What was tough about being in a new chapter? It was probably one of the toughest things I have ever done. There were so many obstacles that presented themselves on a daily basis. How do you write a constitution from scratch? How do you write a code of conduct from scratch? Probably the biggest hurdle we faced was the personality conflicts among the members. We were pressured by national office to obtain a certain number of members before they would consider chartering us. We took on a lot members who did not have the same ideals and wants in a fraternity and that created a lot of tension. I think everybody thought about quitting at least once. Thankfully we had a tremendous Executive Council at first and we mostly agreed on how we should handle things. The members didn’t particularly care for all of our policies and
decisions but I think we did the right thing more times than not. It was also extremely difficult to get any respect from other chapters. To them, Pi Kappa Phi was a joke and anything we ever tried to do was usually sabotaged by another Greek organization on campus. Sororities were also very skeptical about us. I think we got the most support early on from the Alpha Gams. Changing someone’s mentality or perception of you is a difficult thing to do when you have no prior history to rely on. Question: Answer:
Why did you choose to start a new chapter rather than join an existing chapter? For most it would have been a no brainer to go to an established fraternity. Chris Benefield and I have been friends since childhood and we both decided to transfer to West Georgia our sophomore year of college. We spent a lot of time in our room playing Playstation. During that summer, we met up with Evan Shoemake because we were all Summer Orientation Leaders. The three of us became very good friends. During the course of that summer, Evan talked to us a great deal about Pi Kappa Phi and introduced all of their ideas to us. It was the first time we actually read the White Diamond. Chris and I decided that there was probably more to college than playing Playstation and eating at Z-6 three times a day. When Larry, DJ, and Mike (national guys) came down for recruitment we decided to sign up. I think we saw as an opportunity to get involved in something bigger than ourselves without putting up with the typical fraternity politics. It was a chance to do something bigger and better than the rest.
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What does the future hold for you? Boy...I wish I knew. At some point, I plan on going back to college and getting my degree in leadership education. I want to be a principal of a school one day but that is a distant goal as of right now.
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Who did you spend most of your time with? Chris Benefield, Evan Shoemake, Chris Koch, Chris Meeks, Matt Creaseman, and John Layng.
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If you could have changed anything what would it have been? It relates to [the last question]. I really feel like I did a poor job getting to know the men in the chapter on a personal basis. We had so many great guys that I never really got to know. I always felt that as President, I should keep my distance from the members so that politics never got in the way of friendships. That was a stupid way of looking at things. I am especially disappointed that I did not build better relationships with my little brothers (Geordie Stewart, Chris North). I wish I could do that over again.
Brother Interview with Chris Guttery
Question: Answer:
Tell me about your pre-college life. I lived in Marietta and went to Osbourne High School where I played golf and soccer.
Question: Answer:
How did you end up at West Georgia? Just did.
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Why did you join a fraternity? Why Pi Kappa Phi? Joined to meet people and Pi Kapp seemed right for me.
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How was the chapter different than it is now? People, different types of people always coming in and changing the Fraternity [in] different ways.
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What does the chapter need to improve on? Maybe a little change socially wouldn't hurt but the brotherhood is really good at the moment.
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Why are we the best on campus? Cause we are.
Question: Answer:
What intramural sport is your favorite to watch\play? Watch football and play soccer.
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When are you graduating and what is your major? Graduating this summer and Majoring in real estate and marketing.
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What does the future hold for you? Moving to Atlanta and finding something there.
Question: Answer:
Where do you plan on living? Atlanta.
Video Night is Back!!! By Jason Clark
After a one-year layoff, Video Night is back at UWG, and we are looking to win it for the second straight time. In an effort to keep the event new and different, the Video Night committee voted to assign an 80’s theme for the night, unlike previous years when the individual chapters came up with their own themes. With only two weeks until the big night, the dances are starting to come together and look better than ever, with a mix of music from the 80’s and today. Featured songs in the 2007 performance will be: “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger “Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats “Footloose” by Kenny Logins “Shake” by Ying Yang Twins “Get Loose” by T.I. In trying to keep true to what awarded us previous First-Place finishes, we incorporated a few rap songs in the mix, while trying to also incorporate the aforementioned 80’s theme. Video Night would be impossible without those willing to participate in the actual dance, so participating in the dance this year are: Jason Clark Tommy Donnovan Michael ‘Oggie’ Ogburn Joe Hildreth Steven Shannon Dustin Skelton Mark Poole Skip McLeroy
Hugh Rockwell Trevor Moore Henry Pittman Ben Singletary Ryan Jones Plus, others helping with dancing and props/lights We are looking forward to an excellent showing on March 12 at 8:00 p.m. in the HPE building, and hopefully we will have an article next month re-capping our winning performance!
Paintball Champions!!! By Daniel Suwinski
The Perfect Season: This year's Paintball team had the perfect season going an overall 5-0 and winning the championship game against Z-6. This is Pi Kapp's second paintball championship. The platoon of men that brought home a victory consisted of the following: Taylor Sumrall, Matt Patterson, Alex Brooking, Tommy Donovan, Ferrari, Stephen White, Matt Peeples, and Daniel Suwinski. The win pushed us further in front in challenge cup points!!!
Conclusion If anyone has any comments, suggestions, or hopefully contributions to April’s newsletter please email them to Kevinw3364@yahoo.com. I hope this was enjoyed by all and I also hope that everyone received this copy. If it went to the wrong address that you wished please just send me a note and hopefully it will be fixed.
What to Expect Next Month!!! April will have the following! Softball Ultimate Frisbee Challenge Cup Update Video Night Results Founders Day Information. Interviews of Grant Hood and Derek Blanton Much, Much, More!!!
P i c t ur e s ! ! !