Issue #1 – February 1st, 2007
The Raider Reader The Monthly Happenings of П K Ф By Kevin Whitehead, Historian of Theta Beta
Introduction By Kevin Whitehead
Brothers, Associate Members, Alumni, and friends of Pi Kappa Phi, you are reading the first ever monthly e-bulletin of Theta Beta. Upon considering running for the position of Historian, I thought how I could take the office one step further. Seeing as I spend a great deal of my free time on the Internet, I thought this would be a great way to keep the brothers and alumni up to date on what is going on with the fraternity. I hope that this will spread to all alumni and they will see our achievements at West Georgia and be proud. I also hope that they will contribute to this work in progress to help it grow. I hope to cover a broad range of topics inside so help will be greatly appreciated and often asked for. My goal is that I successfully put out an issue every month I am in office and also that the Historian after me will continue this project. Without further adieu, I give to you the first issue of The Raider Reader.
Graduating Brothers By Kevin Whitehead
On December 2, Theta Beta celebrated Founders Day by holding a roast and party in celebration of six brothers graduating. These brothers are Matthew Wilbanks, Danny Cole, Robert Collier, Dustin Rikard, Matthew "Ferrari" Holton, and Daniel Wetteroth. The event was held at Spyro's and included an Italian meal with Fettuccini Alfredo, Chicken Parmesan, salad, and more. Here is a closer look at the graduating brothers:
Matthew Wilbanks
This year's Homecoming King, Matt will be staying around Carrollton after he graduates. He is going back to school to get a Graduate Certificate in Public Management. After that, he plans on attending UGA, LSU, or GSU to obtain his Masters Degree in Public Administration.
Danny Cole Danny is looking to stay in Real Estate or Land Development in his future. He currently works at Duffy Realty.
Robert Collier
Robert is currently in the Carrollton area and is job hunting in the sales field with his management degree.
Dustin Rikard
Dustin is currently searching for a job in the Carrollton area and plans to continue at West Georgia for graduate school. Matthew Holton Ferrari is taking a much-needed vacation upon graduation. Upon his return he is going to begin job-hunting in the Boston or New York area in the finance field.
Daniel Wetteroth Daniel is currently living in Atlanta taking one final class. He is working as a Software Developer and continues to travel a great deal.
By the Numbers Number of Brothers
Spring ’07 Pledges
Games or matches lost to another fraternity
Record of the paintball team
55
6
0
2-0
Amount raised for Push America this year
$1023
"Frumpy Sweater" Date Night On November 29, we kept on with our tradition and held our annual Frumpy Sweater Christmas Date Night. The party was held at Millers on the Square.
Bob, Skip, and others
Coop keeping an eye on the party
Ben S, Skip M, Matt P, Kevin W.
Congratulations to our New Brothers!!! On January 12, Pi Kappa Phi welcomed 12 new brothers to Pi Kappa Phi #137 – David Gray #138 – Scott Moore #139 – Henry Pittman #140 – Cliff Eberhart #141 – Shawn Smith #142 – Alex Singleton #143 – Brain Jones #144 – Jesse Berwick #145 – David Volk #146 – Steven Shannon #147 – Pug Clements #148 – Tyler Beal
New Executive Council Archon – Jeremy Duff Vice Archon – Dustin Skelton Treasurer – Nick Singleton Secretary – Stephen Gray Warden – Matt Peeples Historian – Kevin Whitehead Chaplain – Daniel Suwinski
Alumni Spotlight with Evan Shoemake
It is only fitting for the first alumni spotlight to cover initiate #1 Evan Shoemake. Question: Where do you live and where do you work? Answer: I currently live in Brooklyn, NY and I work for the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, located in Times Square/Manhattan, NY. In addition to my regular job as a Contract Administrator for the SSDC I am also a writer working on several theatrical projects. Over the past few years I’ve had several magazine articles/bios/reviews published. Q: What do you miss most about college and the chapter? A: I enjoyed my college experience immensely, pre and post fraternity. In all honesty, the part I miss most about college is the flexible schedule and the spare time for naps and goofing off! What I miss most about the chapter is the bonds the Founders formed through the process of trying to create a fraternity. I miss moments of achievement, the times when, as a group, we succeeded at something and my all-time favorite memory of the chapter is when we won Video Night for the first time. As cheesy as it may seem now, it was truly a moment of arrival for Pi Kappa Phi at UWG and we were all able to finally celebrate a major accomplishment as a fraternity.
Q: What hardships did you go through being a new chapter? A: There are really so many hardships that we faced as a new chapter that it would take a single edition of a newsletter to write them all down. We dealt with an unbelievable amount of difficulties but the most difficult hardship to overcome was doubt and burnout. The Founders worked so hard for so long and there were a few times where we really just wanted to give it all up and forget the whole thing. Motivation was always a challenge, especially when we had a period of time where we were losing members and fighting amongst ourselves. Not only did we doubt ourselves but other groups on campus also questioned whether we’d survive. None of the other fraternities believed that we could succeed, nor did they want us to. It was really all just a really long stretch of time where we were all trying to prove something, not just to the other groups on campus but also to the National organization and more importantly ourselves. Everyone who signed on as an associate at that time took on the task of proving to himself that he could stay the course and do his part to see that the fraternity chartered. It was always an uphill battle but not one that we weren’t able to overcome. Q: What factors influenced you to help start a new chapter and not just join an existing chapter? A: The major factor that led me to start a chapter as opposed to joining an existing one was the fact that I really wanted a better, more fulfilling experience than just joining what I perceived to be a group of uninspiring “frat boys.” The male Greek system at the time I started to pursue the chartering of Pi Kappa Phi was nothing to write home about. Outside of competing heavily in sports and throwing parties, none of the fraternities did very much on campus. There were some key leaders in each chapter but on the whole, Greek men were fairly absent. I felt strongly, and still do, that fraternities can be great educational opportunities for guys in college and can provide an enormous amount of growth and experience. There really needed to be a fraternity on campus that provided an open door to all types of guys and provided them a chance to be leaders, not only in their chapter but also on campus and I believe that’s ultimately what Pi Kappa Phi became and it’s actually incredibly inspiring to see how it’s evolved and how it became such a strong chapter at West Georgia. I also chose to found a fraternity instead of joining one because as a third year student I had no desire to be a pledge and be hazed. Q: What does the future hold for you? A: I don’t have a clue what the future holds for me. I had no idea this time last year that I’d be living in New York and working in Times Square in the industry I’ve always aspired to so it’s tough to say where I see myself in the future. There are certain things I’d like to achieve in the coming years but I’ve also learned to let go and just follow where life is going to take me. My primary goal is to get some of my work produced so I can become a full time writer. Beyond that, I just want to pay my bills and get out of debt! Q: What was the most fun time you had in the chapter? A: It’s tough to pinpoint the most fun I had during my time in the chapter because I had a lot of great times and have a lot of great memories. Most of my favorite times, though, were during events such as Socials, Homecoming and Greek Week. Socials were really fun to me because of the “ritual” of guys gathering in my dorm room and pre-drinking, then on occasion jumping in the back of someone’s truck and driving to the venue. I also loved Homecoming and working on the floats and seeing it all come together and watching Gray Collier fall backward off the float
while it was being built. Intramural sports were also great times, even though I only played softball and Frisbee. Any time that at least a small group of our guys was together was fun because it was just another step toward becoming a tighter group of guys and realizing our goal of chartering. Q: Who did you spend the most time with in the chapter? A: The people I spent the most time with in the chapter were Chris Benefield, Jason Barnes, Travis Mann, Stephen Price, Jerry Smith, Stephen Bridges and Gray Collier. I’d like to think I wasn’t exclusive in my time spent with others but these are the guys with whom I spent the most time on a regular basis. Q: If you could have changed anything, what would it have been? A: There really isn’t anything I would have changed about those 18 months. Everything we did, every decision we made, ultimately led us to a successful chartering and laid the groundwork for a successful future for the chapter. Some of the things that took place during that time may not have been popular and they may have ultimately been mistakes but I think over time everything worked out the way it was supposed to have worked out.
Brother Spotlight with Stephen White
This month’s brother spotlight focuses on Stephen White, the longest active brother. Question: What was your pre-college life like? Answer: Fairly boring, not a lot going on in Habersham County. Q: How did you end up at West Georgia? A: It was the furthest away my parents would let me go.
Q: Why did you choose to join Pi Kappa Phi? A: I liked Geordie better than the Kappa Sigma that bought me dinner. Q: How was the chapter different then than it is now? A: I think we had a lot more involvement on campus, which made us look better. I also think that we have a lot less of a social standing than we had when I was a freshman and sophomore. The thing I think we are better about now is communication. I believe that the majority of everyone is on the same page, and that there are a lot less clicks now than when I was younger.
Q: What does the chapter need to improve on? A: Everything, there is never a reason to be satisfied with anything we have accomplished. We can always become better. Q: Why are we the best on campus? A: Whatever we enter we actually participate in [and] we do our best, no other fraternity can really say that. Q: What intramural sport is you favorite to watch? A: Probably football just because of the amount of excitement everyone always has. Q: When are you graduating? What is your major? What do you hope to do? A: Summer 2007, Biology, Work in some sort of Environmental Conservation job. Q: Where do you want to live? A: Not sure, just somewhere different [that] I've never been before.
SPORTS Soccer Recap This year’s soccer team had a rough start to the season, but ended strong to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament. The team's roster was: Jason Clark Henry Pittman Ryan Jones Ryan Patterson Taylor Sumrall Shawn Smith Corley Bryant Josh Dillard Ben Singletary Dustin Skelton Michael Bode
The team opened their season with an 8-0 win over our #2 team then went on to lose their next two to Flying V and Z-6 (which was lost in a shoot-out). The second game was a tough one for the team as they lost Dustin in goal to a broken thumb. German exchange student, Michael Bode stepped in and the team continued. They then went on a three game winning streak defeating the Banditos, Pi Kappa Alpha, and International. They entered the play-offs as a #3 seed and opened against Pi Kappa Alpha again, who they defeated with goals by Jason and Henry. Their next game was against the International team again. Corly led a tough, defensive unit but a goal in the closing minutes sealed the season for our team. The team included three pledges and will lose none to graduation next year. Jason said, "We need to work on our consistency and scoring over the summer."
Back row: L-R: Ryan J, Corly B, Henry P, Ryan P, Josh D, Taylor S Front row: L-R: Ben S, Michael B, Jason C, Shawn S.
Ryan J, Jason C, Shawn S, Ben S.
Shawn S, Corly B, Jason C.
Volleyball and Dodgeball Intramural dodgeball was held in early November. We were 1 of only 3 teams to enter the tournament along with Pi Kappa Alpha and Z-6. We defeated Pike but then lost to Z-6 in the championship match Volleyball was held on November 28. The volleyball team was: Robert Collier Kevin Whitehead Corly Bryant Taylor Sumrall Ryan Stewart Joe Norton
The tournament began with our team facing Z-6. It looked bad to start with and Z-6 took the first match to go ahead 1-0. The second match started similarly but we stormed back and
edged them to even the score. The third game was not as heated as we defeated them to move on. Our semi-final match was against Pi Kappa Alpha. We easily defeated them the first match and held off their comeback to defeat them in the second to move on to the championship match. Against the MinuteMen, we got off to a slow start and were narrowly defeated in the first game. In the second game, we lost by one point to come in second place in the tournament.
Basketball
Ryan Stewart Kevin Whitehead Brian Tyrrell Corley Bryant Brian Jones Erik Boone Taylor Sumrall Steven Shannon
With basketball starting on January 23, the Pi Kappa Phi basketball team will be ready to make another run for the championship. The team has been practicing since the first days of school and despite only returning 3 players, the team looks very strong. Returning only Kevin Whitehead, Ryan Stewart, and Brian Tyrrell, the team added scorers as well as rebounders
to the lineup. Four pledges are on the team including Taylor Sumrall, Steven Shannon, Brian Jones, and Erik Boone. Corley Bryant also joins the team to help out down low. Starting 2 pledges, the team had a strong preseason beating the Z-6ers 63-60 and Free Agents 66-33. Taylor Sumrall and Steven Shannon will be starting along with the 3 returners. Taylor is a 6’4” wing player that can pull up for a jump shot or drive in for the dunk. Steven Shannon will run a double point guard system with Brian Tyrrell and has a good shot from the outside as well as good fast break skills. Brian Jones is a good all around player with a smooth jump shot and ball handling skills. Erik Boone and Corley Bryant will be underneath for rebounds and put backs, something the team as been missing for a few years. The team will play its games on Tuesday nights between 9:00 and 11:00 in the new student center. Opponents will be Delta Chi, Kappa Alpha, as well as 3 other independent teams. Following last year’s semi-final loss, expectations are high and there are challenge cup points to be earned. Pi Kappa Phi is currently leading challenge cup by 5 points over the Z-6ers and 10 points over Pi Kappa Alpha with 4 major sports and 2 minor sports remaining. Z-6 is down this year but still a threat and Pi Kappa Alpha can be expected to not make playoffs therefore helping us to stretch out lead going into softball and ultimate frisbee. We are currently working on a way to get alumni into basketball games. As of now, alumni who want to attend must enter with a student and pay $5. The #1 team has their games on Tuesday nights between 8:00 and 10:00 and the #2 team plays on Thursday nights between 5:00 and 7:00. Schedule:
1/23 Pi Kappa Phi vs. Underdogs 1/30 Pi Kappa Phi vs. Delta Chi 2/6 Pi Kappa Phi vs. Last Minute 2/13 Pi Kappa Phi vs. Remix 2/20 Pi Kappa Phi vs. Kappa Alpha
W W 8:00 8:00 9:00
66-33 67-36
Paintball Preview Paintball started on 1/19 as our team defeated the Z-6ers to begin the season. The win was against the same team that defeated us in overtime last year in the championship game. The team, led by Daniel “Broken-Arrow� Suwinski, hopes to have another successful year and bring in more challenge cup points to put some distance between us and the 2nd place team. Matches are held on Friday afternoons and teams we will fight are Chi Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Delta Chi, and Z-6.
Conclusion I hope that everyone has enjoyed the first issue of the Raider Reader. The reader will go out on the first day of each month and will feature all of these topics. Please feel free to send me stories, pictures, anything! I want this newsletter to contain a wealth of information but only with your help can it
include all of this. Please send comments, suggestions, complaints, etc. to me at Kevinw3364@yahoo.com or call me at 678-300-5115.
PICTURES!!!