The Emerald, Summer 2012

Sisler

Cox

Arnett

the founders’ award

fifteen years mark briscoe reflects

www.sigmapi.org • summer2012

Volume XCVI, Number 3 summer 2012 Editorial Staff John Kitch (H, Purdue ’73) Editor Todd Shelton Managing Editor/Creative Director Brian C. Alley (A, Vincennes ’03) Business Manager communications committee John Kitch (H, Purdue ’73) Brian C. Alley (A, Vincennes ’03) Joseph V. Palazzolo (DB, Monmouth ’03) Jonathan Drnjevic (BT, Valparaiso ’81) Jeffery Seay (HE, Florida State ’91) Jack Chenoweth (H, Purdue ’74) John Michelich (EG, Illinois Wesleyan ’75)

Sigma Pi Fraternity was founded at Vincennes University, Vincennes, Indiana, on February 26, 1897. Sigma Pi has chartered more than 215 chapters in North America and has initiated over 90,000 members since 1897. The founding fathers of the Fraternity are: Rolin Rosco James (1879 1953), William Raper Kennedy (1877 - 1944), James Thompson Kingsbury (1877 - 1950), George Martin Patterson (1877 - 1960)

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Emerald of Sigma Pi Fraternity (ISSN 1074-5289, USPS 011-013) has been published since 1911. Emerald is published three times a year

by Sigma Pi Fraternity, P. O. Box 1897, Brentwood, Tennessee, and additional mailing offices.

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SIGMA PI FRATERNITY, P. O. Box 1897, Brentwood, TN 37024.

MEMBERS: When making an address change, please send your full name and chapter with both the old and new address to the Executive Office address below or at mysigmapi.com.

Submission Deadlines: Spring February 10 Summer May 10 Fall September 10 Submit Emerald news to: Sigma Pi Fraternity, Attention: Emerald P. O. Box 1897, Brentwood, TN 37024 Telephone: (615) 921-2300 Fax: (615) 373-8949 Email: emerald@sigmapi.org

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departments

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2 | Historical Society

22 | Alumni Notebook

3 | Chapter Chartering

24 | Adytum on High

6 | The Foundation

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12 | Chapter Reports

Member, North-American Interfraternity Conference

Copyright © 2012 Sigma Pi Fraternity; Sigma Pi, ACE Project and the crest are trademarks of Sigma Pi, all rights reserved.

from the Grand Sage

As

we prepare to end the 2010–2012 Biennium with Convocation in San Antonio, my term as Grand Sage is also concluding.

After twelve years on the Grand Council, I have much for which to be grateful.

Let me begin by expressing thanks to my friend and brother, Honorary Grand Sage Mark Briscoe.

As Executive Director for fifteen years, Mark was instrumental in our development from an organization based in the farms of southwest Indiana to one headquartered in metropolitan Nashville, and from a precariously struggling business, just a single claim away from bankruptcy, to a fiscally sound, financially solid corporation that is respected on campuses and in the Greek world. During that same time, we developed and expanded our educational programming to levels never before seen or even imagined.

Sigma Pi University was created, and then moved to Vanderbilt University, with a significantly improved curriculum and a significantly increased attendance. The MidYear Leadership Conference, our officer boot camp, was established in 2002 and grew from just chapter sages in attendance to its present level of four officers per chapter in 2011.

When Mark retired on March 17, he left our Fraternity more than ready for his successor, with a solid foundation on which to continue to build. We can all be grateful to Mark for his tireless efforts on our behalf, and it was an absolute pleasure partnering with him for eleven and a half years of my tenure on the Grand Council. Thank you, Mark.

I can go no further without thanking my wife, Diane, and my children, Katie and Adam, for accepting the many nights and weekends I was away on Fraternity business, not to mention the seemingly constant telephone calls, over these two years. I could not have effectively served in this role without their love and support, and I am grateful to them for that gift.

As Grand Sage, it has been a pleasure to interact almost daily with our chapters.

Thanks to Facebook and Twitter, I have been privileged to share in their successes at rush, philanthropy, ACE Projects™ and campus awards. So many of our undergraduates

embrace our charge to be campus leaders by seeking office in student government, leading their IFC, and participating in other campus organizations. We have seen significant increases in rush numbers, particularly this academic year, with a corresponding increase in the strength and performance of our chapters. I expect that as more chapters strive for excellence we will also see even more competition for awards at Convocation.

Of course, despite our best efforts, no biennium passes without some of our chapters forgetting the lessons. Both strong chapters and weak chapters fall victim to poor decisions, and it is important to remind all of our chapters of the legacy they have each inherited from the brothers who went before them.

I am particularly proud that during this biennium the Grand Council and the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation have developed and maintained a strong and cooperative working relationship, each board supporting the other, all with the mutual goal of providing our members with a better fraternal experience.

By better coordinating our efforts, we have accomplished more together in the past two years than in the ten years that preceded them. Very soon, for the first time in our history, we will be asking each of you to join us in that effort as we embark on a joint venture that few thought would ever occur. To be successful, we will need all of our brothers to again pledge their commitment to Sigma Pi. Our expansion department has also performed well. We successfully chartered five chapters this biennium, including the reactivation of three of our dormant chapters.

We have further colonization efforts already established and ready to begin at another half dozen schools for next year, so we will continue to grow. I will also take this opportunity to brag on my new brothers-to-be at Gamma-Eta Colony. Sigma Pi is coming back to Rutgers University in a big way, and they are already campus leaders at my alma mater.

Grand Sage Christopher R. Brown

of Sigma Pi, and celebrating our brotherhood and history with exciting social events. Please plan to attend, whether you have been to Convocation before or not. Every brother is welcome in the Grand Chapter.

I could fill this entire issue thanking each of the many brothers who have supported me through my terms as a member of the Grand Council, as well as those who have welcomed me in visits to their chapters over the years.

In particular, though, I am grateful to past Grand Sages Don Cox and John Williams, and New Jersey province volunteers Paul Gorman and Joe Palazzolo, each of whom provided counsel and friendship, and to Grand Fourth Counselor Andy Morris, who first encouraged me as a new chapter director to get more involved in Sigma Pi on an international level.

As I look ahead to the next biennium, I know that we are prepared to continue our record of growth and success. All of our undergraduate brothers face much more scrutiny and pressure than I did 35 years ago, but in many ways they are better fraternity men, achieving much more in philanthropy, community service, and scholarship. I am so proud of them.

Brothers, thank you for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime. It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your Grand Sage. I believe.

IST,

I hope to see many of our brothers at Convocation, beginning August 8 at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk in San Antonio. We will be honoring the three men featured on the cover of this issue, deliberating about the future

To increase the information available to as many brothers as possible, Grand Sage Brown is posting reminders and Sigma Pi news to Facebook (Christopher R. Brown) and Twitter (GrandSage). “Friend” or “Follow” him to keep up with Sigma Pi. sigmapi.ORG • mysigmapi.com

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Historical Society

Historical Society makes plans for San Antonio The Sigma Pi Historical Society (SPHS) was established by a unanimous vote of the Grand Chapter on June 30, 2010, at the Fiftieth Biennial Convocation in Danvers, Massachusetts. This organization, the first of its kind in the Greek world, was formed as a friendly organization within the Fraternity “to preserve and promote the history of Sigma Pi, and foster an appreciation of the same among its members.” The Society is governed by a constitution and bylaws, and its membership is open to initiated members of Sigma Pi who have attended at least two Convocations, a prerequisite the Society’s organizers hoped would serve as an incentive for brothers to stay involved with the Fraternity at the international level year after year.

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There are two levels of membership in the Society: Associates, or those members who have attended between two and four Convocations; and Fellows, those members who have attended five or more. The Society’s elaborate induction ceremony incorporates parts of The English Chivalric Ritual (the Fraternity’s first national initiatory rite, in use from 1907– 1910) and Sigma Delta Ritual (forerunner of The Golden Quest and initiatory rite of Kappa Chapter’s predecessor, Sigma Delta, at Temple University).

During the induction ceremony, secrets contained in The English Chivalric Ritual are revealed to both Associates and Fellows of the Society, while Fellows are conferred one additional secret from the now 104-year-old Sigma Delta Ritual.

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If you are interested in joining and meet the requirements for membership, send an email to SPHS President Christian J. Miele at historicalsociety@ sigmapi.org. The email should include your name, chapter/university, and a list of the Convocations you have attended. Attendance at this summer’s Convocation in San Antonio will count toward the two-Convocation requirement for membership. Prior to Convocation, all prospective members must pay the Society’s annual dues assessment ($50) on the Convocation registration site at sigmapi.org/ convocation. All new members will be presented with the Society’s official lapel pin during the induction ceremony at the SPHS Annual Meeting on Friday, August 10.

Sigma Pi Historical Society Events in San Antonio Annual Meeting Friday, 8/10 at 6pm (Room TBD) The Annual Meeting of the Sigma Pi Historical Society will be called to order at 6pm on Friday, August 10. Each member of the Society in attendance will receive a complimentary copy of a recently discovered letter written by Sigma Pi Founder William Raper Kennedy! Members will also be able to view the first completed chapter of the forthcoming Fraternity history book in its entirety. New business includes voting to purchase (with SPHS funds) a fireproof safe to protect the Fraternity’s most precious documents, as well as voting on a motion to limit member dues to Convocation years (instead of the current annual assessment).

Second Biennial Banquet Friday, 8/10 at 7:30pm (Casa Rio Restaurant on San Antonio’s Riverwalk) Past Grand Sage and Historical Society Fellow Gary Tash called the Society’s First Biennial Banquet in Danvers the highlight of the 2010 Convocation. We hope you will join us for the second members-only banquet, which will be held at the historic Casa Rio Restaurant on San Antonio’s Riverwalk right after the Annual Meeting! The cost of the banquet is $35 per person, and tickets can be purchased through the Convocation registration site. We will have a private room with a cash bar, and the meal will be the festive Carne Asada Dinner, which includes: Guacamole Salad, Grilled Ribeye with Special Santa Anna Sauce, Pico de Gallo, Mexican Rice, Mixed Green Vegetables, Iced Tea, and Dessert. Members may bring a date/guest, but must contact Jen Wyatt at the Executive Office to purchase any additional tickets.

The attire for both events is business casual.

Please be sure to pay your member dues ($50) and purchase your ticket to the banquet when you register for Convocation. 

Chapter Chartering

Th e Univ e r s i t y :

Iota-Omicron Chapter chartered at Louisville

by Tim Hogan

The University of Louisville is a state supported research university located in Kentucky’s largest metropolitan area. It was a municipally supported public institution for many decades prior to joining the university system in 1970. The University has three campuses. The 287-acre Belknap Campus is three miles from downtown Louisville and houses seven of the university’s 12 colleges and schools. The Health Sciences Center is situated in downtown Louisville’s medical complex and houses the university’s health related programs and the University of Louisville Hospital. The 243-acre Shelby Campus is located in eastern Jefferson County.

C h a r t e r in g T e a m : Grand Sage: Christopher R. Brown (GH ’81) Grand Second Counselor: George Hakim (GA ’73) Grand Third Counselor: Gilligan Walker (AF ’92) Grand Fourth Counselor: Andy Morris (GU ’68) Grand First Counselor: Daniel Daugherty (DR ’88) Grand Herald: Charlie Eldridge (DR ’86)

On the evening of Saturday, April 28, 2012, the brothers of the newly chartered Iota-Omicron chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity hosted a charming banquet to celebrate their achievements. Held in the heart of the University of Louisville campus at the George J. Howe Red Barn, university officials, Grand Council members, family, and friends joined the men and their dates to partake in the festivities. The brotherhood of Sigma Pi was further represented by alumni, active members, and Executive Office staff members, many of whom drove great distances to attend.

The introduction was given by the Sage, Christopher Taylor, and following the Invocation, the guests partook in a delicious buffet of Italian fare. The Dean of Students, Dr. Michael Mardis, gave a few opening remarks, discussing the progress he has seen the men make throughout their colony process. Ryan Khuri, the colony’s past president, and Steve Standiford, the Iota- Omicron Chapter Director, also addressed the guests, each giving his thoughts on the group’s achievements and aspirations for the future of the chapter.

Chapter awards were handed out by three “sweethearts” of the chapter, which served as a fun, light hearted reflection on the unique personalities of the new initiates.

Towards the conclusion of the banquet, the men from the Gamma-Upsilon Chapter presented their newly initiated brothers with a chartering gift. The gift was a large, handcrafted paddle engraved to commemorate the occasion, and was signed by members of the Gamma-Upsilon Chapter. The Gamma-Upsilon Chapter had made the trek from Murray State University to be in attendance for not only the banquet, but also for the initiation held earlier in the day. In addition to the chartering team listed to the left the following assisted with the initiation ceremony: Rob Pankau (ZP ’02), Steve Standiford (A ’83), Mike Long (ZP ’03), Christopher Lykins (DR ’01) Marcus Hundley (DR ’05), Tony Stephens (DR ’81) The evening ended with the presentation of the charter by members of the Grand Council, and a benediction given by Recruitment Chairman Andrew Seig. 

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Arnett Cox

the founders’ award A master business man, a military hero, and a Fraternity volunteer will be recognized for their outstanding contributions during the 51st Biennial Convocation in San Antonio. The Grand Council announced that Fraternity alumni Jeff Arnett (ET, Univ. of Tennessee - Martin ’88) and Don Cox (K, Temple ’55) will each be presented with a 2012 Founders’ Award this summer as well as an award given posthumously to George Kenton Sisler (AP, Arkansas State ’64). The Founders’ Award is the highest and most prestigious honor which the Fraternity bestows upon an individual brother. The selection is based upon outstanding contributions or exceptional service in business, a profession, education, or humanitarianism, including service to Sigma Pi or the fraternity system as a whole.

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Sisler

Through the years, the Fraternity has developed programs for the recognition of outstanding brothers, alumni, and chapters. Since 1962, Sigma Pi has recognized several of its most outstanding alumni brothers through the presentation of the Founders’ Award. Before each Convocation, the Grand Council selects the recipients from among those brothers recommended by chapters and alumni clubs. The presentation of the Founders’ Award to recipients takes place during the closing banquet of each Convocation. Since its inception, 92 outstanding brothers have had the prestigious Founders’ Award bestowed upon them.

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The Founders’ Award was the brainchild of Past Grand Sage J. Robert Odaniell (BN, SIU – Carbondale ’51). He presented the concept in 1961 at the Grand Council retreat in St. Louis, Missouri. During the 26th Biennial Convocation in French Lick, Indiana, the Grand Council presented the first Founders’ Awards to Byron R. Lewis (A, Vincennes, F, Illinois ’05), Curtis G. Shake (A, Vincennes ’06) and Robert W. VanHouten (AM, NJIT ’30).

Jeff Arnett Jeff entered the University of Tennessee at Martin on an academic scholarship, unsure as to whether he wanted to be a doctor or an engineer.

After graduating from the University of Alabama, Jeff met a campus recruiter from Proctor and Gamble who was hiring for the New Orleans Folger Coffee plant.

After Folger in New Orleans, he transferred to Sherman, Texas, for his next assignment and made Sunny Delight. He served as the manager over the blend module and also worked very closely with Research & Development to introduce several new flavors of Sunny D during his tenure there.

All told, Jeff served in a variety of capacities with P&G including department manager, project engineer, quality control and new product initiatives leader. He lived in three different states and produced coffee, citrus beverages, and potato chips.

In 2001, Procter and Gamble announced that Sunny Delight and Pringles would be sold into a joint venture with Coca-Cola. Around the same time, P&G announced that they would offer a voluntary separation package which prompted Jeff to check out the possibility of other employment.

“I sent a resume to a head hunter in Nashville who was on retainer to fill a quality control position at Jack Daniel’s Distillery,” Jeff says.

“After interviewing in Lynchburg, I knew I wanted to work there.”

Jeff was hired by the distillery and began as the Quality Control Manager. He was later promoted to oversee the whiskey processing and warehousing departments. After being with the distillery for seven years, Jeff became the Master Distiller.

“I certainly didn’t come to Jack Daniel’s believing I would be the next Master Distiller, but I have always enjoyed my work here,” Jeff says with a smile.

“I was fortunate to be able to join the master taster’s panel and learn the art of whiskey evaluation after working here for a few months, and I was even more fortunate to be placed into a quality control position that had responsibilities that started with incoming Cave Spring water and grains, and ended with bottles being shipped to one of 135 countries around the world.”

Upon learning he had been selected as the seventh Master Distiller in the distillery’s history, Jeff was stunned. At the time he was named master distiller, he was seven years younger than the previous master distiller was when he assumed the title.

As the Master Distiller, Jeff oversees the

entire whiskey-making process of milling, yeasting, fermentation, distillation, charcoal mellowing, and maturation. He also serves as the public face of the historic brand which he finds humbling.

When asked about his future aspirations, Jeff recalls the past.

“I intend to stay the course,” Jeff says. “I believe the strength of Jack Daniel’s has come from 146 years of doing one thing and doing it right, so that’s what I intend to do. I think all of the master distillers since Jack Daniel have understood that this is still his whiskey, and that we are just the stewards of it. My aspiration is to carry on in the same tradition of Mr. Jack and to make him proud.”

Don Cox From day one of his fraternal experience, Don Cox has given back to Sigma Pi through his volunteer efforts and financially.

Don has served has Chapter Director for his beloved Kappa Chapter and Housing Corporation President. In 1990, he was elected to the Grand Council as Grand First Counselor. In the following Convocations, he was elected to Grand Fourth Counselor, Grand Third Counselor, and Grand Second Counselor. In 1998, Don was elected Grand Sage.

Don is credited as one of the men who encouraged the creation of the Mid-Year Leadership Conference while he was Grand Sage.

“I have personally benefitted from the educational and leadership opportunities I experienced both as an undergraduate and as an alumnus of Kappa Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity. At the same time I have enjoyed the many experiences afforded to me through my 12 years on the Grand Council of Sigma Pi Fraternity along with serving for eight years on the Educational Foundation Board of Trustees, including the position of President. The Mid-Year Leadership Conference, which I personally urged the development of during my term as Grand Sage, is a true testament to my belief in the leadership and educational opportunities for our current undergraduates,” said Don Cox. Don also served as President of the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation in 2002 and a trustee from 2003-2008.

George Kenton Sisler After graduating from Arkansas State University, Sisler joined the Army from his birth city of Dexter, Missouri in 1964. By February 7, 1967, he was serving as a first lieutenant in the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. On that day, when his unit came under heavy enemy attack in the Republic of Vietnam, Sisler organized the defense, rescued a wounded soldier, and single-handedly attacked an enemy position before being mortally wounded. For his actions

during the battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Sisler, aged 29 at his death, was buried at Dexter Cemetery in his hometown of Dexter, Missouri. He was a member of the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Corps.

Sigma Pi Feature

In the mid 1980s, UTM only offered the first two years of a four year engineering degree which required you to transfer to another university to receive your degree. Jeff chose the University of Alabama to complete his degree.

He was also famous for his toughness, once parachuting while having a broken bone. The ASU ROTC department’s Ranger Challenge team is named Sisler’s Raiders in his honor.

First Lieutenant Sisler’s official Medal of Honor citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life and above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Sisler was the platoon leader/adviser to a Special United States/ Vietnam exploitation force. While on patrol deep within enemy dominated territory, 1st Lt. Sisler’s platoon was attacked from 3 sides by a company sized enemy force. 1st Lt. Sisler quickly rallied his men, deployed them to a better defensive position, called for air strikes, and moved among his men to encourage and direct their efforts. Learning that 2 men had been wounded and were unable to pull back to the perimeter, 1st Lt. Sisler charged from the position through intense enemy fire to assist them. He reached the men and began carrying 1 of them back to the perimeter, when he was taken under more intensive weapons fire by the enemy.

Laying down his wounded comrade, he killed 3 onrushing enemy soldiers by firing his rifle and silenced the enemy machinegun with a grenade. As he returned the wounded man to the perimeter, the left flank of the position came under extremely heavy attack by the superior enemy force and several additional men of his platoon were quickly wounded.

Realizing the need for instant action to prevent his position from being overrun, 1st Lt. Sisler picked up some grenades and charged singlehandedly into the enemy onslaught, firing his weapon and throwing grenades.

This singularly heroic action broke up the vicious assault and forced the enemy to begin withdrawing. Despite the continuing enemy fire, 1st Lt. Sisler was moving about the battlefield directing air strikes when he fell mortally wounded. His extraordinary leadership, infinite courage, and selfless concern for his men saved the lives of a number of his comrades. His actions reflect great credit upon himself and uphold the highest traditions of the military service. 

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The Foundation

FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES Allen W. Yee (AF, Georgia ’99) Chairman James T. Jennings (GU, Murray State ’93) Vice-Chairman of Administration Gary T. Dvorchak (X, Iowa ’86) Vice-Chairman of Finance

Allen W. Yee, Chairman

Les L. Wright (GU, Murray State ’70) Vice-Chairman of Development Gary S. Grubacich (AO, UC - Santa Barbara ’64) Vice-Chairman of Legal Affairs Joseph V. Palazzolo (DB, Monmouth ’03) Treasurer Ian M. Itschner (W, Oregon State ’93) Secretary TRUSTEES Edward A. Mora (BO, Cal State - Long Beach ’93) John J. Merino (BO, Cal State - Long Beach ’58) John J. McCann (AN, NJIT ’83) Jay Joern (GS, Missouri ’72) Christopher R. Brown (GH, Rutgers ’81) George N. Hakim (GA, Detroit Mercy ’78) Paul W. Hansen, Advisor Trustee (BT, Valparaiso ’80) Frank C. Fryburg, Honorary Life Trustee (Q, Penn State ’49)

FOUNDATION STAFF Business Manager Lisa M. Pearson Finance Manager Carey F. Reynolds, CPA Administrative Assistant Jennifer R. Wyatt ADMINSTRATIVE OFFICES Sigma Pi Educational Foundation Post Office Box 1897 Brentwood, TN 37024 Tel: (615) 373-5728 Fax: (615) 932-7677 Email: SPEF@sigmapi.org Website: www.sigmapiedfund.org

Dear Brothers: I wish to thank all who supported the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation during the 2011-2012 school-year. In terms of fundraising and providing support for the young men of Sigma Pi, this past year has been one of strongest in recent history since the economic downturn in 2007. In fact we had over 300 new donors to the Educational Foundation this year, including a six-fold increase in the number of men joining the Delta Society (our undergraduate giving program).

This support has translated in to over $58,000 worth of scholarships and a successful Mid-Year Leadership Conference attended by over 400 chapter leaders.

Our successes, however, have also been accompanied by challenges. The most daunting of these is the continued struggling economy which has affected the Educational Foundation in many ways. The recent market downturn caused by the European debt crisis and the slowing growth in Asia cancelled much of our investment gains over the past year. High inflation significantly increased the costs of doing business as well as the cost of education for our members. And finally, the continued high rate of unemployment made the job market even more competitive for our graduates. This means we have to do more for our young men, but have to do so with fewer resources. As such, Sigma Pi needs your support more than ever.

As we begin our 2012-2013 Annual Fund campaign in the next month, I encourage you to continue your support of the Educational Foundation and to consider increasing that support to help meet our new challenges. And if you have not chosen to make a gift in the past, I invite you to join the nearly nine-thousand alumni who have already invested back into Sigma Pi and its mission to build the leaders of tomorrow.

I also invite you to join us at the Educational Foundation’s Annual Meeting on August 10th, which will be held in connection with Sigma Pi’s 51st Biennial Convocation in San Antonio. A report of the Educational Foundation’s activities during the 2011-2012 year will be provided including highlights of successes and challenges mentioned above. We will also discuss the opportunities we expect in 2012-2013. More information about the Annual Meeting can be found on the next page or on the Foundation’s website. I hope to see you there.

Again, on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the thousands of young men who benefited from your generosity during the last school year, I thank you for your continued support and for BELIEVING IN SIGMA PI. Fraternally,

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Helping Our Fraternity Build

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“A New Generation of Leaders”

Allen W. Yee (AF, Georgia ’99)

Chairman of the Board of Trustees The Sigma Pi Educational Foundation

The Foundation

How We Recognize Our Donors . . .

LIFETIME GIVING LEVELS Radiant Triangle Society - Named after the most sacred symbol of Sigma Pi, the Radiant Triangle Society is reserved for Sigma Pi’s most generous supporters whose lifetime gifts total $500,000 or more.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT: Brother Michael Hachey (HO, Toronto ’96) Brother Hachey has been a valued donor of the Educational Foundation since his undergraduate years back in the early 90’s when he made his first donation. While an undergraduate at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada serving as Fourth Counselor, Pledge Educator for a few years and even serving as Recruitment Chairman one year, Michael gained leadership experiences he has credited to Sigma Pi. So, when Sigma Pi University was formed in the early 2000’s, Michael continued with his lifetime of giving by becoming a regular monthly donor because he believed in the Educational Foundation and its support of the Fraternity undergraduate programs.

When asked why he gives, he is quoted as saying, “I believe in the work the Educational Foundation does in regards to assisting undergraduates in learning to become leaders in the community through the leadership programming offered at SPU and Mid-Year. I donate to ensure the programs continue to be there so that the undergraduates will benefit from the training and networking that I myself have benefited from, through attendance at the International events since 1993. It helps undergraduates understand that Sigma Pi is more than just their local campus area – it extends throughout North America (and worldwide for many alumni). This is a very important item for those of us from campuses where there is no recognition from the University for the Greek System on campus – to know that the Foundation is there to assist in your growth as a student (programming and scholarships) and that you are not just a number like you may be on your campus.” 

Founders Society - Named in honor of the four founders of Sigma Pi, the Founders Society recognizes those whose lifetime gifts to Sigma Pi total $100,000 or more.

Tau Phi Delta Society – Named after the original appellation of Sigma Pi, the Tau Phi Delta Society recognizes those whose lifetime gifts to Sigma Pi total $50,000 or more.

Old Vincennes Society – Named after the birthplace of Sigma Pi, the Old Vincennes Society recognizes those whose lifetime gifts to Sigma Pi total $25,000 or more.

Shadowwood Society – Named after the traditional headquarters of Sigma Pi, the Shadowwood Society recognizes those whose lifetime gifts to Sigma Pi total $10,000 or more.

Emerald Society – Named after the official jewel of Sigma Pi, the Emerald Society recognizes those whose lifetime gifts to Sigma Pi total $5,000 or more.

ANNUAL GIVING Brotherhood of the Golden Cross – The Brotherhood of the Golden Cross recognizes annual gifts to Sigma Pi of $1,000 or more.

UNDERGRADUATE GIVING Delta Society – The Delta Society recognizes those undergraduate members who have made an early commitment to giving back to Sigma Pi with a gift of $20 or more.

LEGACY GIVING Byron R. Lewis Heritage Society – Named in honor of HGS, PGH and founder of the Educational Foundation, the Byron R. Lewis Heritage Society recognizes those who have documented a planned gift to Sigma Pi. 

Notice of Annual Meeting All members of the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation are hereby notified of and invited to attend the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Foundation on August 10, 2012. The meeting shall take place at The Hyatt Regency San Antonio, 123 Losoya, San Antonio, Texas commencing at 4:30 PM (CT).

The annual business of the Foundation will be conducted at that time. Matters up for consideration are: 4Appointment of Joseph Decosimo and Company, PLLC as independent auditors 4Amendments to the bylaws of the Foundation 4Election of Trustees for the 2012-2016 term Per the bylaws of the Foundation, proxy voting is not permitted.

For additional information regarding the 2012 Annual Meeting, please visit the Foundation’s website at sigmapiedfund.org or call the Foundation’s offices at 1-800-332-1897.

Bylaw amendments up for consideration are posted on the Foundation’s website for review by the membership at www.sigmapiedfund.org. 

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fifteen years mark briscoe reflects

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by John Michelich (ΕΓ, Illinois Wesleyan ’74), Past Grand Fourth Counselor

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Sigma Pi Feature

In its 115-year history, only six men have served Sigma Pi Fraternity as Executive Director. The longest serving Executive was Harold “Jake” Jacobson (Λ, Kenyon ’24), who led the Fraternity almost single-handedly for 36 years from 1927 to 1963. When he retired March 17, 2012, after 15 years on the job, Honorary Grand Sage Mark S. Briscoe (ΑΠ, Arkansas State ’82)became the second-longest serving Executive in the Fraternity’s history.

The other four men who have led the Fraternity are James L. Hills (ΑΧ, Maryland ’54) (19631971), D. Dean Crook (ΒΓ, Eastern Illinois ’59) (1971-1978 and 1992-1995), William C. Marrs (ΔΨ, Troy ’74) (1978-1980), E. Andrew Morris (ΓΥ, Murray State ’70) (1980-1991). Before Mark Briscoe was hired in 1997, Founders’ Award winner Thomas A. Moore (ΓΡ, Western Michigan ’69) served as Acting Executive Director for almost two years, commuting back and forth from his home in Michigan to the national headquarters at Shadowwood in Vincennes, Indiana. Briscoe is also the fourth Executive Director to be named Honorary Grand Sage, along with Jacobson, Hills and Crook who also received the high honor.

Historically, the 15 years of Briscoe’s leadership are arguably some of the most important for the growth and progress of the Fraternity. During this period, 36 new chapters were chartered and 27 dormant chapters were re-installed. Sigma Pi University began in 1999. The Mid-Year Leadership Conference started in 2002. The Altruistic Campus Experience Project, known as the ACE Project™, began in 2003. Also in 2003, the Fraternity’s headquarters moved to Brentwood, Tennessee from the old Shadowwood Memorial Headquarters in Vincennes, Indiana. Most important, under Briscoe’s leadership, the Fraternity re-gained a sound financial condition.

It was my privilege to serve six years on the Grand Council during Mark’s term as Executive Director. After his retirement, I interviewed Mark and asked him to reflect on his 15 years as leader of the Fraternity and to tell us what

The ACE Project is one of the programs developed during Mark Briscoe’s tenure as Executive Director which has helped to advance Sigma Pi

Sigma Pi means to him. Mark’s answers to my questions appear below.

JM: Mark, tell us a little bit about where you grew up and your experiences in high school.

Did you ever expect that you would pledge a fraternity? Why did you decide to pledge Sigma Pi at Arkansas State?

MB: I grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, the last of five children, and attended McClellan High School. I wasn’t involved in many formal clubs or school activities but I had a wonderful group of friends that shared the same interests of motorcycles and cars. If you were raised in Little Rock, it was a safe bet that you would be a Razorback fan and many of my friends went to the University of Arkansas. Several of my closest high school friends chose A-State and I decided that it would be a great choice for me as well. I did not have any intention on joining a fraternity but during the first several weeks of school I attended a Sigma Pi function

and I was hooked. It was a great group of guys that I identified with and I pledged my first semester.

JM: You were initiated at the Alpha-Pi Chapter in 1978. Please tell us about your undergraduate fraternity experience in general and describe in particular how Sigma Pi influenced your personal and professional development.

MB: My undergraduate experience was all about Sigma Pi. In retrospect I realize I spent more time on the Fraternity than

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I did on academics and while I wish I could go back and achieve better grades I am very thankful for what the Fraternity did for me in so many other areas especially with regard to leadership. I have said this many times at our Mid-Year conference that “being elected as Sage of your chapter by your peers is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon you.” A very important part of being an Alpha-Pi member at A-State was that you HAD to graduate and this was instilled at a very early part in pledging. It truly was a great brotherhood in the chapter and we supported each other then and we still do today.

JM: Before you became Executive Director, you served on the Fraternity’s staff under Executive Director E. Andew Morris. Tell us what your jobs were while on staff, and how that experience prepared you to become Executive Director.

MB: I joined staff as a consultant and traveled the east coast one year and the west coast the next year. I then became Director of Chapter Services and later served as Assistant Executive Director. Working for Andy Morris was a lot of fun and I learned many things about the national fraternity, which later became an international fraternity in 1984. Andy was great at stretching limited resources and expanding the Fraternity in its growth of chapters. He also had a real love for Shadowwood and we spent several summers working on projects to improve the headquarters. Andy was a terrific Executive Director and I’m glad to see him on the Grand Council today.

JM: The Fraternity appeared to be in serious financial trouble when you took over in 1997.

Please tell us about the condition of the Fraternity as you found it then, and what you decided to do going forward.

MB: We certainly had some financial challenges when I started in 1997. During

Mark Reed (AF, Georgia ’69), PGS Jon Williams (EY, Widener ’71) and Mark during the 1998 Convocation

my first summer, we had to go to the local bank in Vincennes and take out a bridge loan to make payroll and pay our creditors.

This had been done in previous years as well and it illustrates the dire financial situation we were experiencing. It is sad to think that in the year we were celebrating our 100th anniversary that we did not have the assets to cover even a minor emergency. Not only was the Grand Chapter in financial difficulty, but our chapters also had challenges as many owed high Grand Chapter balances and some were on payment plans to the Grand Chapter.

Even though we were financially challenged, I knew that we had the right ingredients to turn things around. We still had a good base

of chapters and a willing membership to make things better. The first step was to collect the money that was owed and to work fairly with chapters that had accumulated a large amount of debt from previous years. Expenses were cut to the bare minimum and additional revenue streams added. I remember during one of our first strategic planning sessions that we established a goal of setting back $500,000 in operating reserves, $500,000 in insurance reserves and $500,000 in housing reserves.

Each year we would put some money back and add to the reserves in those accounts. Today, we have the operating and insurance reserves funded and we are making progress toward the housing reserves. It was a total team effort that included the staff, board members, volunteers and of course our undergraduates.

While there are many brothers who made this possible I would like to mention Justin Beck (ΖΗ, Santa Clara ‘95) who served as my Assistant Executive Director during those first critical years and PGS Ed Panconi (ΕΣ, Loyola Marymount ’84) who has continued to be involved to this day and is the present chairman of the Finance Committee.

JM: Why are reserves important?

MB: For the operating reserve the main issue is security. We live in a fast and changing world and a sudden downturn in key areas could lead to a situation where the Grand Chapter has to survive with less income than expenses.

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JM: Is there a plan to keep adding to the operating reserves?

Mark presents PGS John Kitch (H, Purdue ’73) a gift from the Grand Chapter

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Mark and his wife Gail enjoy a Nashville Sounds baseball game with the participants of Sigma Pi University

MB: That will be up to the Grand Chapter, but our initial thought process when we developed the concept of establishing the $500,000 reserves was that once we attained this secure level any additional money would be invested back into chapter and alumni services.

JM: Why establish insurance reserves?

Sigma Pi Feature

MB: Unfortunately, litigation and lawsuits are a reality in our industry. Our current deductible is $50,000 for each incident and that money comes out of our pocket. We would also be liable to pay any damages that were awarded over the covered amount of our insurance policy. We simply can’t risk the entire Grand Chapter over one incident and must have the added protection. It is also interesting to note that having the insurance reserve leads to a reduced insurance premium as the underwriters want to know that you are a good risk and financially stable.

JM: How about the housing reserve? Do we need it?

MB: Over the years, we have helped many chapters with small loans when they could not obtain the money from another source.

However, it would be beneficial to the organization if we could offer larger loans and help more of our chapters secure competitive housing. Building the housing reserves would provide us additional funds without jeopardizing our operating and insurance reserves.

JM: Is the reserve money safe and secure?

MB: Yes, although our investments were exposed to the stock market downturn in the early 2000’s, we had the foresight to pull all funds out of the market and were fortunate to avoid the big losses that many suffered. The funds are securely deposited in banks, earning interest and FDIC insured.

JM: In our 115-year history, the Fraternity headquarters has moved three times. You were Executive Director during two of those moves, from Vincennes to a rented office in Brentwood and then to our new headquarters building in Brentwood. What’s it like to move the offices of the Fraternity?

MB: Moving the office was a monumental task and fortunately we had a great staff that made it possible. It would have been nice to just call a moving company and let them pack and haul everything but with limited financial resources we did the moving by ourselves which included around 15 trips with a U-Haul moving truck. The support staff did an impressive job by ensuring that our office was still functioning and we never did lose a day of being open due to the move. Leaving Shadowwood was a bittersweet moment as it was a wonderful headquarters for the forty years we were there but with changes in technology and the need for a closer airport we knew a change was needed. Nashville has proven to be a wonderful location and I’m sure that at some point in the future there will be another move, perhaps to a more permanent and larger facility that can offer more amenities to our members.

JM: Tell us about how you conceived the ACE Project™ and what it has meant to the Fraternity.

MB: The genesis of the ACE Project™ really goes back to our Zeta-Pi Chapter at Oakland

Mark along with Grand Council members, staff, alumni and undergraduates during the 2009 Sigma Pi University

University. They had established a very successful campus event called “The Pig Roast” that was a welcoming event for all Oakland Students. Not only did the students love this event but the university also thought it was a great benefit and reflected well upon the Greek system. We had a meeting of the Executive Office staff with the idea that we would explore the concept of making it an international event for all chapters. When we presented the idea to the undergraduates at Sigma Pi University in Vincennes, they were 100% supportive and the rest, as they say, is history. The undergraduates have continued to build upon ACE and their creativity and implementation have made it a huge success.

JM: What are the most serious challenges that your successor will face as Executive Director?

JM: What accomplishments are you most proud of during your 15-year tenure?

JM: How will you continue to be involved in Sigma Pi?

MB: Getting the Fraternity back on a sound financial foundation was very important and I feel the next Executive Director will be able to have better resources and concentrate on other items that can help improve the Fraternity.

MB: I look forward to helping wherever I can.

Sigma Pi is a lifetime membership and it is our duty to help those who come after us. 

MB: Risk management will be a constant concern and it has a profound effect on not just the chapter that gets in trouble but it affects all of our chapters. It takes a lot of effort to build a chapter from an interest group to a colony and finally to a chartered chapter and it only takes one mistake to lose it all. When we lose a chapter we not only lose the undergraduates in that chapter but a home for all of those alumni. The universities are stricter than ever before and second chances are hard to come by. We also have the litigation that is costly to our entire organization.

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Chapter reports are those submitted by deadlines listed on the inside front cover.

Chapter Reports  Chapters

 Colonies

Xi Chapter at Iowa after the Sorority Super Bowl

Arkansas State  Alpha-Pi Chapter

Auburn  Alpha-Delta Chapter

The Spring Semester has been eventful at Alpha Pi. We celebrated our local Founders’ Day in early March, and also held our annual Orchid Ball formal event in late April. The latter part of our semester was filled with philanthropy events, including our ACE Project™, in which we partnered with the Pay It Forward foundation to hand out business cards urging others to engage in selfless acts. We are now gearing up for Fall Rush and are optimistic about all of our future endeavors.

The Alpha-Delta chapter is working hard to stand out on campus, placing high both in spirit and in intramural sports this year. We were lucky enough to have an alumnus, retired Major General James Livingston, receive the lifetime achievement award from the university, with a reception held at the Sigma Pi house. We look forward to summer recruitment to start off a great fall semester.

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Arkansas Tech  Iota-Lambda Chapter

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To highlight the spring semester of Iota Lambda chapter at Arkansas Tech, we hosted our first Province Workshop and enjoyed the company of our fellow brothers throughout the state of Arkansas.

We are happy to add 4 new Deltas to our ranks, and announce that their pledge fundraiser brought in $1,200, the most of any class thus far. Our chapter won the Community Service Project of the Year for our continued participation in the aid of the JP Ranch and Rescue, a local dog rescue. Iota Lambda also held a fundraiser that brought in $300 for the Ranch. Our ACE Project™ hosted a free barbeque for Arkansas Tech energy center employees that served over 60 workers. It is our goal to continue these successes and uphold the ideals of Sigma Pi as we continue to grow in the eyes of the campus and the community.

Bridgewater State  Eta-Eta Chaper Things are going splendidly here at Eta- Eta chapter. We recently initiated 12 new brothers into our chapter. We participated in relay for life in March to raise money for cancer research and we had a blood drive earlier in the semester. Earlier this month we had a campus wide Greek week event. During Greek week, we are going to do our ACE Project™. Our ACE Project™ this year is “walk a mile in her shoes”. The goal of our ACE Project™ is to raise awareness about domestic violence. We recently had a blood drive that was very successful.

California - Santa Barbara  Alpha-Omicron Chapter The Alpha-Omicron Chapter at UCSB can confidently report a fantastic past couple of quarters. After successful recruitment throughout the year, the house stands at 66 members, a new record high for the chapter, and over 45% of those members have better than a 3.0 GPA. We have

participated in multiple philanthropy events, which included winning the Mu Delta Dodgeball Tournament Philanthropy. Our Intramural Indoor Soccer Team won our division’s title, we’ve also excelled in our community service and completed our always-fun ACE Project™ at UCSB’s Spring Insight event. There have also been several great brotherhood dinners and trips this year, as well as our two annual events, Alumni Weekend and Family Weekend, both of which turned out to be extremely beneficial to the chapter. Our house maintains an image of leadership in our community through our involvement, and our social excellence perseveres, with an upcoming date party to Las Vegas.

Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo  Eta-Delta Chapter On Saturday, April 14th, we initiated 23 new brothers from our Theta Class and successfully admitted the largest class since chartering in 2008. Looking forward to next year, the chapter is excited to see what the 26 new brothers initiated this year can do for the chapter during rush as the last of our founding fathers graduate in June. The Eta-Delta chapter will be pushing to become one of the top three houses on campus next year as we are reorganizing our committee structure to make more active and successful brothers not only in the new member education process, but in the years following as well.

to the 2012 / 2013 school year and to continuing the Sigma Pi tradition of excellence.

Theta-Mu Chapter has had an exceptional year with recruitment, pledging our largest class to date and the largest class amongst the Fraternities. We are proud to claim a GPA higher than Chico’s all men’s average, IFC’s average, and the campus average. We are continuing to build a better Chico campus by participating in three philanthropies over Caesar Chavez weekend and are looking forward to helping the Chico State sororities with their philanthropy events. We will be welcoming our alumni back for Alumni Weekend and reminiscing the good times we all had while in Sigma Pi. As the semester comes to a close we wish our fifteen graduating seniors the best of luck with their future careers and prospects.

Central Florida  Iota-Kappa Chapter

Cal State - Dominguez Hills  Eta-Iota Chapter Over the last few months, Sigma Pi, Eta-Iota Chapter has kept very busy. Our chapter had two major philanthropies. On Saturday, April 28th, 2012 our brothers attended Share Fest which was an event where we cleaned up and repainted Dominguez Elementary School in Santa Fe California. The entire month of April, Eta-Iota chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity collected shoes for a nonprofit organization known as Souls for Soles for children who cannot get shoes worldwide. We also attended Sigma Pi World series on May 5th 2112 and were the only active chapter in attendance.

Sigma Pi, Eta-Iota Chapter has been having brotherhood events every Friday to bond with each other. Overall, our chapter is very active and has already begun to prepare for the next semester.

Carleton  Eta-Rho Chapter April 11th 2012 marked the Eta-Rho Chapters 20th anniversary; alumni came from across the country to celebrate the occasion with the active chapter at the historic Chateau Laurier.

The chapter is also proud to welcome the newly initiated members of the Alpha Rho Class. The 20th year was no exception and the Eta Rho chapter continued its path of excellence in all aspects of Greek life; highlighted by winning of the Greek Olympic championship, and the advancement of several members to the executive council of both the Order of Omega and the Carleton University Greek Council. The chapter would also like to thank the brothers at Ohio University and The University of Alabama as well as Cornell University for hosting us at their chapter houses. Eta-Rho looks forward

Alpha-Upsilon Chapter, Rhode Island. during a walk for Habitat for Humanity

Iota-Kappa just finished a very strong Spring semester. We have adopted a road through biweekly cleanups and hosted a very successful SPIKE Volleyball Tournament philanthropy. We have excelled in athletics, moving up to Gold League in football and hockey, both with undefeated regular seasons. Most impressive, Iota Kappa has secured Delta Zeta, whose chapter is three times larger than ours, exclusively for Homecoming partner this Fall! We are very excited for upcoming rush, Homecoming, and another great semester here in Central Florida.

Delaware  Iota-Beta Chapter Iota Beta enjoyed another successful semester this fall. We are thrilled to announce that, with the addition of 11 new brothers, we have achieved a record chapter enrollment of 95 brothers. We also held a successful ACE Project™ this year, with our 3rd annual Know Your Rights event, and maintain a robust philanthropy program, notably holding our 5th annual golf tournament, among several other events in partnership with UD’s Greek Life.

In addition, the state of our brotherhood remains as strong as ever, with alumni across the country turning out for our golf tournament, and especially to hear from Grand Sage Chris Brown, Grand Second Counselor Ed Levesque, and Past Grand Sage/ Chapter Director John Williams at our Founders’ Day luncheon. We look forward to another successful semester in the fall, and to seeing brothers from around the country this summer in San Antonio.

Detroit Mercy  Gamma-Alpha Chapter Gamma-Alpha has finished the 2011-2012 school year meeting outstanding goals, and setting even greater ones for the years to come. Once again, we organized our annual Easter egg hunt for local children as part of our ACE Project™. We took back the title of Greek Week Champions once again. But perhaps most importantly, we recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of our chartering at University of Detroit Mercy. We were eager to reconnect with many alumni of years past, and our efforts prevailed as our guest list included many luminaries ranging from the chapter’s first Sage, to the sweethearts throughout the ages. Members of the Grand Council, both past and present, also

A brother at CSU - Sacramento, Eta-Alpha, is excited to support the Kappa Kappa Gamma Kick Off flag football philanthropy

Mother’s Day at Gamma Chapter at Ohio State

showed their support. To this we are humbled and grateful, and the plans for the next 50 years at UDM are already set to be astounding.

Eastern Illinois  Beta-Gamma Chapter Beta-Gamma had an excellent year all around and is proud of all the very hard work it accomplished. It took part in numerous philanthropies, community services events, and school sponsored events.

Perhaps Beta-Gamma’s biggest accomplishment was winning Greek Week overall. They took first place in big and little men tugs, first in pyramids, first in trivia, first in Greek Sing, and third place in air band. Overall, they had a very successful year and are looking forward to next year.

Chapter Reports

California State - Chico  Theta-Mu Chapter

Ferris State  Theta-Theta Chapter The brothers at Theta-Theta Chapter at Ferris State University finished off the 2012 spring semester strong, taking the liberties of cleaning the revered Helen Ferris Garden as our ACE Project™, and also starting an annual quad cleanup. With this we had a total of four volunteer projects throughout the year. Our goals for the 2012/2013 school year are to focus on strengthening our numbers and gaining a large pledge class.

Georgia  Alpha-Phi Chapter After months of work, Alpha-Phi Chapter has recently completed their new website at www. ugasigmapi.com. The brothers of Alpha-Phi hope to use the website to facilitate better communication with their Alumni members. The Chapter also has completed it’s two Spring Philanthropies: Fireman’s Challenge and the ACE Project™. Fireman’s Challenge raised over $800 for the local Fire department, and we gave back to the UGA Police Department with a car wash and cookout. Alpha Phi is looking forward to a great Fall semester and another UGA football season.

Grand Valley State  Theta-Rho Chapter Summer has come to Allendale and we are beginning to plan various events to bring all of our brothers back together before the new school year.

Illinois  Phi Chapter The brothers of Phi Chapter are excited at the prospect of rebuilding a presence on campus in the following year. In the 2011-2012 year Phi

Gamma-Gamma Chapter, Central Missouri, during their ACE Project™

Iota-Zeta Chapter at Minnesota held a luncheon for service men as part of their ACE Project™

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Active and alumni brothers of Eta Chapter at Purdue during a Founders’ Day weekend celebration

chapter initiated 14 new brothers all of whom are truly dedicated to supporting and helping the chapter. All of these new brothers bring a variety of new interests to an already diversified family of brothers. With a #9 ranking academically out of 98 fraternities and sororities on campus combined with a strong participation in fraternity events on campus, Phi chapter expects a huge recruitment next year, and a continued push towards academic, philanthropic, and social success here at the University of Illinois.

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Iowa  Xi Chapter

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Xi chapter closed the semester building on their recent successes. Our philanthropy chair, Bryan Wentworth, did an excellent job putting on Xi Chapter’s 2nd Annual Sorority Super Bowl and raised more money than anticipated. The Executive Council organized a Spring Parents and Alumni Weekend, which included a golfing event.

This proved to be a successful fundraising strategy raising $4000 which will continue to expand on in years to come. Through spring recruitment, Xi Chapter had a 100% retention rate.

This can be attributed to the re-energized New Member Education Program, which emphasizes learning from older members and alumni. In addition, our Mid-West Province Archon Workshop (put on by Steve Lawler) inspired us to use dynamic recruitment to build a solid formal pledge class for this fall. Our sage, Lane French, (winner of 2012 Iowa Fraternity & Sorority Emerging Leader Award) did a phenomenal job locating and contacting 40+ alumni in which we have not been in contact for several years, some up to 25 years. We created a new committee to retain these alumni and increase their involvement. Academically we placed 3rd out of 25 fraternities with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and are implementing a test bank and mandatory study hours to raise this to improve even more.

In the future we look forward to locking down a permanent fraternity structure.

To contact us, check out our website at www.sigmapiuiowa.com.

Iowa State  Sigma Chapter This spring was very productive for our chapter.

We ended up winning tournaments with our pairing for Greek Week. Our house has one of the largest spring pledge classes that we’ve had in years and we are looking forward to having a full house this fall with summer recruitment. Next fall we are going to be paired with Beta Sigma Psi and Alpha Omicron Pi for homecoming. We hope to become a big house on campus within the next few semesters.

Johnson & Wales  Eta-Omega Chapter The 2011-2012 academic year was very successful for our chapter with recruitment, community service, fund raising and brotherhood. As a chapter we raised over $2,750 and worked for over 2,000 hours towards national and local charities with our primary recipient being the Boys & Girls club of Cumberland and Lincoln, RI. At our annual Greek Awards dinner we won the Excellence in Community Service, Ongoing Commitment to an organization award which we are very proud of.

We also initiated two pledge classes totaling 11 new brothers who have been working hard for the good of the chapter since they crossed. 9 brothers graduated this year and are all heading into great jobs in their respective industries, including a 6 month intensive internship at Disney World Resort in Florida. Overall it has been a great year for the Eta-Omega Chapter and we look forward to another one in the fall.

Lawrence Tech  Zeta-Omicron Chapter The Zeta-Omicron Chapter Greek Day victory was achieved by a semester’s worth of preparation and training; which proved to be worthwhile as we won our 3rd consecutive Greek Day. Discipline and hard work were just some of the factors that proved to be the deciding factor in this year’s victory. With the smell of BBQ Pork in the air, we completed our Annual Pig Roast ACE Project™with the help

of our alumni. The event was, as always a huge success, leaving people wanting more; which signifies another successful event. In addition to the successful Pig Roast event and Greek Day victory, the chapter helped raise money for the Autism Speaks Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House of Detroit Foundation with the Pie in the Face event, all while providing lunch for the Faculty & Staff of Lawrence Technological University for another successful Faculty & Staff Luncheon ACE Project™.

Keene State  Colony Our ACE Project™ for the 2011/2012 year was an Alcohol Awareness event. The event was attended by multiple student organizations and the PRESIDENT of the college, Dr. Giles-Gee. Dr. Giles-Gee read a proclamation at the event and personally asked us to make it an annual event.

We had campus safety give a “drunk driving” experience with beer goggles and a golf cart.

Keene Police and Fire department were also there with their K9 unit where they gave a demonstration of the German Shepard in action.

Miami  Eta-Phi Chapter The brothers of the Eta-Phi Chapter are doing very well on Miami’s campus. Our members are held to high standards as we strive to be the best fraternity on campus through fulfilling Sigma Pi values. We had a great turnout for rush and initiated 36 outstanding young men to our brotherhood this semester. Our chapter also participated in several philanthropies too. Our annual Up Till Dawn Philanthropy, which is held to raise money for children with cancer, had an excellent turnout from the Greek community. In addition, we partnered up with Miami’s Alpha Chi Omega sorority for a new philanthropy called Monday Night Football, where we raised money, through a flag football tournament, for victims of domestic violence. Our sports teams also performed well and we were able to capture multiple intramural titles. Unfortunately,

we fell short of becoming three-peat Greek Week champs; but we hope to prevail in the upcoming year and reclaim the title.

The brothers of Alpha-Beta enjoyed an eventful winter semester. One highlight of the semester was our 3rd place finish in variety during Greek Week, where we placed 4th overall. We also graduated 9 seniors, including the last of our Founding Fathers.

Looking towards next fall, we hope to have a large rush class and continue to improve as a fraternity.

Michigan State  Zeta-Mu Chapter Once on the verge of revocation from International, our chapter here in East Lansing has made monumental steps not only in refocusing our attention towards rebuilding our brotherhood to meet the standards of Sigma Pi, but to model the ideal fraternity in Michigan State’s Greek life. Since those dark days, Zeta-Mu has earned several awards from the Greek community: our first ever Gala award for recruitment with 24 initiated pledges in fall of 2011, 17 rushees this spring, and most recently placing 1st in the campus wide MSU Greek Week competition from 12th last fall. We here at Zeta-Mu are ecstatic about what this great progress has done for us as a chapter, and hope to continue our success here in East Lansing for many years to come.

Michigan Tech  Zeta-Epsilon Chapter Here at Michigan Tech the brothers of the ZetaEpsilon Chapter have had a great year. With nine new brothers able to help out at the annual Pigs n’ Heat Hockey Game, we were able to help raise money in our community for the local police and fire department.

Minnesota  Iota-Zeta Chapter Spring semester flew by this year and was filled with events for Iota-Zeta chapter. We crowned new sweethearts, selecting Julie Timm from Delta Gamma and Chloe Edwards from Alpha Omicron Pi. For spring break a group of seven active members took a trip to Cancun, Mexico. We had the largest turnout ever for our Alumni Dinner this year and our “Unsung Heroes Dinner” for ACE Project™ (dinner for facilities management workers) had a record participation as well. We initiated a spring pledge class of five new members and already have several bids given out for the next fall! Many parents came out for Parents’ Weekend and helped us fundraise

Alpha-Omicron Chapter at California - Santa Barbara after completing an ACE Project™

Missouri - St. Louis  Delta-Zeta Chapter The spring 2012 semester has been a roller coaster for the Delta-Zeta Chapter at UMSL. In Greek Week we just missed winning it all and placed second.

Also the Delta-Zeta Chapter has participated in a lot of philanthropies this semester including Zeta Tau Alpha’s Mini Think Pink week, Relay for Life and served dinner to people of the Handicap Encounter Christ group. Last time we checked in we had just replaced our Chapter Director with Greg Ritchie who has helped our chapter recover and without him things could have been much worse. In the coming months Delta-Zeta is looking forward to a huge fall rush and the chapter is more excited than ever.

the course of the semester, we worked to raise over 2000 dollars through various events. One of the most prominent was a powder puff football tournament which helped raise 500 dollars for breast cancer.

We co-sponsored Night the Light walk which helped raise awareness for suicide. Overall as a chapter, every member had over 15 hours of community service. We had various brotherhood events, most commonly softball games in which almost every brother participated. We excelled in athletics by winning the Greek intramural basketball league by almost 40 points every game. As an organization, we are looking forward to a promising year.

Morehead State  Delta-Rho Chapter On May 2 our chapter played two championship games in 2 hours. Defeating Sig Ep in Ultimate Frisbee 9-7, at 6:45 that evening. Immediately following that victory, we defeated Pike in soccer 3-0, adding valuable points to our goal of obtaining an overall Fraternity Intramural championship.

Missouri S&T  Alpha-Iota Chapter

Murray State  Gamma-Upsilon Chapter

This past semester went very well. We ended with several new pledges for the fall and are very excited for the coming year. We have elected new officers and a younger generation of leaders has stepped forward to take the lead.

Spring of 2012 has been a great semester for the Gamma Upsilon chapter. Three new members were initiated this semester: Aaron Rowland, Jovan Loreado, and Kit Sutton. We had a successful ACE Project™ in which we renovated the landscaping around the residential colleges and dining hall on Murray State campus. And at the end of the semester, despite a four hour trek that began at 4:30 a.m. and severe weather, we were able to send nearly twenty brothers to the University of Louisville for the April 28th chartering of the Iota Omicron Chapter. It was certainly a proud and special day to all those in attendance.

Missouri Southern State  Eta-Mu Chapter Our chapter has been working hard on building our brotherhood this semester, as well as building our scholastic standings. We’ve enjoyed a variety of activities together, both for pleasure and philanthropic reasons. We’re hoping to finish this semester strong and push for a successful rush in the fall and a large pledge class.

Monmouth  Delta-Beta Chapter During this year’s Monmouth University Greek Week, the Delta-Beta chapter did their yearly ACE Project™. The Delta Beta Chapter hosted a “men against violence with women and alcohol abuse” seminar as well as other weekly activities which turned out to be a big success.

Montclair State  Iota-Iota Chapter Over the past semester, the Iota-Iota Sigma Pi chapter at Montclair has grown. It went from having 33 active members to ending the semester with 40. We accomplished this goal by having the largest pledge class of our chapter’s history. Over

Brothers from Theta-Tau Chapter at William Paterson pose at their Cutie Pi Pageant

Princess for a Day is a great community event that brothers of Iota-Epsilon Chapter participated in at Oregon

Chapter Reports

Michigan  Alpha-Beta Chapter

for two new scholarships. We were paired with Delta Upsilon and the ladies of Kappa Alpha Theta for Spring Jam and our member Vincent Phan was selected for next fall’s Homecoming Court! We will be a 50 man chapter next fall.

Oakland  Zeta-Pi Chapter With the end of the winter semester ZetaPi is greatly anticipating this year’s Biennial Convocation. The chapter worked very diligently over the last term nurturing individual growth and strengthening alumni relations. With the semester behind us we’re all looking forward to a few days of brotherly “fun-in-the-sun” in San Antonio.

Ohio  Epsilon Chapter The Epsilon chapter of Sigma Pi at Ohio University has just started Greek week. The chapter got paired with the lovely sorority Alpha Omicron Pi. Greek week involves a lot of activities such as trivia games, sporting events, community service events.

The community service event that Sigma Pi is

Zeta-Chi Chapter brothers at Rowan posed for a photo with the Easter Bunny

Brothers grilling out at the Composite Cook Off at ThetaRho Chapter at Grand Valley State

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putting on is a blood drive and a dunk tank with the Dean of Students in it!!

Ohio State  Gamma Chapter The 2011-2012 school year was a great one for Gamma chapter. This year we initiated twenty new brothers, and plan to initiate six more by the end of the year, doubling our chapter size! Although we accomplished a great deal in terms of recruitment this year, we are setting our goals even higher for next year. In addition to our recruitment efforts, we have started many new traditions and practices here at Gamma Chapter. We have seen a revamped New Member education system, an increased and diversified number of events with sororities, and having trips like our upcoming formal in Tennessee and going to the Kentucky Derby. In addition to these new practices, we held our ACE Project™ two weeks ago, in which we invited campus and city police to our house for a cookout, followed by a speech by two officers regarding campus and alcohol safety.

Old Dominion  Theta-Eta Chapter The Sigma Pi Chapter at Old Dominion University had an extraordinary school year. At the end-ofthe-year awards, we received the prestigious awards of Outstanding IFC chapter and highest overall GPA among IFC chapters. We also successfully had our annual Orchid Ball which had a terrific showing by our chapter’s alumni. In addition, our chapter organized our 9th annual Firefighter Appreciation Day. At the event, we give back to the local firefighters and their families by having a pig roast at the fire station. The event was attended by many of the local firefighters, local community members, and the ODU Greek community. It was a great way to end our accomplished school year.

Homecoming is scheduled to be 13th of October where we will be playing against Villanova. We would welcome any Sigma Pi Alumni to attend any of our events, including recruitment.

Oregon  Iota-Epsilon Chapter

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The Sigma Pi Iota-Epsilon chapter at the University of Oregon has been busy servicing the community these last months. In March we had the

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Alpha-Mu Chapter, NJIT, ACE Project™ with campus public safety

privilege of being the Princes to a number of foster girls during the “Princess for a Day” community service event. We dressed to impress and danced with our Princesses. We also have carried on our tradition of assisting in the University of Oregon Men’s Center “Break the Cycle” 5K that raises awareness for sexual assault. Currently we are looking forward to Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash Greek-wide philanthropy event that is quickly approaching.

Penn State  Theta Chapter The Theta Chapter has been fairly busy this spring. We were able to recruit 11 new members for the semester which has us at a total of 30 initiates for the year. Greek Week is coming up soon as well and we plan to win it all, especially our favorite event which we have won the past two years in a row, the Red Bull sponsored chariot race. Other events coming up are Parents’ Weekend on the 14th of April and the Orchid Ball on the 27th of April.

Purdue  Eta Chapter The brothers of Eta Chapter are coming off an amazing year. This past year we have recorded a record number of new initiates as well as revitalized our community service and philanthropy participation. Our scholarship rankings have also improved as well. We are already focusing on the Fall of 2012 with both continuous recruitment as well as starting up our own philanthropy on campus. We have made record strides this year and there is no doubt in any of our minds how far we have come. We also know there is much more potential as well and we are not going to let any of it go to waste. This is the 100th year of continuous existence for Eta Chapter!

Radford  Theta-Lambda Chapter The brothers of the Theta-Lambda Chapter at Radford University host a dinner for the Radford University Police Department for their yearly ACE Project™. We took the time to honor and thank the RUPD for everything that they have done this year and look forward to hosting more events with them in the future. We also held our annual Sigma Pi Senior Roast where funny stories and jokes were

Brothers from Eta-Iota Chapter at CSU - Domingues Hills

Theta-Iota Chapter at Montclair State

told, but more importantly gave the seniors the opportunity to reflect upon their years at Radford University. Congratulations to the graduates of the Theta-Lambda Chapter of Sigma Pi; we wish you all the best as you embark on your new journeys and thank you for everything you have done for the Theta-Lambda Chapter of Sigma Pi. Rowan  Zeta-Chi Chapter As another year concludes at Rowan University, the Zeta-Chi Chapter continues to progress in every aspect of fraternity. We are constantly growing as a chapter as we have achieved the highest spring pledge class of every organization, with eighteen new members this past spring. We have also had a successful year in sports, achieving first place in soccer and softball in our fraternity recreational leagues. We take Greek relations very serious at Zeta-Chi, as we had a successful formal in Atlantic City which had sisters from every sorority at Rowan attend. Zeta-Chi has also been able to maintain great scholarship, having the best GPA of every organization on campus with a 3.1 average. We have also had a very active year in community service, constantly being active in events like Clean and Green, Habitat for Humanity in Camden, and Relay for Life.

Saginaw Valley State  Theta-Beta Chapter As Theta-Beta closed our school year with two fundraisers for the whole university to enjoy, the chapter realizes we need to focus internally on ourselves over the summer to become better leaders on our campus and better leaders to represent Sigma Pi. We are looking forward to working with alumni over the summer in planning our great summer retreat. Accepting the past and looking to the future, Theta-Beta plans on making the best of the fall semester, as it is never a bad time for pre-planning our next big step. We are Sigma Pi. Saint Joseph’s  Theta-Chi Chapter Greek Week at Saint Joseph’s University turned out successful for the Theta Chi chapter. This year for Greek Week, each fraternity was partnered up with a sorority to participate in the week’s

Theta-Lambda Chapter, Radford, enjoying the mountains

Ferris State brothers at ThetaTheta Chapter

Chapter Reports

Gamma-Omega Chapter, Wayne State, brothers enjoy some beach time during spring break

activities with. The week consisted of field games, a stomp competition, penny wars, and many other competitions that showed the chapter’s strength.

The chapter also put on another successful Pi in the Face fundraiser. After all of the excitement of Greek Week, the semester came to an end with the turning of a new leaf. Within the same week, the Theta-Chi Chapter gained new brothers, but also had to say farewell to their beloved seniors at their senior sendoff. The seniors left the chapter in a great spot for the chapter to continue its success in the coming semesters. Theta-Chi would like to thank all of their new alumni and wish them the best of luck.

San Jose State  Beta-Eta Chapter In the Spring 2012 semester the Beta-Eta Chapter finally finished serving out its school suspension.

The first thing we did as a chapter back on campus was giving back to San Jose State with our ACE Project™. We paired up with an organization called, “COUGH.” We met up on campus and picked up cigarette butts around campus. We also, participated in intramural outdoor soccer, which we did well in, but not well enough to make playoffs, sadly. We are preparing for a BIG fall 2012 semester and as such we have elected our new committee heads. We’re confident that all newly elected committee heads will only do great things for the Beta Eta chapter.

We are also looking forward to the next semester to improving our social standing at San Jose State.

Santa Clara  Zeta-Eta Chapter

TCNJ  Theta-Delta Chapter

Our chapter performed our ACE Project™ on Feb. 17. The Bronco Urban Garden program was founded in 2009 to promote environmental education and healthy nutritional habits for at-risk families in San Jose. The Forge Garden emphasizes this and is utilized as an organic educational garden. Its produce is donated to both Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen in San Jose as well as Santa Clara University dining services. Our chapter helped plant and replant various fruits and vegetable bushes as well as weed vegetable beds, build and weatherproof outdoor furniture and relocated a chicken coop to better serve the garden’s chickens.

Over the past few months, the Theta-Delta chapter of Sigma Pi at The College of New Jersey has continued to strive toward excellence. We accomplished another successful ACE Project™, named “Unsung Heroes Week”, in which the brothers of our chapter perform the responsibilities of a different group of workers on the TCNJ campus each day. A total of $1000 was raised and donated between our newest philanthropy event, “Draw Something”, and our annual blood drive. Finally, over $2000 was raised and donated due to our first ever on-campus clothing drive. Besides all of the money we were able to raise this semester, the Theta Delta chapter is proud to have accepted a spring class of 11 outstanding men, the Upsilon class, who are sure to contribute to Sigma Pi in a great way in the future.

Southern Illinois - Edwardsville  Delta-Omega Chapter This semester is a building semester for the DeltaOmega chapter of Sigma Pi. After the chapter review, our membership was drastically reduced to being the smallest on campus. However, Sigma Pi has been bouncing back to once again become the number one fraternity on campus.

Spring rush brought in two new members eager to help with the rebuilding of our chapter. Big plans have been made for Fall 2012. Formal was a huge success, with alumni outnumbering active member attendance. No big events were put on this semester due to the lack of numbers.

UCLA  Upsilon Chapter With summer right around the corner, the brothers of Sigma Pi are finishing up the quarter strong.

The year is almost over and we have grown quite a bit with two of the largest consecutive pledge class’s crossing over. We have had a lot of fun participating in various events such as Heal the Bay beach cleanups and Relay for Life where we raised over $1400. In addition, our chapter has taken an active role in donating at UCLA’s Blood and

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Theta-Eta Chapter at Old Dominion participating in their annual firefighter philanthropy event

Platelet Center nearly every week. Congratulations to the graduating seniors, most of who are going to some form of graduate school next year or taking the plunge into “real life” outside of college as they already have a career set up for them.

Vincennes  Alpha Chapter These last few months have been very eventful here at Alpha Chapter. We had our annual Alpha April to raise money for the March of Dimes. Alpha chapter held a volleyball tourment which each team paid five dollars to enter. We had a three on three basketball but unforunately it rained so it was cancelled. Our final event was a all night softball game that everyone who attended had a blast. We raised over three hundred dollars for the march of dimes. The semester is coming to a close and the brothers are studying very hard to get a good GPA. Alpha chapter has a bright furture and we are looking forward to what the next year brings.

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Virginia  Beta-Pi Chapter

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Since the last report a lot as happened at the BetaPi chapter. We hosted another successful Surf ‘n Turf on April 20th. The event brought in a large number of students resulting in a good amount of money raised for NSWB as well as added to the atmosphere and good spirit of the event. We finished our new member education process and welcomed in 12 new brothers this spring which everyone is excited about. As the semester is coming to a close all of the fourth years have been preparing for graduation while all the underclassman are reluctant to see

them go. We look forward to homecomings in the fall when all of the graduating fourth years will be welcomed back to the house as alumnus.

Throughout the semester we have better involved our chapter director David Weiss in many ways from advice to cookouts at his place.

Wake Forest  Alpha-Nu Chapter After a successful spring rush class with 13 new members, Alpha-Nu was able to stretch its arms across the entire Wake Forest Campus.

Alpha-Nu’s best performance in a philanthropic event came when we won Tri Delta’s Triple Play Softball tournament benefitting St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Sigma Pi also performed well in Delta Zeta’s volleyball tournament, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Kappa Kaddies golf tournament, and many others. Alpha Nu’s own charitable events included ‘Reggaefest’ with proceeds going to the Red Cross. Also this semester we began part one of our two semester ACE Project™, which is a traffic safety awareness project aimed at curbing the accidents at our University Parkway entrance. We began raising awareness by hanging up literature throughout campus and getting a support petition signed. Next semester we plan on continuing the project by promoting a lecture on traffic safe.

Washington State  Iota-Nu Chapter Another year has come and gone at the beautiful Washington State University and Iota-Nu took full advantage of every opportunity that was available.

Spring recruitment was a roaring success, with 7

young men having completed the spring pledge process and will be initiated in the very early fall. Mom’s weekend was a blast. The brothers took much pride in showing around their mothers around our new chapter house. The annual Mom’s Day auction also raised over a thousand dollars for our chapter! The brothers here in Washington are preparing for the annual trip to the Iota-Epsilon and Omega chapter later this month. Iota Nu is building toward the future and is ready for the pivotal year coming up.

Wayne State  Gamma-Omega Chapter The Gamma-Omega chapter has shown continuous and exponential growth over the past academic year. The chapter has seen significant gains in membership, growing from three members to twenty-one in just two years. In addition to membership growth, Gamma Omega chapter has shown an increased presence on campus with many planned philanthropies and events for this summer and fall semesters. Furthermore, the chapter just recently had our first Orchid Ball in three years.

The event was a smashing success. The chapter also plans to have a Sweethearts Ball in November.

In addition to these events, the brothers of Gamma Omega Chapter are hard at work keeping up one of the highest GPAs on campus and in the entire midwest province, as well as continuously improving the historical chapter house. Gamma Omega Chapter is exponentially growing on campus and is quickly moving to become the top Greek organization at Wayne State University.

Chapter Reports

Delta-Rho Chapter athletics being represented at Morehead State

West Alabama  Theta-Gamma Chapter In February of 2012, the Theta-Gamma chapter put on their annual Oozeball tournament. Oozeball is a tournament of volleyball played in a mud pit.

All of the proceeds, $300, went straight to the University of West Alabama. All students were invited to join and play. Other Greeks participated in this event, as well.

West Chester  Zeta-Alpha Chapter Zeta-Alpha has been on the move this semester.

We added 8 new brothers to our ranks and elected new positions. Michael Richards won Outstanding Greek Leader and Greek Inspiration for 2012, and Michael Buckley won Outstanding New Member Educator. This award was won the first pledge class Zeta Alpha saw after the membership review spring 2011. The chapter is working with the Women’s Center again this year. The brothers are ready for next year and keep progressing.

Western Michigan  Gamma-Rho Chapter Spring semester was a busy one for the men of the Gamma-Rho chapter at Western Michigan University. First with our annual philanthropy event “Teeter totter” in which the members teeter totter on campus for 72 hours straight. Accepting donations from students and faculty all together we raised about $1500 with all proceeds donated to the Sean Vernon Feliciano Amazing Day foundation.

We also completed our ACE Project™ this semester with the brothers cleaning and helping with erosion

control of a University owned park. Along with these events the Gamma-Rho chapter was awarded Chapter of the Month by WMU’s IFC. Currently we are looking forward to the move into our new house this summer and are excited to welcome in a new generation of leaders in the fall.

William Paterson  Theta-Tau Chapter We are currently planning our philanthropy, Sigma Pi Cutie Pi, we have our friendlies fundraiser coming up soon to raise money and donate. We just attended the province workshop at Rutgers.

Wisconsin - Madison  Tau Chapter Tau Chapter has had a very successful past month, which included events such as Founder’s Day and the Polar Plunge. Founder’s Day saw nothing more extravagant than usual but as always both alumni and actives found the experience to be very fun and rewarding, especially those who this was their first Founders’ Day. The Polar Plunge philanthropy went very well, as a chapter we raised well over a thousand dollars and had four brothers actually jump into the freezing lake. March looks to be a relatively quiet month as the brothers prepare for midterms and the general increase of schoolwork that accrues just before Spring Break. Our main focus going into March will be the education and initiation of our spring pledge class.

class of initiates: Shane Connor, Dakota Burt, Jordan Demeny, Paul Zimmer, Evan DuVall and Frank Willes.

Wisconsin - Platteville  Delta-Iota Chapter As the semester winds down, we are as busy as ever at Delta-Iota. In the last two months of classes, we completed our ACE Project™, volunteered at the Lake Monona 20K in Madison, WI, and did a highway cleanup, and plan on volunteering at the Championship Games in Boscobel, WI and the Madison Mud Run before the end of the semester.

For our ACE Project™, we picked up garbage near the school’s rugby field, behind several dorms and a parking lot, and the dining hall, which was a great success. The Lake Monona 20K was also a great experience, and 5 of our Brothers even competed.

As we buckle down for finals, everybody is excited to finish the semester and enjoy the summer.

Worcester Polytechnic  Gamma-Iota Chapter Here at the Gamma-Iota chapter, we have done a lot. We have 15 new brothers. We held our second annual Legends of the Golden Goat philanthropy event and we also participated in Relay for Life. Our ACE Project™ was a faculty appreciation barbeque.

We also held our annual alumni event called Clam Bake the Saturday after Relay for Life. 

Wisconsin - Oshkosh  Gamma-Mu Chapter Gamma-Mu would like to congratulate our newest

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A Playground reborn thanks to the ACE Project™ and Gamma-Eta Colony at Rutgers On April 21, Sigma Pi Gamma-Eta held its first ACE Project™. This year, their project was to renovate a playground on the Cook/Douglass campus.

The playground is a part of the Jameson Psychology Child Study Center Preschool and is the place of learning for the children of local residents and many faculty members on campus. It has been years since anyone touched the playground and surrounding area. As a result, the place became a decrepit eyesore and an unwelcoming place for the children.

Starting at 10:30 a.m. and working straight until mid-evening, GammaEta Chapter was able to bring life back to the preschool playground.

Starting outside the playground, weeds were pulled and the grass was dug up and leveled. After that, plants were placed in the dirt and the surface was covered with mulch. Next, old and disgusting wood planks that surrounded the playground on the outer wall were removed. In its place, new stained boards were drilled in. On the inside of the playground, all the walls, equipment, and play structures were power-washed and cleaned. Dirt and residue were swept up as the walls were given two fresh coats of paint. On one of the walls painted white, school kids fingerpainted a mural, along with brothers and some sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha. After this, dirty sand was removed from the sandpit and replaced with several bags of new sand.

All the while there was a BBQ with music for all in attendance, which included some school children and their parents. Overall, the day was a giant success. The playground is in much, much, much better condition and Gamma-Eta hopes the children of the Center will enjoy their newly improved play area.

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From the onset of the spring semester ACE Chairman John Marquez helped map out and organize the event. Without him, none of this would have been possible. It was brother Marquez who contacted the Center, who hammered out the details, who compiled the budget, who bought food and supplies. On behalf of Gamma-Eta, thank you, John, for doing a wonderful job on the project. Luckily, Saturday was a beautiful day and everything came out better than imagined. Thanks also goes to the Child Study Center for granting us the opportunity to renovate their playground. 

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Sigma Pi Feature

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Alumni Notebook

Alumni, undergraduates, friends and family at Alpha-Delta Chapter at Auburn gathered recently for a reception honoring General James Everette Livingston (’62) who received a lifetime achievement award from the university

Alumni News: Kentucky Thoroughbred Alumni Club

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The Kentucky Thoroughbred Alumni Club has had a busy year. We helped raise money for our active chapter and worked with the Murray State Alumni Association to update our contact lists for alumni. Our annual Summer Reunion is always the third weekend in July in Murray. We will also be having a tent setup for Tent City at this year’s MSU’s Homecoming.

We encourage our alumni, as well as alumni from other chapters, to attend these events.

We also sent out a newsletter in June. If you did not receive this please contact us.

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We completed the sale of the house on Hwy 121. It was becoming too costly to maintain and was too far away from campus. We are currently working with the active chapter to find a new home.

Don’t forget to donate to our Chapter Educational Fund that we have setup with the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation. All donations to it are tax deductible and a great way for our chapter to be proactive instead of reactive. To toot our own horn, we were also the eleventh most giving chapter to the foundation in Fiscal Year 2011.

Gamma-Upsilon alumni have various social media groups that we use to keep in contact. For a full list you can contact us at KyThoroughbredAlumni@sigmapi.org.

Upsilon Alumni Association Russell Schaadt (Class of ’83) advised the active chapter to use their time in college as a networking opportunity to begin their professional careers. Schaadt, a successful real estate mogul and investment fund manager in Palos Verdes, returned to the house for the first time in two decades as the Alumni Guest Speaker for the Upsilon Career Night on May 21.

Other alumni included Pablo Rivas (wealth management), Scott Mosier (finance), Adam Hunt (law/internet), Ed Kwak (entertainment), and Philippe Gerretsen (engineering/business).

Past Guest Speakers include Fred Thornley, Claude “Skip” Keyzers, John Goodlad, Dr. Chris Koutures, Paul Goto, Jared Frandle, and Nate Murphy.

When Schaadt graduated in 1983, the economy was in a poor condition with few jobs for young graduates with no experience. One of his first jobs was through a friend’s father, using networking skills, which took him to

the oil fields of Fresno and Bakersfield and many hot, sweaty days. Because oil companies had land, Schaadt learned about real estate.

His next job was building apartments for a large homebuilder, which took him back to northern California. A subsequent job resulted from cold-calling the president of an equity fund, and he was hired one day later. Schaadt recommends the telephone because powerful moguls like to talk about themselves and give advice, and they are too busy to respond to a passive email that asks for a call back.

Schaadt recommends that students seek internships right from the start of their college life, instead of waiting for senior year and then graduating with no experience except at Jamba Juice. Along the way, work on your public speaking skills, so you can have a beer and still converse intelligently. In addition, learn to write a clear, concise letter.

Businesses provide less training these days, and the ability to hit the ground running is a leg up on other job candidates.

Schaadt earned an MBA from Pepperdine later in his career, and he advises that graduate degrees and certifications are helpful, but don’t guarantee jobs. They are pre-quals and get you the interview only.

Nowadays, Schaadt works in Palos Verdes

Alumni Notebook

Upsilon Alumni: Jay Ross and 25th anniversary Silver Cross recipients Paul Glowienke and Shelden Simons.

Alumnus Updates:

as President and CEO of The Gardner Co., which has a portfolio of $500 million in real estate, and he also manages a $250-million investment fund. He didn’t know anything about investments, but says that it’s a skill that can be learned if you have strong education fundamentals and business experience. He had some bumps along the way, including a big loss at an investment fund during the 2008 real estate meltdown that cost his company’s client CalPers $200 million.

Schaadt’s experience as a Snowballer pledge lives on, and he remains an avid skier and stays in touch with the three Smith brothers from Redlands who also pledged Upsilon: Stanford, Scott and Steve.

In other news, Manager Dan Romero led the Upsilon Bruins softball team at the Western World Series in May. Brian Warren and Joey Deaven, two dynamo active brothers, received special alumni scholarships for their careers in engineering and public service. Philippe Gerretsen graduated from Engineering School at USC and works at Southern California Edison. Scott Mosier graduated from Business School at UCLA and works at Amgen.

Ethan F. Becker (HT, Fitchburg State ’93), a 1993 graduate of Fitchburg State University and one of the founders of the campus Sigma Pi chapter, delivered the commencement address and was awarded an honorary degree at the university’s 116th Commencement Exercises Undergraduate Ceremony on Saturday, May 19. Becker, a published author, international speech coach and developer of communication and training programs, is president of the Speech Improvement Company. He is also the co-author of the best-selling book Mastering Communication at Work.

The Board of Directors of North American Mature Publishers Association (NAMPA) appointed Gary L. Calligas (DL, Louisiana Tech ’72) of Shreveport, Louisiana as its new Executive Director, effective April 1, 2012.

In this position, he will be responsible for the leadership, operation, and membership activities of the national association. Founded in 1994, NAMPA is non-profit association for the publishers of local/regional senior and baby boomer publications from across North America to exchange and share information, network activities, and host meeting opportunities. Currently, NAMPA members publish over 40 publications with a combined total readership of over 9 million.

The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS) recently named Bruce Kehe (BT, Valparaiso ’79) chief mechanical officer, effective May 14. Kehe has 33 years of mechanical experience, including supervisory positions with CN, the Elgin Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. and Gary Railway.

Delta-Zeta Alumnus Bill Neukum (DZ, Missouri - St. Louis ’72) has been selected to receive the highest honor a Boy Scout Council

can bestow upon an adult volunteer. The award itself is called the Silver Beaver and is presented to registered adult leaders who have made an impact on the lives of youth by way of implementing the scouting program and performing community service through hard work, self sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service. Out of the thousands of volunteers, only a select few are choosen to receive the Silver Beaver (based on number of units in the Council) and the Greater St. Louis Area Council is ranked among the top 5 (out of about 294 councils) in the country as far as size. Only 24 awards were presented last year.

Joe Palazzolo (DB, Monmouth ’03) was elected chairman of the Hope Academy Charter School Foundation, Asbury Park, NJ. Dr. Roy Schwartzman (AF, Georgia ’82), Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has been awarded the inaugural Shoah Foundation Institute Teaching Fellowship.

The fellowship supports Holocaust education focusing on survivor testimonies. His proposal was competitively selected from an international pool of applicants. The grant includes financial support for course development as well as consultations with curators of the Visual History Archive at the University of Southern California repository of 52,000 Holocaust survivors’ video testimonies.

Dr. Schwartzman’s project involves assembling Holocaust survivor testimonies for the Lloyd International Honors College seminar “Witnessing the Holocaust,” which will be offered in Fall 2012. He holds the Chancellor’s Resident Fellowship in the Honors College during 2011-2012 and is an Honors College Fellow. The Shoah Foundation Institute is the outgrowth of Steven Spielberg’s project to collect and preserve Holocaust survivor testimonies. 

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Adytum on High

Arkansas State - Alpha-Pi Wyatt, William Calvin ’63

Rutgers - Gamma-Eta Southard III, Abram Hewitt ’66

Beloit College - Alpha-Theta Brown, John Beaumont ’66

Southern Illinois - Carbondale Beta-Nu Hake, Roger Clarence ’56

Cal State - Fullerton - Epsilon-Nu Bauer, Timothy S. ’82 William and Mary - Alpha-Eta Fort, Louis Allan ’66 Drexel - Beta-Theta Robbins Jr., Walter George ’51 Franklin & Marshall - Nu Schaeffer, Philip Bausman ’35 Kenyon - Lambda Horner Jr., John Atlee ’50 Snowberger, Robert Post ’47 Missouri State - Alpha-Rho Ezell, Harold Davies ’53

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Missouri S&T - Alpha-Iota LaPiere, Gilbert Hartman ’47 Polcyn, Andrew John ’69

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You may make a gift in memory of brothers to the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation at www.sigmapiedfund.org.

NJIT - Alpha-Mu Carton, John William ’60 Ohio Northern - Zeta Mabee, Robert Edwin ’48 Stauffer, Ronald Jan ’66 Purdue - Eta Burres Jr., Stephen Wint ’65 Koons, John Richard ’54

Southern Illinois - Edwardsville Delta-Omega Meurer, Michael Frederick ’73 St. Lawrence - Alpha-Zeta Weith, Jack W. ’52 Temple - Kappa Conrad, Henry Franklin ’50 Ohio State - Gamma Redman, John Carl ’53 UCLA - Upsilon Ash, Ned Ramon ’50 Illinois - Phi Janos, Nickolas Peter ’51 Marasco, Mark A. ’85 Vincennes - Alpha Schenbeck, Michael Earl ’70 Western Illinois - Epsilon-Zeta Bernardi, Ralph Ivar ’81

Sigma Pi Feature

Grand Fourth Counselor Andrew Morris and Grand Second Counselor Ed Levesque presenting Founders’ Award to Lichtenberger’s son Arthur Tate Lichtenberger

Founders’ award presented posthumously to an award winner’s son

by Grand Second Counselor Ed Levesque (HH, Bridgewater State ’89)

father humming the college’s theme song as he went about his day. Brother Lichtenberger never spoke about the fraternity directly, but these cues were very telling to Arthur that his father enjoyed his undergraduate experience and time spent with his collegiate friends.

Arthur Carl Lichtenberger on the right

Arthur Carl Lichtenberger was recognized with the Founders’ Award posthumously at the 2010 Convocation in Boston, MA, for his outstanding contribution to society, as he served as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1958 to 1964. He was the first Episcopalian church head ever to meet with the Pope. Unfortunately because of last minute circumstances, no members of his family were in attendance at convocation to receive this award on his behalf.

Earlier this year, the award was presented to Brother Lichtenberger’s son, Arthur Tate Lichtenberger, at his home in Westfield, Massachusetts by Grand Second Counselor Ed Levesque and Grand First Counselor E. Andrew Morris. During this time, Arthur expressed his appreciation for the honor and shared some anecdotes about his father.

Brother Lichtenberger was always interested in his alma mater (Kenyon College, Lambda Chapter) and often kept up with and shared news and information he learned of the college. As a child, Arthur often heard his

Arthur shared little known stories about the historic meeting between Pope John XXIII and the recently appointed Presiding Bishop Lichtenberger. As Brother Lichtenberger was led down the halls of the Vatican, he marveled at the works of art on display. He was trying to think of something to say as an icebreaker, and considered saying to the Pope, “nice place you’ve got here,” but decided against it.

As Brother Lichtenberger was waiting to meet the Pope in private, he recalled that Catholic clergy members wear the cross lower on their chest than their Anglican counterparts. Out of respect and deference to the Pope, Brother Lichtenberger adjusted his cross so it was lower on his chest. When the Pope entered the room, Brother Lichtenberger observed that the Pope had raised his own cross higher on his chest, in deference to Brother Lichtenberger’s faith. The Pope had seen what Brother Lichtenberger had done, and both men chuckled at this mutual show of respect as they began a very warm and cordial meeting. Brother Lichtenberger shared these stories with very few people; his son felt they were appropriate to share among his fraternity brothers.

the Vatican in the background. It is unknown how many of these stamps survive. Arthur presented one of these stamps, affixed to a Vatican envelope, to the visiting Grand Council officers as a gift from the Lichtenbergers in appreciation for recognizing their father. This envelope and stamp set, which is in pristine condition, will be proudly displayed in our museum.

As time marches forward and our prominent alumni leave us, it is wonderful to see that their life is still celebrated with special moments like these, and that they still find ways to humble us by their deeds that exemplify our creed, and with simple but meaningful gifts they give to the fraternity. 

For the historic visit and meeting, Vatican City released an oversized commemorative stamp, featuring the Archbishop in a car with

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