SPRING, 1978 VOLUME LXXVB THETA € Theta T'iji WKOTd'H' Theta Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta — The University of Alabama OUR GRADUATING SENIORS — GOOD LU Top row LR: Mark Smith plans to get his degree in ac counting and pursue a career in the ac counting field Ken Peck has a major in Insurance and he plans to work for a Mobile based firm Bottom LR: Bubba Flndlay Is finishing his degree in communications Lanny Fievet has a major In human re source management and plans to enter the labor relations field at the management position Jim Chenoweth is finishing his degree in corporate finance and investments Doug White Is getting his degree in history and plans to attend law school Tom Wiiiings has a degree in management, and has accepted a position with Wiiiings Detroit Diesel Allison, Inc. in Birmingham Steve Lester has a degree In general busi ness with a concentration In marketing and Baker Crow has a major In corporate finance and Investment management and Is going to attend law school in either Bir mingham or Tuscaioosa ducts firm Will Brooke Is planning to attend law school after finishing his degree in busi ness management Fred Klilion has a B.A. in English and is going to Alabama law school WInn Kelly has a major In general business has accepted a position with a Forest Pro Bart Adcox has a major In finance and Is going to attend law school Not pictured: Paul Powers plans to graduate with a B.S. In civil engineering and work In either in dustry or engineering design firm Boyd Handley plans to attend graduate school and then go Into a geology related field management Alan Watson has a degree In general busi ness management Billy Bates plans to attend law school In either Birmingham or Tuscalocsa Donny Mecke has a degree In management and plans to attend law school \r\nfrom the president: Last year, we here at Theta Chapter pledged to Improve our alumni relations. The Brothers took many steps in the right direction immediately, with the addition of a a'Tiji EDITORS; Grantland Rice & Bill Crow WRITERS: Bart Adcox, Baker Crow, Steve Lester, Jay Keene, Jim Watson, Don Troiano, and Grantland Rice graduate relations chairman, and a committee to work with the chairman in arranging the graduate events. The cocktail parties in the fall before football games, and of course, the Frank Norris Pig Dinner, are arranged by this committee. The THETA FIJI is a publication of Theta Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, The University of Alabama, and Is Intended exclusively for her graduates. There is a gap that exists between the undergraduates of Theta Chapter and the graduate brothers, and this needs to be bridged so that each can benefit from the other. Both of these groups consist of fine individuals, but there should be just one group, everyone together as members of Phi Gamma Delta. The Frank Norris Pig Dinner is scheduled for April 7th, and we plan for this to be the most successful one ever, and I urge you to make plans to attend to help us reach that goal. from the editor's desk Here at Theta Chapter as we try to brave our unusually cold winter, and look forward to the spring, we have had time to look back and evaluate ourselves. The Chapter has many things to be grateful for, mainly, we have our alumni to be proud of, for without their support Theta would not We have a goal that every brother strives for, and this is to improve in ali ways that will benefit the fraternity. Please let us hear from you with any ideas or suggestions that will continue to keep Theta Chapter the best on the University of Alabama campus. Fraternally yours, be the fine Chapter that it is. C. Bart Adcox As the saying goes, "All Fiji's are great men, but all great men cannot be Fiji's." Well, certainly our graduating seniors are great men and great Fiji's, and have been a fine asset to not only us, but also, to Phi Gamma Delta. The Chapter hates to lose them, but we realize that we are oniy losing them from the active ranks, and that they will be outstanding alumni. The Brothers wish you the best of luck in all future endeavors! We welcome a new addition to Theta Chapter, Dougias Keith Filer (80), from North Little Rock, Arkansas. Doug Is a transfer from Lambda lota Chapter at Purdue University. Welcome aboard Doug! Our field secretary. Bill Johnson, came for a visit In January, and we appreciate his ideas, suggestions, and all his effort in helping Theta Chapter. Theta had a successful fall In which the brothers became closer as a Chapter and we feel that we can improve in all areas. If you have any suggestions please send them to us. Hope to see you all soon! Fraternally yours, Grantland Rice III Bill Crow Last summer the 49th FIJI Academy was held In Columbus, Ohio, home of Ohio State University. Theta Chapter sent five brothers to participate in the leadership training courses. The brothers who participated are (L to R): Bill Crow (80), Mark Williams (80), Donny Mecke (78), John Keene (80), Mark Zickos (79). PIG DINNER Pig Dinner is once again coming up and we have set it for April 7th. Last year's Pig Dinner was a big success with the Pledge Class of '56,'57, returning for their twentieth year reunion. If any of our graduate brothers are interested in planning a reunion for this year's Pig Dinner, we will be glad to help In any way, whether It be in contacting or locating any members of a particular pledge class. We would like this year's dinner to be even more successful than last year's. You will be receiving a letter concerning Pig Dinner shortly, and we hope you will be able to attend, so make your plans early and set your calendars for April 7th. \r\nIFC, and heads upTffe planning committee. Brother Baker We deeply regret hearing of the loss of Brother William 8. Gathings, Jr. (Theta '51), of Birmingham who passed Crow (78) has just had an excellent year as Secretary-Treasurer of the Inter-Fraternity Council come to a close. Baker received the honor of being chosen to be in "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities". Congratulations to these Brothers for their achievements and we hope the ones who are in the running now wiii away after a long illness on July 16, 1977. have successful campaigns. Ad Astra PLEDGES:'solah' CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT The 1977-78 pledge class of Theta is comprised of 14 young men from Alabama, and one each from Tennessee, Theta Chapter was again active in many social service projects, such as the numerous blood drives here on campus. St. Jude Children's Hospital of Memphis, quit hiding, and with a little help from the actives, the North Carolina, and Texas. When we finally got them to Tennessee came in the fall and desperately needed over seventy-five pints of blood. Theta responded and gave fifty-five pints, which was over half the total of the entire campus. The hospital wrote a letter of thanks expressing their gratitude to the Chapter. Another blood drive was held at our house on January 17th to benefit the American Red Cross, and was held as a fraternity and sorority blood drive with the Alpha Gamma Delta and Kappa Delta sororities. This particular drive was even more successful than we had hoped for. One-hundred and seven pints were collected. These projects helped the community and in the near future we hope to do even more things to heip charity and the public. pledges realized their many responsibi l ities, both academically and socially. As pledges they have seen a more serious aspect of fraternity life than the fun parties they saw as rushees. They got together for many things, first, they escorted our housemother to church. Then they can be proud of the fact that they had a hundred percent participation in the blood drive for St. Jude Children's Hospital that the Phi Gams won. Next time they set out for a social service project they were intent on winning the Inter-Fraternity Council's food drive. It was not even a contest, because our pledges collected over 250 pounds of the total 500 pounds collected. We asked the pledges to decorate the house for the Christmas season, and they did a fine job in raising a 40 foot high cedar Christmas tree, complete with lights. This pledge class is an exceptional group of young men, and they are active ail over campus in the StudentGovernment, and various clubs and organizations. We feel that they did a super job at everything they attempted, and we hope they will continue to be an asset to the Chapter when they are initiated. RUSH The subject that is the most talked about around the house these days is rush. All the brothers are getting excited about the upcoming rush season. The first big rush occasion is "Roarin' Twenties", held this year on March 3rd, 4th, and 5th. As usual, all the Brothers will get Our treasurer, Billy Bates, giving blood In a recent Red Cross blood drive held at the house. together to put on an impressive rush. The next big party is the annual "Fiji Island" fiasco, and this will be held April 14th, 15th, and 16th. As the tradition has It, this is the best party on the whole campus, and is very impressive to our rushees. The last major function is "Summer Rush", and this is scheduled for late June. This is a party that draws all the brothers back for a Theta has many brothers active in Student Government, clubs, societies, and organizations. Will Brooke (78) has finished his term as fraternity senator, and is in the running forthe media planning board. Bob Baker (80) has been appointed to the iFC judiciary committee, and has just finished a year as Off-Campus Senator. Donny Mecke (78) is a member of the Insurance Commission. The mid-summer celebration, and also, to put the finishing touches on the upcoming pledge class. We cannot thank the brothers enough for their enthu siastic work in the area of rush, and we are also grateful to our Alumni for their help in rush. As you know, rush is a difficult job at best, and that is why Alumni COROLLA,the University yearbook, has David Huffstutier (80)as its academic editor, and Chad Crowther (79) as the recommendations are so important to a successful rush associate editor. Also, Brother Crowther is in contention would make a good addition to Theta Chapter please be for the editor's job. Jim Andrew's (81) is active in the Jr. sure to let us know. program. If you have any young men which you think \r\nSPORTS SC A SOCIAI HAPPENINGS On the campus there is a saying, "No one throws a party like the Phi Gamsl" Well, beginning March 1st we are really going to party! The Chapter has not had a social event in quite a while, so we have saved up a large sum of money in order to really have a great spring rush. On the sports scene this year we have high expectations for our upcoming softbali season. We have eight returning starters, losing only Paul Dupont to graduation. His leadership and ability will be missed but our bench is full of young and eager players who should prove quite adequate for the job. Judging from past performance we should have another good year, being two time League Champs, and Fraternity Champs last year, we are setting our sights on the Campus title this to help the pledges prepare for the festive occasion. year. Summer Rush was next on the agenda, and was held in Last year's Fiji Island took a great deal of work as usual, but it was well worth the effort. All the brothers turned up June. The parties were great, but they were not the highlight of the weekend. The highlight of the big weekend was the pledging of many fine young men, and for the brothers to see everyone after being separated for ALUMNI NEWS part of the summer. The happy faces of the brothers who were reunited set a fine example of brotherhood for our Gene Brabston (Theta '74), is in Mobile, where he practices general dentistry. Gene graduated from the University of Alabama Dental School in June 1976. He is married to former Katherine Harris of Mobile. Bill Gathlngs (Theta '21), now lives in Waynesboro, Ga., where he is retired after 50 years of service to Perfection Products Company. He is in excellent health at 78 and active in many community affairs. Bill has the honor of being the first graduate of the College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Alabama, 1921. new pledges. Our annual theme parties will have an added importance because of the lack of parties that we have had this year. "Roarin' Twenties" is just around the corner, on March 3rd & 4th, and will be the twenty-eighth time for our famous Flapper Party. As tradition has it, Fiji Island is the campus' most talked about party and this year's will be no exception. Fiji Island is scheduled for April 14 & 15th. Other important social functions and their dates include the Spring Formal, April 1st; and Pig Dinner, Aprii 7th. We will also have many other parties, and beer busts with the sororities. As always if any of you wish to attend Tommy Keene (Theta '70), is living now in Montgomery, Alabama, where he is a practicing attorney with the law firm of Rushton, Stakely, Johnston, Garrett, P.A. Tommy any of these parties you are weicome. Also, if any of you is married to former Alice Walker of Atalla. They have two children, Jason and Mary Alison. please let us know so we can work something out. We are looking forward to seeing you again soon. ■@6 'Theta T'iji P.O. Drawer AN University, A I. 35486 want to use the house for a reunion or other function, Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID University, AL 35486 Permit No. 47