UPCOMING EVENT October 2006 Saturday, Nov. 11 Homecoming 2006 RSVP to Mike Brown at 919-672-1689 or mike.brown2@pulte.com. Hope to see you there! Epsilon Chapter House Corporation President David H. Batten ’79 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-863-8720 DHB@cshlaw.com Treasurer Charles E. Bell III ’91 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-877-2438 Charles.e.bell.iii@smithbarney.com Fund-Raising Chairmen George T. Barnes ’92 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-459-2601 gbarnes@vanguardpg.com Laurence B. Maddison III ’92 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-821-5482 lbm3@bellsouth.net Paul C. McCoy ’98 Greensboro, N.C. (W) 919-981-0191 paulmccoy@lewis-roberts.com House Maintenance Chairmen Lindsay F. Sewell ’98 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-573-5513 lsewell@trammellcrow.com John Hughes ’66 Chapel Hill, N.C. (W) 919-933-9959 JHughes@vistatm.com Graduate Communications Chairman W. Holton Wilkerson Jr. ’00 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-743-2019 hwilkerson@arborequity.com Undergraduate Communications Chairmen Tom Darden ’02 Raleigh, N.C. (W) 919-743-2532 tdarden@arborequity.com Mike Brown ‘04 (C) 919-672-1689 mikbrown@pulte.com The Epsilon Owl Chapter Winds Down from Ekklesia, Kicks Off Semester with 12 Fall Pledges Epsilon Recognized as Oldest Chapter Represented at Ekklesia By Mike Linden Fall rush has ended and the semester is off to a great start for Epsilon. We returned to Chapel Hill to pledge 12 great young men, and are excited about our progress so far this fall. We kicked off the Phi Gam year this summer, when Jordan Whichard and I had the opportunity to attend the 158th Ekklesia, the governing body of Phi Gamma Delta, in Minneapolis, MN. At the convention, we represented Epsilon in the adoption a new budget, amendment of laws and election of new board members. However, the main highlight was the opportunity to welcome a new Tulane chapter into the Phi Gamma Delta brotherhood. Being the President of the oldest chapter represented, Jordan had the privilege of officially welcoming the delegates. I know I speak for all when I say how proud Phi Gamma Delta is to witness the growth of a new chapter into such a fine Fraternity. The close of the 158th Ekklesia also marked a special time for the Epsilon chapter in particular. For the past two years, we have had the privilege to have fellow graduate brother Marvin Carver ’75, as the Phi Gamma Delta Archon President. Marvin presided over the entire Ekklesia, giving plenty of publicity to the Epsilon chapter. Not only has Marvin spent much of his life working to enhance our own chapter, but he also spent time providing strong leadership to Phi Gamma Delta on “Being the President of the oldest chapter represented, Jordan had the privilege of officially welcoming the delegates. I know I speak for all when I say how proud Phi Gamma Delta is to witness the growth of a new chapter into such a fine Fraternity.” the international level. We are truly proud of all Marvin has accomplished and sincerely appreciate the leadership, enthusiasm and loyalty he shared with the fraternity. Annual Giving On the Rise Kick Off the 2006-07 Giving Year – Make Your Gift! Just look at our increasing support! Epsilon of Phi Gamma Delta, Inc. would like to thank the 224 donors who contributed a collective $25,521 to the 2005-06 annual fund, which ended August 31. Help our annual fund continue to grow! Increased support helps to fund more frequent publication of The Epsilon Owl, maintenance of our website at www.epsilonpgd.com, and graduate events such as Pig Dinner. Help us kick off the 2006-07 giving year by making your gift today. It’s easy. Make your donation online at www.epsilonpgd.com or by calling 800-975-6699. www.epsilonpgd.com $30,000 $25,521 $25,000 $22,691 $21,409 $20,000 $16,294 $15,000 $12,055 $10,000 $5,000 0 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 Giving Year (9/1 - 8/31) 1 \r\nNearly 60 Years After Graduation, This Phi Gam Knows the Value of Brotherhood and Lifelong Friendship these people take the time to go to a fraternity reunion. But they’re not us, you know. What Started as a Small Get-Together, Dixie Green ’48 Helped Evolve Phi Gam Gathering into an Ever-Growing Annual Reunion What is it like to reunite with brothers you haven’t seen for years? One of the many sidelights to these reunions… was when a brother walked into the country club, and those already having arrived had a heck of a time trying to figure out who that person really was. It was Dussy Woodberry of Savannah, Georgia, who once looked very similar to Alan Ladd of 1950s stardom, and the fellows thought he was Aristotle Onassis. Most everybody had not seen Dussy for 50 to 55 years. It was truly hilarious. In 2000, Dixie Green ’48 and seven other brothers decided to meet after many years apart. Six years later, it has become a much-anticipated annual reunion, drawing over 100 brothers together to reminisce and catch up with old friends. What attracted you to Phi Gam? I developed an interest in Phi Gam because I liked the guys in there and there were a lot from eastern North Carolina. It’s all about meeting friends and being influenced by good people and relationships. “You look back over your past and have a very warm feeling of love and respect for the wonderful relationships created by being a member of Phi Gamma Delta.” Did you live in the house? If so, who were your roommates? Tell us about a memorable time with them. I lived in the house for about three years. My roommate was Robin Hicks. Robin and I would take a break from studying and go on the side of the DKE house and play ping pong at one in the morning, and pretty soon one of those DKE brothers would open up a window and say, “You damn Phi Gams, get to bed!” What other activities or organizations were you involved with during your college days? After you join a fraternity, you go through a process before you’re initiated. They told me I had to do something extracurricular…and I joined the glee club. They put me in the second bass section, and there I stood next to Andy Griffith, [who] was attending Chapel Hill and got his degree there. He wasn’t a big celebrity at the time. We had an annual contest for best singing among the fraternities, and we had a good time. Tell us about a vivid memory on campus. When the war ended, you couldn’t possibly have any classes because everyone else was out living it up. People took all of the furniture out of the administration building and had a 2 bonfire almost big enough to fill up a football field! There was another one out by the Beta house, but not as big. Do you have a favorite memory with a Big/Little Brother? I remember Bill Hedrick ’51 rushing… and he showed up with purple shoes on. I was afraid he’d get blackballed by wearing those purple shoes. His sponsor was Bill Raker ’49, an extremely wonderful person and dear friend. I told Bill Raker to tell Bill Hedrick not to show up with those purple shoes on if he wanted to make it into the fraternity. So he wore white ones instead that were very appropriate at the time. Later in life, Bill Hedrick was able to do a similar turn for another fellow. Tell us about your family. I have three sons. They’re now 45, 41, and 35. The oldest one is in the automobile business, as I was, in Atlantic Beach/Morehead City, NC. My middle son is with a large pharmaceutical manufacturing business here in Greenville. My youngest is a mortgage broker and is also in the real estate business. What hobbies do you enjoy? How did the reunions come about? My three sons have boats. Sometimes all three It was just by happenstance. My dear sons’ families go… down to Atlantic Beach/ fraternity brother Bill Hedrick always went to Morehead on weekends and we cruise out to Wrightsville Beach with his family and spent Shackleford Banks, an island, and we pick a a week, and around March 2000 he said he’d very pretty strand and go in and picnic. It has like to ride up with Billy Quarles ’52 and wild horses on it that the grandchildren love Brad Cantwell ’52, and he suggested I join to see. them, and we’d have lunch at the Greenville Country Club in early May 2000. It was eight of us that had that first meeting: Billy Quarles, Brad Cantwell, Bill Hedrick, Joe Nelson ’53, Nick Boddie ’51, Mayo Boddie, Ben Yelverton ’51, and myself. We just enjoyed being with each other since our break in 1952. As 2001 approached, we decided to do it again, and the second one in May 2001 had Living it up in the 1940s were (L to R) Dixie Greene ’48, then Mary 34 people. We had a Anna Taylor, Mary Glenn Slater, and John Webb ’50 great reception from Greenville because it was such an unusual How has being a part of Phi Gamma thing. We brought in 65 the third time. The Delta affected you? fourth time was 96, then 112 this past May. You look back over your past and have a The fun of the thing is getting these friends very warm feeling of love and respect for the together. Who would ever think that people wonderful relationships created by being a would be so responsive to a thing like this so member of Phi Gamma Delta. That feeling late in life? It gives them something to look lasted for me from 1944 to 1949 and to this forward to. A lot of people can’t believe all very day. www.epsilonpgd.com October 2006 \r\nREUNION RECAP Phi Gam for Life Brotherly Bonds Stay Strong Through Annual Reunion More than 90 Epsilon Phi Gams returned to Greenville on April 8, 2006 for a reunion luncheon. Special thanks to Bill Hedrick and Dick Green for organizing the annual event. #1 – Eddie “Possum” Knott ’62, Sonny Cherry and Butch Weaver ’62 #2 – Banks McNairy ’49 and Sam Thompson ’50 #3 – Leon Ward Sylvester ’54 and Ward Sylvester ’85 1 2 3 #4 – Bill Edwards ’45 and Paul Bissette ’47 #5 – Bill Smith, Jim Lanier ’48, Rockwell Poisson ’50, Ted Haigler ’46, Jack Edwards ’49 and Dixie Greene ’48 4 Living Up to Our Legacies Nearly Half of Fall Pledges Come From Phi Gam Families The school year is back in full swing and with that comes fall recruitment season. Epsilon continues to be the strongest fraternity on campus after an extremely successful rush with 12 men deciding to pledge. Also, Ben Wright and Carroll Oglesby, both of Clinton, NC, decided to hold their bids with the intention of pledging in the spring or next fall. The tradition of Phi Gamma Delta through generations of families continues to hold strong with four Epsilon legacies and one legacy from the Theta chapter at The University of Alabama in the 2006 pledge class. They are Chris Good, brother of Justin Good ’04; Joey Lamb and Zee Lamb, grandsons of Joseph Lamb, Jr.; Thomas 5 Rhodes, son of Reid Rhodes ’76; and Trey Richardson, son of Gordon Richardson, Alabama ’83. We are very proud that the bonds of Phi Gamma Delta are so strong among these families. We would like to thank all alumni for their support during the recruitment season and for all rush recommendations. We hope to see everyone in Chapel Hill soon. FALL 2006 PLEDGE LIST Webb Bostic Raleigh, NC Brian Ives Charlotte, NC Ben Mathews Gastonia, NC Wilson Coonce Lexington, NC Winston Kirby Raleigh, NC Thomas Rhodes Rocky Mount, NC Seavy Dickson Fayetteville, NC Joey Lamb Kitty Hawk, NC Trey Richardson Raleigh, NC Chris Good Greenville, NC Zee Lamb Elizabeth City, NC Charlie Winn Cary, NC The Epsilon Owl www.epsilonpgd.com 3 \r\n778-75 FN MH This past spring, two men realized a dream that most realize after about only 10 weeks. On April 21, 2006, over 40 years after their original date of pledging, Thomas R. Laney ’66 and John G. Aycock ’66 were formally initiated into the Epsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. During their undergraduate years, the men pledged Epsilon but were never able to be initiated. After spending time with their pledge class and other Phi Gam friends throughout the years, the men took the initiative to return to Chapel Hill for a formal initiation ceremony. While the undergraduates presided over the ceremony, many of the men’s college friends and pledge brothers made the trip to Chapel Hill to witness the initiation. Among those in attendance were Jim Moye ’66, Jim Branch ’68, Lanny Smith, Burt Aycock ’64, Hampton Tillery ’67, and Charles Wilkins ’66. After the ceremony, Jim Moye said “we wanted to show our support to our pledge brothers who put forth the effort to take this important step and be initiated into Phi Gamma Delta. It was our privilege to witness it for them.” It was also a privilege for the undergraduates. Seeing the strong commitment to Epsilon which all of these men still hold was impressive, and should be a point of great pride for our chapter. The ceremony was the perfect reminder that Phi Gam is truly not for college days alone. We are excited to have initiated these men after so many years, and to finally have their links added to the chain. Welcome Brothers Aycock and Laney! Maintaining Our Legacy! Phi Gam Families, a Golden Reunion, and Two Men Take an Important Step to Become Initiated… All Inside! Where Have You Been? We need your news! Have you recently gotten married? Had a baby? Become a grandfather? If so, your Phi Gam brothers want to hear about it! Log onto the website at www.epsilonpgd.org to submit your update, and read up on your old friends. Epsilon of Phi Gamma Delta, Inc. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 4 (613 Glen Eden Dr., Raleigh, NC 276125002; thedecoykidd@msn.com) I recently visited with Buckley Stroudberg ’82 when his middle daughter (one of my godchildren) graduated from high school. I live in Raleigh with my wife, Amanda, and two sons, Will (10) and Matt (14). I own a plumbing company in Raleigh and enjoy providing plumbing services for many Phi Gam brothers! Alumni Relations Processing Center P.O. Box 7007 Albert Lea, MN 56007-8007 By Jordan Whichard Henry M. Kidd ’83 Address Service Requested Thomas Laney ’66 and John Aycock ’66 End Long Pledgeship With Formal Initiation Into Epsilon Chapter ALUMNI UPDATE 778-75 FN It’s Official: Finally Phi Gams After 40 Years www.epsilonpgd.com October 2006