Samuel Beatty Wilson James Elliot, Jr. Daniel Webster Crofts Naaman Fletcher \r\n Hello from Cookeville! This semester has started off great for Phi Gamma Delta. Theta Tau has elected another great cabinet that has a vision that will take us to the forefront of Phi Gamma Delta Internationally. The committees are focused, the brothers are focused, and your fraternity is focused to take our banner to places it has never been. Our main goal is to have an awesome 20% anniversary Norris Anniversary Pig Dinner. We have received many RSVP’s for Pig Dinner and hope for many more. I personally look forward to seeing you and listening to your ideas that will help the chapter improve and remain on top for many years to come. If you have any concerns before then give me a call at the house at (931)-526-1251. Fraternally, Ryan Fulkerson President ‘01 Greetings Brothers! - The chapter has begun the year of 2001 in good financial status and looks forward to the year to come. As usual, at the beginning of each year we were hit hard by IHQ Insurance bill that totaled over $12,000. But through the efforts of the brothers paying their dues and being wise with their committee budgets, we were able to pay the majority of the bill and anticipate paying the remaining balance by the end of the semester. Volume 21 Issue 2 The Golden Eagle FIJI is published quarterly by the Theta Tau Chapter of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta for its members, both undergraduate and graduate, family and friends. Chapter Officers — 2001 President — Ryan Fulkerson Treasurer — David Whittaker Recording Secretary —- Todd Weaver Corresponding Secretary — Kevin Givens Historian — Jake Phillips Grad Related Chairmen Graduate Relations — Kevin Coleman Pig Dinner — Brian Long his issue produced Ny Kevin Coleman, Kevin Collins & Brain Long, Leone eee ee EEEEEEEEEEEEEEee In other news the project to remodel the president’s and treasurer’s apartment is going well and should be completely paid for, and finished by the end of the Spring ’01 semester. Additionally, the chapter has recently purchased a high quality sound system complete with amps, lights, speakers and the whole nine yards that we anticipate will make the Phi Gam house the place to be for parties. As always any financial support from the graduates is greatly appreciated. You can take comfort in the fact that your money will be used for whatever specific interest you wish it to go toward, whether it be house improvement, mortgage payment, social, brotherhood, service, etc. Our chapter will always strive to be good stewards of the money given to it for the continual success of Phi Gamma Delta. In Brotherhood, David Whittaker Treasurer ‘01 As Recording Secretary for the 2001 term, I am constantly attempting to bring undergraduate involvement to a consistent level. With the establishment of the spring 2001 Attendance Policy, brothers and pledges can fully acknowledge the rules and penalties involved in meetings, workdays, retreat, rush, fundraisers, and service projects. I have set these guidelines in order for brothers and pledges alike to be aware that in order for an organization to function properly, constant involvement is critical. If for some reason a brother or pledge is unable to attend a gathering, they have the option to either call or email me with an excuse. If for some unforeseen reason a member is not present, I personally contact them to find the cause. This last example has helped develop a personal relationship between the brothers and myself. Through this process the brothers neither feel left out nor do they feel as if they are not wanted when they do not show up to gatherings. When personally talking to them, I can inform them of the current happenings. I can and also show them that they are part of an organization, which misses their appearance. This oftentimes gives the individual the extra motivation to appear at the next gathering. With the combination of accurate minutes, informing brothers present and absent of the current and past happenings, and a personal relationship between brothers and myself, I am constant! attempting to bring undergraduate involvement to a consistent level. Todd A. Weaver Recording Secretary ’01 Perge’ \r\n Dear Graduates: This is a remarkable year for the Theta Tau Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta here at Tennessee Technological University. We are celebrating 20 Years of Excellence. During my tenure as Corresponding Secretary, I have many aspirations that I wish to fulfill. One of which is to work diligently with the upkeep of the website in hopes to keep everyone, undergraduates and graduates, connected. The website is continually growing and evolving into the website I have had in mind for some time. I want TTUFILCOM to be a home away from home for the graduates. To reach this goal, I am challenging you, the Graduates, to visit the site frequently; and feel free to recommend changes or additions that you see fit. I am always open to new ideas. Through the website, I am hoping also to improve our graduate relations. As you can see, the website is becoming a vital part of everyday life within Theta Tau. With the world moving into a digital and wireless age, it is only appropriate that Theta Tau stay up to speed, if not ahead, of the Greek Community. This coming year will be another great success for Theta Tau academically, fraternally, and individually. I am honored and privileged to be leading Theta Tau into the next century. Fraternally, Kevin G. Givens Corresponding Secretary ‘01 Adam C. Baxter Jackson, TN Josh C. Bush Old Hickory, TN Logan M. Cardwell Hendersonville, TN Justin D Cumb Cookeville, TN Ross M. Denne Hendersonville, TN Mohamud H. Elbeitam Hixson, TN Stephen D. Frommel Jackson, TN Ryan W Greer = Knoxville, TN Kenny D. Hayes Hendersonville, TN The future and what it holds for us: It is my belief that this fraternity’s greatest gift is that it has a connection to the past. It is through this connection that we unify ourselves, and through which we are united. I took on this position to leam more about our history and try to pass on my love of our fraternity to our newest members, thus strengthening their connection to the past and consequently the connection with every other brother in this world. It is my goal to help us reconnect with our past, both locally and nationally. I hope that all of the graduates will assist me in this endeavor and will feel free to contact me by e- mail, ZEKE12@HOTMAIL.COM if you have anything you would like to share or have any questions as to where we are going. I hope to see everyone at our 20 Anniversary Norris Pig Dinner, and 1a looking forward to creating a more personal relationship with all of you. To the brothers past and present: Perge’ Jake Phillips Historian ‘01 Congratulations to the Alpha Omega pledge class who finished the Fall °00 semester first in pledge class GPA at Tennessee Tech with a 2.99 GPA. Thanks to their hard work we finished in second place in grades with a 2.702. Scott F. Lochridge Jackson, TN Nat J. Lowe Hendersonville, TN Clayton B. McMillan _ Pikeville, TN Stuart G. Minshew Cave Spring, GA Dave W. Price — Jackson, TN John C. Reinhardt — Franklin, TN Mitch H. Robinson —_ Hendersonville, TN Zeke R. Shaver —_ Prospect, TN Brent J. Waugh Knoxville, TN New Pledges Nick Ayers Columbia, TN Clint Biederman Hendersonville, TN Steve Branson Mount Juliet, TN C.J. Dautel Stratford, CT Jamie Griffin Crossville, TN Matt Hayes Shelbyville, TN Jeff Henr Jackson, TN Matt Hicke Lewisburg, TN Ben Jones Chattanooga, TN Josh Parker Brownsville, TN Kevin Smart Mount Juliet, TN Jeremy Spires Mount Juliet, TN \r\nPhi Gam Athl After finishing off last year with an impressive showing, Phi Gam Athletics started off this Spring 2001 semester with confidence going into IFC Bowling. The bowling team consisted off Matt Leonard, Nate Yant, Chris Weaver, Todd Weaver, and Matt Spencer. The Fiji bowling team took first place honors with Matt Leonard having the high game of the tournament with a 213. Congratulations go out to the Spring 01 bowling team. The next event of the semester was IFC Basketball. The basketball team was comprised of Michael LeMarbre, Chad Kenney, Adam Baggett, David Whitaker, Ryan Greer, Matt Osborne, Logan Cardwell, Josh Marks, Kevin Givens, and Kevin Collins. The basketball team started off the season with an impressive 48-30 victory over Kappa Alpha. The next game was against Sigma Chi whom we defeated by 20 points, 53-33. Having won the first two games in dominating fashion, the team then lost to Tau Kappa Epsilon by one point on a last second shot, 47-48. Having to win the loser’s bracket to stay in the tournament, the team faced off against Sigma Chi again. The second contest was a closer affair; however, Phi Ga emerged victorious, 44-37. With this victory, we were in the final four and contending for the championship. Phi Ga squared off against Alpha Tau Omega for an opportunity to compete in the championship game. Having played a hard fought contest, the team had an opportunity to put the game into overtime with a last second shot. Unfortunately, the bounce didn’t go our way this time and we lost by two points, 43-45. Now vying for a third place finish, we faced off against Phi Delta Theta. Playing a close game throughout, regulation ended in a 35-35 tie. Heading into overtime, the team rallied together and pulled out a 47-41 victory. Phi Gamma Delta Basketball’s season ended with a third place finish in the tournament. CS Being in contention for All-Sports Trophy, we then headed into wrestling with unrelenting determination. The wrestlers fell into the weight classes as follows: Todd Weaver - Under 130 Clayton McMillan — 139 Adam Baxter — 147 Justin Medlen — 155 Ricky Jett - 162 Jeremy Spires — 170 Chad Kenney — 178 Matt Henry - 185 Dave Price — 193 Mitch Robinson — 200 Joey McKinney - 210 Stuart Minshew — 219 Kevin Coleman—- HWT All of the wrestlers did very well and many moved on into the second day of competition. Three of our wrestlers were victorious on the second day and reached the finals; unfortunately, two of our wrestlers, Clayton McMillan and Kevin Coleman, lost to very experienced opponents. Congratulations go out to Ricky Jett who took home the championship in the 162 Ib divison and to all of the wrestlers who competed. Phi Gam Wrestling finished with an impressive third place showing. The Upcoming IFC events for the remainder of the Spring semester are Volleyball, Soccer, Golf and Tug-a-War. Volleyball is set to take place at the beginning of April and should be completed within a week. Soccer will be kicked off following the completion of Volleyball. Golf and Tug-a-War should follow soon after Soccer wraps up. We are expecting a strong showing in Volleyball to follow up our second place finish last year. Having a strong returning soccer team that placed first in the last IFC Soccer competition, a soccer championship is just on the horizon. Way to go Phi Gam! Fiji Island \r\nPhi Gamma Delta is. . . Friendship One of the greatest bonds of brotherhood is friendship. Because friendship is such a vital element in our fraternal experience, we take to heart all of the events shared with our brothers. Some activities in particular are the tailgate parties that we had in front of Johnson Hall before home Tech Football games. Others have been the weekend parties at the house or the joint parties with TKE and Beta. Special occasions such as the Christmas party and our Valentine’s Day gathering let us share our brotherly bonds with the special lady in our lives. Sometimes we have brothers only events, such as Saturday Volleyball tournaments / Cookouts, or the recently started ‘Poker Night.’ These events give us the opportunity to develop and enjoy the bonds of friendship and brotherhood that exist between us all. This fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is our common bond, but this would not be so without the bonds of friendship. Our founders knew this, and so do we. Knowledge The pursuit of knowledge and self-edification is what has brought us all here together at Tennessee Tech. We have come here to gain knowledge so that we may better ourselves and give greater opportunities to our children than what had been provided for us. An impressive number of our brothers were named to the Dean’s List for Fall ’00. These brothers are: Ryan Cizmarik Kevin Collins Adam Baxter Preston Cloud Justin Eckel Josh Bush Chris Gill Wes Hicks Mo Elbeitam Brian Kaylor Michael LeMarbre Kenney Hayes Josh Marks Justin Medlen John Reinhardt Jimmy Nelson Jay Parker Brent Waugh Jason Rowe John Thomas Todd Weaver Rob Wheeler We also had four brothers who achieved a 4.0 GPA last Fall. Special congratulations go out to Kevin Collins, Chris Gill, Kenney Hayes, and Brent Waugh. Keep it up guys! Service Morality The opportunity to give one’s time and effort in order to help those whom are less fortunate is one of life’s greatest rewards. We have made many strides to increase our opportunities to participate in Service projects. Clark Denson did an outstanding job finding service activities throughout the community. Wally Irvin has recently taken charge of Community Service and has done an equally impressive job. One of the activities has been the ‘Teenie Weenie” program in which brothers volunteer their time mentoring six to eight year old children. We also participated in ‘Make A Difference Day’ last fall in which we helped work on a playground at the Tech Day Care. One of the most impressive achievements was the average number of hours volunteered per brother; from last Fall until the present we averaged fifty-one hours of community service per brother. Besides donating time, we have also been able to donate over $21,500 to philanthropies in the form of money, canned food, clothing, and books. We have also received the J. C. Penney ‘Golden Rule’ Award for outstanding service organization. We are thankful for this recognition, but the true award comes from helping others. Besides having a reputation for being the gentlemen on campus, our unwavering character and morality truly set us apart from all other fraternities. Our fraternity was established by Christian men whose virtues and morals led them to create something truly great. These men set a precedent for which we must strive to uphold. Many of our brothers are involved in on-campus Christian organizations such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Baptist Student Union (BSU), Campus Outreach, Chi Alpha, Wesley Foundation, Universit Christian Student Center (UCSC), and __Intervarsity Fellowship. Many of the brothers regularly attend church throughout Cookeville and come from families with strong Christian backgrounds. A number of the brothers attend a weekly Bible study headed up by David Whitaker in order to learn more about Christianity and how to live their lives in accordance with the Lord. Besides events held at Tech, many brothers attend retreats and go on mission projects in order to strengthen their religious beliefs. Our emphasis upon morality has made us what we are today. Excellence Excellence is the culmination of hard work and dedication put toward a goal or endeavor. This Fraternity’s pursuit of excellence is apparent within every brother. The success of the first ever Phi Gamma Delta Car Show is a perfect example of how the brothers are constantly working to improve the Theta Tau chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. To be a Phi Gam means to be a man who puts forth maximum effort and expects no less from those around them. Because of our desire to be the best, we have raised the bar for which future Phi Gams will measure their own accomplishments and achievements. The goal of each and every Fiji is to take the Fraternity to a level higher than those who came before them. We are forever indebted to those that have paved the way for us here at Tennessee Tech and also Internationally. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication toward something great. \r\n ci em Dyite This year the 20™ Annrversary Norris Pic Dinner Will be at the Holiday Inn of Cookeville, the official Pig Dinner Headquarters. This year’s theme is “Dare te Dream?” February 28, 2001 marked the official 20% Anniversary; however, this year we proudly celebrate this great occasion on April 7, 2001. The 20% Anniversary Norris Pig Dinner will be an event YOU will want to attend. This year’s Pig Dinner committee has spent many hours and as you will see, hard work pays off! The following is a schedule of events planned for April 6% and 7%: 6:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. 00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.-6:45 p.m. 6:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. Registration at Holiday Inn of Cookeville Note: Upon arrival, you will be directed to our Conference room. Registration will consist of T-shirt pick-up, Golf confirmation, Database corrections, plus information concerning the events. Immortal Six Cookout Note: Food served; Volleyball games played; Roasting of the Pig, and lots more. Guests and wives are welcome. Continental Breakfast @ Holiday Inn Note: Those who have rooms at the Pig Dinner Headquarters will receive a continental breakfast, compliments of the Holiday Inn. Dress: Casual Remember: Graduate Brothers and their Guests only! Four Man Scramble Note: You are responsible for stacking your own Team! Dress: Golf attire Location: Southem Hills Golf Course Phi Gam Ladies Luncheon Note: Ladies will have lunch with the current Phi Gam Sweetheart, Ms. Emily Startup from Springfield, TN. Ladies are responsible for their own lunch. Dress: Casual Location: Spankies Restaurant Remember: Meet at the Fraternity House before departing to Spankies Restaurant. McCarty’s Meeting Note: Undergraduates and Graduates ONLY Dress: To those who know Remember: Graduate Brothers meet at the Fraternity House for location information. Late Registration Note: located in front of the ballroom. Registration will consist of T-shirt pick-up, and Database corrections. Brotherhood Social Note: Cash bar and socializing before doors open. Dress: Pin-wear for all brothers. Ladies/guests: banquet wear. Location: Pig Dinner Headquarters at the Holiday Inn of Cookeville, TN. Event located in front of the ballroom. 20™ Ayniversary Norris Pic Dinner | ; Note: Doors open at 7:00 p.m., Cash bar will be available Dress: Pin wear for all brothers. Ladies/guests-dress to impress Location: Pig Dinner Headquarters at the Holiday Inn, 970 S. Jefferson Avenue, Cookeville, TN. Event located in front of the ballroom. Special Guest: Lee Moss Celebration and Party Note: Cash bar will close at Midnight. Dress: Casual Location: Main ballroom at the Holiday Inn \r\n TFI has been very active thus far in this academic year. Brent Ellis has done an outstanding job as President. So far in his term, he has overseen many projects and pushed to get many things paid for. These include our new house marker, the complete interior renovation of the president’s apartment, and several new purchases to better our house. These purchases include an_ entertainment center with television, VCR, DVD, receiver, and surround sound. TFI has also recentl purchased Brother Chris Weaver’s DJ equipment. This equipment will be an awesome addition to the social life of Phi Gam. Special thanks.to Brent Ellis, Matt Leonard, and everyone else who have volunteered their time and services to renovating the apartment. Things would not run as smoothly without your hard work and dedication. Phi Gamma Delta’s 153 Birthday 4.........Exams and Summer Vacation Begin 12... June: 29.280 sncssaisntsseinssnicnins snnine Summer Party July: 12 = US visisnssnveseseexmoveccsvnee Fiji Academy August: VW vovcaavareverroevnewevasce First Day of Classes 27 = 3 viceeermavers Rush Week Graduate Relations Report I have been associated with this chapter for almost two years now and realize how difficult it can be for some of our alumni brothers to come back and appreciate what we have here. Many things have changed, not only in the physical structure but in the social atmosphere as well. One thing I would like to stress to those brothers, who have and have not visited their chapter in recent years, is that the ideals of brotherhood have not changed. Brotherhood is as strong as ever. Our feelings for Phi Gamma Delta are as strong as ever. Come back and visit your chapter. Come back to your brotherhood. Kevin J. Coleman ‘02 \r\n Graduate Relations Chairman Non-profit Organization Phi Gamma Delta USS. Postage Paid 527 North Peachtree Cookeville, TN 38501 Permit #241 Cookeville, TN The Undergraduates of the Theta Tau Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta at Tennessee Technological University wouid be honored by your presence at our 20" Anniversary Frank Norris Pig Dinner on the seventh day of April, two thousand and one. Special Guest Speaker Lee Moss, former Archon President