The GATOR Fiji Published jointly by the men of the Undergraduate Chapter and the Graduate Association of the Upsilon Phi Chapter of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta at the University of Florida May 2008 RETURNING TO 7 FRATERNITY ROW! By Warren A. Smith (1962), House Corporation President Since the decision was made at Pig Dinner in February to move the Fijis back into our house at 7 Fraternity Row, your House Corporation has been busy making plans for the return of the Fiji men. Our tenant will vacate the house no later than June 30 and move-in day for the Fijis has been set for August 11, two weeks before classes start for the fall semester. The six weeks in between will be hectic as Brother Ed Kellar performs his clean up, paint up, fix up magic to transform the house back to as close to like-new condition as possible for our return. Twenty-three letters of intent have been received from undergraduate brothers, which fills all available rooms in the house, and leases will be completed shortly. Brothers Eric Downes, Ray Martinez and Ed Kellar accompanied me on April 11, 2008 to interview three candidates for the position of house director. The four of us reached agreement on one of the ladies, an offer was made, and I’m pleased to tell you that we have a new Fiji House Mom (and House Director), Marci Beth Brown. Marci comes to us with over five years experience as a house director at two other fraternities on campus. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, not only as a house director, but in the kitchen/dining room as well. We are exceedingly pleased to have her on our team! You will find more about Marci in a future newsletter. Brothers Bill Valentine, Peter Aliberti, Ed Kellar and House Manager Monty Sibley have been working on finding furnishings for the house. Ed and Kitchen/Dining Room Manager Mark Kugle have been studying the kitchen/dining room situation, while at the same time, looking for a caterer to provide meals until we can get our facilities up and running. (Continued on page 2) LETTER TO OUR GRADUATES By Eric Downes (2010), Chapter President Nearing the end of its fourth Our top priorities this semester and excellence into chapter operasemester, the Upsilon Phi Chapter included more than moving back tions along with our daily lives. of Phi Gamma Delta is rapidly apinto the house; we have striven to The Chapter has performed 528 proaching its past glory. Fratermeet the goals set by our Board of total hours of community service nity blue league softball this semester which at 46 and soccer champions, total averages to 11.5 hours and 2008 Greek Week per brother. Additionally, winners, the undergradu- “The Upsilon Phi Chapter would not the chapter initiated 100 ate chapter has estabpercent of its original spring exist today if it was not for the lished a strong reputation pledge class, which added 11 support of its graduates.” on campus. Thanks to brothers to our ranks. For our House Corporation, the first time, the Chapter is this reputation will imactually graduating three prove when we move back into our seniors—Brothers Ben Emil, RusTrustees. In the process, we have house on Seven Fraternity Row. sell Donini, and Jeff Stanton. And integrated the five values of friendship, knowledge, service, morality, (Continued on page 3) \r\nPAGE 2 T HE G AT OR F I J I PIG DINNER 2008 RECAP/2009 PREVIEW By David Smith (1983), House Corporation Member Pig Dinner 2008 proved to be a reunion to remember and the statistics are downright mindblowing! The Saturday morning golf tournament hosted 45 golfers at the Meadowbrook Golf Course. I think we’ve all agreed that is a record turnout. Craig Hunter’s duckhook and Terry Miller’s 3-iron were, as anticipated, in full flight. A highlight of the tourney was David Kirby’s hole-in-one! Since technically, Kirby owes a drink to all 45… he has graciously agreed to buy a keg at Pig Dinner 2009. Nice! While Meadowbrook is still recuperating and the hardwoods are mending, it appears that there may be a new golf course on the horizon for the 2009 tournament. Getson is back for another season as the Tournament Boss and it promises to be amazing. Total Pig Dinner attendance was 146 initiated brothers and the entire weekend hosted an estimated 175. Farthest traveled award went to Kicker who flew in from Switzerland, but the entire US mainland was well represented from New York to California! For all of us who signed the Belushi… look for it hanging in the chapter house this fall, along with some of the auction items which were graciously donated to be displayed at 7 Fraternity Row. Total money raised via the raffles, live and silent auctions, corporate sponsorships and donations was a staggering $55,132! Amazing! For your future planning… Pig Dinner 2009 will be the FIRST weekend in February (February 6 - 7) so that we will not abandon our sweethearts on Valentines Day. At Pig ’09, we will be celebrating our return to Fraternity Row so it will certainly be one you will want to attend! While most of the activities will be at the house, the venue for the actual dinner will be at the University Hilton on 34th Street. We are in the process of blocking rooms at the Hilton, as well as other area hotels for what is shaping up to be an event of epic proportions. Start making your plans early. Pig Dinner 2009 is going to be fantastic! Perge! FIJIS SOON BACK INTO 7 FRATERNITY ROW! continued... (Continued from page 1) Brothers who can spend a day or week in Gainesville during the month of July are more than welcome to come and join Straw Boss Kellar on one of his work crews to help with the refurbishment. We need painters, plumbers, carpenters and lawn men. Everyone ought to be able to find their niche. Furniture is going to be a big expense and brothers who gave at Pig Dinner provided us with a leg up. If you haven’t given yet, please consider making a donation to help with refurnishing the downstairs of the house. Upstairs rooms need furnishing as well, but nice used furniture will work here. If you have desks, chairs, bookcases, end tables or twin beds that you aren’t using any longer, why not consider donating them to the cause? Yes, the Fijis are back! Our undergraduates have come a long way in the past year, and they have done all we have asked of them to earn our support. Let’s give them a quality environment to call home! If you would like to talk to me about a donation (money or furniture), call (727) 560-5748 or email tsgator@earthlink.net. To contact Ed Kellar about volunteering in July, call him at (352) 538-7417 or emkellar@mactec.com. Perge! \r\nT HE G AT OR F I J I PAGE 3 LETTER TO OUR GRADUATES continued... (Continued from page 1) we are all looking forward to Ekkesia, August 7-10 in Miami. With three of our own graduating, one of the major goals of the Chapter is to step-up our graduate relations. We are sick of Dave Smith having all the fun planning Pig Dinner, so we are planning our own event for the fall, in addition to inviting all graduates to our tailgates next year. It is critical that we communicate with all our graduates in order to coordinate these events. The Chapter, therefore, has started to use the GIN communication system which allows it to setup listserves and post public calendars. If you are reading this article and have yet to receive an invitation in your inbox, please send your name and email address to Corey Clawson at cclawson@ufl.edu. The Upsilon Phi Chapter would not exist today if it was not for the support of its graduates. Thank you all! Perge! REMARKS FROM THE PURPLE LEGIONNAIRE By Charlie Holloway (Rose-Hulman ’96, Kentucky ’97) – Purple Legionnaire Brothers, I am very proud to announce that FIJI is back at the University of Florida and making an unprecedented run at creating a name for itself. The Chapter now stands at 46 quality men and, as of the February House Corporation meeting, will once again claim its rightful position at 7 Fraternity Row. One would think that with such meteoric growth my job would become much more difficult. I am pleased to say that just the opposite has occurred. I have made myself available as a resource and a liaison between the Chapter and the Board of Tustees, but the Chapter has done all of the work. and for all the blood and sweat they put in to making us successful. While the new cabinet has big shoes to fill, they have taken the reigns beautifully and continued that success. Aside from excelling at recruiting and leadership, the Chapter has been very active on campus and in the community. In addition to moving into the house over the summer, which is a huge undertaking in itself, the Chapter in on the verge of petitioning to be removed from trusteeship. This will obviously mean more autonomy for the Chapter, and it will also mean that they will need more graduate support than ever. More information will be coming out over the summer in regards to a grand reopening for the chapter house. I encourage you to visit, drop by as you watch Tim Tebow and the mighty Gators dominate the Swamp, and get involved with Upsilon Phi again. I’m sure you will see, as I do on a daily basis, why these men make me proud to be a FIJI! “I encourage you to visit (the chapter)...I’m sure you will see, as I do on a daily basis, why these men make me proud to be a Fiji!” This spring has brought many more firsts for the Chapter. Upsilon Phi successfully conducted its first officer transition in January, in conjunction with the largest pledge class initiation since its return in 2006. The Chapter was able to follow that initiation with another strong class of 11 men, who have also now initiated. Many thanks to Ronnie Cosse, Vitul Patel, Nick Basford, Dan Burroughs, and Jared McDonley, the outgoing cabinet, for accepting the task of “creating” an image for Phi Gamma Delta at UF Every active brother has averaged more than 11 hours of community service this semester. Despite the pitiful social budget, the Chapter has hosted numerous social functions and participated with other fraternities and sororities in others. Our intramural teams have come on strong, and I just got word that we are leading the blue division for the President’s Cup by almost 100 points. \r\nPAGE 4 T HE G AT OR F I J I PLEDGE CLASS DELTA RAISING THE BAR By Dustin Reuther (2011) Pledge Class Delta continues the amazing momentum the Upsilon Phi Chapter has been gaining on the UF campus. Our 11 members make up nearly a quarter of the rapidly growing chapter, adding a solid foundation to the Chapter for years to come. As a pledge class, we have grown close to each other through numerous community service projects and chapter projects. We look forward to transferring the energy and enthusiasm we showed as pledges to fraternity events and committees. Not only does Pledge Class Delta have a strong scholarly backbone, holding some of the highest GPAs in the fraternity, but we are also an extremely athletic pledge class. Members of our class have helped carry Fiji to two fraternity championships (softball and soccer) and a solid placing in swimming. In terms of scholarship and athletics, we set a strong precedent for following pledge classes. Pledge Class Delta had an exciting pledge process, and now Pledge Class Delta (left to right): Tom Bowman, Lane Registrar, Darshan Patel, Dustin Reuther, Peijan Zheng, Nate Shull, Tim Rankin, Joe Jones, Mark Kugle Jr., and Brad Udell. Not pictured: Timur Akhmetov. that we are initiated, we look ahead to the years we will spend with Phi Gamma Delta as brothers. Through the pledge process, we learned the meaning of the five values and developed true character. We have • also grown strong together as a pledge class. Pledge Class Delta will bring both these elements into the fraternity, becoming a strong base for many years to come. • Timur Akhmetov, a second year from Ft. Myers majoring in Finance • Tom Bowman, a first year from Jupiter, majoring in • Pharmacy who was also our 34th street wall painting chair • Joe Jones, a first year from Ocala, majoring in Accounting and also our pledge class treasurer • Nathaniel Shull, a first year from Tampa, who was also the pledge class chapter improvement chair • Mark Alan Kugle Jr., a second year from Paris, Texas, majoring in Biochemistry, who is also the fraternity’s housing meal chair • Brad Udell, a first year from Wewahitchka, majoring in Health Science, who was also the pledge class retreat chair • Darshan Patel, a first year from Orlando, majoring in Nutrition, who was also the pledge class petition chair, and off-campus service project chair • Peijan Zheng, a first year from Leesburg, majoring in Pharmacy • Tim Rankin, a first year from Largo, majoring in Civil Engineering the pledge class president David Lane Register, a second year from Ocala, majoring in Finance Dustin Reuther, a first year from Deltona, majoring in Anthropology, who was also the pledge class Corresponding Secretary \r\nT HE G AT OR F I J I PAGE 5 LOST BROTHERS We currently do not have addresses for the following brothers. If you have information on their whereabouts, please contact Corey Clawson at cclawson@ufl.edu. Robert E. Caldwell Charles N. Quina H. F. Gale Hallett H. Germond Nicholas Tricarico David T. Sawyer J. B. Carter Thomas W. Hicks Francis H. Jack III Zenas H. Pilcher, Jr. C. G. Bush William A. LeMaster John S. Brady II Jose J. Rodriguez Carlos Castleblanco Caesar J. LaMonaca Harry K. MacDougall, Jr. James M. McKay Robert H. McVay John W. Andrews Thomas H. Chapman Otis O. Clemons Samuel D. Hyman Thaus M. McDonald John A. McKay, Jr. William J. Shupe James B. McDonald II Lawrence J. Hoffman Felipe Munoz William A. Ross III Robert C. Ellyson Robert B. Hagan Herbert R. Fields, Jr. Harold E. Lewis Donald V. Smith Richard S. Breed Donald O. McFarland Haywood R. Thornton, Jr. Roger W. Cole, Jr. John W. Faltz, Jr. George D. Barnes Walter L. Stanley Robert W. Cameron Richard O. Hessler Russell S. King, Jr. Andrew P. Helseth William M. Holtz, Jr. Kenneth D. Jenkins John T. Ebert David A. Lowe Ronald D. Meyer John W. Ulrich James B. Young Edwin R. Carter Don R. Eckerson George W. Phillips 1937 1937 1941 1941 1942 1943 1944 1944 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1948 1949 1949 1949 1949 1949 1950 1950 1950 1950 1950 1950 1950 1951 1952 1952 1952 1953 1953 1954 1954 1954 1955 1955 1955 1956 1956 1957 1957 1958 1958 1958 1959 1959 1959 1960 1960 1960 1960 1960 1961 1961 1961 Robert O. Richardson Peter Scheel Charles A. Blum Clifton C. Chew Stephen D. Gold James R. King George B. Maish Richard H. Ogle Robert D. Lindberg James B. Nelson Michael S. Baker John W. Ditsler Dale W. Reece Robert A. Bezuch Joseph M. Emery Alexander A. Galenes Robert L. Hammer John T. Knight Jason C. Outler III Edgar O. Rawls, Jr. Robert E. Townend III John W. Edwards, Jr. Joseph T. Keenan, Jr. John L. Zambito Thomas L. Kimball John C. Topper Douglas J. Wronske John K. Dodson Edward W. MacLean Jeffrey W. Alford William J. Gay II Richard M. Hayes Brian D. Hill Robert O. Lightfoot Stephen D. Peck Samuel C. Perry Thomas L. Robertson James R. Doyle James D. Friedrich Robert C. Mildrum Thomas W. O'Brien Gary J. Spinks Roy E. Brewer Paul A. Kuester Lewis A. Lancaster, Jr. Luis Perez Steven G. Powell Gregory L. Wolfe Steve A. Young Michael A. Broadhurst James L. Butterfield David T. Hanson Julian D. Jensen Thomas R. Jepson John L. Meltzer Richard A. Miller 1961 1961 1962 1962 1962 1962 1962 1962 1963 1963 1964 1964 1964 1965 1965 1965 1965 1965 1965 1965 1965 1966 1966 1966 1967 1967 1967 1968 1968 1969 1969 1969 1969 1969 1969 1969 1969 1970 1970 1970 1970 1970 1971 1971 1971 1971 1971 1971 1971 1972 1972 1972 1972 1972 1972 1972 Keith R. Sawicki Thomas C. Turturro Robert J. Ryan Kenneth L. Fleming John W. Leach Lloyd D. Purdy, Jr. Arthur F. Thibodeau, Jr. Michael G. Yankovich John G. Baker Richard A. Brodhead Kenneth I. Geist Joe Waechter Edward R. Barnard II Mark W. Eckert Henry L. Hegert Thierry M. Ross Steven R. Schlitt Craig J. Kosuta Mark W. Lancaster George A. Risk Mark T. Savoff Thomas N. Tysall James H. Hartenstine Christopher F. Kenward Richard P. McDowell Luis A. Perez David V. Anas Larry K. Martin James B. Mosier Ronald C. VanSickle Michael J. Flanigan Dean J. Hanewinckel Ronald W. Herbanek Robert C. Hollowell Benjamin T. Chen James P. DiMartino Nathan A. Sinclair Robert E. Vest Eric P. Watson Raymond N. Hannigan Steven L. Hogan John J. Kahoun Jeffrey T. Pile Keith A. Schoonmaker Mark A. Shaw Jeffrey W. Thomas John R. Van Wettering Mark W. Young William P. Blount David A. Cyril Steve R. Henry Demetrios A. Kydonieus Jon B. Lindeman, Jr. Kenneth D. Ronald Mark D. Cameron David P. Souza 1972 1972 1973 1974 1974 1974 1974 1974 1975 1975 1976 1976 1977 1977 1977 1977 1977 1978 1978 1978 1978 1978 1979 1979 1979 1979 1980 1980 1980 1980 1981 1981 1981 1981 1982 1982 1982 1982 1982 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1983 1984 1985 1985 1985 1985 1985 1985 1986 1986 James F. Brown Steven T. Cush David M. Rosean Garrett M. Brennan Jeremy R. Brown Marc W. Libby John A. Nagy Richard T. Pile Joseph L. Scarpa Michael R. Stephenson Ronald A. White Luis R. Carney Daniel B. Moisand Charles T. Staats, Jr. Thomas F. Novak, Jr. Donald R. Duvall Frank A. Fattizzi David H. MacDonald Kevin P. Barrett Jon R. Bryant Glen H. Chancy Michael J. Dobish John M. Ferro III Russell W. Fuller, Jr. Brandon W. Shearer Michael T. Abbott Samir Chokshi Jay C. Hayek John D. Bicket Michael B. Craven William R. Scara, Jr. Patrick A. Altiere David A. Ballesteros Matthew C. Zirzow Michael A. Autell Saurin D. Chokshi Erik A. de la Iglesia Michael L. Infante Charles B. Jensen Joshua A. Johnson Brett A. Manley Matthew R. Rousseau Jason M. Testa Kenneth D. Welling John M. Kuehn David E. Basior Jared M. Goodman Jordan R. Silverstein Stephan T. Johnson Matthew D. Johnson Vladislav Yurovsky Peter M. Crowfoot, Jr. Daniel B. Haley 1987 1987 1987 1988 1988 1988 1988 1988 1988 1988 1988 1989 1989 1989 1990 1991 1991 1991 1992 1992 1992 1992 1992 1992 1992 1993 1993 1993 1994 1995 1995 1996 1996 1996 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1997 1998 2001 2001 2001 2003 2005 2005 2006 2006 \r\nPAGE 6 T HE G AT OR F I J I SPORT FUNDING NEEDED By Dylan Meredith (2011) , Intramural Chairman The intramural sports program of Phi Gamma Delta here at the University of Florida is something the chapter prides itself on. We are a rapidly growing chapter, and one of our biggest areas of success has been our intramurals. Upsilon Phi considers it one of our greatest strengths. This spring 2008 semester, our softball and soccer teams both won their respective fraternity leagues, showing the success we expect our intramurals to have in the future. We currently lead the standings for the Presidents Cup, which is awarded to the overall intramural champion of fraternities. While we have the athletes, the next step to improving our intramurals is to provide athletic jerseys and equipment for our sports. We wish to buy jerseys that will work for every sport, and I believe I found the jerseys that will accomplish this. They are a version of the Nike Dry Fit shirt, but they cost around $30 each. As intramural chair, I am given a limited amount of money each semester to improve our intramurals. Recently, that went to buying us intramural t-shirts. These helped us match for each game, but they are cotton and restrict our ability on the field/ court/etc. boost to our intramurals and will increase the way FIJI looks on the UF campus. That is why I am asking for help from ANY GRAD BROTHER who may work at an athletic apparel place, or may know someone who could provide us with a discounted rate. Also, ANY GRAD BROTHER willing to donate money to the intramural program would be greatly appreciated. Being able to buy these jerseys will provide a Upsilon Phi AAA Scholarship Winners 2007-08 Academic Achievement Awards (AAA) are just one benefit the Phi Gamma Delta Educational Foundation provides to undergraduate Brothers -- a $250 check to new initiates for achieving at least a 3.0 GPA during their pledge term. Phi Gamma Delta is the only national fraternity or sorority to offer this blanketed scholarship that helps get our new brothers focused on their academics. Thanks to those donors who support the Phi Gamma Delta Educational Foundation. Since its inception in 1999, AAA scholarship has awarded sixty-four Upsilon Phi brothers, including this list of current brothers who received the AAA this year: Jahmel Harris Bailey Rudy L. Baum Travis Hilton Bowen Corey Michael Clawson Benjamin Kipp Emil Ryan Raymond Issa Robert Bruce Lamberson, Jr. Alastair George Lyon Eric Peter Milis Joseph Anthony Nanna Brian Matthew Restauro Montgomery Blair Sibley, Jr. 2009 2011 2010 2011 2008 2011 2010 2009 2011 2011 2010 2011 If you would like to help us, please contact me, Dylan Meredith, at 678-617-7001, or via email at kress07@ufl.edu. I am the intramural chair and would be happy to answer any questions or accept your support. If you cannot reach me, you can contact our graduate relations chair, Corey Clawson at 561459-0731 or via email at cclawson@ufl.edu Recruitment Recommendations Know a sharp gentlemen who would make a great Upsilon Phi Brother? Contact Recruitment Chairman Jahmel Bailey at 954-817-0237 or jman@ufl.edu and provide him with the details. \r\nT HE G AT OR F I J I PAGE 7 PIG DINNER 2008 MEMORIES CHAPTER LEADERSHIP AND CONTACT INFO Chapter President, Eric Downes (2010) edownes@ufl.edu Chapter Treasurer, Mitchel Morgan (2009) mlmorgan@ufl.edu Chapter Historian, Brian Restauro (2010) b.restauro101@gmail.com Corresponding Secretary, Robert Lamberson (2010) roblamb@ufl.edu Recording Secretary, Anthony Vogt (2009) a34@ufl.edu Recruitment Chairman, Jahmel Bailey (2009) jman@ufl.edu Section Chief, Brent Ellis (1999) b_ellis1848@hotmail.com Purple Legionnaire, Charles Holloway (1996) stlrams22@yahoo.com House Corporation President, Warren Smith (1962) tsgator@earthlink.net House Corporation Vice President, Edward Kellar (1970) emkellar@mactec.com \r\nNonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity 1201 Red Mile Road Lexington, KY 40504 IMPORTANT DATES Upsilon Phi undergraduates would like to invite all graduates to a steak dinner at the chapter house. The dinner will be held in honor of our future fall pledge class and will be held the last night of recruitment week, Friday, September 5. If you would like to attend or have any questions, please contact Corey Clawson at cclawson@ufl.edu. Please RSVP by August 11. Mark your calendar for these other important upcoming dates. We hope to see you there! Chapter Events August 31-September 5 September 5 Home Football Games August 30 September 6 September 26 October 11 October 25 November 15 November 22 Rush Week - All events start at 8pm at 7 Fraternity Row Sunday - Meet the Brothers with Hungry Howie’s Pizza Monday - Live Music with Jimmy John’s Tuesday - Fiji Island Night with Moe’s Wednesday - Corn Hole Tournament with Alehouse Wings Thursday - Tailgate with Sonny’s BBQ Friday - Formal Outback Dinner (invite only) Graduate Brother steak dinner at the chapter house vs. Hawaii vs. Miami vs. Ole Miss vs. LSU vs. Kentucky (Homecoming) vs. South Carolina vs. The Citadel Design, printing and mailing services provided by the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.