FIJI MISSOURIAN PRESENTED BY THE CHI MU COLONY OF PHI GAMMA DELTA A WORD FROM OUR PIG DINNER CHAIR Brothers, In fall 2010, 62 outstanding undergraduates pledged and were initiated as the new founding fathers of the Chi Mu Colony of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. In the first week of March, as the tradition that has continued for years, the new founding fathers hosted the first Pig Dinner by undergraduates since 2006. As the Pig Dinner Chairman, it has been my privilege to work with some of the most talented leaders in the fraternity. The dinner began with rousing applause, and I was overcome with a feeling of pride and accomplishment as I said the words, “Welcome to the 2011 Chi Mu Frank Norris Pig Dinner.” Hoots and hollers echoed in Memorial Union's Mark Twain Ballroom and toasts were made to our return. The night was truly a joyful one, and the hog was roasted to perfection. Our Master of Ceremonies Randy Moehlman (1993), and the announcer for P. 2 – OUR FUTURE ourselves with the roasted pig provided by Jim “Hoss” Koetting (1981), the dinner concluded. It was a grand occasion to meet and get to know the graduate brothers who came before us, and we hope they enjoyed meeting the young men who will continue the Mizzou Fiji traditions for many years to come. This year's Pig Dinner showed us that Phi Gamma Delta is, indeed, not for college days alone, and we hope to see those brothers and many more next year! Fraternally, Neil Thawani (2013) Pig Dinner Chairman Neilthawani@gmail.com Press On! HIGHLIGHTS: P. 3 – RECRUITMENT P. 5 – HOUSE CORP. UPDATE APRIL 2011 Mizzou Tigers football at Faurot Field, introduced the keynote speaker, Bob Albin (1962), and former president of the Archons, who delivered some wise words. Brother Albin stated that effective leadership was the key to making our brotherhood succeed and ushering in new leaders after we leave our own legacies behind. He spoke of maintaining a firm sense of direction guided by attentive leaders who communicate their activities effectively to the chapter. He also spoke of developing leading performers who motivate others well and create an abundance of discipline. All these factors together, he declared, create high morale within any organization, and now that we are back, we must keep that spirit up and running for many years to come as brothers come and graduate. After brief speeches by our graduate relations chair, recruitment chair, president and Purple Legionnaire of the colony, and we had all stuffed P. 6 – GRADUATE HIGHLIGHT COLUMBIA, MO Page | 1 \r\nFIJI MISSOURIAN PRESENTED BY THE CHI MU COLONY OF PHI GAMMA DELTA THOUGHTS TOWARDS THE FUTURE Brothers, I hope all who were able to attend this year’s Norris Pig Dinner had a great time – I know I did! Thank you for all those who participated and made the night such a great event. With over 200 in attendance, it was the biggest dinner in years. We have been back at the University of Missouri for two semesters now and things are going well on every level. The reputation FIJI has established is nothing short of what one would expect of a group of gentlemen. Our athletics are excelling, our campus wide involvement is growing, and our brothers are being respected within the campus and Greek communities. Looking ahead, we are on track to charter early this fall. To make sure, we have four main focuses, which include scholarship, financial responsibility, service, and colony growth. We’ve developed a scholarship plan that is centered on personal responsibility and goal setting. Each brother has the obligation to perform his personal best in the classroom, so our support system tries to help each brother set goals and meet them. Additionally, every brother is required to remain financially current. Community involvement is also high on our list, as we have participated in numerous philanthropies, service events, and fundraisers. APRIL 2011 For our own philanthropy we are planning an event for the end of this semester that will definitely not disappoint. Colony growth means recruitment and a sustainable increase in membership, and it also means working together to better ourselves. I am confident that we will, in fact, meet our goals and complete our petition for a charter before school ends for the semester. However, our focus goes beyond becoming a full chapter. Currently we are working on a five-year plan to outline where we want to be and what we want to be in the coming years. In five years, all the founding fathers will have graduated, so solidifying benchmarks to help guide the future Chi Mu brothers is a priority. As I have said before, we are eager for graduate involvement on any level. If you are interested, please get in touch with us. We are thankful for all the graduate support we have received, as we could not have come this far without all you’ve done. Fraternally, Ryan Sheridan (2012) Colony President ryanwsheridan@gmail.com 314-223-5622 Press On! COLUMBIA, MO Page | 2 \r\nFIJI MISSOURIAN PRESENTED BY THE CHI MU COLONY OF PHI GAMMA DELTA AN UPDATE FROM THE HOUSE CORP. Brothers, The first Norris Pig Dinner of the new Chi Mu Colony was a huge success! Over 200 brothers and new colony pledges and initiates enjoyed an excellent brotherhood. Your current House Corporation re-elected me as the President; it’s a roll I embrace. This next year, we will be putting all of our efforts into three major projects: updating graduate contact information, starting a capital campaign, and purchasing a site for the future home of the Chi Mu Chapter. A group is working diligently to update and/or verify all of our graduate brother contact information. If you haven’t received a call from Rick Stauffer (1993), Eric Jasso (2005), Aaron Berlin (1993), Patrick Spellman (Colony graduate relations chairman) or me, you can help by forwarding your name, address and phone number to me at staffs@murlin.com. This will greatly aid the Alumni Association and colony in keeping everyone updated on events and our progress in returning to the University of Missouri. Kevin Henning (1984), House Corporation member, has been working over the past six months with our International Headquarters to gather information and organize it in preparation for an all out capital campaign to fund the purchase of a site for the new home of Phi Gamma Delta on the MU campus. Needless to say, it is of the utmost importance that all brothers participate to the best of their abilities in this campaign. A strong campaign will ultimately lead to a strong start for the undergraduate brothers and will help insure the longevity of our chapter. APRIL 2011 Since the re-colonization, Tom Snider (1996), House Corp member, has been scouring the Columbia areas of Greek Town, Fraternity Row, and adjacent neighborhoods for possible locations to set our roots. Needless to say, appropriate sites do not come along everyday; however, a number of possibilities have been identified and talks have begun with the respective owners to secure a place for Chi Mu. Also, the House Corporation has secured a local architectural firm to produce a pro forma income statement and generic site plan to aid in the decision process related to finding the proper location for our new house. This information will let the board know what kind of down payment would be needed and what the Alumni Association would need to charge in rent to service the remaining debt and be cashflow positive. These three major projects, along with the management of our current investment of the proceeds from the sale of the house at 704 College, will more than keep your 12 man House Corporation board busy over the next 12 months. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer your time to help the Alumni Association, please let me know. Phi Gamma Delta is not for college days alone and now is our time to prove it! Fraternally, Stafford Swearingen (1986) House Corporation President Perge! COLUMBIA, MO Page | 5 \r\nFIJI MISSOURIAN PRESENTED BY THE CHI MU COLONY OF PHI GAMMA DELTA GRADUATE BROTHER HIGHLIGHT JOHNER RIEHL (1996) Johner Riehl lives in San Diego, CA, where he reviews and recommends family-friendly videogames. How'd he get there? Well, after graduating from Mizzou and hanging out in Columbia for an extra semester, he moved to LA for five years, eventually meeting his future wife Christina. Unfortunately, he accepted a job in Seattle two weeks after they met, but after a year and half of long distance dating, Johner moved back to LA to get married. The couple moved to San Diego in 2005 and they now have two young sons - Quinner (4) and Whitaker (2). Another boy is due in June, and he's destined to have a name that ends in "er" as well. After working in public relations for more than a dozen years representing companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft, Midway and more, two years ago the couple took the opportunity to flip a house, and with the proceeds of that have been able to start their own business FamilyFriendlyVideoGames.com. Johner loves being an entrepreneur and stay-at-home dad, as well as staying in touch with old friends and fraternity brothers. So if you're not already connected to him, feel free to send a request on Facebook, or look him up on Twitter (@johnerriehl). He finds it funny how non-Fijis post Calvin Coolidge's "persistence" quote as their status update from time to time. DATES TO REMEMBER „ „ „ „ Every Sunday @ 5PM – Chapter in Student Center Room 212 April 10 - 24 – Greek Week June 24 – 25 – Formal Recruitment on campus July 7h – Recruitment Event – KC Royals vs. Detroit Tigers @ Kauffman Stadium „ July 9 – Recruitment Event -- River City Rascals AAA Baseball Club „ October 15 – Mizzou Homecoming Centennial Celebration Brothers, We like to keep you updated and informed with our events and happenings, so a donation of even just a few dollars is greatly appreciated to help us keep publishing the Fiji Missourian. Donations may be sent to Phi Gamma Delta at 2500 MU Student Center, Columbia, MO 65211. Fraternally, XM Colony APRIL 2011 COLUMBIA, MO Page | 6