A Publication by the Omicron Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta! NOVEMBER 2011 The Buckeye FIJI Frank Norris Pig Dinner 2011 ! ! bridging the generations... The annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner was held at the Athletic Club of Columbus on Friday, October 28th. There was a great showing of undergraduates followed by a great speech by the evenings guest speaker William White. Mr. White is a former American football safety who played eleven seasons in the National Football League from 1988-1998. He started in Super Bowl XXXIII for the Atlanta Falcons. He now lives in Ohio with one son. This year the graduates and undergraduates were proud to present a special award to one graduate brother for a very special occasion. This year is brother Tom Oleska’s 50th year since his initiation into the fraternity giving him the distinction of a Golden Owl. and graduates at what was yet again another great Pig Dinner. Thanks to the effort of grand pig dinner planner, senior undergraduate brother Brandon Edwards, the event was one to remember. The pig was carried in by newly initiated brothers Rich Huckell, David Derrick, Mike Mehta, Josh Kohlschimidt, Evan Sieradski, and Quin Strouse. Although the pig was not served for dinner that night, it was greatly enjoyed by the brothers the week after. Thank you again to all the graduates and undergraduates who donated to the raffle, and Rivalry Run. All of your generous support is greatly appreciated by all the undergraduates. In This Issue P Rivalry Run 2 Spring Rafting Trip 2 Homecoming Court 2011 3 Awards 3 Chapter Update 4 Pictures 5 Graduate Chapter Update 5 Contact Information 6 The Omicron Deuteron Chapter President, Niko McMurray, delivered a speech outlining the undergraduate chapters multiple accomplishments over the summer and into this fall. He was ! PAGE 1 \r\nA Publication by the Omicron Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta! NOVEMBER 2011 2011 PHI GAMMA DELTA RIVALRY RUN ! It’s that time of year again! The Phi Gamma Delta Rivalry Run is well underway for the fall of 2011. You may have heard of some of our on campus fundraising events or seen some undergraduate brothers canvasing around the tailgates before football games. ! Last year we were proud to have beaten our $10,000 goal by raising over $13,000 for the Stefanie Spielman Fund. This year we are setting the bar even higher by trying to raise $15,000 but, this cannot be done without the donations from the graduate brothers. ! Since the date of the Michigan game is again the weekend of thanksgiving, the brothers of the Michigan and Ohio State chapters will be begin running the ball Sunday, November 20 and into the morning of the 21st. This year the ball will travel 180 miles from Columbus to Ann Arbor where the Buckeyes will again dominate that hated team up north. ! If you are interested in donating to the Rivalry Run please go to therivalryrun.com for information on donating as well as specifics about the run and the changes that we have made over the past few years. You can also find information about the events that we have on campus to help raise funds. It can be as easy as ordering pizza from Pizza Rustica or Danatos on certain days where 15% of the profit of all the orders goes towards the Rivalry Run. Running 180 miles.... For breast cancer. 2011 SPRING RAFTING TRIP ! This spring 20 undergraduate brothers and several graduate brothers traveled to West Virginia to take on the New River Gorge. This annual event was a time for the brothers to enjoy some quality time together while getting away from campus for a while. The trip takes place over a two night stay at the Riverman Camping sites in the Appalachian mountains and includes a 4 hour long “cruise” down the river. ! This rafting trip did include yet another boat capsizing however, all brothers made it back home safe and sound. ! If you are a grad brother who is interested in joining our rafting trip, please email any of the undergraduate representatives for the spring 2012 trip. Their email address’s are on the last page for your reference. ! PAGE 2 \r\nA Publication by the Omicron Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta! NOVEMBER 2011 2011 HOMECOMING COURT This years homecoming court included yet another brother from Phi Gamma Delta. Shawn Patrick O’Meara was one of the 10 men chosen for Homecoming Court along with 10 women from the entire student body. This is the ninth year in a row where at least one brother has been on this select group of students. Brother O’Meara has been involved with multiple groups on campus. He is a member of the Undergraduate Student Government, the OSU honorary system, Collegiate Council on World Affairs, and the Honors program. This past summer he traveled abroad to study in Beijing. He hopes to join the Teach for China Corps before continuing on to grad school. Brother O’Meara (right) and fe$ow Fiji brothers We are very proud of our brother who took part in the 2011 Homecoming Court and look forward to the Fiji brothers that represent our chapter in 2012. FIJI BROTHERS BRING HOME THE METAL ! This year the chapter applied to a multitude of awards through both the University and IHQ. The awards could not have been completed without the help of Corresponding Secretary, Alex Lindsey, and brother Michael Coleman, Derrick Kaseman, Michael Cox, Eli Nader, and Tre Wiley. The chapter has been awarded the following from the Union and Greek awards committee: Outstanding chapter president: Danny Tran Outstanding live in advisor: Dave Giancola Challenging the process for Rivalry Run Innovation award for our improvements made to the Rivalry Run • Collaboration award for the "continue the fight" presentation for rivalry run • Outstanding member development program • Outstanding philanthropy program • • • • ! ! The chapter also received multiple awards from IHQ including: • Certificate of superior academic achievement for exceeding the All Men's GPA average for more than 5 years • The John Templeton McCarty Chapter Proficiency Award • Honorable Mention for the Baker Cup PAGE 3 \r\nA Publication by the Omicron Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta! NOVEMBER 2011 UNDERGRADUATE CHAPTER UPDATE By Niko Mcmurray ’12 ! This past year has been a great year for Omicron Deuteron. We have had some great successes, and have taken steps to prepare for the future. Right now we are getting ready for the upcoming semester switch as well as focusing on a new period of growth and development. ! First, a little background on the Ohio State Greek Community as a whole. At the end of spring quarter the OSU Greek community had about 3,400 members – the most ever. There are 32 fraternities on campus – 2 of which are colonies. Overall, OSU Greek Life raised over $200,000 for their philanthropies, and participated in over 30,000 service hours. ! So where do we fall in the community? At the end of spring quarter the chapter was the largest it has ever been since rechartering – 88 active brothers, making us the third largest fraternity on campus. After graduating many outstanding seniors we currently have 64 brothers and 7 pledges. These pledges are in the Alpha Alpha pledge class. Yes, we have made it through the entire greek alphabet since rechartering! ! Last spring our chapter GPA was a 3.41, which placed us third overall for grades and well above the all Greek average of a 3.21, the all IFC average of a 3.14, and the all undergraduate male average of a 3.03. In spring quarter we are extremely proud to report that 42 brothers made the Dean’s List! ! We have one brother on Homecoming Court marking the ninth year in the row that Omicron Deuteron has been able to represent this University. Brothers are involved in research, orientation leaders, and in many facets of Ohio State leadership. Events such as Mega Turkey, where we invite Ohio State Faculty and Staff to dine in our chapter house, is this weekend. We are also preparing for the “Off Campus Christmas Lights Competition” – going for our ninth straight win. ! The White Star Scholarship, which is directed towards incoming freshman attending Ohio State, is in its second year. We have interviewed multiple well deserving applicants so we can give out several awards. Last year our award winner chose to ! pledge FIJI and brought along several of his friends as well! ! Most importantly however, we are continuing to raise money for our Philanthropy, the Rivalry Run, which is going to support the Stefanie Spielman Fund. Currently our goal is $15,000 – which is $5,000 more than last year. We are well on our way, but it is only from the support of our graduate brothers and corporate sponsorships that we will be able to achieve our goal in support of the Spielman Fund. ! So this is where we are in the short term, however we are also looking to put the fraternity on a path that it can continue to grow and challenge itself several years down the road. The chapter recently has completed a strategic plan – a document based on our values and an analysis of the chapter. Forty-two questionnaires were sent out to various entities, including cabinet, graduating seniors, and graduate brothers. These questionnaires helped create the groundwork of where we see this chapter now and in the future. The next step is filling in the strategy of achieving these long term goals so Omicron Deuteron can continue to grow and be the best fraternity at The Ohio State. ! All of this would not have been possible without the continued support of our graduate brothers. BCA, House Corps, the Graduate Chapter and Josh Harraman our purple Legionnaire have seen this chapter grow over the past few years. For example, last summer House Corps helped facilitate several house improvement projects for our chapter house including a new roof and new couches from the Graduate Chapter. ! The support from all of you truly shows that Phi Gamma Delta is not for co$ege days alone, and we continue to look for new ways to keep graduate brothers engaged. The chapter is excited for the future and we look forward to all of you being there with us! As always, I am very proud to be a FIJI PAGE 4 \r\nA Publication by the Omicron Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta! NOVEMBER 2011 GRADUATE CHAPTER UPDATE By John Gibson, President, Columbus Graduate Chapter ! The Columbus Graduate Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta meets quarterly for lunch on campus of The Ohio State University. We typically meet at the Union where they serve an exceptional lunch however we are looking to move to a different venue in the future. ! Past guest speakers include a graduate brother who was featured on "Undercover Boss," the president of a technology company, the Director of the Ohio Union, owner of a wine bottling company and upcoming guest speaker: Ohio State Senator and graduate brother. ! Earlier this year we raised money for new couches for the Omicron Deuteron chapter. The new leather couches are greatly enjoyed by the undergraduates each day. This is one of the small ways the graduate chapter helps with the advancement of the undergraduate chapter. If you are interested in participating in any of the events, please contact John Gibson at jegassociates@prodigy.net. PICTURES “The forces that have been the greatest in my life have been God and the college fraternity that molded me” ! PAGE 5 \r\nA Publication by the Omicron Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta! NOVEMBER 2011 A Publication by the Omicron Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta Omicron Deuteron Chapter 94 E. 15th Columbus, Ohio 43201 E-mail: ohiostatefiji@gmail.com CABINET E-MAIL President: " " Niko McMurray- mcmurray.23@buckeyemail.osu.edu Treasurer: ! ! Kyle Pacelli- kyle.pacelli@gmail.com Recording Sec: " " Jonathon Bentley- bentley.119@osu.edu Corresponding Sec: ! Alexander Lindsey- lindsey.176@osu.edu Historian: " " Timothy Liutkus- liutkus.1@osu.edu House Corp Contact Info: BCA Contact Info: Dwight Montgomery 122 Misty Oak Place Gahanna, Ohio 43230 614-554-6560 Dwight.k.montgomery@ampf.com House Corporation President Brian Thompson 1138 Devlin Ct. Columbus, Ohio 43228 614-406-1119 blazingincognito@gmail.com BCA Chairman Jon Horn 1637 W 3rd Ave. Columbus, OH 43212 614-668-7170 jon.d.horn@gmail.com BCA Mark Grindley 2015 Tremont Road Columbus, Ohio 43221 614-486-3283 Home 614-297-7212 Work mrgrindley@aol.com Jeff Gafford 1215 Clubview Blvd. South Columbus , Ohio 43235 614-565-6872 gaffordjw@columbus.rr.com Headquarters Contact Info: John Szlag 5614 Chapman Rd. Delaware, Ohio 43015 740-548-1738 Home 614-205-7809 Mobile John.szlag@plaskolite.com Kameron deVente 5476 Fawnbrook Lane Dublin, Ohio 43017 614-266-9340 kdevente@navmp.com Derek Wilson 2381 River Oaks Dr. Columbus, Ohio 43228 740-310-2086 Wilsonr.derek@gmail.com Josh Harraman 273 Beechwold Blvd. Columbus, Ohio 43214 614-946-7270 Harraman.4@osu.edu PL Matthew R. Dixon 78 E. Chestnut St., Suite 507 Columbus, Ohio 43215 614-323-5097 Fijiman9@gmail.com Section Chief XVIII House Corporation Treasurer Matt Miller 7193 Dean Farm Rd. New Albany, Ohio 43054 614-551-6909 Miller2133@gmail.com ! PAGE 6