The Golden Eagle FIJI THETA TAU CHAPTER OF PHI GAMMA DELTA VOLUME 33, No.1 Winter 2011 Phi Gam is Victory! P HI G AM S WEEPS F ALL S PORTS !! S PECIAL G RAD S POTLIGHT : J EFF H OILMAN \r\nTFI is proud to introduce the 2010-11 Lineup of Online Donation Programs. TFI’s Online Donation Programs are powered by PayPal and are completely secure. All you need to get started is an Email Address and a Credit or Debit Card. The 1848 Club-Monthly $18.48 per month HTTP://WWW.1848CLUB.NET The 1848 Club-Annually $221.76 per year HTTP://WWW.1848CLUB.NET/ANNUAL The 527 Club$5.27 per month HTTP://WWW.527CLUB.NET Why PayPal? Convenient Secure Easy to Use Why Donate? Foundations for the Future: Your monthly donations will help lay the foundation to form a capital campaign committee and successfully launch a campaign. So, while these monthly donations will not directly allow us to build a new house, portions of your donations will be earmarked for campaign expenses. This will help ensure that our capital campaign committee will have the funds to move forward with all due diligence. For the Betterment of the Chapter: a secondary goal of the Online Donation Programs is to support the Chapter’s Graduate Relations efforts. The ability to “raise the bar” in the area of Graduate Relations and Graduate support is paramount to both the Chapter’s goal of one day winning the coveted “Cheney Cup” and TFI’s goal of one day providing them a new chapter house. Benefits for Donors: Beyond the knowledge that you are “giving back” to the organization that gave so much to you during you college years, you will receive other rewards as well. Currently, donors receive gift certificates redeemable at Pig Dinner weekends. We are also exploring a variety of other ways to recognize Club members. Questions or Comments: please contact John Solis at donations@TTUFIJI.COM \r\nThe Golden Eagle Fiji Winter 2011 L ETTER THETA TAU FROM THE Graduate Brothers, I would like to begin this letter by introducing myself and the cabinet for the 2011 calendar year. My name is Byron Nickens, and I am a sophomore from Knoxville, TN. I pledged the fall of 2009 in the Beta Sigma pledge class, and I have served as athletic chairman and been a member of the colony/section relations, Interfraternal council, and rush committees in my one year as a brother in the chapter. Being on these committees and being a part of this chapter made me realize how much the Fraternity has given me, and how I would love to give back to the chapter. This realization is what pushed me to run for president and to step up to lead the chapter in our 30th year with a great cabinet and group of brothers beside me. I have learned many great things from the outgoing 2010 cabinet and outgoing chapter president Tad Engle who will be graduating in the spring of 2011. He has done great things for the chapter and given me great advice for the upcoming year, and with his advice and the support of my cabinet, I hope to make this 2011 year a great year for the Theta Tau Chapter. In the past year, we have faced some challenges, but the chapter has stood firm in these times and continued to be excellent in all that we do. For example, this fall we won Alpha Delta Pi’s Ronald McDonald House philanthropy, continued to par- VOLUME 33 No. 1 P RESIDENT ticipate in homecoming activities even though we couldn’t place in any event, continued the tradition of Kazoo Band, we swept every major and minor sport in IFC intramurals for the fall semester, finished our one-year of IFC social probation, and also succeeded in many other events. All of these successes and achievements have all came from our brothers remembering to stay persistent and to fight through adversity. We hope to continue this in the upcoming years as we continue to show Tennessee Tech and everyone else how excellent we are as Phi Gams! We also finished our house renovations just in time for fall rush, and thank you so much again to all of the graduates who have helped us along the way with these renovations. Fall rush was very successful under the leadership of Patrick Wehby as the fall 2010 rush chairmen who will be serving with me on next year’s cabinet as the Corresponding Secretary. For the future, we as a cabinet have decided to continue down the road that we have been traveling of building better brothers, building a better chapter, and continuing to push the chapter in the right direction as past cabinets has shown us. We can only be successful from the support of not just undergraduate brothers, but also our graduate brothers. Graduate brothers are the ones who have influenced the undergraduates of this chap- ter to be persistent, continue the march for excellence, and shown us how we should live our lives as Phi Gamma Deltas while undergraduates and also as graduate brothers. We hope for the upcoming year to continue to pursue our chapter goals by taking care of the chapter first and foremost and being excellent in all that we do on campus, so that all the awards we receive are byproducts of our actions; not the goal itself. As this will be the 30th anniversary of our Pig Dinner, we hope that you would attend to come together with graduates and undergraduates of all ages to participate in brotherly fellowship. Our Pig Dinner chairmen Nathan Brown and Richard Knapek, has already began to prepare for this year’s event by preparing “save the date” cards that hopefully you already received. We hope that you can make it out to this year’s 30th anniversary, and if at any time you are coming through Cookeville we hope that you would stop by the house, and the brothers and myself would love to meet you. Fraternally, Byron Nickens Perge! \r\nP AGE 2 V OLUME 33 N O . 1 F IJI F AMILY D AY Following in the footsteps of last year's revival of Theta Tau's Family Day, this year, Brother Nash Fleet and his committee put on a great day of activities for all of the Brother's families to enjoy. Over 150 people dropped by at one point or another over the course of the day, starting at 10:30 at the house for refreshments, and to see all of the renovations that had occurred over the summer. At 1:00, most of the crowd went to enjoy the Tech Rugby Team match. Afterward, guests reconvened at the house for corn-hole and a barbecue dinner. Overall, Family Day was a huge success and is a tradition that we plan to continue in the years to come. G RADUATE S NAPSHOTS Brother Jeremy Forsyth married Samantha Mathis on October 23, 2010 in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Brother Jacob Kissel married Emily Haney on October 9, 2010 in Ohio and currently live in Omaha, Nebraska. Brother Kevin Wehby married Ruthie Diroff on October 2, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. Brother Joel Brinkley married Darcy Edwards in Spring Hill, Tennessee. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS! Bobby Adams Chemical Engineering Justin Foster Computer Engineering Bryce Arnold Computer Science Bryson Helm Manufacturing Technology Josh Bilyeu Environmental Biology Will Hunter Chemical Engineering Stephen Brockman Marketing Joey Laine Civil Engineering Caleb Canaan Chemical Engineering Jesse Lilligren Accounting Zachary Clendenen Accounting Frank Marco Electrical Engineering Michael Cooper Pre Physical Therapy Ethan Miller Civil Engineering Tyler Cortner Undecided Glen Nabors Mechanical Engineering \r\nP AGE 3 G OLDEN E AGLE F IJI W ELCOME 2011 C ABINET M EMBERS ! PRESIDENT - Brother Byron Nickens is a Sophomore Business Major from Knoxville, TN and a member of the Beta Sigma pledge class. This is his first time serving on cabinet but has served as the Athletics chair and on the Rush, IFC, and Section Relations committees. Byron Nickens Blake Allison TREASURER - Brother Jordan Jozwick is a senior Mechanical Engineering major from Hendersonville, TN and a member of the Beta Mu pledge class. Before serving on cabinet he served as the Rush chair, Grad Relations chair, and Section Relations chair. Jordan Jozwick RECORDING SECRETARY - Brother Blake Allison is a sophomore Civil Engineering major from Knoxville, TN and a member of the Beta Sigma pledge class. Before serving on cabinet he was both the Risk Management and Athletic chair. CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Brother Patrick Wehby is a junior Finance major from Nashville, TN and a member of the Beta Xi pledge class. Before serving on cabinet he was Rush committee chair and Brotherhood committee chair. Hunter Crouch HISTORIAN - Brother Hunter Crouch is a sophomore Nursing major from Nashville, TN and a member of the Beta Sigma pledge class. Before serving on cabinet he served on the rush committee and T-shirt chair. Patrick Wehby \r\nP AGE 4 V OLUME 33 N O . 1 30th ANNIVERSERY FRANK NORRIS PIG DINNER Friday, March 25th, 2011 • • Registration and FIJI Island Night at Fraternity House • 5pm – 9pm TFI Board & Donors Reception (for Donors and their Guest) at TBD. • 9pm – 12am Saturday, March 26th, 2011 • • • • • Phi Gam Golf Classic at Southern Hills Golf Club • 9am Lunch Volleyball, and Fun at the FIJI House! • 12:00pm Phi Gam Cigar Social at Fraternity House • 5pm 30th Anniversary Frank Norris Pig Dinner at Leslie Towne Center • 6pm Pig Dinner After-Party at the Cookeville Country Club • 10pm Keynote Address: • This year's address will be a Lee Moss (Tennessee '73) Former Archon President. Register at: WWW.TTUFIJI.COM/PIG Don't forget to nominate a Theta Tau Distinguished FIJI! Nominations are now being accepted. Visit the graduate homepage www.ttufiji.com/tfi and click on the Distinguished Fiji link to nominate a deserving graduate. Hotel Accommodations Provided by: Comfort Suites Phone: 931-372-1881 1035 Interstate Drive, Cookeville, TN Rooms are under "Phi Gamma Delta", $72/night \r\nG OLDEN E AGLE F IJI P AGE 5 G RADUATE S POTLIGHT — J EFF H OILMAN (1993) What are you doing now? I currently reside in Chattanooga, TN and have been married 16 years to my wife, Diane (Hawkins) who is a TTU alumnus. We have 2 daughters Elizabeth (10) and Caitlin (8) and our dog Gracie. Our family is very active in soccer in particular the Redoubt Soccer Association where I am currently the Director of Coach and Player Development. In my spare time I like to mountain bike, backpack and kayak. What was your major at TTU and how has it lead to the job you have now? I graduated with a Civil Engineering degree in May 1993 with an emphasis in environmental. Over the past 17 years I have worked on various projects for private developers, local and state governments and federal projects. I’m currently employed by ARCADIS U.S., Inc. as project manager and professional engineer. My current work involves managing a group of individuals that assist state department of transportations, municipalities and private developers with identifying environmental risks associated with their projects. I provide risk alternatives, obtain environmental permits and provide quality assurance oversight during construction to ensure the owner, contractor and others involved stay in compliance. What are some of your favorite memories of being a Phi Gam at Tech? Living in the fraternity house was a great experience; serving as community service chairman and chapter president; stair diving with Russell the “Love Muscle”; receiving the “Snake Award”; Pig Dinner; Kazoo Band; initiation trip to Lexington, KY; getting “stuck” at Spankie’s during the blizzard of 93; and the bonds made through Brotherhood. As you know there are other adventures/memories that just can’t be told in this type of venue! Why did you choose to pledge Phi Gamma Delta and has it molded you into the kind of person you think a Phi Gam should be? I didn’t pledge Phi Gamma Delta until the start of my junior year in college. Originally I was one of those GDI’s that swore I would never belong to a fraternity. My beliefs eventually changed and I was heavily rushed by the Sigma Chi’s. During that fall rush I met Todd Fairly in a math class who invited me to some rush activities at the FIJI house. Basically, I didn’t know anything about FIJI. During rush I met some great brothers - Brad Leimer (my big brother), Billy Leslie, Keith Bokor, John Rector, Curt Chaffin, Stacy Hunt, Richard Holt, Festus, Lee Wray and numerous others. Phi Gamma Delta was different than what I had experienced at other fraternity houses. The Brothers wanted to actually find out more about you. Phi Gamma Delta encouraged the pursuit of knowledge, leadership, participation in other campus organizations, community service, sports, and to be a man of integrity. Needless to say, pledging Phi Gamma Delta was a shock to a lot of my friends. This is what I wanted in a fraternity. However, words cannot express the gratitude for what the Theta Tau chapter has done for me. The Friendship, Knowledge, Service, Morality and Excellence gained through the fraternity have definitely carried over into life. From what you can remember, what did the other Greek Organizations think about Fiji? At the time Fiji was one of the smaller fraternities. A lot of the bigger fraternities often overlooked FIJI when it came to campus events and sports. But our competitive nature, involvement on campus and attitude kept us near the top. While I was in school we went alcohol free at the house. I believe we were the first on campus to do so and a lot of the fraternities thought we had lost our mind. Yes, it was breaking “tradition” but we raised the bar and set higher standards that the other fraterni(Continued on page 6) \r\nP AGE 6 V OLUME 33 N O . 1 G RADUATE S POTLIGHT (Continued from page 5) ties are still trying to keep pace with. How do you think the chapter has grown since you have left? (Where would you like to see it go?) At the time I was chapter president; we were top heavy in seniors and had some pledges that didn’t make grades. If I recall, we dropped to less than 20 active brothers. Obviously, the cabinet and chapter as a whole were very concerned on how or if the chapter was going to be sustained. I gave a chapter address at Pig Dinner that spring that was not as “glowing” as the ones I have heard in the past several CONT . years. We received lots of graduate support; the chapter banded together and pressed on. Calvin Coolidge’s words “Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent” was good advice to follow. It now amazes me to see the size of the chapter, the campus and national awards that have been achieved and the realization that a new fraternity house is in the very near future. For the future, I would challenge the chapter to continue raising the bar, persuade each undergraduate brother and pledge to be a positive influence on society, seek excellence in scholarship, volunteer for community service, be involved in campus organizations, and enjoy brotherhood in all you do. Time is fast (and it gets faster as you get older) - cherish your years in college and make it count. For me those years have become some of the best and most important years of my life. Do your best and always strive for excellence. Do you have any advice for pledges, new brothers, and/or graduating brothers? Enjoy Brotherhood and always remember the motto “Not for college days alone”. The brothers that I made through Phi Gamma Delta are still some of my best friends today (Mason “Boof”, Bokor, Rector, Hunt and others). We still get together at least once or twice a year and have even taken some family vacations together. It’s nice to watch our families grow and reminisce. It’s also comforting to know that you have Brothers who are willing to be there for you at any time. Bottom line, keep in touch with your Brothers even if it’s just once a year with an email, Facebook, family Christmas card, text message, phone call or whatever or your communication preference may be. I hope each of you gain as much from your fraternity experience as I have, and I look forward to what the future brings for myself, my brothers, and Phi Gamma Delta! I am very proud to be a FIJI! Pergé! Jeff Hoilman – ‘93 How Do I Get Involved? Each member of the Board of Chapter Advisors is assigned to one of the primary areas of chapter operations such as: Graduate Relations; Graduate Events; Pledge Education; Recruitment; Community Service, Risk Management; Fundraising; and Scholarship. The Purple Legionnaire shall appoint graduate members to serve as a Board of Chapter Advisors. Such appointment shall be subject to the approval of the Undergraduate Chapter and Executive Director. Each advisor shall be appointed for a term of one year and may be reappointed. We are continuing to recruit Graduates to fill positions now! For more information about the specific responsibilities of each position and how you can help, please contact the Purple Legionnaire! (byersbo@gmail.com) \r\nG OLDEN E AGLE F IJI P AGE 7 M.S. I SLAND W EEK Theta Tau hosted its Annual MS Island week from October 11-14, 2010. It was put together by brothers Travis Dailey and Aaron Schaller, MS Island Committe CoChairs. MS Island is the philanthropy that we hold to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The committe's goal this year was to beat 2009's total of $3,205. The events we held included a dodgeball tournament on Monday, a mini golf tournament on Wednesday, and of course the MS Island Pageant to wrap things up on Thursday. Along with those, we sold pin ups, shirts, and mugs every day. We had several sponsors this year, including Cookeville Country Club, Northstar Environmental Group, and Fulghum MacIndoe Associates. We also had the most participation in years, with three sororities and three fraternities and a combined 650 participants competing. In the end, Kappa Delta came in first place, with Phi Mu in a close F IJI R UNS S WEEP THE This fall was astoundingly great for Fiji. The brothers of Theta Tau managed to destroy the competition to win all fall sports. After winning the acclaimed all-sports championship the last two years, Phi Gam is rapidly on the way to a third straight championship. Flag Football: This year was quite the amazing season. Beginning the playoffs with a shut-out game against KA favoring Fiji 42-0. Next, was the game against rival fraternity Sigma Chi in which Phi Gam conquered them 36-13. The championship game was an exciting one to say the least. The crowd was so immense that one person said to a brother "there are more people on your side, than at a TECH football game", noting the relations that brothers of Theta Tau IN second, and Alpha Delta Pi in third. This year, we beat all previous years' totals by raising $4,500, which was all sent to the National Multiple Sclero- sis Society. We look forward to raising the bar once again next year. F ALL S PORTS have made on campus with other students. Ending in a nail-biter down to the last minutes of the game Phi Gam came out on top to win 2418. Bowling: For the second year in a row Fiji won the championship in bowling. Bowlers Bryan Kephart, Jimmy Leeper, Jeremy Govero, Hunter Crouch, and Jess Dillard managed to take out the opposition in a first place lead of nearly 20 pins. Volleyball: Fiji had a terrific volleyball season this year, not losing a single match. Going into the playoffs with lots of momentum Theta Tau managed to outdo themselves and keep up the undefeated record. Even in the championship game Fiji managed to beat Pike in what our brothers made seem like an easy contest 2-0. Soccer: 2010 was no exception for Fiji soccer dominance. Even with steep competition the brothers and pledges of Theta Tau went into the playoffs with an easy 6-0 win against Pike and a 2-1 victory over Sig Ep. The championship game ended with the demise over rivals Sigma Chi in a 3-1 win. Mid-Season Standings Fiji: 75 points SAE: 62 points Sig Ep: 58 points Sigma Chi: 49 points \r\nP AGE 8 A NOTHER H OMECOMING V OLUME 33 N O . 1 VICTORY ! Another Successful Homecoming at Theta Tau Although the TTU Golden Eagles may not have prevailed over Eastern Kentucky, the weekend was still very much a success for Phi Gamma Delta! The theme of homecoming this year was Tech Toons. This year although Fiji was unable to participate in the float portion of Homecoming, we managed not to stay down and out. The Theta Tau chapter participated in the banner competition, skit night, canned food drive, Toon Turf Time competition, and the 31st annual Kazoo Band. Also the chapter was represented in the homecoming court, with brother Ben E. Hobbs being elected. Saturday was a day filled with fun and excitement. It began in the parade with the 31st Kazoo band fully equipped with a Chinese dragon Gamma Owl operated by the Beta Upsilon pledge class. After the parade an afternoon of fraternal fellowship was enjoyed at a tailgate sponsored by TFI and the 1848 club. Many graduate brothers and their families showed up to enjoy the true meaning of "not for college days alone". Thanks to all the graduates who were able to make the trip and attend Homecoming! For everyone who wasn't able to attend this year, we hope to see you at the 30th Anniversary Pig Dinner and Fiji Homecoming 2011! S CHOLARSHIP U PDATE Scholastic achievement is very important to the brothers of Theta Tau. After all, scholarship is one of our five values. Last year our chapter performed very well academically, even reaching our long time goal of a 3.0 chapter GPA again! The chapter saw an increase in both pledge and brother GPAs and continues to hold the campuses highest fraternity GPA. Spring 2010: Chapter GPA: 3.09 Pledge GPA: 2.83 Combined: 3.08 Fall 2010: Chapter GPA: 3.16 Pledge GPA: 3.03 Combined: 3.12 Comparatively: All Campus: 2.88 All Men: 2.70 All IFC: 2.57 All Greek: 2.83 KA: 2.85 Sig Ep: 2.65 SAE: 2.64 Sigma Chi: 2.58 \r\nG OLDEN E AGLE F IJI P AGE 9 TFI and the Theta Tau Chapter would like to thank the following Graduate Brothers for their generous donations to the House Corporation Hal Balthrop 1848 Club Brandon Jennings 1848 Club Jay Banasiak 527 Club Ricky Jett 1848 Club Bo Byers 527 Club Justin Jolly 1848 ClubΑ John Canaan 1848 Club Michael MacIndoe 1848 Club Logan Cardwell 1848 Club Justin Medlen 1848 Club Brad Carter 1848 Club Jay Parker HC Donor Ryan Cizmarik 1848 Club James Peevyhouse 1848 ClubΑ Ben Clark 1848 Club Zeke Phillips 1848 Club Chris Cramer HC Donor Paul Polpanich 1848 Club Paul Cronin 1848 Club John Rector 1848 Club Will Crunk 1848 ClubΑ Taylor Redden 1848 ClubΑ Brian Douglas 1848 Club Mark Referrin 1848 Club Keith Edmondson 1848 Club John Reinhardt 1848 Club J Brent Ellis 1848 Club Oliver Rick HC Donor Todd Fairley 1848 Club Mitch Robinson 1848 Club Troy Fairley 1848 Club Rob Simpson 1848 Club JR Gillette 1848 Club John Solis 1848 Club Justin Givens 1848 Club George Titsworth 1848 Club Kevin Givens 1848 Club Brandon Walters HC Donor Brian Grooms 1848 Club Chip Walton 1848 Club Mason Guy 1848 Club Chris Weaver 1848 Club Matthew Hayes 1848 Club Todd Weaver 1848 Club Tim Hemken 1848 Club Eric Weber 1848 Club Stacy Hunt 1848 Club Randy Wilmore 1848 Club Michael Hurt 1848 Club Lee Wray HC Donor Brad Jenkins 1848 Club Α =Annual Membership \r\nIf you have any comments or suggestions about the Golden Eagle Fiji or would like to be featured in an upcoming issue please contact: F U L L C O L O R E D I T I O N S O F T H E G O L D E N E AG L E F I J I A R E N OW A VA I L A B L E O N L I N E ! WWW.TTUFIJI. COM/TFI/GEFIJI Will Scheibe Graduate Relations Chairman Will.scheibe@gmail.com 615-479-7945 (Cell Phone) IMPORTANT DATES: Spring break - March 7-11 Greek Week - April 11-15 Relay For Life - April 15-16 Pig Dinner - March 26 Graduation - May 7 VISIT US ONLINE WWW.TTUFIJI.COM PERGE`! The Phi Gamma Delta Championship-winning flag football team and fans