Beta Sigma Brief Phi Gamma Delta ♦ Beta Sigma Chapter ♦ Ball State University ♦ Spring 2009 Chapter Officers Chapter President Michael Niezer ‘10 mbniezer@gmail.com Chapter Treasurer Patrick Henderson ‘10 plhenderson10@gmail.com Chapter Historian Branden Clements ‘10 bkclements@bsu.edu Corresponding Secretary Jeremy Kinder ‘10 jmkinder@bsu.edu Recording Secretary Joseph Edwards ‘11 jgedwards@bsu.edu Housing Corporation Officers President - Jay Allardt ‘78 jallardt@auamuncie.com Treasurer - Dan Netser ‘01 denetser@gmail.com Secretary - Mike Lang ‘03 malang81@gmail.com Board of Chapter Advisors Officers Chairman - R. Walker Marsh ‘93 wmarsh71@comcast.net Treasurer - Dan Netser ‘01 denetser@gmail.com Secretary - Mike Lang ‘03 malang81@gmail.com Purple Legionnaire R. Walker Marsh ‘93 wmarsh71@comcast.net Section Chief John Sorensen ‘68 jsorensen179@yahoo.com RIDE ACROSS THE PURPLE VALLEY By: Bryan John (2011), RATPV Chairman Until 2008, Fiji Chapters in Indiana had never joined forces for a single cause. The Ride Across the Purple Valley (RATPV) is a tremendous opportunity to strengthen the bond of brotherhood and is a means of serving those in need. The Ride Across the Purple Some of the riders from Ride Across the Purple Valley 2008. Valley was conceived by Brother Dave Harben (2004) of the Beta Sigma the Ride Across the Purple Valley, you Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. His conhave a DIRECT influence on the cept was to unite Indiana Fijis with a American Red Cross and people who common purpose of serving the commudesperately need your help. There are nity for a good cause. The Ride is a colseveral possible ways of donating to laborative effort between eight outthis cause: standing chapters that makes its way Monetary Donations: You can doaround the "Purple Valley" of Indiana. nate monetary amounts by checks The bike ride of over 570 miles will bepayable to "Ride Across the Purple gin at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and will travel around the state Valley" and send to: counterclockwise picking up more brothPhi Gamma Delta Ball State ers at each stop. The Ride will ultiBeta Sigma Chapter mately end in Indianapolis, where a col900 W Riverside Ave. lective check from all participating chapMuncie, IN 47303 ters will be presented to the American c/o Bryan John Red Cross. bcjohn@bsu.edu When: May 10-13, 2009 Donations The success of this philanthropy and the impact we can make towards the American Red Cross depends greatly on you, benefactors to the cause. By donating to In-Kind Donations: Equipment and materials are a very important component of the Ride. Acquisition of needed materials and supplies are costly and often hard to come by. This is where (Continued on page 2) \r\nPAGE 2 BE TA S IG MA BR IE F Ride Across the Purple Valley continued... (Continued from page 1) we can use your help. Below are only a few of the supplies that we need to successfully complete this effort: • Bicycles • Spare bike parts • T-shirts • Jerseys • Helmets • Food • Water/Energy drinks • Transportation vehicles • Banners Contact Bryan John or your local chapter contact if you think you can help in this way! Business Connections: Sponsorships through local, regional, and national businesses are critical to the success of this philanthropy. Contact information of businesses that can assist monetarily or through respective business ser- Beta Sigma Brothers at the Zeta house at Indiana University THREE MORE WINS FOR FIJI! The Beta Sigma flag football team after winning their first IM championship at Scheumann Stadium. The Fiji Beta Sigma Chapter has been showing that it excels in more than just academics, and involvement by winning a severalintramuralchampionships at Ball State. During the Fall semester, the chapter won the Flag Football Championship as well as the 4X4 Volleyball Tournament. Not to be outdone, we won the Doubles Billiards, 6X6 Volleyball and Indoor Soccer tournaments this semester in the Fraternity division, giving us 5 championships so far this year, with several sports left this year. With Spring Break behind us, and the tournaments closing in, the chapter hopes there are more wins on the way! \r\nBE TA S IG MA BR IE F PAGE 3 2009 PIG DINNER RECAP By: Bryan John (2011) On February 28, the men of the Beta Sigma Chapter celebrated the time honored tradition, throughout Fijiland, of the Annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner. The occasion of the Frank Norris Pig Dinner was first held at the Delta Xi Chapter at the University of California Berkeley in 1893. Since then, the Frank Norris Pig Dinner has become the longest standing fraternity graduate event in the Greek World, practiced by FIJI chapters from all over the country year after year. This year, the event was held at Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie. With guest speaker Section Chief John Sorenson (1968) in attendance, the undergraduate and graduate brothers of the chapter relived the early tradition that is one of the longest living traditions of the fraternity. With 17 graduate brothers in attendance, each undergraduate brother had the opportunity to fellowship with graduates of both near and far throughout the evening. It was an evening to rejoice in the roasting of the pig. Brother Spencer Frady (Ball State ’12) gave his rendition of the “Exile’s Toast,” while Eric Maroun (Ball State ’08) served as Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Ngofeen Mputubwele (2008) was Awarded the Outstanding Graduate Brother of the Year Award for exemplifying FIJI and its five core values. Graduate brothers have a responsibility to set a standard for younger Phi Gams to follow and adhere to. No graduate brother does that better than Brother Mputubwele, especially in the values of Friendship and Morality. Brothers experiencing hardship or who just need advice from an older figure absolutely know without a doubt that they can call on Brother Mputubwele. He embodies Friendship and sets the standard for Morality day in and day out. This year, we introduced a new award in the “Not For College Days Alone” Distinguished Fiji Award. The award is not annual and is only given out when a lifetime of service to the international fraternity and, more importantly, to the Beta Sigma Chapter warrants such recognition. This award was given to Dick Marshall , since he has been involved with this chapter from the beginning and only in the last year stepped down from a position on the Housing Corporation. we commend and recognize Brother Marshall’s legacy to the Beta Sigma Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. Whether helping us acquire our current house or employing FIJI brothers to work on his farm, Brother Marshall has always looked for opportunities to give back to this chapter. For those lucky enough to have worked with him for an extended period of time, you realize why he is so successful as a person and a Phi Gam. He leads from the front lines, sets the example of what a graduate brother should be, is generous to all, and genuinely cares about the progress of this chapter, though not his own. This year’s Pig Dinner was a great success and as a graduating senior, I can only hope to come back in the future to see what new accomplishments the Beta Sigma Chapter makes. It is absolutely necessary that BETA SIGMA AAA SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS 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 terms. 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 been awarded to 85 Beta Sigma Brothers, including this list of current brothers who received the AAA this academic year: Mick Andress (2012) Adam Barnum (2012) Zach Braddock (2012) Branden Clements (2010) Anthony DeBrota (2012) Chris Eberle (2011) Joseph Edwards (2011) Ethan Fields (2012) Spencer Frady (2012) Andrew Hostetler (2012) John Hottinger (2011) Chase Jones (2012), Nicholaus Koesters (2012) Gabriel Marquez (2012) Colin Marshall (2012) Eric McCoy (2011) Austin McMillan (2012) Timothy Neeser (2012) Matt Nichols (2012) Tyler Schwede (2012) Teren Smith (2012) David Townsend (2012) Matthew Whitlock (2012) \r\nPAGE 4 BE TA S IG MA BR IE F INDIANA STATE DAY By: Tony DeBrota (2012) Every year all the Phi Gamma Delta chapters in the state of Indiana come together in one place. It is a time to meet new Fijis and see what the other chapters in the state have been up to. Probably the most exciting part of the day however, is the awards ceremony, where the eight Indiana chapters are awarded for their accomplishments during the past year. This year, the Beta Sigma Chapter stood out from most other chapters in Indiana. This year, the chapter had its biggest pledge class yet, and achieved Honorable Mention for Best Pledge Education, next to Evansville. One thing that the Beta Sigma Chapter was most proud of was the 3.2 GPA it earned this year, thus earning the Most Improved GPA award for the second year in a row. Despite our improvement however, IU had the highest GPA,achieving a 3.31 for the year. Our chapter also received awards for both Best Graduate Relations Program as well as Outstanding Service Event for the Ride Across the Purple Valley. The chapter also received the Most Improved Chapter award for its progress during the past year. Beta Sigma showcases the awards they received at State Day. The one award however, that the Beta Sigma Chapter has set its sights on is the Beta Cup, given to the best chapter each year. With all the success that the chapter had over the past year, we placed second overall, beating Purdue, but Indiana University was first overall. Although we did not get all the awards we wanted, we were still proud of all UPCOMING EVENTS May 1 Last Day of Classes May 9 Graduation May 10-13 Ride Across the Purple Valley that we accomplished, and will be even more motivated during the next year, in hopes that we will win the Beta Cup. This year was a great success, with the chapter walking away with a total of 6 awards. We can only hope we will come away as successful next year. \r\nBE TA S IG MA BR IE F PAGE 5 PROUD TO BE A FIJI! By: Devon Hillsdon-Smith (2010) When first asked to describe what it means to be a Fiji, I was ready to give the typical answers, the type of answers we give while trying to recruit potentials or when approached for an interview. Answers that encompass brotherhood, life in general, and the lessons we learned from being in a fraternity. Although these are extremely good categories to touch on, since most of us have positive experiences within them, I wanted to discuss the fraternity from another angle. Fiji is an enigma that affects its brothers in such a way that nobody can claim to having the same experience. Some Fijis are diehard and bleed purple, some move through the process and simply do the bare minimum and others get fixed on different aspects of their lives and associate themselves with the fraternity from afar. No matter which level a brother falls into, we all have one thing in common, and that is the fact that we share a common bond that nobody else can attest to knowing. My life as a Fiji truly transformed who I am and the man I want to become. I find myself fluctuating between all three levels during different times of my life and I fully believe that no matter how well my life is going, I always feel much better about who I am when I am bleeding purple. I feel like I belong to something greater. I feel like no matter what happens, I have something to fall back on. More importantly, I feel like people rely on me to better their lives. It’s an interesting sensation knowing that people rely on you to succeed - but it’s a sensation that lends a sense of importance to a brother's life. A brother is a brother, no matter what level he is living on. Although he may not always be around, he will be there if needed. He knows deep down that if a brother asks for help, then it is his duty and privilege to be there for him. He also knows that in a worst case scenario, he can reach out to his brothers and support will be right around the corner. Brothers may not always feel completely connected to the institution of the Fraternity as a whole, but deep down we never forget that we be- long. We never forget that there is a force bigger than us that can bring us together in times of need. We never forget that there are many other brothers who may someday rely on our support. We may bleed purple or we may simply feel a connection to the fraternity from afar. The most important thing to remember is that once we are a Fiji, we are a Fiji for life. Fiji truly is not for college days alone. We have an international network of men who truly care about us, even if they have never made our acquaintance. It’s a special bond that is hard to find in any other group of people. We are Fijis and we are proud. After all, we have every reason in the world to be so. MISSING BROTHERS We currently do not have valid addresses for the following brothers. If you have information on their whereabouts, please send it to address@phigam.org. Austin S. Durbin 2007 James R. Elterich 2003 Mason T. Fulton 2008 Douglas E. Lowe, Jr. 2003 James D. Oger 2002 \r\nPAGE 6 BE TA S IG MA BR IE F SPRING RECRUITMENT SUCCESS By: Brandon Buller (2011), Recruitment Chairman As many of you know, our latest initiation tacked on a phenomenally large pledge class of men who promise to continue our tradition of excellence. This spring brought forth a new challenge— how do we continue to recruit men of quality when we seemingly already recruited them to our ranks? It was easy! The Beta Sigma reputation speaks for itself. Three of the new members, Paul Desmond, Michael Miller, and Michael Bramer, of Psi class took note of the Phi Gam freshman architecture majors and rightly decided to check out what all of the buzz was about up in studio. Luke Zimmerman was brought from the ROTC by Brother Anthony Probst. The fifth member, Josh Neal, is currently a sophomore who simply thought that Phi Gamma Delta was the place for him—and we agree! The week started out spectacularly with our first event, a Superbowl Party. We combined a brotherhood event with a recruitment event and ordered copious amounts of pizza. There was plenty of hooping and hollering during the lead changes in the fourth quarter. Monday night we had a great night of cards, pool, Some brothers and potentials at the Flag Football Championship. and wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. For Tuesday’s event, we planned to go to a Pacers game, but the weather had other plans. We were forced to cancel, but instead, we went to the intramural soccer game and cheered on the Phi Gams in style with potentials right along side. Wednesday night’s “Bleed Purple Night” was also a success. This event, which took place on our usual formal night, was a night when brothers, both past and present, talked about how the brotherhood had affected their lives. We had a member of Chi class speak and went all the way through the Fiji experience to our current Purple Legionnaire, Walker Marsh (1993). Thursday, we were able to hand out five bids and all accepted! Not only was spring recruitment successful, but we also had a number of guys commit to joining in the fall, when they attained the funds to join. With any effort at all, this fall we should be able to continue our efforts of creating a lasting legacy by recruiting some of the best individuals this Chapter has seen yet! The Brothers of the Beta Sigma Chapter during their visit to the International Headquarters building located in Lexington, Kentucky. \r\nBE TA S IG MA BR IE F PAGE 7 A WORD WITH THE PRESIDENT By: Tony DeBrota (2012), Newsletter Chairman and Michael Niezer (2010), President BETA SIGMA BRIEFS It was an exciting month last November for Michael Niezer when he was elected as the new President of the Beta Sigma Chapter. Furthermore, at the 2008 Ekklesia in Miami, Niezer was elected onto the Fraternity’s Archonate, serving as one of two undergraduates on our Fraternity’s Board of Directors. These appointments and other involvement over his time with FIJI shows that he has truly embraced the idea of being a Phi Gam. I talked with Niezer about his experiences he has had in FIJI and how he feels FIJI has helped him. Niezer was introduced to Phi Gamma Delta through the Black Diamond Scholarship. As a freshman, he didn’t know much about greek life and was certainly not interested in joining a greek organization. Still, after speaking with brothers the first few weeks of his fall semester, he felt a sense of connection and knew this was the place for him. Niezer explained, “I could really relate to the brothers, both old and young.” Starting out as finance chairman, Niezer soon became the Corresponding Secretary his sophomore year while at the same time coordinating Beta Sigma’s first ever Ride Across the Purple Valley Philanthropy. Being involved has helped Niezer challenge himself and has allowed him to develop into a more well-rounded individual. Through all of the hard work, Niezer says that he has made some of the closest friends he will ever have. I asked Niezer what he thought the most important thing for pledges to • • • • • • • know would be, and his immediate response was to get involved. As a FIJI, there is always something to do to incorporate oneself in the Fraternity, and having the mindset to push oneself to get involved will help build character and develop a sense of belonging to the organization. There is no doubt in Niezer’s mind that being involved has made him more responsible, mature, and capable of anything thrown his way. As we wrapped up our conversation, Niezer told me, “Phi Gamma Delta, in and of itself, will present a number of opportunities for any member. However, getting involved and giving back to the Fraternity will only magnify those opportunities and heighten the experience.” From his experiences, and countless of other experiences of fellow brothers, it is no wonder that Phi Gamma Delta really is a Fraternity of quality gentlemen. “Brothers, As this spring semester winds down, I’d like to take a minute and reflect on our accomplishments this past semester. We had another successful recruitment, pledging four quality men who are excited to become contributing members of our chapter. We did extremely well at Grand Chapter this year, winning chapter of excellence, several individual awards, and establishing ourselves as one of the leading Greek organizations on campus. Chapter operations, especially, have improved drastically. Thanks to hard work by our chairmen and, in some cases, the work of their Niezer during the Fiji Academy. respective committee members, Beta Sigma is making advances in nearly every area of chapter operation. Increased fundraising opportunities, more chances for service and outreach than ever before, a refined pledge education program, and continued involvement in campus organizations are just a few highlights of our chapter. This is an extremely exciting time for our chapter. With so many older brothers graduating, and so many younger brothers taking leadership roles, there will be a number of new and exciting ideas and projects that will be implemented in the near future. A new member development program, new strategies for graduate and parent relations, and a new website are all goals that are soon becoming a reality. It is my hope that our chapter finishes the semester strong and that we have even more good news to share in the fall! Perge! Michael Niezer” At the annual Grand Chapter Awards, Beta Sigma received the following awards: Best GPA for spring and fall 2008; Highest New Member GPA fall 2008; individual awards for Excellence in Scholarship, Chapter Operations, Membership Develop, Outreach; Overall Chapter of Excellence; New Member of the Year - Matt Whitlock (2012); Outstanding Greek Achieve - Michael Niezer (2010); Greek Man of the Year - Shawn Meier (2009). In fraternity intramurals, brothers won indoor soccer, volleyball and flag football championships, while Shawn Meier (2009) and Dalen Faughn (2009) won billiards. Carson Lance (2010) was elected secretary of BSU’s Student Government Association. For the IFC, Alex Perdue (2011) was elected vice president of community outreach, and Eric McCoy (2011) was elected vice president of administration. The Chapter won the homecoming parade float competition and placed second overall in the Greek division; Matthew Lacy (2008) served on the homecoming steering committee. Beta Sigma also won Sigma Kappa’s Aces High euchre tournament and Alpha Phi’s King of Hearts philanthropy. The Chapter’s fall GPA of 3.285, ranking them 2nd among 27 Greek organizations. \r\nPAGE 8 BE TA S IG MA BR IE F Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity 1201 Red Mile Road Lexington, KY 40504 Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Information Update - Tell us about you! Please detach and return with your contact information so we can update our records. We will feature graduate updates in upcoming newsletters. If you want to share your recent news, fill in the news section for your information to be published. Name________________________________________________________ School/year___________________________ Address____________________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip_______________________________________________________________________________________ Phone (H)___________________________________________(W)____________________________________________ E-mail_______________________________________________________________ News to share with classmates: ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Occupation _____________________________________ Employer ___________________________________________ Spouse’s name __________________________________ Anniversary Date ____________________________________ Children/Grandchildren Names and Ages: _______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Make a Donation to Beta Sigma I am pleased to make a contribution to Beta Sigma of: $1,000 $500 $250 $100 $50 $25 Other ____________ I would like my donation to be used in the following area: ________________________________________________ Send checks payable to Phi Gamma Delta - Beta Sigma, 900 West Riverside Ave, Muncie, IN 47303 and include this form. Design, printing and mailing services provided by the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.