PHI GAMMA DELTA IMPORTANT DATES: Ace of Diamonds F A L L FIJI Golf Classic September 26, 2009 UE Passover September 26, 2009 Christmas Luncheon TBD Pig Dinner April 17, 2010 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: EI Open 1 New Purple Legionnaire 2 Announcements 3 Grad Dues Update 3 2 0 0 9 S E P T E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 0 9 Epsilon Iota Open Returns after Three Year Hiatus October 2006. After a fun-filled afternoon of golf, beer, carts, and brotherhood, the new champions of the EI Open celebrated their victory at the Cambridge Country Club clubhouse. Scott Newman (EI 2000), Gene Johnson (EI 2001), Nick Carter (EI 2001), and Nick’s cousin Dave won comfortably, and hoisted their glasses in anticipation of a long string of EI Open victories in the years to come. However, scheduling conflicts, family obligations, and other difficulties kept the event from getting scheduled for another three years. Brother Carter’s dreams of dynasty died before they began. April 2009. Jeremy Tarr (EI 1997) decides that three years has been entirely too long. It’s time to get back the trophy that belonged to him and his teammates in 2005 and 2004. Thanks to Brother Tarr’s diligence, we will be gathering once more to find out which four of us are the best golfers. On September 26th, Evansville Phi Gam’s will return to Clearcrest Pines in Darmstadt, IN for the fourth Epsilon Iota Open. This year’s field looks to be wide open. At the last EI Open, young Joseph Molnar (EI 2006) became a force to be reckoned with by taking the Longest Drive prize and leading his team to a respectable finish. In 2009, will he lead his team to victory? Sean Riley (EI 2005) has spent the last three years accumulating the best in golf technology, including a GPS system that calculates the distance to the hole. What other crazy thing will he bring to Clearcrest? A club made of super-light moon rocks? Additionally, the undergrads have brought in nearly forty members since the last EI Open. One might’ve been born with the ability to drive 300 yards at will. We just don’t know. Of course, there’s always Dr. Chad Perkins (Purdue 1992). Certainly, Dr. Perkins has some relationship with the game. All these questions and more will be answered in a few short weeks. For added incentive, after the trophies have been handed out and bragging rights have been established, there will be plenty of time to get to the University of Evansville to witness Fall Passover and the signing of a new pledge class by the undergrads. There’s no better follow-up to a day of golf than celebrating another successful rush. An official registration should have been delivered to your mailboxes a few weeks ago, but in case it didn’t, Brother Tarr is accepting RSVP’s at jtarr@hunterfan.com or at (901) 233-6698. We hope that you can help make the return of the EI Open as successful as it has been in the past. \r\nPAGE 2 New Purple Legionnaire After two years of capable steering through success and difficulty, alas, Shane Setnor (EI 2005) is no longer Purple Legionnaire. The commute from Atlanta to Evansville proved a little taxing. Into Shane’s capable shoes steps (Li’l) Rob Smith (EI 2003). Brother Smith is an Evansville native and is currently working as a member of the Evansville Fire Department. What in your FIJI undergrad career do you feel prepared you to be Purple Legionnaire? I was fortunate enough as a freshman to experience being a part of both the Delta Colony and the Epsilon Iota Chapter. Working constantly for the charter gave me great appreciation for being a full brother in the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. I was also able to play a part in making long term goals for our chapter. As the Purple Legionnaire, I will help the brothers of the chapter never take their membership in Phi Gamma Delta for granted. I will also aid them in creating and carrying out their goals while they’re undergrads. Lastly, I am also proud to say that I was on the committee that brought the Hot-Tub-o-Thon to our chapter. This opened my eyes to the organization, enthusiasm, hard work, and coop- eration that a chapter must put forth in order to create and sustain a successful event. What personal strengths do you bring to the position? My easy-going personality and approachability will hopefully make members of the chapter comfortable coming to me for advice. I am also generally easy to contact and am not tied down with obligations beyond work. I am also friendly and have ties with several members of the UE faculty. What are your goals for the chapter, both short and long-term? In the short term, I would love to see the chapter reach their goal of recruiting a 20man pledge class for the third straight year. I would also like to see the chapter initiate all of the pledges gained during fall rush, maintain their excellent chapter image on campus, add to last year’s Hot-Tub-o-Thon total raised, and sustain a good chapter tone and motivation throughout the year. In the long term, my goals for the chapter include maintaining excellent communication with graduate brothers, improving our chapter his- Continued on page 3 New Purple Legionnaire Rob Smith tries out a new haircut. ACE OF DIAMONDS \r\nFALL 2009 PAGE New Pruple Legionnaire tory records, and bringing our high quality campus image into the larger Evansville community. Have past PL's taught you anything about the position or given you any advice? I was advised to expect lots of phone calls, and to keep my phone on all of the time. Are there any areas of the chapter that you feel more unprepared for, and if so, is there something the grads can do to help you out? I feel that I’ve received a fair amount of advice and guidance, and I’m absolutely ready to begin serving the undergrads in whatever capacity they need. However, I know I have a great network of graduate brothers that would be willing to help me if I get into a situation that I cannot handle. After all, no man is an island. 3 Grad Dues Update The 2009 graduate dues campaign has been underway for nine months now, and we are nearing our goal of paying for half of our mailing budget. We are currently projecting expenses of $2200 for 2009. As of September, generous grads have donated $775 to the cause of keeping us all connected after college days are over, putting us close to our goal of $1100. To recap, we ask that grads donate $25 a year, so that we can avoid paying for graduate operations with the undergrad’s housing profits. Donations can be made online through www.paypal.com sent to clrafferty@gmail.com, or by mailing a check made out to Phi Gamma Delta to: Chris Rafferty 1450 W Olive Chicago, IL 60660 Your generosity, as always, is greatly appreciated. Announcements • Eric Cioffi (EI 2009) and his wife Erica were married on August 1st. They currently reside in Columbus, OH. • Ryan Wininger (EI 2004) and his wife Breaha celebrated the birth of their daughter Cora Grace on July 3rd. • Ben Wolowski (EI 2007) is now engaged to his fiancée Caitlin. They plan to wed in May 2010 after Ben graduates from IU’s law school. • Matt Korn (EI 2005) is now working for the Department of Homeland Security, and living in Fishers, IN. • Bryan Hartman (EI 2006) is now working for District 64 in Park Ridge, IL as an 8th grade math teacher. Matt Korn in his natural habitat. \r\nLetter from the President Brothers, I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. It is my pleasure to bring you news about the great things that are going on at Epsilon Iota. Our chapter continues to thrive as we look back on the previous school year and look forward to the new one. Scholastically, we have reclaimed our spot as the brightest chapter on campus. We finished the spring 2009 semester with the best grades out of all fraternities. In accomplishing this goal, we were able to raise our GPA by .14 to an average of 3.12. We are very proud of this accomplishment. For the moment, our chapter is highly focused on recruitment. We have a target of signing at least 20 pledges this fall, and we are busy planning the events that will lead us to this goal. We are also looking forward to our brotherhood retreat, which will take place the weekend immediately following Passover. This retreat will help Phi Gamma Delta 227 S. Lincoln Park Dr. Evansville, IN 47714 Visit Epsilon Iota on the web at www.fiji.evansville.edu “Not for college days alone.” us to get to know our new pledge class, integrate them into our chapter, and build upon our brotherhood. Additionally, beyond recruitment, there are many ways we would like to grow as a chapter this year. At our cabinet retreat in August, we worked hard to set concrete and sensible goals that our chapter can strive for over the next several months. One of our most important goals is to maintain a year-long interest in brotherhood, so that each of us can grow closer to each other. For this goal, we will emphasize the phrase “Brotherhood lasts forever,” which will be on our recruit- Fraternity President David Riedford ment shirts, as well as many other places, as a constant reminder of the promises we have made as FIJI’s. We have also taken a hard look at our chapter to see where else we could improve. We have made an effort to ensure the continued success of our chapter by carefully selecting competent and reliable committee chairs. We are working toward maintaining better internal communication within our chapter and external communication with the university, IHQ, and our graduate base. Lastly, we are continuing our work on refining the pledge education and big brother programs. While we are proud of our accomplishments, our hope is that we continue to improve. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. I am available anytime at (812) 4572308 or dr77@evansville.edu. Thank you for your continued support. Fraternally, David Riedford