PHI GAMMA DELTA IMPORTANT DATES: Ace of Diamonds F A L L Pig Dinner October 13 50th Anniversary of Cuban Missile Crisis October 28 Start of National Fig Week November 1 Bjork’s Birthday November 21 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Geoffrey W. Keller. 19862012 2 What’s Distracting Fijis? 3 2012 Pig Din3 ner Around the Corner Congrats to the Class of 2012 3 A Letter From the President 4 2 0 1 2 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 Geoffrey W. Keller, 1986-2012 As brothers in Phi Gamma Delta, we are all called on to let the stars of our lives burn so brightly, that when they are over, the greater light is the only thing capable of eclipsing them. The tragically short life of Geoff Keller may have done better than even that lofty exhortation. The brightness of his personality, the wattage of his smile, the shining impact that he had on the lives of his friends and family will ensure that the light of his life will never go out in the hearts of those who knew him and, inevitably, loved him. For many of us, our friendship with Geoff began in the fall of 2004, upon his arrival at the University of Evansville. As a diver on the UE Swimming and Diving team and a biology major, he fell into the orbit of Epsilon Iota, and seeing a cheerful young man well-versed in having a good time, we were honored to welcome him into our Fraternity. Affectionately, and unimaginatively, referred to as Diver by the brothers, Geoff quickly made an impact. The ease of his personality endeared himself to brothers many years older than him. He could, and often did, defuse tense situations with only a strange, and hilarious, string of incoherent sounds. Initiated in 2005 as a member of the Pi pledge class, Geoff became a valuable EI Phi Gam. It was his idea to have pool parties in his room at the FIJI house. What could have gone terrible became a house tradition, and an anticipated yearly event. He built a bar that still resides at the FIJI house, passed down from brother to brother. As he went from an under- to an upperclassman, Geoff took on leadership roles within the chapter, attending the The Keller Family, (left to right) 2006 Ekklesia and serving as Historian and pledge Kathleen, Ashli, Geoff, Christopher, educator. By the end of Curt his undergrad career, Geoff could inarguably call ting in some playful digs at all himself a four-year varsity the Fiji’s in attendance. Division I athlete with excellent grades, and an integral After graduating with a politipart of Epsilon Iota. cal science degree in 2008, he was hired by Exxtreme ConWhile at UE, Geoff met his sulting, a small consulting future wife, Ashli Heck. Both firm that installs inventory were members of the UE management software for Swimming and Diving team, large corporations, such as and they began dating their power utility Southern Comsophomore years. Their relapany. A career choice contionship continued through trary to his education and college, and after graduation, training did not deter Geoff, they moved to Nashville, TN and he quickly took to a new together. Geoff proposed to skill set, which now included Ashli on the UE campus, and debugging software and perthey were married on Septem- sonnel training. A combinaber 17, 2011. Their wedding tion of long hours, on-call took place on the beach in duty 24/7, and interstate comDestin, FL. Geoff’s father mutes between work sites in Curt, a Methodist minister, Atlanta and Houston and his performed the ceremony, getadopted \r\nPAGE Geoffrey W. Keller, 1986-2012 (Continued) 2 (continues page 2) home in Nashville, Geoff’s sunny disposition never wavered. Colleagues were just as enamored by him as everyone else he ever met, and the already-wide circle of his friends grew wider. Epsilon Iota Dream Team members: Dave Knox (EI 2008), Will Snider (EI 2006), Kevin Hay (EI 2006), Geoff Keller While some prefer to save money and think of the future, the present carried too much possibility for Geoff, and he believed in squeezing every drop of joy from his income. Well-compensated for his very hard work, Geoff could now support his interests in luxury cars. Geoff loved cruising in his 2007 Jaguar, or taking Ashli for a drive with the top down in his 2002 Porsche Boxster, his umpteenth pair of high-end sunglasses shielding his eyes. He also produced electronic music under the name deepC, collaborating with childhood best friend, Matt Kelly, and Kevin Hay (EI 2006). An apartment stuffed with state-of-the-art recording equipment produced two albums currently available on iTunes. The Ace of Diamonds officially recommends both, particularly the tracks Hard2LuvU, Pepito’s Revenge, and America Runs on Dihydrocodeinone. Geoff suddenly passed away on September 9, 2012. He suffered from a genetic condition that left him susceptible to malignant hyperthermia, and it claimed his life. He is survived by his loving wife Ashli, his parents Curt and Kathleen, his brother Chris, and his and Ashli’s golden retriever Fender, or Fenderdawg. His family has recommended donations to the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States for those so moved. For many of us, the fraternity experience is deeply meaningful. The fleeting few years we spend together as young men in the crucible of the university forms our outlook, our personality, our fond memories to draw strength from when the present becomes difficult. After graduating and going our separate ways, the pull of those years draws us back into each other’s orbits, for weddings and reunions, golf outings and vacations, and inevitably, funerals. At sorrowful times such as these, the Fraternity also gives us the proper words. The word ‘friend’ is insufficient. Geoff was our brother. And we loved him. ACE OF DIAMONDS \r\nFALL PAGE 2012 3 Have You Heard the Good News? • • • • • • • Believers in not wasting time, newly-married Ricky (EI 2007) and Jessica Alexander are expecting their first child in April. Justin Elliot (EI 2012) is now employed at software provider firm Vision Solutions in Indianapolis as an associate software engineer. Phil Crone (EI 2007) and Anna Rosales were married in the shadow of giant brass ram at the Wildlife Experience in Denver, CO in September. Joe Molnar (EI 2006) presided over the ceremony for some reason. Brad Kastrup (EI 2011) is now employed at Google. Not at the Googleplex in California, but at an Ann Arbor, MI facility. Still, lunches are forever on him. Phil Crone at his wedding, his new lord over his right Drew Landry (EI 2006) is a professor of political science and government at South shoulder, his new lord’s messenger on the left Plains College in Texas. Sean Riley (EI 2005) and wife Mindy are expecting their second child. Matt (EI 2005) and Dria Snodgrass’s family has grown by one, since the birth of daughter Shelby in July. What’s Distracting Fijis? This quarter, the Ace of Diamonds asked Ryan Ebersole (EI 2010) what's distracting him. He replied with one very focused answer. bottle. As a therapist in the great state of Mississippi, I keep the local small businesses in the black with bulk purchases of Stolichnaya vodka. When discussing all the benefits of finally having a career, especially when compared to college and grad school, there are the of course the big ticket benefits: 401k, health insurance, and the ability to survive on something other than Banquet frozen meals and ramen noodles. However, I think there is something to be said for the ability to finally be able to purchase quality liquor, and not have it come in a bottom-shelf plastic As my fellow Chi brothers at Epsilon Iota can attest, I made it through my years ambitiously gulping down the lessthan-stellar Burnetts vodka. Only after I became of legal age, of course. Now, equipped with my Masters degree, a full time job and a steady caseload of clients, I am thoroughly enjoying the ability to serenely sip a sturdy glass (not a Dixie cup) of chilly Stolichnaya with a slice of lime and splash of club soda. As I tell my clients, an attitude of gratitude and a healthy sense of perspective is the best recipe for happiness, and I practice what I preach when it's time to turn off my brain. So, fellow FIJI graduates, take my advice and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Between paying bills, doing yardwork, and yelling at your kids, take (free) advice from a fellow brother and a shrink. Pour yourself a nice, bone cold glass of Stolichnaya and relax. Hell, pour two or three glasses. 2012 Pig Dinner Around the Corner After over 18 months, the Epsilon Iota Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta is looking forward to gathering for another annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner. The dinner will be held on Saturday, October 13, 2012 at the Cambridge Golf Club in Evansville, Indiana. A cocktail reception will begin at 5:30pm, followed by the dinner at 7:00pm. The evening will be emceed by graduate brother Peter Hanscom (EI 2011). This year, we will have William R. Bracewell (Georgia, 1968) as our guest speaker. Brother Bracewell is the Educational Director of Phi Gamma Delta, and we’re looking forward to hearing from him. Since the chapter has switched the time of Pig Dinner from the spring to the fall, many of the brothers were not able to experience the dinner in the previous school year. That, plus the long hiatus, has made our chapter and all of its recent graduates extremely excited about our upcoming reunion. Brothers new and old, both from our chapter and others, will reunite and be able to exchange stories and memories, network, and foster bonds that will last for a lifetime. Last year, the Epsilon Iota Chapter had many successes — winning the UE Homecoming contest, Musical Madness, the IFC presidency, placing our members as Orientation Leaders, achieving a higher GPA than the all-male and all-Greek male averages, and completing over 600 documented service hours. We wish to include you all in our upward trajectory, and what better way to do so than being present at the longest running tradition in the history of Greek organizations? Questions and/or last minute RSVPs can be sent to gh44@evansville.edu. We look forward to seeing all of you soon. \r\nA Letter From the President Brothers, Over the past couple of months, the undergraduate brothers of Epsilon Iota have been laboring hard to do our best in recruitment. Our work culminated on September 22nd, when, of the 14 bids offered, we brought in 8 new members who will spend the next few months proving they are worthy to be initiated into our brotherhood. While eight men is less than we have recruited in recent years, we feel that we have the leaders and proactive men of Theta Deuteron could be as strong as a pledge class nearly double its size. Quality over quantity. Additionally, the entire recruitment class was very small this year, with only 94 total men receiving bids and a larger number than usual holding theirs until a later date, including two of our own. I personally believe the work we put into this past six weeks of recruitment was outstanding, and will yield further success in the following months and years. After graduating nearly two dozen seniors last spring and faced with a smaller chapter size, recruitment was a grueling process. We could not have done it without the help of our graduate base. I would like to thank all the graduates who contributed to our cause, and especially Jeremy Buente (EI 2008), who exemplified what a Purple Legionnaire should be and we could not have succeeded this year without him. In other news, our trip to the 164th Ekklesia in New Orleans proved to be very fruitful. The highlight by far was getting the opportunity to meet Morgan Spurlock (New York 1993), who is most famous for his documentary, Super Size Me, a film widely credited with pressuring McDonald’s to stop selling super-sized fries and drinks. Nathan Graves (EI 2015), Austin White (EI 2014), and I prowled the famous streets of New Orleans in between the business of the Ekklesia, taking in the buskers and one-of-akind atmosphere. For those looking for details about the changes made during Ekklesia, I will have a copy of the changes before and after Pig Dinner available for any graduate who wishes to view them. We also met Bill Bracewell, our speaker for the upcoming Norris Pig Dinner and the Educational Director for the International Fraternity. Brother Bracewell proved himself to be very intelligent, well-spoken, and also pretty hilarious. He is looking for any good stories about EI graduates that would make his speech more personal, so if you have any that you would like to share please email me at jg225@evansville.edu, and I will make sure he receives any material. Over the course of the next few months, the Chapter will be looking to continue our recent trend of steadily improving our GPA by continuing to hit the books hard. We will also be working hard to integrate our new members into the chapter and make our brotherhood healthier. I can say that after these first few weeks of the semester, each and every brother has put in a huge amount of effort to make this chapter better than ever, and I am mighty proud and honored to be leading this group of men. Fraternally, Brother Graves, White, and Gentry with Brother Spurlock John Gentry, EI 2013 Perge! Jon Kissel, Ace of Diamonds editor jonkissel1848@gmail.com Phi Gamma Delta John Gentry, Chapter President jgentry225@gmail.com Evansville, IN 47714 Hot-Tub-O-Thon information phigamhtot@gmail.com 227 S. Lincoln Park Dr. Visit Epsilon Iota on the web at www.eifiji.org “Not for college days alone.”