PHI GAMMA DELTA IMPORT ANT DAT ES: Ace of Diamonds S U M M E R Bastille Day July 14 Start of National Catfish Day August 1 118th Anniversary of Battle of Ping Yang September 15 Pig Dinner October 13 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Have You Heard the Good News 2 Socking Outcome at the 2012 EI Open 2 What’s Distracting Fijis? 3 Congrats to the Class of 2012 3 A Letter From the President 4 2 0 1 2 J U L Y 2 0 1 2 New Purple Legionnaire Appointed Since graduating from UE, 2009 and 2011 Graduate Brother of the Year Jeremy Buente (EI 2008) has had as much, if not more, contact with undergraduate brothers. Jeremy and his wife Sam keep an open-door policy for all the undergrads, hosting dinners, parties, and other assorted small get-togethers throughout the year. Therefore, when former Purple Legionnaire Rob Smith (EI 2003) stepped down after two -plus years of dedicated service, Brother Buente seemed an obvious replacement. The Ace of Diamonds caught up with Jeremy to ask him about his new role. What personal strengths or assets do you bring to the position? Leadership is the key asset that I bring to the position of Purple Legionnaire. I think that being a successful leader is about motivating others, getting tasks completed, and evaluating your progress. Also, working with the chapter as PL requires walking a fine line between being too involved and being underinvolved, and I believe I’ve found a good balance. What in your undergrad career do you feel prepared you to be PL? When I was an undergrad in the EI chapter, I served in many chapter positions. I was a spring pledge and became President the following year. I also served as Grad Relations and House & Grounds chair. My senior year, I served as interim President a few months during a Cabinet transition. While holding my posi- tions, I also had to work with many campus administrators. Making these connections have definitely been helpful as PL. Have past PL's offered you any advice? I’m planning on seeking out past PL’s like Shane Setnor and Rob Smith , as well as Section Chief Joe Weist, to find out what I can learn from their experiences with the chapter. Every little bit helps, and I’m always interested in counsel from any sources. What are your short and long -term goals for the chapter? The short-term and immediate goal of the chapter is to have a successful Recruitment in the fall. We graduated a lot of seniors this year and really need to work hard to replace them. FIJI has performed very well in previous recruitments, and we need to maintain our spot as one of the top options for incoming freshmen. Long-term, we are always working on graduate involvement and scholarship. With big plans for Pig Dinner coming up this fall, the chapter is optimistic about strengthening old graduate relationships and creating new ones. One of my goals is to increase graduate involvement in meetings, events, and philanthropies. I think the chapter always has room to improve in scholarship and campus involvement. We are also working to maximize our efficiency and organization so we maintain eligibility for state and national awards. Jeremy Buente and his wife Samantha dressed as LEGOs, possibly DUPLOS What's your personal relationship like with the undergrads? I attend at least one chapter meeting a month and I try to make it to other chapter and campus events throughout the year. I'm busiest during Recruitment when I try to attend as many chapter events and meetings as possible. I'd love to see other grads at these events as well! My wife Samantha and I also host a few dinners at the chapter house each year. Our most successful event is "Brinner" where we cook about 30 pounds of bacon and sausage and consume about 5 dozen eggs and over 100 pancakes. A little advice from a grad always goes down easier with free food, especially with college students. \r\nP AGE 2 Have You Heard the Good News?      Ricky Alexander (EI 2007) and his wife Jessica were married in May. Phil Love (EI 2005) and his wife Stephanie are expecting their first child. Bryan (EI 2006) and Chelsea Hartman welcomed their first child, Jane in May. Rance Brown (EI 2006) will be teaching math at Bosse High School in Evansville in the fall. Ryan Ebersole (EI 2010) graduated in May from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Master’s degree in  Counseling Psychology. Chris Rafferty’s (EI 2001) wife Marla gave birth to their first son and second child, Grant, in April, forcing him to  miss the EI Open. Sources say it was worth it. Shane Setnor (EI 2005) will be attending law school at Emory University in Atlanta in the fall. Shocking Outcome at the 2012 EI Open On a clear April day, 24 men took to the links to decide, for good and all, who holds sway over the Univeristy of Evansville FIJI golfing community. The 2012 Epsilon Iota Open saw new champions, promising upstarts, and epic collapses in pursuit of a year’s worth of glory and funds for our chapter. The day began with the realization that the field was wide open. Three of the four 2011 winners were unable to attend, and the perennial champions of the Alpha class were also in absentia, distracted by petty concerns like business opportunities in the Far East and the births of their children. Sole returning champion and friend of the chapter, Nick Burch, was left to assemble a crack team featuring participant ribbonholder Sean Riley (EI 2005), the grinning visage of Steve ‘Schmickey’ Sanders (EI 1999), and Schmickey’s friend Don. This foursome would compete against the returning team of Will Snider (EI 2006), Kevin Hay (EI 2006), Dave Knox (EI 2008), and Geoff Keller (EI 2008), who suffered a crushing defeat in 2011 and every year previous. The scent of fresh blood in the water attracted EI Open rookies, including undergrads eager to show up the grads at their own game. The stage was set, and with bragging rights/priceless trophies on the line, golf carts revved their engines in eager anticipation. The road to victory saw multiple strategies. Team Snider et al embarked on an ambitious marketing campaign, handing out homemade buttons, commemorative plates, and directing everyone to their website, www.dreamteam2012.gov. In their drive to increase awareness, however, they forgot to practice and finished fifth out of six. New graduates Kevin Brown and Brandon Watkins relied on youth, in the form of freshmen and former high school golfers, Ben Broadhead (EI 2015) and Josh Stauber (EI 2015). Dr. Jeff Bennett (EI 2008), in his first EI Open, took the technical approach, studying up on the fine points of grip and shoulder rotation in the hopes of an edge. Dr. Bennett will remember next year that golf is 90% passion, as he led his team to a last-place finish. Brother Sean Riley’s (EI 2005) spoils from the EI Open A CE OF At the end of the day, the strategy of the old professionals won the day. Schmickey and company kept their heads down and powered through to a two-stroke win. Led by their freshmen, Brothers Brown and Watkins took home the ‘Best All-FIJI Team’ trophy, which is in need of a better name. Over $750 was raised for the chapter, and while this is less than previous years, 2012 can be called a rebuilding year, as we signed up several new golfers that will hopefully continue to ahead in the years to come. A great time was had by all, new adherents of the EI Open were created, and we look forward to seeing everyone next year. DIAMONDS \r\nSUMMER 2012 P AGE 3 What’s Distracting Fijis? This quarter, the Ace of Diamonds checks in with Alex Kramer (EI 2005) to find out what’s distracting him. I’ve recently gotten back into watching pro basketball, and I’ve been really enjoying the NBA finals. I’m a fan of LeBron James and Chris Bosh, who was really nice when I met him at the airport. The best part about watching these games is talking with Brother Shane Setnor (EI 2005) and telling him how wrong he is about everything. If you’re not familiar with 24, it’s the TV show where one episode is one hour of the day, and each season takes place over the course of a single day. It follows Federal Agent Jack Bauer and his efforts to stop whatever international terrorism is about to happen. I didn’t watch this show while it was going on, but I’d heard it’s entertaining. I’m about half way through the first season and it’s living up to the billing. Baseball is my favorite sport. I’ve been playing fantasy baseball for 9-10 years and still look forward to it every summer. I’m in three leagues this year, and they contain a number of other Fijis. I’m hoping this is the year I walk away with first place in the most competitive of the three. Alex Kramer with distraction #1. Congrats to the Class of 2012 The Epsilon Iota Graduate community welcomes the following brothers, and wishes them luck in their future endeavors. David Kirkwood graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics and Engineering Management. Cord Morales graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has started work as a process engineer at Hoosier Wheel in Evansville. Ross Piertzak earned a degree in Business Administration with a focus in Global Business. He intends to go to graduate school in at a school in Indiana. Ryan Cramer graduated with a degree in Communications and is currently employed with the Evansville Courier and Press as an Account Executive. Nick Seibert received a degree in Music Management. He is planning to move to Orlando, FL to look for a job. Bryan Hamann graduated with a major in Communications and a minor in Biology. Kevin Brown graduated with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science and will be continuing his education at UE in pursuit of a doctorate in physical therapy. Matt Mueller graduated with a degree in International Studies and a degree in Spanish. He is looking for bilingual jobs in the Midwest. Drew Elliot earned a degree in International Studies with two minors in Spanish and Teaching English as a Second Language. He will be teaching English at a charter school in Phoenix, AZ while pursuing a Master’s degree at Arizona State. Michael Crowe earned a degree in Psychology and will be pursuing a Master’s in Human Resources. Ben Deutsch majored in Political Science and is currently working for the U.S. Indiana District 8 congressional campaign of Dave Crooks. Jake Nardulli graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering and is currently employed at AMEC in Chicago. Colin Nesmith graduated with a degree in Theater Performance. He is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Acting at the University of California, Irvine. Kyle Picha graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and will be attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to pursue a doctorate in Aerospace Engineering. 2012 Graduates (left to right) Kevin Brown, BryNate Biondi, Brandon Watkins, Justin Elliot, an Hamann, Drew Elliot, and Joel Fralick also graduated this past May. and Ross Pirtzak \r\nA Letter From the President Brothers, Over the remaining months of the 2011-2012 school year, the brothers of the Epsilon Iota chapter have excelled in many of the aspects of life on UE’s campus. We recently initiated a new brother, Andrew Meyer, in the spring. Andrew is a Theater Management major who will be visiting Harlaxton College this fall along with a few other brothers. Andrew was an outstanding student in his Pledge Education program and carries a strong GPA at the University. The past months also included the annual Hot-Tub-A-Thon Philanthropy, and many brothers turned out for bucket shakes and phone calls for donations. Led by brothers Bryan Hamann and Ross Pietrzak, the event was very successful and raised well over 11,000 dollars for Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center. The donations from local businesses, graduates, undergraduates and their families were much appreciated and we will be looking to get an early start to the fundraising next fall. We will also be looking to add an additional Philanthropy event this coming fall and would be happy to have support from the local graduates! With a strong grade point average this past fall, the chapter looked to improve on a solid 3.13. This past semester we were able to improve to a 3.16 grade point average, staying above the all-male and allGreek male averages. In what was a hard semester for many of the younger brothers, an improvement on an already stellar 3.13 was impressive. Brothers have also been excelling during the beginning of the summer. Multiple brothers have received internships this summer working for magazines and engineering companies. Many recent graduates also received job offers and graduate school placements while they were finishing their undergraduate degrees. We will also be conducting a recruitment workshop at the end of June and we will be attending Ekklesia this August along with Purple Legionnaire Jeremy Buente. This coming semester, the chapter will once again look to recruit the best men from the upcoming freshman class that we can. While we may be lower in number compared to some of our counterparts due to a larger-thannormal graduating class, we will look to use our five values and the strength of our brotherhood to welcome those worthy to be pledge brothers of Phi Gamma Delta. We are also in eager anticipation ahead of our annual Pig Dinner on October 13, and are looking forward to reconnecting with our vibrant and inspiring graduate base. Fraternally, Brother John Gentry Perge! Undergrad brothers after a Hot-Tub-o-Thon fundraiser 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.uefiji.org “Not for college days alone.”