GAMMA SIGMA NEWSLETTER Volume I President’s Address ~ George Malcolm Taylor IV ‘13 “Phi Gamma Delta is not for College Days alone!” Greetings from the brothers of Gamma Sigma on the Mountain! After the completion of a great Advent semester, we are excited to begin a promising Easter. Following a very successful freshmen rush, we are proud to welcome a group of 19 pledges. The chapter continues with its efforts in community service, campus leadership, academic excellence, and athletic success. To support our steady membership growth, the chapter hopes to begin major and much-needed renovations to the house. We have formed a capital campaign committee and are working with an architect to produce preliminary plans by Pig Dinner. I hope that each brother will consider contributing to this effort as we look to the future of Gamma Sigma at Sewanee. As the new president, it is my pleasure to represent such an outstanding group of young men. While lending their unfailing support to our fraternity, brothers have risen to prominent leadership positions across campus. Sewanee Fijis actively participate in the new Student Senate, the Order of the Gownsmen, the Office of Admissions, Residential Life, and numerous sports teams and clubs. For the tenth consecutive semester, the chapter organized a campus-wide blood drive for the American Red Cross and are planning two in the spring. As always, we extend an open invitation to any of you passing through Sewanee at any time to stop for a visit. Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2012 Frank B. Norris Pig Dinner on Saturday, April 21. We look forward to seeing graduate brothers back on the Mountain in the coming months. Remember, Phi Gamma Delta is not for college days alone! 1 Perge! \r\nAn Update From The Chairs Social ~Cameron Angus Graham ‘13 & Seth Alexander Morris ‘13 Social Calendar for the Easter Semester* Pledge event w/KD: February 9 Pledge event w/PKE: March 1 Pledge event w/Theta Pi: March 8 Pledge event w/ADT: March 29 Pledge event w/TKP: April 5 Masters Party: April 6 Spring Party: April 12 – 15 Goblet: April 12 FIJI Island: April 14 Frank Norris Pig Dinner: April 21 Class of 2012 Graduation: May 13 *Please contact Seth (morrisa0@sewanee.edu) or Cameron (grahaca0@sewanee.edu) for changes and questions. Rush ~William Parker Osbourne Stoker ’14 & John Whitaker Overstreet ‘14 The Gamma Sigma Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta is proud to announce our Spring 2012 pledge class: Adam Endale Biru, Chase Benson Brantley, Owen Charles Cooper, Thomas Nolan Conover, John Harrison Craver, John Robinson Colligan, William Taliaferro Jenkins, Randolph Robert Johnson, Thomas Stuart McClure, Henry Alvan Mentz IV, Miller Evans Morrow, Sebastian Muenchrath, Frank King Odom III, William Whitt Sellers, Robert Chapman Smith, Roland DeJager Smith, Peter Treutlen Thomas, Andrew Shepard Thorson. Scholarship ~ Daniel Mathison Williams ‘14 Gamma Sigma proudly stands at the forefront of Sewanee's Greek academics. Our collective GPA for the past Advent semester was 3.424 the highest among all fraternities on campus. With nearly half of our active members-and 75 percent of our past pledge class-in the Order of the Gownsmen, we represent the best that Sewanee has to offer. Our love of knowledge and our persistent efforts, cultivated by our FIJI traditions, have given us the ability to excel in our academic endeavors. Community Service ~Matthew Aaron Hagler ‘13 Gamma Sigma continued its relationship with the American Red Cross this semester. In partnership with the Red Cross, we hosted a campus-wide blood drive on November 8 and collected more than 60 units of blood which has the potential to save up to 180 lives! Brothers helped to advertise and recruit for the drive and worked at the drive throughout the day. House Management ~Daniel Francis Speake ‘12 As always, our house is in need of dire repair, and in April 2011, we had the entire house’s windows replaced. The windows are a vinyl replacement window which will help not only cut back on the grossly expensive heating costs, but also provide new screens, allowing a nice breeze in the house during the summer and spring months. We continue to do minor repairs of doors and paint touch-ups, however the chapter will soon begin moving forward on an exciting project for the future. Should you have any questions about the house, please feel free to email Danny at speakdf0@sewanee.edu. Graduate Relations ~Timothy Michael Neil ‘13 As co-social chairs last year, Nic Pusateri and I strove to increase alumni involvement at every opportunity. It was exciting to have our graduate brothers stop by the house during our social events. As the newly elected Graduate Relations Chair, I am excited to announce the arrival of our very first Gamma Sigma Newsletter! This will allow our alumni to become more involved with the Chapter, and I believe it will lead to great opportunities for our fraternity to grow and flourish. We are currently accepting donations for Phase I of our Capital Campaign project. Should you like to donate or have any questions, please email me at neiltm0@sewanee.edu. \r\nBrotherhood & Unity “My Fraternity brothers and I are united not only by a shared name, but also by our shared experiences and respect for fraternity traditions.” ~William Parker Osbourne Stoker ‘14 At my family’s Christmas dinner, a cousin of mine surprised me with the following comment: “I just don’t really buy into the whole fraternity brotherhood thing. How are you supposed to get close with people just by sitting around playing drinking games?” Worried by his poor understanding of fraternity life, I attempted to explain to him that the Phi Gam brotherhood is much more than just an organization of drinking buddies. I offered to him the analogy of metallurgy. A blacksmith forges steel from iron slag by subjecting it to extreme heat, cold, and pressure, clearing it of impurities and hardening it into an incredibly resilient object. Similarly, a pledge class of friends and acquaintances is wrought into a band of brothers. My fraternity brothers and I are united not only by a shared name, but also by our shared experiences and respect for fraternity traditions. The beauty of this brotherhood is that it is not limited to undergraduates. One need only return to the annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner at our chapter, or any other, to witness this phenomenon first hand. Seeing the returning graduate brothers, one can hardly believe that they ever left college. United by this fraternal bond, brothers of all ages may reconnect as if no time or distance had ever separated them. The drinking games are just icing on the cake. We would like to take this opportunity to wish our Graduate Brothers born in the months of January and February a Happy and Healthy Birthday! Mr. Jared William Rodrigues Mr. Douglas Cole Crane Mr. Bruce Carlisle Martin Mr. Oliver I. Crawford Craig Callaway Schmidt Dr. Patrick Jude McGowan Dr. Reginald F. Daves Seth Maclaughlin Martin Dr. Joseph B. McGrory Mr. Thomas Terrell Johnson Jr. Mr. Ross Parker Davis Neil T. Mock Mr. Guy R. Dotson, Sr. Thomas Allen Jones Mr. Neil Lee Monroe Thomas W. Doty III Thomas Lorin Powell Mr. Gary L. Murphy Steven Martin DuBose Zachary Taylor Goodyear Mr. Edward C. Nash, Jr. The Rev. David Thomas Elphee Dr. John Chilton Newell Mr. Anthony Lane DeFlippo Mr. William Henry Fishburne Col. Leslie M. McLaurin, Jr. Mr. John D. Patterson Mr. Joe Clifton Galloway Mr. John Rigby Anderson Mr. Thomas Henry Peebles III Mr. Robert W. Gardner, Jr. Mr. John Bacheller, Jr. Mr. Peter R. Phillips, Jr. John N. Popham Mr. Hugh Griffith Garner Mr. William I. Baldwin, Jr. Mr. Lewis Cecil Price The Rev. Dr. John Harrell Barden Dr. Ben Wright Gibson III Mr. Daniel George Ray Don Weir Gladders Mr. Glenn Nelson Baxter Mr. William Frank Renfrow, Jr. Dr. Joseph W. Griffin Mr. William Henry Beecken Mr. John Anthony Guglielmi II Mr. Joseph Rieling Mr. Shepard Gordon Bentley Mr. David L. Roche Dr. John A. Hamilton Mr. George Z. Bentz Col. Jack A. Royster, Jr. Mr. Stephen Price Hamlet Mr. Robert Earl Boggs Mr. Alred C. Schmutzer, Jr. Mr. Ryan Hart Harrigan Dr. John P.W. Brown Mr. Richmond M. Searson Mr. Gordon Barrett Broyles, Jr. Major David William Hays Mr. Allan Shackelford Mr. Stephen M. Jordan Mr. Harry Ward Camp Mr. Crews Oliver Keen Mr. John H. Campbell Mr. Robert D. Klein, Jr. Mr. Ernest M. Cheek Mr. George Harwood Koppel Mr. Robert Ennis Couch Mr. Roy Norwood Ledbetter Donald R. Crane, Jr. Mr. Clayton Wesley P. Shonkwiler Dr. Bryon H. Lengsfield III Mr. William A. Simms Peter Benjamin Lettre Mr. Charles William Smith Mr. Randolph D. Love Mr. R. Franklin Stainback, Jr. Nicholas Jay Lynn Dr. Keith Edwin Stein Mr. Madison Frank Stevens Mr. Edwin H. Taylor Mr. Marion Glyn Tomlin Mr. Bradley Carr Touchstone Mr. Frank Wilson Tynes Mr. David Aloysius Vazzana Mr. Michael Boynton Veal Mr. Walter Virden IV Dr. Henry L. Vruwink Mr. Jeremy Brandon Wear Mr. Jason Bailey Wells Mr. Danny E. Woods Mr. Gregory Nieman Dimitrew llija Alexander Bratina Mr. Thomas Heinrich Ewers Mr. Christopher David Jackson Philip Carr Kuntz \r\nThe Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta International Headquarters PO Box 4599 Lexington, KY 40544-4599 Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit #540 Mark your Calendars! On April 21, the brothers of Gamma Sigma will host the Annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner. DONATE! CALLING ALL ALUMNI! If you would like to make a donation to your Fraternity, please contact our Treasurer, Rob Goeller C‘14 at goellra0@sewanee.edu. You can also mail checks to him at: If you have anything interesting going on in your life, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, a newborn, etc. we want to hear about it! Please email Tim Neil at neiltm0@sewanee.edu so that he can include you in on our next issue. 735 University Avenue Sewanee, TN 37383 Donate to help continue the growth of your Fraternity. We hope you enjoyed our first issue of the Gamma Sigma Newsletter. Please send any feedback that you may have on our correspondence with you, our graduate brothers. If you would like to continue to receive a paper copy of the newsletter, please also email Tim.