A Publication of the Rho Phi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology: April 2018 Edition Whitacre Wins Wilkinson Upcoming Dates: Pig Dinner & Rho Phi Open is May 5, 2018 Baseball Outing is May 12, 2018 1848 Club Committee Wes Bolsen, chair David Steinbock Ed Fain Jake Whitacre Joe Weist Rho Phi House Corporation Ed Fain, president Joe Weist, treasurer Chip Bradway, secretary Doug Collier Nate Richter Rob Bunch Andy Horton Matt Baber Randy Ridgway Rho Phi Brother Named Top Senior in Phi Gamma Delta After the completion 2016-2017 academic year, the Rho Phi chapter learned that Jacob Whitacre (Rose-Hulman 2017), was named the Wilkinson Award recipient for Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity for his accomplishments within Phi Gamma Delta as well as the classroom, the Rose-Hulman campus, and the greater community. The award, named after Cecil J. “Scoop” Wilkinson, is considered the highest honor that can be afforded to an undergraduate member of the fraternity. It represents a special level of devotion to Fiji that “Scoop” Wilkinson demonstrated for nearly 50 years both as a brother in the Theta Deuteron chapter at Ohio Wesleyan, and as a graduate brother, by tirelessly giving of his time, treasure, and wisdom to the entire International Fraternity. To recognize and perpetuate “Scoop’s” Jacob Whitacre (Rose 2017) Phi Gamma Delta’s top senior whole-hearted devotion to Phi Gamma Delta, the Wilkinson Award was established after his death in 1961 so that Fijis for years to come would be reminded of a perfect example of a brother that exemplified, “Not for College Days Alone”. To determine who receives this award, each of the 168 undergraduate chapters can nominate a brother for this award. From there, each section chief chooses one brother from their section that they feel deserves further consideration and submits this nomination to International headquarters. Then a committee consisting mostly of current and former Archons, picks an overall winner. With over 11,000 undergraduate brothers in the International Fraternity, the Rho Phi chapter is incredibly proud of Jake being selected to receive this honor. Our chapter has always known that Jacob was an outstanding brother, leader, and friend. He contributed to our chapter in numerous ways from serving on cabinet for two years to starting new fundraisers, not to mention his involvement in the Rose-Hulman campus and success in the classroom. We are thrilled that the International Fraternity has recognized Jake’s passion for and devotion to Phi Gamma Delta that his brothers in Rho Phi have witnessed firsthand and that he could be the first member of our chapter to receive this Record number of Rho Phi Brothers attend FIJI Academy in January 2018 distinguished award. The award was presented at the Fiji Academy in St. Louis in early January. Jake was joined by his mother and father, girlfriend, sister, brother-in-law (a Fiji from Indiana State), and his younger brother who was just pledged and initiated into the Rho Phi chapter in this fall’s class. The chapter sent the largest delegation to FIJI Academy this year sending 14 chapter brothers to the Academy who were able to see Jake receive this award. Phi Gamma Delta 1 \r\nWeist Receives Haynes Award Joe Weist (Rose 1987) was honored with the Haynes Award at the Fiji Academy in St. Louis, Missouri in early January. The Haynes Award is named in honor of Tyler Haynes (Richmond 1922) who served as a section chief and was a Coulter Cup award winner. The award is presented to the most efficient Section Chief in Phi Gamma Delta. Brother Weist has served as a section chief for 23 years and is currently the second longest serving regional officer in Phi Gamma Delta. In addition to serving as a section chief, Joe is a long-term member of the Rho Phi House Corporation, currently serving as treasurer. Joe is also a member of the Rho Phi Hall of Fame, inducted in 2005. The Haynes award was adopted in 2001 and this is Brother Weist’s second time winning this award. Congratulations to Joe for receiving this honor. Joe Weist (Rose 2017) - on right, receives Haynes Award from Executive Director, Bill Martin Chapter Captures Beta Cup On February 10, 2018, nearly 240 Phi Gams from around the state of Indiana gathered for the 152nd gathering of Indiana Phi Gams - now known as Indiana State Day. Nearly 30 brothers attended the day devoted to fellowship and learning. Basic operational classes were taught to help younger members know how to best operate their chapter and maintain the reputation of the “Purple Valley”. The excitement of the day started to build at lunch when the chapter was honored with first and second place finishes in all of the operational awards such as pledge education, recruitment, graduate relations, community service and campus involvement. With the two biggest awards presented at the end of the day, everyone wondered if Rho Phi could capture the Beta Cup as best Indiana chapter for the first time since 2010. At the end of the day the first award presented was for most improved chapter. Rho Phi was awarded second most improved chapter with brand new chapter IUPUI winning that award for the second straight year. Then the Beta Cup was presented. In Joe Weist’s last official act as a section chief, Joe presented Rho Phi the coveted Beta Cup. We congratulate the Iota Pi chapter at IUPUI for a razor close second place finish. Coleson Carmell (Rose 2019), Nick Prather (Rose 2018) and Will Byers (Rose 2019) receive Beta Cup Rho Phi State Day Results Best Chapter - 1st Place Most Improved Chapter - 2nd Place Recruitment - 2nd Place Pledge Education - 2nd Place Graduate Relations - 2nd Place Community Service - 1st Place Campus Involvement - 1st Place 3.21 Chapter GPA 1500+ Hours of Community Service $8000 in money donated to charity Rho Phi sweeps Indiana State Day 2018 Phi Gamma Delta 2 \r\nRecord Setting Pledge Class for Rho Phi Chapter Pledges 41 Men for largest Class in Chapter History Fall 2017 Pledge Class on Bid Tuesday Rho Phi’s recently completed fall rush brought a record 41 pledges for Rho Phi. Starting on September 11 and finishing 44 days later on October 24 with breaks for Homecoming and Fall Break, the chapter had recruitment events on 17 of those days. As the recruitment period wound down, it was obvious to the entire chapter that the chapter would probably have great results. Of the fifty bids extended, the chapter had an 82% acceptance rate. Many congratulations to the two co-recruitment chairmen, Cam Metzger and Justin Krouse, who orchestrated a nearly flawless plan for recruitment which they began organizing nearly six months prior to the first events. The 41 pledges hail from 10 states and China. The class has athletes from nearly every sport as Rose as well as a variety of honoraries, campus clubs and service organizations. The class also includes five legacies: three from Rho Phi, one from Hanover College and one from the University of Idaho. The fall 2017 pledge class, majors and hometowns are: Jacob Back, EE, Harrison, OH; Gavinn Bakker, Civil, DeMotte, IN; Jonathan Bartlett, Chem E, Sherman, IL; Robert Belk, ME, Cisco, TX; Alexander Bradshaw, ME, Houston, TX; Quintin Bynum, ME, Louisville, IN; Luke Calabrese, Civil, Sugar Grove, IL; Adam Clark, Chem E, Sherman, IL; Scott Dayton (soph.), ME, Newburgh, IN; Andrew Dion, Civil, San Diego, CA; Dylan Diorio. Bio Med, Plainfield, IL; Zhengshan (Bill) Fang, EE, Fuzhou, China; Jacob Geesaman, Bio Med, Redkey, IN; Nathan Griesbaum, ME, St. Joseph, MI; Maxwell Hatch, ME, St. Charles, IL; Andrew Hesse, ME, Loveland, OH; Jacob Huff, Chem E, Rockport, IN; Stephen Ives. EE, Indianapolis, IN; Logan Kabrich, ME, Brownsburg, IN; Luke Kluemper, ME, Monrovia, IN; Ryan Krouse, ME, Van Buren, OH; Cooper McCullough, Comp. Eng, Kerrville, TX; Derrek Miller, Civil, Marshall, IL; Eric Mitalo (soph.), ME, Mt. Prospect, IL; Shaine Mitchell, ME, Indianapolis, IN; David Nastav, BioChem, Lebanon, IN; Tyler Nottingham, EE, Jasper, IN; Tanner Payne, Bio Med, Columbus, IN; Jacob Petrisko, Comp. Sci., Philadelphia, PA; Robert Principe, Chem E, Buffalo, NY; Jakob Quaesbarth, ME, Monon, IN; Dalton Rankin, ME, Evansville, IN; Peyton Sakelaris, Bio Med, Reno, NV; Austin Sauerteig, Civil, Arcadia, IN; Andrew Schatz, ME, Sullivan, MO; William Smith, Chem E, Sheridan, IN; Adam Sturgeon, ME, West Lafayette, IN; Noah Thomas, Comp Sci, Indianapolis, IN; Kaile Wendelin, Bio Med, Crawfordsville, IN; Michael Whitacre, Civil, Paris, IL; Jake Zimmerman, Comp. Sci., Escondido, CA. Rho Phi 2017 Pledge Class Legacies The fall 2017 pledge class contained five legacies (close relatives who are Phi Gams) L-R: Jacob Geesaman, father Jeff, Rho Phi 1993; Austin Sauerteig, brother Tyler, Hanover College, Tau chapter 2015; Ryan Krouse, brother Justin, Rho Phi class of 2018; Peyton Sakelaris, grandfather Angelo Sakelaris, University of Idaho 1962; Michael Whitacre, brother Jacob, Rho Phi 2017. Phi Gamma Delta 3 \r\nRho Phi Chapter Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity PO Box 3047 Terre Haute, IN 47803 Annual Fiji Rendezvous at Steinbock Cumberland Lake Cottage in August. L to R: Ed Fain (Rose 1976), Dave Myers (Rose 1975), David Steinbock (Rose 1975), Mike Nisbet (Rose 1975) …with spouses. Chapter House Receives Makeover Barhydt-Ehrmann Home Receives Major Facelift Built in 1922, the Barhydt-Ehrmann Home (the current residence of the Rho Phi chapter of Phi Gamma Delta) has seen over a thousand brothers, along with family and friends, walk through its doors. The more brothers we initiate, the greater our brotherhood grows, as does the wear and tear on our house. The house is a staple of our fraternity and is almost as much of a representation of our fraternity as the brothers who fill it. As such, we made some major renovations this summer. These changes are subtle enough to where graduate brothers can still walk around the house and remember it as it once was when they were undergrads. However, when brothers returned from the summer they were surprised by how these improvements help make the chapter house a much better place to live. New ceramic tile floors greeted Rho Phi members as they moved into 1121 S. Sixth Street This summer, we ripped up the old hardwood floors in the entryway, living room and dining room. The old floors had been worn through for nearly ten years. The wood floors were replaced with a highquality porcelain ceramic tile which looks like wood. The bathroom and shower in the basement was completely gutted and rebuilt using modern waterproofing technology. Out back a new basketball goal replaced the one which had a hole in it and the phone line which used to block shots is gone. A commercial steam table was added in the dining room to help serve the nearly 50 brothers who are on the meal plan each day. The basement, shed, chapter room, upstairs bedrooms and the carport ceiling were repainted. And lastly, the entire house was deep cleaned. We would like to thank the house corporation for continuing to improve our house and keeping it a place every brother wants to be. Diamond insert placed into entryway of formal room