February 2018 President’s Address B eta Sigma is starting off strong this spring semester after coming off of an excellent fall semester. With 27 brothers initiated in January, we have high hopes for the contribution of the Alpha Rho pledge that we received our semester report back from the university for the fall 2017 semester, and we maintained our spot as the top fraternity academically. We also had the highest average number of service hours per brother, as well The chapter at Dance Marathon with Sigma Kappa and Pi Beta Phi class to our fraternity. They have demonstrated a passion for the values of Phi Gamma Delta that we strive to instill in every pledge class. They joined us at State Day this year, where we were recognized for our excellence in graduate relations, new member education and outstanding philanthropies (The Ride and Move Your Phi’t), among many other awards. We placed third for the Beta Cup, ending our two-year streak, and we’re looking to reclaim the award for best chapter in Indiana next year. I am happy to announce as the second highest amount of philanthropy dollars raised, a title that we hope to claim once again this semester with your generous support. Dance Marathon also just concluded, and this year, we paired with both Sigma Kappa and Pi Beta Phi. We raised $4,645 as a chapter and $12,320 as a group For The Kids! Looking forward, we are excited to announce that we have a new philanthropy in the works with the USO to increase our oncampus presence as well as further contribute to a great organization. More details on the philanthropy will be shared in future newsletters. We are also looking forward to our annual Ride Across the Purple Valley, an event that raised $10,000 for the USO last year. We are looking forward to yet another big year in 2018, and ask your help to make it possible! Donate today, and I promise that I’ll sweat out every mile. Finally, our continual goal is to maintain strong relations with the graduate brothers and the parents of undergraduate Phi Gams and enjoy every opportunity that gives us the chance to do so. That being said, for graduate brothers, Pig Dinner is April 7! Connor Manion (2018) and I are the Pig Dinner co-chairmen and are excited for you to join us. We are hosting events the entire weekend to make the trip more than a one day reunion, giving you a chance to connect with your fellow brothers and current undergraduates. As for parents, we are approaching Mom’s Day on March 24, and we can’t wait for you to visit! Stay tuned for more details. As we maintain our strive for excellence, we appreciate you all being along for the journey. Perge! Chapter Highlights ◊◊ Raised $4,645 for Ball State’s Riley Dance Marathon ◊◊ Finished among the top 3 FIJI chapters in Indiana for the Beta Cup award ◊◊ Awarded best graduate relations among FIJI chapters in Indiana ◊◊ Highest grade point average among IFC fraternities with a 3.21 GPA ◊◊ Highest number of service hours per brother among IFC fraternities ◊◊ Initiated 27 new members of the Alpha Rho class ◊◊ Recruited 3 new members during Spring Rush for the Alpha Sigma class ◊◊ Recognized for excellence in new member education and philanthropic efforts among FIJI chapters in Indiana \r\nFebruary 2018 Winter Retreat 2018 Review Our 2018 Winter Retreat was a great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate brothers to come together and take a look at our current position and where we hope to get to in the next year. Because of inclement weather, we were not able to hold this in Lexington, as is tradition, but instead hosted it a few weeks later at the Student Center here on campus. We saw extremely high attendance from each pledge class and were impressed with the different opinions and ideas that were brought to the table for the 2018 calendar year. To kick off the day, Justin Concannon (2019), our historian, held Beta Sigma trivia and gave away old t-shirts, jerseys and sweatshirts as prizes. After this, we jumped in to the SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis presented many different areas of opportunity for Beta Sigma and areas that we can work to improve. As we broke for lunch, new chair-positions met with their predecessors to discuss best practices and specific requirements for those positions. After lunch, Chris Campaniolo (2000) presented Beta Sigma with a House Corporation update that encompassed everything from recent renovations to future renovations, reminders on how to communicate with the Housing Corporation and plans for the future of the Corporation. Finally, our service, social, philanthropy and apparel chairs discussed events that brothers would like to see. Our external social chair and apparel chair, Hadden Yarbrough (2020), discussed different ideas for upcoming socials, different organizations to pair with, as well as shirt and hat ideas for the spring semester. Finally, our philanthropy chairs outlined new ideas for our fall philanthropy and updates on the Ride Across the Brothers discuss roles over lunch Purple Valley. Overall, the 2018 Winter upcoming plans for the Retreat was a success, positions. Our service highlighting our strengths chairs, Nick Schmaltz (2021) and pushing our brothers and Jake Senne (2021), to fulfill the potential of discussed the specifics Beta Sigma. We’re looking of how to record service forward to accomplishing hours for the Office of the goals we’ve set. Greek Life and types of - Martin Coughlin (2019), Rec Sec State Day 2018 Review My experience at State Day was truly invigorating as I was able to see exceptional Phi Gam men from chapters all across the state. Being a newly initiated member, I was in awe when witnessing that this organization is truly filled with gentlemen of quality, leaders and scholars that strive for knowledge. It was exciting and interesting for me to see how other chapters have many individuals that share the same qualities as the brothers in my own chapter. We were similar in the way that we all excelled in our Greek communities at our schools, but were diversely different in our philanthropies and chapter traditions. It was neat to see how some of the older chapters were well established and the newer ones were eager and quickly growing. I was invited and encouraged to visit the other chapters around the state. This made me feel united and were a variety of sessions that I was able to attend on topics such as social media tips and advice, leadership roles, FIJI lore and chapter The chapter at State Day alongside graduate brothers Burklow and Meier connected to brothers from other chapters. In addition to learning about many FIJI chapters around the state I was also able to learn insightful information about my fraternity and being a member. There development. The sessions were very insightful and I was able to walk away with a lot of helpful information. Seeing brothers in a variety of professional fields and being able to receive advice from them was inspiring, as well as motivating for me. Going to all the different sessions and learning more about Phi Gamma Delta gave a huge sense of pride and belonging in this brotherhood. One of the biggest takeaways for me was learning new ways I can contribute as a member. I was inspired and received numerous ideas on what I personally want to do to help my chapter and future leadership roles I plan to acquire in my chapter to do so. Overall, State-Day was a great experience for me that allowed me to learn new knowledge to help me improve as an individual and to help my chapter excel in positive direction. - Nick Ash (2020), Internal Social \r\nFebruary 2018 New Chair Position Goals & Plans Philanthropy Community Service The new philanthropy a successful event at other committee is very excited FIJI chapters, and we are about the opportunities hoping to replicate the we have coming up this results. semester. We have created Right now, we are a set of ambitious goals, aiming to have at least and they are as follows: three philanthropic events raise over $10,000 through in the next year. We plan philanthropy events, host to have one this spring one event that raises semester, one at the end over $2,500, host one of this academic year (The new philanthropy, host a Ride Across The Purple philanthropy that educates Valley), and another one about the USO (United next fall semester (Humvee Service Organizations) Push). This gives us plenty and co-host at least one of time to properly prepare philanthropy with another and advertise these events. Greek organization. We We want attendees to have feel that with the proper fun at these events, but planning and guidance we we also want to educate can, and will, reach these and let people know what goals. they’re donating to. One event that we The new philanthropy are planning is a humvee committee is looking push race, where teams forward to the opportunity of contestants will see to raise money not only who can push a humvee for the good of the a certain distance the Chapter, but for the quickest. We’re currently good of the USO. We are working to get a USO eagerly planning our first representative to be in philanthropic event, and attendance during the we can’t wait to share event to provide more more information with you! information about the organization. This has been - Mike Lantz (2020), Philanthropy With such a great year of service from our previous chairs behind us, Nick Schmaltz and I are looking forward to building off the incredible work they did and we’re excited to serve as the community service chairmen for the Beta Sigma Chapter. We are not only looking to match their enthusiasm and effort, but push our chapter’s service efforts to new heights. With such a passionate and excited leader like Nick heading up our endeavor, there is no question we will succeed in doing so. We are hoping to get at least half the Chapter to reach their 15 service hour goal set by the Chapter. Whether it be grilling out, hosting a dinner or monetary rewards, we are looking into providing incentives for the brothers that meet, or exceed, their goal. On top of that, we want to see over 75% of our brothers get out in the community and serve at least once Nick, who is a Muncie local, has many connections within the community, and we are looking to take advantage of that. Rather than just going to the animal shelter or food bank like many have in the past, we are expanding our focus to other meaningful organizations so that our impact can be felt within the Muncie community and its surrounding areas. That being said, we are aiming to partner with at least 12 different organizations in, or around, the Muncie area. We also plan to pair with PHA Sororities, NPHC Organizations and IFC Fraternities for community service events more often to expand our reach and build better relationships within the Ball State Greek community. We have a huge year ahead of us, but I am more than confident that our chapter can not only attain these goals, but exceed them and truly make an impact in the community. - Jake Senne (2021), Service Brother Spotlights Joe Krause (2019), Alpha Xi Nick Rhoa (2020), Alpha Omicron Joe has been editing music videos for local artists in Indy to benefit Second Helpings Food Bank for his immersive learning class. He is also our New Member Educator. Nick is a member of the MCOB Honor’s Program and recently accepted an internship at Somerset CPA’s for the spring semester of 2019. He is also our current Treasurer. Max Reed (2020), Alpha Omicron Brandon Sheets (2019), Alpha Xi Max recently passed his FM actuary exam and has made the Dean’s List every semester at Ball State. Max currently serves as a Judicial Board Justice for the Beta Sigma Chapter. Brandon had the highest brother GPA last semester and will be joining IU’s Respiratory Health program this fall. He’s currently training for the Mr. Ball State bodybuilding competition. \r\nFebruary 2018 Graduate Brother Spotlight From now on, each Beta Sigma Newsletter will include a graduate brother spotlight article. The article will seek to highlight the graduate brother’s achievements after leaving Ball State and what the Beta Sigma Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta has done for them. Our first ever graduate brother spotlight highlights Daniel Joyaux (2006). Daniel graduated from Ball State with a bachelor’s degree in English. He was a member of the Delta class and was there for Beta Sigma’s chartering ceremony on February 24, 2001. As a Beta Sigma undergraduate, he was the first brother to represent FIJI on the Ball State Interfraternity Council. Along with being a brother of Phi Gamma Delta, Daniel was involved with the Student Government Association and Homecoming Steering Committee. After graduating, he wanted to follow his passion to become a music critic. However, he decided not to, because in Daniel’s words, he “wasn’t that good at writing about music.” Post-college, he spent time serving and bartending before deciding to write about another passion: film. of the film descriptions and information for the popular festival. He describes his work with the Sundance Institute as “stressful, but a great experience.” Over the past few months, Daniel has Daniel Joyaux at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 In 2010, he grabbed his laptop and started a blog called Third Man Movies & Culture. Daniel still writes about movies and has been a publications editor for the Sundance Film Festival since 2015. From the end of October through January, he works in Utah editing all had three articles published by Vanity Fair for his coverage of the 2017 and 2018 Academy Awards and was featured on Vanity Fair’s podcast, Little Gold Men. Daniel joined the Beta Sigma chapter of Phi Gamma Delta because he wanted a grounded group of people he could rely on and “a piece of college” he could always come back to. His undergraduate experience gave him a great core group of friends that he still connects with on a regular basis, including brothers Sean Reilly (2004), Eric Maroun (2008) and Beta Sigma’s current Purple Legionnaire, Ryan Burklow (2005). Daniel’s most important piece of advice for the current undergraduates was, “to defend each other and choose sides based on what is right,” which I think is an important statement and valuable advice for a brotherhood like Beta Sigma’s. Seeing a graduate brother from my own chapter succeed, and succeed in such a difficult and interesting field, is inspiring. I hope that one day, the Beta Sigma Chapter is the “piece of college” that helps me find success, just as it has been for Daniel. - Ben Bertsch (2020), Corr Sec Graduate Brother Updates Our graduate brothers have been up to quite a bit as of late. Brothers Jay Thomas (2004) and Rob Dawson (2004) both have had children in the past couple of months. Jay had a daughter named Anna Kate on December 13, and Rob had a son named Harris Michael on January 30. Luke Woody (2014) got engaged and now goes by the name Luke Fehribach. Dr. Adam Drummond (2002) moved jobs, and J.C. Obringer covering the Olympics is now the Director of Professional Learning for the International Center for Leadership in Education. In other new job news, Austin McMillan (2012) recently started a new position as the IoT Business Development Manager for ClearObject in Fishers, IN. Meanwhile, in the Chicagoland area, former pledge brothers Dylan Pieri (2014) and Andrew Bennett (2014) have started a video production company, Digital Alliance Media. Alex Whitted (2009) is getting married in May, and brothers David McCready (2006), John Dahlgren (2009) and Shawn Meier (2009) will be groomsmen in his wedding. Last, but certainly not least, J. C. Obringer (2017) recently covered the X Games, Super Bowl LII and the 2018 Winter Olympics with ESPN’s Digital Video Strategy group. - Justin Concannon (2019), Historian \r\nFebruary 2018 House Corporation Update It’s been a long time since our house corporation provided an update to the brothers. The House Corporation is in a good position financially and we are regularly updating the house for our undergrads. The house corporation plans to have its debt paid off in about two years. We currently have about $175,000 in debt outstanding from our initial $338,000 we took out in 2011. We are aggressively paying down our debt. Additionally, our reserves for future repairs are adequately funded and we have a strong cash balance. While we are in good shape financially, our income only allows us to perform dayto-day operations and to periodically refresh areas of the house after they take a beating. While we add to our cash balance each year, we have to maintain reserves for things that will eventually have to be replaced like flooring, air conditioning and other finishes. The house doesn’t generate enough income to let us do all the upgrades we need or want, so we have to be conservative with the funds. Over the past few years, we’ve completed a lot of improvements to the house. Last year, we replaced the roof and the windows at the house. This fall, we remodeled the kitchen to make it cleaner, more attractive and functional. In previous years, we remodeled the brothers’ bedrooms bathrooms and added closet space. We’re always painting. Our board is really proud of your house, and we hope you are too. If you have any questions, please email me at malang81@gmail.com. - Mike Lang (2003), HC President Board of Chapter Advisors Update In the 17 years since chartering, Beta Sigma’s graduate base has grown to over 250 Brothers. While this number is significant, Beta Sigma needs more graduate brother volunteers that can help prove that membership in Phi Gamma Delta is “Not For College Days Alone.” The primary objective of graduate support is to provide the continuity and leadership that is often missing from our undergraduate chapter. Every year, there is a change in our undergraduate officers. Every three to four years, the chapter membership changes over completely. Graduate support fills the void and Beta Sigma needs your help! The biggest challenge for Beta Sigma’s BCA has been that most brothers leave Muncie for a variety of reasons after graduation. Historically, this distance leaves many brothers with the assumption that they no longer fit the bill to serve as a graduate advisor. Luckily, text messaging, video conferencing and Google Drive file sharing have the potential to help us overcome this distance challenge. With that being said, are you a former recruitment, social, service or academic chair? Are you a former cabinet member? Were you involved with SGA, IFC or Dance Marathon during your college days? If you answered yes to any of these questions, and can spare a few extra hours every month, the undergraduates of Beta Sigma would benefit greatly from your guidance and advice. If you have any interest, large or small, please send an email to ryanburklow@gmail.com or text message to (317) 4898220 and we can get the ball rolling. - Ryan Burklow (2005), PL 2018 Pig Dinner Reminder If you haven’t RSVP’d for the 2018 Pig Dinner, please do so as soon as possible. This year, the undergraduate chapter will be hosting events throughout the weekend, giving graduate brothers the opportunity to reconnect with their pledge brothers and make new connections with the current undergraduates. Beta Sigma’s 2018 Pig Dinner will be held at the Horizon Convention Center in downtown Muncie and Brother Chris Kurtz (2006) will be this year’s featured speaker. The following graduate brothers will be in attendance for Beta Sigma’s 2018 Pig Dinner: ◊◊ Andrew Miles (2017) ◊◊ Ryan Burklow (2005) ◊◊ Christopher Harrison (2010) ◊◊ Ryan McFarland (2002) ◊◊ Christopher Kurtz (2006) ◊◊ Sean Ratkus (2014) ◊◊ Eric Maroun (2008) ◊◊ Shawn Meier (2009) ◊◊ Erik Faigh (2006) ◊◊ Zach Herbst (2015) ◊◊ Justin Sorber (2009) ◊◊ Mark Tendler (2006) ◊◊ Jason Conn (2017) ◊◊ Mike Ashman (Indiana 1991) \r\nNonprofit Org U.S. Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Beta Sigma Chapter of PHI GAMMA DELTA BALL STATE UNIVERSITY 1201 Red Mile Rd P.O. Box 4599 Lexington, KY 40544-4599 Academic Standing After receiving the Ball State Office of Dates to Remember Senne (2021) and Sam Kinghorn (2021) Greek Life report for the fall 2017 semester, finished their pledging semester with 4.0 we are proud to announce that we finished GPA’s, and brother Brandon Sheets (2019) with the highest GPA among all the led initiated members with a 3.91 GPA. Interfraternity Council fraternities. FIJI has As we continue our strive for excellence, had the highest IFC grade point average we will continue to place an emphasis on for 13 of the last 15semesters. We finished our academics, making it one of our top fifth among all Greek organizations with priorities, holding true to the Phi Gam a 3.21 GPA. The all-Greek average for saying, “Scholarship, Fraternity, Self.” 3.2 Grade Point Average Highest among IFC fraternities for 13 of the last 15 semesters average being 2.92. New members Jake - Ben Bertsch (2020), Corr Sec ◊◊ Ride Across The Purple Valley May 7-10 Philanthropy Donations Each year our chapter partakes in a awareness to such a great organization. Last year, we raised over $10,000 for the (The Purple Valley). We start at Ball State Indianapolis USO, and we couldn’t have and go all the way from West Lafayette to done it without the support of our families Evansville and then back up to Indianapolis, and graduate base. This year, we’re looking visiting a total of nine different chapters. to get a jump start on donations to raise as Why do we ride? To raise donations for the much money as possible. Donate at https:// Indianapolis branch of the United Service goo.gl/NJvZtU and support the USO and Organizations (USO). We have enjoyed our Ride Across the Purple Valley! ◊◊ Homecoming Weekend 2018 Oct. 19-21 a close partnership with the Indianapolis USO, and we’re proud to donate and bring - Ben Bertsch (2020), Corr Sec ◊◊ Pig Dinner Weekend April 6-8 ◊◊ FIJI Spring Formal April 14-15 Ball State was 3.02, with the all-fraternity bike ride to every FIJI chapter in Indiana ◊◊ Mom’s Day March 24 Brothers at the Epsilon Iota chapter If you have any questions regarding future events or would like to get more information about the Beta Sigma Chapter, contact us at ballstatephigam@ gmail.com or follow us on social media @BallStateFIJI!