Theta Fiji Theta Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta at the University of Alabama s spring 2013 Recruitment Growth Calls for New Chapter Room Theta Chapter Follows in Football Team’s Success M uch like our football team’s success on the gridiron, Theta Chapter continues to excel academically. In the fall, we ranked third in grades among all fraternities. Sixteen men achieved a perfect 4.0, including four pledges. Nationally, Theta Chapter received the Certificate of Superior Academic Achievement for the seventh year in a row, as well as the John Templeton McCarty Chapter Proficiency Award for the tenth year in a row. Please join me in welcoming John Collier ’06 and Josh Clinton ’08 to the House Corporation. Both are past Chapter presidents and we appreciate their willingness to serve. Additionally, Steven Nichols ’05 recently joined the House Corporation and has become involved in graduate assistance during recruitment. In that same light, recruitment is our lifeblood and we are constantly receiving recommendations. If you know someone who may be interested in Theta Chapter, please provide us his name and contact information as soon as possible. The best way to make a recommendation is to submit a name through our website at www.thetafiji.net. With increasing attendance at The University of Alabama and a parallel increase in our membership, our current facilities are inadequate for Chapter meetings. To that end, we are moving forward with plans to construct a new Chapter room. The proposed plan calls for building on top of the existing band room. This is an opportunity for Theta alumni to participate in a lasting way. Now is the time to help; please contact Jim Andrews ’81 at jim@lithopublishing.com or (205) 910-1282 for additional details. Finally, a big thank-you to Neal Hutchinson ’84, who is spearheading our Pig Dinner efforts this year. Please mark your calendar for Saturday, April 6, and take this opportunity to call a pledge brother and invite them. We hope to see you there. Fraternally, Hughston Nichols ’03 House Corporation President hnichols@hwnn.com Perge! Members Make a Difference on Campus and in the Community W ith the close of 2012, we are proud to announce that Theta Chapter at The University of Alabama had another great year. With our scholarship, philanthropy, and recruitment efforts, we maintained a great reputation among our peers, alumni, and administration. As a fraternity, we are very excited about our future, especially looking back on our accomplishments this fall. With an average 3.24 GPA, our new members excelled in the classroom. This is our highest new member GPA in three years, and we are confident that we will have one of the top new member GPAs on campus. The active members also performed well in the classroom, and the Chapter GPA of 3.12 ranked third in last year’s grade report. We believe that scholarship is a key component to having a great fraternity. Theta Chapter raised over $2,000 for juvenile diabetes research when we hosted a cookout with Alpha Gamma Delta. We worked extensively with Alpha Gamma Delta again in the Fifth Quarter Program, collecting leftover food on game days, packaging and sending it to the West Alabama Food Bank. In total, we donated Clay Bright ’16, Colin Schutte ’16, Burnham Hawk ’13, and Austin Barranco ’14 help with the Fifth Quarter Program during an Alabama football game. INSIDE: (Continued on page 2) Welcome, New Initiates Page 2 • Alumni Spotlights Page 3 • 158th Pig Dinner Page 4 \r\nPAGE 2 Theta Fiji Chapter Officers President Robby Anderson ’14 rcanderson1@crimson.ua.edu Corresponding Secretary Charlie Deer ’14 Austin Barranco ’14, Drew Schneider ’14, Brock Bates ’14, Andrew Watson ’13, and Charlie Deer ’14 get ready for the National Championship in Miami. Members Make a Difference (Continued from page 1) 10,735 pounds of food, which will provide over 13,000 meals to families in need. In addition, members were selected to prestigious organizations on campus. We have members in the University Honors Program, International Honors Program, Computer-Based Honors Program, Golden Key Honor Society, Order of Omega, ODK, Mortar Board, Lambda Sigma Honor Society, Capstone Men and Women, Al’s Pals, Campus Crusade for Christ, and many other great organizations. With a great 2012 in the rearview mirror, we now focus our attention to 2013. We will build on the foundations that have been made over the years to make Theta Chapter as strong as ever. Through scholarship, philanthropy, and campus involvement, we strive to be great representatives of Theta Chapter. Fraternally, Robby Anderson ’14 Chapter President rcanderson1@crimson.ua.edu Pergé! FIJI Recording Secretary Rocky Stone ’14 Treasurer Martin Toole ’15 Philanthropy Chairman Ryan Cechovic ’14 Historian Carey Wood ’15 Scholarship Chairman Andrew Watson ’13 Recruitment Chairman Johnston Stakely ’15 fjstakely@crimson.ua.edu Welcome, New Initiates Weston M. Amick* Memphis, Tenn. Hampton F. Hook Jr. Montgomery, Ala. Brooks P. Neely* Birmingham, Ala. Colter K. Anderson Dallas, Texas Mark D. Hollenbeck Fayetteville, Ark. Nolan B. O’Mery Charlotte, N.C. Matthew C. Anderson* Birmingham, Ala. Nicholas M. Ihrig Tyler, Texas Mark D. Payne Jr. Huntsville, Ala. Tyler R. Barker Memphis, Tenn. Garrett L. Jones* Huntsville, Ala. Walker T. Philips* Birmingham, Ala. Jason H. Bellows* Memphis, Tenn. Douglas S. Knowles* Montgomery, Ala. Robert M. Romagnoli Jr. Orlando, Fla. Henry C. Bright* Nashville, Tenn. Hunter R. Ladd Fort Worth, Texas Georgie H. Salem Birmingham, Ala. Jack C. Clements IV Montgomery, Ala. Jonathan M. Laufe Pittsburgh, Pa. Collin A. Schutte Louisville, Ky. James K. Damson Huntsville, Ala. Reed B. Loeffel* Nashville, Tenn. William T. Thames* Mobile, Ala. Stuart L. Falls Tuscaloosa, Ala. Gabriel P. Lipson* Nashville, Tenn. Scott J. Waterhouse Boston, Mass. Nathan S. Gruber Memphis, Tenn. Connor P. McCarty Denver, Colo. Alexander S. Way Tuscaloosa, Ala. Tucker J. Helms Montgomery, Ala. Louis D. Miller Brewton, Ala. Harry L. Woosley IV Nashville, Tenn. Douglas C. Hess Madison, Ala. James D. Nabors III Birmingham, Ala. *Legacy \r\nPAGE 3 The University of alabama Alumnus Exemplifies Tradition of Excellence at Phi Gamma Delta J ames S. Holbrook Jr. ’66 knew upon meeting the active members during recruitment that Phi Gamma Delta was the right fit for him. “There was a compatible atmosphere that I felt at the house. The things I like and was interested in were more pronounced at Phi Gam than in any other house I visited.” While earning his degree in business and finance at the University of Alabama, Jim received an opportunity to work with a public finance group in 1966 that started his career in the financial services industry. He went on to run First Birmingham Securities for 20 years that merged into Sterne Agee in 1990. He is the chairman and chief executive officer for Sterne Agee Group Inc. and its seven subsidiaries. The company is headquartered in Birmingham and employs more than 1,500 people across the United States. Those lessons and many more, he says, are learned by being in a fraternity. “It caused me to grow up. I learned life skills and built relationships that I maintain today as friends and business associates. I surround myself with people who are dedicated, energetic, and passionate, who have solid intellect and social skills: all qualities that are learned through life in a fraternity.” Jim remembers every single day as a special memory and an experience he will never forget. “We had great parties, two big ones every year that were always fun. Nothing compares to going to football games and sitting in the student section. My freshman year was the last year they had Saturday classes, and it was just a whole different dynamic because it kept everyone on campus all the time.” For the last four years he and his pledge brothers have held a reunion in different places across Alabama. He enjoys catching up with brothers at football games and through their working relationships. He has served as the financial advisor to two governors and was elected into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in November 2012, but says it was the merger between First Birmingham Securities and Sterne Agee that was the most significant development in his career. Jim has been to the house several times within the last five years. “It was great; I wish I could have lived in the house, but I never did. I helped raise the money to build it, so it is nice to see that it has lasted 45 years.” His advice to young alumni early in their careers is to “learn to be a problem identifier and a problem solver. Being the person that finds a solution is indispensable in today’s corporate world.” In his free time Jim enjoys sport fishing in the ocean for billfish. He also enjoys going quail hunting. He lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama, with his wife, Tricia, and has two children and two stepchildren. Theta Chapter Alumnus Recognized for Contributions in Business and Community D uncan F. Williams ’90 was elected to the Society of Entrepreneurs. The society was formed in 1991 to recognize the historical importance of the contributions of individuals who have demonstrated a gift of entrepreneurship and used this gift to not only create or build a successful business but also in service to the community. Duncan is the president of Duncan-Williams Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee, an investment-banking firm employing more than 220 employees with 15 branches across the country. He has been with the firm since 1993 and has served as president since 2000. He has served on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) board of governors for a three-year term. He is a past member of the FINRA Small Firm Advisory Board, a past member of the NASD Small Firms Impact Task Force and the NASD Small Firm Hand-Off Program Working Group. He served on the NASD District Nominating Committee, the NASD District Business Conduct Committee and was the committee’s chairman in 2002. He is currently serving on the National Adjudicatory Council for FINRA. He has also served as chairman of The Leadership Academy for the New Memphis Institute and is still on the board, a member of the Memphis Economic Club, on the board of Presbyterian Day School, on the board of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, and an advisory board member of SunTrust Bank. He is on the capital campaign committee of Shelby Farms and is a member of St. Jude’s Professional Advisory Council. Recently, he became one of the local owners of the Memphis Grizzlies. Duncan graduated from the University of Alabama in 1990 and is a member of the UA President’s Cabinet, Commerce Executive Society, and the Board of Visitors. \r\nTheta Fiji Phi Gamma Delta Theta Chapter P.O. Box 131385 Birmingham, AL 35213 Address Service Requested Attention: This newsletter is intended for Phi Gamma Delta alumni and parents. If your son is still attending The University of Alabama, he will receive a copy at the Chapter House. If he has graduated, please send us his permanent address to update our records. Thank you. Theta Chapter Will Celebrate the 158th Pig Dinner on April 6 P lease join us Saturday, April 6, 2013, to celebrate our alumni. This year, we moved the Pig Dinner date away from A-Day weekend in response to your questions and comments. Please continue to give us feedback about this Pig Dinner and anything you would like to see in future Pig Dinners by e-mail to thetapigdinner@gmail.com. Also returning this year is the golf tournament for undergraduates and alumni. We are moving the dinner back to Bryant-Denny Stadium; we will have drinks at the Chapter House and then walk to The Zone for dinner. Please mark April 6 on your calendar to come back and visit both old and new friends. www.ThetaFiji.com Visit our website to find updates on alumni events, Chapter activities, and to recommend someone for membership. Theta Chapter Facebook Page Go to www.facebook.com and search for Theta Fiji, or click on the Facebook link on our website.