THE POTPOURRI NEWSLETTER OF THE XI DEUTERON CHAPTER OF PHI GAMMA DELTA Above are the sixteen men who were inducted as pledges this fall. They are (from left to right) Francisco Burciaga, Michael Baldonieri, Kapil Patki, Joe Degenova, James Flinn, Arun Murugesan, Joe Giordano, Minhal Gardezi, Ryan Brubaker, Pedro Reyes-Carchure, Phil Hoffert, Danny Eck, Andrew Torres, Ian Peace, Daniel Yakobian, and Douglas Lee. (Photo taken by Brother Matthew Napfel.) Xi Deuteron Welcomes 16 Pledges After a two-week recruitment period, the brothers of the Xi Deuteron chapter pledged 16 men, making this fall’s pledge class 45 percent larger than that of 2011 and 60 percent larger than that of 2010. The new pledges boast an impressive set of accomplishments. Foremost, every individual is attending the University on at least a partial academic scholarship. Outside of the classroom, every individual was a high school athlete, nearly half of whom were varsity captains. The group’s commitment to serve is unyielding. Joe Giordano, for example, is a volunteer EMT with more than 1,000 hours riding on ambulances. Additionally, they hold leadership positions in organizations across campus. Michael Baldonieri serves as the Director of Special Events for the University Program Board (UPB), and Danny Eck serves as the Vice-President of Finance for the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity and as the Director of Administration and Membership for the campus’ financial capital club. Our chapter’s success follows the development of a new recuitment strategy inspired by Campuspeak, an organization that offers consulting services and interactive workshops geared to student leaders. Brother SAVE THE DATE Neal Sachar, the recruitment chairman, made division of labor the centerpiece of the new strategy. Rather than the recruitment chairman and another brother or two planning the entire recruitment calender as in semesters past, brothers were assigned to recruitment “teams” that were each responsible for organizing and facilitating an event. This accomplished two things: first, it enabled the recruitment chairman to dedicate his time to the overall success of recruitment, instead of having to worry about things such as whether a group of brothers had been assigned to clean up after an event. Second, while brothers worked diligently with one another to coordinate event details during the weeks preceeding recruitment, recruitment teams took ownership of their events once the two-week period began, building a collective enthusiasm among brothers to recruit the best men on campus. While our chapter is eager to welcome the sixteen pledges, the recruitment success has motivated brothers to not only begin discussions for the chapter’s spring recruitment, but also to take a closer look at recruiting men outside of the traditional recruitment periods. SMOKER PIG DINNER \r\nPresident’s Welcome My name is James Velette, and I am the current President of the Xi Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. It is my pleasure to tell you some of the great things that our chapter has done recently. Last semester, our chapter earned a 3.29 GPA, besting the All-Men’s and All-Fraternity campus averages. Our chapter of 51 members has continued to grow its influence on the Case Western Reserve campus. Brothers and pledges hold leadership positions in organizations all over campus such as the University Programming Board, Interfraternity Congress, Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity, The Observer newspaper, as well as competing on the varsity wrestling and track and field teams. Our chapter also collaborated with other fraternities, local businesses, and student bands to put together the 2nd Annual Bellflower Block Party, a fun, campus-wide event, to kick off the 2012-2013 academic year. Help us keep in touch with you by updating your contact information at phigam.org. If you would like assistance with updating your information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jav53@case.edu. Finally, I would like to thank all of the graduates who have made contributions to Phi Gamma Delta over the past year. Not only do you help to keep FIJI affordable for the undergrads, but you also remind us that Phi Gamma Delta is not for college days alone! Pi Beta Phi Recruits at CWRU Q&A with Resident Leadership Development Consultant Tori Pinciotti How would Pi Beta Phi like to contribute to the new Pi Beta Phi colonies and CWRU community? chapters receive an unparalleled level of support over an extendTo exemplify Pi Phi’s commitment to continued growth ed period of time. They benefit of the Fraternity and Sorority community and student considerably from two years of leaders at CWRU, Pi Beta Phi is proud to offer a commu- on-site support and continuing nity-wide educational program from one of the unique subsequent support from the partnerships we have established with The Leadership New Chapter Assistance Officer, Institute – Women with Purpose, CAMPUSPEAK and Collegiate Regional Team and RESPONSE ABILITY’s Every|Day Hero Campaign. We Alumnae Advisory Committee. From PiBetaPhi.org believe our support in this form will illustrate that Pi Beta Phi is committed to contributing to your univer- In addition to our undergraduate chapters at colleges sity’s desire to develop student leaders to their fullest and universities, Phi Gamma Delta has chapters for potential and enhance the future of your fraternity and graduate brothers in cities across the US and Canada. sorority community. Does Pi Phi have similar groups for alumnae? If so, is there such a group in the Cleveland area? The support that a colony would have from local graduate brothers is a major consideration for Phi Gam- There are 135 Pi Phi chapters on college campuses across ma Delta when deciding whether the Fraternity is in- the United States and Canada. We also have more than terested in colonizing at an institution. What support 300 alumnae organizations including clubs located in from alumnae will the Pi Phi colony at CWRU have? Canada and Europe. There are two Cleveland alumnae clubs; Cleveland East and Cleveland West. Additionally, Pi Beta Phi will only colonize where we can rely on there are 10 alumnae organizations in Ohio. strong and consistent alumnae support. Local alumnae play an important role in both establishing a new UPDATE: Just before this newsletter was sent to prochapter and supporting existing chapters. The Pi Beta duction, Pi Beta Phi announced that it had inducted 65 Phi Ohio Lambda Chapter is fortunate to have two women as founding members of its colony at CWRU. large alumnae organizations in the Cleveland area. All Congratulations, Ladies! \r\nNews about Graduate Brothers Brother Kenneth “Jules” Kovach (1967) was inducted into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Brother James Urban (2012) is pursing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on combustion at the University of California, Berkeley. Brother Omar Gutiérrez (2012) matriculated at Harvard Medical School. Here is Omar at HMS’s white coat ceremony, an event often hosted by medical schools to welcome incoming students. Brother Ryan Shoup (2011) passed the CPA exam and is, as a result, now licensed to practice in the state of Ohio. Brother Matt Patton (2009) and his wife, Lauren, celebrated their first wedding anniversary in August. Last summer brothers gathered at Jim Gavacs’s house. It was great to get people together and laugh, reminice, meet spouses and see how we all resisted aging (HA! HA!). Brothers from left to right: Mick Kapostasy (1970), Jack Vanek (1970), John Lubahn (1970), Stan Jonas (1972), Ed Babcox (1970), Doug Montgomery (1972), Ray Fenner (1972), Mitch Henn (1972), Bob Smith (1972), Bob Niebaum (1969), and Jim Gavacs (1973). Summer Festivites This summer marked another successful year for the FIJI Golf Outing. On Friday July 13th, brothers gathered at the Jolly Scholar, the on-campus restaurant/ bar, for food and drink. The attendance Friday evening was fantastic, with over 50 graduate and undergraduate brothers in attendance, ranging from pledge classes in the 1980s to the most recent initiates of Xi Deuteron, all together, ready to start the weekend. The next day was the actual golfing, and close to 40 brothers participated in the annual scramble foursome golf tournament. This year brothers celebrated the memory of Brother Denny Shute (Western Reserve 1927), a professional golfer who won three major championships during the 1930s, including the 1933 Open Championship at St. Andrews. Shute was the last golfer to win back-to-back PGA Championships before Tiger Woods. All of the foursomes competed for the lowest written by ISADORE “IZZY” BUDNICK (2013) combined scramble score, as well as for closest to the pin and longest drive, throughout the 18 hole course at Shawnee Hills in Bedford, OH. A new addition to this year’s golf outing was a driving competition on the 18th hole, in which brothers competed for the longest and most accurate drive using a golf club that Brother Shute would have used during his time on the professional golf circuit! As always, the graduate and undergraduate brothers of Xi Deuteron were very grateful for the hard work of Brothers Joe Miller (1992) and Joe Mellott (1988) and those other brothers who organized the weekend, and we all look forward to another FIJI Golf Outing weekend next July. Brothers, if you haven’t been to the Golf Outing before, I highly recommend a trip to Cleveland in early July for a great time with brothers of all generations! \r\nNonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit #540 Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity 1201 Red Mile Road Lexington, KY 40504-2648 IMPORTANT FALL SMOKER INFORMATION INSIDE SAVE THE DATE... Brothers at the 107th Annual Norris Pig Dinner on April 30, 2011 Join us for the 109th Annual Norris Pig Dinner! Saturday, April 20, 2013 Details and formal invitations to follow... Our Pig Dinner will also celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Cleveland (Eta) Graduate Chapter.