Summer 2011 Phi Gamma Delta PO Box 3047 Terre Haute, IN 47803-0047 Homecoming 2014—Join us on October 11 by Robert Stevens Homecoming is a time to connect with friends, old classmates, and especially brothers. This year Homecoming weekend is Friday, October 10th and Saturday, October 11th. The weekend kicks off with the annual Tricycle Derby at 4pm on Friday afternoon. The Tricycle Derby dates back to 1963 as a 10-lap race around the sidewalks of the Quadrangle on children's tricycles. The modern version of the race is now run at the Michael Simmons Student Activities Center at 9th and Sycamore just north of the Bally, of which I am sure that many of you have fond memories. Saturday events unofficially kick off with “the Walk”, for those brave enough to attempt, at the bar and time of your choosing. For those looking for a more family friendly start to the day, attend the Blue and White Homecoming Parade which begins at 9am and will run from 9th and Cherry, up Wabash avenue and end at 5th and Chestnut. Following the parade, Tent City will open at 11am at Memorial Stadium. The Housing Corporation will be sponsoring a catered tent for all brothers and their families. Please come by the tent to reconnect with old classmates and brothers young and old. Then, watch the Fighting Sycamore’s football team host the Redbirds from Illinois State University in a grid-iron game kicking off at 3pm. Graduate Updates 166th Ekkleisa by Anthony Hernandez Bill Niederer (’85) served as Principal Choral Conductor for the Indiana Ambassadors of Music in its European tour of seven countries during June and July 2014. He is currently in his 15th year teaching at Elkhart (IN) Central High School. Michael S. Daugherty ('70) has been retired 11 years now from Duke Energy. Cathy retired three years ago after teaching 1st grade for 26 years, and they have enjoyed traveling (mainly road trips and ocean cruising) and visiting their son, Andrew, in Reno, Nevada. Andrew, bleeds purple as he is a Zeta FIJI from Indiana University. John Garner’s wife, Gail Luker Garner, retired after 40 years as an RN. John is class of 1972. Paul Lawson (‘13) married Jennifer Platek on August 3 in Dyer, IN. The happy couple currently resides in Terre Haute. Billy Allen (‘14) married Beth Cripe on August 30 in Spencer, IN. Billy also recently accepted a position as a clerical assistant with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The couple resides in Indianapolis. Paul and Jenny Lawson at their recent wedding During this last 166th Ekkelsia, the chapter sent three delegates: chapter president Anthony Hernandez, treasurer Andrew Jewell, and recording secretary Joseph Milkowski. We also had the privilege and honor of sending three of our pledges (Robert Shipley, Kyle Phegley, and Trevor Martin) to be initiated at what is typically the mock initiation on Thursday evening. On Friday, our delegates attended the business sessions as our newly initiated brothers participated in Project Phi Gam. They, as well as many other Phi Gams across the nation, ensued on a mission to help give back to the community. With other excitement as pertaining to the chapter, the Iota Sigma Chapter here at Indiana State University was awarded an Academic Achievement Award. The award was given to chapters who have been above the all men’s average at their respective university. The chapter was also awarded the John Templeton McCarty award for chapter proficiency. On Saturday, the undergraduates, joined by graduate brothers Dustin Ogle, Bill Niederer, Mike Schell, and PL Ryan McFarland, enjoyed a quick lunch at Rock Bottom Brewery. The Ekklesia ended on Saturday night with the closing banquet, and it was a great time of brotherhood. Trevor Martin, Kyle Phegley and Robert Shipley were three of the four initiated at the Indianapolis Ekklesia \r\nPresident’s Letter Iota Sigma Leadership Chapter Cabinet The Chapter has had a pretty eventful summer in regards to events. We sent three chapter delegates to the 166th Ekklesia as well as three of our pledges to be initiated. The Chapter won two awards - the Academic Achievement Award as well as the John Templeton McCarty proficiency award. There were many joyous celebrations of brotherhood and interactions with Phi Gams from across the US that provided the chapter with many learning experiences as well thoughts about how to improve our chapter from longer running chapters. President Anthony Hernandez Treasurer Andrew Jewell Recording Secretary Joe Milkowski Corresponding Secretary Dylan Lutz Historian Board of Chapter Advisors Purple Legionnaire Ryan McFarland President Dustin Ogle Financial Advisor Tom Barlow Fundraising Tony Biggs Pig Dinner Paul Lawson & Bo Stout Homecoming Robert Stevens Risk Management Nick Sturgeon Philanthropy Johnathon Allen Scholarship Kenny Gordan The Chapter is in a full swing of rush this semester. We have ambitions of obtaining and maintaining a 25 man pledge class for the fall semester. We currently have 20 enthusiastic new members that have shown nothing but our values of excellence and knowledge, and can expect many good things from them this upcoming semester. The first pledging ceremony was held on Sunday, August 31 and the second was held on Friday, September 12. The chapter has also started in its philanthropic efforts with our annual Out of the Darkness Walk for the American Suicide Prevention Foundation on November 1 from 9 am to noon at the Rec East Field at ISU. The chapter will be reaching out to businesses for sponsorships and donations in these upcoming months. The Chapter has set a goal to raise $8,000 for the event (proceeding to beat last year’s donations of $7,000). The chapter has also a temporary house located on S 6th Street where 10 brothers live and function as a tool for teaching brothers the responsibilities of living together and promoting brotherhood. The chapter has hopes of getting an official chapter house in the near future if we are able to sustain a 50 man chapter for the upcoming year. The setting was the wonderful fairways of Hulman Links. For those who have not been back to Terre Haute in awhile, Hulman has gone through a wonderful transformation! Fairways have been reseeded and greens were first class. This author has it on good authority that even the woods were beautiful, and the weeds lined with slightly used golf balls just waiting for a reclamation and replay! (That last comment courtesy of two undergrads, Robert Shipley and Trevor Martin who are named to protect the guilty.) Fourteen brave hackers graced the course for the Iota Sigma Fiji outing. Several notable shots were witnessed, and a massive quantity of needing-to-be-forgotten shots were observed! Fighting through the incredible heat and humidity, the team of Trevor Martin, (now nicknamed "the Professor"), ancient grads Kevin McCubbin and Mike Schell combined to shoot a one under par to best all and take home the hardware. A skins game was added this year, and buckets of beer were awarded to all players needing refreshments. Many thanks to Larry Watson for again getting us the fantastic course and incredible price! All brothers had a great time and are now charged with bringing one more brother to next year’s event! Fraternally, Mike Schell (ancient grad) Perge! Purple Legionnaire Report I hope you all had an enjoyable summer! In this edition of the newsletter, I wanted to share some of the goals the undergraduate chapter has set for the upcoming semester. Since rechartering, the chapter has performed well in most areas but recognizes the need to improve its operations and most importantly, its academic performance and size. With all that being said, the chapter has started this year of strong and has every intention of finishing that way by pressing on and striving for excellence. The chapter had an average GPA of 2.84 in the spring, placing it above both the all-fraternity and all-men’s averages. However, the chapter’s only ranked 6th out of 14 men’s fraternities and was below the all-Greek average. This semester, the chapter has set a goal of a 2.95 GPA, which we believe is a realistic and achievable goal. If the chapter meets or exceeds this goal, it is likely we will rank in the top three among men’s fraternities. Fraternally, Anthony Hernandez (Indiana State ‘16) Chapter President Perge! Recruitment Joe Weist Graduate Relations Paul Lawson Pledge Education FIJI Gathering—Golf Outing 2014 Do we have your email address? Membership Development Donovan Martin Many Iota Sigma graduate communications are through email. Tau Iota Foundation If you have not been receiving emails from us, please drop us a message at info@isufiji.com and we will get you on the list. President Tom Barlow Treasurer Robert Stevens Save the Date Secretary Paul Lawson Pig Dinner April 11, 2015 Meadows Banquet Center The chapter ended spring semester with 32 men, tying it for 11th among the 14 fraternities at Indiana State. We lost five brothers to graduation and a few to transfer, and the chapter returns this fall with 23 initiated brothers. Therefore, the chapter set a goal of recruiting and retaining at least 25 quality men for the fall, in hopes of getting our overall chapter size to 50. We are off to a good start, having already bidded and signed 20 quality men. The chapter has a variety of events designed to help reach its goal, including a cards and cigars night, a video game night, an event at the Sycamore Lounge, a canoe trip to Turkey Run, and an afternoon trip to Victory Field to the see the Indianapolis Indians play. Anytime you’d like to see what’s going on with the undergrads, feel free visit the chapter’s website at http://www.isufiji.com/. At the site, you can get the latest chapter news, see the chapter’s calendar of events, and sign up for the 1848 Club (hint, hint!) The chapter is also on Facebook (search “Sycamore Fiji”) and on Twitter (@SycamoreFiji). We also have an Iota Sigma graduate brothers Facebook group - you can search “Phi Gamma Delta - Iota Sigma Graduate Brothers”. And as always, we are looking for grad brothers who are interested in helping our chapter. If you have an idea or a particular area of expertise that you think would be helpful, please email me at rdmcfarland77@gmail.com or call me at 812841-0240. We look forward to seeing you this fall! Fraternally, Ryan McFarland (Ball State ‘02) Purple Legionnaire, Iota Sigma Chapter Perge! \r\nTau Iota Foundation President’s Letter The house corporation (Tau Iota Foundation, Inc.) is working with other Greek Alumni, ISU officials as well as developers and investment groups toward achieving a Greek village for each interested fraternity and a place we can all refer to as “home”. It is important to recognize that the University officials would like to see the project come to fruition and willing to sell us land, but the University will not have any vested interest. Brother Bob Shenberger (’76), Charlie DeMaio (Lambda Chi Alpha graduate) and myself met with Servitas (a nation-wide development & property management group) and K & D Capital (funding source) on April 29, 2014 to discuss the Greek village concept. We expressed the importance of providing affordable housing, which will maximize its occupancy rate. On June 2, 2014 Brother Shenberger, Charlie DeMaio and Rex Kendall (ISU Executive Director of Alumni Affairs) provided Servitas and K & D Capital a tour of the campus as well as the potential land available for the project (north of campus). On August 21, 2014 Servitas sent us an initial proposal for a 19 bedroom unit per chapter. We are currently scheduled to revisit the initial proposal with Servitas on September 4, 2014 to discuss the details of the proposal that we may convey back to each chapter. As with any project, it is prudent to obtain competitive proposals, so Brother Shenberger and Charlie Demaio met with Jacob Hellman of Keymark Development, Inc. (a local Terre Haute developer) on July 15th to discuss the project. We are anticipating an initial proposal from Keymark Development any day now. Currently, we are seeking two additional proposals from other developers. Once we have all of the initial proposals, we will present them to the ten interested fraternities (including Iota Sigma), so we can evaluate the project’s feasibility and the type of structure afforded by a desired average monthly rental rate. It is anticipated that the interested fraternities will collaborate on any suggestive changes for a final proposal from the developers, so we may ultimately present the most favorable competitive proposal(s) to each fraternity and the University. Currently, a few of our Iota Sigma undergraduates continue renting a house near campus that enables them to hold events and enrich brotherhood, while focusing on growing our chapter’s membership. If any of you have questions or suggestions, you may contact me at tombarlow.synergy@gmail.com or call me at 317-710-1816. Fraternally, Tom Barlow (Indiana State University ’89) President, Tau Iota Foundation, Inc. Perge! 1848 Club Launched Brothers, Tau Iota Foundation, Inc. (House Corporation) has created an 1848 Club for graduate brothers. This club will allow us to create a more diverse array of graduate events throughout the year, which will give brothers more opportunities to connect and enjoy in the great brotherhood of our Fraternity. Joining the 1848 Club offers three main benefits. First, you help fund graduate-centered events and communications like this newsletter. Second, you will receive recognition in our newsletters and on the programs of graduate events. Third, your attendance at Pig Dinner and the events during that weekend are free! The 1848 Club takes its name from the suggested monthly minimum donation of $18.48, or an annual amount of $221.76. We already have some brothers that have pledged and have been donating, myself included. Setting it up is simple to do - I visited the website (http://www.isufiji.com/1848clubdonor/) and set it up on Paypal with my credit card. Once a month, I receive an email letting me know my $18.48 has been charged. It requires no extra work on my part and it is a nice email to remind me of my part in growing brotherhood for Iota Sigma and Phi Gamma Delta. If you prefer to pay once annually, the website lists those options as well. So brothers, I ask you to join with us in this pledge, and please feel free to contact me for any questions. Fraternally, Paul Lawson Secretary, Tau Iota Foundation, Inc. Perge! 1848 Club Members