Mu Mumbles University of Wisconsin - Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity - Winter 2015 Edition Y EAR IN R EVIEW By: Paul Fredrickson (2015) – Former Chapter President As another year in Phi Gam history comes to a close, the brothers of the Mu Chapter have so many reasons to be proud. Our successes start with the graduate brother support we have continually received. This past year we happily saw the most amount of involvement from our graduate brothers. The Mu Chapter’s 2014 Pig Dinner hosted the most amount of attendees we have seen: 60 graduate brothers. The support continued when Peter “The Duck” Fowler (1964) organized the first annual “FIJI 50th Reunion” where 50 brothers, and their wives, attended a weekend full of events in the fall. We undergrads enjoy sharing FIJI experiences and memories with the graduate brothers of the Mu Chapter. Your increasing support and involvement gives us motivation to be the best Phi Gams we can be. The year started off strong with a solid group of 11 pledges in the spring. Our semi-annual, values-based recruitment continued in the fall in pledging 21 more men. The Chapter sees more interest at our recruitment events each semester, making the process both harder on us and more challenging for recruits to receive a bid. In the spring, we hosted our first annual FIJI Island Cup philanthropy event. The Coming Soon Annual Pig Dinner April 25 The Mu Chapter proudly welcome the Xi class into our brotherhood. Join the past and present Phi Gams in celebrating our brotherhood with a weekend of events including a golf outing and the annual pig roast. Questions and Comments can be directed to Johnny Koremenos, BCA president, at johnnykoremenos@gmail.com or Randall Pulfer, Corresponding Secretary, at pulfer@wisc.edu. (L to R) Chris Stout (2016), Dan Troutman (2016), Matt Oswald (2017) and Griff Pyle (2017) at Fiji Academy week full of events raised over $10,000 for People Helping People, an organization out of Baraboo. Our dedication to service continued this fall as we conducted a successful Rivalry Run with the brothers of the University of Iowa, benefitting the Red Cross. Mu Fijis continue to be extremely involved on campus. Brothers are involved in over 125 other student organizations ranging in everything from interest groups to athletics to the sciences. Our “Humorology” cast received third place in the final competition in the (Continued on page 2) I NSIDE THIS ISSUE : F IJI 50 TH R EUNION 2 A N OTE FROM THE H OUSE M ANAGER 2 W E E NCOURAGE S ERVICE 3 H OMECOMING W EEK 3 \r\nM U M UMBLES P AGE 2 A YEAR IN REVIEW CONTINUED... spring. Our winning ways didn’t stop there as we paired up with Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Xi Delta to take first in the 2014 Homecoming week. Too often the leadership of the Chapter gets credited for the accomplishments “It is through the actions of the 104 strong Fiji gentlemen that our Chapter is able to get credit where credit is due.” actions of the 104 strong Fiji gentlemen that our Chapter is able to get credit where credit is due. It is because of these men, who live their daily lives by the five values of the Fraternity, that I am mighty proud of the Mu Chapter. within the fraternity. It is through the NOT FOR COLLEGE DAYS ALONE—THE FIJI 50TH REUNION By: Dan Troutman (2016) - Corresponding Secretary In September, the undergraduates at the Mu Chapter hosted graduate brothers from the years of 1964-1971. Over the course of the weekend, graduate and undergraduate brothers enjoyed events such as campus and athletic facility tours, a cookout at the house, a Badger football game, and a Saturday night date function in the Great Hall. Attendees were even lucky enough to witness the reunion of the Onagers, the house band during 1964-1971. It’s hard to say reliving their days spent at 16 Langdon, whether the graduate brothers or the it seemed as though only a month or two undergraduate brothers had more fun at had passed. the event. For the undergrads, it was a pleasure to The graduate brothers loved seeing each meet the grads and learn about the opother after years of being out of touch. In portunities that lay before us. Hearing some cases, the brothers had not seen about the many different ways in which each other since graduating. Yet, regraduates have found success was truly markably, when they started talking and an inspiration. The phrase “Not for Col- lege Days Alone” is instilled as a cornerstone of our ideals; however, rarely is there a better manifestation of this principle than the reunion that was held. Through talking with many of the graduate brothers, I gained a new appreciation of the phrase, and we are excited that the graduates from this era have already selected a date for next year to return for another reunion! We couldn’t be more excited to host them again. Below is a list of brothers who made the event possible: Peter Fowler, Dennis Skogen, Peter Bazos, Bob Shearer, Chuck Nason, Lou Preysz, Hans Johnson, Brekke Johnson, Chris Bauer, Ned Engelhart, Mike Savidusky, and John Thompson A MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE MANAGER By: Jonathan Brand (2016) - House Manager When you think of the Mu Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, I’m sure one of the first things that comes to mind is 16 Langdon Street. The place where all the great memories of brotherhood, social events, and the other most enjoyable memories of your college days has taken place. Keeping up this historic landmark has been challenging, yet a rewarding part of my experience as a Fiji. fire suppression system will make sure brothers and the house are safe for years to come. A newly renovated kitchen will keep the live-ins well fed with a house chef. New house furniture in the foyer and Great Hall have been great for common area hangouts for the 40+ brothers who live in the house. The Great Hall is now the place to be with the new flat screen TVs mounted and the sectional couch. The house will also be warm, and Many renovations to keep memories showers will be hot, with four new high happening at 16 Langdon have occurred efficiency boilers, piping, and controls in the past few years. A fully functioning installed this past month. Future projects are also in the works to upkeep our house. The snark deck has recently been approved and is undergoing construction as this article is being written. New drainage and long-lasting materials will make this a highlight of the house. New drainage systems around the house will keep water out and route it around the house. More future projects may include electronic door locks for the brothers, security cameras to protect our house, and more routine maintenance to upkeep our historic landmark. \r\nP AGE 3 W E E NCOURAGE S ERVICE By: Tyler Lane (2017) This past spring was an extremely exciting semester for the Philanthropy Committee. As a Chapter, we decided to create a brand new philanthropy event, naming it The Island Cup, donating all of the proceeds to a local charity, called People Helping People (PHP). Based out of out of Baraboo, WI, this charity focuses on current needs within the community by utilizing the talents and resources of its members. Various programs PHP has helped include donating Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to families in need, donating school supplies to local, low-income schoolchildren, connecting community mentors with unemployed adults to help them re -entering the workforce, and many more. For our new event, the Philanthropy Committee decided to hold a week’s worth of activities creating a competition between the sororities on campus. The sororities competed each day through donations and challenges for the Island Cup, a large brass trophy given to the winners. These events included a cooler design competition, sand castle competition, tug of war, trivia, and a puppy night were OccuPaws and a local breeder brought dogs and puppies to the house to socialize with anyone and everyone. This spring event was an extremely successful first run, raising $10,000, and we are excited to raise even more money next year. This was an exciting philanthropy, because each Fiji had the opportunity to contribute his talents to the effort. The Chapter’s Rivalry Run, the traditional fall philanthropy, was continued again this year. This year, however, the event was held with the University of Iowa, because the Minnesota football game occurred over Thanksgiving break. It was exciting to meet our brothers in the Mu Deuteron Chapter in Dubuque, Iowa, and they were very welcoming to the brothers who chose to stay in Iowa City for the weekend. NEWLY ELECTED CHAPTER LEADERSHIP Chapter President Dan Troutman (2016) dan.troutman6@gmail.com Chapter Treasurer Matt Oswald (2017) oswaldmatt21@gmail.com Recording Secretary Nick Mankowski (2016) nmankowski@wisc.edu By: John Batterman (2017) Corresponding Secretary Randall Pulfer (2017) pulfer@wisc.edu Chapter Historian Chris Stout (2016) cstout2@wisc.edu H OMECOMING W EEK The Phi Gams teamed up with the lovely ladies of Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Xi Delta in an attempt to repeat as Homecoming Week champions in 2014. The week started on Sunday with Community Service Day as brothers helped clean up the campus area. The events that followed throughout the week included Badgers Games, Yell Like Hell, Shooting Down Cancer, and Trivia Night. On Tuesday night five of the Phi Gams, and the rest of Greek Team, placed first in Yell Like Hell with a UW-themed rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”. On Saturday afternoon on the lake Thursday night, the Phi Gams clinched a second consecutive Homecoming Week championship with a first place finish at Trivia Night. The week concluded with the Homecoming Parade on Friday and a tailgate at 16 Langdon before the football game against Maryland on Saturday. Brothers enjoying the Fiji rink on Lake Mendota. \r\nNonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity 1201 Red Mile Road Lexington, KY 40504 Mu Mumbles is a biannual publication of the undergraduate members for the graduate members, parents, and friends of the Mu Chapter of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. All correspondence regarding this publication should be directed to Corresponding Secretary Randall Pulfer at pulfer@wisc.edu. Contribute to 16 Langdon and the Mu Chapter Fund I want to give a donation of: $ _____ $ 250 $ 1,000 $ 100 $ 500 $ 50 I want to give a monthly donation (credit card only) of: $ _____ $ 100 $ 30 $ 10 Credit Card (circle type): Visa MasterCard Discover AMEX Donations can be made: - On-line: www.phigam.org/MuDonations - By phone: (859) 977-6314 - Send checks payable to Phi Gamma Delta - Mu Chapter to: __Mu Chapter Donations, 16 Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53703 and include this form. Name____________________________________ Year__________ Address ________________________________________________ City/State/Zip ____________________________________________ CC number _________________________________________ Phone __________________________________________________ Exp. 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