The Epsilon Owl The Epsilon Chapter at the University of North Carolina Winter 2015/2016 Pop Cashion Passes Away at 74 Dr. Jerry C. “Pop” Cashion (1963), beloved friend of and advisor to Epsilon, died peacefully in his home in Raleigh on April 17, 2015 after a courageous battle with an illness. His service to Epsilon, which spanned four decades from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, included serving as Purple Legionnaire, member of the Board of Chapter Advisors, and Faculty Advisor. In 1980, the International Fraternity recognized him with the Durrance Award, given to the Fraternity’s most outstanding Purple Legionnaire. Pop gave his fraternity not only his time, but also his money. He created, and funded, the Pop Cashion Graduate Fellowship Grants, which are awarded annually to Epsilon graduate brothers that enroll in graduate school. Through these fellowships, Pop will continue to serve Epsilon long after his death. Table of Contents Brother Cashion Tribute Continued..................................... 2 A Tribute to Pop President’s Message................................. 3 By Edwin Peele (1977) Marvin Carver Wins the Durrance Award......................................... 3 On a Friday evening I pulled into the driveway at Pop’s house. Will met me at the door, and after a few pleasantries, Cashion and I left to go meet David and Dixon for dinner. Cashion had all the signs of a man who was dying, which of course he was. But for this evening he put whatever internal pain he was feeling into his back pocket and forged ahead. In a situation like this, any one of us might want to bend over backwards to make such an awkward get together seem quite normal. And, that is what we did. There was no mention of his impending absence. We knew it would come but we ignored it. We were all young and back in the time frame that brought us first together. The laughter and the camaraderie were infectious. It was a dinner that we enjoyed and that I would like to relive. My recollections of Cashion began at the brick walk to the front door of Epsilon and expanded far beyond the years at Chapel Hill. There were the days when he first introduced himself to those of us in the pledge class of the fall of 1973. Fall 2015 Pledge Class and Legacies............................................ 3 Barbecue Cookoff..................................... 4 B.T. Harrington Passes Away As many of you know, we said goodbye to our dear friend and Epsilon legend B.T. Harrington on January 16, 2016. A tribute to B.T. will be included in the next edition of The Owl. Continued on page 2... 1 \r\nA Tribute to Pop Continued... He was a venerable figure who was revered, held in high esteem. He lived in the house and held the keys to our entry into Phi Gam. He was the first to tell me, an overstuffed country boy from Martin County, that there was so, so much in the world to see and experience. And, the largest part of that was so greatly enhanced by the friends that I would no doubt make while at Chapel Hill, and more importantly at Epsilon. He invented the Pilgrimage so that he could sear into our hearts the reverence he had for our band, the belief that there were things that transcended our own personal beliefs and interests. In a totally subversive way, he taught us about the meaning of brotherhood and then held our hands while we searched for the portal that would give us what he embodied. He taught us, then led us, then befriended us as though we were brothers who had been only recently reunited. From that point forward, he knew our names and the names of our girlfriends, our wives and then our children. He became the figure head of the new family we all claimed and yet he never asked us to forget where we came from. I remember nights of Rebel Yell, fires in the basement full of bluster and bravado, dinners with chairs and food fights and football games with Pop, serving as the custodian of the house, while we made our way to and from the stadium. He was the guard in the background, observant and protective. We believed that he was our personal protector, in every way he surely was. But most of all he was the guardian of Phi Gamma Delta. He rarely missed a chapter meeting. When he was there, he added a sense of authority to the proceedings allowing us to pretend we were adults. We were each humbled before the institution to the point we could share thoughts we might not have ever previously been able to even admit to ourselves, and in the end, to utter the words “I love all my Brothers”. He demanded that of us and all the while letting each one of us arrive at that point on our own. Cashion asked little of those around him. Only in the last few years did he feel the need to do so. It was not from a sense of pride that he held himself back, just not his way. Instead he preferred to be the person we sought out when we needed a hand, or a sounding board, or an outlet to the curves that life had laid in our paths. And in those moments we were never disappointed. Many brothers in Epsilon never had the need to rely on Cashion in such a personal way. I certainly did, and more than once. He never refused my calls and through that one action I learned a great lesson in the meaning of friendship and loyalty. 2 For most of us, we made our dearest friends and deepest memories in the shadows of the Fiji Bag. I miss Cashion: that’s the easiest way to say it. A much harder thing to do is to say why. I didn’t see him every day, or every week, or even every month. Epsilon brought us together. In a hidden, candle-lit room in the basement he often stood silently, arms crossed, draped in the garb of our Cashion, left, with Governor Mike Easley union while presiding over the events of the session. In the back of my mind he is still there, waiting to support me in the future and tying me to a part of my past that I never want to change. Edwin Peele (1977) P! President’s Message Hello, my name is Maclin Batchelor. I am from Raleigh, NC, and I am majoring in Chemistry. I have recently been elected as the President of Epsilon, here at the University of North Carolina. This school and our fraternity mean a great deal to me, and I promise all of you I will work diligently to continue the great success our fraternity has experienced over the years. I am honored to be a part of an outstanding cabinet, as I know I will be working with them very closely over the next year. Michael Rhine (2017), Treasurer, is from Wilmington, NC, and is majoring in Business Administration. Brennan Beck (2017), Recording Secretary, is from Rocky Mount, NC, and is majoring in Economics and Journalism. Tripp Andracchio (2017), Corresponding Secretary, is from Rocky Mount, NC, and is majoring in Global Studies. \r\nPresident’s Message Continued... Drayton Williams (2017), Historian, is from Wilson, NC, and is majoring in Business Administration. We started this school year off with an incredible recruitment, and signed 23 new members to our fraternity. Our goals, as a cabinet, include continuous successful recruitment, not only in numbers, but also in quality of men. We pride ourselves in selecting gentlemen who we want to join us in our fraternity, and I speak for the entire fraternity when I say that we brought in a great group of freshmen this fall. I am very excited for the future of our fraternity. My cabinet and I look to serve this fraternity in a manner that continues the excellence that has come before us and lead others in a respectable fashion. I look forward to my future as the President of our chapter, and I hope to see you all around Chapel Hill. Until then, God Bless, and Go Heels! Maclin Batchelor (2017) P! Purple Legionnaire, Marvin Carver, Wins the Durrance Award By Zach Aldridge (2016) Marvin Carver (1975) was awarded the Durrance Award for the most outstanding Purple Legionnaire of Phi Gamma Delta. Dating back to the days of World War I, the Fraternity established a legion of men to continue and maintain the duties and good work of Phi Gamma Delta while many of its members were serving overseas. Coined Purple Legionnaires, these men now serve as advisors to all of the chapters internationally. Out of the 142 Chapters and 16 colonies internationally, our Epsilon chapter had the honor of hosting the reception to honor Marvin in receiving this prestigious award. Bill Martin, Executive Director of Phi Gamma Delta, was at the event on October 8 to present the award. Pictured right are Executive Director Bill Martin and Marvin Carver Pledge Class of Fall 2015 Brice Andracchio - Rocky Mount, NC Drew Baker - Wilmington, NC Matt Balance - Columbia, SC Jackson Browder - Rocky Mount, NC Luke Combs - Salisbury, NC Jack Creasy - Charlotte, NC David Durham - Wilmington, NC Blake Holden - Raleigh, NC Lee Homes - Wilson, NC Hutton Johnston - Greensboro, NC Justin Lang - Winston Salem, NC Owen Levy - Gastonia, NC Legacies 1. Drew Franklin Baker a. Brother – Kyle Baker (Johns Hopkins 2013) 2. Stephen Luke Combs a. Grandfather – Dean Smith (Kansas 1954) b. Uncle – John Kepley (UNC 1974) 3. Blake Saunders Holden a. Grandfather – Theophilus Pitt (UNC 1958) b. Brother – Chandler Holden (UNC 2016) Marshall Martin - Chattanooga, TN Ted Meyers - Bronxville, NY Will Otto - Charlotte, NC Nate Rowell - Winston Salem, NC Everett Saslow - Greensboro, NC Stanford Shell - Greensboro, NC Chad Smith - Pinehurst, NC Gabe Steinman - Salisbury, NC Austin Sykes - Winston Salem, NC Ross Taylor - Greensboro, NC Eli White - Raleigh, NC 4. Lee Hodges Homes a. Great Uncle – William Lamm (UNC 1937) b. Great Uncle – James Lamm (UNC 1949) c. Grandfather – Harry Lamm (UNC 1952) d. Grandfather – Garland Homes (UNC 1954) e. Uncle – Richard Homes (UNC 1990) f. Cousin – Benjamin Homes (UNC 2011) 5. William Ross Taylor a. Father – Gregg Taylor (Auburn 1986) 3 \r\nEpsilon Chapter of PHI GAMMA DELTA UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA Nonprofit Org U.S. Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 1201 Red Mile Rd P.O. Box 4599 Lexington, KY 40544-4599 Barbecue Cook Off Breaks Several Philanthropy Records On Friday, November 13, the Epsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta hosted the Third Annual Phi Gamma Delta and Tri Delta Barbecue Cook-Off in the front yard of Vance Hall. This year, the house set a record for both most money raised and highest attendance, making this the best philanthropy event the house has seen in years. The Barbecue Cook-off is our largest philanthropy event each year, with the proceeds going to the Chapel Hill Fire Department. We run this event with Tri Delta Sorority and we invite all UNC fraternities to participate by sending in a plate of their best barbeque. The firemen, who come to the event, judge the barbecue, anonymously picking their favorite. This year, the firemen awarded Theresa and her Phi Gam barbecue the winner for the third straight year. Brother Jake Austin (2018), brought his band “Purple House” from High Point to provide the music for the event. Jake is the lead singer and guitarist in the band, and they played covers of classic rock and blues hits in the front yard. Our three philanthropy chairs, Drayton Williams (2017), Bennett Jethro (2017), and Sam Lilley (2018) spent a lot of time working on this event since August. They coordinated with the philanthropy chairs of Tri Delta on planning and promoting the event in order to get as much participation as possible. This year, the philanthropy chairs successfully got an iPhone App to help sponsor the event. The App “Treater,” an app that hosts great deals from restaurants and bars in Chapel Hill and Durham, committed to donate 25 Cents per download this week, which helped Phi Gam meet some lofty fundraising goals. Brennan Beck (2017) P! 4