THE KENTUCKY PHI GAM THE UPSILON KAPPA CHAPTER OF PHI GAMMA DELTA SUMMER 2016 Dear Brothers, During my short time as President thus far, it has become clear to me why so many past presidents welcome their retirement from the position with great joy. The position poses difficulties many 21-yearolds never have to navigate. Yet, through these obstacles comes even greater growth, not only for myself but for our chapter. Only through difficulty can we come to realize where our weaknesses lie, and once realized, we may then set forth to improve the great chapter we all strive to be a part of. Over the past two years the chapter has experienced issues that have challenged not only our ability to adapt, but also our perseverance. Through these situations, we have come to recognize flaws in the old system of a rapidly growing chapter, which past Presidents, Tyler Mahoney (2015) and Eric Dullen (2016) set forth on amending. Though perhaps not perfect, their works have provided ground for which I seek to build upon. My current goals are to organize our committee structure and to refurbish our by-laws. Both will serve our chapter well, long after my time is done. As we enter the fall semester, I am aware that I will be faced with the many challenges of managing a chapter that will soon stand well above 100 members. I devote myself to confronting these challenges maturely and with all the judgement that God has blessed me with. However, I cannot do this alone, and I am relieved to know that I have a cabinet and committee chairmen willing to fervently face these obstacles with me. I also would like to ask you, my brothers, to continue to support the chapter and to provide assistance when called upon. As we continue to grow, your support becomes ever more influential; setting the precedent for future graduate brothers developing into their role. I am one of many who will see this chapter rise above the negative perceptions projected by society, in regards to Greek organizations. I hope to serve the chapter well in doing so, and look forward to the day when I may look back and smile at what has been accomplished. My prayers go out to you and our chapter, Blake Bostick (2017) P! TABLE OF CONTENTS: Recruitment Philanthropy Scholarship Brotherhood Mission Trips: Haiti Graduate Spotlight 2 2 3 3 4 5 Cabinet Officers Blake Bostick (2017) President Shiv Rubenstein (2017) Treasurer Alex Edlin (2017) Griffin Bowling Dustin Burkett Corresponding (2018) Recording (2018) Historian Secretary Secretary \r\nRecruitment T his semester, the Upsilon Kappa chapter experienced one of the most successful spring recruitments we have had in years. We took 16 new pledges, and initiated 12 of them. With every brother talking to potential new members, we were able to bid the guys we thought had the most potential to become Fiji gentleman with the guidance of our core values. Planning recruitment was no easy task, but now I am able to see that the more time and effort we as a whole put in, the more we get out of it. I want to truly thank the brothers of the Upsilon Kappa Chapter and IHQ for all their help in our past recruitment season and look forward to recruiting many more Phi Gams in the near future. Michael Shunnarah (2017) Perge! Philanthropy I am pleased to announce that I am the Philanthropy Chair for the Spring 2016-Fall 2016 term. Over the course of my term so far, former chair Zach Vo (2017) and I developed a new spring event, Islander 5K! All proceeds will be going towards DanceBlue as a corporate sponsor. It is the first time in awhile that Upsilon Kappa will have held two events during an academic year and we are very excited to do so. Also, it is with great pleasure that I am announcing our third annual fall philanthropy event, Bonnamu, which is a Greek battle of the bands, hosted alongside Phi Mu. All proceeds will go towards USO. The date will be October 20, 2016 from 7pm-11pm at Manchester Music Hall. My committee and I, alongside Phi Mu, will be finalizing all our plans this summer and more information will be out during the fall, so stay tuned! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at tim.penick14@gmail.com. I hope to see some of you local guys out here supporting Upsilon Kappa! Tim Penick (2017) Perge! 2 The Kentucky Phi Gam Fall 2015 \r\nBrotherhood A s brothers of the Upsilon Kappa Chapter, we pride ourselves on having the strongest brotherhood of any fraternity on the University of Kentucky campus. Brotherhood is the most essential element of our fraternity and is the core of all that we do. This semester, we have actively strengthened the brotherhood in our chapter through the expansion of the brotherhood budget. This increase of allocated funds has allowed us to enjoy record attendance for the annual Perfect North Ski trip earlier this spring semester. With 82 brothers and pledges, the attendance was triple of the previous year! Just a few weeks ago we also held our first Fiji Golf Scramble at Picadome Golf Course. We are looking forward to pairing this event with Pig Dinner in the future for a complete brotherhood weekend. In addition to these larger events, we have had tailgates at Keenland and weekend trips to the Red River Gorge. As the fraternity motto goes “Not for College Days Alone”, graduate brothers are always welcome to attend brotherhood events with the active chapter. If you would like to learn more about our current brotherhood events, please contact brother Nate Smith at (502) 523-7971. We hope to see many familiar faces for the Paintball outing in the fall! Nate Smith (2018) P! Scholarship T his past fall, as a chapter, we earned a 3.34 GPA. This put us second in grades out of all fraternities at UK, only .04 away from the top spot. Fourteen of the 26 pledges that initiated in the fall achieved a GPA of 3.2 or higher, which earned them the AAA scholarship. On top of that four of them achieved a GPA of 4.0. The Chapter awarded these individuals an additional scholarship. This scholarship, which was introduced two years ago, rewards the members of each class with the highest, and most improved GPA. In total, these scholarships allowed us to award $9,000 in scholarships to our brothers this semester. With the help of our chapter’s new academic advisor, Thomas Teague (NC State 2007), we have been able to achieve academic success and promote self-improvement amongst brothers. We will continue to strive for greatness in our pursuit to become first in grades on campus this year. The Kentucky Phi Gam Fall 2015 3 \r\nMission Trips: Haiti Preston French (2018) and Frank Bradford (2018) Austin Wicker (2018) T S his past semester, Preston and I had the opportunity to serve in Haiti. It was a life changing experience for both of us and we had a blast doing it. We were able to serve wherever we could with the Missionaries of Charity. We served meals and played with the children, washed clothes and cleaned window screens. Sometimes it felt as though we were doing more to be in the way rather than help, but the women who worked their greatly appreciated us being there and helping them. They made sure to let us know that our help let them rest for a while, something which does not happen a lot. We asked you, our graduate brothers, to help with funding our trip, and you really delivered. We would both like to thank you so much for helping us whether financially or by thoughts and prayers. This trip was more than inspiring; it really provided a perspective of how different the lives of the families we assisted were, compared to ours. Returning from this trip, Preston and I are more than humbled. We can now appreciate all of the luxuries we take for gratnted in our day-to-day lives. Again, we want to express our gratitude for the support the graduate brothers have shown. Know that it helped out greatly and we are better people because of it. 4 The Kentucky Phi Gam Fall 2015 ummer is coming to an end and school starts once more. This summer however, has been one for the books. I am associated with an organization called Children First, a faith-based organization out of Frankfort, Kentucky. We are associated with an orphanage in Haiti called CCH, right outside of Port-au-Prince. Children First supports the orphanage, helping it meet the adoption standards so that the children in CCH can find new homes. We do everything from water filtration, plumbing, electrical work, painting, heavy construction, medical and VBS for the kids. I have been going to Haiti since I was 18 years old, but as I stated earlier, this summer was special. I went to Haiti in June, then again in July. During the June trip we held a VBS for the kids of the orphanage, as well as the kids of the surrounding village. We put on a soccer camp for all of the children, and also re-painted the orphanage. During our trip in July, we dug a 450 ft. trench and laid pipe, so we could pump out the grey water that the orphanage constantly battles. We also built and put into place a brand new water filtration system so that the kids had clean, sanitary water to drink. Being able to go to Haiti is always a blessing, and helping the children there is something that is close to my heart. During this summer, while I was traveling back and fourth to Haiti, I received nothing but support and love from my brothers of the Upsilon Kappa Chapter. Whenever I am in Haiti, I always try to show the same type of brotherly love to the children and people of Haiti as my brothers’ show to me, many miles away back home in the States. \r\nGraduate Spotlight I I was honored when the chapter asked me to write a short update for the newsletter. After graduating from UK in 2011, I went off to George Washington University Law School, where I graduated in 2014. I immediately moved back to Lexington and passed the Kentucky bar that summer. This June, I will finish my second year of a clerkship on the United States District Court in Lexington, which has been immensely exciting, fulfilling, and challenging work. One of the most rewarding parts of being back in Lexington is the opportunity to give back to the Upsilon Kappa Chapter and the Central Kentucky graduate community. At the 2015 Pig Dinner, the graduates elected me the president of the newly reformed Bluegrass Fiji Graduate Chapter, and after some organizational efforts, the Graduate Chapter held its inaugural event in February and is planning to announce our summer event soon. We also host monthly dinners at Puccini’s and monthly happy hours. I encourage everyone to participate and attend events as you are able. The newest opportunity to present itself was when the Chapter elected me as the Purple Legionnaire, to replace Travers Manley (2011), who served the Chapter diligently for the past several years. I am excited to get started as the PL and look forward to working with all the undergraduates and graduates to keep the chapter going and to maintain a vibrant graduate community. I welcome any ideas or comments; feel free to email me at jtchap2@gmail.com. James Chapman (2011) Want to be featured in the Graduate Spotlight? Send us a blurb about you and your pledge brothers and we will make sure to include you in our next issue. Please email your stories to Frank Bradford at franklin.bradford@uky.edu recently graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2011 where I received a degree in Spanish language and art studio, with a primary focus on graphic design. I currently work for our International Headquarters, where I am the Coordinator of Communications. My primary responsibilities involve the Graduate Communication Services program, supporting graphic design and layout for the Fraternity’s publication, as well as, social media and website management. The Graduate Communications Services program provides undergraduate chapters and graduate brother support in the design, printing and shipment of Undergraduate Chapter correspondence, including but not limited to undergraduate newsletters, Pig Dinner post cards and miscellaneous other layout design. I assumed this position the summer of 2015 after being an intern for one and a half years. I am grateful to be able to continue to serve the Fraternity and give back to the organization that helped shape me as an individual. We have all shared this feeling of gratitude for the Chapter and Fraternity, whether that be for the friends and brothers that we will have the rest of our lives, the opportunity to contribute to something greater than oneself, or the positive atmosphere that you are immersed in. I would like to say thank you to those who served the Upsilon Kappa Chapter prior to my years as an undergrad and those undergraduate and graduate Brothers who continue to do so. To our undergraduate brothers that continue to navigate the turbulence of college, know that whatever you personally contribute to the chapter, all of the hard work, bickering, frustration, and dedication will be rewarded one hundred fold with the memories, feelings and satisfaction that you have left, something you care about greater than it was before. Know that you can make a difference and the more voices and opinions that are heard the better the Chapter will become. The most harmful thing a brother can do for the Chapter is be apathetic. Don’t be silent, you joined this for a reason, find that reason and figure out how you can give back. That is truly what life is about. Don’t ever be stagnant, no matter what part of life you are applying that to, whether it be the Chapter, other organizations on campus, or your personal goals. Do not stop trying to improve; complacency is contagious. Keep moving and never stop pressing on. That is the key. Luke Francis (2015) The Kentucky Phi Gam Fall 2015 5 \r\nPhi Gamma Delta Fraternity Upsilon Kappa at University of Kentucky 1201 Red Mile Road Lexington, KY 40544 Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Important Contact Information: Blake Bostick – President 513‐704‐8073 bigbluebostick2@gmail.com Griffin Bowling – Recording Secretary 419-463-4392 griff31ky@yahoo.com Alex Edlin – Corresponding Secretary 502-377-4676 alex.edlin@uky.edu Dustin Burkett – Historian 606-416-1742 dustin-burkett-20@hotmail.com James Chapman – Purple Legionnaire 270-348-2350 jtchap2@gmail.com Ben Martin – BCA President 859-537-0409 bamart91@gmail.com Harry Dadds – House Corporation President 859‐231‐3955 Harry.Dadds@skofirm.com 6 The Kentucky Phi Gam Fall 2015 The Kentucky Phi Gam is a biannual publication of the undergraduate members for the graduate members, parents, and friends of the Upsilon Kappa Chapter of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. All correspondence regarding this publication should be directed to the Graduate Relations Chairman, Frank Bradford (2018), at franklin.bradford@uky.edu