FIJI PHI GAMMA DELTA FALL 2017 Welcome Five years ago, a group of men came together and founded our prestigious Sigma Eta chapter here at Sam Houston State University. Our fraternity has quickly made its mark on campus and on Greek Life here at SHSU; with winning multiple awards in scholarship, service, campus involvement, intramurals, and more. A few things have been going on lately within our chapter and it is my pleasure to inform and update you. I invite you as we celebrate a successful past and take a look into the chapter’s brighter future. In This Issue: Pg. 1 – Welcome Pg. 2 – New Members Pg. 3 – Philanthropy & Service Pg. 4 – Graduate Spotlights Pg. 5 – Pig Dinner 2018 Chapter Overview Q: How many active members do we have? A: 46 Q: What is the chapter’s current GPA? A: 3.08 Q: What are our brothers involved in? A: Orange Keys, Freshmen Orientation, Rugby, IFC Exec Board, Order of Omega, Bearkat Camp, Campus Outreach Student Ministry, and more! Pg. 6 – Ekklesia 2018 Pg. 7 & 8 – Brother Success Pg. 9 – What’s New Pg. 10 – Cabinet Pg. 11 – Follow Us! Page 1 \r\nNew Members We had another successful Fall recruitment and pledge-ship, thanks to the hard work of our recruitment chairs Graham Powell ‘19 and Jackson Burns ’20 along with our pledge educator Cole Miller ’19. We are excited to welcome to the brotherhood the following 11 young men: 1. Logan Bender 5. Daniel Cook 9. Joseph Oviedo 2. Kevin Brown 6. Alec Gavin 10. Reid Page 3. Paul Campodonico 7. William Kuehn 11. Ryan Varney 4. Collin Clifford 8. Dylan Moon These young men have exemplified what it means to be a FIJI Gentlemen, which we are continually striving to be every day. We are excited to see them develop into future leaders in both the chapter and SHSU community! Page 2 \r\nPhilanthropy & Service Hurricane Harvey Aftermath After the tragic event of Hurricane Harvey on the Houston area, our brother stepped up to help those in need. They immediately started reaching out to our community by volunteering at local storm shelters for refugees in Huntsville. A total of 108 service hours and time were donated. Pictured Left to Right: Diego Garcia, Daniel Douglas, Blake Brown Sigma Eta also started a GoFundMe during the time to raise money for those that were affected by the storm. Our GoFundMe totaled to just over $1700, and all proceeds were sent directly to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. ZTA Pink Out Tailgate October is ‘Pink Out’ month in support of Breast Cancer research. Our Zeta Tau Alpha sorority hosted a tailgate in which Sigma Eta helped raise $500 to go towards their philanthropy. The money was raised thanks to games and raffle prizes set up at our tailgate before the annual Pink Out Football Game. Shriner’s Baseball Tournament This upcoming spring semester, Sigma Eta is teaming up with the Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston, TX. Every March, the organization hosts a collegiate baseball tournament at Minute Maid Park. Over the next few months we will be collecting monetary donations with an end goal of $5,000. Each brother is responsible for collecting at least $100 in donations to put towards this great cause. Our fraternity will be in attendance and on the field when we present our donation to Shriners alongside head baseball coach Matt Deggs on Sunday, March 4 prior to their game against Mississippi State University. Donate at: https://donate.lovetotherescue.org/team/143361 Page 3 \r\nGraduate Spotlights David Symonds – TCU ‘97 Since our establishment, David Symonds has been the most engaged and giving alumni to our chapter. David has made significant donations to start up our Sigma Eta Housing Corporation, sponsored multiple philanthropy events, and all while serving on our Board of Chapter Advisors. This involvement, leadership, and vision has been crucial to our chapter, and can be seen in everything David does. We are honored to have the involvement and support of Brother Symonds. It is brothers like David, who exemplify “Not for college days alone”, that ensure the continued growth and success of our great chapter. Charles Waters – SHSU ‘16 Our very own, Charles Waters, who has served as multiple positions in his undergraduate career such as Corresponding Secretary and Pledge Educator, is always looking for and willing to give back in ways that he can. In the past months, Charles has donated a good amount to help Sigma Eta put down towards a smoker to use for tailgating and any other events that we might be able to find fit. Brothers have already thought of how we could dedicate it to him by most likely naming it “Smoke on the Waters”. The idea has also gone around of doing a Tailgate for the Troops event this upcoming semester. Thank you Brother Waters! Page 4 \r\nPig Dinner Saturday, April 14th, 2018 The Sigma Eta chapter is very excited to announce plans for its 2018 Pig Dinner & Black Diamond Formal. This great event will be taking place on Saturday, April 14th, 2018 at The Woodlands Resort in The Woodlands, TX. This beautiful venue is just 30 minutes from SHSU, and will allow us to put on what we hope to be the largest and most successful pig dinner yet. “Not For College Days Alone” The weekend will feature a dinner with the pig ceremony, chapter/alumni awards, a cocktail hour held before and after dinner, as well as an optional round of golf the morning prior. We were overwhelmed with the number of brothers who showed up last year and thankful for the support they give our chapter. Be on the lookout for info such as the announcing of our keynote speaker, the specific agenda for all events during the weekend, hotel reservations, and event registration details, which will be sent out via email and posted on the Sigma Eta website in the coming months. We can’t wait to see you in April, brothers! The Woodlands Resort 2301 North Millbend Drive The Woodlands, TX 77380 Page 5 \r\nEkklesia 2018 Dallas, TX July 26-29, 2018 The Sigma Eta chapter is very excited to announce that this next summer, the Ekklesia will be held in TEXAS! Set to be held at the Sheraton in downtown Dallas, the Sigma Eta chapter plans to bring a good amount of its brothers as this is the first time it will be held in our state since our chapter’s establishment. The Ekklesia has not been held in Texas since the 152nd Ekklesia which was held in San Antonio in 2000. The conference brings around 600+ FIJIs together to conduct the business of the fraternity and plan for the next 2 years. Just this past year, at the 168th Ekklesia in Boston, Sigma Eta was honored to be with our very own BCA President, Vijay Sekhara, as he accepted the prestigious Brightman Award on behalf of our Houston Graduate Chapter for the less than 75 members category. The Brightman Awards go to the most outstanding graduate chapters. Two awards are given each year: one for graduate chapters with more than 75 members and one for graduate chapters with less than 75 members. We hope that any and all Sigma Eta brothers will join us in attendance of this event. Visit www.phigam.org for registration details soon. Page 6 \r\nBrother Success Jeffrey Butterworth – SHSU ‘17 Brother Butterworth who serves as an SHSU Police Officer and Sigma Eta’s Faculty advisor, was awarded with the Keys of Excellence Award in early November. This award is given to an SHSU staff or faculty member who has had significance dedication to our university and has changed the lives of students on campus. Our growth as a chapter, and individually, can be largely credited to Brother ‘Butters’. Order of Omega Every fall our Greek honor society, Order of Omega, intakes the top 3% of Greeks on our campus to be a part of its elite standard. This fall, Order of Omega accepted 7 FIJI brothers out of 40 total new members for the semester, bringing us up to 11 total brothers who are members. We currently have two brothers who serve on the Order of Omega executive board: - Justin Whitaker as President - Daniel Douglas as Academics Chairman. Page 7 \r\nIFC Freshmen Orientation Team The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is the governing body of all active IFC fraternities here at SHSU. Sigma Eta always tried to be present and get brothers on the executive board every year. We are very excited to share that two brothers will be serving on the 2018 IFC Executive Board: Summer Orientation is the first chance where guys get a look at the perspective potential new members who are interested in joining a brotherhood. The Bearkat Orientation Leader is a vital role where they are able to meet and connect with the incoming freshmen and bring them around our chapter when school starts. Having that familiar face that freshmen see is an extremely beneficial way to recruit genuine new members. This summer, FIJI is one of only three fraternities represented on the Orientation Team all while having the most members represented from one of those organizations. - Dylan McDowell as IFC President - Nathan Powers as IFC Athletics Chairman - Jared Galvan (2nd year OL) - Aryn Pena (1st year OL) - Logan Bender (1st year OL) The Next Step It is with the best wishes that we tell 3 of our brother’s congratulations on being accepted into Graduate School here at Sam Houston State University. - Jordan Pittard ‘17 Rubin Sandlin ‘17 Wajahat Khan ‘17 We know you are all on the next chapter of your lives and are glad that each of you will be close and continue to support Sigma Eta. Page 8 \r\nWhat’s New NEW TEXAS EXPANSION - UTSA If you haven’t heard already, this fall semester, Phi Gamma Delta has been recruiting men to start up our newest colony at The University of Texas at San Antonio. This will be the 12th school in Texas to offer college gentlemen the chance to better themselves and become a part of our elite brotherhood. UTSA will have an opportunity to get graduate support from brothers in the nearby Austin and San Antonio areas. If you would like to get involved with this colony or know of anyone that should be recruited as a founding father, please fill out this questionnaire. https://www.phigam.org/2016/about/recruitme nt-recommendationIHQ DONATIONS As our chapter and brothers are leaving positive marks and impressions every day at Sam Houston State University, we look forward to improving every aspect of our fraternity. We would like to make advancements in areas such as tailgate, brotherhood, and our annual pig dinner that we will be having this upcoming spring semester. Recently, Sigma Eta has established our Housing Corporation and will be looking towards graduate support for help. Donations are always appreciated and will be put to good use for future purchases for the chapter. If you wish to donate, please contact our Treasurer, Travis Dibble. Travis Dibble – Treasurer Email: TXD013@shsu.edu Phone: (361) 510-7555 Page 9 \r\nCabinet RETIREING CABINET: PRESIDENT……………………..Lee Sundstrom TREASURER………………………..Blake Brown RECORDING SEC…………..….Travis Dibble CORRESPONDING SEC………..Cole Miller HISTORIAN………………….….Matthew Bloss Thank you to each of these guys above for your dedication and leadership over the past year. The past year has been one of great trial for the chapter, and there is no doubt we would not be in the wonderful position we are today without these men at the helm. Because of their work, they are leaving the chapter better than they found it, and the best days are yet to come. NEW 2018 CABINET Pictured Left to Right: Brenden Nagel, Travis Dibble, Justin Whitaker, David Brooke, William Olivieri Page 10 \r\nFollow Us! If any of you have any questions or concerns and need to reach someone within the chapter, feel free to contact a member of our current cabinet by any means. Please keep up with us as well via website or social media! 2018 Cabinet President Justin Whitaker JCW039@shsu.edu (512) 745-7306 Treasurer Travis Dibble TXD013@shsu.edu (361) 510-7555 Recording Secretary David Brooke DMB078@shsu.edu (512) 623-0543 Corresponding Secretary Brenden Nagel BGN001@shsu.edu (281) 299-9101 Sigma Eta Website: www.shsufiji.weebly.com Sam Houston Phi Gam Historian William Olivieri WTO001@shsu.edu (512) 496-0053 @SHSU_FIJI @shsu_phigam Fraternally, Justin Whitaker Graduate Relations Chairman Perge! Page 11