OMEGA PHI GAMMA DELTA HRONICLE CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY May, 2017 PRESIDENTS ADDRESS spearheaded our first ever “Phi Gam Cooler Jam” Event. We were able to raise over $3,000, which was donated to our local United Service Organization (USO) chapter. This will now be an annual event that I look forward to seeing grow in the future. To begin, we have recently welcomed the Phi pledge class into our brotherhood. They are a group of courageous, honest and well-rounded gentlemen that will undoubtedly have a great impact on our chapter. I’m excited to see how each of these men grow as Fiji to reach their full potential in their undergraduate careers. The Chapter held our annual Norris Pig Dinner event this past November at the Costa Mesa Country Club. We were happy to have graduate brothers not only from the Omega Chi Chapter, but also many other chapters from around the country in attendance. This upcoming November, we will be having our 9th annual Norris Pig Dinner, and I hope all graduate brothers reading this will be able to attend. Hello and welcome! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bryce Anderson, and I am the current president of the Omega Chi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta at Chapman University. I’m excited to share the 2017 edition of the Omega Chi Chronicle with you, which highlights what we’ve been up to in the past year, and also gives you a couple events to look forward to. Philanthropically, I have been very impressed with what our chapter has been able to do in the past academic year. We recently held our annual Purple Tie Affair, which was led by brothers Clay Dirkse (2019) and Dylan Blumberg (2018). We were able to raise a grand total of $15,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, allowing us to grant three wishes. The Purple Tie Affair has garnered praise from not only the Orange County chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, but nationally as well. Thank you to all parents and graduate brothers who made generous contributions to our event. In April, brothers Cody Peplinski (2019), Solomon Leaman (2018), Wyatt Hulick (2018), and Caelin Batstone (2019) I would like to extend my gratitude to our graduate advisors, because without their support, our chapter would be nowhere near where it is today. Specifically, I’d like to give thanks to David Todd (USC 1967) and Steve Caine (New Mexico 1997) for their continued support. Although they both lead busy and fulfilling lives, they somehow find time to support our chapter without asking for anything in return. I am truly inspired by their ability to show us that Phi Gamma Delta truly is “Not For College Days Alone.” I'd also like to welcome and congratulate Kevin Wilson (2012) on becoming our new BCA President. continued on page 2 Website: http://www.fijichapman.com/ Instagram: @chapman_fiji Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChapmanFIJI/ Twitter: @ChapmanFIJI TABLE OF CONTENTS Norris Pig Dinner................................................... 2 1848 Club............................................................... 2 Purple Tie................................................................3 Phi Gam Cooler Jam............................................ 3 FIJI & C.A.R.E.S......................................................3 The Todd.................................................................4 Ryan Robinson - Graduate Spotlight................5 Pie Smash.............................................................. 5 Amin Anjedani - Senior Spotlight...................... 6 KAT Walk.................................................................6 Dad's Weekend..................................................... 6 Greek Awards........................................................ 6 SKIT......................................................................... 7 Jim Davis................................................................8 Pledge Education.................................................. 8 Phi Pledge Class................................................... 8 \r\nPRESIDENTS ADDRESS CONTINUED... He is already making great strides in his short time in the position. I am eager to see the positive contribution he makes to our chapter in the future. On behalf of our chapter, I would like to personally thank you for supporting us in our endeavors to reach our full potential. I plan on sending out a newsletter to our supporters more routinely in the future, because we wouldn’t be in the position that we are without you. rewarding. Being a part of such an excellent and diverse group of individuals makes my job so much easier, and I couldn’t be more proud to help lead this organization. The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta has allowed me, and so many others, to enjoy college to its fullest and make best friends for life. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. I am incredibly proud to be an Omega Chi Fiji and am thrilled to share with you some of our accomplishments over the past year. Enjoy! Although it can be daunting at times, holding the position of president for this exceptional chapter has been overwhelmingly Bryce Anderson (2018) Chapter President NORRIS PIG DINNER This fall, the FIJI Omega Chi Chapter at Chapman University presented another successful Norris Pig Dinner. FIJI’s Norris Pig Dinners are well known in the Greek life community as the most widely observed and longest continually running chapter-based annual graduate event. This year’s Norris Pig Dinner was hosted by our Purple Legionnaire Steve Caine (New Mexico 1997) and was held at Costa Mesa Country Club on November 5. 63 brothers, 20 pledges and 55 graduate brothers attended the event, for a total of 138 brothers representing five different FIJI chapters. This year was also the first year that we sold t-shirts in honor of the event, which were a great success and memento of the night. We hope to see you all at the 2017 Norris Pig Dinner, where we will continue to build upon our strong foundation here at the Omega Chi Chapter. The details for the event are posted below, please mark your calendars! Highlights of the event included a reading of the Exile’s Toast by Jeff Downey (UCLA 1983) and a visit from our IHQ Field Secretary Josh Cox (Indiana State 2014). Contact for Information: pigdinnercufiji@gmail.com Where: ***New Location*** Orange American Legion Post 132, 143 S Lemon St. Orange, CA 92866 When: Saturday November 4, 2017 Attire: Formal 1848 CLUB Brothers, We have adopted a new system this year, which will hopefully help us reach our goals as a chapter in years to come. The 1848 Club is a donation program through which graduate brothers can give back to Omega Chi FIJI. This is a program that many other FIJI chapters utilize throughout the nation. This club supports all graduate activities, including the Omega Chronicle, Graduate Brother Weekend, Norris Pig Dinner, and Scholarship Programs. We encourage all brothers to consider this club as a weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly giving option. Any gift does count! We really appreciate your support, and hope to continue to strengthen our graduate brother relationships in years to come. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to our Treasurer Cason McHose (2018) at casonmchosefiji@gmail. com Link to donate: https://www.legfi.com/app/fundraisers/342 2 \r\nPURPLE TIE This year’s Purple Tie Affair was a great success once again. The night was filled with stellar performances, great food, and lots of fun. We had around 180 friends and family attend the event and were able to reach our goal of raising $15,000 for the Make-AWish Foundation. The money raised is being used to grant the wishes of three Make-A-Wish donor recipients. Highlights of the night included past Make-A-Wish recipients Greg and Raelyn Beckler, who told us about the impact of the program on their lives, a dance performance from the ladies of Delta Gamma, and musical performances from brothers Ben Gallagher (2017), Julian Mahe de Berdouaré (2020), Kyle Marshall (2020) and Angus Strawbridge (2020). Thans to everyone who has helped make this event a success every year, and as always, we would love to see you at the next Purple Tie Affair. PHI GAM COOLER JAM This year, the Omega Chi Chapter decided to try out a new philanthropy event in the spring called Phi Gam Cooler Jam. While it was our chapter’s first year doing this event, it was very popular amongst other FIJI chapters across the nation. We teamed up with the United Service Organization (USO) to help sponsor the event, and it was a great way to build our chapter’s relationship with them. Each sorority and fraternity at Chapman was given a cooler to decorate for a week leading up to the event. The only restrictions were that they needed to have their chapter’s letters, the USO’s logo and FIJI painted on it. On the Monday of the event, each cooler was showcased in the piazza at Chapman for everyone to see. Members of each sorority or fraternity could come by our fundraising tent and put money into their cooler. The week-long event became a race to see which cooler had the most money in it. With a very close race between four of the sororities, Gamma Phi Beta ended up raising the most money for the fundraiser. Additionally, we featured photos of each cooler on our Instagram page (@chapman_fiji) to see which one had the best design. At the end of the week, Alpha Phi’s cooler won the award for best design. In the end, the fundraiser was a huge success as we were able to raise a grand total of $3,233.26 for the USO. FIJI & C.A.R.E.S. This year many Fiji brothers took the initiative in continuing our chapter’s strong relationship with the on-campus organization, C.A.R.E.S. (Creating A Rape-free Environment for Students). C.A.R.E.S. meets on campus every Friday to discuss upcoming events, program improvement, and most importantly, ways to prevent sexual assault on Chapman’s campus. Our Chapter currently has four brothers who are trained C.A.R.E.S. members, which is the most of any Greek organization on campus. They are Nima Anjedani (2019), Mark Luberski (2019), Weston Ruhland (2019) and Justin Thompson (2018). Additionally, brother Jon Ryder (2018) recently won the C.A.R.E.S. Man of Integrity Award. The Chapter has worked with C.A.R.E.S. on multiple projects this year, the most notable being the “C.A.R.E.S. Clothesline Project”. The Clothesline Project allows students to write their own messages on t-shirts that are hung around campus to help spread awareness about sexual assault. The gentlemen of Phi Gamma Delta helped hang up the shirts, tabled during the event and assisted in taking down the shirts at the conclusion of the event. We also assisted C.A.R.E.S. and Alpha Phi Sorority with their event, “Red My Lips,” and also co-sponsored an event with Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority called “Denim Day”. The Chapter looks forward to our continued involvement with C.A.R.E.S. and appreciates the important work that the program does. 3 \r\nTHE TODD If you are reading this article then it is a certainty, like death and taxes, that you already know Dave Todd (USC 1967). If the Alpha Pledge class members of Chapman University are considered to be the Founding Fathers, then Dave is one of only a few Founding Grandfathers. He has been with the Omega Chi Chapter every step of the way since its start over ten years ago. I have reached out to several graduate brothers to ask for their stories of gratitude for the help and inspiration that Dave has given them. Dave Norman (2008) told me, “Dave Todd has served as a tremendous resource and advisor to me. During college, Dave gave his time and efforts to helping me succeed in my goal of getting an internship and eventual job at a big four accounting firm. Without Dave’s guidance and help, I would not have started my career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. If I hadn’t worked at PwC, I never would have met my wife. I will always be thankful to him.” Tyler Hadzinsky (2011) found his first job after college thanks in large part to Dave Todd. “Dave was instrumental in getting me through the process of interviewing and accepting my job.” Every year Dave would have lunch at MiMi Café with Tyler since he started at Chapman. Apparently, Tyler and a few others (Cameron Jalbert I’m talking about you) ran into some trouble during their pledge semester. It seems that they were brought up before the BCA for a judicial review and Tyler says if it wasn’t for Dave speaking up for him and the others they would not have made it through to see initiation. Dave was also incredibly helpful in rushing Tyler who was the Chapter’s first baseball player. This in turn afforded us many more athletes since Dave was able to prove to the team coaches and players that Omega Chi FIJI is a great place for many of them. Houston Bradley (2015) told me, “Dave Todd has been and will always be one of the greatest examples of commitment I've ever seen. In this case, commitment means the success of Phi Gamma Delta and the growth of its members, without fail.” Former Undergraduate Archon, Bear Kennedy (Chapman 2010) said, “Most college-age men in Orange County rush FIJI and stay involved in their chapter long after graduation, not because of an established tradition but in the hope that the face looking back at them in the mirror of the Costa Mesa Country Club restroom will resemble that of Dave Todd.” While Dave Todd has been the best of everything for us here at Chapman University, his love of the Fraternity does not 4 stop here. He also hosts our traveling field secretaries from IHQ. These hard working, underpaid and overworked road warriors often stay in cheap motels or worse the couch of a not too clean chapter house. So, when they come to visit us or the nearby Iota Chi Chapter, they are blessed with the opportunity to stay on a bed covered in clean sheets housed in the “Field Sec Wing” of Todd Manor. For years, I have always wondered why each Field Sec. was so eager to stay at Dave Todd’s until it was explained to me what their typical lodging was like. However, these five star accommodations come at a price. To begin, they have breakfast at Charlie’s Chili on the sand in Newport Beach. It’s a tradition. The issue is that this breakfast is usually after a night of drinking for the Field Sec. So, the morning breakfast comes early with a helping of chili and a 15-minute drive back to Dave’s that probably feels more like an hour with no restroom in sight. Our most recent Field Secretary, Josh Cox (Indiana State 2014) must have missed his date with the side of chili because the morning after our 2016 Norris Pig Dinner, I received a very early morning phone call from The Man himself. Dave Todd called me and said in a very troubled voice, “There is conspiracy afoot!” Apparently, Josh didn’t make it home to the “Field Sec Wing.” Fortunately, he did make it to someone’s couch and all was well. Without Dave Todd, there would be no Omega Chi Chapter. Dave, we are forever in your debt. Never change. Please keep coming around, telling great stories, and influencing the next generation. Fraternally, Steve Caine (New Mexico 1997) \r\nRYAN ROBINSON - GRADUATE BROTHER SPOTLIGHT Ryan Robinson (2012) is the ideal example of what it means to “be a FIJI”. Ryan graduated from Chapman University in the spring of 2012 and has pursued his own dreams while helping others along the way. Ryan Robinson is “the greatest asset Chapman FIJI has ever had” according to Steve Caine (New Mexico 1997), Chapman FIJI’s lead advisor & Purple Legionnaire. Ryan achieved this high praise due to his tenure as Chapter president and his generosity throughout his years at Chapman. While he was president of the Omega Chi chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, Ryan had the bright idea to dedicate his time and efforts to creating a web-based platform for all chapter documents. To this day, we still use and refer back to his creation on a daily basis for inspiration and resources necessary to our essential functions. The biggest lesson that Ryan took away from being President of the Omega Chi chapter is that no crisis is ever the end of the world. By leading our chapter to unexplored frontiers, he gained a thorough understanding of the importance of remaining calm and being present in the moment of any situation. This has taken him far in his professional career, being able to handle anything that comes his way in business. Out of the five values that Phi Gamma Delta gentlemen count on in their lives, Ryan has found that friendship has been the one that has stuck the most with him since graduating. He says that the majority of his friends are still FIJI’s and their connection to the Fraternity has remained very strong. Additionally, his connection to FIJI has provided many unexpected connections to graduate brothers from around the country. He says that every so often he runs into someone wearing our classic ring and he enjoys being able to connect with them on a level that only gentlemen of Phi Gamma Delta can appreciate. Ryan has dedicated much of his time as an alumni of the Omega Chi Chapter to recruiting and speaking at our events. With a diverse background and innovative thinking, Ryan pushes those around him to pursue excellence. He has returned nu- merous times to Chapman to impart wisdom, give advice and offer a helping hand to FIJI brothers and Chapman students alike. Since graduating from Chapman in 2012, with a degree in business administration, a minor in leadership, and emphases in entrepreneurship and finance, Ryan has taken the professional world by storm. immediately after graduation, he began working at a local company named OrigAudio as a marketing & account manager. From there, Ryan refined his skills and knowledge to help him start a company with another Omega Chi graduate brother, Matt Feldman (2012), called Case Escape. Less than one year after its creation, Case Escape was delivering goods to over eight countries worldwide. Currently, Ryan resides in San Francisco, working on freelance marketing with multiple start up companies. He focuses on putting together content strategies for companies so that they can build impactful relationships with their customers. Additionally, Ryan runs a website, where he provides business consulting courses to entrepreneurs on how to effectively grow profitable businesses while still keeping their full-time jobs. Within the next two years, Ryan hopes to grow his consulting website by reaching one million readers and adding more helpful content for entrepreneurs. Connect with Ryan! We would love to see our Omega Chi brotherhood strengthen as Phi Gamma Delta is Not For College Days Alone. https://www.ryrob.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/theryanrobinson/ https://twitter.com/theryanrobinson PIE SMASH FOR MEN'S HEALTH On November 15, 2016, the men of Phi Gamma Delta and Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at Chapman University joined forces to put on an entertaining fundraiser for the Movember Foundation. The event was in support of spreading awareness about men’s mental and physical health. Participants would donate various amounts of money in order to smash an array of concoctions into their friend’s faces. The concoctions varied from ketchup, whipped cream, shaving cream and chocolate sauce. The event was a success, and as a chapter, we raised $1,443 in the month of November for the Movember Foundation. 5 \r\nAMIN ANJEDANI – SENIOR SPOTLIGHT It is the time of year where The Omega Chi Chapter has to say goodbye to the unbelievable graduating class of 2017. This year, our chapter plans to graduate 22 seniors, who have dedicated countless hours and unparalleled energy, enthusiasm, and ideas that have progressed our chapter to the great heights it currently strives for today. With the graduation of our 2017 class, our chapter felt the need to cast a spotlight on a brother who has made unbelievable contributions throughout his four years of membership. It would be unfair to both Amin Anjedani (2016) and his accomplishments throughout his four years at Chapman University if we did not highlight some of his largest accomplishments. When Amin was first affiliated with the Omega Chi Chapter, he immediately dedicated unparalleled energy and passion to furthering the development of our organization. One of Amin’s largest contributions within the chapter came during his time as recruitment chairman in his sophomore year. Amin worked tirelessly to ensure that our chapter could secure two pledge classes that would make not only an immediate impact on our chapter, but help leave a lasting legacy and continue the positive direction our chapter was headed at the time. In his role as recruitment chairman, Amin solidified a recruitment process that continues to be followed today. Another large contribution that Amin made to Chapman FIJI came throughout his time as chapter president. Amin fought hard for the position he had desired since first joining our organization, because he believed he could provide a positive influ- ence for every member’s collegiate and Greek life experience. Amin dedicated his entire term as president to increase chapter involvement on and off campus, increase chapter transparency, strengthen graduate brother relations and serve as a mentor and role model for younger members entering our ranks. Amin helped the Omega Chi Chapter reach new heights on a national level and aided in the development and improving of its campus reputation. Due to these accomplishments and more, Amin Anjedani was recently awarded the 2016-2017 Todd-Washington Award. This award is dedicated to a graduating senior whose devotion, service, dignity and impact on the chapter during his undergraduate tenure is unmatched. Amin is more than deserving of the award and our chapter is excited to see all that he is able to achieve in his bright future. After exiting his role as president, Amin has been able to accomplish something no other Chapman University student has ever done before; secure a full-time position at BlackRock in New York City post-graduation. The entire Omega Chi Chapter is ecstatic for Amin and his future and wish him the best of luck in his endeavours. KAT WALK This year’s annual KATWalk sponsored by our sister sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, was a huge success for Phi Gamma Delta. We partnered with another sorority on campus, Kappa Kappa Gamma, to take home all of the major awards from the event. The FIJI and Kappa team led several fundraisers for the event, including a SoulCycle class and a photo contest. In total, the team raised over $1,700 for the philanthropic event, which was the most out of all of the other teams. The team consisted of brothers Nathan Cohen (2018), Daniel Morla (2017), Jacob Wells (2018), Gavin Wuerfel (2018), Sebastian Barahal (2019) and Max Murray (2018). Their performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves won not only the People’s Choice Award, but also 1st place overall for the KATWalk performance. Additionally, brother Max Murray was awarded the Casanova MVP for his leadership and performance during the event. 6 \r\nDAD'S WEEKEND This past fall, the Omega Chi Chapter hosted its annual Dad’s Weekend, an event where active brother’s fathers can come to Chapman University for a weekend getaway with their sons to revisit the glory days of college. This year, we had 20 dads from all over the country attend the exciting three-day event. Similar to past years, we kicked off the weekend with a check-in and meet and greet at one of our chapter’s satellite houses in Orange. Every father and son received a complimentary FIJI Dad’s Weekend t-shirt designed by brother Jack Powell (2019). The weekend continued with various backyard lawn games as everyone was able to kick back and enjoy themselves. Different from previous years, we were able to team up with the ladies of Alpha Phi to throw a 70’s campground themed exchange with our dads. The exchange was a huge success, with karaoke and egg toss games that everyone could participate in. On the final night of the weekend, we had a group dinner at JT Schmidt’s where we were able to relive the weekend over a couple of drinks and get a group photo. FIJI Dad’s Weekend 2017 was definitely one for the books! GREEK AWARDS Every year, the Order of Omega hosts a Greek Awards Ceremony, where the organization opens up a nomination-based awards show to showcase and appreciate the hard work and effort put in by the members of the Chapman Greek Life community. This year, the Omega Chi Chapter took home two outstanding awards. First, the 'Greek Advisor of the Year' was awarded to our chapter thanks to our incredible advisor and Purple Legionnaire Steve Caine (New Mexico 1997). Steve has been a part of our chapter since its charter in 2008 and puts in an extraordinary amount of time and effort into its growth. A father of two and a loving husband, Steve is a huge part of why the Omega Chi FIJI chapter is as strong as it is today. The other award that our chapter took home was titled, 'Greek Man of the Year’. This award is given to a member of Chapman Greek Life that lives and breathes Greek Life. This year, it was given to one of our current cabinet officers, Jon Ryder (2018). Jon has served back-to-back terms on the Omega Chi’s cabinet as our former historian and current recording secretary. Jon is also the president of the IFC as well as an employee in the Greek Life office. SKIT The Omega Chi Chapter continued its success in this year’s Greek Skit hosted by Chapman University’s Greek Life. Brothers Jack McAdam (2019) and Trevor Tanaka (2017) led the 22 brothers and pledges to the podium, placing 1st amongst all fraternities on campus. Other notable brothers who helped out were brother Patrick Hall (2019) who was in charge of the soundtrack and brother Jack Powell (2019), who was in charge of creating the props used on stage. They participated in three performances over the weekend, performing a hilarious rendition of the movie Shrek, which proved to be a crowd favorite. 7 \r\nJIM DAVIS Jim Davis, 53, father to Matt (2016) and Alex Davis (2020) passed away after a valiant battle with cancer early March 2017. Jim was a genuinely principled man with an unwavering resolve to succeed, whether, that was on the football field at Ohio State University where he played middle line-backer, with his highly esteemed business career, or with the family he cherished over everything. Jim will continue to live on in the hearts of those who had the opportunity to get to know him and most of all through his wife and two sons, who truly understand the love and wisdom Jim had to offer this world. PLEDGE EDUCATION Educating new members is a privilege and an honor, as I have a direct opportunity to have a positive influence on them. Our time together has been beneficial to the personal development of the pledge class and me. I have taught them our fraternity's workings, morals and values in hopes that their experiences at Chapman University, and beyond, are rich and lived to the fullest. One of the biggest challenges is to hold everyone accountable for their grades and behavior. New member education is put in place to make sure they uphold their commitments as they enter adulthood. One of my favorite things about the Phi fall class of 2016 and the Chi Spring Class of 2017 is their teamwork. They both have constantly shown creative collaboration among projects, serenades and even their studies. They have demonstrated our fraternity’s most important values of friendship, knowledge, service, morality and excellence, and I am proud to be their pledge educator. Jack Atkinson (2018) Pledge Educator PHI PLEDGE CLASS Alexander Palmer (2020), Mill Valley, CA Alexander Davis (2020), Incline Village, NV Andreja Stamenkovic (2020), Belgrade, Serbia Angus Strawbridge (2020), Mill Valley, CA Arnaud Zimmerman (2019), Cherry Hill, NJ Benjamin Wasserman (2020), Bend, OR Francis Bonadies (2020), Hamden, CT Jake Holden (2020), Sydney, Australia Jordan Greenhall (2020), Newport Beach, CA Julian Berdouaré (2020), Miami Beach, FL Keanush Tafreshi (2020), Las Vegas, NV Kyle Marshal (2020), Lake Oswego, OR Matthew Vara (2019), Honolulu, HI 8 Michael Hamilton (2020), Liberty Lake, WA Michael Rice (2020), Carlsbad, CA Michael Taber (2018), Boerne, TX Olin Hanson (2020), Lake Oswego, OR Sorob Wadood (2018), Costa Mesa, CA Thomas LaHorgue (2020), Kentfield, CA William Swindells (2020), San Francisco, CA Zachary Kaiser (2018), Bakersfield, CA For any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the content of the newsletter please contact the Graduate Relations Chairman Iain Gayley. Iain Gayley: (203) 824-7807 gradrelationscufiji@gmail.com