Rho Alpha of Phi Gamma Delta Spring-Summer Newsletter 2024 Greetings! Run Across Virginia Dear Graduate Brothers, Parents, and As we prepare for the fall semester's Other Friends of Rho Alpha: We had a very activities, our philanthropy chairs are fast successful spring semester and summer at work when it comes to planning this break that we would like to share with you year's Run Across Virginia, better known all. between undergrads and graduate brothers alike as Football Run. What a busy spring semester it was! The brotherhood completed a myriad of As mentioned in the Fall 2023 newsletter, different activities, and we are eager to this past year's Run Across Virginia was a share them with you all. huge success, largely in part due to donations from graduate brothers, For starters, we initiated our spring new corporate sponsorships, and parents. We member class, Delta Tau, comprised of 19 thank you all tremendously! young men, 14 of whom are freshmen, and the remaining are sophomores. We are extremely excited about this year's Run Across Virginia as we will be running We also received two chapter awards towards Virginia Tech since this year's granted to us by Virginia Tech Fraternity Commonwealth Cup will be played at Lane & Sorority Life (FSL). These awards are a Stadium. While the fanfare around the testament to our 5 core values, and we are game will surely be entertaining enough, very excited and grateful to receive them. be on the lookout for the Phi Gams as we More of that on page 2. run the game ball into Lane Stadium for kickoff against the Wahoos! Go Hokies! We also practiced our value of Service through various programs in and around During the coming months please keep an Blacksburg. The brotherhood volunteered eye on your inboxes as we will be for several different events, including the communicating key information regarding Big Event, Greeks Giving Back, and other our fundraising efforts for this event, smaller community service opportunities. along with any potential activities taking place in preparation for this year's run. Finally, several improvements were made on our beloved 202 Church Street property. More of that on page 2. Thanks for tuning in, I hope everyone enjoys this issue and the information included! --Bennett Logan '26, Hayden Crook '27 Perge! [1] Rho Alpha Newsletter Spring-Summer 2024 Awards & Recognition This spring semester Virginia Tech Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL) office ended the year off by giving out their annual chapter awards and recognitions. The Rho Alpha Chapter is proud to have received the Chapter Collaboration Award! We are thankful to have received this honor, and we extend a heavy thank you to our Cabinet and our other chapter leaders who made this possible. Additionally, a very special congratulations to our very own Purple Legionnaire, Dana Hesse '86, for receiving the Henry S. Mattox Outstanding Fraternity Alumnus of the Year award! Our chapter is very grateful for all that he Spring 2024 New Member Class. does, and there is nobody more deserving Meet the Delta Taus (ATs) ! for this award! Thank you and congratulations Dana! Perge! Congratulations to the newest brothers of our chapter, the new member class of AT! The Delta Tau class is comprised of 19 young men, including 14 freshman and 5 sophomores. Welcome new Brothers! Steven Chen ('27), Anthony Ciccarello ('27), Bobby Cisneros ('27), Hayden Crook ('27), Willie Daileader ('27), Ramon Dayan ('27), Andrew Ewert ('26), Justin Garcia ('27), Ryan Greenblatt ('27), Jackson Greene ('26), Ryan Hamlet ('27), RJ Holihan ('26), Scott Johnson ('27), Collin Kumpf ('26), Aidan Lauder ('27), Tommy Le ('27), Jason Pastushan ('27), Steven Roney ('26), Greg Temple ('27). [2] Rho Alpha Newsletter Spring-Summer 2024 House Improvements Over the past semester, we are happy to share the latest improvements made to our house. We have added several wonderful upgrades that ensure our house is looking sharp. First off, outside the front yard includes the addition of the new flagpole to replace the old and broken pole, proudly displaying both the ensign of the USA and FIJI the letters of Phi Gamma Delta. Next, we have installed brand new outside railings on the porch, helping keep the exterior of the house looking clean. Also along the exterior, is the addition of a new driveway gate, a much needed addition that was able to replace the previous and broken gate. Inside the house, includes the addition of a new dining room table. Special thank you to Hayden Somerville ('26), Parker Forrest ('27), and Bennett Logan ('26), for building this gift to our chapter. The table serves as a great center piece and we are very thankful for this new addition. Lastly, we have added new outside string lights pictured to the right, to make the yard more of a usable space after dark. These lights are a great addition and makes the atmosphere very welcoming in the evenings. [3 Rho Alpha Newsletter Spring-Summer 2024 Greeks Giving Back Spring Service This spring semester, brothers worked This spring, the Delta Tau class with VT FSL through Greeks Giving volunteered with the Virginia Tech Back to help give back to the Blacksburg YMCA. Brothers helped turn old community. Brothers divided up into clothes into tote bags that can be groups and helped complete a variety of reused within the store. The YMCA is tasks around the area, in spirit of Ut a huge nonprofit organization that Prosim. This event is a great way in provides a variety of services for which Greek chapters come together to local children and families, and as a help serve the local community. brotherhood we are grateful we can help assist the program and serve the community. Great work brothers! The Big Event Another way in which Brothers helped serve this semester was through the Big Event. The Big Event is a student- run day of service, where both individuals and groups come together to volunteer. These efforts led to the completion of almost 1,200 service projects across the event in and around Blacksburg, and it was a great way for Brothers to help serve! [4] Rho Alpha Newsletter Spring-Summer 2024 Graduate News Pig Dinner 2024 Congratulations to graduate brother Additionally, we also held our 52nd Ward Follette '76, for being awarded the Norris Pig Dinner, celebrating 52 years inaugural Rho Alpha Pinnacle of of the tradition. Thank you to all who Brotherhood Award. This award was came! The music, the food, and the created to acknowledge Ward's lifetime ceremony made for a great time. commitment and continued support to our chapter. Our chapter was able to At our Pig Dinner luncheon, we also award this honor at the 52nd Pig Dinner awarded many brothers with Academic this year, and we want to recognize him awards that we would like to mention for all that he has done. Ward has helped as well! These awards all are a great organize graduate support, provide reflection of hard work displayed by financial support, and has continued to the brotherhood. Congratulations to all provide lifelong dedication to our winners! chapter. Much of his work has gone unrecognized, and this honor is to Highest NM GPA S'23: Jaime Nebot recognize Ward for his great efforts. Highest NIB GPA S'23: Michael Mancuso, Ward has been a brother of Rho Alpha Rashed Abdulrahman (tie) for over 50 years, and we are very Highest NM GPA F'23: Hayes Gelsomino, grateful for all that he has done. Thank Ben Ogletree (tie) Highest NIB GPA S'23: Luke Bitsko you and congratulations Ward! Most Improved GPA F22>S23: Adam Nobrega Most Improved GPA S23>F23: Gill Williamson Highest Soph. Cum. GPA thru F23: Spencer Just Highest Jr. Cum. GPA thru F23: Nathan Brown Highest Sr. Cum. GPA thru F23: Joseph Ciemniecki Five Values Scholarship Honorable Mention: Colby Black ($500) Five Values Scholarship Winner: Daniel Cao ($1500) McMahan Family Persistence Scholarship: Bryce Marcantonio ($2000) [5] Rho Alpha Newsletter Spring-Summer 2024 Standards of Excellence Academic Success The Standards of Excellence program is As academic success is always a focus an accreditation program to challenge within our chapter, the spring semester and showcase chapters to strive for continued to reflect our consistent excellence in all they do. For the 2023- success in the classroom! The active 2024 rating cycle, Fraternity and member GPA average for the spring was Sorority Life office awarded the Rho a 3.4225, placing #2 out of 29 IFC Alpha chapter with Platinum status fraternities. This includes 9 brothers recognition! Platinum is the highest who received a perfect 4.0, and a total of honor that can be recognized, and this 70 brothers who achieved Dean's List reflects our consistent hard work and recognition! List included below. success as a chapter. Rho Alpha was the largest IFC chapter to earn this great recognition. Great work Brothers! Spring 2024 Dean's List (asterisk indicates perfect 4.0) Allison, Cashel Ciemniecki, Joseph* Koontz, Ashton Rimler, Nathan Balakrshnan, Charan Conway, Gabriel Lask, Thomas Runyon, Ryan Barefoot, Turner Crook, Hayden Logan, Bennett Saleem, Humza Bell, Aiden Deerin, Ryan Lombardi, Leo* Schneider, Joseph Bennett, Wesley Forrest, Parker Magee, Aidan Seery, Cameron Berry, Blake Garvin, Sean Mancuso, Michael Spitz, Aaron Bitsko, Luke Gelsomino, Hayes Marcantonio, Bryce Summers, Jackson Black, Colby Glass, Reilly Mayer, Steven Toben, Connor Brandon, Andrew Gray, William Mills, James (Trey) Todd, Collin* Breen, Jason Hagen, Nick Nelson, John* Tootle, Parker Brown, Nathan Hamlet, Ryan Nessar, Zach Tribble, Carson Butler Jr., Timothy* Hulette, Tobin Nobrega, Adam Van Woudenberg, Edward Campbell, Andrew Hull, Isaac Odio, Tomas* Walsh, Brandon Cao, Daniel* Jamieson, Jack Ogan, Chide Warter, William Cheema, Wali Jones, Bryce* Ogletree Jr., Ben Whitlow, Tye* Cheng, Christopher Jordan, William Potter, Aidan Wirt, Zachary Childers, Kade Kese, Will Rashed, Abdulrahman Ciccarello, Anthony Kinsey, Max Riccobene, Michael [6] Rho Alpha Newsletter Spring-Summer 2024 176th Ekklesia (Chicago, 8-11 August 2024) This past August, our current Cabinet had the opportunity to spend a long weekend in Chicago to attend the 176th Ekklesia. During the trip, they were able to meet other undergraduate and graduate Phi Gams from across the continent and take part in various business meetings regarding updates from the International Fraternity. These meetings included nominations for new Archons, proposing amendments to the Bylaws, Constitution, and Ritual, and voting on many different business items. When the guys weren't in meetings, they attended both a Cubs and a White Sox game, tried Chicago's famous deep-dish pizza, and spent some time touring around the city. During the closing banquet on Saturday night, our chapter brought home 3rd place in the Owen Cup for 2023, which is awarded to the chapters showing the greatest scholastic improvements throughout the year. Furthermore, our Purple Legionnaire, Dana Hesse was recognized as the runner-up for the Durrance Award, given to the most outstanding Purple Legionnaire. Our Cabinet made some great connections and thoroughly enjoyed their time in the Windy City. OF FIELD CUBS AMERICAN AIRLINES YOUR TEAM YOUR AIRLINE YOU ARE WHY WE FLY. & TOYOTA Rho Alpha Reppin' at 2024 Ekklesia Rho Alpha Cabinet at Wrigley Field [7] Rho Alpha Newsletter Spring-Summer 2024 Conclusion Thank you to everyone who has made 2024 great so far! We hope that this newsletter has provided you all with insights into what Rho Alpha has accomplished so far this year. We are looking forward to a great fall semester and be sure to look out for our next newsletter in winter/spring. Thank you! Lastly, if any graduate brothers are looking to fill job positions, need interns for summer employment, or wish to advertise their company to our undergraduate chapter, please reach out to our graduate relations chair, Bennett Logan (bg1ogan@vt.edu). Also, Rho Alpha has a LinkedIn group dedicated to fostering career connections within the chapter, and all graduate brothers are strongly encouraged to take advantage of it: www.linkedin.com/groups/5068725 Perge! Rho Alpha of Phi Gamma Delta PLACE 202 Church St. SE STAMP Blacksburg, VA 24060-4804 HERE ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED