Winter 2015 Beta-Rho Bulletin

BETA-R HO BULLETIN Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity

California State University, Northridge

Volume 43, Issue 1

Winter 2015

By the time Beta-Rho had initiated its 20-member Fall 2014 class overnight beginning on Nov. 21, the cycle of inducting prospective brothers reached a roadblock. The chapter faced its first ban on recruitment since its original colonization in 1968.

However, Beta-Rho wasn’t alone or at fault. The entire CSUN Greek System’s spring rush had been suspended until further notice by circumstances beyond its control.

Vice President of Student Affairs William Watkins distributed a letter on Oct. 23 announcing the moratorium on Greek letter organization recruitment. The subject line of his memo, which was published in part in an Oct. 24 Sundial article by Andrew Martinez read: “Immediate Termination of All New Member Pledge Activity.” The letter went on to add that there would be no “new member intake activity” during the Spring 2015 semester.

The recruitment freeze resulted from an alleged hazing incident

by CSUN’s Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity chapter in early October. Dr. Watkins’ letter stated that the Pikes had been placed on interim suspension pending an investigation by the university. Pi Kappa Alpha’s national headquarters had also placed its CSUN chapter on administrative suspension.

An earlier hazing incident had led to the death of 19-year-old CSUN Pi Kappa Phi pledge Armando Villa during an overnight preinitiation hike in the Angeles National Forest above Tujunga on July 1.

After Villa’s death, all of the university’s Greek fraternity and sorority In memorium for BP 1. Vice President members involved in Bryan Martinez reads part of the script for recruitment were required the late Brother Mike Ehrlich at the chapter meeting on March 1. (Story, page 4) to attend a workshop on

Photos by Rick Childs

Spring Rush for CSUN’s Greek System Frozen

Greetings from frigid Carmel, Indiana. Alumni received a warm reception at General Headquarters the day after one of the coldest days of the year during the Neville Advisor’s College conference. (Coverage begins on page 8.)

hazing, sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention in August known as PREP (Pre-Recruitment Education Program).

Prospective recruits attended a separate PREP workshop—a primer on Greek letter organization life at CSUN—before being allowed to attend Rush Week events held by the fraternities and sororities. During the workshop prospective recruits were also told to report activities to campus authorities that could be construed as hazing.

Despite the Greek System’s enhanced educational efforts, the Pikes apparently didn’t take the Student Development Office’s zero tolerance policy on hazing seriously enough. When one of their pledges reported to Activities Coordinator and Greek Life Advisor Jamison Keller that he and other pledges had been allegedly malnourished and humiliated during a Pike chapter retreat in Big Bear, CSUN President Dianne Harrison directed Dr. Watkins to suspend Greek fraternity and sorority induction

—continued on page 2 1

Recruitment Moratorium activities effective immediately following the fall semester initiations.

Stepakoff of Sigma Chi] mentioned that there was a [Sundial] Shutting down an entire Greek system has not gone reporter—I forgot her name—but she’s been going around campus unprecedented in the CSU system. According to the CBS 13 trying to get Greek members to talk about what has been going affiliate in Sacramento, Chico State University President Paul on. He asked us as delegates on the board to tell you [if you are Zingg suspended the Greek system there in November of 2012. asked by this reporter]… just say ‘no comment’ [in regard to the The decision was made, according to a Nov. 16, 2012 San rush moratorium]… and walk away.”

Francisco Gate website article, after the alcohol poisoning death “He is being really strict about having two delegates at the of Sigma Pi Fraternity pledge Mason Rick Childs [Greek Intake Recommendations] Sumnicht, a 21-year-old senior. It took meetings. I’m more than happy to go more than a year for Chico State’s every single Monday, but we need two Greek system to resume recruitment. delegates there or we are going to President Zingg approved a stricter set start getting fined.” A volunteer of rules and regulations originating stepped up to attend the next evening’s from a proposal that had been meeting with Brother Burgos. submitted by a committee of Later that night Brother Perez de representatives from the university’s Leon wrote on Facebook that “as of fraternities and sororities. right now, the [Greek Intake Greek letter organizations have Recommendations] plan is still being been receiving a lot more scrutiny by written, but it should be submitted to administrators in recent years. While the university soon.” various tragedies and infractions have By the time the house corporation The recruitment question. High Alpha Jeffrey Perez de Leon board convened at the Lindley House shuttered individual chapters for decades, the pace has picked up. Jon (center) fields inquiries about the upcoming Greeks Open Forum for its monthly meeting on March 11, during the March 11 corp. board meeting while John Bonilla (left) Williamson (University of MarylandBrother Perez de Leon had more news takes notes and Christian Anderson listens.

College Park, pictured on page 15), a to report. A draft of the proposal that former executive vice president for the National Inter-Fraternity various Greek committee reps had written to convince President Conference (NIC) and Lambda Chi Master Steward, said on Feb. Harrison to lift the new member induction moratorium would be 21 at the Neville Advisor’s College Conference that “200 various presented at a public hearing on campus. chapters have been closed in the past four months… and there “They have the date and the time for the [New Member Greek have been 50 deaths in the past five years.”

Intake] Open Forum,” Brother Perez de Leon said. “It’ll take place During the Jan. 14 house corporation meeting, High Alpha March 26 from 4 to 5:30 in the USU Theater.” Corp. board members Jeffrey Perez de Leon (BP 660) gave his first report about the inquired about the presenters and who would be invited to the chapter’s response to the rush moratorium. panel discussion.

“We’re currently going through a re-branding, or re-purposing Brother Perez de Leon responded that the panel would feature for rush,” he said. “The head[s] of councils: IFC, PHC [Panhellenic “[Dr.] Watkins, Jamison, plus the people who are on this committee Council]—all the council presidents— are working with the staff for presenting the plan to President Harrison.” on campus to send a report to President Harrison to show them Brother Reyes added, “It’s two representatives from each what they propose to make additional changes to rush. If she council, so it’s two IFC, two Panhellenic and two Divine Nine [the approves it, then we will have rush.” nine Black Greek letter organizations (BGLO) that make up the Two months passed, and Spring Rush never happened.

National Pan-Hellenic Council, which is separate from IFC and the At the March 1 chapter meeting in Sierra Hall 380, Brother Panhellenic Council of sororities].”

Perez de Leon was unable to attend. He had accompanied the Tim Pena (BP 264) asked Brother Perez de Leon about High Tau, Jorge Reyes (BP 618), on an Associated Students whether the Greeks on campus were cooperating on resolving retreat in Sacramento where their delegation had planned to meet the recruitment impasse, or becoming more divisive. with assembly members and state senators about college funding “More than a month ago, a bunch of the IFC presidents met,” at the Capitol the next day. he replied. “We discussed what would happen if the University The presiding officer and High Beta, Bryan Martinez (BP 674), didn’t give us back our ability to bring in new members. A lot of read a report Brother Perez de Leon had texted from his iPhone. them said that we’ll fight the university on it because if we can’t Brother Martinez said that, according to Brother Perez de get [recruitment restored] in another semester, then we are Leon, he “as well as the High Sigma (Angel Torres, BP 678) and basically done.”

High Kappa (Nick Dinsmore, BP 672) finally met with Jamison Although various Lambda Chi Alpha staff have been briefed on [Keller], and we now have all the grades [for last semester]. For the recruitment situation for CSUN’s Greek System, they have the rest of the semester I want us to focus on improving our study expressed a preference for demurring from getting the general habits and GPAs overall. That way we can make a strong case to counsel involved unless the negotiations between the Greeks’ the University to have a fall rush class and get new members.” advisory group and the University have deadlocked.

Questions about Spring Rush were referred to IFC representative Barring strong student opposition to the proposal under review and High Epsilon Chris Burgos (BP 644). at the Open Forum or unforeseen complications with negotiations “We’re still working on getting back recruitment,” Brother with the administration, it appeared that CSUN’s Greek System Burgos said during his IFC report. “The [IFC] president [Josh recruitment freeze was beginning to show signs of a thaw.

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Old World Colonial Pursuit

Plans for First AXA European Colony Postponed Indefinitely Courtesy of Daniel Bermudez

When three of Beta-Rho’s fall initiates returned to the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark at the end of winter break, they began the process of trying to establish a colony on their campus. Despite their best efforts, it never materialized.

Niklas Peterson (BP 695), Mikkel Steinlien (BP 679) and Espen Tandberg (BP 699) had participated in their university’s foreign exchange student program for a semester. Not long after they went through CSUN’s New Student Orientation, they became attracted to the opportunity of becoming members of Lambda Chi Alpha. The three exchange students became collectively known around the chapter as ‘The Danes’.

Once the fall semester ended, Brother Petersen began sending messages to Headquarters’ staff asking for guidance on setting up a Lambda Chi colony at his university in Copenhagen. After several tries, he asked Rick Childs (BP 83) for assistance.

Brother Tandberg posted a Facebook note on Feb. 2 that read, in part, “Mikkel and I came back to Denmark last week, and Niklas has been busy finding a place to live. Now that we are settled in, I’ll talk to Niklas and see if we can look into [starting a colony]. We are going to need the school’s support if we want it to work.”

The next day, Director of Chapter Services NIck Zuniga sent an email, which was forwarded to Brothers Petersen, Steinlien and Tandberg. It read: “All- Thank you for your patience. At this Volume 43, Issue 1 Version 2.1 Editor, reporter, designer & time, we are unable to allow photographer: Rick Childs an expansion into Copenhagen.

The Beta-Rho Bulletin is the official Our Board is currently looking publication of Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda at additional International Chi Alpha, Inc. at California State University, Northridge. Article ideas, directory Expansion, but it will need to revisions, weddings, anniversaries, births be properly vetted. We are in and career info should be snail mailed, emailed or sent via Facebook to the editor. the development of our His mailing address is 44044 Engle Way Strategic Plan and this will be Apt. 65, Lancaster, CA; 93536-6660.

Email: rc4x4profit@verizon.net. All other a topic we research. But at correspondence to the corporation should this time, it is not an option. be sent to P.O. Box 280311, Northridge, CA 91328-0311. Made on a Mac Mini with “As we move forward, I’ll be iWork Pages ’09 v.4.1. Originally published sure to keep you in the loop. I on April 8, 2015. Last revised on July 25, 2015. Editor’s phone number: (661) wish you the best this semester 948-3260 and I’m very happy that you Winter 2015 House Corporation have had the opportunity to Board of Directors: experience the Lambda Chi President Spencer Schmerling Alpha Brotherhood!”

VP, Communications Rick Childs VP, Activities Tim Pena During the Neville Advisors Secretary John Bonilla Treasurer Scott Press College Conference in Indiana Alumni Director Rob Press on Feb. 20, Brother Childs Alumni Director Hamid Jahangard Chapter Advisor Kevin Mojaradi caught up with Brother Zuniga High Alpha Jeffrey Perez de Leon High Tau Jorge Reyes after lunch and asked him to High Rho Wes Cole House Manager Christian Anderson elaborate on Headquarters’ On the Web: current position on branching Headquarters LambdaChi.org out with chapters beyond the Back Issues Issuu.com/beta-rho_83 Facebook CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha borders of North America.

Lambda Chi Alpha, BP Alumni Instagram CSUNLambdaChiAlpha “We are currently researching BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

We miss The Danes. Daniel Bermudez was in one of the last snapshots taken at the Lindley House with Niklas Petersen (wearing the hat), Mikkel Steinlien and Espen Tandberg on Dec. 22 before they left separately for New York.

the potential for us to do that,” Brother Zuniga said. “Part of the new strategic plan by the Grand High Zeta is for us to look at the entire expansion plan: what types of institutions, where these institutions are located, what is our timeline, and how many can we execute on an annual basis to be able to continue to grow.

So, international expansion is an area where we are continuing to look at, especially as we continue to have more students who come into the United States, have education and leave. How do we take that Lambda Chi experience with them, and what does that mean? “[Also] what does it mean from a harm reduction/risk management perspective as well? And so the distance for us and the laws of different countries are all things that we have to take into consideration. A perfect example is how we approach alcohol for an organization. In a number of different countries it is legal at a different age than it is in ours. So our policies will have to change per country. We have to look at our capacity as an organization to be able to have different laws in different countries.

“So, for right now [Lambda Chi Alpha] is specifically in the United States and in Canada, but we continue to look at what those other opportunities might be.”

In the 1990s, a colony started at a college in Anchorage, Alaska, but it folded quickly due to insufficient recruitment.

“There weren’t enough students [in Anchorage] that wanted to be Greeks,” Brother Zuniga commented.

Brothers living in other countries have also inquired about starting Lambda Chi colonies prior to Beta-Rho’s. “Primarily in Europe, that’s where we’ve seen an interest,” he said.

Outside of Europe, one alumnus in Australia has asked about starting a colony.

“Melbourne: there have been some inquiries, but there hasn’t been anything besides just questions,” he added.

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Mike Ehrlich: 1949-2015

Remembering BP #1 Rick Childs

Michael Harry “Mike” Ehrlich, Beta-Rho’s first initiate, passed away at his home in Pendleton, Ore. of natural causes on Feb. 21, according to the East Oregonian e-edition. He was 65. The Burns Mortuary in Pendleton handled the funeral arrangements.

During a phone conversation with Bill Greene on Feb. 25, he said that Brother Ehrlich had been battling kidney cancer. However, when Brother Greene had spoken to him a month earlier, he said that the cancer had been in remission.

His second wife, Jan, survives him. They were married at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the Big Island in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 2003. His first wife, Lori, died from cancer in 1997.

Brother Ehrlich was born on May 14, 1949 in Los Angeles.

Aside from the announcement in the East Oregonian, no obituaries were published.

An Appreciation As one of Beta-Rho’s first ten brothers, he and his fellow new members (back when they were still being identified as pledges) were initiated at UCLA’s chapter house in Westwood on Feb. 15, 1969. He joined on Jan. 16, 1969. When asked about why he became No. 1, Brother Ehrlich veiled his answer with a touch of mystery during an interview in El Cajon in January of 2010.

“I’m still unsure how that happened,” he recalled. “That was between Dave Trimble, Tom Lawrence and Howie Brightman. It’s hard to know. Let’s put it this way: we weren’t asked; we were just told what our numbers were.”

He was quite pleased to have found a fraternity that had not inherited any hazing traditions from its predecessors.

“I remember that a number of us weren’t real excited about doing traditional pledgeships as the fraternities were doing in those days. Dave Trimble and Lance Shermoen were basically given the opportunity by the National Fraternity to start a colony at Cal State Northridge. Dave coming from ASU–Arizona State– Lance was from USC. There were some informal meetings and realizing that they were starting from scratch, we could start our own traditions.”

He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in May of 1971.

Those who knew Brother Ehrlich could attest to his modesty and droll sense of humor. Case in point: insofar as his college education was concerned, he might tell you that “I really majored in cafeteria, but my diploma says political science.”

In 1975 he completed postgraduate work at Southwestern School of Law. He pursued work in civil law with a specialty in real estate and volunteered as a general counsel for the chapter.

Brother Ehrlich became the go-to person for legal questions regarding the chapter’s various property purchases on Halsted Street near the campus between 1977 and the mid-1980s.

“I know I helped when Mark Eskander negotiated the Halsted 1 purchase, but Mark [a probate attorney] was pretty sharp on that stuff himself,” he said. “I was just making sure we had the right contracts. My parents were brokers and I’d taught legal aspects of real property for L.A. Mission College. I taught that class for 17

Happily engaged in casino customer satisfaction management. Mike Ehrlich outside the Sycuan Resort & Casino’s clubhouse in El Cajon on Jan. 9, 2010.

years back in the days when [there was] a satellite [off-site]. I was never on the campus up in Sylmar. I’d usually do it at a classroom at a high school. For several years I was doing it at Alemany (High School) when Joe Coyne was living in the rectory there.”

A Beta-Rho Bulletin in the late summer of 1979 announced that Brother Ehrlich’s practice had expanded from a two-man partnership with his brother Steve to a three-man partnership.

The enhanced law practice on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles was known as Ehrlich, Ehrlich & Gray. Eventually, he became a sole practitioner before he decided on a career change.

“I practiced law for 17 years and I just said, ‘That’s enough.”

My late wife—she had the wherewithal that I could leave the practice. That was right about the time of the Northridge earthquake [on Jan. 17] of ’94. Our house was a half a mile from the epicenter and had absolutely no damage. We were living at Winnetka and 4

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Roscoe. Basically, the house became worthless. You couldn’t give ‘em away. My wife and I looked long and hard at it and said, ‘You know somethin’, we’ve had enough of L.A.’ and we decided, let’s relocate.’ We both loved Northern Nevada. In June of ’94 we packed up and moved lock, stock and barrel up to Carson City.

No jobs. Didn’t know a soul up there. We rented a house and

He eventually wound up working as a front desk clerk at the Grand Sierra, formerly the Reno Hilton.

“It took them about six months [for them to] to realize I was serious about staying. Then I was given an opportunity to get into casino marketing. And I was there for about 3½ years. While I was there my wife passed away.

“Then in May of ’98, the fellow that was the vice president in charge of casino operations had taken the job as the general manager of the riverboat casino, the Miss Marquette, in Marquette, Iowa. His name was Kim Hardy. The day he was leaving I went by his office to say goodbye to him. He looked at me and said, ‘Do you think you’d ever want to work in Iowa?’ I thought he was just making conversation. I said, ‘Sure.’ Didn’t think anything about it and forgot about it. Two months later I get a phone call from out of the blue from Kim and he says, ‘You still thinking about working in Iowa?’ ‘Yeah, sure.’ ‘Well, how much are they paying you?’ He knew how much I was being paid there because his best friend was my boss. He said, ‘Here’s what I’m willing to do.’ And, as I picked myself up off the floor, I said, ‘How soon would you like me there?’”

A similar opportunity brought him back to Southern California, this time as the player satisfaction manager for the Sycuan Resort and Casino in El Cajon. He said that their casino would bolster their clientele by busing players in from Northern Baja California.

The fickle gaming economy caught up with him in 2011, however.

As the U.S. economy slowed, fewer gamblers from across the border wanted to make the trek to the Sycuan Casino.

After being laid off, he returned to Iowa where he and his wife Jan spent 15 months living with his sister before landing another casino marketing management position. Then they moved to the Northwest and he worked for the Wild Horse Resort & Casino in Pendleton until illness forced him to retire.

News of Brother Ehrlich’s passing spread quickly via emails and on social media. When the undergrads at the chapter found out about it, a memorial ceremony was performed during the March 1 chapter meeting in Sierra Hall 380 (pictured on page 7).

High Phi Vincent Pimentel lit a tall white candle and High Beta Bryan Martinez stood up and read the ritual passage from his Macbook in remembrance. It was the first time the chapter had performed this ceremony for a departed brother. Fittingly, it was for Mike Ehrlich, Beta-Rho’s first initiate.

Rick Childs (2)

BP 1 & 2. Mike Ehrlich with the late Ben Gafford, BP 2, relax at Halsted 1 during the Homecoming Alumni Reception on Oct. 28, 1978. At the Alumni-Active Softball Game in Chatsworth Park on June 10, 1979.

Courtesy of Erin Field

Courtesy of Jason Dourgarian

Courtesy of Russell Paris

after about two or three months of doing nothing, I said, ‘Well, I’ve gotta find something to do.’”

Even though Brother Ehrlich’s résumé looked pretty impressive, switching careers from a successful law practice is not for the feint of heart. Jobs were not exactly plentiful in Northern Nevada.

“I took a job testing tires for the federal government. I drove a pickup truck 8½ hours a day up and down Interstate 80. It was a great job. I had books on tape, air conditioning… I had a good time and then my wife had to go in the hospital for one night. It wasn’t anything serious, but it was a $6,000 medical bill, and neither of us had medical insurance. At that point I said I need to get a job with benefits.”

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More Rites of Passage Michael Paris (BP 607) married Samantha Simons on Jan. 18 at the Knollwood Country Club in Granada Hills. The couple had the most unique ring bearer imaginable: a petite 11-yearold rescue dog named Felix who padded down the aisle toward the couple while a Go-Pro that Samantha’s father had attached to his back recorded his procession. The couple spent their honeymoon in Orlando, Fla. at Disney World.

Two more couples are wedding-bound. On Jan. 5 Jason Dourgarian (BP 536) proposed to Laura Moore. Kevin Gregory (BP 521, left) popped the question to Erin Field on Feb. 15.

Chapter Chronicles: Winter, 2015

Courtesy of Daniel Bermudez

High Theta Daniel Bermudez (1) took a break with the chapter’s flag at Dockweiler State Beach on March 15 after the chapter became the caretaker of a stretch of Santa Monica Bay shoreline. An informal chapter meeting at the beach doubled as a cleanup party. The chapter helped support Alpha Phi’s fundraiser for Women’s Heart Health (2) on March 11, according to Emily Blunt (shown between Daniel Bermudez and Jeffrey Perez de Leon in the front row).

Keshon Robinson (3) was named Brother of the Week at the first chapter meeting of the spring semester on Jan. 25. Jorge Reyes was one of the brothers at Delta Zeta’s Menchies fundraiser (4) on March 10. Brothers dressed up as a hockey team for a sports team theme (5) before they prepared a bowl of chili when they took part in Delta Delta Delta’s Cookoff Classic on March 14.

Intramurals players enjoyed winning streaks in basketball, dodgeball and softball, according to an Instagram post. Intramurals teammates (6) posed for a snapshot in the Student Recreation Center (SRC) on March 6.

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Courtesy of Emily Blunt

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Courtesy of Jorge Reyes

CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha / Facebook

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5 Courtesy of Nancy Serrano

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CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha / Facebook

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Rick Childs (1-4), Courtesy of Strength in Unity: Vote Reyes / Alexanian (5-7)

High Beta Bryan Martinez (far left, 1) presided over a memorial ceremony during the chapter meeting on March 1 in Sierra Hall 380. To his right are High Kappa Nick Dinsmore and High Epsilon & IFC rep.

Chris Burgos. Wesley Lamphere listens to the discussion at the March 1 meeting. Josh Bascou (3) thinks over a ballot choice at the same meeting.

Members of the house corporation listen to High Alpha Jeffrey Perez de Leon’s report during a meeting on March 11 at the Lindley House (4). Strength in Unity Slate campaign pictures: Jorge Reyes (5) – Associated Students President; Jeffrey Perez de Leon (6) – A.S. Senator, Mike Curb College of Arts, Media & Communication; Bryan Martinez (7) – A.S. Senator, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences.

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Neville Advisor’s College, Winter 2015 Photos by Rick Childs

Beginning its tenth year, the Neville Advisor’s College brought alumni and staff together at the Renaissance Indianapolis North Hotel over the weekend of Feb. 19-22.

Held in Carmel, Ind., about a tenminute walk north of the new Headquarters office complex on 11711 Pennsylvania Avenue, the conference attracted staff and Master Stewards who were on hand to assist chapter advisors and house corporation members with enhancing their skills to assist each chapter’s undergraduate members.

Professional staff, under the direction of Associate Director of Alumni Involvement George Taylor, presided over the conference.

Attendees were divided into five sub-groups for breakout sessions between each day’s scheduled speakers. No one needed to step outside the hotel during the conference, except for the special VIP tour of Headquarters on the evening of Feb. 20.

The two-and-a-half day conference coincided with some of the coldest weather to hit Indianapolis this winter. Early birds who stepped off their planes at Indianapolis International Airport or drove in during the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 19 would see -2 degrees displayed on their smartphones or dashboards, not accounting for the windchill factor (about another minus 4 degrees).

Light snow that hadn’t melted in weeks still dusted the city and its suburbs. Rock salt peppered the sidewalks and streets.

Participants that trickled in on the 19th could register from around noon until dinnertime in the great room across from the hotel’s ballrooms and restaurant, Grille 39. Brother Taylor, Operations Coordinator Tina Barnett, Associate Director of Education Marcus Kelley and Education Curriculum Specialist Chris Buck were among the staff greeting alumni and handing out green binders along with nametag lanyards.

During the inaugural dinner that evening, Brother Taylor greeted the guests and apologized for the frigid weather.

“Welcome to the 2015 Neville Advisor’s College here in Carmel, Indiana,” Brother Taylor said to the crowd. “I’m glad everyone could make it safe and sound. Sorry the temperature wasn’t that good. I’d like to fix you up with our west of the Rocky Mountains friends. California and Florida [brothers]: if you could bring some warm weather with you, that would’ve been great. “... [There are] more than 90 alumni from 53 chapters and colonies [here].

“What are we here to do? What is my role as an advisor [or] High Pi? I can sum it up in one word: (building a)

Welcome to Carmel, Indiana. A walk outside the back of the Renaissance Indianapolis North at around 4 p.m. on Feb. 19 would need some extra clothing layers as the temperature was a brisk 7 degrees. Associate Director of Alumni Involvement George Taylor greets guests at Carmel Ballroom IV during the first evening’s banquet. Alumni checked in at the registration tables near the lobby.

legacy. Legacy is what your role is.”

“Over the course of the weekend, mix and mingle with your fellow alumni, find out some best practices. Like I said we’ve got chapters from California, Florida, Michigan, South Dakota....”

Then he introduced Chief Executive Officer Bill Farkas who was asked to provide the lead-in for the next guest speaker.

Neville Advisor’s College: Day 1 8

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Bill Farkas (Butler 1988) “I was asked to give a welcome, so what does that mean?” was working with the Educational Leadership Consultants, he Brother Farkas asked. “Do you want me to do two minutes, do said a very wise piece of advice when it came to doing our you want me to do five minutes, do you want me to do half an expense volumes. And that was, if you expect one cent more hour? And they said, ‘Sure.’ (Laughter.) than you earn, you’re a thief. And if you expect one cent less, “A couple of years ago Indianapolis hosted a Superbowl at the you’re an idiot. Sound like Murphy? end of January, early February. It was beautiful, 50 degrees!

“Thank you Brother Hal Wilkins who, when I was job hunting, People ziplining in shorts. For the called Embry-Riddle Aeronautical last two winters we have paid and University and the dean of students paid… so I apologize on behalf of who he was friends with to put a the Hoosiers for this horrifically cold good word in for me and get me weather. out of the resume pile.

“George talked about Legacy, “I thank a brother named Steve and I want to feed upon that theme.

Briganti who’s always been willing to In that fashion I want to thank some serve as a reference for this guy. people who provided a legacy for “And I thank a brother named Jon me. I want to talk about some of Williamson who stepped up to the these people because it can show plate when I really needed a friend. you what you mean or what you That is legacy. And all of us have can mean going forth from this those brothers who are legacies for us. weekend.

“During the course of this weekend, “When a young associate we hope that some of the member became the High Beta at programming will help you serve as Alpha-Alpha Zeta at Butler University, a mentor, and a role model, and he read about the Standards for how to do your job better.

Chapter Excellence and how that “And before we get started, I just fell under the High Beta’s role. He want to thank you all. I want to didn’t know what the standards for thank you all for the role that you’ve chapter excellence was. So, being done. I want to thank you for your foolish, he got in his car and drove time already served, and time that to the International Headquarters will be served. Because that’s what without an appointment, walked in, you are doing: creating a legacy. and met the secretary and said, “I’d “And some of those brothers that like to talk to somebody about the I mention have no idea of the impact Standards for Chapter Excellence.” that they’ve made on my life. Just The director of chapter services, a as you don’t know of the impact guy named Ed Leonard, came down that you will make on the lives of to meet this eager young High Beta our undergraduate brothers. But Chief Executive Officer Bill Farkas and, rather than say, “You don’t have that’s okay. That’s not why you do it. an appointment, go away,” he invited That’s not why any of us do it. We him up to his office and spent the next two hours describing how don’t know that impact, but we know that we are making an to create a goal board. Ed Leonard did that for me. impact—and that we are serving, and making a legacy.

“The CEO of the Foundation, a guy named Mark Bauer—who “The final piece that I want to share with you before I turn it knows a little bit about networking—took him aside and showed over to Max is that the staff has grown this program into a model. him how to find a job, how to do informational interviews, how to Not just a model within Lambda Chi Alpha, but a model in the make cold calls and meet with people. And so I thank Mark Bauer Greek world. Not a month goes by that I don’t get a phone call for that. from one of my peers both on the men’s and women’s side “I thank a guy named George Spasyk who taught me how to saying, “Tell me about this Neville Advisor’s College. What do you always do things the right way no matter how late it took you into do? How do you do it?” the evening. I thank George Spasyk for that.

“First off, it starts by having someone who has vision: a brother “I thank a brother named John Kanipe who’s on the Grand named Ron Neville. I was asked [to tell] a little bit of history about High Zeta who sat up late with this guy. When one of his close Ron. And Ron would be upset to know that I’m talking about it. friends came out and said he was gay—and this guy didn’t know Ron’s embarrassed by any acknowledgment of his generosity. how to deal with it—John Kanipe talked to me until 2 o’clock in But his generosity in helping fund some of this goes to the legacy the morning, and I realized that that brother was still my brother. that Ron has served as a longtime High Pi for the Drury chapter.

And that did make a difference, but I was learning who I was. So I That’s his legacy. And Ron would tell you that it’s more important thank John Kanipe for that. to serve our undergraduate brothers than it is to shell out dollars.

“I thank Murphy Osborne as Grand High Alpha, who when he “Now we know that his dollars helped pay for this, but it’s more

NAC Day 1: Keynote BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

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important for one on one, face to face, man to worked for Habitat for Humanity. I just finished my man, and brother to brother. And that’s Ron’s 31st home back in September. So for a 25-year-old legacy. But the staff has built what you will find that isn’t bad, and I definitely look at that as an throughout the course of this weekend to be accomplishment. That definitely drives me in my job insightful, hopefully helpful, and allowing the each and every day, me giving back to Habitat and opportunity for peer to peer advising as well. Get giving back to the Fraternity and to the Foundation. phone numbers of guys within this room. Take “One of the ways that I became a Lambda Chi those numbers back and use them as resources was because of a [friendship with] Grand High because you are going to be the only other guys Alpha Ted Grossnickle. I got to know him through that know what you’re going through. And that’s networking, just by pure luck. Someone introduced invaluable to our organization. Take advantage of me to him and it was a wonderful experience to everything that you’ll see this weekend. It truly is a meet him. I saw him about a week ago at our unique offering within the Greek world. And we Foundation board meeting. One of the things I couldn’t be more excited to have this opportunity talked to Ted about was the Neville Advisor’s to have brothers come together, to have brothers College, and I thanked him for the impact that he Director of Annual Giving share, and know what’s gonna go out once this had on me. Because without that impact, I wouldn’t Max Goldenberg weekend’s over. be here….

“Again, I can’t thank you enough. On behalf of “But since six months ago, and the fact that I myself, the Grand High Zeta, and the International Headquarters was honorary initiated into this wonderful Fraternity, it’s been a staff, we thank you for being the volunteers and the brothers that wonderful experience. I’ve gotten to meet some great brothers you are. like Larry Matthews, Lynn Chipperfield who works with us, and “...I’ve been asked to introduce Max Goldenberg. Max joined guys like Rodney [Roosevelt]. It’s been a really great experience. our staff about nine months ago, and we couldn’t be happier I’m definitely proud to be in this room with all of you. And I do about it. Max… works for the Foundation. Not only being a want to thank you so much for the time, the talent, and the fundraiser, but he also does a lot of outreach to our alumni. He is treasure that you all give back to your Fraternity. For me your time a graduate of Muskingum College in Ohio where we do not have is just as valuable as your treasure. I really do appreciate that, and I a chapter. He was not Greek. He wisely held out, and we couldn’t know that the Foundation appreciates that.” have been more proud to have initiated him this past summer at Matt Roy (Drury 2005) General Assembly. I’m proud to call him my brother....”

For the alumni who stuck around after dinner, Associate Max Goldenberg (Muskingum University HON) Director of Chapter Services Matt Roy led a bonus session called “Thank you… I’m the Director of Annual Giving for the Foundation,” “Using Ritual When Working with Your Chapters.” Brother Roy Brother Goldenberg said. “Mark Bauer and Allen Horton could deconstructed the roles played by the Ritual Team and applied how not be here. Allen Horton is heading up our programs in our lessons learned from the Open and Closed Rituals can enhance mentoring academies. So right now he’s actually in Atlanta for our the lives of both undergraduates and alumni. mentoring academy down there. We have 14 mentoring As written in the conference binder, “Our Initiation Ritual is at academies going on this year. So that has definitely been a the core of all we do. Too often, our brothers treat Ritual as a highlight for the Foundation so far. Also, Mark Bauer is down in once-a-semester ceremony, instead of a guide for how to be a Florida right now. Mark will be at the Daytona 500 this weekend, brother and man. This session will cover the different levels to so he’s enjoying that time with that warm weather down there. understanding Ritual, the ‘wow moments’ of our Ritual you can “First off, I want to thank you guys for being here. Calling you share with your chapters, and ways to use Ritual to address guys brothers is a huge thing for me. As Bill mentioned, I was not tough chapter situations.” in a fraternity in college.

During the session, a small tear sheet that Brother Roy “The school where I went to college is Muskingum University. distributed posed this hypothetical question: “The chapter owes Muskingum is about an hour east of Columbus, Ohio, and it’s a large amount of money to the General Fraternity. There is no about 1,600 students. For me, there just money in the chapter’s bank account, and wasn’t that great of a Greek life on campus. several brothers owe four-digit amounts in A lot of that contributes towards the fact back dues. The chapter members argue that the people that were involved in those that these men are their brothers, don’t Greek organizations—in those fraternities— have the money to pay their dues, and that weren’t doing that great of a job. the fraternity is their only support system; “So when I came back to Indianapolis we can’t turn these men away or suspend/ where I’m from, I expel them. Several of these men are decided, hey, I want to officers. How would you use Ritual to work for a non-profit. address?”

That’s been a gold Coordinator of Chapter Conduct Ryan mine ever since I was in Haboush also talked about ritual equipment high school. So I’ve and written materials.

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Photos by Rick Childs

Dr. Rodney Roosevelt (Eastern Illinois 1988) Conference attendees started off the second day with a power breakfast followed by a Powerpoint presentation moderated by Dr. Rodney Roosevelt in Carmel Ballroom III called “Who Am I Working With?” As described in the binder, “The purpose of this session is to discuss the characteristics and behaviors of today’s college students and Lambda Chi Alpha members.” Dr. Roosevelt explained why chapter members “behave the way they do, as well as how to adapt [alumni] advising styles to meet the needs of an individual or of the chapter.”

Before he tackled his main topic, Brother Roosevelt touched on his LAMP (Leadership and Motivational Project) survey that attendees would be emailed after the conference. He called it his “commercial.” The survey had been sent out to last year’s Neville Advisor’s College participants.

“Much of the data that [is being presented] today came from last year’s survey,” he said. “What it does is it allows us to understand what is going on in our fraternal world in a way that’s never been possible before.” He also based some of his opinions and observations on research data collected from UCLA. “My job today is to tell you about these very strange creatures so separated in time that you will be working with…. So for us, Working to build better chapter/alumni volunteer communications. Alumni became familiarized with millenial student characteristics and behaviors during an hour with Dr. Rodney Roosevelt. Group Leader and Master Steward Steve Parsons (far left), seated next to Tony Unfried, introduced himself during the first breakout group session. Director of Business Affairs Michele (Camarco) James, seated next to Peter Kale, provided assistance at one of the afternoon “Time with Finance, Communications and Chapter Services” tables. Steve Lubahn (below at upper left) discusses chapter finances with Rick George (lower right) and Jorge Uribe. The sun had barely made it over the horizon before breakfast at 7:20 a.m.

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our challenge is to build relationships that are conducive to the creation of a safe, healthy and needs-supportive environment in which members can develop into men who manifest the teachings of Lambda Chi Alpha for the remainder of their lives.

“To do this successfully, you need to understand who it is you are working with. The differences we’re going to see today fall into two broad categories.

One… is generational differences. They’ve had different cultural experiences. You want to be aware of that, but there’s also maturational differences. You may not have noticed this, but some of these differences aren’t that the college kids today are different, but that you are now on the average of somewhere between three and four decades older than you were than when you were a college student.

“Finally, I want to stress today the similarities. I have some credibility as a biologist that evolution has not galloped away in the last three decades so that these kids have developed into a new species.

The similarities are what you want to build on.

“So, let’s talk about some of the cultural differences. They live in a world of social media, and so do we. How many of you are on Facebook?

[Several hands are raised.] How many of you are on Facebook right now while I’m talking? [Laughter.]

One of the most profound differences I see in the classroom, to a shocking level, is the degree that they will share things. Their time on social media is also increasing. If you look at who spends six hours or more per week, in 2007, 19 percent fell into that group. The incoming group of freshmen this year— that number went to almost 30 percent. Think about how much your Facebook is increasing. I’m essentially logged into Facebook 24 hours a day at this point between my phone and two computers.

So, we’re also changing along with them.

“They’ve been tracking [various sets of] behaviors for about the last 40 years of incoming freshmen at universities across the nation [based on UCLA’s Cooperative Learning and Research Program studies using surveys].

“They think Kanye West made Paul McCartney a superstar [according to one UCLA survey]. If you don’t know the background, apparently, they had done a collaboration recently. [Three, actually.]

“Generational differences that are maybe a little more meaningful… as a group they register high on what I term brittle self-esteem. They have high selfesteem, but they also have BS detectors. They know that everybody’s being told that they’re great, yet they’re suspicious. That gauge of achievement is broken. And what that means is you can be the most unskilled kid and think you’re great. But on the other end of that is you can be the most fantastically accomplished young man and

Dr. Rodney Roosevelt

Erin Fisher

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Photos by Rick Childs

be suspicious of how true that is. One of the things that’s happened in the last 30 years is that we’ve taken away a person’s right to fail.”

Afterwards, the alumni split up into five colorcoded small groups to familiarize themselves with each other and discuss some of the topics and exercises that were featured in their binders.

Erin Fisher At about noon the alumni reconvened to take part in the only session presented by someone other than a Lambda Chi. Erin Fisher, owner and CEO of The Leadership and Training Studio in Indianapolis and a Phi Mu alumna from Indiana University, talked about coaching and mentoring.

As described in the binder’s agenda, her discussion focused on helping alumni advisors “feel better prepared to handle and work with collegians on situations that are not related to fraternity business.”

“Today my job is to have a little bit of fun to keep this entertaining and engaging,” Ms. Fisher said, “But also to talk about a serious conversation about how do we coach and mentor men who are college age. How many of you think that’s a tough job? We are all in the same boat. Working with college students now is more challenging than it’s ever been. My job today is to offer you some advice and wisdom, but also offer you some models that you can use to apply in coaching and mentoring conversations.”

Frequently, Ms. Fisher posed questions that were discussed among the alumni seated at each of the tables. One of her group activities was called “crowd sourcing” and she kept track of the topics or ideas using an easel with a flip chart.

“Why is it so important to coach and mentor students now more than ever? What are some of those reasons?” Later she touched on what she called the ‘Three E’s’ that students need from mentors: an ear, education, and experience.

“Push out of your own comfort zone to develop better results with getting feedback.”

A second breakout session with the small group format continued the familiarization process with some of the challenges that each chapter’s alumni advisor, house corporation president or its various board members have been experiencing.

Some of Headquarters’ staff convened one-onone once the alumni re-assembled for roundtable discussions in a session called “Time with Finance, Communications and Chapter Services.” This ran concurrently with the “Officer Advisor Roundtable” session. Each table designated staff support for a particular High Zeta member’s alumni advisor, or were devoted to topics like business affairs, chapter management, educational advisement (Kappa, Sigma, Phi), communications and external relations.

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All photos by Rick Childs

After dinner a shuttle took alumni from the hotel to the new International Headquarters office complex starting at 7:45 for a special all-access tour. A warming trend was underway: the temperature outside had risen to around 18 degrees.

Staff fanned out and took small groups of alumni through the office areas. In the reception area, a set of 2014 edition Paedagoguses and other collectibles were fanned out across the counter and ready to be given out to alumni. A guest book was the first stop for many of the alumni who had just entered.

It was hard to miss the seven-foot-tall tiled display of the Society of Living Legacies on the way to the Mason Room.

Directly behind the reception room was one of the staff boardrooms. Unlike the others, this one had a fireplace. Down the opposite end of the reception area near Bill Farkas’ and Joe Citro’s offices was the Mason Room. Although essentially another boardroom, the pie-shaped space featured a library with copies of all the previous editions of the Paedagogus and many other rare books. A framed portrait of John E. “Jack” Mason, our most distinguished Ritualist, hung near the door.

Anyone who happened to check out the break room area would find a fully stocked kitchen with, among other conveniences, a snowcone machine.

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Jon Williamson (far left) talked to Master Steward Steve Swafford and other guests near George Taylor’s office about the extremely rare collection of Theta Kappa Nu framed photos and memorabilia. Brother Taylor (next page) showed brothers the map of the U.S. and Canada that had pushpins of all the currently active chapters on it. Part of it (below) featured Southern California’s currently active chapters. Beta-Rho is at the top.

Separate from the offices and normally off limits to the uninitiated, a museum room displayed a vast collection of badges, pins, coat of arms portraits painted by the fraternity’s first CEO Bruce McIntosh and other ephemera. A portrait of Grand High Alpha Ernst Fisher also adorned one of the walls.

Beyond the museum room was a staff development room.

This one was much larger than either the “fireplace” or Mason boardrooms. It’s also where one could find a framed display of President Harry S. Truman’s initiation certificate and a collection of nearly 90 Lambda Chi baseball trading cards.

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About a half hour before the shuttle began taking the alumni back to the hotel, Associate Director of Communications Andrew Talevich gathered everyone together for a group picture Within an hour after the last alumni made it back to the hotel, it began to snow. By the next afternoon, six inches had fallen.

Andrew Talevich

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Brother Hults added, “The joy you get from working with young men who see the light come on, that’s really where my reward comes from. And the other side of it is, eventually, with some young men, you realize that you’re just not going to cure stupid.

At some point you just have to draw the line and cut that off.”

Photos by Rick Childs

Brother Taylor introduced three alumni panelists to tackle the topic “What Do I Need to Know?” at 8:55 as breakfast wound down. First up was High Pi Scott Jackson from Eastern Kentucky who brought a little levity to the discussion.

“I would just ask that you make your questions multiple choice,” Brother Jackson said.

“Make sure one of those multiple choices is ‘all of the above.’”

Next up was Director of Chapter Services Nick Zuniga.

“Prior to this, I spent six years at Texas A&M University as the associate director of student activities,” he said.

Rounding out the panel was Don Hults from Southern Methodist University who said he is “on their ACB [alumni control board], and I sit on the advisory board at TCU [Texas Christian University].”

Holding a stack of cards audience members turned in, Brother Taylor read the first question: “What have you learned since becoming involved with Lambda Chi Alpha?” (Laughter.)

“I will keep this brief,” Brother Jackson said. “I’m assuming the question [refers] to advisors. I’ve learned that we have a fantastic support staff in Indianapolis that want to help you and want to see undergraduates live up to their potential. We have some fantastic young men in our chapters. Being an advisor has made me a better father, a better husband, a better son.”

Passing over the microphone,

Associate Director of Harm Reduction Justin Fisher stepped up first to elaborate on the fraternity’s Harm Reduction and Legal & Liability issues. As spelled out in their binders, participants were told “how to make sure they are in compliance with fraternity policies and regulations to reduce their exposure to legal issues as well as provide them with resources to properly advise their chapters on creating a plan and executing that plan if a situation arises.”

“This is going to be a crash course in Harm Reduction,” Brother Fisher said. He also went over “crisis management, the harm reduction report, [and] reviewing the process of event planning forms—everyone’s favorite. Lynn’s going to talk about liability issues, some insurance issues, claims, and how alumni organizations are defined in the constitution and statutory codes.”

Lynn Chipperfield (Drury 1973)

Panelists get grilled, Harm Reduction & Crisis Management speakers, and some fresh snow. Donald Hults, Director of Chapter Services Nick Zuniga and Scott Jackson (top, from left)) took questions during the “What Do I Need to Know?” panel discussion. Associate Director of Harm Reduction Justin Fisher (upper left) and Legal Counsel Lynn Chipperfield (above) provided staff perspectives on Harm Reduction and Crisis Management. As alumni assembled in Carmel Ballroom IV for breakfast, anyone who needed something from their car might’ve wanted to put on some snowshoes before venturing outside.

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Justin Fisher (North Carolina- Greensboro 2006)

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“I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in the fraternity in a lot of different capacities,” General Counsel Lynn Chipperfield said. “Over the last nine months I have been able to view it from the perspective of staff and get to know all these guys who do such a great job at the Headquarters.

In the meantime because of my work on the board at

Instagramming Lambda Chi. Associate Director of Communication Andrew Talevich explored the ways Lambda Chi chapters as well as Headquarters are using social media to share the fraternity’s brand and attract new members. While Brother Talevich was discussing a slide about Instagram, Rick Childs snapped a picture and posted it on his Instagram and Facebook pages.

Drury University, I’ve gotten to view the Greek system from the perspective of our host institutions and what issues that presents.

Most of our host institutions don’t want us to be part of the solution, they just want us to stop being part of the problem….

“I know this is going to sound gratuitous and it’s not intended to be, but I am awed by the work that you guys do at the local level. And I comment this with the understanding that I have a lot more to learn from you than you do from me.

“One other personal note: this is a bit of an anniversary for me.

Believe it or not, today is the 45th anniversary of my initiation into the fraternity. This should be relevant to all of you in here. When I go out and talk to students, whether it’s at General Assemblies, Leadership Seminars, Conclaves, or going to a chapter, I have to always keep reminding myself that the way that they relate to me is the same way I in 1970 would’ve related to someone who was initiated in 1925. It’s important to keep that in mind.

“Justin talked about the event planning process; I want to talk about you and the protections that are in this for you. I’m not the guy who gets those 3 a.m. phone calls from the chapter or from the dean of students or the police. You volunteer a lot of your time to this fraternity and you are entitled to insurance. If you get sued, there will be somebody there to take care of it. Relax, you’ll be all right. We have directors and officers liability insurance. The only exceptions are the ones you’d expect: willful, gross, criminal-type

conduct. We have a very good D & O policy. You’ve got liability insurance through the Faber Agency. There is this beast called the Federal Volunteer Protection Act. There is an act in federal law that grants you immunity. There’s a lot of people that don’t know that. You have immunity from liability. If you are doing things within your scope of volunteer activities, you’re protected.”

Andrew Talevich (Washington State 2011) “I’ve asked Andrew Talevich and his communications team to put together some information for you as advisors to take back to your chapters,” Brother Taylor said, “And make sure that they are getting the most out of their experiences as well. Andrew’s going to walk you through a little bit on what we have in the way of resources from a communications standpoint.”

“We feel that the more we can do as a communications department to keep you in the know with what Lambda Chi Alpha is doing, to keep us as transparent as possible, the better it is,” Brother Talevich said.

“Kyle Jones and myself are associate directors of communications.

Kyle works with the Cross & Crescent primarily. I work a lot more on the digital side of things: the website, social media, graphic design and special projects. And then Nikki [Ziegenfuss] and Jessica [Rohn] both work on our database.

“We want to equip the staff, volunteers and officers with the tools they need to be operationally successful. We also want to

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Photos by Rick Childs

How Do I Make A Difference? Grand High Pi Jeff Stuerman brought the first Neville Advisor’s College of 2015 to a close by discussing the importance of being involved as an alumnus. The Renaissance Hotel looked regal after the snowstorm.

Brother Childs (below) took a moment after the alumni had cleared out of Grille 39 for the night to hold something that Californians didn’t see much of this winter.

foster a sense of engagement with undergraduates, with alumni and other constituents through a multi-pronged attack. So we’re on social media, email marketing. We make sure that our communication platforms like our website, officer portal, My LCA —all those are updated and have what they need. We want to keep a consistent, strong voice through messaging and through brand identity.

“From a marketing background I always believed that the strongest organizations have the strongest brand because people trust them. So if we can make sure that Lambda Chi Alpha is consistent, feels consistent, that way we can foster a better sense of engagement.”

making a difference?’

“Any one of you can be up here sharing some of the insights that I’ve gleaned. We are all really in this together. I want to thank you for making the difference that you are making in a lot of young men’s lives—and a lot of alumni lives. Because the bottom line is, you are building a legacy. You’ve been inspired by a legacy.

“My session objective is only one. I want to give you—if I am able to do that—I want to give you absolute permission to be your most courageous, authentic and genuine self so that you can make a difference in the lives of these chapters.

“We talked about using the Open Ritual and Closed Ritual to inspire young men. I was even thinking about how do we get some of our alumni re-engaged in our Ritual. We shouldn’t stop living the Ritual just because we graduated, right? Using impactful questions that Erin talked about. Understanding the similarities and differences of this generation as Rodney talked about.

How do we help them form what their aspirations are for themselves?

And then finally, how do we take advantage of the vast resources that each of us has that Lambda Chi Alpha is providing for all of us to help us lead and grow?”

Jeff Stuerman (Culver-Stockton 1979) As described in the March 2015 Cross & Crescent, the conference was designed to explore “the changing landscape of undergraduate members, understanding the role of an alumni advisor and sharing experiences in small group sessions. Each large and small group session [would be] reinforced with the idea of ‘Legacy’. The last session with Grand High Pi Jeff Stuerman would leave the attendees with a charge of using their time, talents and treasure in order to leave a legacy for the next generation.”

Brother Stuerman began, “When George [Taylor] asked, ‘We want you to do a presentation on how do you make a difference,’ and I said, ‘What, to an audience of people who are already

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BETA-R HO BULLETIN BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA FRATERNITY P.O. BOX 280311 NORTHRIDGE, CA 91328-0311

Address Service Requested

Editor’s Journal Before dawn on Feb. 19 I stepped off a Delta 737-800 redeye from LAX at Indianapolis International Airport. I couldn’t sleep on the flight. As I was exiting the plane, my iPhone’s weather app displayed -2 degrees. Nevertheless, I felt pretty fortunate.

In January I began receiving emails from Associate Director of Alumni Involvement George Taylor about the Neville Advisors College. What intrigued me was its open invitation to house corporation members as well as chapter advisors. Two Beta-Rho alumni had already attended earlier conferences. A year ago, former Chapter Advisor Chris Dyer had attended one and raved about it. House Corporation President Spencer Schmerling had sat in for the first one about eight years earlier and also spoke highly of it. Would they also let a house corporation vice president attend?

Since I was having one of those ‘Wayne’s World’ moments where I felt I wasn’t worthy of such a nearly all expenses paid trip, I hesitated to fill out the email link’s application at first. Not long after I completed the form online and submitted it, Brother Taylor called me. During our conversation, he reassured me that I was well qualified to attend the conference. It didn’t hurt that I had renewed my volunteer credentials in October after I noticed that I had been temporarily blocked from accessing the officer portal on Headquarters’ website. By the end of the call, Brother Taylor had confirmed my travel arrangements and made sure that I could settle into a room with an early check-in at the event’s Marriott Renaissance Indianapolis North. The arrangement also afforded me several hours of sleep before the registration time.

At first I was a little embarrassed at not knowing Brother Taylor’s connection to Beta-Rho. He had been instrumental in helping the chapter re-colonize in the fall of 2001 while he was serving as an ELC. His name had been appearing in the chapter directory’s Affiliates and Friends section for years. I had listed his residence in Delaware for the directory, but he had relocated to Carmel, Indiana more than two years ago after he accepted his current staff position. He reminded me a lot of Josh Lodolo (BP 459), a fellow alumnus who worked for Headquarters in the same capacity in the mid-2000s.

Later that afternoon I found Brother Taylor, Operations Coordinator Tina Barnett and a couple of other staff members in the great room next to the lobby where I had checked in and picked up my binder. Across the room, I grazed on an ahi tuna salad at Grille 39 and then puzzled over where to spend the next few hours. I could either check out the gym, swim in the toasty indoor pool, or bundle up and head south to Headquarters’ new digs a block south on Pennsylvania Avenue. A group tour had been scheduled for the next evening. However, this afternoon would be my only chance to see Headquarters during daylight hours, and that was a photo opportunity I didn’t want to miss.

It’s a good thing I bundled up and brought along my thermals, ski hat and gloves. My iPhone read 7 degrees while I was walking along the rock salt laced sidewalk under bright sunny skies. Most of the lawns were dusted with a thin layer of dry snow. When I arrived at Headquarters, I snapped a few pictures of the front façade where the fraternity’s Greek letters appear and posted one on Instagram. Then I walked to the back of the building where the lobby entrance and elevator were located. Headquarters’ 15,000 square feet of space took up the entire second floor while shops and legal offices lined the first level.

After waiting nearly 40 years since joining Lambda Chi Alpha to visit Headquarters, I was finally inside. There is something indescribably exhilarating about walking through the double door entrance for the first time. It’s an Oz-like moment that I wanted to savor before the next night’s official tour.

Guest Services and Logistics Manager Danyelle McAllister greeted me from behind the counter once I entered the reception room. We had talked on the phone a few months earlier when I was trying to untangle the chapter’s initiation number dilemma that had affected the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 classes. I made sure that I signed the guest book before I ventured down the right-side hallway. It’s a good thing, because I completely forgot about the guest book when I went back the next evening.

Even though it was 4:40, few staff were still working at their desks. Many had gone home early to get ready for the night’s banquet. But there was at least one staff member who had not called it a day yet as I passed by his office and poked my head in.

“Hi Rick.” It was Executive Vice President Bill Farkas. I hadn’t seen him since 2008 at a Western Regional Alumni Reception at the Universal Hilton, but he still recognized me like it was yesterday.

We chatted briefly and he apologized in advance for not being able to attend the conference beyond that night’s banquet. He had made prior arrangements to attend the Midwest Regional Conclave the next morning at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. A few minutes later, he was gone, but not before I parked myself in Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer Joe Citro’s nearby office and got acquainted.

My self-guided tour of Headquarters that afternoon went by in a blur. I took quite a few pictures as I prowled the hallways, but the museum room was locked up. Then I came across Director of Annual Giving Max Goldenberg’s cubicle and he introduced himself. Since I wasn’t too excited about the idea of walking back to the hotel, I asked him if he could give me a ride. He was about to drive to the hotel anyway, so that was a good call.

While I was surveying the offices, I recalled my conversation with the late Brother John Gezelius in the summer of 2012. It was almost as if he was there reminding me of my legacy. Headquarters is a magical place. Try not to wait 40 years to schedule a visit.