Chapter Initiates Alumni Member: Adam Burden, OSU Class of 2005

Every couple years, the Ohio Gamma SigEp undergraduates make the decision to honor a volunteer for the fraternity by inviting him to join Sigma Phi Epsilon. The Renaissance Brother Ritual has been performed for several brothers including Chapter Advisor, Dr. Don Stenta '02, OSU Alumnus Ibi Krukrubo '05, Father of past president Scott Phillips Sr. '03, and now OSU Alumnus Adam Burden. Adam was chosen by the undergraduate chapter to become a brother as an alumnus in early 2008.

On February 29th, Adam was initiated into Sigma Phi Epsilon the same way that brothers have been initiated in the past. The ritual role of President was performed by Scott Phillips Jr '05, The role of Chaplain performed by Brad Griffith '04, and the role of Vice President performed by Dr. Don Stenta '02, who was also a Renaissance Brother Initiate.

Adam is a 2005 graduate of The Ohio State University and is currently working for OSU in Student Affairs as Coordinator of Student Involvement. During his undergraduate years, Adam majored in both Math and Political Science. Additionally, he was involved with numerous student activities—ranging from Club Volleyball, to Sphinx Senior Class Honorary, where he served as president, to a University Ambassador. He was also a member of the 2004 Homecoming Court.

In 2007, Adam graduated from OSU with a Masters degree in Higher Education & Student Affairs. Having experienced OSU as both a undergraduate and graduate student, scarlet and gray truly runs in his veins. His passion for OSU also extends to the cultivation of tomorrow’s Buckeye graduates as he serves as an advisor to the Beanie Drake Scholarship Board and Bucket & Dipper Junior Class Honorary. Beyond his love for OSU, Adam, always with a trick up his sleeve, is also an accomplished magician. With his numerous accomplishments and love for Ohio State, Ohio Gamma is delighted to welcome into our brotherhood!

Thanks to Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge '05, for his contributions to this article.

Queen of Hearts Alumni Ball

On February 9, 2008, Ohio Gamma alumni joined the undergraduate chapter for their Winter Formal and Queen of Hearts Ball at the Columbus Zoo. Over fifty-five alumni and spouses or guests attended along with the many undergraduates and their dates.

Lead by Mike Lockwood, master of ceremony, the Centennial Committee presented us with a fifteen minute presentation on the history of Ohio Gamma from 1908 through the 1960s. The presentation included pictures of the first "Script Ohio," the history of SigEp houses through 1970 and even pictures of then District Governor John Hartman partying with the "Gamma Boys" in the 1960s.

John "CJ" Waggoner, president of the alumni board, then paid honor to our eldest alumnus in attendence- Carl Abell ('49). Brother Abell, with his wife Sherry at his side, was honored for five minutes as CJ spoke of his experience in SigEp. Carl joined SigEp in 1944, but had his membership interupted by his call of duty in World War II. Carl graduated in 1949 and moved back to his hometown of Medina, where he still owns and operates a dairy farm and ice cream museum. We greatly appreciated Carl and Sherry making the trip for this event.

Chapter President Michael Repasky then visited the microphone to announce the recipient(s) of the 2008 SigEp Sweetheart honor. The undergraduates chose Liz Warren for chapter sweetheart, daughter of Bob Warren ('71.) Liz is the president of the Pan Hellenic Association (PHA) and is a member of Pi Beta Phi Sorority. The Alumna Sweetheart chosen was Gretchen Smith, wife of George Smith ('63.) Gretchen was both suprised and honored as we sang her our sweetheart song that she was long overdue to hear.

The night concluded with dancing and socializing for the undergraduates and alumni alike. We look forward to seeing everyone during our next three events:

May 10 - Alumni Baseball Game
August 2- Golf Outing and Pig Roast
October 3-5 Centennial Weekend Celebration and Gala

Contact Mike Lockwood (mlgobucks@roadrunner.com) to RSVP for these events.

Alumnus Shares His SigEp Pride with Chapter Leaders

as told by: Doug Hange '05

(pictured: Hange left, and Mike Repasky right)

Over this past Thanksgiving holiday, I had the distinct pleasure of having dinner with two of Ohio Gamma's finest. Those two brothers were Nathan Weber and Mike Repasky. Both have been long time friends and are now leaders of the fraternity. I took them to dinner at one of my favorite Ohio State establishments, Eddie George's Grill on High Street. The guys shared with me the many great things the chapter was accomplishing, such as increasing their chapter GPA towards a 3.5 average, winning athletic championships, and branching out to have social gatherings with different sororities such as the Kappas and the DGs. I was very proud of the guys for helping to increase the chapter count to over 90 plus quality men who believe in the principles of virtue, diligence and brotherly love. More importantly, they have found men who strive to be leaders, gentlemen, scholars and athletes. A great Ohio Gamma, Dennis Kaps, once said, "You must recruit men greater than yourself." I honestly feel this discipline has been followed during recruitment. Nate and Mike gave much of the credit to fellow brother Ryan Dressler, who was VP of Recruitment. They also informed me Ryan had been chosen by SigEp Nationals for a Regional Director position after graduation.

I challenged the gentleman that evening at dinner with one task. I asked them to continue to work on a mentoring program with alumni. I feel that is one piece of the pie that would be beneficial to the chapter and alumni. Unfortunately I no longer live in the Columbus area as I live and work for the Ford Motor Company in Orlando, FL, but I still like to keep in touch with my fellow brothers. I wish them all the best of luck in 2008 and look to hear many great things that make me proud every day to say I'm a Sig Ep.

Alumni Board Meeting - January 2008

The Alumni Board's quarterly gathering for January 2008 was attended by:
President: John "CJ" Waggoner '70
Treasurer: Ken Butler '70
Facilities Mgr: John Barta '70
Webmaster: Brad Griffith '04
Mentoring Chair: Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge '05
Secretary: Scott Phillips Jr. '05
Foundation President: Bob Barnett '71
and a dozen undergraduates...

The meeting was very efficiently run by CJ, who is now operating in his second term as President of the AB. The finances of the chapter, which we cannot post publicly on this site, are in better standing than ever. We learned about the new standards of physical fitness being put into effect for the undergraduates that includes a one-mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, and one-legged squats. Flexibility is also a key aspect of the fitness testing. High GPAs and good fitness in our Ohio Gamma chapter certainly personify the Balanced Man.

The rest of the meeting can be summarized in bullet points.

• Alumni Programming is looking forward to the Queen of Hearts Ball on February 9th.
• Alumni Communications is currently producing the February version of the Ohio Gamma Red Door Newsletter completing three years of timely publications!
• Chapter Standards reported a GPA of 3.29 for Fall Quarter which placed 3rd among fraternities and was shy of the 3.5 goal.
• Chapter Recruitment reported a current membership of 95 brothers including 19 men who just joined in January.
• Alumni Mentoring is beginning an aggressive campaign to pair alumni with undergraduates in need of community mentoring to help them grow and prepare for post-college life.

Next meeting TBA