Sigma Chapter Wins FIVE AWARDS at the 2014 Ekklesia - That's HUGE!

The International Fraternity's Condon Cup for most-improved chapter was presented at the 166th Ekklesia on July 25, 2014, in Indianapolis.  Above (left to right): Gabe Sayers '16, Austin Wilson '16, Archon Councilor Glenn Moore, Matt Miely '16, Max Jump '17, Skip Buckley '80, and Section Chief Ben Harper.

Our Undergraduate Brothers at Sigma Chapter won FIVE International Fraternity awards at the 166th Phi Gamma Delta Ekklesia in Indianapolis on July 24-26, 2014.  Although I don't think this is a record for Sigma Chapter, it has been a LONG TIME since our chapter has won so many awards in our Fraternity's international competition.  CONGRATULATIONS, Sigma Chapter!

The awards are:
  

o   FIRST PLACE in the Condon Cup, given for the most-improved chapter (among 150 chapters, 6,000 Undergraduate Brothers) – that’s huge!

o   Honorable Mention in the Coon Plaque (best chapter newsletter)

o   Honorable Mention in the Baker Cup (best philanthropy)

 

o  Certificate of Superior Academic Achievement for 7 consecutive years above Wittenberg's All Men's GPA. (It's really been 8 consecutive academic years, or 16 consecutive semesters, but IHQ bases it on calendar years.)

 

o  McCarty Proficiency Certificate (given annually to chapters that meet minimum operational standards - not easy to achieve)

 

 

 We had NINE Sigma Brothers in attendance at the Ekklesia - one of the largest delegations from any chapter.  Our Sigma Brothers:

o   Bill Downing ’15, Archon Councilor

o   Jack Mapes ’16, President

o   Matt Miely ’16, Treasurer

o   Austin Wilson ’16, Rush

o   Gabe Sayers ’16, Philanthropy

o   Max Jump ’17, Rush

o   Marcus Hitt ‘05

o   Jesse Hitt ‘07

o   Skip Buckley ‘80

Here are a few more photos from the Ekklesia...

Bill Downing '15, hogging the Condon Cup all to himself.

 

Left to right: Austin, Max, Matt, and Gabe holding up some of the other awards.

Sigma President Jack Mapes '16 arrived in time for the photo opp's. 
Left to right: Austin, Gabe, Jack, Max, and Matt.

Eight of the nine Sigma Brothers attending the 166th Ekklesia.  Left to right: Jesse Hitt '07, Austin Wilson '16, Jack Mapes '16, Matt Miely '16, Bill Downing '15, Gabe Sayers '16, Max Jump '17, Marcus Hitt '15. 
(Missing - hey, they never told me! - Skip Buckley '80.)

This is a huge deal for Sigma Chapter!  After our chapter's one-year complete closure in 2005-06, in my personal opinion, winning these awards among such tough competition is a kind of validation that Sigma Chapter has completely recovered from what could have been a devastating blow.  It's been a long and challenging nine-year climb back up, but our chapter is now well-positioned to carry forth this momentum on to greater heights and continued success. As every Sigma Pledge in the last 40 years learned in the story about the Wise Old Man: "It is as you want it to be..."

Well done, Sigma Brothers!

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80

Perge!

Sigma Chapter Summer 2014 Cleanup Session - June 28th

As we've done for the past several years, Graduate and Undergraduate Sigma Brothers gathered at the chapter house over the summer to do some landscaping work, clean up the yard, and just enjoy some Fiji Brotherhood for a few hot hours in the sun.

On Saturday, June 28th, five Graduate Brothers and three Undergraduate Brothers met and got a LOT done!  The hedges were trimmed, weeds were de-weeded, junk was collected and thrown out.  The chapter house and grounds looked a lot better by the time we finished!

It's IMPORTANT to keep the property looking good over the summer, as high school juniors and seniors drive by on college tours.  And it's important to maintain our standards over the summer before the Wittenberg and Springfield communities.

The eight Brothers who helped out spanned nearly 40 years - from the classes of 1977 through 2016.  My SINCERE thanks to these Sig Fijis for helping out last Saturday:

Doc Prescott '77
Chris Vennefron '05
James Lesinksi '14
Andrew Stylski '14
Jack Mapes '16
Gabe Sayers '16
Kevin DeGulis '16
Skip Buckley '80

Here are a few photos to confirm we actually were there...and accomplished some great things!

Fraternally,

Skip Buckley '80

Perge!