Phi Kappa Theta - Iowa State University

FKQ CLONE PHI KAPPA THETA FRATERNITY n IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY n FALL 2019 A s mentioned in last fall's XiClone, James Victor '68, an avid motor sports fan and racer, died tragically July 27, 2018, in a car racing accident at a Wisconsin track. One of Jim's passions was racing Formula-style cars. At the time of his death, Jim was the executive director and financial adviser for the Victor/ Volrath Group at Morgan Stanley in Davenport, and a longtime Quad-City Times "Key 15" columnist. Throughout his career in financial services, Jim was often called on as a subject matter expert by television, newspapers, and magazines helping people to better understand the market and why some choices were better than others. Outside of work, Jim gave generously of his time and resources. He served on countless boards for a variety of institutions throughout the Quad-Cities and gave generously to charitable organizations, including Phi Kappa Theta. Of all his philanthropies, Jim was a huge supporter of Junior Achievement. "Jim strongly believed in entrepreneurship and he wanted kids to learn about that," said Barbara Ven Horst, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of the Heartland from 2007 to 2017. Genesis Philanthropy Executive Director Missy Gowey described Jim as "an engaging, humble, inspirational leader who exhibited remarkable passion for his work and volunteer service. Jim was passionate about causes but more so about people." Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch, who for years served as president and CEO of the Scott County YMCA, said he saw Jim's generosity both as leader of the YMCA and as mayor of Davenport. "Jim was a great example of getting the private sector and the business world actively involved with the social service agencies and the community," Klipsch said, "as well as showing the importance of giving time, talent and treasure to our community." To his family and close friends, Jim often said, "Those to whom much is given, much is expected." Jim's life of study, hard work, philanthropy, friendships, and fun exemplified what it means to be a Phi Kap. He practiced the values of our fraternity—fraternal, intellectual, social, service, and leadership—in his everyday life. Jim truly lived our motto, "Give, expecting nothing thereof." It is that act of giving that will ensure Jim's legacy continues at Iowa Xi for generations. In his will, Jim left Iowa Xi what will be the largest gift ever given to Iowa Xi and one of the largest gifts made to a chapter by a Phi Kappa Theta alumnus in the nation. While it will take several years to distribute the gift to Iowa Xi from Jim's estate, the alumni board is diligently working to prepare for the gift, developing options of how to use the gift, and most importantly, ensuring that Jim's legacy endures. To those ends, the alumni board will establish a James Victor gift committee to develop recommendations for managing and using his gift. One of the options is to establish an endowment where only a portion of the investment income each year would be used. Income from the gift will be used to fund initiatives that best honor Jim's memory. Other suggestions from those who knew Jim included providing a subsidy each year to sponsor an alumni and undergraduate social event, sponsoring an annual ISU Greek system philanthropic event, using part of the gift for infrastructure recapitalization, and providing scholarship and educational opportunities to our undergraduate members. Separately, the alumni board is planning to reconstitute the building committee. Its purpose will be developing long-term recapitalization plans for the chapter house at 2110 Lincoln Way and the apartment building at 117 Beach. While the chapter house has benefited significantly from the 2013 renovation project, in terms of infrastructure and recruiting, several recapitalization projects remain unfunded. The apartment building has suffered from deferred recapitalization for years. Not only will the building committee be tasked with developing options and providing recommendations to the board for a long-term recapitalization plan, it will be charged with looking into conducting a capital campaign focused on establishing a property endowment. The alumni board will keep alumni and undergraduates informed about the progress of the two committees, including recommendations and decisions. For alumni interested in serving on either committee, please contact Paul Peterson '01 at paulpeterson13@gmail.com or me. Jim died doing one of the many things he loved. In death, his passion continues. He was a great man, friend, and fraternity brother. We are all profoundly grateful to Jim for this incredible gift. Proud of his life's accomplishments, we eagerly look forward to what his legacy will do. Fraternally, Greg Stolp '84 Alumni Board Member stolpgd@gmail.com REMEMBERING OUR BROTHER James Victor '68 Leaves a Lasting Legacy

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