Sigma Chi - University of Alabama

2 The Iota Iota Messenger Sigma Chi Shining momentS Bill Blythe '88 Credits Iota Iota for Successful Career, Personal Growth B etween his undergraduate days at the University of Alabama and nine years of postgraduate work, the lessons Bill Blythe '88 learned to prepare him for a stellar med- ical career were many. But when Bill looks back on his overall college experience, his scholastic success isn't what first comes to mind. Bill's best college memories were made at Iota Iota. "That's where all my friends were. Sigma Chi taught me to grow up and how to make the transition from boy to man," Bill said. "When I think of college, I think of the Sigma Chi house and all my friends, not of the school and academics." Bill was focused foremost on doing well academically when he arrived at UA, so he decided to hold off on joining a fraternity until the spring semester of his freshman year. After Bill realized the men of Sigma Chi shared his ideals, it didn't take long for him to become involved in the fraternity. He served as scholarship chairman, assistant social chairman, Derby chairman, and consul. Bill was also a finalist for the International Balfour Award and UA's 1988 valedictorian. "Iota Iota was my home and family for four of the most important and formative years of my life," Bill said. "I was lucky to find a home there and to make the connections and friendships that helped me thrive through school and my career." Once Bill completed his residency at the University of North Carolina Hospitals in 1997, he moved to Auburn, Alabama, and joined East Alabama Ear, Nose, and Throat, P.C. He's practiced there ever since. "I have held every medical staff leadership position over the past 22 years," Bill said. "I have served as a committee member on the Board of Medical Examiners since 2005 and am currently on the Lee County Board of Health. I'm active in the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, where I'm currently on the Board of Directors." It was a challenge for Bill to stay in touch with his brothers after he graduated from UA, but thanks to social media, he's reconnected with many of them in recent years. The stories of the adventures with brothers in his class, football games, parties, and many other Iota Iota functions are ones that Bill will always treasure. "I had so many brothers who were important in my life during the four years I was at the University of Alabama," Bill said. "I would have never succeeded as I did without them." Bill and his wife, Linda, have two children. Their daughter, Kelsey, is a 2015 UA graduate, so Bill often visited the Iota Iota chapter house whenever he traveled to Tuscaloosa to see her or attend a Crimson Tide football game. Bill and Linda's son, Coley, is wrapping up his freshman year at Auburn, where he plays lacrosse. Whether it's raising his bird dogs, quail hunting, working on his timber and farmland, fishing, riding his motorcycles and bicycles, or exercising, Bill enjoys an active lifestyle. Bill is thankful that Sigma Chi molded him into the man he is today. You can connect with Bill at wblythe@me.com. Bill Blythe '88 with wife Linda, daughter Kelsey, and son Coley. Chapter President Jay Nielson '21 (502) 889-6375 Vice President Parker Goodwin '21 Secretary Michael Smart '21 Treasurer Ryan Pamplin '21 New Member Educator Ben Shugart '22 Recruitment Chairman Talmadge Martin '22 (706) 463-8993 Risk Manager Mick Gulledge '21 Historian Hunter Robinson '23 Chapter Editor Jacob Limbocker '23 CHAPTER OFFICERS

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