Lambda Chi Alpha - Oklahoma State University

lambda chi alpha FALL 2021 EDITION ALPHA ETA NEWSLETTER oklahoma state university I graduated from OSU in 1970, got married, returned to my hometown, started a family, and worked multiple jobs. While my college years were the best and my fraternity experience was outstanding, I returned to Stillwater less and less, had limited contact with my Alpha Eta brothers, and basically lost all contact with Lambda Chi. Then, in 2013 at a social event following a Nature Conservancy Trustees meeting in Tulsa, I met David Reynolds AH1367. When we discovered that we were Alpha Eta brothers, David updated me on the Chapter and encouraged me to attend the annual Alpha Eta Reunion at Zink Ranch. I did and learned that Alpha Eta had fallen on hard times; Darton Zink AH1400, along with many others, had saved the Chapter by repurchasing the house from Nationals and working to both retire the debt and eventually build a new house. Fast forward to 2016. My wife, Pam "Buck," attended Grandparent University with one of our granddaughters. She passed by the Lambda Chi house several times that week—and she was appalled. She returned and told me that we either needed to take our name off the house or tear it down and build a new one. A suggestion from your wife of 50 years is powerful, so even though I detest fundraising, I volunteered to be the capital campaign chairman. Fundraising has been everything that I anticipated and more—both the bad and the good. We've had brothers, that I just knew would be major donors, end up not giving a penny. We've had men give generously and then later double their original gift. We've seen younger brothers give monthly because they couldn't give a lump sum. We've had brothers pledge and then not honor their pledge, and we've had the unexpected deaths and illnesses. Do I have regrets? Absolutely. But I would do it again (only much better next time)! My chance encounter with Dave resulted in my reconnection with Alpha Eta and the opportunity to work with some outstanding younger brothers that I now consider friends. T he Alpha Eta Chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha hit the ground running this fall semester. As I write this, America's Greatest Homecoming is in full swing, and we are paired with the women of Gamma Phi Beta. Our Chapter has been working incredibly hard balancing school and pomping in hopes to rank as a top house for Homecoming. We have been busy with intramural sports, brotherhood events, and philanthropy events. Although COVID-19 has put a halt on many of our events and limited what we could do in the community during the past two semesters, we have been fortunate enough to continue this semester in a way closer to normal. Watermelon Bust, an event that we did not get to host last year, made its comeback better than ever. We collected over 5,300 cans for Feeding America. It was a great time being able to interact with the sororities on campus in a competitive environment. We currently have 52 active members and an associate class of 18 exceptional men who are eager to become fully initiated members of this brotherhood. Our high delta, Luke Sinn AH2059, has big plans to develop a large spring associate class for the upcoming semester. For summer recruitment, Luke plans to continue developing recruitment teams in various cities such as Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa, in hopes to build our Chapter even more. Last spring semester, Lambda Chi Alpha had eight men achieve the President's Honor Roll with 22 on the Dean's Honor Roll. Member GPA was 3.31, and new member GPA was 2.92. The Chapter GPA was 3.28, ranking us ninth overall in fraternity grades, which we plan to improve in the upcoming semesters. Our high sigma, Zachary Lee AH2061, has been working hard to encourage academic excellence and prioritization within our Chapter. This semester, we were informed that the Alpha Eta Zeta Alumni Control Board at Oklahoma State University has been dissolved. This has taken restrictions off our Chapter, allowing us to resume as normal. We are excited to build Alpha Eta in a positive direction. We are thrilled for the future of Lambda Chi Alpha at Oklahoma State and what 2022 has in store for us! In Z.A.X., Ian Davis AH2043 High Alpha ian.davis11@okstate.edu It's Time to Pitch In and Help Lambda Chi Reconnect and Get Involved with Alpha Eta Reaching New Heights Active Chapter Celebrates an Exciting Semester alumni association alpha eta (Left) Dad's Day 2021. (Right) Frats at Bat 2021 with Chi Omega. Top row, from left: Sam Weber AH2021, Kadin Bezdicek, and Kyle Grill AH2071. Bottom row: Collin Richardson AH2030, Reese Trujillo, Tyler Pond AH2020, Ian Davis AH2043, Derrick Garcia AH2063, and Jonathan Hagan AH2053. Laying down: Kyle Nicholson AH2070. I've renewed relationships with brothers from the 1960s that I hadn't seen in decades. So, what's keeping others from doing the same? Here's the problem. Fraternity alumni are notorious for not updating their contact information. A great example: the Alpha Eta database has hundreds of brothers either still living at 923 University or at their home address from high school, and many others are merely marked as lost. Unless you're in a witness protection program, there is no excuse for this. Sororities do a much better job at staying connected, and it results in greater alumni participation, stronger involvement in recruitment, and better contributions to capital campaigns. We recently used a service called Alumni Finder to help expand and update our alumni database. They search for the mailing addresses, emails, and mobile numbers of our alumni. For less than $400, we have an ample amount of new alumni information to add to or cross reference with existing contact information. At some point, we need to make that information easily available for your use, and we're working on that. Consider this: Alpha Eta needs our support, and many of us need to renew the relationships that were such an important part of our Lambda Chi experience. So reach out, reconnect, and get involved at a level of your choosing. You won't regret it. In Z.A.X., Steve Holton AH910 Campaign Chairman steve@cnbpoteau.com

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