Pi Kappa Alpha - Purdue University

Candlelight Page 2 Thank You, 2016 Annual Donors O ur third year post-capital campaign was quite the success with 63 alumni who stepped up to invest in Beta Phi's annual campaign. Thank you to those donors for committing almost $12,000 in 2016! Your gifts help support our undergraduates' scholarship and recruitment activities, as well as our alumni communications. Long-Range Planning I t was decided a few years ago when Joe Conti '85 was stepping into the position of president of the Beta Phi Foundation, Bob Nice '82 was stepping down as president of the Home Association Board, and new leadership was stepping into the Chapter Advisory Board that we needed to focus on long-range planning. A committee was formed to help all of our alumni groups prepare and plan for the future of Beta Phi at Purdue. This group consists of: Joe Conti, Charlie Hetrick '63, Bob Nice, Matt Folz, Beta Omicron '07, Ben Phillips '10, and Rich Russell '58, chairman. This committee has expanded since we originally met three years ago. Our last meeting was held May 17, 2016, and focused on having a better understanding of the other three fraternities who make up our West Lafayette city block. Attending this group meeting were alumni housing officers from Sigma Phi Epsilon, Acadia, Alpha Gamma Rho, and ourselves. Each of the four fraternities gave an open and candid assessment of their local chapter and building structure. There were also discussions on the importance of the four fraternities maintaining their existence and buildings on this city block. Tony Hohn from AGR, who works for the university, gave us an update on the university's position regarding properties on the island consisting of Russell, Waldrun, and University Streets. At the present time, there is no threat to our block. A lot of good ideas were exchanged at this joint meeting. A second meeting is scheduled for June 22, 2017. AGR will host this meeting at their chapter house. The other goals are the continued working relationships of our three separate alumni groups, future needed Chapter House renovations, relationships with our National Headquarters, Beta Phi alumni relations, supporting Chapter leadership, improving scholastics, a strong financial base, keeping ahead of local Greek competition, and an orderly plan for the future of Beta Phi on Purdue's campus. As a long-range planning committee, we will seek professional advice and understanding from professionals outside our own group. We will keep our alumni advised on our findings and recommendations. In ffka, Rich Russell '58 Chairman of the Beta Phi Boards "Why Fraternity?" It's important to answer the "who" before the "why." My name is Matt Folz, Beta Omicron '07, and last September, I was elected as Beta Phi's newest Home Association president. Born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, I am the first person in my family to attend college, and by default, the first to experience fraternities. I entered college indoctrinated by the lazy stereotypes levied at fraternities, and only joined to play intramural football. I am here today because the fraternity demanded I do more. As mentioned in the autumn Candlelight, I joined a successful chapter at Indiana State University. While Smythe Awards are a convenient measuring stick, the hallmark of a successful chapter is its ability to demand and receive the unified efforts of its members toward common goals that improve the entire brotherhood. I joined a group of young men and alumni advisors that demanded I leave my comfort zone and embrace risks and responsibilities that are necessary lessons in living a fulfilling life. By the time I graduated, I built a resume and skill set that led me to a position with the International Fraternity. I visited 23 chapters during my year as a chapter consultant, and spent six weeks refounding the Zeta Lambda Chapter at Adrian College. In fall 2011, another chapter consultant and I spent 10 days in West Lafayette structuring Beta Phi's recruitment program. With the members' buy-in, they recruited more than 50 men in those 10 days. The Chapter's work ethic and receptiveness motivated me toward spending two extended chapter visits with Beta Phi that year. While most chapters see their consultant three or four days per year, I spent over 20 days working with the Beta Phi brothers during my one-year assignment. My ambitions led me back to Indiana, and I enrolled in the Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis in 2012. Law school is not conducive to a life outside of the library, but familiar faces like Bob Nice '82 and Joe Conti '85, in their infinite patience, continually included me in Beta Phi, and this is my fourth year on the Home Association Board. Now the "why." Why am I here? I'm a young alumnus, and I'm continually learning lessons most alumni already know. Building a successful legal practice while balancing a happy home life with my 1-year- old daughter, Jordy, and my wife, Laura (ACW), makes for a busy schedule. My time commitments have become intentional. I intentionally carve out time for the fraternity, and specifically Beta Phi, because in my short time as an undergraduate member of Pi Kappa Alpha, I received invaluable opportunities for personal and professional growth that have, and will continue to, positively impact my life. My continued involvement is out of generosity for those opportunities, and I want to be a piece of the puzzle in an organization that continues to demand more from its members, with the understanding that when we demand more of ourselves, we often receive more. I look forward to this opportunity to serve as Beta Phi's Home Association president, and appreciate the work of every alumnus before me. I am here because they were there. Fraternally, Matt Folz, Beta Omicron '07 Home Association President matthew.r.folz@gmail.com Meet Beta Phi's Home Association President

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