Sigma Nu - University of Washington

SIGMA NU 4 P aul Ellingson '66 was first introduced to Sigma Nu by Steve Bramwell '63, a three-year letterman who played halfback for the Huskies and excelled as a kick and punt returner. "Initially I was going to be a Phi Delt," Paul said, "but Steve convinced me that I'd be happier with Gamma Chi Chapter." Paul was impressed by Steve's sales pitch and decided to join the pledge class of around 30 members. During Paul's time as an active member, his Gamma Chi brothers came from a variety of backgrounds. "We had a lot of jocks and smart guys but were different in terms of interests," Paul said. "I remember having to help a lot of my brothers with their studies by making sure they didn't fall asleep while doing school work." Through learning about his brothers, he developed many profound, lifelong friendships. Sigma Nu became like an extended family to Paul. "These friendships can't be replaced because they came from such an interesting time during our lives, when you need one another to keep your compass straight," Paul said. "We could only talk to our families once a week over the phone, so we often had to go to each other for advice." One of the most important moments in his life came when an upperclassman invited him to an exchange with a sorority. "I had just gone through a breakup coming into the event and I ended up meeting my wife there," Paul said. "We are getting ready to celebrate our 50th anniversary together." BUILDING LIFELONG BONDS Paul Ellingson '66 Reflects on His Time with Sigma Nu and Evolving Friendships with Brothers W hile wandering the grocery aisles with his mother as a child, Gary Shansby '57 always wondered how products were made, and as he grew older that curiosity transformed into an interest in business and marketing. The summer after he graduated from high school, he had an early opportunity to meet several University of Washington fraternity representatives who came to his house to recruit him. During those recruitment visits, the men of Sigma Nu impressed him the most, and once he became a member, he was officially on a path to lifelong success. "The most important thing of becoming an active member of Gamma Chi was that I had to maintain good grades," he said. "The fact that they were focused on study hours made sure you did well in college and taught me how to focus." Although Gary knew he wanted to study business and marketing when he started college, he admits he wouldn't have focused as much on education so early on at UW if not for Sigma Nu. His commitment to upholding the brotherhood values of academic excellence and teamwork helped him succeed as an undergraduate and prepared him for his professional endeavors. "I was influenced by affiliation with a good pledge class and a good fraternity," he stated. "The value of teamwork taught me to appreciate all different levels of importance within work and life." The lessons he learned from Sigma Nu paired with his education from UW, specifically the influence of his marketing professor, set Gary up for professional success. He's the co-founder and chairman of TSG Consumer Partners, formerly known as The Shansby Group. TSG is a private equity partnership that invests in the acquisition of established middle market companies in consumer industries. It has taken an active role in the management of companies such as Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Corporation, Terra Chips, Smart Balance, Glaceau Vitamin Water, and Muscle Milk. Gary was also previously a partner of the management consulting firm of Booz Allen Hamilton and later the chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Shaklee Corporation, a NYSE, Fortune 500 Company, before founding The Shansby Group. After being recruited by Colgate as a senior at UW, Gary moved to California right after graduation, later relocating to Chicago and then New York before moving back to California where he's lived and worked for most of his career. Gary has more than 60 years of experience with consumer product companies, and his most recent business venture is Tequila Partida, LLC, of which he is the founder, chairman, and CEO. Partida is a multi-national Mexican produced ultra-premium tequila brand, named after a late agave farmer, Enrique Partida, whom he met in Mexico while developing the brand. "It's been a labor of love and took about four or five years to get through its development. Since I succeeded in the corporate world as well as private equity, I wanted to see if I could succeed with launching a product from scratch," he said. "It's been rewarding to know I could do it." While he admittedly hasn't kept in constant contact with all of his Sigma Nu brothers, he keeps in touch with as many as possible. He was pleasantly surprised to see two brothers, Lefty Burke '56 and Pinky Goodman '56, in the front row at a conference in Seattle where he was a keynote speaker about a few years ago. "They weren't there to learn as much as just give me a hard time—professional hecklers," he joked. "I hadn't seen them in years, but we caught up after the Q&A portion." Gary and his wife, OJ (Orinda Jane), a UCLA Tri Delta alumna, live in San Francisco. You can connect with him at jgshansby@shansby.net. Business and Marketing Guru Gary Shansby '57 Mastered Focus at Sigma Nu Gamma Chi Instilled Lessons for Lifelong Success (Continued on page 6)

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