Sigma Phi Epsilon - Missouri University of Science & Technology

4 We were four young men from four different backgrounds rooming together, pledging together, facing university life together. Then, we slowly went our separate ways as we graduated, moved away, began our professional careers, married, and raised our families. Sound familiar? Fast forward to 2017. My lost brothers, including myself, Rocky Andes '79, Devin Denner '79, and Tom Rothermich '79, sought out one another hoping to reignite our friendships. Within a short timeframe, we had adjusted family schedules and committed to our first group adventure. Lake of the Ozarks We arrived one evening at Rocky and Jeanne's lake house feeling a bit apprehensive and not knowing if we would even recognize each other. The excitement of seeing brothers after almost 40 years is beyond explanation, and soon we felt like it was just yesterday we were at 801 Park St. We sat around the campfire catching up on our families, travels, and careers. Several drinks later, we were reliving memories of 209, St. Pat's, Alice, Greek Week, pledge brothers, Big Brothers, Little Brothers, food fights, our house mascot (Pegasus), and our successful pledge class Walkout. The stories grew fictional, so much so that our wives knew better than to believe us. We vowed before we left that weekend that we would get together again. Denver, Colorado The next year, we visited with Tom and Tammy at a mountain cabin about three hours from their home near Denver. After wonderful days of outdoor activities (thanks to Tammy, our tour guide and former St. Pat's Queen), we had plenty of time to relax and discuss more memories, probably some of the same from the year before. We returned to Denver and had one more night together sitting on Tom and Tammy's back porch enjoying a beautiful sunset and talking about how lucky we were to be Brothers. "It was so great to reconnect after all those years. It is amazing how your brothers will always be there as good friends." –Tom and Tammy Rothermich Since that time, and after a couple more gatherings, random phone calls and messaging between us have become a normal occurrence. With a little effort, we all have new/old friends to share our lives with. I hope this story inspires you to reach out to a brother or possibly host or attend a reunion. Although personal contact trumps all, I highly recommend that all my brothers read our BEARTRACKS and eTRACKS communications so you can enjoy the benefits of reconnecting, and possibly forming your own Band of Brothers. Jim Hunicke '79, Retired, Texas DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU Brothers Loving Life (BLL) Series Reveals Brothers Suddenly Have Similar Interests Do you suddenly have a shared common interest with other MO Gamma alumni? Do you want to contact brothers with common interests? If so, you suffer from BLL symptoms, a common disease that comes from reading BLL news like this about your brothers. MOTORING: Forrest Kaiser '96 enjoys two-wheeling across the country; Jake Franka '17 races his BMW thru Autocross cones; Charles Blaroneke '61 has RV'd through all 48 contiguous states; Steve Thies '72 and Gloria RV South for winters; Steve Shlueter '73 has a passion for off-roading; Randy Ganz '78 road races; Tom Bach '79 restored his '65 Mustang; Dave Naeger '80 has a Porsche addiction; Dave Evans '84 keeps his show-jeep perfect; Eric Kozak '89 is a certified Porsche HPDE driving instructor. WINGS: Chris Catlett '18 is a pilot in the USAF; Bret Hagler '14 flies his airplane locally and internationally; Robin Winslett '95 gets high flying at upper altitudes. AQUAFILES: Don Bisesi '81 sails his Catalina 445 sailboat; Bill Bachman '74, Gary Thompson '81, Tom Bach '79, and Austin Reiniger '21 enjoy boating on Lake St. Louis; Ben Berthold '19 sells yachts; Frank "Easy" Moore '75 hosts his "Crispy Critters" party on Lake of the Ozarks. Jim Hunike, Rocky Andes, Devin Denner, and Tom Rothermich Jim and Ruth Hunicke ARE YOU ECONNECTED? Email – MO Gamma's One-Stop Access to All Your Alumni News We are excited to learn that alumni are enjoying the news articles that SigEp MO Gamma has been sharing electronically over the past 12 months—50 communications in total. Have these communications failed to hit your inbox? If so, you could be: • One of the 161 MO Gamma alumni reading this printed BEARTRACKS with no email on record with us. • One of the 191 alumni for whom we have emails but do not get to see our emails because of an inactive address, an unmonitored address, or messages being routed to your spam. One who has opted out of receiving all e-communications. Don't miss out! Contact Steve at smthies@gmail.com if you need to update your email or resolve any other connectivity issues. You will be glad you did.

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