Sigma Phi Epsilon - Rutgers University

Page 3 George Deibert '49 – March 12, 2018 John Tassini '52 – October 1, 2021 Robert Heydt '60 – February 19, 2021 Richard Thompson '63 – October 6, 2021 Peter Evans '64 – March 11, 2023 Robert Bulik '78 – March 13, 2023 Chapter Eternal R alph Petti '78 joined the Rutgers Crew team as a freshman and had to run three miles every morning. As he was running one day, he ran into Mike Strip '75 and Gary "Pooz" Puzio '79, and they became friends. When Pooz invited Ralph to a recruitment event, he met and connected with the other SigEp brothers. "Being a part of a fraternity was much more than a group of people getting together for a good time," Ralph recalled. "We truly became a family and we cared about one another." The brothers remain in touch today. As an undergraduate, Ralph served as a Rutgers Fraternity Council representative. He later continued his service as a member of the SigEp Alumni Board, which provided him the opportunity to visit SigEp headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, where he provided some pro bono consulting to enhance their national disaster recovery program. "In turn, they invited me to the SigEp National Conference in Dallas, and I presented disaster preparation to the audience and met many SigEps from around the world." In college, Ralph began to get serious about his life and career, a large part of which was representing SigEp in the Rutgers Fraternity Council. He later began working in the risk management business and providing disaster recovery planning. After owning his own business for 16 years, Ralph is now a senior consultant for Verizon Consulting Services, where he provides risk-based planning for their communication clients to keep their networks and businesses running. In addition, Ralph serves as director of emergency management in his hometown of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, for 4,000 residents. Throughout his career, Ralph has helped with disaster recovery planning after many major events, including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. He has been invited to visit 43 countries to provide his planning services and has done Tsunami planning in Indonesia and experienced earthquakes in Alaska and California. Ralph feels blessed to have a wonderful family. He shares that his mother will always be remembered for bringing homemade pizza to the SigEp house. Ralph and his wife, Carol, enjoy a wonderful life near Spofford Lake in New Hampshire. Ralph has two children, Rob and Laura, who are in their late 30s with two children each. As a two-time cancer survivor, Ralph has volunteered for The American Cancer Society for their Relay for Life and National Brain Tumor Foundation events. "When Hurricane Katrina occurred in 2005, I was the co-chairman of the Relay for Life event in Basking Ridge, and our group mobilized hundreds of volunteers to collect and ship relief items to the Gulf Region." Ralph also belongs to a fellowship group, where he is mentoring two men who have experienced some bumps in the road. The group has been there for Ralph in the past. "It is only fair to give back!" Ralph was a Yankees season ticket holder for almost 20 years, and he has seen Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band 134 times. "Yes, I have all of the ticket stubs to prove it." Over the years, Ralph has remained connected with his brothers through reunions. He is happy to hear that New Jersey Beta has been getting stronger each year, and he encourages alumni to get involved with the fraternity. "It really does not take a lot of time or effort and the rewards are always 100-fold." You can connect with Ralph at ralphpetti1@gmail.com. R A L P H P E T T I ' 7 8 M A K E S A D I F F E R E N C E A R O U N D T H E W O R L D Educating Others on Disaster Recovery "As we all have great memories of our SigEp years living at 572 or 574 George Street in those two lovely old houses that were fronted by a classic tree, we have to remember our lost brothers and Golden Hearts. Their misfortune has to be a part of our inspiration to keep in touch with one another."

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