Sigma Chi - Auburn University

3 AUBURN UNIVERSITY Your house corporation board was hard at work this summer. We completed a few upgrades and repairs and continue to work closely with the chapter's house manager on other needs. We got the house looking nice for the onset of the fall recruitment. While recruitment is an all- year thing now, there is still a formal recruitment week in the fall for on-campus gatherings. We will start basketball court renovations soon and continue to look at complete house renovations or a replacement. As Christmas break approaches, we will be cleaning all of the room AC units and finishing up a few odds and ends that are le from fall. Overall, the house looks great! The chapter has done a good job of maintaining their home. The young men seem to enjoy the facility, and we see a great many hanging at the house all the time. While football season has not gone the way we all wanted (so far), basketball is right around the corner, which should create additional opportunities to drop by and reintroduce yourself to the property. If you have not visited Auburn in a few years, you will not recognize it with all the changes. Our group is comprised of many varied fields and areas of expertise. We have continued to pursue excellence and operate as a business with a professional manner and solid management practices. We understand that we work for the chapter and alumni and that we must maintain all of the ideals instilled by Sigma Chi. As always, if I can answer any questions, please don't hesitate to call. In Hoc, Reid Brown '81 House Corporation President W e are saddened to report that Bob Benz '60 entered Chapter Eternal on May 17, 2024, at the age of 88. Bob was born on September 1, 1935, in Philadelphia, Pa., and graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School, where he was a standout letterman football player, in 1953. at fall, Bob would begin his studies at Auburn University. One of his initial pledge brothers, Cecil Stokes '58, recalled that he and Bob accepted their Sigma Chi bids aer upperclassman Strick Newsom '55 took the two to an Auburn vs. Stetson football game in Montgomery (Auburn won 47-0). Cecil recalls they had a lot of fun their freshman year, but that fun kept Bob from making grades. He shares that Bob was inspired to join the Army so he could take advantage of the GI Bill, and Bob le Auburn for a few years to serve his country. When Bob returned to Auburn as a veteran in '56, he repledged Sigma Chi and Cecil became his big brother in the fraternity. Bob was a more serious student when he returned and excelled academically and in leadership, serving as the quaestor (treasurer) for the fraternity. Bob earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Auburn in 1960 and would go on to receive a master's degree in accountancy from the University of West Florida. He received his CPA license in 1964 and would practice in the field of public accounting for the next 42 years. e governor of Florida appointed Bob to the State Board of Accountancy, where he served with distinction. Following retirement, Bob was again called to public service. On two occasions, he temporarily relocated to the Washinton, D.C., area to serve the intelligence community combatting foreign and domestic terrorism in classified positions. Of those years, former House Corporation President Richard Alker '81 recalled, "We asked Bob what kind of work he was doing for the government after he retired, and his blanket answer was that if he told us he'd have to kill us … and don't ask again." Bob was loyal to Sigma Chi his entire life. For many years he served as treasurer of the Gamma Sigma House Corporation and as a financial advisor to the chapter. In 1992, aer years of hard work, Bob successfully attained a private-letter ruling from the IRS granting 501(c)(3) status to e Sigma Chi Foundation at Auburn University, Inc. To our knowledge, this was the first time that a local fraternity housing corporation had obtained approval for contributions to a fraternity housing fund to be tax deductible. Since its inception in 1991, e Sigma Chi Foundation at Auburn University has made grants to the Gamma Sigma House Corporation totaling more than $635,000 and has awarded scholarships to undergraduate Sigma Chis totaling more than $140,000. In 2018, the Foundation created an annual giving society of Gamma Sigma alumni and supporters and named it the "Robert A. Benz White Cross Society." Over the years, Bob was, by far, the Foundation's largest benefactor. e library in the chapter house is named in his honor. In 2012, Sigma Chi International Fraternity awarded Bob the Seven Lights Award, honoring his significant service to the fraternity. In 2015, he was inducted into the Order of Constantine, which is "the highest honor that the International Fraternity can bestow upon one of its members in recognition of his lifelong commitment, dedication, and service to the organization." ere have been only 829 Sigma Chis inducted into the Order of Constantine since it was founded 76 years ago in 1948. All Honor to His Name u Remembering Bob Benz '60 MAINTAINING OUR HOME ON MAGNOLIA House Corporation Updates

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