Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Missouri

SigEp A PUBLICATION FOR ALUMNI OF MISSOURI ALPHA t SIGMA PHI EPSILON FALL 2014 Tiger Heart S ince the days of Uncle Billy, few men have had such a far-reaching impact on SigEp. One of those men is John Hartman '61. A past grand president and Order of the Golden Heart recipient, John is perhaps best known for his role as co-founder of the Ruck Leadership Institute, a program he launched in 1998 alongside Jay Hurt, Davidson '88. Over the last 16 years, nearly 2,000 undergraduates have attended Ruck. Those assigned to the Red Group, a team of 20 scholars, studied under Brother Hartman himself. His dedication to Ruck was recently honored by a campaign to rename the Red Group Team Hartman, funding in perpetuity the attendance of 20 scholars. This significant undertaking was supported by dozens of donors, who ultimately contributed more than $500,000 to create the Team Hartman endowment. Hartman booked a flight to the recent SigEp donor- appreciation event, A SigEp Homecoming, without knowing what awaited him that weekend. Brothers from around the country traveled to Richmond or prepared video messages for Hartman to relay the impact he has had on their lives. One such Homecoming attendee was Alex Ashoff, Pittsburgh '14, who came to Ruck from a chapter whose membership had declined by more than 90 percent. As a member of the Red Group, Alex was inspired by Hartman's encouragement to run for chapter president and begin to rebuild the chapter with his brothers. Alex thanked John for teaching him that "SigEp is bigger than all of us." CEO Brian Warren also took the stage to honor John's five decades of volunteer service and mentorship. He told his own story of participating in the Red Group at Ruck in 2002 and said to the humbled honoree, "You modeled the way in every single way we could hope for." There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Emily Lowry Donor Relations Manager Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity JOHN HARTMAN HONORED FOR LIFELONG SERVICE $500,000 Team Hartman Endowment Created SigEp brothers showered John Hartman '61 with love and appreciation for his contributions to SigEp. John founded the Ruck Leadership Institute nearly 16 years ago and is a dedicated volunteer to Missouri Alpha. John Hartman '61 and Scott Swedberg, NC Mu '11 at A SigEp Homecoming. Brothers contributed more than $500,000 to create the Team Hartman Endowment in honor of John Hartman '61. John Tyler, Texas Alpha '63, John Hartman '61, Ed Hammond, Kansas Epsilon '66, and Gary Kief, California Beta '70, celebrated John's lifelong commitment to SigEp at the donor recognition event, A SigEp Homecoming. John takes the podium to thank brothers for their generous endowment.

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