Thank You and Happy Holidays

This (Last) Week in SigEp Patriot History, 30 JUN - 06 JUL

This (Last) Week in SigEp Patriot History, Volume 18/2014, 30 JUN – 06 JUL

Brothers,

In this edition, the SigEp Patriots Project (SPP) honors 22 incredible Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force Brothers who served in the Border War - just years after the Fraternity was founded - to the present day. They are from 18 Chapters including a future Congressman, a former Chief of Naval Operations and two additional men who rose to the 4-star rank of their respective service, another who became a legend in the Fraternity, and one fought his way across Europe during WWII, only to be evacuated home after receiving his second Purple Heart.

Brother Gerow
(as a 4-star General)

01 JUL 1916
Border War Veteran of Vera Cruz and Virginia Theta Brother Leonard T. Gerow was promoted to First Lieutenant, U.S. Army on this date.

30 JUN 1920
Nearly four years to the day later, (then) Captain Leonard T. Gerow completed his WWI service on the staff of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France. He was Colonel (temporary) in charge of purchasing all the radio equipment for the American Expeditionary Force. For his service he earned the Distinguished Service Medal and French Legion of Honor.

The December Sound Bite is online. This story about Logan Fletcher, UND student body president, is featured.

Senior balances campus and chapter leadership

Senior balances campus and chapter leadership

Logan Fletcher, North Dakota ’13, serves as the student body president at the University of North Dakota, representing over 15,000 students and overseeing a budget of over a half million dollars. He is a 2012 Ruck Scholar, past vice president of communication, past BMS chair, and is now the Phi challenge coordinator and senior marshal. Fletcher proves that you can be involved on your campus and in your chapter.

Sound Bite: When did you realize you wanted to be student body president and what inspired you to run?

Logan Fletcher: When I was a freshman, I met the student body president in my residence hall.  I set a goal to be elected my senior year early on.  My brothers and the Greek community are really what motivated me throughout the campaign and election, though.  It was an incredibly stressful six weeks, but when I came home to the chapter house at night, I had a house full of guys encouraging me to keep going. 

SB: What are the challenges of being heavily involved in two organizations?

LF: Sometimes I have to make a choice between spending a Friday night at the chapter or attending a conference or meeting out of town. But I've never felt that I can't be involved in both.  We mostly make our own schedules in Student Government, so if a SigEp event is my priority, it's rare that I can't make it work.

SB: How does your role on your campus help your chapter?

LF: If nothing else, I try to use Student Government as a way to recruit new members to SigEp and vice versa. A number of brothers are involved in student government besides me. I know I can hire or appoint them to positions, and we will share the same values and drive to succeed. Two other brothers have served on my executive team. One is a student senator representing Greek students, two are on our presidential finance committee, and two have represented UND students to the North Dakota Student Association. We've taken on these roles together to make Sigma Phi Epsilon a name on campus that's respected by students, staff, faculty, and administration alike.

Ruck 2010 a Tremendous Success

The 2010 Ruck Leadership Institute was held last week the following excerpt is taken from the HQ website.

Over 120 of SigEp’s most talented undergraduates attended the Ruck Leadership Institute last week at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Some of the organization’s most seasoned volunteers made the trip down to facilitate the program, for four days of intense leadership training.

The intent of the program is “teaching the few to impact the many.” These select undergraduates were challenged to learn about effective leadership styles and charged to use what they learn to make an impact on their own campuses.  The curriculum is based on the book, The Leadership Challenge, by Brother Barry Posner, California-Santa Barbara ’70, and Jim Kouzes.  The program included group discussions, guest speakers and panel presentations, and rigorous Sound Body workouts.

Thanks to Bro. Mitch Goldich (Lehigh '09) for the article.

Ruck applications due soon

(Update: Since we attribute this to an individual at HQ, and we don't want anyone to think he might have suggested a title that could be misinterpreted, we are making an adjustment to the title (it was "Got Ruck?". Fair warning - this is a one time deal. We reserve the right to post in our own words. As always, comments pro and con are solicited.)

Announcement from HQ. Thanks to David Graziano for sending it.

Richmond, Virginia…Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity announces that applications are now on-line at www.sigep.org/ruck for the 2007 Frank J. Ruck Leadership Institute, to be held at The College of William and Mary June 20-24, 2007. The deadline for return of applications is March 16, 2007. Thanks to a grant from the Sigma Phi Epsilon Foundation, participants will only be asked to pay $395 of the total cost of $1,500 per man.

The Frank J. Ruck Leadership Institute is a tribute to the efforts of Frank Ruck, Past Grand President and Order of the Golden Heart recipient. Brother Ruck was a champion of the Balanced Man Ideal of Sound Mind, Sound Body. Utilizing the Leadership Challenge as a model, 140 undergraduates will discover what is possible when a vision, a plan of action, and the execution of that plan come together.

The Ruck Leadership Institute seeks to “teach the few to impact the many.” That group of 140 undergraduates will be teamed with some of SigEp’s best facilitators, for this five-day, intense journey.

The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, provides a great backdrop for the program, as members will walk down Duke of Gloucester Street, where Presidents, revolutionaries, and the founders of Phi Beta Kappa once walked. Discussions will swirl around the Raleigh Tavern, and late night physical activity will keep our minds and bodies sound.

You can apply for this program at www.sigep.org/ruck. Should you have questions, contact David Graziano at (804) 353-1901, extension 343.