Hello again!

As February gets rolling and March quickly approaches, I thought I would write a blurb about my travels as of late and the experiences I have had.

We’ll start at the Winter Leadership Retreat in San Antonio (January 18-22): This event was outstanding. We had roughly 150 undergrads, the Grand High Zeta, and about 20 staff down there for the retreat. It was a great setting, as we were at a ranch-style property with perfect facilities for the conference. The pinnacle moments of the conference, for me, were seeing the Grand High Zeta communicate with the undergrads in a pseud0-informal setting, as the programs and events were much like a High Zeta retreat on an international level. Also, I ran into Michael Murray, who had been High Alpha at Angelo State (Beta-Alpha Zeta) for THREE years. When I visited the chapter in the fall of 2003 as an ELC, they had eight men, and only four of them were worth any salt. The chapter has grown and is over 25 men, and much of that can be attributed to Michael and his hard work. Those are some good brothers at Beta-Alpha, and I’m proud they pulled through, rather than folded. Those are the best moments as a staff member, and as a brother. You can’t get that feeling anywhere else.

Florida State Audit (January 23-28): As the NIC goes forward with their initiative to implement standards at all 800 institutions hosting Greek letter organizations, Biff and I had the opportunity to participate in their audit of Florida State. It was interesting to be on a visit under the guise of the NIC as opposed to Lambda Chi Alpha. We met with everyone from head administration to staff to the University police, and it was quite the visit. Biff and I spend some time with the chapter leadership, and they have a solid group of young men leading the charge. Zeta-Rho is running extremely well, and they should be proud of their accomplishments. Also, the Greek alumni have a heavy hand in what happens down there, and you should see some of the properties that have gone up. Our house is out of this world, and I would admonish any brother to make a trip to Tallahassee to see that house.

Alabama Adventure (February 10-13): The purpose of this trip was to hold a retreat with our brothers of Phi-Kappa Zeta at the University of Auburn, Montgomery. Biff and I flew into Atlanta and picked up our rental car (the new Ford Fusion is out of this world, and I might pick one up…once I pay off the car I have right now) and headed over to Montgomery. We had dinner at Jason’s Deli (love that place) and then got up the next day for the retreat. The boys of Phi-Kappa moved into an old radio station a couple years ago, and they have done a lot with the property. It’s design is really unique, and it has a lot of potential. The retreat went well, and we finished the day with pizza and some talks on ritual. Oh, and we also gave a nickname to a brother - Whackamole. Don’t ask… We headed up to Tuscaloosa the next day and spent some time with Alabama’s (Alpha-Phi Zeta) new initiates. It was a good afternoon, chatting about ritual, what it means, and what it means to live up to our oaths and obligations. That chapter has come a long way and now are one of our best. Definitely a place to stop by and call home for a day if you are passing through. After the FRED session, we went to Biff’s great aunts for a home-cooked meal. Fried chicken, green beans, butter beans (a foreign concept to me), rice, gravy, and with out a doubt the best home made biscuits I have ever had. This was followed up with banana pudding (something I had never enjoyed until that moment) and coconut cake. Being on the go, it was the best food I’ve had since I was home for the holidays. I also got to take home some pear preserves, so all in all it was a fruitful visit (bad pun…I know).

We get so busy at HQ, we sometimes forget to take a minute and just enjoy everything that happens. One could say, “I’ve been all over the place and never see my bed, home, etc.” (ELCs know what I mean), but that’s a half-empty glass approach. In the last month I have seen brothers from all over the country in San Antonio, spent time with great chapters and better brothers, and had some home made banana pudding in Alabama. I’m definitely not an Old Mil fan, but it doesn’t get any better than this.

Gotta run…I’m off to Chicago tonight for four days at the MGCA conference facilitating a recruitment seminar.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 15th, 2006 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Headquarters . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.