Category: Upcoming Events

The 50th Annual Alumni Weekend Set for April 1st

The Active Chapter will host alumni brothers, friends, and family this Spring over the weekend of April 1st at the House.

Brother Erik Harpst reminds us that this tradition began in 1973 — time flies!

Active Brothers and Co-Alumni Chairs Josh Tenorio and Aiden Gomez promise via their email newsletter that, “activities have been planned throughout the weekend that will allow Greek alumni from several decades to engage with our current chapter members. Don’t miss out on all of the fun, including our annual softball game!”

A post on this website from a decade ago provides some word associations which might trigger nostalgia in you (as it does for me).

Softball. Grilled meats. Family. Tim. Friends. Brothers. Southwestern. Old stories. Power tools. Russell. Pledges. Musical instruments. Marshal. Green grass. Norwood. Composites. New memories. Pat. The San Gabriel river. Fire. Sausage links. Erik…

Add the names of your PBs and Big Bros, your favorite SU and G-town places, and the experiences you treasure to that word string… and maybe, we’ll see you in April to share stories and make new ones.

Planning to attend? Feel free add a comment below and let us know.

AEKDB

Active Chapter 2022 and 2023 informal

Greek letters added during recent house improvements

Greek letters added during recent house improvements

Kappa

Sigma

Robert Bradford Francis

Our dear brother Brad Francis passed away on May 27, 2022.

Brad was a pledge in Fall of 1992 and was initiated along with brothers Jeff Jones, Mike Ooi, Bret Starr, and Joel Stone.

As an active, if my memory serves, Brad was among the greatest House Managers the chapter has ever known.

I encourage you to read Brad’s obituary here, it nicely captures the range of talents and interests Brad was famous for and notes the equally wide range of people that have known and loved Brad and who are mourning his loss.

All are invited to Brad’s family for a celebration of his extraordinary life on Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 10:30 am at Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery at 330 Berry Lane, Georgetown,Texas 78626, in the Forest Garden area.

A Celebration of Life with lunch and refreshments will immediately follow nearby at the Kappa Sigma House at Southwestern University, 1003 McKenzie Drive, Georgetown 78626.

Brad Francis and sons

CORRECTION (2/26/23): This post previously misrepresented Brad’s pledge class. Thanks Brother Joel Stone for the correction.

Iota Alumni Weekend 2019 Dedicated to Brother Gerald Sylvester

The Iota Alumni Association received word of the passing last week of Brother and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Gerald W. Sylvester, recently of Montgomery, Texas.

Brother Sylvester was initiated in 1957. He was the big brother of Jeff Allen. His son, Jim, also became a Kappa Sigma at Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State), initiated in the Spring of 1983.

Brother Sylvester was among a distinguished group of alumni who received Fifty Year pins during the Iota 125th Anniversary celebration in 2011.

In recognition of his lifeline dedication and support of the Iota Chapter, the Alumni Association will dedicate our gathering this year to Brother Gerald Sylvester.

Alumni Weekend 2019 is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 5th and 6th.

We received word from Gerald’s family that services will take place on April 6th. As we get further details, we’ll add them to this post.

It’s not ALL work…

There’s quite a group gathering (and a fun one too) for the upcoming workday at the House.

Come join for all or part of the day. Here’s the schedule for Saturday, August 5th:

– 7:00a.m. Breakfast at Monument Cafe
– 8:00a.m. Workday start
– 10:30a.m. Dedicate and bury time capsule from the 125th / group photo
– 1:00p.m. Lunch at House (sandwiches)
– 5:30p.m. Dinner at House (hamburgers)
– 6:00p.m. Wiffle ball game in the yard
– 7:00pm. Jam session

Note: a list of goals for the day and helpful tools to bring will follow this post soon.

AEKDB

Summer work weekends announced

We encourage all brothers and friends of the chapter to assist in summer house maintenance.

In advance of the work weekends, the House Corporation have engaged quality professionals to install a new roof, as well as new gutter screening east side gutter replacements. Having just replaced the 2nd floor HVAC system, the first floor HVAC system will also be done this summer.

How can you help?
Join one or both weekends: July 16 or August 6 from 8am to 5pm. Feel free to come down the Friday evening before and join in the prep work.

What work can you help with?
Landscape maintenance, trimming of trees and bushes, minor repair work to House, deep cleaning to floor restoration and painting/sheetrock work.

When again?
July 16 and August 6th, 8am to 5pm.

If contributions of time and energy are not possible, consider a monetary donation of any amount via Iotachapter.org. Just click on the Paypal link.

On Facebook? Let us know you’re coming here https://www.facebook.com/groups/2357739947/

UPDATE: Alumni Weekend 2014 To Take Place April 5th

UPDATE: Planning your Alumni Weekend 2014

  • Saturday, April 5th
    • 8:30am: coffee and donuts
    • 10:30am:  active/alumni meeting
    • 11:30am: meet the Spring class
    • Noon-2pm: catered BBQ lunch
    • 2pm: softball (location: Round Rock Memorial Field)
    • 7pm: reservations for up to 45 at Walburg Restaurant
    • 10:30pm: back at the House
    • After that, it’s up to you…
  • Sunday, April 6th
    • 9am: coffee and donuts

Continue reading →

What you need to know about Homecoming and Reunion Weekend 2013

UPDATE 10/19/13: The Homecoming weekend football game is against Austin College, not Trinity as previously posted. Thanks for the correction, Brother Tim Stapleton!

Watch for the full schedule of chapter-related events in the coming days. Here’s what you can plan for right now:

  • UPDATE: Homecoming and Reunion Weekend is November 1-3.
  • The Iota Alumni Association will host a tailgate tent ahead of the 1pm kick-off of Austin College vs. Southwestern football game. Game tickets are $8 and you can buy them as part of Homecoming registration.
  • New this year for Homecoming is a $5 registration fee. It goes up to $10 soon, so get registered.

Visit the Homecoming and Reunion Weekend website to register and answer any questions; and if you still have questions, please contact the Office of University Relations – Alumni and Parents by calling 800-960-6363.

Join the Final Work Weekend – August 6th

from Alumni Adviser Tim Stapleton

FINAL WORK WEEKEND – Don’t miss your chance to leave a lasting (positive) impression on the on the house. Saturday, August 6th will be the next, and hopefully final, work weekend at the house. We still have a lot to do to ensure the house is ready for the new school year.

For those of you artsy folks, we have lot of paint prep work that needs to be done, but if the outdoors is more your thing, we have a lot of earthwork and gardening too. I’m sure we can find something up your alley!

Work will be going on all day, you can’t get there to early, and you can’t get there too late. Any time at all you can contribute will be greatly appreciated.

If you like working with your own tools, we can always use extra shovels, paint brushes, rollers, sand papers, blue painting tape, steel wool (various grades), water blaster or pressure washer, pruning tools, wire cutters, and strong backs. Be sure to label your tools before arrival.

There has already been a lot of volunteers who have already given a lot of their time and energy, it would be great to see you there.

Join Masters of Destruction Part 2, June 4-5

RSPV via Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169201776472278

What: Masters of Destruction (MOD) Weekend Part 2

Where: The House

When: Weekend of June 4th; sun-up to sun-down

Who: All actives and alumni are invited and encouraged to join the effort – that means you! Norwood Williams and Joe Abel are leading the effort.

How: Skills, sweat, tools, teamwork, and lots of fun along the way.

Why: The remaining tear work to be done includes: the head (another layer of sheetrock and flooring need to be removed), flooring in the kitchen needs to be removed, the carpet and possibly the subfloor in the old house mothers room needs to be removed,and a new deck put down. We need to do general ground works, etc.

Read Joe Abel’s report of MOD Part 1 here.

So please if you can come, come!

A call to all the brothers of Iota to pony up for the remodel of our old House

From Brother Joe Abel:

This is a call to all the brothers of Iota to pony up for the remodel of our old House.

We are going to redo the Head, Kitchen, replace the Main Doors south and North, repair all the other exterior doors, replace some of the room doors upstairs, do some electrical work etc. We will have to rent a rolloff dumpster for the tear out on May 21st and have it there for the remainder of the job. We are going to have to bubble wrap the composites and store them in a climate controlled storage until we are done. Plus we will have to have a painting weekend sometime this summer to put the finishing touches on the house. We have a good contractor for the job and Norwood and I will supervise the activity, so we should not have any thing get past us.

We estimate the cost to be $ 75,000.00. This should cover the whole job. Believe it or not there is actually some stuff that has held up since the work in 2007. I have thrown is $2500 to get us started, so everybody who can afford to give something please do so.

Alan Haworth is the EC member responsible for fundraising for the House Corporation.

AEKDB
Joe Abel

Editor’s note: Use the Donate button on Iotachapter.org to make a credit card donation, or mail a donation via check to Alan Haworth, 9135 Drumcliffe Ln., Dallas, TX 75231

Reminder: Alumni Weekend, April 15-17

UPDATE 4/15: Weekend Schedule

Friday Night: House is open for alumni & guests. No formal activities.

Saturday:

10:00 AM: Welcome – enjoy coffee & donuts at the House

11:00 AM: Alumni / Active Meeting, planning for Iota’s 125th, house improvements, state of the chapter, report from the alumni association

Noon: Lunch – please plan on making a contribution for lunch, suggested at $15.

2:00 PM: Softball (see link below)

8:00 PM: House open for alumni and guests.

The Alumni Weekend XXXVIII (38 for those who don’t read Roman) is this weekend. April 15-17, 2011. We will start the ball rolling for the 125 Year Anniversary (November 4-6) and have tons of fun. Saturday as usual is the big day, great for the family, with with BBQ, softball, and sunshine.

See you at the House!

See who’s coming on the Facebook event page for Alumni Weekend.

Softball Field: Southwest Williamson County Regional Park (Address: 3005 County Road 175, Leander, TX, 78641)

Homecoming 2010, Annual Alumni Meeting

The annual meeting of the Iota Alumni Association will take place at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 6, 2010 at the Kappa Sigma House. We encourage all active and alumni brothers to attend.

Here’s the Full Weekend Schedule: [Invitation for Iota Friends & Brothers] [SU Official Schedule]

Saturday, November 6th:

  • 10 a.m.: Coffee & Donuts
  • 11 a.m.: Homecoming Parade
  • 11:30 -1:00: Lunch on the Mall (tix from SU)
  • 3:00 p.m.: Active/Alumni Chapter Meeting
  • 4:00 p.m.: Open House, The Sig House is 50 years old this year!
  • 7:00 p.m.: Dinner at the House
  • 10:00 p.m.: Homecoming Party for Alumni

Sunday, November 7th:

  • 10:00 a.m.: Coffee & Donuts, before you head from home

Also, the actives have published a Fall Newsletter on the status active chapter: [Fall 2010 Iota Chapter Newsletter]

Homecoming and Reunion Weekend Website

Alumni Weekend 2010 Schedule

UPDATE: 4/9 5:34pm Central See link below for directions to softball field.

When you arrive at the house, please register at the registration table where we will take your name, contact information, and $10 weekend contribution.

Friday April 9th

– Registration table opens on front porch @ 8:00 pm

– Friday evening there will be a casual gathering at the house.  Come on by!

Saturday April 10th

– Registration table opens on front porch @ 9:00 am

– Active/Alumni chapter meeting @ 11:00 am

– Lunch @ noon

– Softball from 3:00-6:00 pm * (field: Leader-Cedar Park Youth League Park)

– Return to the house for Saturday evening fun

* Maps will be provided on Saturday to the field.

See who’s coming from Facebook.

Alumni Weekend 2010 Set for April 9th & 10th

Alumni Weekend for the Spring of 2010 will take place over the second weekend in April, from Friday April 9 through Saturday April 10.

Program details will follow, but you can probably count on the following:

  • Friday Night Poker Tournament
  • Coffee & Doughnuts
  • A General Active & Alumni Meeting
  • Lunch on the Lawn
  • Babies, Toddlers, and Kids
  • Softball (field TBD)
  • Your PB’s kids one year older since you saw them last year
  • Dinner at your favorite spot around town
  • Instrumental music and singing on the porch
  • Lots of fun and fellowship
  • A live band that you can dance to
  • A surprise visit from someone you’ve not seen in years

You can count on a lot more too…

Mark your calendars. Make the case to your wife now. It may help to ask her to come. The kids too.

See you in April!

Feb. 6th is Iota Career Day, Area Alumni Invited to Attend

Post by J. Scott Hanson, Ph.D.

Brothers,

During the 2009 Alumni Weekend, the Alumni Association formed a committee tasked with assisting actives in preparing for life after college.  In support of this effort, the Iota Chapter AA will be holding a Career Day event on February 6th.  Several alumni have collaborated to plan this day of presentations and discussions addressing professional topics (see attached agenda) for the benefit of the undergraduate chapter and recent graduates.

We encourage brothers who can spare the time to join us for any or all parts of the day.  Alumni attendees can assist by participating in discussions and sharing their own experiences throughout the day. We specifically encourage alumni in the Austin area to make time for the evening networking event at Fish City in Georgetown, which will be a great chance for these guys to practice networking strategies discussed during the day.

This is the first event of this kind for the chapter and for Southwestern.  In fact, the Career Services Center will participate in the event and has graciously provided the venue and the food and beverages for the day.  If this proves successful, the CSC is considering a similar event on a larger scale for the entire university in the fall.

When we typically gather with the active chapter, we spend much of our time talking about our life in college.  This is an opportunity for us to speak to them about our lives after college and, hopefully, to help them get off to a great start. 

Please mark your calendar and RSVP to Scott Hanson (j_scott_hanson@yahoo.com) by Wednesday February 3rd.  We look forward to seeing you there.

AEKDB,

Scott

Actives Support Peace Conference, Continue Rob Atkinson’s Legacy

Guest post by Brother Martin Fergus:

Dear Kappa Sigma Friends & Brothers,

I am proud to announce that the 2010 National Student Peace Alliance Conference will be held at Southwestern University on February 26-28. This conference will focus on evidence-based programs that are effectively reducing and preventing violence both at an international and domestic level. The conference will bring together 500 pro-active, pro-peace and solution-oriented young people from across the country to unite around a common, and practical, goal — peace.

Such a prestigious honor for our University could not have occurred without the hard work of the recently deceased Rob Atkinson, the national legislative director for SPA, and the hard work of many other active Iota members involved in Student Peace Alliance at SU. This Conference will most certainly make an impact in Texas as well as on Kappa Sigma nationally.

As we want to make this conference as effective and impactful as possible, Kappa Sigma actives are launching a fundraising campaign to support the conference with the goal of raising $1000 by the date of the conference. We are one month away.

Please consider making a contribution to help provide the proper resources and financial support students need to make this conference exceed the University’s expectations and make a difference in Student’s lives.

You can donate at: http://www.studentpeacealliance.org/give/give or mail a check payable to “Student Peace Alliance” at The Peace Alliance, PO Box 27601, Washington, District of Columbia 20038. If you are interested in sponsoring the conference or would like more information please call 325-518-5889.

Sincerely,

Martin Fergus A.E.K.D.B.

President Student Peace Alliance Southwestern Chapter

325-518-5889

fergusd@southwestern.edu

http://www.studentpeacealliance.org/conference

 

Homecoming Schedule of Events

Southwestern’s Homecoming & Reunion Weekend will take place over the weekend of November 6-8. As we do each year, the Iota Chapter will host several events for returning alumni and guests. Here’s a run down of the weekend’s schedule:

Saturday Nov. 7:

  • Active/Alumni meeting 3pm
  • Open house at Sigma 4pm
  • Kappa Sigma Reception at the  Alumni Hospitality House 6pm

Notable reunion events:

  • 60th reunion for Roger Davidson’s class
  • 40th reunion for Harry Crenshaw’s class

If you’ve got a reunion year celebration or other group event to announce, post a comment to this post.

Iota Shines at Biennial Grand Conclave

Brothers,

I am happy to report to you that your delegates at the 67th Grand Conclave had a great experience. I am so proud of our active brothers Lance Turri and John Burden for their enthusiastic participation in this important event. As our delegates they represented our order with honor and that distinct style that is all Iota.  John met with Michael Wilson and the new Worthy Grand Treasurer and has their assurance that Iota is in good standing. They also expressed their respect for our chapter and it’s long and important history. I left the conference with a better understanding of our national operations and a greater love for our amazing chapter.

It is with great excitement that I would like to invite all alumni officers, and any others that are interested, to our annual E.C. retreat at my home in Walburg on August 29th at 10:00 a.m.

We will be helping our young brothers with officer transitions and setting goals for the up coming year.

Thank You,

AEKDB…

Marshal Crenshaw
Alumni Advisor