by Brandon E. Weghorst, Associate Executive Director of Communications

If you step into the room during a gathering hosted by the Atlanta Area Alumni Association, you might instantly forget about your undergraduate experience and feel like you’ve stepped into a brand-new chapter of gentlemen who extend their hands with a friendly grip. For many members of the association, that feeling has become second nature, a reason why the group continues to make stark achievements. The Atlanta Area Alumni Association is the oldest in the Realm, founded in 1871. Through the years, scores of prominent alumni from myriad chapters have found refuge in this close-knit brotherhood in one of America’s largest cities. This year, in fact, the group raised its glasses in honor of its 137th anniversary – along with Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s 153rd birthday.

What makes the association a true standout among other such groups? The better question is what doesn’t make the association a standout? More than 4,400 alumni live in the greater Atlanta area and, on any given year, the roster includes more than 150 dues-paying members. More interesting, though, is the fact that 800-1,200 members make some sort of contribution or subscribe to communication from the Atlanta Area Alumni Association. Consistently the groups earns awards and recognition from the organization and, in many cases, the men work just as hard as undergraduate chapters on communication, regular gatherings and rallying support for causes.

Surprisingly enough, the association’s membership is made up mostly of men who did not go to school in the Atlanta or Georgia areas. In the same way, the association’s board is made up of 20 men from various chapters, and the group focuses on four components that summarize their objectives: Be responsive to the mandates for alumni associations described in the Fraternity Laws, be responsive to the interests of the current membership and continue to grow the membership, be responsive to the plans and programs of the province and the Fraternity Service Center and develop programs to support the chapters in the region.

Grattan Rowland (Georgia Tech ’86) serves as the current association president and believes membership allows the alumni members a chance to share their common bonds. “Being part of this group gives me an opportunity to meet and learn from so many great men as the leaders in their professions and in the community,” he says.

Charlie Boyd (Mississippi State ’65), who got involved with the association when he moved to Atlanta in 1994, knows the group’s potential and has seen it make strides during his tenure. A past president and current board chairman of the association, he moved to Atlanta and got re-engaged with the Fraternity by becoming a member.

“This was a great way I could meet native Altantans who were brothers,” he said. “It was a way for me to get involved with the people who have a common bond.” Boyd has been credited with helping to steer the association’s formalities by creating “playbooks,” which serve as a planning guides and outline for the group’s functions. That way, the men can pass their successful processes down to each successive generation without having to reinvent the wheel each time a new board takes the helm.

The Atlanta Area Alumni Association’s regular, planned events include a monthly luncheon with a prominent talk from a brother, a monthly social-networking event during the work week and annual Founders’ Day and Christmas parties. During the monthly lunch, for example, members hear from speakers, such as CEOs or executives, who help inspire brothers and offer insight on their fraternal experience. These high-value speakers are the result of the lifelong relationship established by Scott Young (Georgia ’79) who has been an association member since he graduated from college. And one program that helps to connect non-members with members is so effective that the national organization has embraced it as a model – the Ivan Allen Jr. Rush Party, now in its 69th year.

Named for a former Atlanta mayor and longtime Fraternity volunteer, the concept is simple. In a metro area such as Atlanta, young high-school men prepare to make decisions on where they’ll attend college. In that same metro area, Sigma Alpha Epsilon alumni have the potential to rally with undergraduates from our chapters and to jointly expose the fraternal experience known as Sigma Alpha Epsilon to those impressionable high-school students. The alumni invite all the young men, regardless of where they go to school, to the Ivan Allen function and secure a prominent, high-profile alumnus who may also attend. During the event, the high-school students meet alumni and undergraduate brothers, allow them to engage in discussions and build networks and close with information on how they might join Sigma Alpha Epsilon if they choose a school where there’s a chapter.

You might think the event sounds intimidating to teens who know nothing about the Greek system. Yet, young men turn out in droves for the event, often with a buddy, so they can be part of this special invite-only camaraderie. So for more than 65 years after it first started, the Ivan Allen Rush Party serves as a solid recruitment event for chapters in the Southeast.

Another major focus of the Atlanta Area Alumni Association centers on assistance for undergraduate members – namely through Leadership School tuition grants, which help brothers attend our annual leadership-training event, and two Ivan Allen Leadership Awards, which assist men who demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities. Both of these financial incentives are funded through the association’s members, for they understand the need to help undergraduate membership’s educational pursuits.

Despite the focus on enriching the lives of men younger than them, the association also recognizes their own via numerous awards. The group presents the Bob Cousins Zeal award for the member who maintains the highest level of support and sustained contribution over a number of years. In addition, the General Render Braswell Trophy goes to an outstanding member who has made the most paramount contribution over the past year. Winner of the 2009 Cousins Zeal award was Michael Rodgers (William & Mary ’92), and the General Braswell trophy was awarded to Jason Rhodes (North Carolina State ’93). On a national level, the Atlanta Area Alumni Association has earned the Bill Fiscus Outstanding Alumni Association Award and the award for best alumni association website – winning both honors multiple times in the past decade.

For some, this alumni experience with the association has been richer and more meaningful than their undergraduate experience. It’s a chance for them to continue their fraternal experience for a lifetime – which lies at heart of what alumni membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon means.

“I recently read a research article that said people who belong to associations are significantly happier than others who are not,” says Bill Makepeace (North Carolina State ’93), board member and past president.

“I’ve got about a dozen guys I can call on the phone right now who would drop anything they’re doing to help me,” says Boyd. “These gentlemen understand that we are SAEs forever.”

To learn more about the association, visit the group’s website at www.saeatlanta.com.