Oklahoma

Lindsay Alexander (’48) has kept the fire of brotherhood burning bright for nearly 63 years, as he just reported in an issue of the Oklahoma Kappa newsletter. He and the members of the 1947 pledge class, the first for the chapter after World War II, have been meeting every five years for a reunion. But after more than half a century, the original 35 men have dwindled to just 14. Alexander decided to change the schedule, instead meeting every two and a half years – leading the men to say they were having their “62 (and a Half) Year Reunion.” On Friday, September 25, 2009, the brothers gathered at the Remington Race Track and, on Saturday, met for dinner at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club.

San Jose State

In 1947, the members of the local fraternity Gamma Phi Sigma wanted to take their national involvement to a higher level and petitioned for a charter from Sigma Alpha Epsilon. After going through the colony and pledge processes, more than 50 men — 90 percent of whom were World War II veterans — were initiated into the Fraternity. Now, more than 60 years later, many of the original founding members held a reunion. “It was rewarding to see how quickly we responded to one another in a social and fraternal way,” Wayne Meyer (’49) said. “It was as though no time had elapsed.” To commemorate the occasion and to celebrate the chapter’s history, the original members presented a framed plaque, with photos and news clippings on the day from the original founding, to the current undergraduates in November. Thomas W. MacQuarrie, then the president of the university, and Past Eminent Supreme Archon Lauren Foreman were also pictured.

Tennessee-Martin

Retired Lt. Col. Ivan D. Bradley (’86), a highly decorated military retiree working with the United States Navy, has been assigned as the first Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Team Lead to improve efficiencies and eliminate waste. Bradley has more than 20 years of experience with the Army, including time with the 3rd Infantry Division, which was the first unit to enter Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned a Bronze Star and a Presidential Unit Citation for his roles in 2003. The Lean Six Sigma initiative was designed to streamline business functions and to improve efficiency within Navy recruiting and will aid in the processing of all applications to become commissioned officers in the Navy. Bradley is also a recipient of the Legion of Merit, four Meritorious Service Medals and three Army Commendation Medals, among other awards.

South Dakota

Brendan Johnson (’97), a former Eminent Archon of the South Dakota Sigma chapter, has been confirmed as the newest U.S. Attorney from South Dakota. Johnson, who was nominated by President Obama, was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate. Johnson has stated that his focuses will be on prosecuting the illegaldrug trade, online sexual predators and those who commit crimes against women and children. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia and has worked at a private law firm in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, since 2005.

Kurt Edward Kemper (’92), an associate professor of history at Dakota State University, released his new book, College Football and American Culture in the Cold War Era, this past August. His work explains the connections between the escalation of the Cold War and the rise of college football in response. According to Kempter, football can be viewed as a quintessentially American activity, a cultural force that embodied the values of toughness and discipline that were necessary to confront the Soviet challenge. College football, in particular, became a playing field for competing national ideals.

Robert Matousek (’60) recently received the Freedom of Mobility Award during the 2009 Spirit of Movement Awards ceremony. The honor, given by the United Cerebral Palsy “Wheels for Humanity” program, recognizes Matousek’s work in assisting those affected by cerebral palsy for more than a decade. He has worked with donors to help fund medical and educational programs in Vietnam, Cuba, South Africa, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as to assist in funding a children’swheelchair- manufacturing facility in Vietnam. Matousek also found substantial funding for the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, helping the foundation construct its current safety-helmet manufacturing facility in Hanoi. Matousek, a former senior executive for Duty Free Shoppers, has been a partner in Calistoga Cellars and Howell Mt. Partnerships for the last 12 years.

Stanford

At the inaugural Governors Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on November 14, 2009, successful independent producer Roger Corman (’44) was one of three film greats honored with a lifetime-achievement Academy Award by the academy’s board of directors. Corman is famous for his low-budget films and for taking on now-famous directors who were just breaking into the film business. Among those who got their starts in Corman films were Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard.

Rockhurst

Six years ago, Matthew Krentz (’99) set out to make a feature-length film about the local basketball scene in St. Louis. What he didn’t realize, though, was that making the movie would be the easiest part of his task. The most difficult part of his job would be getting the film into theatres. Streetballers, his finished product, recently reached a deal with local St. Louis cinemas, and the results were dramatic. It took home the Best Dramatic Feature honor at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase and an Audience Choice Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival. The movie, the story of two aspiring basketball players who deal with troubled families and the dangers of street violence, has gone on to win major awards in Los Angeles, New York, Detroit and Philadelphia. For more information on the film, visit www.streetballersthemovie.com.

Denny Thum (’74) has been appointed President of the Kansas City Chiefs after 35 years with the club. “It’s quite a story, and I think it’s quite an accomplishment,” said Thum, who served as interim president previously. “To have the opportunity to work in this profession for one team for as long as I have, no one could ever get that. That’s as great as it could be.”

Union

In January 2009, Mark Luttrell (’69) received the 2009 Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year, given by the National Sheriffs’ Association at its winter conference in Washington, D.C. Luttrell, who took office in September 2002 in Shelby County, Tennessee, inherited a unique situation. A 1996 description named the Shelby County Jail as one of the worst in facilities in the nation, one that was controlled by gangs that intimidated law-enforcement officers. But by June 2006, a judge found that the jail was safer for both inmates and staff, due in large part to the diligent work of Sheriff Luttrell. On July 1, 2008, the Shelby County sheriff’s office received the NSA’s Triple Crown Award, and Luttrell also led his team to become a Memphis Adopt-a-School sponsor, to create the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Citizen’s Academy and to receive the Kiwanis Club’s Lawman of the Year Award.

UC-Davis

Michael Wilson (’08) was one of just 12 individuals accepted into the thoroughbred-racehorsetraining program funded by Sheik Mohammed, the ruling leader of Dubai. The program, one of the top in the world, includes worldwide travel to learn from the best names in the industry. For the last five months, Wilson has been working with fellow Sigma Alpha Epsilon brother Bob Baffert (Arizona ’77) as an assistant trainer, and they have notched a successful season, taking second place in the Kentucky Derby and winning other top-tier races. For more information about the training program, visit www.darleyflyingstart.com.

Washington (Missouri)

Despite a career in accounting, Matthew Rosenberg (’07) has decided to follow one of his passions: movie critiques. Along with another alumnus of Washington University, Rosenberg launched The Movie Banter in 2008 and designed the site to include written reviews, video commentary and movie-related features in a more intimate and less intimidating format than larger sites like International Movie Database and Rotten Tomatoes. In another effort to make the site less intimidating, the founders tape short YouTube clips of themselves discussing movies. Rosenberg says, “More formal sites say things like, ‘This is what Roger Ebert says,’ but we give our opinion, and then see what other people think.” For more information, visit www.themoviebanter.com.

Youngstown State

During a July weekend, Ohio Alpha held its 50th Golf Outing and Dinner Dance. More than 75 alumni golfed at the Links at Firestone Farms in Columbiana, Ohio, followed by the Dinner Dance at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Hall in Boardman, Ohio, with more than 200 guests attending. Brothers from 1959 right up through the current actives attended. Guest speakers included Associate Executive Director for Fraternity Blaine Ayers and Province Pi Archon Mark McDonough (’96). Members handed out prizes for golf results, and the chapter offered alumni a chance to see scrapbooks and take a group picture.

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