Charles Hodge (Toledo ’64), better known as Chuck, has served as the president of the association for the past 20 years. He says the Toledo group replicated what well-known alumnus Bill Fiscus created for the Detroit Area Alumni Association that seemed to work. After all, the award for the most outstanding alumni association is named for Fiscus, so Hodge says he must have known a recipe for achievement. Its ingredients included a few annual events that took place at the same time in the same location that built a regular, predictable pattern.

“You have to keep it simple by finding one, two or three things that work for your group,” Hodge says. “It doesn’t matter what the events are, but you’ll figure out what works. You’re not out there trying to save the world. You’re just coming together and enjoying that bond you share when you need a break from the rest of your life.”

As examples, they started playing golf more than 30 years ago on the Wednesday after Labor Day and called it Doctor’s Day Off. They’ve conducted a sailboat outing, a cookout for homecoming, a Founders Day event and a Christmas luncheon. A consistent trend developed, and after awhile, association members knew what to expect and looked forward to participating in the group’s various activities.

When Hodge returned from the Army in 1966, he joined the association upon the encouragement of an older gentleman who had been involved for some time. When the Ohio Nu chapter at the University of Toledo started in 1953, alumni were skeptical the group would last since the student body was comprised mostly of commuters. Yet the graduating members remained loyal and engaged, which has benefited the alumni association’s events and outreach to serve as mentors for the undergraduates.

The Toledo Area Alumni Association stays committed to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation as well. Much like the Detroit Area Alumni Association, the Toledo group started a consistent effort to make donations in memory of brothers who’ve passed to the Chapter Eternal. Those gifts benefit the Foundation and are logged in each issue of The Record. Interesting to note, the Toledo Area Alumni Association is recognized as a Founder Member— the second group to earn such recognition behind Detroit. In any given issue, readers likely will see Toledo listed in the In Memory/In Honor section.

“If you look at the guys from Ohio Nu and their giving record with the Foundation, you’ll notice a third of them have always given to the Foundation,” Hodge says. “I’d like to think that’s because we always encouraged them to donate—however small or big the amount—so they got into the habit of giving back.”

Jim Skaggs (Oklahoma State ’78), who was born and raised in Oklahoma, remembers the traditions of having alumni involved in his chapter ever since he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He says it’s a little-known fact, but Oklahoma Mu alumni in Oklahoma City have been conducting events as a group for decades; it’s only recently they decided to make the alumni association official with a charter.

In 2009, Skaggs attended the convention in New Orleans as a member of the Stillwater Alumni Association and came to understand his own group could serve in a much bigger, more influential capacity. That’s when Skaggs knew he needed to secure their voice on a national level.

“We were organized and operated as a social network for our alumni,” Skaggs says. “While that was a good thing, we realized we could do much more for our chapter.”

When he first got involved in the early 1980s, Skaggs says the group would have several meetings a year at a local restaurant and enjoy the camaraderie that comes along with brotherhood. At the time, most of the men involved were young alumni, typically in their 20s or 30s, and the gatherings provided the men a social outlet. Eventually Skaggs relocated for work and, when he returned a few years later, the group had transformed into something more diverse – an Oklahoma Mu group of brothers of all ages.

During that time, alumni assisted collegiate members with their recruitment efforts by helping introduce impressionable young men to the concept of fraternity life. Oklahoma is a state proud of its legacies, and it’s not uncommon for boys to join their fathers for football tailgates, homecoming weekends or gatherings that center on Sigma Alpha Epsilon. By sponsoring summer cookouts or taking a group of prospective members to lunch or dinner, alumni rallied behind the chapter in its outreach to recruit promising bright gentlemen. In the same way, the Oklahoma City alumni joined forces with other groups, such as the Tulsa Alumni Association, to complete projects for the Oklahoma Mu active chapter.

“When I was rush chairman years ago, those alumni who helped us made a huge difference,” says Chris Busby (’87), one of the association’s members. “I got more from the Fraternity from my experience than I can ever pay back. That’s why I stay involved.”

The association has several other events or operations that have become tradition. Skaggs discussed some of them, in particular a program that means a great deal to him. He started an educational endeavor focused on alcohol awareness for the Oklahoma State Greek-letter community. During the first week of school for the past five years, the chapter has hosted thousands of students on its front lawn – predominantly freshmen – for the program, which features keynote speakers, such as the district attorney, the university president or Cowboy coaches. Also featured has been the compassionate story of a mother who lost her 19-year-old daughter to a drunk-driving accident involving an OSU student.

Active alumni members also serve as mentors for the undergraduates. For example, if a brother is pursuing a degree in pre-med, the association will try to find an alumnus who’s a doctor. They’ll be paired together in a shadowing program, and the student can see if his interests are a good fit and if he wants to pursue that field. Plus, the alumni association members have made it a point to interact more often with the house corporation so they can work in unison on promoting and maintaining the well-being of the chapter.

An experience as an Oklahoma State alum would not be complete without attending a football tailgate. It is a longstanding tradition among association members to gather together on game day around the ΣAE tailgate tent for food and brotherhood. The house cook brings his commercial-size cooker over to the tailgate spot south of the stadium and regularly feeds from 300 to 600 alumni, actives, parents and friends. Even well-known alumnus and avid OSU Cowboys fan Boone Pickens (’51) will make appearances at the alumni’s tailgate events.

Founders Day, on the other hand, moves from city to city, rotating between Stillwater, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Skaggs says the association keeps the event fresh by making the venue different each year. Plus, moving locations helps rotate the drive time for alumni living in different cities. Periodically during Founders Day, they induct a noteworthy alumnus into their Hall of Fame and present him with an award to commemorate the occasion.

Though the Oklahoma Mu/Oklahoma City Alumni Association has made strides in its relatively short history, leaders plan to make some improvements. They want to strengthen their mentoring program by matching every collegiate member with an alumnus. They’d like to be another resource for chapter fundraising and want to help raise $400,000 to increase the Mom Woods scholarship fund. In fact, if the group can raise that amount, Brother Pickens pledged to match donations at 150 percent, making more than a million-dollar fund corpus and providing scholarships to Oklahoma Mu members.

Perhaps one of the greatest roles any alumni association can serve, regardless of how long it’s been around, lies in the core interaction with the active chapter. Mark Wilmes (’87), an association member who served on the corporation board for seven years, says associations can help collegiate members embrace leadership by serving as role models. And, he says, the young men get to see how membership evolves once they leave college.

“I’ve been fostered with pride ever since I joined,” he says. “You get out of the Fraternity what you put into it, and I got so much out of SAE, I could never pay that dividend back. The journey as an alum can be better than the one as an active.”

Members often use the metaphor of the phoenix, rising from the ashes, to describe chapters that make a comeback. And often, that chapter’s alumni play a large role in breathing new life into the process. The Charleston Alumni Association from South Carolina, for example, is playing an integral part in the recolonization at the College of Charleston. While the association’s members weren’t happy to see their chapter close, there’s a silver lining: They can help return South Carolina Upsilon to greatness.

“There are two roles for any good alumni association. One is to support the local chapter or the chapters that are closest to it, and we do that any way we can,” says Mark Richards (’88). “The second is to continue the bonds of brotherhood that we started back in college.”

The Charleston Alumni Association boasts members from multiple chapters, ones who have been transplanted to this historic city on the Carolina coast for work or pleasure. Association leaders believe that diversity enhances their experience by bringing together lots of viewpoints, ideas and experiences. Even more beneficial for the members will be the chance to work closely on mentoring the colony men as they achieve earning a charter.

“I’m most proud that not only are the alumni committed to bringing back the chapter but the bonds that we developed as brothers,” says Jim Hinkle (’91). “With individuals from this chapter as well as individuals from other chapters, we still maintain that feeling of brotherhood, we still maintain the theory of ‘The True Gentleman’ and the bonds that brought us together.”

Athan Fokas (’89), who serves as the president of the association, has a passion to continue his fraternal bond. “Most of us are business people, and we understand the obstacles in life,” he says. “We can help use our experience to better the undergrads’ future.” He says the group helps to mentor the colony men, especially as professionals. In fact, at least two alumni attend every chapter meeting, and the association has assisted some members on securing internships. But such a great partnership between alumnus and undergrad did not exist a few years ago.

In 2006, Province Epsilon-Alpha Archon Bruce Cauthen contacted Fokas about starting an alumni association in Charleston. Nearly 20 men attended the first meeting to discuss how the association would be formed and, only a few months later, the group held its first event — a holiday alumni oyster roast. In the last three years, the association continues to grow. That core group of 18 men turned into 57 men in 2007 and into 75 men today.

By January of 2008, the alumni association was ready to think about the rebirth of South Carolina Upsilon. By the fall, the first recruitment event took place, which solicited outstanding, young gentlemen on the College of Charleston campus. Association members poured their heart into the commitment that lies before them while trying to share that fraternal zeal they exhibited on campus years ago.

For alumni who worked hard as undergraduates, the flame of friendship never fades. In some cases, it makes them work even harder to see the recolonization through to fruition. “You have a duty as a brother to maintain our chapter and to fulfill the obligations you set when you became a brother,” Hinkle says.

Just like the colony rising from the ashes, the association, too, is resurrecting a beneficial part of their experience so the young men can enjoy it. The alumni restarted the Francis J. Morrisey Memorial Fund, named in honor of a brother who passed away in the late 1980s. The fund was forgotten by 1990, but the association brought it back and sponsored two colony men’s attendance at Leadership School last year with its funds. Their goal is to grow the endowment to $100,000, so they’ve named an annual golf tournament for the cause.

As they chart their way through the year, the association continues to establish events that will become staples to the school year. In addition to their holiday party and their golf tournament, they work with the colony members on two philanthropic projects – one for a home for boys aged 6-16 who come from bad family situations. There, the men volunteer and spend time serving as positive role models for the boys. In addition, they work with Habitat for Humanity on constructing homes for those who are less fortunate.

Other members see their role in the alumni association as a way to reconnect with brothers who they’ve not seen in years.

“I have female friends who were College of Charleston graduates from sororities,” says Doug Mackenzie (’95). “I used to make fun of them for going back and trying to relive those years. But now I feel that I’m with a group of guys who have direction, backing, motivation and the business sense to help these guys seek a better future after college.”

One of the biggest myths our alumni members try to dispel is that the fraternal experience ends at graduation. The truth is that membership is for life. Alumni life offers a whole new perspective on the Fraternity for many men. For alumni who relocate to other parts of the country and who don’t know many people, alumni associations are a perfect venue to keep the fraternal experience strong. And thanks to technology, alumni can reconnect with brothers easily or find out if there is an active alumni association in their area. When they reach out to associations, they may be pleasantly surprised at how quickly their network of friends can grow.

Dan Dalnekoff (Maryland-Baltimore County ’05) is a product of a province that has excellent interaction with its alumni associations. When he knew he would be relocating to South Carolina, he used the networking that Sigma Alpha Epsilon offers to find the Charleston Alumni Association. “I always knew, even as an active, that I would be involved as an alumnus,” he says.

Roland Gahafer (Kentucky ’83) also does not hail from the College of Charleston, yet he’s active and engaged in the association. He found the association as a way to reconnect with Sigma Alpha Epsilon. “Membership comes full circle,” he says. “I have a son who’s 17 years old. He wants to go to Clemson University and, obviously, I’d like him to have the experience of being a legacy and joining SAE. We all have the common bond and mutual experience no matter where we went to school.”

Much like resurrecting a chapter that’s been sitting dormant, it’s possible to breathe new life into an alumni association. The members of the Detroit Area Alumni Association have achieved exactly that in a few short years.

The association is one of Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s larger ones, a group whose history stems back to November 13, 1897. However, the 150 or so current members stand in stark contrast to the low numbers seen just a decade ago, largely as a result of changing the way the group operates.

“The biggest factor that has helped to increase our membership is the modernization of the association,” says Jay Russ (Oakland ’02), who is serving his second term as president. “We have a board committed to making our group better, and we’re allowing everybody who wants to get involved to do so.”

Many of the changes that helped to revolutionize the association are technological. While newsletters and Founders Day banquets are commonplace with alumni associations, the leaders in Detroit knew they had to rethink traditional operations and find ways to engage a younger membership.

Oneil Franso (Oakland ’08) has been one of the most instrumental members to help make that goal a reality. He revamped the group’s website, allowing members to read news online, post messages to other members, send out electronic invitations and add dates to their personal schedules based on a master calendar. Plus, the association utilizes the LinkedIn social-networking site, which allows people to connect via online profiles. “I’d say some of our dramatic change has happened with regard to social networking,” says Franso. “Many of our alumni were already using [LinkedIn and Facebook].”

But in addition to new ideas, the association’s leaders are rethinking long-existing programs. Their newsletter has moved to a digital format, which saves printing and postage costs. They also have continued to offer a business directory where, for $25 a year, any member can post his business card, and members can browse categories based his profession. Such a directory continues to give brothers a chance to support the business of a brother.

Another key ingredient to the association is financial. So that they would not have to raise dues, the association’s leadership says they have taken on more responsibility to shop for competitive prices, especially in light of the economic downturn.

Rich White (Michigan ’69) has been involved in the Detroit Area Alumni Association since the early 1970s. He’s watched the group transition through the decades and still enjoys his membership. “People are working so hard and have so many family interests that it’s hard to give up additional time,” he says. Nonetheless, White says he’s still impressed with how many alumni of all ages continue to turn out to events and outings.

The association, like many others, conducts a few staple events every year — ones that members look forward to attending to reconnect and visit with familiar friends. Those events include a Founders Day banquet, a Christmas gathering and a golf outing each summer. All of the activities are well-attended — but that hasn’t always been the case. Just a few years ago, the Founders Day event drew about two dozen people. This year, nearly 100 people turned out for the event. Each year, the association calls on the talent of prominent alumni, and past guests of honor include Ernie Harwell and Bo Schembechler.

“The biggest thing I’ve gotten out of my membership in the association is the ability to network and meet other people,” says Russ.

And while maintaining a strong alumni association keeps alumni engaged, part of Detroit’s success deals with its ability to think ahead. To encourage participation by undergraduates, the association reaches out to chapters in Michigan. They invite them to events, offering discounted prices. Furthermore, they help the undergraduates understand the power behind networking with other brothers, a service many chapters mention during recruitment but never provide.

“One of the things that SAE sold me on was the networking, but nothing panned out for me,” says Franso. “My internship ended, but I didn’t have a job. I committed to helping undergrads and recent grads find jobs if I could.” The Detroit Area Alumni Association reaffirms its commitment to younger members and undergraduates by sponsoring Leadership School scholarships, made possible through the generosity of dues-paying members.

Still, the association maintains some rich, important tradition. Chuck Dawson (Michigan ’55) and Mel Bernai (Michigan ’55) are the mainstays for a weekly event that happens without much fanfare or publicity. Yet, each Wednesday when these two gentlemen meet, they always find themselves with additional lunch partners. In fact, some alumni remember going to the lunch when they were undergraduates. And many of them are certain this tradition, in addition to the new ones being created right now, will be passed along to future generations.

To learn more about the Detroit Area Alumni Association or to join the group if you are living in the Detroit metro area, visit www.detroitsae.net.

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.

The charter hanging on the office wall of Dick Troncone (San Diego State ’65) was issued in January 1932 and includes some high-profile names like Alfred Nippert. This official Sigma Alpha Epsilon charter, however, has nothing to do with a chapter, but its function is equally as important.

While most members may perceive their fraternal experience as something limited to college, more than 75 associations affiliated with the Fraternity know better. They are the alumni associations, and they fully embrace the concept that membership is for life.

The San Diego Alumni Association has been operating continuously for decades in order to serve the needs of alumni in southern California. Now, at 203 members strong, the group continues to grow and enjoy success. Like chapters, the association experienced its ups and downs, but in the past decade, the group has earned accolades for its operations and its ability to keep alumni engaged with positive feelings about the Fraternity.

Troncone, who’s been a member of the group since 1967, serves as the president and considers himself lucky to have eight other men who serve on a board that help govern the group. In fact, one of the highest honors an alumnus can earn from the group is titled the Richard A. Troncone Brother of the Year Award. Yet he’s humble about his leadership role and says the real success of the group lies in the membership. While many mature gentlemen make up the more than 200 members, Troncone says the association has been making strides attracting younger members because they understand the need to continue growing the group and keeping their gatherings alive.

There is no recipe for a successful alumni association, and each group is different. Troncone says San Diego continuously evaluates the process, learning what works and what doesn’t work. “You have to start small and build on your successes,” Troncone says. “Do things that will be successful but are not overly ambitious. We’ve found that there’s nothing wrong with taking ideas from other associations.”

In the past year, the association sponsored a dinner for graduating seniors at California Theta and even offers a year’s worth of free membership to recently graduated members in an effort to keep the twentysomethings involved. They’ve even set up a chairman specifically for young alumni. “The seed for me was planted as an undergraduate,” says Cliff Bee (Western Michigan ’61). “I’m nearing 70, and I’m still involved. It’s not a time-measured commitment.”

The group’s governance is simple. Nine alumni serve on the board, including the positions of president and secretary, who meet once a month over breakfast to discuss business. The San Diego Alumni Association offers two levels of membership: a regular one for $25 a year and a Century Club one for $100 a year. And in this group, more than half of the brothers have opted for the Century Club membership.

San Diego’s group meets about every other month for a luncheon, which involves a social hour, a meal and a guest speaker. The speakers are not necessarily brothers, and they may speak on a wide range of topics that interest the group. Leaders even collect feedback from members on the topics they’d like to hear. The annual traditions also include a Founders Day event, which has been held at the same hotel on Mission Bay for two decades. And, at that same gathering, the group honors a brother of the year — the member who most excels in either his commitment to Sigma Alpha Epsilon, to his profession or to his community or to all three.

Other practices of the group include publishing a quarterly newsletter, keeping members connected through a website, conducting a summer get-together and organizing a holiday party that includes spouses and a toy drive to benefit those less fortunate than themselves. This past summer, the group also sponsored a recruitment event to attract young alumni and to showcase the association and its members for them. During their luncheons, the men wear nametags that include members’ names, chapter and graduation year. That way, they help to bridge the gap between brothers and help them feel like they can identify with others. Troncone and other board members even make it a point to introduce new members personally to everyone else so they can feel at home.

John McMullen (San Diego State ’67), who serves as the group’s secretary, says networking plays a critical role in their success and also provides them a direct benefit of membership. “Almost all of us had networked off of some relationship because of the Fraternity,” McMullen says. “I would tell a young alumnus that one of the best things he can gain from membership is the opportunity to network and build a career.”

For their efforts as a well-run association, San Diego has earned some top honors, including the Bill Fiscus Outstanding Alumni Association Award and an award for its website. The group is also proud to use members’ dues toward six scholarships for undergraduates to attend the annual John O. Moseley Leadership School.

And while they enjoy an award-winning routine as a group, they still focus on what can make them better. In the coming year, the association expects to redesign their website and hopes to provide a printed directory of all their members so brothers can stay in touch even more often outside of their regular gatherings.

To learn more about the San Diego Alumni Association, visit www.saesd.org.