Contained within the principles we strive to achieve as brothers in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, you will find the line that reads, “…to develop in our members a sense of duty for individual and group involvement in social interactions, service and community outreach.” When most members think about the areas that require attention in their chapters, community service doesn’t always come to mind. That’s because organizing a mass effort or project requires time, patience and enthusiasm. Plus, there’s a common misperception that service events equate the need to raise thousands of dollars for a charitable cause.

Not true. Community service is not about how much money we raise or how many projects we do. It’s about being a good citizen, helping fellow man and finding satisfaction in assisting those people who are less fortunate than we are. A decade ago, Sigma Alpha Epsilon launched the inaugural True Gentleman Day of Service, a day or weekend designated specifically for chapters and colonies to rally around one project and help their local communities. In 2012, more than 100 groups participated in the Day of Service. But it’s not the only time of the year we should be focused on our communities.

Every once in awhile, we hear about a good deed or service project that goes well beyond the typical food drive, highway cleanup or marathon. A select group of men from Washington Beta at Washington State University traveled to a completely different country in pursuit of a worthy cause. Surprised by work conditions, lodging arrangements and local culture, their story showcases what happens when we travel outside our comfort zone and experience a new appreciation for the luxuries we enjoy as American citizens.

What began as a long-awaited opportunity for Mark Spiegelberg (’13) and the men of Washington Beta became one of the most difficult challenges and greatest lessons they had ever faced.

Throughout high school, Spiegelberg had to sit on the sidelines, busy with other obligations, while his friends on the basketball team at Union High School went on adventures. They built basketball courts for children in impoverished communities around the world, sponsored by the non-profit organization, Courts for Kids.

But Spiegelberg’s waiting paid off in college. He found the time to travel with Courts for Kids and studied abroad in the same summer break. “He was able to participate and bring his fraternity brothers, too,” Derek Nesland, founder and president of Courts for Kids said. They would be accompanied by three firefighters from Portland, Oregon, who had traveled with the organization before.

The men were going to the small mountain village of Colorado de Biolley in Costa Rica. Getting there was half the battle. Money had to be raised to send the volunteers there, and they would have to make preparations for the project as well.

I was about 10 years old. I was tall for my age, gangly and burnt a deep tan by a summer vacation that was dwindling rapidly. I was standing in the upstairs hallway of our house in Kentucky, looking down at my five-year-old little brother. I had just shoved him into a clothes hamper. His body formed a “V” so that his face was looking up at me from between his feet. He wiggled his toes.

“Ready?” I asked. A little hand snaked out of the hamper and gave me a thumb up.

“Okay,” I said. “Hold on.”

I then tossed my little brother, Blaine “Boomer” Ayers, the 13th Eminent Supreme Recorder and Executive Director of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and his hamper escape-pod down the front stairs.

When I was asked to write this piece on Boomer, I agreed immediately. I’ve known my little brother his whole life and could easily fill the allocated space with information about him. What I didn’t stop to consider was that I know almost nothing about ΣAE or, for that matter, fraternities in general. I went to a small school that didn’t have a Greek system. I wanted to talk about why my brother is the perfect man to lead this organization, but having never had any practical experience with it, I was at a bit of a loss.

What I did know was that Boomer always refers to the other men in his fraternity as his brothers. (And I’ve learned never to call it a “frat,” being admonished on more than one occasion.) Yet I decided I was worrying too much about my lack of fraternity knowledge. I don’t know about fraternities. But I do know about brotherhood. Boomer is my brother. He is also a brother to everyone in Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Although your bond is strong, you don’t know him as well as I do. I decided just to let you know the important things I know about my brother, Boomer, that you all should know about your brother, Blaine Ayers, ESR.

It seemed like the hamper was moving in slow motion as it bounced and spun and fell. About halfway down, it occurred to me that maybe this was a horrible idea. He was yelling by then and had started yelling the second that he had begun his descent. I suddenly realized that if he got killed, we both would be in a lot of trouble.

Boomer is fiercely loyal, almost to the point of insanity.

He and I have gotten in serious yelling-and-swinging fights only a couple of times. Pretty impressive when you consider our 30-plus-year relationship and the fact that we shared a bedroom during one stretch. One of the bigger arguments we ever got into — one that ended with him yelling at me across a kitchen table — took place when I was in college and he was a freshman in high school. We were arguing over who was the better athlete. Not between the two of us, between Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.

Ithaca, New York faces a variety of challenges. They range from housing costs to transportation issues to a sinking budget in a tough economy. Svante Myrick (Cornell ’09), Ithaca’s youngest and first African-American mayor, stands to face these obstacles.

“We have unique challenges,” Myrick said. “We’re looking at a $3-million budget deficit. How do we deliver services to the people of the city that they’re counting on? We have a housing shortage and unique topography that makes transportation difficult. We’re also looking to create jobs and cut down crime.”

The mayor draws from a background all too familiar with trying to accomplish a mountain of issues with few resources at his disposal. Myrick and his three siblings were raised by a single mother and their grandparents. His mother worked in multiple jobs trying to support her children, but it was rarely enough to keep the family afloat. Budgeting is a concept the 25-year-old mayor learned at a very young age.

“It taught me at a young age to make hard decisions. Sometimes we couldn’t afford both the rent and the heat. Then what do you pay? You have to decide between those sneakers and these groceries. What do you do?”

Myrick answered a higher calling after high school and enrolled in Cornell University. During his time as an undergraduate, he served as the IFC Council Vice President of University and Community Relations; contributed to the editorial board of the Cornell Daily Sun and the Public Service Center’s leadership council; and took on a role as tutoring and mentoring underprivileged youth in Ithaca for the Raising Education Attainment Challenge, or REACH.

“There were 13 different REACH sites when I joined the board. After two years, there were 30. I learned about conflict and personality management during my time there. I also learned what young people in this community needed,” he said. Myrick’s work with REACH motivated him as mayor to establish the Ithaca Youth Council, a group of teenagers who mimics the city council and works with the council members to improve the quality of life for teenagers.

Myrick also ran for and grasped a city-council seat as an undergraduate when he realized the housing strain the community faced. On top of all of this, he served as Eminent Deputy Archon to provide leadership for his chapter.

“I learned a lot about personality management and conflict resolution,” Myrick said. “Dealing with 60 to 70 guys with different personalities and aims is good preparation for dealing with personalities on all sorts of levels. Finding ways to resolve conflicts while making sure everyone feels included takes a lot of practice, and the Fraternity provides me with that practice.”

According to the mayor, the key step in moving forward after university life is to find a mentor. “That is why I think the fraternity system is so successful at building leaders. There’s a built-in succession plan. You watch older guys, learn from their styles and incorporate the best of their skills. The same holds true professionally.”

Like many building restorations, the Temple Renovation Project has yielded a few surprises. When exploratory holes for a new HVAC system were drilled into a sealed-attic crawlspace above the Peace Chapel, workers found these two milk bottles. Left behind by the workmen who built the Temple, they have been sealed in the crawlspace behind three layers of brick since 1930.

The bottle on the right is from the Wieland Dairy, founded by Jacob Wieland, who emigrated from Germany in 1889. By the late 1920s, the company had grown significantly and produced milk, ice cream, cottage cheese and other dairy products. In the 1930s, it was just one of many regional dairies purchased by Borden Dairy Co.

The bottle on the left is from Johnson Dairy Company. Johnson proudly bottled its milk on the far west side of Evanston and was only in business for a few short years from about 1925-1930.

These milk bottles are the only personal objects in the collection that directly connect us with the lives of the craftsmen and laborers who built the Temple. Seeing a new generation of highly skilled workmen around the building gives us a new appreciation for these men.

This is a tale of two alumni associations. At first glance, they may appear to share one brain because they rally behind the same chapter, Georgia Sigma. Yet they each focus on different facets of how they help the men at Valdosta State University. In this edition of the Chapter Alumnus profiles, we explore the Valdosta and Georgia Sigma Alumni Associations.

It’s the perfect example of the difference between a chapter and an area association. Yet the groups have strong traditions that center on the same theme: to make the experience for collegiate and alumni members in Valdosta a beneficial, lifelong one.

The Valdosta Alumni Association, which consists of alumni from various chapters who live in the Valdosta area, serves a strong regional role. It provides brothers an opportunity to enjoy continuing benefits of brotherhood in their adult lives. On the other hand, the Georgia Sigma Alumni Association works more directly with the chapter, its members serving as mentors to aid the college men in being successful and making the transition to alumni life.

Georgia Sigma’s Alumni Association formed a little more than a decade ago out of the need for alumni to assist the chapter. At the time, the students were in disarray, lost their physical house and accumulated a substantial amount of debt. But, determined to save their alma mater, several alumni stepped forward to get the remaining men into a new house. “Those few guys who were still involved in the chapter would not be here today, I’m afraid, if it hadn’t been for the alumni who stepped forward,” says Danny Davis (Valdosta State ’79), who’s served as head of the chapter alumni association since it first started.

“I was a die-hard ΣAE and still am,” he says. “I hated to see the Fraternity fail, and the call for help came at a time in my life when I could give time toward the cause.” Davis always has recalled what his Pledge Trainer, Fred Smith, told him: “You only get out of something what you put into it.” His words, Davis says, served as a driving force and motivator to turn the chapter around.

Alumni who stepped forward ended up saving the chapter from closing its doors. That success, in turn, created an engaged group of alumni with a strong spirit. In the years following the comeback, the Georgia Sigma Alumni Association operates in other capacities as well. Members offer assistance to the chapter, especially during times like recruitment and homecoming. And the association organizes annual Founders Day events.

“It’s a way to keep the friendship strong and the bonds in action ever since I graduated,” Davis says. “The Fraternity experience was a huge part of my learning, and had it not been for ΣAE, I might not have made it through college.”

Since the Indiana Sigma chapter was founded on October 25, 1969, at Indiana State University, members and alumni have dreamed of having a permanent chapter house. “The current property was purchased in 2004 because members of Indiana Sigma Alumni Association saw that the campus was expanding,” says Chris Hancock (’96), alumnus and alumni association board-of-directors member. “The choice of the property was also based on the logic due to the newly constructed Sigma Kappa house and other fraternity houses around the area.”

After years of moving from one chapter house to another, Indiana Sigma and its alumni finally have a place to call home. On August 17, 2012, their dream became a reality when the brothers moved into their newly constructed home at 831 North 5th Street in Terre Haute. The grand opening included the Indiana State University President Dr. Daniel Bradley; Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett; representatives from all fraternities and sororities on campus; Indiana Sigma collegiate and alumni members; SAE Financial & Housing Corporation President Mike Rodgers, Vice President Lee Miller and Associate Executive Director Gregory Somers; and the Eminent Supreme Recorder Blaine Ayers.

The Indiana Sigma Alumni Association, in conjunction with SAE Financial & Housing Corporation, entered into a partnership to build the first new fraternity chapter house in Terre Haute in many years. Their partnership required Indiana Sigma alumni to fundraise a portion of the construction cost while the Financial & Housing Corporation paid another portion. Then, the group financed the remaining amount. Alumni entered into a fundraising agreement with Pennington & Company, the recognized leader in fraternity fundraising, to handle the campaign on behalf of the Indiana Sigma Alumni Association.

SAE Financial & Housing Corporation hired Kuo Diedrich Architects from Atlanta to design the fraternity house to meet the needs of today’s students and to integrate the façade into the surrounding community with recognition to our rich Fraternity history. Highlights of the chapter house include a dedicated house-director suite; full-service kitchen and dining room that can serve 240 meals a day; dedicated library and study rooms; custom-sculptured marble lions from Vietnam; a coat-of-arms inlaid in the entry foyer’s marble and a large rendition badge on the front of the chapter house.

Profile
Mel Bernia

Graduation Stats
University of Michigan (Michigan Iota-Beta) ’55

Education
BS, Mechanical Engineering, 
University of Michigan

Hometown
Bloomfield Hills, MI

Family
Wife Elaine, sons Steven and Jeffrey, and daughter Kimberly Dennis

Do you have any other family ties to 
Sigma Alpha Epsilon?
My son, Steven, is an alumnus from the same chapter as I am, Michigan Iota-Beta at the University of Michigan.

Career Highlights
I retired from the Ford Motor Company after 30 years in numerous management positions and having achieved Executive Roll level. After leaving Ford, I purchased an automotive-supply company, which I successfully managed for 15 years, selling it in 2002.

Fondest Fraternity Memory
When I attended the University of Michigan, I was married, so I did not have an opportunity to live in the chapter house. However, my fondest memory was participating in the annual Mud Bowl Game, a tradition the chapter has continued on campus for many years.

Fraternity Volunteerism
I was president of the Michigan Iota-Beta Alumni Association for several years on two separate occasions as well as Honorary Chairman, as elected by my peers.

Why is it important for others to support 
fraternity housing?
I believe fraternity housing provides an opportunity for like-minded men living together to broaden their perspectives both academically and socially.

What has been your biggest challenge as a 
housing volunteer?
My biggest challenge has been to get the active members of the chapter to accept their responsibility to promote the traditions of the Fraternity and to provide a positive experience for all of their brothers.

• Consolidates The True Gentleman Initiative, www.sae.net and the online certification programs under a single web address accessed through a single login
• Uses a member’s sae.net account credentials to access multiple and track educational programs, such as the online certification programs
• Automates online certification programs so that results are now instantly recorded to the database, allowing for prompt processing
• Features a dynamic interface with sharper content and information
• Utilizes a mobile-enabled site, with the ability to complete all certification programs on a smart phone (iOS compatible)
• Includes a new idea bank, which allows members to upload ideas and supporting files, which can be downloaded by other members

Online Certification Programs

The True Gentleman Initiative site offers the following online certification programs for chapter officers to complete:

Carson Starkey Pledge Certification Program

This program teaches new members about our risk-management policies and Fraternity events, and notifies them about their Scope of Association requirement. Programming also includes components on alcohol and hazing awareness. New members must complete the program within two weeks of receiving their credentials.

Alumni Adviser Certification Program
This program is designed to inform alumni advisers of basic information with regard to advising and peer mentoring as well as the organization and its policies and programs.

Eminent Archon Certification Program
This program is designed to teach Eminent Archons necessary policies and procedures of the Fraternity, and to introduce information to succeed in their position as the leader of a chapter.

Eminent Treasurer Certification Program
This program is designed to educate Eminent Treasurers in good fiscal policy and budgeting, and to introduce information necessary for their success.

Risk Manager Certification Program
This program is designed to educate our Risk Managers on our risk-management policies and procedures, crisis management and event management and planning.

Pledge Educator Certification Program
Designed to teach the basics of how to serve in the role of Pledge Educator, this program outlines the requirements of a new-member program and includes information on Fraternity policies and procedures of the Fraternity as well as the alcohol-awareness component that is a part of the Carson Starkey Pledge Certification Program.

Once they are reported to the Fraternity Service Center, chapter officers receive e-mails informing them about their respective programs and the resources available at thetgi.sae.net.

Dave Westol, an alumnus of Theta Chi, has spoken to thousands of students on college campuses and at national fraternity and sorority events, including the John O. Moseley Leadership School. In this feature article, he discusses the tradeoffs for designated-driver programs. Although Minerva’s Shield, our risk-management guidebook, highly discourages such programs, Westol’s commentary helps our membership understand why Sigma Alpha Epsilon has established the policy and instead encourages professional, third-party companies to provide the designated-driver service.

The concept of a designated-driver (DD) program is a good example of first-echelon logic. The logic: Most chapter members will consume alcohol — that consumption will often occur at venues outside of the chapter house — that consumption will exceed what might be termed safe limits — and therefore, it is an act of brotherhood to provide those individuals who consume alcohol and especially those who choose to consume to excess with a safe ride. The intoxicated member is transported to home, wherever that may be, by a sober driver, in a safe manner. Everyone wins, and the concept of members helping members is reinforced in a practical way.

In theory.

In practice, a number of concerns have arisen regarding DD programs. They include some of the following categories:

The Intern Effect

Who gets the coffee? Who runs to the FedEx or UPS station at 4:59 p.m.? It is usually the intern — the person who is least experienced in company or office culture and has the smallest amount of political capital, much less the moxie to say, “A failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” Application to fraternities relating to DD programs? Pledges or new members are usually saddled with DD duties, even if the original plan calls for all members to participate as DDs.

Pledges will not protest the inequity or unfairness of the system because they believe it is part of “earning” their membership. Members will gladly assign away their responsibilities as designated drivers for the usual reasons, including laziness, scheduling and “Too tired/busy/involved/don’t have time/I want to party tonight.” Result: The least experienced and mature members of the chapter are dispatched to gather up drunken members and transport them to another location.

Mission Creep

Theoretically, DDs pick up members who have consumed alcohol and transport them home. However, members can be expanded to include friends of members, sometimes without any members being present, and transporting them to other venues. It is another example of the Field of Dreams syndrome — in this case, “If you make free on-call transportation available, people will take advantage of it” and the classic “I can impress this woman by offering her a ride on my command!”

Mission Creep II

In theory, members who have consumed alcohol and need a ride receive a quick one-way ride from where they are located to “home.” In practice, DDs find themselves transporting members to other venues, including emporiums of festive beverages or parties, playing the role of a taxi driver by waiting patiently for an intoxicated member who called for a ride but doesn’t really want to leave wherever she or he is. Things like running errands for members prior to or during the ride, including stops at fast-food restaurants and bifurcated missions that include taking intoxicated members to another locale and then retrieving them and taking them home.

More than 40 alumni from Alabama Mu attended the Decade of the Fifties Reunion at the Marriott Shoals Hotel in Florence. Alumni and their spouses celebrated another 50 years of Mother Mu, according to event organizers. Attendees included seven brothers of the Centennial Pledge Class, the men who were initiated on March 9, 1956.

Atlanta Area Alumni Association

The Atlanta Area Alumni Association presented a 50-year certificate to The Honorable P. Harris Hines (Emory ’65), Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. In addition, the group honored William Pope (Emory ’39) for 76 years of membership in the Fraternity. Considered the grand elder statesman of the association, Pope remains an exhilarating inspiration to its members, according to its leaders.

Cal State-Fullerton

Greg Sowards (’77) and Steve Spernak (’76) crafted a display for Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson as part of his Veterans Day memorial. The “OC 70″ emblem, replicated with the brothers’ handmade crosses, honors the 70 soldiers, sailors and Marines lost defending America in the War on Terror from Orange County since September 11, 2001. The monument, coined Hillside of Heroes, was on display for three days, and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon flag appeared at the site for a photo to honor our members who also lost their lives on 9/11 and in all of our nation’s wars and conflicts since our founding in 1856.

Cal State-Northridge

Joe Rixman (’94) is making waves in the sci-fi/fantasy world. He is a contributing writer for the Massively Multiplayer Online Game, EVE Online and the Vampire: Requiem book series. More recently, Rixman published a short story in the sci-fi collection called Foreshadows: The Ghosts of Zero.

Cal State-San Marcos and Villanova

John Conrad (Cal State-San Marcos ’97) and Fred Sobke (Villanova ’97) took home the first-place honors at the Baja 1000 last November in Mexico. Baja 1000 is billed as the world’s longest and toughest off-road race. The two brothers won the event on a 2008 Honda CRF450X dirt bike and took 22 hours and six minutes non-stop from start to finish. In addition, the pair also earned first place at the Points Championship for all of the SCORE International races in 2011.