Hello alumni,
It has been a while! The last three weeks have been a whirlwind and I figured it would be better to wait until the very end to update date you alumni with what is going on.
On March 21, Epsilon's annual Formal took place at the Days Inn. This year's theme was 'A Night In Hollywood.' Alumni Matt Crowe & Stephen Barnes, as well as graduating seniors Theresa Perkins and Karen Rohrer, were honored with chapter Distinguished Service Keys. Alumnus Randall Cupp (fall 1978) was honored with a Distinguished Alumni Key (DAK).
Gold Sashes were awarded to actives Kristen Wagner, Justin Swank, Patrick O'Donnell, Susan Behrens, Pat Goodwin, Jeff Sachs, Dan Heagney, myself, and Andrea Eagle for their hard work in our chapter. Angie Otten was honored as the Queen of Service and Trieu Vo was honored as the King of Service. Finally, Karen Rohrer was honored as the Active of the Year and Emily Lowndes was honored as the Pledge of the Year.
Alumna Lindsey Johnson (fall 1999) gave a great keynote address about the meaning of brotherhood in Alpha Phi Omega. It was a great time had by all! Other alumni brothers in attendance at formal included Matt Caldwell (fall 1997), Glenn Grothaus (fall 1995), Emily Hollycross (spring 2004), Amanda Hoylman (spring 2006), Andy Karcher (fall 2002), Brent & Shelley Lester (fall 2004), Brad Niebling (fall 1995), Jim Roach (spring 1997), Jill Scognamiglio (spring 2004) and Rachelle Storjohann (fall 2004).
March 27-28 was Camp Thunderbird. It was a very well-run camp and Kristen Wagner (VP of Large Service) should be commended on that. The traditional nicknaming ceremony went well and 20-30 graduating seniors got to reflect on their time in APO through singing 'Linger.' Mr. Epsilon was great as Josh Soto won for his rendition of Catwoman. The theme was "Sassy Superheroes." Andy Reinert finished 2nd as Feminine Mystique (a.k.a. Supermom), Justin Vilbig was 3rd for his Pink Power Ranger portrayal and pledge Michael Hogard finished fourth for the female Incredible Hulk (he actually dyed himself green and it didn't come out for a week, poor guy).
Finally, Epsilon hosted this year's wildly successful Section 49 Conference the weekend of April 3-4. Eight other chapters attended this conference, including Sigma Alpha (UM-St. Louis), Epsilon Pi (SIU-Edwardsville), Delta Delta (St. Louis University), Chi Omega (McKenderee University), Alpha Phi (Washington University), Xi (Iowa State University), Alpha Delta Sigma (Lindenwood University), and Beta Psi (Southeast Missouri State University). Several different awards were given to Epsilon, including the H. Roe Bartle (awarded to chapters which achieve and maintain high standards of effectiveness in all aspects of their program and operations), and Joseph Scanlon membership award. Epsilon was also honored to have John Ottenad attend and deliver the banquet keynote address. Ottenad currently serves on Alpha Phi Omega's National Board of Directors, in charge of membership & extension. He served as Section 49 Chair from 1992-2000.
Jeff Sachs, Clayton Davis, Glee Williams, and Beth Guckes were awarded Section 49 Railroaders for their contribution to inter-chapter relations events. The entire conference went very well and conference chairs Josh Soto, Jeff Sachs, and Beth Guckes should be congratulated on a job well done.
A special thank you to all Alums that have shown up during the past three weeks. We were very glad to see you all. We encourage you all to continue your participation in chapter events.
Finally, congratulations to alumna Lauren Johnson (Eckhard) on her wedding on March 21, 2009. Epsilon wishes you and Chris nothing but the best!
LFS,
Garrett
(*above are pics from both Camp Thunderbird and Sectionals)
