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From the Eminent Commander
Eric D. Degen, ΘΚ 811, Canton GA
My perspective and report on our
“Road to the Rock” Trip
Eric D. Degen, ΘΚ 811, Commander
May 13, 2014
First, thank you to all of our great supporters who made the trip possible! You helped make our Theta Kappa Chapter “Road to the Rock” trip the success it was! On Friday, April 11th, 27 brothers and 8 well-deserving candidates left the Sigma Nu house at 3 pm on a chartered bus bound for Lexington. Ten hours later, we arrived at the Carriage House
Luckily, the bus had a DVD player, so we watched movies much of the way, which helped the 10 hours go by a little faster. The bus ride was a great time of bonding with each other and improving the brotherhood within the chapter. We arrived at the Carriage House (a bunkhouse for collegiates on the grounds) about midnight and found it could sleep all 35 members quite comfortably.
We woke up at 9 am the next morning and started the day off with a tour of Sigma Nu Headquarters Shrine. Alex Taylor, a member of the staff, was our tour guide, and he took us around both the buildings and the grounds of the Headquarters. This was the first time that over 90% of the chapter had visited our Headquarters. Located at the highest point in Lexington, VA, the facility provides an elegant and beautiful snapshot of the historical city. After we toured the grounds and building, Alex led a wonderful LEAD session on the SWOT analysis program and another session on accountability. Upon completion of the LEAD sessions we had a nice hour break for lunch. We found several good restaurants within walking distance of the Carriage House as well as a general store/gas station. As you could imagine, it is very hard to feed 35 college-aged men, but these local restaurants made it easy to accommodate us.
Once fed, several members found footballs, Frisbees, and other outdoor sports equipment. And so we relaxed and threw a football with our best friends. When our break was over, Chris Brenton, another staff member, led us on a walking tour through the beautiful town of Lexington. We visited Washington and Lee University and on to Virginia Military Institute. At VMI, we made several stops that revealed the historic significance of Sigma Nu at VMI. We saw where the original “Rock” was, as well as where our three founders stayed while they attended VMI. We then went to the VMI museum, which has enough military history to be in a national museum. We concluded the tour and made our way back through downtown Lexington, and returned to the Carriage House.
Around 5:30, we started to get ready for the initiation of our eight Spring 2014 candidates. We initiated these men in the Alpha Room at the Headquarters, which is decorated like the first chapter room at VMI. Our initiation ceremony lasted about an hour and was the best ceremony the Theta Kappa Chapter may have ever been a part of. When the ceremony was over, we all headed back to the Carriage house, changed, and went out to enjoy the rest of the night with our new brothers. Then, we had free time until we went to sleep that night. On the Sunday morning, we woke up around 6 am and prepared for our departure from Lexington, VA. We then got on the bus, watched more movies, bonded even more tightly with our brothers and arrived back in Statesboro around 4 pm.
Main Points of the “Road to the Rock” Trip:
- Brotherhood and bonding on the bus trip and at the Carriage House
- First trip for the “New” Theta Kappa Chapter as a whole
- Chapter seeing HQs, VMI, W&L and Downtown Historic Lexington
- Visitation and honoring the Memorial Flag Pavilion and the “Pathway to Honor”
- Two great LEAD sessions led by the Fraternity Staff
- Initiation of Candidates in the Sigma Nu “Alpha Room” (ΘΚ 833 - ΘΚ 840)
If you have not been recently I encourage each of to take your own pilgrimage to our headquarters!
ΣΝΕΤΤ!
Fraternally,
Eric D. Degen, ΘΚ 811
Commander
From the Eminent Commander
Eric D. Degen, ΘΚ 811, Canton GA
May 13, 2014
Alumni, Collegiate, Parents, and Friends...
Here is our most recent newsletter and additional updates – starting with: Alumnus David Whitlaw (ΘΚ 372) shared the upcoming “Coaches’ Caravan” event and challenges everyone in the area to attend. It is the 2014 GSU “Coaches' Caravan - Atlanta Gwinnett” on Friday, May 16th at 7:00 pm at the Eagle Rock Beer Distributing Company (6205 Best Friend Rd, Norcross, GA 30071 – 770.498.5500 ) near I-85 Exit 99 Jimmy Carter Blvd/GA 140. Register at www.EagleRocks.com. Meet GSU’s new Coach, find out what is going on at GSU, and see your brothers (spouses welcome). For more information on this go to: www.SigmaNuGSU.com/coaches-caravan. We posted it to Facebook and have included it in this email along with other updates on your chapter including a recap of the “Road to the Rock” pilgrimage, the recent 2014 Commanders’ Dinner, and other updates!
Theta Kappa has had a great 2013-14 school year and I want to tell/show you about some of it in the attached newsletter, but also invite you to review and subscribe to our website and Facebook group – we will be sending some more updates to you over the summer. I want to start by thanking our most generous patrons who underwrote our recent “Road to the Rock” trip – they are listed and recognized on Page 3. Without your support, this trip would not have been possible in the fashion it was done, so we created a very special commemorative t-shirt for each of you, which you will get in the next few weeks. Over $7,000 was raised, which covered the trip and funded several incoming freshman “Rush” scholarships for this summer. Also thank you to brothers Anderson Johnson (ΘΚ 798) and Adam Clay (ΘΚ 810) for putting the trip together, Carlos Robelo (ΘΚ 758) for the great pictures of the trip, and Headquarters Staff Members Alex Taylor (NΒ 5), Chris Brenton (BT 1307), and the entire staff for helping us organize it as well as leading the tours and facilitating LEAD there. For more on the trip: www.SigmaNuGSU.com/trip-to-lexington or: www.SigmaNuGSU.com/rttr-slideshow.
Congratulations to our eight new brothers (and their parents), who joined the Legion of Honor at Knights during our “Road to the Rock” trip on Sat., April 12, 2014. They are:
- John B. Harrison (John), ΘΚ 833, Roswell GA
- Bryan N. Taylor (Bryan), ΘΚ 834, Alpharetta GA
- Mitchell G. Portwood (Grant), ΘΚ 835, Roswell GA
- John E. Gee (John), ΘΚ 836, Jefferson GA
- Taylor A. Harris (Taylor), ΘΚ 837, Alpharetta GA
- Ryan M. Wendt (Ryan), ΘΚ 838, Kennesaw GA
- Dylan Holloway (Dylan), ΘΚ 839, Tifton GA
- Nicholas Masters (Nick), ΘΚ 840, Woodstock GA
If you know a young man who is coming to GSU in the fall (or another college for that matter), we would love to hear from you, so we can speak to them and recruit them. Go to: www.SigmaNuGSU.com/membership-referral to provide us their information.
Lastly, I want to thank the Alumni Advisory Board, the House Corporation, each of you, and the brothers of the chapter for supporting and believing in your chapter this year as we became the “New Theta Chapter” – we would not have gotten here without you – we are your chapter and we need each of you! We promise and vow to all be honorable knights of Sigma Nu, strive to be great young men, and be transparent in our operations! Thank you for your trust and support.
We look forwards to a great fall and seeing each of you at GSU Football Games, the match-up between Georgia Tech and our GSU Eagles on Sat., Sep. 13th in Atlanta (we are planning a Sigma Nu tailgate), at Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 9-12, and in-between. See our upcoming calendar in the “Commander’s Dinner” section on Page 15. For more information on Homecoming, please go to: www.SigmaNuGSU.com/homecoming. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at: 770-876-9259 (C) or email: degen555@hotmail.com.
ΣΝΕΤΤ!
Fraternally,
Eric D. Degen, ΘΚ 811
Commander
From the Eminent Commander
Evan P. Winebarger, ΘΚ 754, Lilburn GA
As the 43rd Eminent Commander of the Theta Kappa Chapter, I cordially and proudly
invite all of our brothers and their families to Homecoming 2013. We, the collegiate brothers, have turned our chapter around in incredible ways. I invite you all to come and witness our growth and transition, changes that preserve our chapter’s tradition of love, honor, and truth. Though it has been a long and difficult journey, I have never been as proud of being a Theta Kappa as I am now. Homecoming is another step to we can use to recreate the great and lively culture handed down to us. On Saturday morning, I will welcome you all to the fraternity house where I will give a brief overview of the success we have had. I will also explain our plan of action, which will proclaim us a Rock Chapter in the foreseeable future!I look forward to seeing you at Homecoming or whenever you are in Statesboro. I will also be attending the upcoming Local Alumni Mixers in December.
ΣNΕΤΤ!
Best Regards,
Evan
Evan P. Winebarger, ΘΚ 754
Eminent Commander (2013)
