Category Archives: Beta Omicron Chapter News
Longtime Natchitoches mayor, Pi Kappa Phi alumnus Joe Sampité dies
Funeral services for colorful long-time Natchitoches mayor Joe Sampité will be conducted Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Natchitoches with interment immediately following at Memory Lawn Cemetery in Natchitoches, LA. Visitation will be Monday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home, located at 848 Keyser Avenue in Natchitoches. A rosary will be held at 7:00 p.m. during the visitation.
Sampité, who died Friday at the age of 81, served five terms as mayor of Natchitoches from 1980 until his retirement in 2000. He was known for wearing white socks, a carryover from his coaching career before becoming mayor, and for the “I Love Natchitoches” stickers that he distributed by the thousands over the years. Read the rest of this entry
Choosing to lead pays off for Pi Kappa Phi scholarship winners
“If you work hard, apply your talents, and simply go the ‘extra mile,’ you will find success in life.” Pi Kappa Phi alumnus David Morgan imparted this advice on a crowd of nearly 100 students, alumni, parents, and special guests attending the annual Beta Omicron “Extra Mile” Scholarship Banquet. Morgan created the scholarship program that on April 16, 2012 recognized students for pursuing excellence in academics, campus and chapter leadership, service, and employment.
Chase Harvey, Michael Monsour, Scott Mayeaux, and Ryan Jeffords were awarded $2,750 in scholarships at the 5th annual event, held in the historic Lee H. Nelson Hall on Northwestern State University’s campus. The one-time women’s gymnasium, now home of the National Park Service’s National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, is currently the oldest building on campus, constructed in 1928. Read the rest of this entry
Pi Kappa Phi members transform summer camp serving people with disabilities
Three days of sweat, splinters, and swinging hammers is all it takes to put smiles on the faces of children with disabilities. March 23-25, 2012, members of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity sacrificed a weekend of their spring to help the Louisiana Lions Camp in Anacoco accomplish their mission of making memories each summer. As part of Push America’s Give-A-Push Weekends, nearly 40 Pi Kapps from several nearby chapters completed multiple projects in an effort to highlight the abilities of people with disabilities. G.A.P. Weekends are national service projects of Pi Kappa Phi’s national philanthropy, Push America, that provide funding and manpower to build and renovate structures for camps and facilities serving the disability community. Read the rest of this entry
Big Easy serves as colorful backdrop for annual Rose Ball formal
In what has become a much-anticipated tradition, the Beta Omicron chapter returned to New Orleans in 2012 for the fraternity’s annual Rose Ball formal. March 16-17, 2012 members and their dates descended on the Big Easy for a weekend of touring the historic French Quarter and colorful Bourbon Street, tasting authentic cuisine, and taking in the music that defines the city’s spirit. A banquet held in the DoubleTree Hotel on Canal Street was the highlight of the weekend. Following a catered meal, several members were honored for their contributions in the last year. Read the rest of this entry
Alaina Davis crowned Miss Push America 2012
Sophomore Alaina Davis has been named the 2012 Northwestern State University Miss Push America. Davis and 13 other contestants competed for the title. The 3rd annual pageant, an outreach project of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, aims to raise awareness on behalf of people with disabilities.
Prior to the competition, contestants were encouraged to raise funds and awareness for the fraternity’s philanthropy, Push America. Since 1977, Push America has raised millions of dollars for and positively impacted the lives of thousands of people with disabilities.
Contestants on Wednesday, March 7th included sophomore Anne Bergeron of Houma, senior Heather Jacobson of Shreveport, senior Kendall Franklin of Beaumont, Texas, freshman Olivia Martzell of New Orleans, sophomore Lindsey McGinity of Alexandria, sophomore Courtney Kerry of Benton, freshman Ashley Lewis of Shreveport, junior Jessica Underwood of Anacoco, freshman Megan Smith of Baton Rouge, senior Ruth Fruge of Kinder, sophomore Sarah Baggett of Elizabeth, sophomore Gillian Brown of Bossier City, freshman Miranda Moore of Erwinville, and sophomore Alaina Davis of Sulphur. Read the rest of this entry
“Good fences make good brothers”
A take on the 17th-century English proverb “Good fences build good neighbors” could certainly ring true in modern-day Natchitoches, Louisiana. While a new fence at the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity house will certainly be appreciated by neighbors, the band of brothers which resides at 730 University Parkway is the real benefactor. After two decades of drawing the boundaries of a back yard, it was time to replace the fence. On February 11, 2011 dozens of alumni and student members worked alongside one another in what will hopefully become an annual work day at the chapter house. After more than two months of planning by alumnus Joshua Alost and students Kolt Kays and Ryan Jeffords, the project was ready to become reality. Read the rest of this entry
Mid Year Leadership Conference prepares students to become the “next man”
Newly elected student leaders of Beta Omicron Chapter underwent intensive training for their respective roles at Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity’s Mid Year Leadership Conference. Held January 13-15 in Dallas, the conference prepares officers for their duties as leaders of the chapter.
The Next Man theme of Mid Year 2012 celebrates the importance of individual actions now, while examining the greater ramifications of individual leadership, choice, and potential has on future Pi Kapps. The officers are at pivotal point in their development as leaders by choice. They will continue building what those who came before them have worked to achieve, and their decisions pave the wave for those who will come after them. Participants left the conference equipped with the training and resources needed to be successful officers, armed with an adaptable change framework that will help them approach behaviors, situations or roadblocks that prevent their chapter and brothers from realizing their potential, and inspired to do their part to develop a chapter of intelligent, quality men who commit to living the values of Pi Kappa Phi for a lifetime. Read the rest of this entry
Beta Omicron Founders Generation Group member passes to chapter eternal
Dr. Alex Ferry, an alumnus of the Beta Omicron chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity passed away on December 27, 2011 surrounded by family at his Florida home. Ferry was a member of Phi Kappa Nu, a local fraternity that became Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity when it chartered at NSU in 1956. Having transferred to the NSU-Shreveport nursing campus before the transition to Pi Kappa Phi, Ferry never initiated with the founding group. More than five decades later in December 2009, he was officially initiated into the brotherhood of Pi Kappa Phi. At the Founders’ Day Banquet following his initiation Ferry told the undergraduates, “You caused me to feel at home and really restored my good thoughts about today’s young students.” Ferry and his wife Joan would later attend several alumni reunions and events in Natchitoches. Read the rest of this entry
Beta Omicron commemorates national founding by growing brotherhood
Exactly 107 years after Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity was founded, the Beta Omicron Chapter at NSU marked the anniversary with a semi-formal banquet centered around the spirit of friendship. On December 10th, alumni, active and associate members and their guests gathered in historic Varnado Hall to commemorate the friendships forged by the seven founders of Pi Kappa Phi.
On a quiet December evening in 1904 in Charleston, S.C., three friends — Andrew Kroeg, Simon Fogarty and Harry Mixson—made a choice to lead. Those three men chose to start their own fraternity. The three grew to seven; seven grew to eight; eight grew to 11. Over the course of a century, a fraternity with humble beginnings has grown into a brotherhood of more than 100,000 strong — all because three men made a choice to lead. In 1956 that spirit took root at Northwestern State University, when members of local fraternity Phi Kappa Nu decided to affiliate with Pi Kappa Phi and establish the Beta Omicron Chapter.
The annual Founders Day Banquet was moved to the ballroom of Varnado hall to accommodate a larger number of attendees, and in the process revisit an old chapter tradition. The room was the location for annual chapter group pictures in the 1950 and 1960s. Read the rest of this entry
2011-2012 board of directors elected to Beta Omicron Alumni Association
A slate of seven alumni of the Beta Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity have been elected to guide the efforts of the chapter alumni association/ housing corporation. Lane Luckie; DJ Klucznik; David Morgan, Sr.; Chad Hancock; Joshua Alost; Justin Owen; and George Etheredge will serve on the 2011-2012 board of directors. These alumni officers will manage the Beta Omicron Alumni Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation, a non-profit organization that exists to advance the interests of the student chapter and provide education housing facilities to undergraduate members. Read the rest of this entry
Members rally around son of Pi Kappa Phi and Sigma Sigma Sigma alumni
Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity and Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority are hosting a fundraiser to benefit the family of two of their members. The son of Tri Sigma alumna Rachael Tingle Smith (2005) and Pi Kapp alumnus Randy Smith (2004) was recently diagnosed with a relatively uncommon condition involving the irregular formation of the skull.
Less than a year old, little Jacob Smith has been diagnosed with craniosynostosis. Rachael first spotted a ridge along Jacob’s forehead when he was about 3 months old. ”We went off to Google. The results were scary and surgery is the only option, so we chose not to look into this any further until we knew something definite,” Rachael said.
In June, Jacob’s great-uncle, a plastic surgeon, recommended they visit a specialist in Dallas. Doctor Fearon diagnosed Jacob with metopic craniosynostosis with mild-to-moderate trigonocephaly in late August. This is an early growing-together, or fusion, of the bones along Jacob’s skull sutures. This fusion occurs in approximately 1 in 2,000 births and affects boys more than girls. Once the skull is fused, the brain continues to grow in the direction of least resistance. This limits the skull’s ability to grow normally. If untreated, the skull will eventually take on a very abnormal shape and worsen with time. Read the rest of this entry
Large turnout marks 55th annual Beta Omicron Homecoming Reunion
55 years of history came together in grand fashion to commemorate the many accomplishments of the Beta Omicron chapter at the 2011 Homecoming Reunion. A weekend of gatherings reunited brothers, spouses, and guests from around the country returning to their alma mater. On October 14 the annual homecoming parade, featuring a float from Pi Kappa Phi, rolled through historic downtown Natchitoches. Students lined the hill along Front Street for a pep rally on the banks of the Cane River. Once the echos of the NSU Fight Song had faded, a social at Antoon’s Riverfront Restaurant gave the opportunity for several generations of Pi Kappa Phi to connect. Alumni, active, and associate members traded Pi Kapp stories about their experiences in the Fraternity. The turnout for the evening was one of the best in recent years. Read the rest of this entry
Pi Kapps use scaffold to build new perception of people with disabilities
A metal scaffold situated in front of the Pi Kappa Phi House gave the impression that a construction project was soon to get underway. It sparked the question, “What’s going up?” In reality, it was a demolition that had already begun. The Pi Kapps would spend 48 hours perched atop the rigging, hoping for a chance to tear-down false perceptions about people with disabilities. Seeing members on the scaffold was sure to have passersby talking, providing the perfect springboard for conversation. Beta Omicron Chapter is committed to the Fraternity’s philanthropy, Push America. Each year NSU members raise thousands of dollars to fund projects that impact and enhance the lives of those with disabilities. From September 19-21, activities drew other students to rally at the scaffold in the name of service. Read the rest of this entry
Beta Omicron again ranked among top Pi Kappa Phi chapters nationally
Beta Omicron Chapter’s efforts to distinguish itself as a leader in the NSU Greek community are receiving national attention. Pi Kappa Phi National Fraternity has named the Northwesten State University student chapter among the top in the country. Each year, Pi Kappa Phi’s national awards recognize chapters for their leadership, accomplishments, dedication and service to the fraternity. Beta Omicron was named a Champion Master Chapter, a distinction given only to the top chapters of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. In fact, Beta Omicron is one of only 33 to receive the designation, placing the chapter among the top 20 percent of Pi Kappa Phi’s 161 active and associate chapters across the nation. Recipients of this award display overall excellence in the areas of the Seven Objectives: Recruitment Success, Superior Associate Member Education, Academic Achievement, Sound Chapter Operations, Living the Ritual, Commitment to Service and Effective Chapter Alumni Relations. Read the rest of this entry
Still time to make plans for Homecoming 2011
Are you making plans to attend NSU Homecoming? Haven’t been in a few years? Think you won’t know anyone? Think again! We’ve planned our annual NSU Homecoming Reunion around you. There’s something for everyone on our calendar of events. All of our activities are family-friendly, so don’t leave anyone at home. Here’s the perfect opportunity to visit your alma mater and experience our lifelong brotherhood. Lots of exciting things are happening at NSU & Beta Omicron. New buildings are going up on campus, old buildings are coming down, bricks filling up around the Pi Kapp Clock, a recent remodel of the Pi Kapp House is incredible, and don’t forget NSU’s football team is sure to ”wow” you on the field.
We hope you’ll join more than five decades of Pi Kappa Phis and their families as NSU celebrates homecoming activities. Don’t miss a moment of the fun. Parades, barbecues, golf tournaments, alumni socials, and of course Demon Football will certainly create a weekend to remember.
