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BETA ETA
DATASPRING 2018
PI KAPPA PHI FRATERNITY FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITYBETA ETA ALUMNI CHAPTER
On November 10th, 2017, the National office of Pi Kappa Phi announced the revocation of the Beta Eta Chapter charter following the tragic death of Beta Eta Associate Member,
Andrew Coffee, at an off-campus event on November 2, 2017. Andrew was a 20-year old sophomore, civil engineering major from Lighthouse Point, Florida. Our hearts go out to the Coffee family as they deal with the unimaginable loss of their son. This heart-breaking event has
forever changed their lives. Andrew's death has also forever changed the history of the Beta Eta Chapter.
The investigation of the event has been underway and nine Beta Eta brothers have been charged with felony hazing. The nine brothers include members of the Student Chapter's Executive Council in addition to Andrew's big brother. A civil lawsuit has also been filed naming the National Office, the nine Beta Eta brothers mentioned, the Beta Eta House Corporation, the Chapter Advisor and others as defendants.
Overall, Greek Life at Florida State University has clearly been impacted by the tragedy. After an initial ban on all fraternity and sorority functions, Greek organizations are now operating under much greater scrutiny and oversight. The University has recently eased some of the sanctions on Greek activities, but a ban on alcohol and all social functions remains in place indefinitely. Greek organizations are now able to conduct philanthropic activities, although FSU's largest Greek-run philanthropy, Linedance:
Showcase of the Arts, will not be held this year. Pi Kappa Phi was one of five fraternities that hosted this annual event which raised $72,000 for several FSU organizations in 2017. Pi Kapp brothers have routinely served as directors or executive committee members of the event.
Greek organizations were allowed to recruit new members this spring, but rush activities for all Florida State Greek organizations have seen a material decline in participation. President Thrasher has been quoted as demanding a "new normal" before social activities can resume for FSU Greek life. Hazing allegations at other universities, including Texas State, University of Michigan, Montana State University and Ohio State, have prompted similar bans and restrictions.
PRESIDENT'S LETTER
Our current situation regarding the chapter closure and the events revolving around this are quite unfortunate. I am certain your heart skipped a beat before it hit the floor as the gravity of the situation was quickly internalized. As a parent, my heart goes out to the Coffee family first and foremost, but also to all those who have been affected by this event. Other schools followed Florida State's response with a pause on social activities (even without incident) as a time of reflection on a series of other non-related fraternal deaths happened in the recent past.
We live in a constantly changing era as technological, political, legal, and social environments evolve. In a time where school and church shootings happen, social media is at your fingertips (recording everything), and you have access to anything with a push of a button….governance review is important. I know through discussions with the National Office that this is a heightened topic with other national fraternal
Sco� Middlebrooks
continued
Beta Eta Chapter Closure
BETA ETA
DATABetaEtaAlumniChapter,Inc.P.O.Box11244Tallahassee,[email protected]
The Beta Eta Data is published by theBeta Eta Alumni Chapter, Inc. Pleasesubmit questions, comments and correctionsto Katie Baker at [email protected].
NOTESNAMES|Thenumberaftereachnameinthisnewsletterrepresentstheyearofinitiation.
NEEDTOFINDABROTHER?TheBHACwouldlikeyoutostayconnectedwithfellowBetaEtabrothers.Emailusatfsupikappalumni@yahoo.comtorequestcontactinformtionforalumniyouwouldliketocontact.
PUBLISHINGNOTICETheBETAETADATAistypicallypublishedonetotwotimesayearbyavolunteerteam.
CHAPTERETERNALThefollowingbrotherswerereportedtotheNationalFraternityashavingpassedtotheChapterEternalsincethelastpublication.
www.BetaEta.com2
DerronRobertJohns'90BH80612/17/67-2/21/18
LeoTyrusGregory'62BH2131/1/44-11/5/17
GordonLeeMize'60BH1759/27/39-10/27/17
MichaelGeorgeO'Dair'64BH2723/24/45-8/31/17
BobbyCarltonWhite'57BH11211/1/33-5/11/17
WillieRupertMock,Jr.'59BH1408/21/39-4/5/17
PhilipDorseyCampbell'57BH5853/18/37-deceaseddatenotfoundJohnPatrickAdams'54BH655/27/35-deceaseddatenotfound
Ready to join or renew your dues? Dues are only $35 per year and are vital to the success of your alumni chapter. Go to betaeta.com and click Membership.
PRESIDENT'S LETTER continued
boards, universities, legal councils, and 3rd party groups. Regarding our local organization, I think the question we're faced with currently is, where do we (BHAC) go from here?
The Alumni Chapter is charged with helping sustain the fraternal bonds that we worked so hard to create in college and beyond. Those friendships will endure time on their own, but the BHAC helps keep those connections alive through constant updates and is a central pillar (along with BHHC) for the sustainability of our chapter as a whole. We will continue with our mission as we have previously done when faced with a chapter closure and will continue to deliver relevant alumni newsletters and foster meaningful events that promote brotherhood. I think informing people that we are committed to this for the long term is important.
Right now we have renewed our focus on local events, which we would like to have more frequently. To be honest, we could use your assistance to bolster these efforts, and we would like to add additional local “social” committee chairs to promote these activities. If you care to become active with the BHAC then please contact us to learn more. It is relatively easy, takes very little time, but does require a bit of initiative. However, if a social committee role isn't in your wheelhouse, then please consider simply supporting our cause financially. We hope this organization delivers value to you through the many mediums we manage.
Regarding social events, we will be having our annual meeting in Orlando this year on April 21st at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando. If you can make the drive, we would love to see you there. Also, don't forget to join our FB group. We actively manage it with brother updates, general comments, and event details that are more real time than the newsletter. Just search for Beta Eta Alumni Chapter!
In conclusion, we still have a long uphill challenge with university sanctions, legal suits, asset management, and general morale. But we have fortitude and a very engaged volunteer network, which gives us the strength to persevere.
Fraternally,
Scott MiddlebrooksBHAC President BH 1002
“The Alumni Chapter is charged with helping sustain the fraternal bonds that we worked so hard to create in college and beyond.”
The Closing of the Chapter House | BHHCWhen BHHC learned of the charter revocation, we, along with Justin Angotti, Pi Kappa Phi Assistant Executive Director of Prevention & Accountability, and Robyn Brock, Associate Director of the Oglesby Union, met with the undergraduate members. We explained that the suspension necessitated the closing of the house, and we presented the timeline they had to secure alternative housing.
Because of the negative attitude from other Greek organizations on campus, the front of the chapter house was immediately boarded up to limit vandalism. With the help of Lew Elliott '15 and John Frazier-Strickland '09, we were able to secure the house letters, composites, awards, and other chapter assets and place them in a climate-controlled storage unit. The star-shield insignia along with the personalized pavers that were installed in 2015 were also moved to storage for safekeeping.
Although all chapter activity had been suspended, we allowed the students to live in the house through the end of the Fall semester and gave them until January 15 to finish moving out their belongings. As the students moved out, their rooms were also boarded up. Any furniture that was left in the rooms and in good repair was then donated to Boys Town North Florida's families in need.
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BETA ETAMarshall ATKINSON '84 BH 634 Marshall, his wife Jody, and their son Jack (8th grade) recently moved to Gilbert, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix. Before settling in AZ, they lived in Tallahassee, Milwaukee, and Memphis. He is still in the t-shirt industry but now has his own consulting firm, Atkinson Consulting (https://atkinsontshirt.com). Marshall also writes industry articles for trade magazines and has his own column in Screenprinting Magazine called "The Marshall Plan." He's also the host of the leading decorated apparel industry podcast, The Big Idea, which airs new episodes every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If that's not enough, he volunteers for a promotional marketing industry thought leadership group called the PromoKitchen and serves on the board of directors for the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership and the Specialty Graphics Imaging Association. He'd love to catch up with any [email protected]
ALUMNI UPDATESBrian JUNGLING '84 BH 641After graduating with a humanities degree in 1993, Brian sold his house, all his furniture, his truck, and bought a one-way ticket to Seattle. There, he took a hotel general manager position in Issaquah, WA. Since that time, Brian has lived in Atlanta, Nashville, Columbus, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, and he currently lives in Tampa. He has an awesome blended family with his fiancé, Tina. Between them, they have 5 children between the ages of 15
and 21. Currently, Brian owns a hotel operations consulting firm, but he recently invented a new product and holds two US patents for a truck-mounted hammock frame system used for tailgating (see photo). Brian hopes to launch the branded hammock frame, Trammock, on Kickstarter in March of 2018. Check out his
product on Facebook (@trammock) or at www.trammock.com.
Rob McCANNELL '90 BH 804Rob is the Science Department Chair at a rural middle-senior high combo school in Nassau County, FL. After graduating from FSU in Fall '92, Rob continued his education at both Southern Methodist University and at the University of Florida, recently earning a Masters in Education from UF. He lives in Fernandina Beach, FL with his wife Ansleigh and daughters, Lauren (14) and Erin (9). Lauren currently has the misfortune of having her father as her 8th-grade science teacher. Rob is also President of the Fernandina Beach Kiwanis Club and attends several FSU games each fall. Rob's favorite Pi Kapp memories are football weekends and random Thursday afternoons on the deck. He'd enjoy getting back in touch with anyone who was around from '88 to '93. Editor's note: I have confirmed that Rob was in fact wearing a FSU shirt underneath his graduation gown. [email protected]
Jeff PUJALS '94 BH 1054Jeff recently moved from Miami to San Francisco after receiving a job promotion. He now works as a District Business Manager in the Inflammation and Immunology Division of Pfizer, managing both Northern California and Nevada.
Kennedy NILSSON '09 BH 1500In February of this year, Kennedy commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves. He also works for Raymond James in Boca Raton, FL.
Casey SQUIRES '10 BH 1531Casey resides in Tampa, FL and works as a medical sales rep for Halo, a wound care company. He travels quite a bit for work, covering all of Florida and Georgia. He is currently engaged to Kady Diaz, and the two have set a date to get married on April 28th, 2018. When looking back on his time in the chapter, his fondest memories come from living at the house and all the various
activities. Casey would like to hear from his pledge brothers (Beta Class, Spring 2010) as well as other guys who were in the chapter around that time. [email protected]
Erik EINGORN '03 BH 1356Eric has been living in the VA suburbs of Washington D.C. for about 8 years. He works for Booz Allen Hamilton as a Human Capital Strategic Consultant and is happily married with a 3 year old daughter and a 1.5 year old son. His fondest Beta Eta memories are Moondance and other social events. Eric would love to hear from the brothers of the Alpha Rho class. [email protected]
Diego A. FERRADAS ‘12 BH 1633After graduating in the spring of 2015, Diego moved back down to South Florida. He works as an Apparel Brand Director for Frattire and as a sports photographer. Check out his website ( ) and follow him www.diegoaferradas.comon Instagram @diegoaferradas
Beta Eta Alumni ChapterP.O. Box 11244Tallahassee, FL 32302-3244
The mission of the Beta Eta Alumni Chapter is to enhance the lifelong fraternal experience for Beta Eta alumni bymaintaining an active alumni group that is dedicated to connecting alumni with each other and to their fraternityby providing timely communication of relevant alumni news and organizing meaningful events. This group shall promote the ideals of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity as expressed in our Ritual of Initiation and Supreme Laws and
encourage Beta Eta alumni to renew their lifetime pledge to the brotherhood of this fraternity.
REMEMBER
34 YEARS AGO
Brothers and alumni relaxing after a Chapter house work party.
continued from page 2
BHHC is continuing to work with FSU and others to secure a long-term tenant. A few possible solutions are: leasing the property to another fraternity or sorority, utilizing a management company to rent the rooms individually, or leasing the facility to a scholarship foundation or student religious organization. We hope to have secured a tenant and have the house move-in ready by this summer.
Because all Homecoming activities were cancelled, we decided to postpone the House Corporation's annual business meeting until the BHAC annual meeting in Orlando, April 21, 2018.
I hope you will join us in Orlando this year for a weekend of fun, brotherhood, and comradery.
Fraternally,Chris Anderson, Beta Eta House Corp PresidentBH1174
NOTE: The House Corporation continues to seek new volunteers who have a passion for the fraternity and/or property management. If you have interest in volunteering, or have additional questions about the BHHC, please contact Chris Anderson at [email protected].
Annual Meeting for Alumni Chapter & House CorporationSaturday, April 21, 2018 | 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Grand Bohemian Hotel, Orlando
Social in the Grand Bohemian Lounge following the business meeting. Optional group dinner. Spouses welcome. Business Casual.
