Written By: The Emerald Province Archon of the Quarter
Jeff Cline (North Carolina State ’85)
Jeff Cline has been very engaged with our chapters in the greater Atlanta area these past few months. In addition to his primary duties as the South Atlantic Province Archon, Cline has dedicated his time and effort to rebuild Epsilon-Alpha Chapter at Kennesaw State University. The Chapter at KSU has dwindled to only a handful of brothers, and Cline has organized Epsilon-Alpha, and nearby UGA (Alpha-Phi) alumni to support this project. With the assistance of many others, Cline has communicated with the Executive Office to schedule growth and recruitment visits and also invited Grand Sage Palazzolo to speak with potential new members and brothers. In late March, Cline hosted the South Atlantic Province Workshop in which over 30 men received continuing education in fraternal, personal, and professional development.
Chapter Director of the Quarter
Kevin Elliott (Ohio Northern ’85)
Kevin Elliott has only recently become a volunteer with the Fraternity within the last two years. Elliott is an alumnus of Ohio Northern University (Zeta) and took the opportunity to become the Chapter Director at Miami University (Eta-Phi). Since being appointed CD, Elliott has quickly become a central part of Eta-Phi’s advisory team. As one of the few alumni within miles of the university, Elliott has been an important key to Eta-Phi’s success as the Chapter adapts to Miami University’s new expectations and guidelines for fraternities there. Elliott often attends every Chapter meeting and is as involved as possible. He has coordinated meetings with Executive Office staff when a Chapter visit was made, and he even participated in meetings with the campus Fraternity/Sorority staff. While CD for Eta-Phi, Elliott has also had the pleasure to see his Chapter recharter at Ohio Northern in April 2018. The Executive Office is eager to continue working with Elliott in the future.
Sage of the Quarter
Tier 1 – Alex Ewald (Cornell ’17)
Alex Ewald has further enhanced Mu’s reputation and presence on Cornell’s campus. Since becoming Sage, Ewald has worked with his Herald to review and improve their new member education plan, and their efforts have improved Mu’s retention rate from new member to initiated brother to 100%. Ewald meets with campus advisers to discuss ways that Mu can develop unique ways to make fraternities more inclusive. Mu has added a Diversity and Inclusion Committee in their Chapter, Ewald and his brothers use this weekly time to learn more about each other, and to identify strategies to reduce the barriers to entry for others who may wish to join similar organizations to Sigma Pi. Furthermore, Fraternity/Sorority Life staff at Cornell University consider Mu Chapter to be the role model organization on their campus; often credited to Ewald’s excellent communication with their office, Mu’s 3.5 cumulative GPA and the Chapter’s heavy involvement in the FSL community. Both scholarship and community involvement have been Ewald’s main areas of focus.
Tier 2 – Floris Van Rossum (Worcester Polytechnic ’17)
Floris Van Rossum of Gamma-Iota Chapter, Worcester Polytechnic, is the Sage of this Quarter for assisting his Chapter in going above and beyond in all categories. The Chapter has historically been highly competitive on a national level and is on track to be the same way for the upcoming biennium. Whether it has been philanthropy, community service, finances, etc. the Chapter has gone above and beyond. Gamma-Iota has also worked to keep up with their alumni recently hosting two alumni events including an alumni ski trip and video game tournament. Aside from the hard work the Chapter has put in internally, they have also been involved with the greek community on their campus participating in events such as Sigma Pilates with Alpha Phi and bowling with Chi Omega. While doing these things as a Chapter, Van Rossum was able to lend a helping hand to another group across the country with their own programming as they worked to improve areas of their operations that needed further development. Van Rossum has demonstrated with his leadership at Worcester Polytechnic and his communication with the Executive Office what it means to be the Sage of the Quarter.
Tier 3 Sage – Lee Tamburello (Montclair ’17)
Lee Tamburello has done a tremendous amount of work getting his Chapter headed in the right direction. He has become a leader to his Executive Council, his Chapter, and on Montclair State University’s campus. He has gotten New Jersey alumni involved to assist the Chapter when needed. He has been in constant communication with the Executive Office to ensure that Iota-Iota is doing everything they can to ensure the success of their Chapter. Recently, the Chapter held their annual Miss Sigma Pi and they will also be hosting a Donate Life BBQ later in the semester. Tamburello hopes to continue the positive work currently being done by the Chapter with the hope that they will be the best at Montclair State University. Through his efforts in recent months, Tamburello is deserving of the title, Sage of the Quarter for Tier 3.
Tier 4 – Dylan Keith (Southern Arkansas ’18)
Over the past quarter, Dylan Keith has taken initiative in helping Epsilon-Kappa change the way they are recruiting new members. By doing this, the Chapter was able to recruit eight new members. Epsilon-Kappa recruited the most men for this semester and almost doubled their Chapter size! Keith would like to this energy going and lead an even bigger recruitment effort in the future. Another task Keith wanted to tackle was socializing with different organizations on campus and getting to know more people in the community. Epsilon-Kappa was able to do this by having a game night event with the International Student Association and encouraged the campus community to participate. Lastly, the Chapter was able to partner with Tri Sigma and put on a Mental Health Awareness event. Keep up the great work!