Tag: Brothers

Where Are They Now? – Steve Van Gorden

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Whatever happened to Steve Van Gorden?  As a part of the Iota pledge class back in Fall 1993, Steve Van Gorden graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor’s in Secondary Social Studies Education.   Brother Van Gorden now resides in Spring Hill, where he is a Real Estate Associate.  Previously married to AOPI Jenny Fetch, he is blessed with two wonderful children – a daughter, Kaitlyn (age 13) and a son, Aiden (age 9).

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Brother Van Gorden remains in contact with his fellow Chi Phi Alumni Bruce Cummings (Theta Delta, UF) and Chip Woodard – but he wishes he had better contact with Gil Peri, who he remembers as a very outgoing and friendly guy with a bright future!  “Chi Phi taught me the importance of friendship and loyalty,” Brother Van Gorden says, “I learned that a man’s word is his bond!”

In the News – Chip Woodard and More!

One unchanging fact in this life is that no matter how hard we try, we all get 1395162_10151749320951848_1599654904_nolder.  Even those of us in the Chi Phi Fraternity.  But getting older doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate, and celebrate the DZAA did on Saturday, October 12, 2013 in honor of Brother Chip Woodard’s 45th birthday!  Some of the gang, including Brian Harff and Jeff West, got together at Duke’s Retired Surfer’s Island Bar (which was NOT a reflection of the age thing, by the way!) in Tampa to wish Brother Woodard well, share a few drinks, and swap a few stories.

1383315_10102186231216961_865510216_nMeanwhile, last week on October 8th, Matthew Whitney, Kyle Schlenker, Luke Allen, and Chris Hopkins got together (along with Matt’s and Luke’s spouses) to watch the Rays go up against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.  While the Rays may have lost against the Red Sox, 1 to 3, the DZ alumni still managed to have a good time.

If you’ve got news or an announcement, please let us know so that we can post it here and all of your Brothers can share in it!

Around the Peninsula with Chi Phi – Nu Delta Honors a Fallen Brother

The Nu Delta Chapter of Chi Phi hosted the John Tinsley Memorial 5k Run on September 22, 2013 in honor of their fallen brother, John Tinsley.  Although the weather was not conducive for the event, Nu Delta still managed to turn the Run into an extremely successful affair. Overall, more than $3,500 was raised for ROTC Scholarships and the Wounded Warrior Project.

tinsley_john_lgFor those who are unaware, Captain John Tinsley, 28, was killed August 12, 2009 by an improvised explosive device strike to his vehicle during a routine patrol in the Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan while serving with company B of 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. Throughout time, there have always been citizens of this great country that have gone above and beyond their civil duties. These people put the well-being of society and their country before themselves.  Brother Tinsley exemplified these values.

Nu Delta alumnus, Jason White said one time he and Tinsley went to Potbelly’s and stayed out late the night before they had to go on an early-morning 5K run. Tinsley insisted that White stayed at his place so he could make sure White would wake up on time.  The Nu Delta Alumni Association has taken this memory and turned it into their annual Tinsley 5k Run to recreate something Brother Tinsley loved. Each step taken towards finishing the race is another step taken in ensuring that his memory lives on. The proceeds of the 5k go to the Tinsley Scholarship which is set up to assist FSU ROTC students and to the Wounded Warrior Federation.

The Chapter is thankful to all Chi Phi alumni that came out to celebrate his memory and support the Tinsley family, who traveled from various parts of the country to be in attendance.

(Information for this article was obtained from Nu Delta Alumni Association’s website, https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1486/aff_1_home.aspx?sid=1486, as well as from http://www.wherevent.com/detail/Austin-Engelbrecht-Chi-Phi-presents-the-3rd-Annual-Captain-John-Tinsley-Memorial-5K).