Tag: Chakett

Delta Zeta Covers The Chakett – AGAIN!

You read that right – Delta Zeta has made the cover of the Spring Issue of Chi Phi’s national magazine, The Chi Phi Chakett in the form of the Chapter’s current Beta, Miles C. White.  One of the magazine’s lead stories is about the recent Alpha’s Academy, a program designed specifically to prepare Chi Phi men to serve as Alphas for their Chapter.   10273414_10151975616151717_6199169853545739392_nBrother White has always wanted to go to a National Chi Phi Congress and learn all that he could about the Fraternity, how it works at other schools, and to basically find out if Chi Phi’s were “awesome” nationwide.  He found his opportunity in the Alpha’s Academy, which turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of his life!

For Brother White, the Alpha’s Academy did exactly what it sets out to do – it better prepares an inexperienced exec board member to be the ideal Chi Phi president.  “It shows us our leadership styles and highlights our weaknesses,” he explained.  “There were also many discussions that were freely based, so we had the opportunity to figure out what our Chapter was doing wrong and some possible solutions.  I spent lots of time networking with other Alphas to try and get advice on issues within our Chapter and how we might best address them.  The results have been stupendous.”

Brother White relates an experience he has while having lunch with some other Alphas, 1238211_10200647266079845_1541784739_nspecifically from University of California-Davis and Oregan State.  “I asked them how they tackled Rush Week and Recruitment,” he said.  “They looked at me kind of funny and said, ‘Rush Week isn’t important.’  They went on to explain the idea of True 365 Recruitment.  They helped me realize that Rush events could be anytime, and that we could be having events whenever we wanted.  I brought this back to our Chapter, gave it to my Rush Chair, and we made it happen.”  Since returning, Brother White’s enthusiasm has spread, and the Chapter has had a Recruitment workshop, along with a non-Rush Week recruitment event to specifically encourage potential new members to hang out with Chi Phi.

“Alpha’s Academy gave me all the tools necessary to run a Chapter,” Brother White added.  “As Beta, it has been instrumental in my development.”

For more details about the Alpha’s Academy, and to see Brother White represent the Delta Zeta Chapter on the cover of The Chakett, be sure to check out the Spring Issue, which should be arriving in your mailbox any day now (or, if you can’t wait for the magazine, check out the article online at https://www.chiphi.org/chakettonline/programs/alphas-academy/2014/04/alphas-academy-builds-better-men/).

A Little Chi Phi History … Chi Phi Invents Football at Night!

Russell Guin Alpha Chi 1917 staged the world’s first night football game in 1928 while principal at Westville, Ill., High School-and wrote a booklet about it which led to his life-time publishing career with Interstate Printers and Publishers in Danville, Ill., where he became vice president in 1931, later president and now board chairman.

Night football was born at Westville because Saturday afternoons were dominated by college ball, and fans had to work on Friday afternoons. Guin got his idea by seeing lights blazing at a filling station one night and decided they were bright enough to play football.

 Football at Night

Twenty-five foot poles were cut nearby, with two 1000-watt bulbs backed by reflectors on each. “By today’s standards, we were out in the dark,” Guin recalls. When the visiting team objected to the night game, Guin raised the guarantee from $35 to $200. In addition the lights, reflectors, poles and installation cost 700 all done without the knowledge, much less permission, of the school board.

Fans arrived all day, and some 4000 eventually turned out. The ball was painted white and became slippery in the damp evening, but the home team won and the game ran off “without a hitch,” making $1000 net profit.

When he was besieged by inquiries, he wrote a booklet, “Staging a Night Football Game,” which was printed by Interstate. 10,000 copies were sold, so Guin wrote a second book on staging a high school play, then a third on designing an “Extracurricular Accounting System” which is still in use. Success as a writer led to a job offer by Interstate.

Originally printed in The Chakett Online at https://www.chiphi.org/chakettonline/alumni-updates/2014/01/russell-guin-inventor-of-football-at-night/

Check Out the Chakett!

DSCN2130

The Fall 2013 issue of The Chi Phi Chakett is out!  Hopefully you didn’t put it aside without reading it, because if you did, then you missed out on seeing the Delta Zeta Alumni Association – not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES in this one issue!

On page 15, the Chakett highlights innovative ways that various Chapters and DSCN2126Alumni Associations help increase their College Excellence Funds.  Xi Delta (from the Florida Institute of Technology) uses excess housing funds, Iota Delta Alumni Association (from Indiana University) sold Kroger gift cards, and – – yes, that’s right, the Delta Zeta Alumni Association is highlighted for its first annual golf tournament!  While we didn’t quite meet the $10,000 goal mentioned in the article, the tournament was still a success, and it is definitely exciting to see our Association’s fundraising efforts mentioned for all Chi Phi to see!

Then, on the very next page (page 16), we find an article that congratulates all of the winners of the 2013 Chi Phi Scholarships.  If you look closely at that picture of the men DSCN2127who were recognized at the Congressional Awards Banquet and Scholarship Luncheon, you’ll see our very own alumnus, Brother David Ebner, who was the recipient of a Neel Scholarship!  The Neel Scholarship was created from a $250,000 bequest provided to Chi Phi by Ms. Eugenia Neel, who provided this gift in honor of her father and brothers, all of whom were Chi Phi men!  Congratulations goes out to Brother Ebner for being selected as a scholarship recipient!

And last, but certainly not least, way back near the end on page 41, you’ll see a nearly half-page picture of the Delta Zeta DSCN2129Alumni Association from their volunteering efforts at Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay.  This picture originally was shown on the Chakett online magazine, but to have it published in the print edition of the Chakett is an incredible thrill, to know that the National Office, in printing this issue, felt the DZAA’s community service worthy of acknowledging in such a way!  Snaps to Brothers Purdon, Shah, Ebner, Suarez, Millsap, Dafnis, and Holm for their volunteering efforts!

If you didn’t read the Chakett, go back and read it now – see how your Alumni Association is on the move in 2013 and get ready to get involved as we move on the even greater things in 2014!