January 2018 Newsletter
HALL OF HONOR
Hall of Honor Inductions Now Every 3 Years
By Joe Beers
Grand Trustee.
Nominating Committee Member
Greetings from the Beta Phi Hall of Honor. Beta Phi Chapter has initiated around 2,000 brothers and our Hall of Honor has 63 members, 21 of whom have passed into the Chapter Eternal. There have been some recent changes to our illustrious group. A new Nominating Committee has been formed and the frequency of new member induction has been modified.
Our next Hall of Honor Induction will be at Homecoming in 2019. We then will host this event with new inductees every three years. The nominating committee will finalize the selection process for new member candidates in October 2018. On the Friday of Homecoming weekend 2019, these new members will be inducted.
Also of note are the semi-annual luncheons in Phoenix hosted by the Hall of Honor. All brothers (not just HOH members) are welcome to these luncheons, which feature top-shelf speakers. We host one in the spring and one in the fall, typically at Phoenix Country Club. Keep an eye out for information about our next luncheon. Guard well brothers and should you have any questions about the Hall of Honor please reach out to me at joebeers.sigmachi@gmail.com or 602.717.5455.
The new nominating members are Marc Blackman ’82, Larry Hecker ’69, Joe Markling ’80, and Steve Seiler ’63. They replace Paul Muscenti ’58, Lisle Payne ’64, and Jon Underwood ’64
In addition, Joe Beers ’83 and Steve McNamee ’67 (committee chairman) will remain on the committee.
Golfing buddies
Hall of Honor member Burt Kinerk, center, played golf at a College Football Hall of Fame outing at Tucson National with UA grads Eddie Leon, a former Yankees shortstop, left, and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, right.
Photo courtesy of Greg Hansen
BETA PHI CONSUL
New Consul
Engineering student Joey Mccarty, second from left, is the new Consul for Beta Phi this year. Here he’s with from left Nick Kapler, Chad Robertson and Chris McKinney. Mccarty is from Ahwatukee, Arizona, and attended Desert Vista High School.
Consul’s Report
Brothers,
On Dec. 12 we swore in the new Consul, Joey Mccarty. I am very confident that he will continue to advance the Beta Phi chapter and continue our strong legacy.
I just wanted to reach out and say thank you to all of you for your support and for your help. This chapter would not be what it is without you. This experience truly has been one of the most beneficial opportunities I ever had.
I was asked to give a quick recap of the last year:
- We have initiated 30 new brothers
- We raised over $26,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute
- We upheld our reputable GPA
- We have implemented a whole new risk management procedure (including hiring professional security for each event) and have gone over a year without a risk management incident
- We won another Peterson award.
Again, thank you all for everything. It has been an absolute honor serving our chapter. Still, if there is ever anything I can do. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Always proud,
Riley Campbell
SIGMA CHI LEADERSHIP
Brother Bill Scott, Beta Phi ’80, has been promoted to associate executive director of Sigma Chi Fraternity.
As the associate executive director, he is responsible for managing the Fraternity's accountability, chapter support, and expansion teams.
Brother Scott had been senior director of undergraduate services.
He is a Chicago native who, after taking a brief 38-year trip to Arizona, returned to Evanston, Illinois, and joined the International Headquarters staff in March 2012. Prior to coming to headquarters, he was a Sigma Chi volunteer for 18 years serving as chapter advisor and grand praetor, or regional governor. He also worked in his family's business for 25 years.
Brother Scott began his long service to the Sigma Chi Fraternity in 1986 as chapter advisor to the Beta Phi Chapter during the years 1986 - 1989, and again in 1992 - 1997. He served as vice president and treasurer for the Sigma Chi Building Company (Beta Phi House Corporation) from 1982 - 1992.
Brother Scott has attended the Sigma Chi Leadership Training Workshop for 19 years and has served on the faculty for this event seven times on both the consuls’ and questors’ pisions. He has attended Sigma Chi Fraternity Grand Chapter numerous times.
Brother Scott is a member of the Beta Phi Hall of Honor.
Of his days at the Beta Phi Chapter as an undergraduate and of his many years as the Southwestern Province grand praetor, Brother Scott says, “Sigma Chi has been a large part of my life since pledging in 1979. I have gained so many close friends and business contacts through my fraternity. My greatest joy is to have watched hundreds of young men mature and grow into a successful business, professional, and community leaders, and I take great joy in knowing that I have played a role in that development. I continue to receive more from Sigma Chi than I have given and I am proud and feel fortunate to be a Sigma Chi.”
Congratulations Brother Scott.
Sigma Chi leaders gather at a recent dinner in Tucson. They are from left, Grand Trustee Joe Beers, Past Grand Consul S. Jack McDuff, Grand Pro Consul Steve Schuyler, Grand Consul Tommy Geddings, and Executive Director Mike Church.
CHAPTER ADVISOR’S REPORT
Worthy Brothers,
I am honored to serve as Beta Phi’s newest chapter adviser. Back in 2008, a small group of men asked me to join their colony in the attempt reinstate Sigma Chi at The University of Arizona. Their goal was to develop an organization that seeks inpiduals with different temperaments, talents, and convictions while sharing a common belief in an ideal. Nearly a decade later, I am happy to share that these goals and the spirit of Sigma Chi is alive and well at Beta Phi.
While serving as assistant chapter advisor last year, I was able to observe and identify a few things that I will have the chapter focus on this year. Interestingly enough, they all start with the letter R. They are; recruitment, ritual and risk management.
In the past few years, we have had issues with recruitment with regards to legacies and the interaction between alumni and the chapter. New procedures were implemented to mitigate this issue over the summer, and I am happy with the progress made. Out of 1,700 candidates and 50+ legacy recommendations, the undergraduates narrowed it down to 22 immerging leaders that make our current fall rush class.
Last year I observed some opportunities for improvement in our Ritual with regards to chapter meetings and the Investiture. I am in the process of asking alumni and international headquarters for support to help our chapter get back to the book.
This year we will also continuously improve our risk management procedure. It is our priority to keep our members and guests safe while maintaining a positive partnership with the university.
If any of you have further questions or would enjoy visiting the house, feel free to reach me at Fauset@me.com or 928.606.4201.
Always proud,
Ryan Faust
GRAND TRUSTEE’S REPORT
The news from the general fraternity is, in a word, good. In June, Grand Chapter was held in Providence Rhode Island. Tommy Geddings was elected as our new Grand Consul and our own Beta Phi Steve Schuyler was elected as Grand Pro Consul. I was appointed to fill Schuyler’s role as Grand Trustee, overseeing chapter housing and alumni engagement in Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
By just about any measure, Sigma Chi International Fraternity is excellent condition. We have undergraduate chapters on 242 collegiate campuses with 16,000 undergraduate members and 250,000 living alumni. We represent less than 1 percent of the student body population, yet we have student body presidents on 12% of those campuses. That is leadership.
Our undergraduates committed over 540,000 service hours last year (over 30 hours per brother) and we raised over $1.5 million for the Huntsman Center, which is working tirelessly to find a cure for cancer. The Sigma Chi Foundation has more assets than the next nine fraternities combined. Last year, over $400,000 in scholarships was awarded to undergraduate brothers, dwarfing all other fraternities. Our fraternity continues to be the leader in the Greek world but we have set our sights on even higher goals.
Grand Consul Geddings has asked us all to, “expect more.” He has set his sights on growing alumni engagement and has expanded the role of the Grand Trustees to accomplish that goal. Beta Phi has been good at this historically and we look to build upon that success while also helping other alumni groups grow.
Congratulate Brother Schuyler when you see him and we hope to see you all at Homecoming!
Joe Beers
Grand Trustee
SIGNIFICANT SIG
Brother L. Richard “Rick” Fried Jr. has become the 27th Beta Phi to be selected as a Significant Sig.
He is a highly successful Hawaii lawyer and civic leader who graduated from the University of Arizona law school in 1966
Brother Fried is one of the founding members of the Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina and Fairbanks law firm in Honolulu and has practiced law for over 40 years. He has a national reputation in the fields of medical malpractice (having obtained 50 verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million) and aviation law.
He is listed in a number of lawyers' directories including the Best Lawyers in America. Brother Fried was in 1984 and 2001 the president of the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii. He was the recipient of the Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii's first trial lawyer of the year award in 1994.
He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court to serve on the Judicial Evaluation Committee for the State of Hawaii and the Chief Judge of the Hawaii Federal District Court to serve as a delegate to the federal district judges’ conference.
A lifelong tennis player, Brother Fried was the captain of the University of Arizona varsity tennis team where amongst other world-class opponents he played Arthur Ashe. He ranked as high as number 3 in his U.S. age group in singles and number 4 in doubles.
During college, Brother Fried joined the Arizona Air National Guard. After completing navigator school, he was based at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu whose squadron mission was to deliver supplies to Viet Nam. Post active duty, Fried served for several years with the Hawaii Air National Guard and then became the Liaison Officer Commander for Hawaii for the Air Force Academy. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.
He has been the campaign chair for the Honolulu Symphony, vice chair of the Hawaii Theatre Board of Directors, and on the Shriners Hospital for Children Campaign Steering Committee, a member of the Board of Directors.
Gabel, ’84, Named Co-Mentor of Year
The following article is from the Phoenix Business Journal about 2012 Hall of Honor recipient Barry Gabel.
With a career in commercial real estate spanning 33 years with transactions totaling 27 million square feet and $4 billion in value, it’s certain Barry Gabel, known as ‘Uncle Barry’ at CBRE, has a breadth of knowledge and advice to share.
And he does just that. On Saturday mornings, you’ll likely find Gabel surrounded by a handful of bright-eyed, driven sales professionals eager to learn his tricks of the trade.
From office and industrial brokers to property managers, Gabel’s four guiding principles remain the same: demonstrate accountability, be honest, always do the right thing and work hard. While none of these are groundbreaking ideas, Gabel knows staying the course can be difficult in a career full of competing demands.
“Heartache is part of this business because we can’t always control the outcome of a deal,’ Gabel says. “Success comes from relying on those four values.
”He has instilled these values in Jackie Orcutt and his business partner, Chris Marchildon, who say before being a broker, Gabel is a coach and father figure.
“I was about to graduate from Arizona State University and a relative told me to call Barry. Seeing how busy he is now, I can’t believe he took 45 minutes out of his day to talk to a 22-year-old,” Orcutt said. ‘We had several follow-up discussions that helped me come to the answers I needed to join the right team."
During the downturn in 2010, Gabel added Marchildon to his team. Gabel said he wanted to teach Marchildon the business while the market was at its worst.
“Only a quality team can achieve quantity,” Gabel says.
Marchildon said Gabel lives what he preaches at work and at home.
“If you make a mistake, he steers you in the right direction. He enjoys seeing people thrive,” Marchildon said.
Gabel has been a mentor for NAIOP Developing Leaders Mentorship program for three years and has mentored inpiduals at competing firms. He supports numerous charities, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix, where he has been on the executive council/EC70 for 31 years, serving as past president and a life member and passionately involved with the Warner A. Gabel Boys & Girls Club, which is named after his late father.
He also is a founding member of the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Golf Tournament that raised more than $5.7 million for deserving children and families throughout Arizona.
Gabel, who was instrumental in the sales of both the Apollo Education Group Inc. and PetSmart’s headquarters buildings, joined CBRE in 2007 as a part of the merger with Trammell Crow Co. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Arizona.
Brother Richard Carranza, Beta Phi ’91, has been named the UA’s College of Education Alumni of the Year.
The UA noted that Carranza “is an accomplished and highly regarded educator who is committed to improving the lives of all students."
After earning a bachelor's in secondary education from the UA in 1991, he began his teaching career at Tucson's Pueblo High School, his alma mater. He became vice principal and later principal at Pueblo before moving to Las Vegas, where he served as a high school principal and then as region superintendent for Clark County Schools.
After five years in Las Vegas, he became deputy superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, where he took over as superintendent in 2012.
Today, Carranza is superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, one of the largest public school systems in the country. He has led the development of a Children's Outcomes Framework to mobilize city, county and community resources. Approved by voters, the framework generates $150 million each year to fund services for children, youth, and families.
SIGMA CHI INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
Sigma Chi International Fraternity, one of the nation’s largest collegiate fraternities, today announced five new policies aimed at improving the fraternal experience for its undergraduate members. These policy changes address important issues affecting the fraternal industry and are designed to help foster a safe and healthy environment at Sigma Chi’s more than 240 chapters around the world.
Over the past several years, alcohol abuse and hazing have been top concerns on college campuses across North America. Fraternities especially have been engulfed in controversies around these issues, and in 2017, media coverage was dominated by stories about dangerous behaviors at fraternal organizations.
Sigma Chi’s Executive Committee recognized a need to make significant changes to the fraternity culture and took action. After completing an extensive review of its existing policies, the organization developed a plan to tackle the issues of alcohol abuse and hazing and help protect members and pledges from encountering risky and potentially tragic situations.
Sigma Chi’s policy changes and action steps include:
- Reinforcement of its policy on the presence of alcohol in connection with recruitment and pledging events
to reaffirm the position that alcohol be banned at these events. - Prohibition of hard alcohol in chapter facilities, effective Feb. 1, 2018.
- Mandate that chapter pledge education programs do not exceed a period of five weeks in duration, effective
Aug. 1, 2018. - Elimination of alcohol at social events during the period when chapters are undergoing recruitment or
pledging, effective Aug. 1, 2018. - A cap on the size of social events by limiting the number of guests that each undergraduate can have at
them to three, effective Aug. 1, 2018.
With these changes, Sigma Chi continues to be a leader in encouraging change in the fraternal industry. Over the last four decades, the organization has employed several policy changes, tactics and strategies aimed at providing a safe, memorable and values-centric experience for its members.
“Alcohol abuse and hazing are two of the most critical issues facing the fraternal industry, and we’re determined to create meaningful and lasting changes that will ultimately eliminate these unacceptable behaviors,” said 70th Grand Consul Tommy Geddings Jr., South Carolina ’85, of Sigma Chi International Fraternity. “These policies are a step in the right direction and will help ensure that Sigma Chi is providing a safe and positive space that inspires growth and leadership for our members.”
Sigma Chi International Fraternity was founded in 1855 upon the high-minded principles of friendship, justice and learning. It aims to develop values-based leaders committed to the betterment of character, campus and community.
For more information about the new policies please visit sigmachi.org/policychanges.
Sigma Chi is one of the largest collegiate fraternities with undergraduate chapters at 242 universities and colleges and more than 250,000 living alumni members. Sigma Chi provides a welcoming environment for young men of different temperaments, talents and convictions to enjoy a unique lifelong bond that extends far beyond college.
Through world-class leadership training, extensive mentoring programs, and a strong focus on academic achievement, Sigma Chi sets itself apart as the preeminent collegiate leadership development organization, challenging its members to live by its core values and exemplify character-in-action in every aspect of their lives, and the lives of others.
Brothers, as co-chairman of the Executive Committee, I wanted to inform you all of these policy changes. Watch, as I have time, for more clarifications and how all of this impacts the chapter.
Steve Schuyler
Grand Pro Consul
CHAPTER ETERNAL
Twelve Beta Phis who we know of entered the Chapter Eternal in 2017. All Honor to Their Names.
- DJ Buttke - Beta Phi 1986 (1/20/17) Prescott, AZ
- Earl Carroll - Beta Phi 1948 - 2/03/17 - Phoenix, AZ
- Peter Corpstein - Beta Phi 1952 - Scottsdale, AZ (12/17)
- John Colyer - Beta Phi ‘59 - Portland OR (6/17)
- William "Bill" Earl Evans Sr. - Beta Phi ’52 - Phoenix, AZ (6/17)
- Jim Geist - Beta Phi 1960 - (9/17)
- George E. Greene - Beta Phi 1950 (1/20/17)
- Henry Lee Harrison - Beta Phi 1956 (2/10/17)
- Brian Nagel - Beta Phi 1992 - Scottsdale, AZ (6/17)
- Grant Edward Smith - Beta Phi 1969 - Tucson, AZ (12/16)
- Robert S. Svob - Beta Phi 1941 (8/2017)
- John B. ‘Jack’ Trimble - Beta Phi 1950 (1/10/17)
- Jim Ward - Beta Phi, 1960 - Abilene, Texas (1/18)
If you take the time to read about these brothers, you find some extraordinary stories of their lives.
If you know of a Beta Phi who passes away, please notify Jim Johnson at jwjtucson@centurylink.net.
