VOLUME 11, ISSUE 2 - FALL 2007

ETA UPDATEBack to SchoolChapter Places 7th in Greek Week and Plans For Busy Semester

By Jon Decker, #226, Historian Eta Upsilon has been very busy this semester at Miami thus far. Recruitment events have be-gun, and we are hard at work re-cruiting the next class of future Pi Kapps which will undoubtedly carry on the legacy of men of CLASS. In addition to recruit-ment, the chapter has just finished Greek Week. This was a week which all brothers, alumni and ac-tive, should be very proud of. The chapter placed second in dodge-ball, second in Bandstand, and sixth in Puddle Pull. Other solid

finishes led the chapter to a sev-enth place finish this year and also gained our chapter countless amounts of respect from other chapters, both fraternities and so-rorities. Additionally, all alumni are invited back for Homecoming week this year, which will be held the second week of October. The house will be decorated, and we will be looking to build on our second place finish last year in the house decorating contest. Also, we will be grilling out and going to the football game that weekend.

So, if you’re in town or live in the area, please consider stopping by for some food, football, and fra-ternity brotherhood! Finally, the chapter will wind down a busy semester in No-vember. The Phi class will be initi-ated the second weekend that

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Alumni InvolvementWith each Eta Update, it is

always nice to hear what our brothers are doing in their lives beyond Miami University. It is also exciting to reconnect with the undergraduate chapter to see how Eta Upsilon continues to thrive at Miami University.

As you wi# read in Matt Wray’s Chapter Advisor article, it is time for us to better organize ourselves as alumni members in order to ensure our chapter wi# continue to prosper at Miami for years to come. As you read this current edition of the Eta Update, please consider what ways you would be wi#ing to assist both the active chapter and the forthcoming alumni chapter.

-Brandon Tudor, #81brandon.tudor@mac.com

month. Additionally, the old guys will be looking to continue their Turkey Bowl domination that

month. Finally, elections will be held the Sunday before Thanksgiv-ing, and all actives are excited about the leadership potential that will come to fruition as the five seniors on the current exec pre-pare to hand over responsibilities to the next generation of Eta Up-s i lon l eaders .

Chapter Advisor’s ReportBy Matt Wray, #121, Chapter Advisor

The chapter has now been back to campus for a while and has been busy getting about the business of strengthening the fraternity. Re-cently, the active brothers held their annual fall retreat. During which they reconnected with one another after a long summer away and came together as a chapter to plan for the future. As a result of their planning and building on the momentum of last school year, they have hit the ground running with recruitment, working hard to ensure another successful recruit-ment year. As you have read in recent Eta Updates, the chapter has cele-brated success after success, whether in recruitment, Push, in-creasing their presence on campus or strengthening the brotherhood. They have be doing the necessarywork to uphold and advance the values we all hold dear. It has been a pleasure to work with such a tal-ented and dedicated group of fra-ternity men and I can say without hesitation that I am proud as ever to be a member of Pi Kappa Phi.

As I consider the recent success of the active chapter, it causes me to turn my thoughts towards Eta Upsilon alumni. Roughly one year ago, we came together in Oxford to celebrate our 10 years of leading on Miami’s campus. Coming on the heals of the successful 10 year celebration, I believe the time has come to be-gin planning for the long term fu-ture of Eta Upsilon - both active and alumni. The needs of planning for the future are two-fold and must encompass both the acquisi-tion of a property in Oxford and the development of a functioning and engaged alumni organization. With respect to acquiring a property, the Housing Corpora-tion has done much work over the last several years. Not only have they ensured the active chapter has a home, they have also begun the necessary work of setting aside the capital that will make purchas-ing a property possible. But to take the next step, we must have a renewed commitment on behalf of Eta Upsilon alumni to make that

possible. But alumni engagement doesn’t end with the physical property. Active and engaged alumni are part and parcel of any fraternity’s success over time. With 243 initiates as of the writing of this article, I believe we’ve reached a critical mass that would allow us to reconstitute some ver-sion of an alumni chapter. An Alumni Chapter would allow us, as HY alumni, to model the way for future generations of HY yet to join our ranks, as well as to recon-nect with one another. To take the next step as a fraternity, we need to fortify our ranks committed and act ive alumni volunteers. Please let me k n o w (matthew.e.wray@us.pwc.com or 513.254.4002) if you have a desire to support these various efforts in the coming months.

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ETA UPSILON PREPARES TO INITIATE PHI CLASSBy Jon Decker, #226, Historian Eta upsilon is proud to an-nounce that the Phi class is cur-rently engaged in their member education process in preparation for their November initiation. The ten young men who comprise this class embody those principles which make us all proud to be Pi Kapps. The Phi class, led by Presi-dent Nick Powell, has entered the fraternity with high expectations from the active chapter. All of these men have exhibited strong leadership skills, and the chairs of the class are actively working to forge strong bonds with the active chapter through brotherhood cookouts, fraternity sporting

events and other events. These events have helped both the asso-ciates and the active chapter get to

know each other better. The alumni should be very confident that, as usual, the newest associate class exhibits great leadership po-tential and will one day be ready to step up and assume leadership roles in the future. When com-

bined with the last class (the Up-silons), one can see that the chap-ter has really made a concerted effort to increase its recruitment efforts and, subsequently, its standing on campus. The 24 men who have comprised our last two classes have held campus-wide PUSH America events and have had numerous other gatherings and events in order to increase our standing. It is with great expecta-tions that we will initiate these newest members into our broth-erhood, and we look forward to the contributions they are certain to make in the pursuit of making our chapter the absolute best it can be.

ALUMNI UPDATESTrevor Minor, #12My wife, Andi, and I are expecting our first child this December. I’m also looking forward to seeing Keith & Wags’ next photo in the Miamian magazine. Pictured are (l to r) Bret Kacher, Neil Gupta, Todd Kacher, and Trevor Minor, taken on September 30 in Cleveland when the Browns beat the Ravens.

Kha Huynh, #40

Kha is currently the Mana ger o f Operat ions & Administartion for ONCAC. S ince April 2005 Kha has served as Executive Ass i s tant for ONCAC. In

addition to his administrative dut ie s Kha ha s a s sumed respons ib i l i t y for the data collection / case management system, working with the CAC Directors training and annual meeting committees, management of our office and physical facility as well as serving as a resource for our member agencies in securing information on a variety of topics. He initiated the implementation

of the use of scanning technology for record-keeping and initiated the idea of the use of a server to streamline the sharing and storage of information. He will also be responsible for the upstart of the new website. In recognition of his service and accomplishments Kha has been promoted to Manager of Operations and Administration.Prior to joining ONCAC, Kha was on the staff of Southeast, Inc. (mental health). An accomplished artist, Kha has developed his own unique style, which many of you have enjoyed in ONCAC awards and gifts.

Joe Heaton, #72

Joe was recently promoted to Leg-islative Director for Congressman Michael R. Turner (OH-3). Joe has

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been working for Congressman Turner since Joe graduated from Penn State, Dickinson School of Law in 2004.

Brandon Tudor, #81

Now in his second year of business school in Orange County, CA, Brandon is currently studying abroad for the fall semester in Bu-dapest, Hungary. Brandon is pictured with +iends during a typical night out in Budapest.

Trevor McGrath, #168

I am teaching math at my alma mater, Mayfield High School.  Still single, but 9 kids, imagine that.  2 of those 3 things are true.  You decide.

Christopher Haedt, #141

I haven’t updated the chapter much about what I have been do-ing in the past couple of years, but a lot has changed. Within the past six months, I have completed my thesis document, graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a Master’s in Architecture, moved from Cincinnati to Co-lumbus, and changed jobs. I was previously at BHDP architecture in Cincinnati, and now I am with Design Group in Columbus. I also got married to my long time girlfriend Allison. She was lava-liered in February of 2003. She graduated from Law school this

summer from the University of Cincinnati, took the bar exam, and is starting work with Jones Day Law firm in Columbus. We also bought a home in Columbus, about two miles north of the OSU campus. We are currently enjoy-ing the down time after the wed-ding and trying to get acclimated to being home owners and starting new jobs.

Anthony Holman, #156

I’ve been married for just over two years now to my wife, Carolyn, and that we ’re living in West Chester, Ohio. I’m a 3L at the University of Dayton School of Law hoping to land a job with a firm in the Cincinnati area.

John McGarry, #129

Sarah and I moved to Denver, CO at the end of June. Sarah is work-ing for RNL Design and I am working at Prima Capital. We are both enjoying our new life in the mile high city. Pictured are John and Sarah at the finish line of the 100mil Aspen/Snowmass Ride for the Cure and at the top of Torreys Peak.

 

Josh Stubenvoll, #182

I just proposed to my girlfriend, Cynthia, of 4 years on Sept. 8th, and the wedding is set for May 2008.

Dan Brewer, #173

Since graduating from the business school in 2005 I’ve been working for Nestle USA in the retail opera-tions division. This past June, I accepted a promotion to retail sales manager, relocating from Clearwater, FL back to Cincinnati, OH. It’s great to be close to Mi-ami again (notably the new Gog-gin) and I’d like to offer help in any way I could as one of the local alumni.

Gary Manka, #166

I’m starting my third year as the Director of Student Activities & Leadership. Both of my daughters graduated from Miami University last year and I am happy for that. College sure costs a lot more nowadays than it used to when I went to school. Gary is pictured with Max Weinberg of the E Street

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Band, taken at a recent NACA con-vention.

Mark Fitzgerald, #39

My wife Dana and I are expecting our first baby in early December. Please let brothers know that it would be fine to send money in lieu of gifts. :)Also, he’s probably too modest to write you about it (and he rarely checks his email, so probably wouldn’t get back to you in time anyway), but Steve Gongola just bought his third McDonald’s fran-chise and was awarded the Golden Bun for Outstanding Franchisee at the annual franchisee meeting. Apparently it’s kind of a big deal, he called me all proud about it, so I thought it would be nice to in-clude that in any update.

Ben Winfree, #31

My wife (Susie) and I live in the Outer Banks of NC where I have my medical practice. We have two daughters, Kara 3 and Brooke 1. Life is good on the coast, enjoying the warm weather and relaxed life-style. Ben is pictured with his family, taken at a recent surfing competition in Nags Head.

Isaac Houston, #57

I received my Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Mi-crobiology in July, from the Uni-versity of Cincinnati. I have since relocated to Buenos Aires, Argen-tina, where I will be living for sev-eral years. I am married and have a 3-year old daughter, Paikea, and another daughter, Airini, expected in October. I keep a running blog on my travels here:www.isaachouston.blogspot.comPictured are Isaac, Paikea, and Nee-lam Modi on Sept 2 at a pizza place in Indianapolis the day before leaving for Argentina., and Isaac with his daugh-t e r, Pa i k e a.

David “Nashville” Steadman, #77

I got engaged in June to Page War-stler, my girlfriend of about three and a half years. We are planning the wedding for spring of 2009.

Chris Wagner, #10

My wife Shannon and I live in Evanston, IL. We both work for CDW Corporate, I am a Micro-soft Sales Manager and my wife is a recruiter. We have a daughter Emma (pictured) who is 17 months old and keeping us busy.

Brandon Jackson, #172

From December 2006 to January 2007, I was in the hospital for Bi-l a te ra l Compar tment         Syndrome in both legs. February 2007 through May, I was in reha-bilitation for my legs. Now I am using a wheel chair and a cane to get around. I am still receiving training on driving with hand con-trols. I will be attending OSU for a single class to get back in the swing of education and will be volunteering with the ABLE pro-gram which helps older adults ob-tain GED’s or learn how to read.

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Kyle Haeussler, #100

Pictured are some of our brothers at Kyle and April ’s recent wedding.

CalendarOctober 12-14, 2007

Miami Homecoming (vs. Bowling Green)

June 13-15, 2008

Miami Alumni Weekend

THE ETA UPSILON CHAPTER OF PI KAPPA PHI FRATERNITY, MIAMI UNIVERSITY

Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity

Eta Upsilon Chapter

111 East Spring Street

Oxford, OH 45056