My next filmed presentations for Sigma Pi Fraternity will be in February 2015. The two topics that I’m speaking on are Sigma Pi Fraternity in New Jersey and True Greek Leadership. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

COLLEGIANS: WE’RE NOT ALL ROWDIES

As any fraternity leader can tell you, press like this is very exciting in the Monmouth University area. I understand that most college areas are against students from the very start, but the “witch hunt” that goes on around Monmouth University is extremely frightening at times. Not only are the civil liberties of our these young men trampled on a weekly basis, but the local governments back the actions that you’ll read about in the article. And remember, I’m a guy who routinely had police just walk into his house at all hours of the night after the majority of the roommates were asleep. They were “just checking” – sound a little fascist to anyone?

I’m extremely proud of the Sigma Pi guys at Monmouth University. It’s not easy to put yourself out there like these guys have. I remember getting all different types of great responses to my student loan article last year, but I also remember getting some really vicious, unintelligent responses, too. I applaud the effort that these guys are putting into making the reality of their situation work.

• 11 of only 30 All-Sigma Pi Collegiate Honors were handed to Delta Beta brothers
• I was asked to serve on the prestigious Nominating Committee to help select the new Grand Council for Sigma Pi Fraternity
• Delta Beta was awarded the Best ACE Project in the nation (will be featured in a separate spread in the Emerald)
• Delta Beta met and far exceeded their pledge and initiate goals for the last biennium, receiving awards for each
• Paul Salvesen served on the Philanthropy Committee and helped change Sigma Pi’s international philanthropy
• The Gold Standard submitted in May garnered one of the highest scores in the nation at 96%
• Brother Brett Stevens was awarded the Frank E. Gray Scholarship for helping grow and develop Sigma Pi chapters
• Delta Beta was 1 of only 2 chapters in the nation that received the Beyer-Fryburg Perfect Efficiency Award
• Our Province Archon received the Most Outstanding Province Archon Award
• I was humbled to win the Most Outstanding Chapter Director Award again and to be named the new Province Archon for New Jersey (will receive a separate spread in a future Emerald)
• Our brothers received the Grand Chapter Award for being a Top 25 Chapter nationwide
• Our brothers received the Grand Council Award for being a Top 12 Chapter nationwide
• And at the Grand Banquet, Delta Beta received the Grand Sage’s Cup for being the #1 chapter in the nation

This night was a night many, many years in the making. So many of us worked so hard for so long to achieve the accolades listed above that it literally breaks me up every time I even think about it.

In the face of ridicule from the general public for being a fraternity, disrespect from Monmouth University (remember, a 4-person sorority was named their chapter of the year), mocking from older members of this chapter who were and still are aggravated that we took away their drinking club and made it into our fraternity, and general disbelief in success by undergrads who were are are constantly concerned about a superficial image – we did it. We succeeded.

To all of those on the outside who said it couldn’t be done, I say we win. To all of those on the inside who actively fought against success, I pity you but will not return the same ridicule back to you. This is the culmination of a dream that a small group of men in this chapter had many years ago. And now, that dream has come true.

Thank you to everyone who worked towards it and congratulations to all of them who received these honors.

The crowd topped 270 high school and college students and also saw a number of Monmouth University administration and officials present. The event lasted about an hour and a half and drew both laughs and tears through the event. Other speakers included Reza Zedah of the Sam Spady Foundation and the Lighthouse organization as well as Chris Brown, an Eatontown lawyer who focusing on risk management situations.

Overall, the event was a rousing success. Please see the uploaded pictures for a view of how great the night was.

I put this in my blog because every major media outlet in the tri-state area from local Monmouth County papers like The Link, Atlanticville, and The Coaster to regional papers like the Asbury Park Press to bigger outlets like UPN 9 News, NBC 4, and Fox News were all invited. Of the 15+ news outlets that were invited to attend, not one showed up – not even the campus newspaper, radio station, or television station. This is an absolute disgrace.

As fraternity men, we understand that the media loves to highlight the situations that focus on the negative aspects of less than 0.1% of fraternity men in this nation. But when so many news outlets are invited to very large gathering with a positive focus, it shows you what a disgusting media we have today that not 1 person came to cover it.

THIS is why blogs are starting to overtake the conventional media and why the internet is such a great tool to move information around the globe. When the media fails at covering real, good news – the bloggers pick up their slack.

Congratulations to the men of the Delta-Beta Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity on a job well done.