Auburn University
The ALOTA
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Welcome to the 5th edition of Pi Kappa Phi’s bi-weekly newsletter, The ALOTA! Alumni are an integral part of Alpha Iota and serve as the true foundation of the chapter. There is no doubt that they are the reason we are where we are today. The Alpha Iota chapter is very excited to inform you about all of the activities and events that are happening with the chapter.
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’91 Composite: To our 1991 alumni, rest assured, we have just received our reorder of the previously damaged composite. In the past, the 1991 composite has been taken down because the damages to the inside composite were severely damaged and unrecognizable. To sum things up, the current active brothers have reordered a new composite and have put it up on our wall for all to see. Check it out:
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New Year, New Me: Alpha Iota has previously had a well-put-together website, created by our current archon Dixon Hall 1872. However, with our plans to totally redefine alumni relations, the chapter has decided to take on a newer website. This website has all of the information from our last website but has additional tools for a more user-friendly experience. Our donation page will serve as a continuously updated system that marks how close we are to each goal. In addition, when you decide to donate, you can now choose what project you wish to contribute to. Rush is also listed on the website with a signup page along with a list of our summer rush plans. There’s still some work to do with the new website but we are working hard to make it perfect for everyone involved with Alpha Iota. Special thanks to John Koo 1870 and Kevin Bumgarner 1967.
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For Pi Kapp, Family Just Means More: Being a brother at Pi Kapp is much more than throwing parties in college, it’s about creating lifelong relationships with the ones who will always have your back. Last weekend, some brothers apart of the late ’80s and early ’90s got together and played a couple of rounds of golf at the 20th annual gathering of Alpha Iota brothers. Staying connected is an integral part of a fraternity and we’d like to recognize these men for doing so: Matt Hall, David Scott, David Rees, David Erickson, Patrick Albrecht, Jason Gooch, Steve Maline, Rick Golbehere, Will Parsons, and Steve Lake.
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Our Alumni spending time with lifelong friends. ODH!
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Leadership Retreat: Pi Kappa Phi has successfully concluded our 10th annual Leadership Retreat. Steve Gosser 1099 led a fine group of brothers and alumni through different lessons about how to become a better man and a better leader. Many alumni joined this retreat and offered plenty of wisdom and shared many lessons they have learned throughout their life. Alpha Iota would like to thank all alumni who have taken time out of their schedules to influence the men of this chapter and help change the lives. We plan to continue the tradition of Leadership Retreat for many years and would like to thank Steve for his last year leading this event. Special thanks to the Alumni who helped with LR10. The Brothers of Pi Kappa Phi are grateful to have men like you supporting us: Jim Peterson, Jim Littlefield, Todd Parsons, Michael Bogedain, Tim Bridges, Austin Bridges, Greyson Lyons, John Nonnenmacher, and Conner Richey.
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The Brothers of Pi Kappa Phi at Leadership Retreat 10.
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Donation and Renovation Progress: Alpha Iota is continuing to make tons of progress towards our renovation goals. We have reached nearly $7,000 in donations this semester and we have high hopes of reaching $100,000 by the end of the year. We are in great need of donations and would love any kind of support you have to offer. This is a huge goal but with our concrete plans of house projects and our attempt to reestablish our alumni connections, this goal is closer than we think. More details are listed on the “Donation” part of our new website. Check it out below:
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Renovation Plans are Finalized: Our plans to renovate our Volleyball Court into a new Basketball Court and also renovate our barn with improved changes are now final. The active brothers are beyond excited to start these changes and have pitched in $5,000 of our own money to kickstart our donation process. Alpha Iota would like to give thanks to all those who have donated thus far and also recognize the Alumni Committee and the Renovation Committee for their hard work throughout the stressful days of Finals Week. Also, a special shoutout to Ethan Johnson 1934 and Walt Bowling 1834 for taking the time to produce some renderings of the new Basketball Court and the Barn.
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Above are 3D renderings of the new basketball court and barn renovations.
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Top left: Pictured Left to Right: Todd Parsons, Jim Bush, Tim Bridges.
Top right: Tim is Pictured to the left and Todd Parsons in the Middle.
Bottom: Recent picture of Tim.
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The Alumni Committee is proud to feature Tim Bridges 1075 (AKA “Party Bird” & “Wheels”) as this week’s Alumni Spotlight. Tim went through pledgeship in the fall of 1980 and has continued to contribute his time to Alpha Iota since. After graduating in 1987 with a degree in Accounting, Tim worked as a public accountant for a few years before starting his career as a private accountant at Georgia Banker’s Bank then at the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates. Tim is now the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Associated Credit Union in Atlanta, GA. His son, Austin Bridges 1796 was a fall 2016 pledge and recently graduated from Auburn in the spring of 2020. Tim credits the fraternity and his family for the Will Power, Determination, Perseverance, and Self-Discipline required to reach his success.
During his time at Alpha Iota, Tim held positions including Secretary and Social Chair (multiple terms), Treasurer, and Chaplain. His favorite memories from pledgeship include socials, “brother books”, Wrech Tech Parade, and Burn the Bulldog Parade. Other fond memories include the traditional parties like Jungle Party and the bond that he has with his brothers to this day. One specific story that he wanted to share was from a very fun weekend visit to UGA in which they decided to go on self invited tours of the different fraternity houses on campus. Not only were they able to visit EVERY house that night, but they walked away with great stories and even some pretty nice souvenirs if you will. The most memorable item was the “Brother of the Year” trophy from one specific house. That trophy would go on to become the “MFU” award presented to a brother every week at chapter.
Tim wanted to leave some words of encouragement to our Active Brothers. “The main thing is to invest in your relationships with brothers. Don’t be afraid to get to know kids that aren’t in your clique. You never know how those are gonna pay off down the road. Continue to work hard, because it only takes two or three years–of leaders who aren’t willing to set the standard for how to recruit–to drive the chapter into the ground. It drives brotherhood, builds financial reserves, and those leaders must continue to model behavior that others are willing to follow. It takes intentional effort to do that. Also, you don’t have to be on EC to lead and set the standard for others to follow in the chapter. Never forget to treat women with respect, have respect for others, and model behaviors that other young men can follow. THE CHAPTER WILL BUILD ITSELF. It takes a whole lot less time to crash a chapter than to build it up.”
We want to thank Tim and all brothers like him for the continued support of our beloved chapter here on the plains. War Eagle and ODH!
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Cam is pictured here (middle) with two brothers from his pledge class.
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Alpha Iota would like to recognize one of our recent initiates, Cam Tice 1966. Cam is one of our “new boys” this year and the chapter is very thankful to call Cam a brother. Cam represents what it is to be a Pi Kapp every day, whether it is through academics or through extracurricular leadership positions. Just as a freshman, Cam applied and was accepted to be the Director of Health and Wellness on IFC and he represents 1 of the other 3 brothers involved with IFC. Cam also went to leadership retreat 10 and, although he is just a freshman, offered advice and shared examples of what it is to be an efficient leader. Many older brothers look up to Cam because he distinguishes leadership through example and always offers to help anyone he can because it’s in his nature. Cam is quoted as saying, “Alpha Iota has been a great place for me my freshman year. It’s given me a friend group of people from around the country, and I hope I’ve been able to give back to my brothers as much as I’ve gained from this experience”. We’re excited to see how much Cam grows these next couple of years and the chapter is in good hands with his leadership.
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