Sigma Tau Gamma’s Alumni Newsletter Fall 2012

Hello from Beta Chapter!

Dear Alumni,

First off I would like to thank you all for your

continued support. With your support we are able to

continue to be a presence in your son's member's life

while here at Truman. We are all very excited to get

this new year under-way. This semester we will be

continuing our annual philanthropy event

Roktoberfest, along with other events like Dad's Day

and some new events we are trying out for the first

time. If you ever have a chance to make it up to

Truman, I want to extend an open invitation to

experience or participate in any event that we have

during your stay. This semester we want to continue

getting support from our alumni, so if you ever have

any suggestions or comments feel free to send them

my way, and I will extend them to the chapter. We

look forward to your continued support in the future.

Fraternally Yours,

President

Mike Standfuss

Beta Chapter Sigma Tau Gamma

Spring 2010

The Walk

“The Walk” is a fundraiser that the Beta Chapter of

Sigma Tau Gamma does every year to raise money

for Northeast Missouri Association for Citizens with

Disabilities. It is a very unique event for our chapter

here at Sigma Tau Gamma because we are the only

chapter in the nation that does an event like this. On

the day of “The Walk”, the men of Sig Tau get

together on a Saturday morning all dressed in their

underwear to walk five miles in order to raise money

for a great organization. Last year we raised over one

thousand dollars to give to Northeast Missouri

Association Citizens Disabilities. The event may

sound strange for many individuals but it is a good

time, creating many brotherhood bonds, and is for a

really good cause. Last year we had walked from

KTVO, which is the local news station that is located

North of Kirksville, all the way back to our fraternity

house in the freezing cold which was approximately a

five mile trip. Even though this event might sound

strange to you it is a fun way to raise money.

Men of Sigma Tau Gamma in “Walk” attire

A Little Look into the Semester

This semester in the house we have 27 guys,

more than there has been in a while. Living in

the house is great for all the guys in it and it

helps create a stronger brotherhood. We have

brotherhood events for all the guys in the

fraternity that also helps this bond grow. Some

of our events that we have coming up this

semester are our Luau date party on September

29th. Luau is an Hawaiian theme event and

everyone at the party will get “leid” upon

entering. Rocktoberfest is on October 27th where

we host our own version of Octoberfest and

have bands come to play to raise money for the

Special Olympics. Our homecoming events start

on October 15th and run through the 19

th and all

the Greek organizations team up for numerous

competitions to raise money. Christmas date

party is on December 1st and just like our Luau

date party everyone will be dressed up in tacky

Christmas sweaters and their best Christmas

outfit that they have. This semester is one filled

with fun events and fun times for everyone in

the fraternity and our philanthropy events are of

most importance to us this year.

Sigma Tau Gamma’s Alumni Newsletter Fall 2012

Brothers Matthew Brethorst, Nick Riggins, Zach Theisman

and date Alex Petigna in their “Luau” attire.

The Brothers of Sigma Tau Gamma supporting Alpha

Sigma Alpha sorority by participating in their annual “Lady

Bug Tug”.

Sig Tau and Athletics

The brothers of Sigma Tau Gamma have been

on Truman’s campus for 92 years and have

continued to stay involved on campus

throughout that period. Many members are

involved in school and club athletics.

Sophomore brother Tyler Sprigg is a wide

reciever on Truman’s football team. We also

have members who are on Truman’s Rugby and

Wrestling squads. Brothers Dave Stevens, Sean

Parker, and Patrick Zhang are all members of

Truman’s Rugby team, while also staying deeply

involved in Sigma Tau Gamma. Nate Seiler and

Nicholas Shea have been involved with both our

chapter and Truman’s wrestling team. Almost

all our members involved in athletics have been

a part of their respected teams for multiple

seasons. Many Sig Tau brothers are also

involved in club athletics as well. Jorden Bax

has been involved with club basketball for many

years, and sophomore Matt Brethorst recently

joined Truman’s club soccer team along with

new Associate Members Ron “Tripp” Rolfes

and Connor Pratt. The brothers of Sigma Tau

Gamma continue to stay very involved in

Campus activities and athletics. Staying

involved and supporting the campus that

supports us, is a very important value to our

organization.

Sig Tau and Service

Sigma Tau Gamma Beta Chapter is very

involved with Truman State University service

opportunities that help benefit the greater

Kirksville Community. Every member of our

chapter is required to complete fifteen hours of

service each semester, totaling in thirty hours by

each member by the end of the year.

Participating in as many service opportunities as

possible helps put out a very positive name for

the fraternity. Truman offers a service event

every year called the Big Event where every

active member travels out to a house in

Kirksville in small groups. These houses require

the volunteers to do a number of helpful

activities including raking leaves, cleaning

windows, and other similar things. It is very

important to the university to help out in the

Kirksville community and the university

appreciates our involvement. Special Olympics

hosted every year on campus is a very important

event as we are helping people who are less

fortunate than us in a way that is other than

financial. Those who work this event work as a

Sigma Tau Gamma’s Alumni Newsletter Fall 2012 buddy or running one of the activity booths all

having an amazing experience. The event does

not feel like service because it is that enjoyable

and has that much of an impact. The Kirksville

community also receives our help at the humane

society and at the YMCA. The humane society

can be visited as often as we like. It is a shelter

for animals who have been abandoned. Arriving

and playing with them for an hour or two each

day means so much to them and to the

employees at the humane society. For the

YMCA, many of our members coach youth

basketball and soccer teams.. On the Truman

campus itself, Beta Chapter is very involved in

lending our service whenever the opportunity

arrives. Several of our actives are members of

the service organization Blue Key, which is one

of the most esteemed non-greek organizations at

Truman. Currently, the president of Blue Key is

in fact a Sig Tau. As well, every year we

participate in freshman move in day. Many

other members of Sig Tau are involved in

another service organization, Alpha Phi Omega

Student to student tutoring is also where a major

amount of the service hours come from.

Tutoring is incredibly important for any student,

as classes at Truman are much more difficult

than at the average university. Sig Tau’s are

very active in offering our time to help fellow

students who are struggling in any major.

Homecoming 2012

The brothers of Sigma Tau Gamma, Beta

Chapter, have a couple of things to look forward

to in this upcoming semester. Already talk of

homecoming has begun around the house, with

plans for the practice of lip-sync to start within

the week. We will be a part of the team

“Sydney, Australia” as the theme for this year’s

homecoming is World Fair. We will be teamed

with social organizations and professional

organizations alike as we compete against the

rest of the campus organizations to earn the first

place trophy of Homecoming champions.

Brother Connor Kellogg will be representing

Sigma Tau Gamma as our nomination for

Homecoming King.

Sigma Tau Gamma’s Alumni Newsletter Fall 2012

Brothers enjoying some free time during spring break

Sigma Tau Gamma National Convention

This summer Sigma Tau Gamma held its annual

national convention in our nation’s capital,

Washington D.C. Five active members

represented Beta Chapter where we worked with

other Sig Tau chapters on making our national

fraternity better. The 45th Grand Chapter was a

success with over 250 attendees gathering in our

Nation’s Capital. Throughout the weekend, they

announced award winners, the 2012-2014 Board

of Directors, the newest member inducted into

the Society of Seventeen, and the installation of

the Regional Volunteer Officers. The Board of

Directors and Executive Vice President

announced the transition plan in 2014 and the

Sigma Tau Gamma Foundation announced their

new donor drive campaign, Project

LEADERSHIP. Nationals are a time where we

are able to get a chance to make our chapter

better as a whole. We learn new ways to

improve membership recruitment and chapter

management. It is also an amazing experience

because of the bonds you make with the other

brothers of Sigma Tau Gamma from around the

nation. The networking is endless and the

friendships last a life time. It is truly a great

experience that we hope all actives take a part of

to shape their leadership skills. This year Beta

chapter was recognized by receiving runner up

for the McCune Most Distinguished chapter

award. The next national convention will be held

in St. Louis, Missouri.

Current and Alumni members of Beta Chapter at the

National Convention

Brother Tyler Sprigg accepting the Musial-Hillman

Sportsmanship award

Sigma Tau Gamma’s Alumni Newsletter Fall 2012

New Year = New Members

The men of Sigma Tau Gamma are proud to

announce the recruitment and signing of eleven

new Associate Members. We extended an

invitation to join Sig Tau to these young men

because we saw them as leaders on campus and

men who will continue to take Sigma Tau

Gamma in the right direction. The new members

of Sigma Tau Gamma and the Associate

Member class of Fall 2012 are:

Adam Todd

Patrick Moranville

Ronald “Tripp” Rolfes

Zach Blumm

Alex Kehm

Matt Bryant

Sean Rammaha

Connor Pratt

Brendan Sullivan

Peter Hanson

Zach venturella

Winston McFlo

Three pledgebrothers and a suit of armor.

Twisted scheme, or public relations joy ride

through Kirksville? In this instance at least, it is

the latter. For the past several years Beta

Chapter has had the tradition of “Winston

McFlo” with the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority.

Members of one organization hide Winston, a

smaller version of the great guardian of secrecy,

in one of their homes. The other organization

then has to track it down and get it back to hide

for themselves. I asked sophomore Matt

Brethorst about his experiences with the game.

“Our favorite hiding spot so far is in the VIP

Room (the party basement men’s room) looking

down through the ceiling tiles,” he remarked.

Originally began by the Fall ‘06 pledge class

and later revived by members of Fall ’08, the

tradition has been passed down to the new

guards, continuing to strengthen our already

good relations with Alpha Sigma Alpha.

Sophomores Matt Brethorst, Zach Reinarman,

and Saad Amir took Winston to Alpha Big

House, Pagliai’s, the Alpha Chapter Room in

Brewer Hall, and the Dairy Queen drive through,

among other places, sending phone pictures to

the girls from each location. Their boldness paid

off, bringing the game’s intensity up to another

level. At the time of this writing Winston is

currently in our possession, but the sharks are

circling. Those Alphas are relentless at this, so

who knows how long we’ll have him this time.

Women of Alpha Sigma Alpha with Winston

Brothers of Beta chapter celebrating Luau

Members of Fall 2011 at White Rose

Sigma Tau Gamma’s Alumni Newsletter Fall 2012

Brothers of Sigma Tau Gamma accepting their

scholarship checks from the Goetze Educational

Foundation at the annual White Rose formal

Senior Spotlight-Jorden Bax

I want to thank all alumni for everything you

have done for this organization and I ask for

your continued support. Sigma Tau Gamma has

provided me more than a social outlet but a

brotherhood that will last a lifetime. Three years

ago when I decided to join Sigma Tau Gamma I

had no idea what I was getting myself into. I can

now say that the members of Sigma Tau Gamma

are my best friends who I would trust with

anything. Sigma Tau Gamma gave me the

chance to become a leader not only within the

fraternity but on campus. From the beginning

Sig Tau pushed me to become a better person. I

was able to run for leadership positions within

the fraternity and I have gained so much

experience from my time here that I am able to

carry on into the professional world. Through

the fraternal education I was able to learn about

our core six principles which every member tries

to incorporate into their daily lives. The six

principles of Sigma Tau Gamma are Value,

Learning, Leadership, Excellence, Benefit, and

Integrity. Sig Tau has taught me how to act out

these principles and that is how we carry our

chapter. If there is one thing I can stress to you

alumni, it is to get involved as much as possible.

The Alumni that have already been very

involved with the chapter have made my Sig

Tau experience that much better. We are always

looking for new ideas and input from others.

Thanks again for your time and consideration for

our organization. I know that without the

support of our alumni most of us would not be

here at Sigma Tau Gamma Beta Chapter today.

Sig Tau for LIFE!

Truman State University’s President Troy Paino

and the men of Sigma Tau Gamma