Remembering Our Servicemen

During this Memorial Day, it is important to honor those who have served to protect our country. Many of us know individuals who have sacrificed so much in the military. These individuals include Lambda Chi's who embody what it means to be a true brother.

A while ago I wrote about the experiences Tau Zeta members had during WWII. What they lived through was unique and one can only hope this fraternity isn't exposed to this harsh reality ever again. Below is the blog entry about Tau Zeta during WWII:


http://wsulambdachialpha.blogspot.com/2011/03/tau-zeta-during-wwii.html

Tau Talks, May 2011

Greetings Brothers and Friends of Lambda Chi Alpha,

This edition of Tau Talks at the end of the year marks the last Tau Talks I will be writing. Earlier this month I graduated from WSU with a degree in communications. My graduation and departure from the Lambda Chi house is bittersweet. Bitter, in that I really don’t want my experience as a college student and Lambda Chi to come to an end. However, my departure at this time is sweet in that I could not be happier with the current state of the house. This semester Tau Zeta garnered the highest grades out of all fraternities on Greek Row; received an award from the Center of Civic Engagement for hosting an outstanding philanthropy; raised over $8,000 from dedicated moms for house renovations; and we are well on our way to recruiting another strong freshman class. These achievements paired with the recent renovations of the fire truck give me great pride to know that I will always be part of Tau Zeta. The fire truck, like the fraternity, was once stalled but is now running on all cylinders.

Lambda Chi’s Bring in Top Grades

For the spring semester, Tau Zeta garnered the top grades out of all WSU fraternities with a 3.27 GPA. The overall GPA of WSU fraternities was a 2.99. Tau Zeta’s stellar GPA shows they hold a deep commitment to academics. This is a great recruitment tool because it attracts potential new members who hold the same desire to achieve academic success at WSU.

This strong GPA can be attributed to the dedication of Scholarship Chair Scott Knoben and the hard work of every Tau Zeta members. Each brother of Lambda Chi realizes that their fraternity offers them an opportunity to collectively excel in academics which will help with future opportunities. With a system where each brother encourages and inspires other brothers to achieve good grades, the Tau Zeta house will hopefully keep this streak of academic excellence up.

To continue to encourage Lambda Chi’s in academic success, a scholarship has been set up which benefits members with the top grades. This scholarship is discussed in more detail later in the Tau Talks.

Philanthropy Award Given to Tau Zeta

Tau Zeta takes great pride in their work that benefits the Pullman community. Their hard work paid off last month when they were honored with the Center for Civic Engagement’s Outstanding Student Group award. This award was in recognition for Tau Zeta’s involvement with the Whitman County Humane Society. Each year, Lambda Chi’s assist the Humane Society in running Furball, a dinner and auction that raises funding for the organization.

During the ceremony, a representative from the CCE said this about Lambda Chi:

“Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity has ‘adopted’ the Whitman Country Humane Society for several years- taking the lead in organizing the main fundraising event for the WCHS, ‘The FurBall and Yappy Hour.’ The proceeds from the event go to the no-kill shelter, Animal Haven. The men of Lambda Chi Alpha make a significant difference through their enthusiastic participation and investment in this partnership”

Tau Zeta looks forward to this continued partnership with the Humane Society.

Blog Aims to Improve Communication

To enhance communication between the current membership and alumni, a Tau Zeta blog was set up last semester. This blog covers events and achievements that may not show up in Tau Talks. Recent entries include dinners with Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson, The Pullman Fire Department, and the WSU Athletic Director Bill Moos; a pinning ceremony between brother Joey Pettersson and Kappa Alpha Theta sister Erin Stirling; a profile of Chef Mike; and videos of the fire truck.

To stay updated on all Tau Zeta happenings feel free to visit the blog at:

http://wsulambdachialpha.blogspot.com/.

Mom’s Weekend Proves to be Fun for Mothers and Sons

Every year, WSU mothers invade Pullman in the spring for Mom’s Weekend. Lambda Chi hosts a variety of fun events for our mothers. This year Lambda Chi moms enjoyed a karaoke party, a brunch and a silent and live auction. During the brunch and auction Chef Mike prepared an impressive spread of appetizers. For the auction, moms were asked to bring a basket that would be auctioned off to other moms.

The auction raised $8,000 which will help fund various summer projects to improve our house over the summer. The large amount of money raised from our moms is a clear example of the dedication and love our mothers have for their sons and the fraternity their sons are a part of. Thank you Lambda Chi moms for a great mom’s weekend!

Tolo Club Meeting Sets Out New Goals

Last week, the Tolo Club hosted a golf tournament and meeting to discuss the current state of Tau Zeta. One of the main topics discussed was the addition of a Tau Zeta scholarship.  The scholarship program consists of six scholarships: three for freshmen and three for seniors. Members in their respective classes who earn the highest grades will be awarded these scholarships. The scholarships will encourage freshmen to start off strong in academics at WSU. Seniors who are awarded the scholarship must live in the house. Therefore, the senior scholarships will encourage seniors to live all four years in the Tau Zeta house. Tau Zeta hopes this scholarship program can build upon the recent academic success that the membership has achieved.

In order to support the scholarship program, the Tolo Club has set up a membership dues process where alumni can give to the house. More information about the scholarships and membership dues can be found at the Tolo Club’s website: http://toloclub.org/.

The Tolo Club also announced they would help fund and coordinate improvements to the house over the summer. These projects include new flooring over the linoleum flooring in the back and front entryway, and new flooring to replace the old “casino style” flooring on second deck. We are very excited to see these new improvements to the house come fall.

Final Words

Finally, I would like to thank all the alumni, parents, and current members who have invested so much energy into Tau Zeta. The strides which Tau Zeta has made have been a part of a collective effort. I feel very privileged to have met a broad array of individuals who care about Lambda Chi Alpha as much as I have. The alumni correspondent who will be taking my place next year is sophomore Connor McCormick. I hope this position can continue to fuel communication between the current membership and those who have an invested interest in the fraternity.

Aside from the worthy accomplishments that Tau Zeta has achieved perhaps the greatest aspect which the fraternity offers is an unbreakable bond between an amazing group of young men. Through this bond, we can make a positive change in the world around us which will in turn better each one of us.

To my brothers of Tau Zeta, remember: What’s worth having is worth working for. Keep up the good work and thank you for all the memories.

In ZAX,

Andrew Talevich

Tau 1731

Lambda Chi's Achieve #1 in Grades

The men of Lambda Chi started out their summer with some good news. For the spring semester, Tau Zeta received the highest grade point average out of all the fraternities at WSU with a 3.27. The average GPA for all fraternities was 2.99.

This strong GPA can be attributed to the dedication of Scholarship Chair Scott Knoben and the hard-work of every Tau Zeta members. Each brother of Lambda Chi realizes that their fraternity offers them an opportunity to collectively excel in academics which will help with future opportunities. With a system where each brother encourages and inspires other brothers to achieve good grades, the Tau Zeta house will hopefully keep this streak of academic excellence up.

This great news comes less than two months after Lambda Chi garnered an award from the Center of Civic Engagement for their involvement with the Humane Society.

Keep up the hard work in academics, the community, and the fraternity!

Fire Truck Videos

Below are videos of the Lambda Chi fire truck before it carried a group of Lambda Chi's and their mothers on a drive around Pullman during Mom's Weekend.

Impromptu Visit Spurs Reconnection

On Thursday afternoon, seven members of the Lambda Chi class of 1961 had an impromptu visit to the Tau Zeta house. These men were visiting WSU for the “Golden Grad” events which included tours of the university and luncheons with other individuals who graduated from WSU fifty years ago. Unfortunately they had been unaffiliated with the Lambda Chi house for a number of years.

During a luncheon, Tim Pavish who is also a Lambda Chi alum and works at WSU noticed that some of these visitors had their Tau’s written on their name tags. Pavish was delighted to meet these fellow Lambda Chi’s and told them they should stop by the house for a tour.

When the seven members showed up at the house, they were happy to find out that the membership is in a strong state. We shared stories and talked about how many Lambda Chi traditions still have remained intact for over fifty years.

As a Lambda Chi who will graduate in a week, I am always happy to find alumni who still value the fact that they are brothers of Tau Zeta. This common link is something that is so important because it enriches our lives and aids in making life-long friendships. I hope that I will have the same opportunity to visit the Tau Zeta house fifty years from now.

Dick, Jerry, Jim, Dave, John, David, Dennis and all other Tau Zeta alumni:

You are always welcome to our house. Please feel to stop in, share stories, and continue your commitment to Lambda Chi.

In ZAX,

Andrew Talevich

Alumni Correspondent

Tau 1731

A Pinning for the Ages

Congratulations to Brother Joey Pettersson and his girlfriend, Erin Stirling who is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. Last week, the men from Lambda Chi and women from Kappa Alpha Theta aided in the pinning ceremony between this couple. For those who are unfamiliar with the pinning ceremony, it is a Greek tradition when a boyfriend shows his commitment to his girlfriend. The boyfriend gives his girlfriend his fraternity pin. It typically occurs when one, or both the individuals are a senior.

For Brother Pettersson who is set to graduate in a week, the time was right.

“I just thought it was the right thing to do. I’ve been going out with Erin for seventeen months and this is a way to show my faith to her,” he said.

During the ceremony, Lambda Chi’s sang three traditional songs for the Erin and the Thetas: “Hey Ho Is Anybody Home,” “Lambda Chi Alpha Darling,” and “Hip Hip Hooray for Lambda Chi.” The big brother and little brother of Brother Petterson and the little sister and big sister of Erin shared stories about their relationship. After the ceremony the Thetas and Lambda Chi’s socialized and enjoyed ice cream. 

Tau Zeta Awarded for Partnership with Humane Society

The men of Lambda Chi won a very special award yesterday.

The 2011 Excellence in Civic Engagement Award was given to Tau Zeta at the fourth annual Cougs Care Celebration Event for our participation with the Whitman County Humane Society. A large group of well-dressed Lambda Chi’s were very happy to accept this award at yesterday’s event.

During the event, John Fraire, Vice President of Enrollment and Student Involvement, spoke about how giving back to the community is a very important aspect of being a student at WSU. Furthermore, he spoke about how WSU sometimes struggles with a bad reputation compared to other universities he worked at, but that today’s award-winners showed that WSU was not worthy of this bad image. He also acknowledged that Greeks played a very important role in community outreach.

Here is what the Center of Civic Engagement said about Lambda Chi in winning this award:

“Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity has ‘adopted’ the Whitman Country Humane Society for several years- taking the lead in organizing the main fundraising event for the WCHS, ‘The FurBall and Yappy Hour.’ The proceeds from the event go to the no-kill shelter, Animal Haven. The men of Lambda Chi Alpha make a significant difference through their enthusiastic participation and investment in this partnership”

Previous Lambda Chi’s who have held the position of philanthropy chair played a significant part of garnering year’s award. These members include:

Bryan Ernsdorff

Dave Simpson

Peter Kitzmiller

Ben Krein

Justin Scherting

The philanthropy chairs have sat on the board for the Humane Society’s FurBall each year, making Lambda Chi’s presence in the community that much greater. Furthermore, the philanthropy chairs are in charge of organizing all Lambda Chi’s in their assistance with the FurBall dinner and other volunteer services we provide for the Humane Society.

Brother Justin Scherting currently serves as Lambda Chi’s philanthropy chair. His efforts were instrumental in helping the Humane Society and Lambda Chi raise $42,000 in this year’s FurBall.

For four years, Lambda Chi has had a strong partnership with the Whitman County Humane Society. We would like to thank them for nominating us for this award. Lambda Chi’s look forward to many more years working side by side with Humane Society workers in helping homeless doggies and kitties.