The 1st Annual Bill Porter Alumni Dinner
- Curt Brewer
With over 55
AKL’s in attendance, the 1st
annual Bill Porter Alumni Dinner held on November 3rd was a booming
success. Hosted on the campus of SIUE, the evening started out with a meet
& greet that allowed the undergraduates and alumni a chance to catch up on
recent events. After an opening prayer lead by graduating active member
Trevor Needham, our Beta Tau alumni members enjoyed a catered meal courtesy
of three generous alumni donations. Bill Porter, past
AKL National President and newly
adopted Beta Tau alumnus, served as toastmaster for the evening.
The dinner marked the beginning of a new page for alumni involvement with the introduction of the Beta Tau Alumni Association. The association was created to improve the quality of Beta Tau’s alumni relations/events and also provide opportunities for AKL undergraduates that we as alumni were not afforded. This organization will be administered by an alumni advisory board consisting of six (6) Era Representatives, the undergraduate alumni relations chair, the corporate board president, the chapter advisor, and a chairman of the board. At the end of the advisory board’s first meeting, which is scheduled to be held before Christmas of 2006, the organization will evaluate the future of the Beta Tau chapter’s alumni relations program and the next steps towards successful alumni involvement.
Also unveiled at the dinner were two housing proposals to be overseen by exiting Chapter President, Kevin Coppinger. The two proposals are very realistic but require further investigation by an organized team of alumni. If you or someone you know can be helpful towards the realization of these proposals please contact Kevin at: kevin.coppinger@gmail.com.
After a short presentation on the state of the active chapter by President Kevin Coppinger, Psi Kappa Zeta/Beta Tau founder Steve Held spoke of what the formation of our chapter meant to him and where he saw alumni involvement going in the future. Immediately following, coordinator of Greek Life John Davenport challenged the new members of our fraternity to take charge and achieve the potential success that he sees in the chapter.
The
final speaker of the evening was the guest of honor, Bill Porter. Brother
Porter was Alpha Kappa Lambda's Past National President from 1993 to 1998
and was a member of the Alpha Beta Chapter on the campus of the University
of Arizona. In 1964, he received the Holmes Award, which was presented
that year by none other than Gail Cleland.
Along with stories of Beta Tau’s past, Bill revealed four stories of inspiration from 4 others chapters from across the nation. His speech was filled with praise of how well the Beta Tau chapter is doing at the moment and he stressed the importance of ritual for our newest members. He expressed that no other activity brought him as much joy as seeing our chapter perform AKL's initiation ceremony. The words presented by Brother Porter inspired the members of our chapter and has left a lasting surge of positive energy for our future.
The following night, Bill Porter and 5 of our Beta Tau alumni members were participants in an alumni initiation ceremony. We would like to congratulate these 6 members who are set anew into the world as alumni of Alpha Kappa Lambda at the Beta Tau Chapter: Bill Porter, Chris Henry, Chris Morrison, Ryan Claspille, Kevin Coppinger, and Trevor Needham. Later in the evening, the active chapter initiated their newest 21 members from the Alpha Sigma pledge class. To see more details, please visit the active chapter website at: http://www.aklbetatau.com
Other Pictures From The Bill Porter Alumni Dinner
Steve Held Jeff Choate
Ryan Browning
Greg Karcher
Amir Karami Sean Mcmeen
Chris "Heyzues" Mueller
Bill Porter Erik Muellen
