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