Epsilon Lambda Wins Second
Straight Knox Award
The 169th General Convention in Dallas, Texas
proved to be an exciting time for the Epsilon Lambda chapter.
Betas from UMKC were awarded their second John Reily Knox
Chapter Excellence Award in as many years, along with the
Virginia Tech Award. The Knox Award is the highest award a
chapter can receive based on chapter excellence. The
Virginia Tech Award is awarded regionally to chapters based on
outstanding grade point averages.
National Scholarships Awarded to
Three Epsilon Lambda Members
Scott Beeler was awarded the Michael
Clarkson Ryan Memorial Scholarship, worth $2,375.
Jared Halpin was awarded the James L. Gavin Memorial
Scholarship, worth $1,125. And Chris Smith was awarded
the John R. Simpson Memorial Scholarship, worth $1,050.
Congratulations guys!
Epsilon Lambda Adds a Third Chapter House
Our chapter has agreed to a lease with UMKC on
the unoccupied house located at
5225 Rockhill Rd, located next door to the current house. The
new house will hold 12 members with the ability to expand to
more. Now 30 Betas will live in the on campus houses. The
university has completed renovations that were made throughout
the months of May, June, and July and members began to move in
on August 1, 2008. The upgrades include wood floors in common areas,
new carpet in bedrooms, and new paint. The house includes 7
bedrooms, 5 huge bathrooms, 2 sun rooms, a large kitchen with
dishwasher, and large basement.
Front view of the new house
Side view of the new house, including the 3 car garage (far
right) and fenced in patio (left of garage)
View of the new house from the Miller-Nichols
house's porch
Success at
Greek Week Banquet
This year at the Greek Week Awards Banquet the
Epsilon Lambda Chapter definitely had a great night. As
expected Beta Theta Pi won the Gold Excellence Award for all of
their hard work towards the Greek Community.
As if that wasn't enough, Jared Halpin won the
award for Greek Man of the Year for all of his hard work and
service to the Greek Life at UMKC and is much deserving of this
award. Congratulations Jared!
Greek Week
2008 Champions
For the third year in a row the Epsilon Lambda
Chapter wins UMKC's Greek Week competition. It was one of
the strongest performances by the chapter in its history,
winning 8 out of the 13 events. The Betas came out on top
by a margin of 24 points over the rest of the field, and here
are the results, congrats guys.
ΒθΠ: 233
ΣAE: 209
ΛΧΑ: 84 ΣΦΕ:
?
Quarterback Ben Wilson (left) throwing a pass to receiver Ryan
Brennan (far right)
Linemen (from left to right) Chad, Chaz, Luke, and Derek warming
up before a game
Receiver Andrew Castulik (black shirt) going long for a pass
Chris Black (left) and Bobby Buchmann discussing strategy
Beta Dominates in Grades Again
The 2007 fall semester produced another
terrific academic performance from the men of Beta Theta Pi.
We continued the trend of improving our grades from 3.411 in the
spring 2007 semester to 3.431 last semester. Our mark far
exceeded any of the other fraternities on campus, and was the
highest overall of any Greek house.
ΒθΠ:
3.431
ΣAE: 3.109
ΛΧΑ: 2.729 ΣΦΕ: 2.589
Chi Omega Turkey Bowl Champions 2007
Beta spent
November 10 at Swinney Rec Center competing in the Chi Omega
annual fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish foundation. The
events comprised of a flag football tournament, eating contest,
pyramid making, and an over-under relay. The Betas had a
tough game against ΣAE in the finals but were able to battle out
a win, and an overall championship. Earlier in the week
the men of BΘΠ dined at
Planet Sub, who donated a part of the money spent to
Make-A-Wish.
Alex Marshall after competing in the pumpkin
pie eating contest
Over-under relay with a Thanksgiving turkey
Hoisting yet another trophy
Frats-At-Bat Champions 2007
September 22 marked yet dominating victory for our philanthropic
and athletic chapter. Beta won the annual softball
tournament and and overall championship for the Beta Sigma Phi
sorority's event to raise money for the American Diabetes
Association. This also included a dinner at Uno's where
the restaurant donated a portion of the checks to the cause.
Third baseman Ben Favier ready to field a ground
ball
Shortstop Will Hotchkiss launching another hit
Brothers celebrating victory
Beta
Co-Sponsors Walk A Mile In Her Shoes
On September 4,
2007 the men of Beta Theta Pi walked one mile in women’s high
heeled shoes throughout the University of Missouri – Kansas
City’s Volker Campus to protest rape, sexual assault & gender
violence. The event was featured on KMBC Channel 9.
See their coverage of the walk online
here.
Renovations on House Completed
The Beta House just completed major renovations
including: new floors, newly painted common rooms and bedrooms,
new carpet in bedrooms, new furniture, and a new 50" flat screen
HD television!
Click here to see
pictures on the Location page.
Epsilon Lambda Wins Knox Award
Kevin Woods holding Knox Award with Dr. Purinton, General Fraternity
President At the 168th General Convention in Orlando,
Florida, Epsilon Lambda was one of ten chapters to receive the
John Reily Knox Chapter Excellence Award. The Knox Award
is the highest award any chapter can receive given by the
national fraternity. 2007 is the first year Epsilon Lambda
has received this honor. The 30+ requirements for the Knox
Award include the requirements for the Sisson Award, thus
Epsilon Lambda also received its 13th Sisson Award. Our
chapter also received the Website Excellence Award.
Beta Wins
Greek Week 2007
From April 10-14, the men of Epsilon Lambda
competed in UMKC's annual Greek Week competition between
fraternities and sororities. Different brothers competed
in different events throughout the week and were victorious in
the events of swimming, Texas hold'em, pyramid building, 4 x 100
meter dash, tug of war, Taco Bell soft taco eating contest, basketball, and football, while placing highly in
other events. After the points were tallied, Beta was
deemed the 2007 Greek Week Champions. Great job guys!
Drew evades the rush to gain extra yards
Ben (3) blocks an opponents shot while Zach (20) and James guard
James about to spike the ball
Jason Lurk
Wins Courtwarming King!
Jason Lurk, a member of the Omega Pledge Class
of the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, was announced as
Courtwarming King at the Coronation basketball game on Feb 18,
2007. Jason is a pharmacy student at UMKC and was
awarded Greek Man of the Year in 2006. Congratulations
Jason!
Some of the brothers congratulating Jason at
the Courtwarming Game
Jason's cheering section at the Courtwarming
Game
EPSILON
LAMBDA WINS 12TH
SISSON AWARD AND OUTSTANDING PLEDGE PROGRAM AWARD
Oxford, Ohio, July 11, 2006
— Beta
Theta Pi’s Epsilon Lambda chapter at the University of
Missouri, Kansas City won its 12th Francis H.
Sisson Award, Outstanding Recruitment Program award,
Outstanding Pledge Education Program Award and Virginia
Tech Award (academic excellence) this July at the
Fraternity’s 167th General Convention in
Toronto, Ontario.
The
Sisson Award is given to only a handful of outstanding
chapters whose eligibility is based on 19 areas,
including scholarship, philanthropy, alumni affairs and
public relations. University of Missouri-Kansas City’s
accomplishments include raising more than $12,000 for
charity this year.
The
Virginia Tech Award honors chapters that place first in
grades among the fraternities on campus for one semester
or quarter during the year. It also recognizes the
highest GPA and most improved chapters.
Beta
Theta Pi is dedicated to building men of principle for a
principled life. Our brotherhood aids the individual,
builds the Fraternity and strengthens the host academic
institution through lifelong devotion to intellectual
excellence, high standards of moral conduct and
responsible citizenship. The Fraternity, founded in 1839
at Miami University (Ohio), has more than 120,000
members including some 6,000 collegians on 122 campuses
in the United States and Canada.
BETA
LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN SURPASSES $20 MILLION
In 2003, the Beta Theta Pi Foundation launched
an aggressive campaign to endow the three great principles of
the Fraternity. The
Upon These Principles capital campaign was deemed
necessary to support Beta chapters and undergraduates; thus the
Beta Theta Pi Foundation Board of Directors, volunteer ranks and
staff set out to raise $15,000,000 to support the educational
programming of the Men of Principle initiative.
The “every Beta” phase of the Campaign began in early 2006
involving more than 15,000 phone calls and 100,000 letters to
all Betas. The success of reaching the Campaign goal came into
question as the total raised remained near $11 million at what
appeared to be the end of the major donor phase. Unbeknownst to
Convention attendees, the Campaign staff and volunteers were
hard at work securing further significant gifts to reach the
Campaign goal.
Among the many significant gifts announced was a $750,000 gift
to endow and name The Institute for Men of Principle by
James A. Collins, UCLA ’50. Collins chose to name the
program after lifelong friend, Beta brother, and distinguished
coach John R. Wooden, Purdue ’32, and his wife Nellie.
Established in 1999, the Fraternity’s flagship leadership
development program will now be known as The John and Nellie
Wooden Institute for Men of Principle.
At the Saturday evening Celebration Banquet at the 167th
General Convention, Honorary Campaign Chairman Senator Richard
G. Lugar, Denison ’54 and Campaign Chairman W.H. (Bert)
Bates, Missouri ’49 announced the accomplishment of the
goal. Representatives from Beta’s 10 newest chapters and
colonies raised large display boards in a suspenseful moment as
the total was announced. As of July 1, 2006, the Upon These
Principles capital campaign stands at $20,146,894. Chairman
Bates was quick to point out that “we are certainly still open
for business!”
Brothers Lugar and Bates were honored for their efforts in
accomplishing this great feat with the naming of the driveway
leading up to Brennan Hall, the Foundation and Administrative
Office in Oxford, Ohio, as Lugar-Bates Drive.
BETA INCREASES
STANDARD GPA TO 2.7 HIGHEST OF ALL FRATERNITIES
Delegates to Beta Theta Pi’s 167th General
Convention, held last week in Toronto, Ontario, voted to
significantly increase the grade point average (GPA) standard
for chapters of the Fraternity. The new standard will require
all chapters and colonies to meet or exceed a 2.7 GPA.
In 1984, Beta Theta Pi was the first Fraternity to adopt a 2.5
standard for chapters. Again in 1997, Beta was the first to
require a 2.5 of individual members. Likewise, this move makes
the Fraternity a leader with respect to the academic standards
held by North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC)
organizations. “You are at the top of the standards,” said NIC
Executive Director Jon Williamson. “You’re leading the way. I
congratulate you on having the courage to take it to 2.7.”
The cumulative grade point average for Beta Theta Pi chapters in
2005 surpassed 3.0 for the first time in recent years. With 115
chapters reporting, the Fraternity averaged a 3.01 GPA for
2004-05. The past decade has seen a significant improvement in
Beta scholarship. In 1997, the Fraternity’s cumulative GPA was a
2.82 with less than 45 percent of chapters above the respective
All-Men's Average (AMA.) In 2005, the Fraternity GPA was 3.01
with 63 percent of chapters above the respective AMA.
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