This past summer 24 of our brothers were lucky enough to be able to travel to Houston Texas to experience the very best SigEp has to offer. Maine Alpha left their mark at this event.
We had the second largest undergraduate delegation in attendance earning us the Man Mile Award but more importantly, we were awarded a coveted Buchanan Cup. This was our seventh overall and sixth in a row, representing 12 years as one of the top 10% of SigEp Chapters nationwide. This award represents two years worth of cumulative work from our undergraduates, alumni, and volunteers. Here is an excerpt from headquarters as to what has set us apart.
“Each year, more than 20 brothers from the Maine Alpha SigEp Learning Community at the University of Maine attend Carlson. Maybe that’s why their chapter operations have been so consistently excellent. The chapter markets its Balanced Man Scholarship through direct mail to every high school in the state. In addition, the chapter has the highest GPA on campus every semester and consistently wins fraternity of the year. On top of all this, they actively fight against tiered membership. Members are not called “Sigmas” or “Phis,” they’re just brothers progressing through their transformational Balanced Man Program. The chapter home has been substance-free for over 10 years, and members conduct a campuswide sexual assault awareness week each year. With a dedicated, consistent group of volunteers who are well on their way to fundraising for a new house, this chapter looks set up for sustained success. “
Additionally, alumni Brian Harris ’12, Owen McCarthy ’10, and Andrew Gerke ’08 were awarded the Clayton Doud Award for their tremendous acts of brotherly love, not only for supporting each other but for helping patients through the use of music therapy.
Aside from these honors, our brothers learned about leadership, chapter operations, and personal growth through small group sessions with brothers from around the country focused on building up both the individual and the chapter. While this was going on our chapter president spent his time leading a legislative committee focusing on the development of the teaching of the ritual at the national level.
On behalf of our entire chapter, we would like to thank all of our alumni and volunteers for helping us to attend this event, and to thank the entire headquarters staff for creating such a wonderful event.