Page 1

Northwest Region Nabs 12 Awards at The Academy

Pike Connection

Inside this issue:

Northwest Region Awards 1

25th Annual Golf Tourney 1

AAB and Exec Council prepare for Fall Semester

2

Big Pat 3-on3 Memorial Basketball Tournament

2

Alumni Spotlight - Ken Locati

3

Chapter Endowment / Rush Updates

4

Fall Semester 2013, Issue 1

Pullman, Washington August 19, 2013

Published by the Gamma Xi Chapter of the

Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at Washington State University

William R. Nester Award for

Alumni Association of the

Year

Gamma Xi Alumni Associa-

tion (Washington State)

William R. Nester Award for

Outstanding New Alumni

Association

Lambda Epsilon Alumni As-

sociation (Alberta)

Lambda Epsilon Chapter

(Alberta)

PIKE U 25 Man Commitment

Beta Beta Chapter

(Washington)

Gamma Xi Chapter

(Washington State)

Gamma Kappa Chapter

(Montana State)

PPKA Club – 100% Chapter

Participation

Beta Beta Chapter

(Washington)

Gamma Kappa Chapter

(Montana State)

Four chapters in the North-

west Region and two Alumni

Associations earned national

awards at The Academy in

Memphis earlier this month,

including recognition for aca-

demic excellence, recruit-

ment, Pike University and

more. The highlight of the

ceremony was when Gamma

Xi Alumni Association was

named Alumni Association of

the Year. Internal and Exter-

nal VPs Harrison Diemert

(’12) and Sam Gillis (‘12)

attended the Academy and

accepted the awards on be-

half of Gamma Xi on August

3rd. A full list of awards is

provided below. Special

thanks goes to the under-

grads and alumni involved in

helping earn these prestig-

ious honors!

Scholarship Plate

Gamma Xi Chapter, 3.180

Lambda Epsilon Chapter

(Alberta), 3.122

Beta Beta Chapter

(Washington), 3.120

Recruitment Recognition,

Level I

Gamma Xi Chapter

Recruitment Recognition,

Level III

25th Annual Gamma Xi Alumni Golf Tournament

The 25th annual Gamma Xi

Alumni Association golf tour-

nament was held on

Saturday, July 13, 2013 at

Willows Run Golf Course in

Redmond, Washington.

Forty golfers competed in

the event representing four

decades of Gamma Xi

Alumni.

The foursome of Nelson

Fraley (’89), Charlie Galante

(’90), Tony Shumpert ('89)

and Angel Sulivan ('89) won

the best ball competition, and

the foursome of Mike Fields

(‘95), Eric Hannahs (‘99),

Shane O'Donnell ('95) and

Matt Thomas (‘95) won the

scramble competition. Spe-

cial thanks to Mike Mathy

for once again coordinating

the event!

Greg Dietsch (‘80), Ed Murphy (‘81), John Hutchinson (‘81), Greg

Swanson (‘79), Mike Mathy (’80)

Page 2

Pike Connection

AAB and Exec Council Prep for Fall Semester

On July 29th, 15 members of the

AAB and undergrad Exec Council

convened a conference call to pre-

pare for the Fall 2013 Semester,

which begins on August 19th, and

review progress against goals and

strategic priorities of the Chapter.

The Chapter finished the Spring

2013 semester strong academically,

with a 3.18 GPA, and pledged 11

men, 7 of which have already been

initiated and 10 of which will be

moving-in the Chapter House this

Fall. The Summer months have

been busy with recruiting activities,

resulting in 18 additional pledges, all

but 1 of which are incoming Fresh-

men. Summer recruitment has been

particularly difficult given the

unrecognized status of Gamma Xi,

but nevertheless co-Recruitment

Chairs Bill Castrow (’12) and Jake

Steed (’11) are keenly focused on

migrating Rush to a year-round

process and mindset.

Other activities over the summer

included the 25th Annual Golf Tour-

nament, which was held on July

13th, including the undergrad four-

some of Sam Gillis (‘12), Rick Gom-

botz (’12), Kyler Meek (’12) and Jake

Steed (’11), and Harrison Diemert

(’12) and Sam Gillis (‘12) attending

The Academy in Memphis, TN.

Formal Work Week festivities were

discussed for the week of August

12th, including mandatory participa-

tion in cleaning the Chapter House.

Additionally, the Exec Council is

planning a Chapter retreat which will

be completed during the first couple

weeks of the semester. The goal will

be to ensure that all undergraduate

members are aligned on the goals

and strategic priorities of the

Chapter.

The AAB and Exec Council also dis-

cussed several key events for the

upcoming semester, including Home-

coming (September 21st vs. Idaho)

and the Pike University Leadership

Summit, which is coming to the

Northwest Region on Saturday, Oc-

tober 19th. A representative from

Big Pat 3-on-3 Memorial Basketball Tournament

On Saturday, August 17th, the Gamma

Xi undergrads held the first ever Big Pat

3-on-3 basketball tournament and fund

raiser in memory of Patrick Witkowski

(‘11). Patrick, a 21 year-old recent

graduate from WSU’s College of Busi-

ness, tragically died on June 30.

Patrick was not only a great man, but

also a great brother. “You start talking

to him and he’s just the nicest guy

you’ve ever met in your life,” said Harri-

son Diemert, External Vice President.

Patrick parents, Paul and Tracy, de-

scribed him this way:

the Supreme Council, as well as sev-

eral staff members from Memphis, will

be attending this important event. This

year's event will be held at the

Doubletree Spokane City Centre in

Spokane, Wash.

The AAB and Exec Council plan to

convene monthly in-person meetings

or conference calls during the 2013-

2014 school year to track progress

against goals and strategic priorities.

"At 6' 7" Patrick was a gentle giant.

He was a giving sole with a large heart.

Patrick's passions included family and

friends, being a WSU Pike and basket-

ball.”

There were over 120 participants in the

tournament from across the Greek Sys-

tem, and the event raised over $400,

which will be donated to Patrick’s

scholarship at Kennedy High School.

The undergrads plan to put this tourna-

ment on at the beginning of each school

year in memory of Pat. Check-out pic-

tures from the event on page 5.

Page 3

Pike Connection

Alumni Spotlight - Ken Locati, WSUAA President

Gamma Xi congratulates Ken Locati (‘81) who was recently named the

Washington State University Alumni Association (WSUAA) President. The

following is an excerpt from the article “Bridging the Distance” in the Spring

2013 issue of Alumni Link.

Ken is passionate about helping Cougars connect with one another with the

university. A resident of San Diego, he stays active with WSU by carrying out

WSUAA volunteer leadership responsibilities, attending events hosted by his

local WSUAA chapter, and traveling to Cougar football and basketball games

both in Pullman and on the road.

Ken understands the sometimes career, family demands, and distance can

make it more challenging for alumni to stay connected. After moving to San

Diego in 1989, “I wanted to find a way to stay involved with WSU and get to

know Cougs in the area.” He heard about a group of alumni who met regularly

for Cougar events. The group was the San Diego Chapter of the WSUAA. He

quickly became an active volunteer and, before long, was elected chapter

president. Ken was later asked to serve on the WSUAA Board of Directors

and now begins his term a WSUAA president for the 2013-2014 academic

year.

Reconnecting with WSU via the WSUAA San Diego Chapter was a great

choice, he says. “Getting involved led to renewing old acquaintances, getting

season tickets for football and basketball, and having more connections within

the WSU family. The 1,200 miles or so that had separated me from WSU had

been bridged.” Ken encourages fellow alumni to connect with their local WSU

group. “It could be a WSUAA chapter or club, or just a group of Cougs who

enjoy spending time with one another. The most important thing is to get in-

volved.”

Ken looks forward to a busy year of helping Cougars—both far and near—

stay connected through the WSUAA. “During the upcoming term, my top pri-

orities are to support the WSUAA’s membership momentum, help engage

more Cougars through WSUAA events and social media, and aid the WSUAA

in serving its many members.”

Not a member of the WSU

Alumni Association? No

problem! Simply visit the

WSUAA website at

www.alumni.wsu.edu or

call on 1-800-ALUM-WSU to

join today.

Page 4

Pike Connection

Gamma Xi Endowment

Surpasses $52K! Did you know that the Pi Kappa Alpha Foundation has established a restricted endowment fund for Gamma Xi? Currently (as of December 31, 2011), the Foundation manages $1,477,528 restricted to specific Pike chapters. Gamma Xi currently maintains the largest endowment fund with over $52,536. The endowments fund academic and leadership scholarships granted annually to chapters and students for attendance at educational programs un-der the PIKE University umbrella (e.g., The Academy, Chapter Executives Conference, Leadership Summits and International Convention). Once a specific chapter endowment fund reaches a $10,000 threshold for one fiscal year, the Foundation annually awards 3%-5% of the corpus amount. As the balance grows, so does the size of the grant (e.g., $10,000 at 5% = $500 or $25,000 at 3% = $1,250). The endowments are funded by gifts received to benefit respective chapters specifically through the under-graduate giving society (φφka Club) or any gift received designated by the donor to his respective chapter. You too can support the Gamma Xi endowment fund by mak-ing a restricted gift today! Contact the Pi Kappa Alpha Foundation to donate or inquire about giving to this impor-tant program:

THE PI KAPPA ALPHA

FOUNDATION

8347 West Range Cove

Memphis, Tennessee 38125

Phone: 901.748-1948

Email: pikefoundation@pikes.org

Website: pikefoundation.org

Rush Referral Fill out this information and e-mail to the Rush Chair-

man, Jake Steed, at jake.steed16@gmail.com or

425-308-5585 if there is a rushee you would like to

recommend for recruitment:

Rushee Name _______________________

Home Address_______________________

___________________________________

City ________________________________

School Address_______________________

____________________________________

Email _______________________________

Phone ________________________________________

Comments___________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

UPCOMING EVENTS

Fall 2013 Semester Begins 08/19/13 Pullman, WA

Homecoming (vs. Idaho) 09/21/13 Pullman, WA

WSU vs. Stanford 09/28/13 CenturyLink Field - Seattle, WA

Dad’s Weekend (vs. OSU) 10/12/13 Pullman, WA

PIKE U Leadership Summit 10/19/13 Spokane, WA

We’re on the web!

Check-out our

site at

www.wazzupikes.cha

pterspot.com or

follow us on

Facebook at

Wazzu Pikes

Page 5

Big Pat 3-on-3 Memorial Basketball Tournament