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  • Back to School at Willamette and Go Beta Week!
  • Mark O. Hatfield Returns
  • Betas say goodbye to beloved house
  • A History of the Gamma Sigma Chapter
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  • Community Service - Habitat for Humanity
  • The End of a Monument, but not a Memory
  • Beta Theta Pi’s 14th Annual PennyCoat Clothing Drive (2007)

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Yes, it is that time again. As much as we’ve been dreading it (or anticipating it), Willamette University will start up again soon. What does that mean for us? Go Beta Week, of course!

The gentlemen of Beta Theta Pi would like to invite everyone to their Go Beta Week festivities!

Here’s the schedule of events.

Tuesday, September 2 - Welcome Back BBQ - Beta Front Lawn - 5:30pm

Come join the Betas on the front lawn for some free food and good times after that long first day of school. Also, come check out the new chapter house (across from Montag)

Wednesday, September 3 - Movie Night - 8:30pm

Weather and conditions permitting, this will be an outdoor movie night, if not, join the Betas in their new chapter house!

Movie: TBD

Thursday, September 4 - Volleyball Tourny - 5:30pm

Test your skills at some 4×4 volleyball action on the Beta front lawn! Are you as good as our Olympic champions?

Thursday, September 4 - Poker Tourny - 8:30pm

Volleyball not your thing? Find out the hard way? Regain some honor at the poker tournament in the house.

Friday, September 5 - BEACH BLAST! - 10pm

The gentlemen of Beta Theta Pi and the lovely ladies of Pi Beta Phi present the most popular dance of the year! Come bury your troubles in the sand and forget those first week blues while dancing the night away! This dance has won Greek event of the year before, and this year will be no different!

On Sunday, May 4, Mark O. Hatfield, former Governor and United States Senator, returned to the house he founded back in 1947. In a touching and powerful ceremony, Brother Hatfield finally “pinned” his wife, Antoinette. A pinning ceremony usually occurs upon engagement, however Brother Hatfield never got the opportunity to participate in one before he and Antoinette married. In the spirit of “better late than never,” Brother Hatfield signified his life-long devotion to his wife by placing his Beta pin on her lapel.

Ryan Moothart, Executive Officer of Alumni and Parent Relations, planned the event with the help of chapter adviser Jon Steiner. Ryan had this to say about the event:

“It was an honor and a privilege to host Brother and Mrs. Hatfield. When we heard he wanted to do this, we jumped at the opportunity. Everything went about flawlessly and the event was a tremendous success. Not only was it a huge honor for the brotherhood to be able to participate in such an important moment in the lives of Brother and Mrs. Hatfield, it was very humbling. To see a man of such distinction sitting in our (and his) living room, knowing that he was just like us when he went to Willamette, made a lot of us realize that Beta Theta Pi really is something special and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

On Saturday, April 5, over 70 alumni members of Willamette’s chapter of Beta Theta Pi came to say goodbye to the wing of Baxter complex that has housed the fraternity since its founding. For the first time in its 61 year history, Beta Theta Pi will be moving to what is currently Terra North. Among the attendees were members of the first pledge class as well as members of Kappa Gamma Rho, the local fraternity that eventually became a chapter of Beta Theta Pi.

Willamette’s chapter of Beta Theta Pi was founded in 1947 after G. Herbert Smith, President of Willamette University and a member of Beta Theta Pi himself, allowed international fraternities on campus. His influence inspired a young Kappa Gamma Rho member named Mark O. Hatfield to begin a petition for Beta Theta Pi to come to Willamette. On January 4, 1947, the General Fraternity granted the Gamma Sigma chapter its charter, with Mark O. Hatfield becoming the first of five founding members. Afterwards, Hatfield went on to become Oregon Secretary of State, Governor of Oregon, and a United States Senator for 30 years.

“The event itself was a huge success. We’ve had tremendous feedback thus far. We made a lot of members from years past very proud and we can’t wait to continue our success in the new facility that the university has been so generous to invest in,” said Joe Gruber (’09), who took charge of planning the event as the chapter’s Executive Officer of Alumni and Parent Relations. Nearly 140 people total were in attendance, including current members and a dozen university officials.

“This was possibly the largest gathering of Betas at Willamette ever. I’m thrilled about how well everything went,” said Jon Steiner (’63), an alumnus of Willamette and member of Beta. “This house has been through a lot in 61 years. To put on an event such as this honoring our history and our house is a great thing to do for all of our alumni who still love this chapter all these years later. It just goes to show how strong the bonds of brotherhood are made here in Beta.” The event culminated with the presentation of a scholarship award in honor of the chapter’s first advisor, Winser Acton (’47), and a movie of the chapter’s history, made by current member Paul Eldred (’10).

You can watch the film of Gamma Sigma’s history below.

On April 5, 2008, the Gamma Sigma Chapter of Beta Theta Pi held an event commemorating the 61 year history of its chapter house at Willamette University. This summer, the chapter house will be torn down to make way for Willamette’s new academic building, Ford Hall, and the Betas will move into a brand new house. Over 60 alumni turned out for the event. The graduation years of these alumni ranged from 1947 (the year of Gamma Sigma’s founding) to 2007.

The following video was created by member Paul Eldred (ΓΣ 1111) for the event and gives a brief overview of the chapter over the past 61 years and the local fraternity, Kappa Gamma Rho, that preceded and would transform into this chapter.

A History of Gamma Sigma

Congrats to the Spring pledge class of 2008!

• 
• Chris Armstrong
• 
• Tim Christian
• 
• Brian Furey
• 
• Jake Horacek
• 
• Nathan Keffer
• 
• Michael Moore
• 
• Will Pilon
• 
• Garrett Potter
• 
• John Schmidtbauer
• 
• Ben Shipe
• 
• Peter Stonebreaker

The Gamma Sigma Chapter of Beta Theta Pi recognizes the principle of commitment to community.  Recently we passed new by-laws that require all members to do at least one hour of community service a month.  This new change reflects what the chapter as a whole values with volunteering and community service and will improve our reputation at WU and in the community.

This month we did Habitat for Humanity in neighboring Independence, OR.  Nine of us went out and spent the afternoon priming almost an entire house as well as digging a huge drainage ditch for the family.  We all got pretty dirty and it was a ton of fun hanging out with your bros doing something to help people.

In the future we are looking at doing more events like this, and potentially a philanthropic even to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity.

Some Pictures:

During the upcoming Winter Break, Willamette University will be removing the trees to the northwest of the Beta Theta Pi Chapter House in order to make way for the new Ford Academic Hall. One of the trees that will be removed is the Richard E. Kerr Tree, sometimes referred fondly as “the sketch tree.” Few know, however, that the tree was planted in memory of a Beta pledge who lost his life during a pledge trip to the coast.

Here is some information about the Kerr Tree compiled by Brother Paul Eldred from Kerr’s fiancé and a pledge brother of Kerr, compiled by chapter adviser Jon Steiner.

From Kerr’s fiancé:

Dick was killed/died in January of 1964. He was with the fraternity guys – went to Lincoln City Beach for some play time. They weren’t drinking – just being at the beach. He was standing on a log and a sneaker wave came in. It rolled the log, he lost his balance, and fell. He hit his temple and was killed instantly. The guys were so shook up and devastated. Dick was a gentle, kind guy. Was going to be a doctor. From a very down-to-earth simple family – not fancy people, just good people. The tree was an effort to remember Dick and to bring new life from his.

He was the love of my life and a terrific guy.

Barb Brovelli-Moon
From Kerr’s pledge brother:

I spoke with a pledge brother of Dick Kerr who gave
similar information. Said he didn’t know him well
because he was in Mathews first semester while Dick
was in Baxter. They were celebrating with their
pledge class at the beach, four pledges were on a log
when a sneaker wave hit it, three jumped to safety on
one side while Dick fell to the opposite side and was
instantly killed by the log. This still happens

occasionally to visitors at the beach, especially in
the winter. Peter Slabaugh, with whom I spoke, was
pre-med as well and now lives in Southern California.
He and other Betas recently visited campus, stopped at
the tree and were surprised at how large it had grown.
The tree has definitely served as a reminder of a
young man who affected the lives of others and who
died a tragic death. The tree has served as a symbol
of his life and legacy.
Kerr would have pledge Beta in the fall of ‘63. At the time, pledges were not initiated until the following February. This means that Kerr was about a month away from becoming a member.
Although his tree will be torn down in the name of progress, Kerr’s memory will not be forgotten. Wood from the tree will be used by the chapter to make a number of sets of letters (ΒΘΠ) for the front room, chapter room, and front of house as well as individual rooms. Also, cut-outs of dragons will be made from this wood. This way, Kerr will always be a part of the Beta house.

Beta Theta Pi believes in Commitment to Community. In order to live this belief, each year we host our PennyCoat Clothing Drive. The drive usually takes place the two weeks sandwiching the Star Trees Lighting Ceremony. During these two weeks, bins are placed on campus and the whole Willamette community is invited to help participate. This year we had a particularly good year, with nearly every bin on campus having donations in it.

The climax of the event occurs on the day of Star Trees, a day when both the Willamette and Salem community combine. The drive extends to more than just the Willamette community, but to all of Salem as a whole. Brothers and friends of Beta Theta Pi go door-to-door in Salem, collecting articles of clothing for the drive. After going door-to-door, Beta Theta Pi voluntarily staffs the Star Trees event. We serve cookies, hot chocolate, pass out candy canes, and spread holiday cheer.

Each year the drive improves, and this 14th year was no exception. We collected over 2000 articles of clothing, an increase from our 1300 last year. All of this clothing was donated to Union Gospel Mission, a shelter that provides meals and clothing to the needy all year long.

Come to the Beta House this Monday night for a free BBQ and to watch Monday Night Football on the biggest screen this campus has to offer!

This week:

Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers!

 

 

Check out the Facebook Event!

The members of Beta Theta Pi would like to extend their warmest welcome to their new brothers! Today we added these 4 members to the rolls of Gamma Sigma:

Kyle Vinyard - 1123

Ryan Moothart - 1124

David Bernstein - 1125

Austin Knutson - 1126

Welcome to our new brothers!