Upon returning from the Purdue Acacia 50's/60's reunion I had a phone conversation with one of my pledge brothers Greg Crosby(69) about my positive reflections on the meeting, He encouraged me to write them down and send them to our pledge class, as well as, to those of us brothers that were able to attend.

 

First of all, I would like to thank Steve Cutshall(61), George Ebbs(61), Dave Waibel(64) and Craig Newman(68) for doing an outstanding job of organizing and conducting this event. For me, the meeting was a success at a number of levels, and I found myself wishing that more of my brothers could have attended.

 

Being the youngest brother to attend the meeting, I was concerned about how this two day event would go for me and would I feel a connection.  Over half of the first day was spent having everyone give an update on their life since graduation and also anecdotes and memories of their time at Acacia. It was very clear to me, after listening to this and getting to know many of the brothers I had never met, why Acacia was so successful when we pledged. These were the men whose shoulders we stood on, and I was so grateful I got to finally become acquainted with them.

 

I was also reminded of the key principles at the foundation of our fraternity: "To strengthen the ties of friendship one with another, to prepare ourselves as educated men to take a more active part and have greater influence in the affairs of the community in which we may reside, and above all to seek the truth, and knowing it, to give light to those with whom we may associate as we travel along life's pathway." It appears to me these men have kept these principles in mind and have brought credit to themselves and the fraternity. I found myself proud to be a part of this group.

 

I was also reminded of the key principles at the foundation of our fraternity: "To strengthen the ties ofDuring the two day program there were presentations by Mitch Daniels(Purdue President Emeritus), Katie Shermershiem(Dean of Students) and Brandon Cutler(Assoc. Dean of Students) about the state of Purdue University. Even though I have stayed somewhat involved in elements of the university, I was very impressed with the growth, innovation and increased stature of the university on a global basis. From my past experience in recruiting at many other universities, Purdue has been and is being run extremely well, and we can be very proud of this.

 

There was a panel discussion by Tom Nelson and Craig Newman on Tom's recently published book "The Rise of Acacia Fraternity at Purdue." Tom gave some very interesting insights into why he wrote the book, the 2-plus years of research and effort it took to create this truly outstanding piece of work, and the critical success factors for Purdue Acacia moving forward. When I read the book, I found myself feeling very proud to have been a small part of the legacy Tom so eloquently depicts in the book. Back in the day I knew I felt good about being a member of Acacia at Purdue, but I am not sure any of us realized on a broader scale where we fit in this extraordinary march to greatness. I hope as many brothers as possible have a chance to buy and read this book.

 

At the meeting I was very happy to see two brothers I had close connections with while living in the house receive  significant awards from representatives of Acacia National - the George F. Patterson Jr. award to Tom Nelson and the Award of Merit to Craig Newman. Tom's contribution to both the local and national organizations, culminating in the  writing of this seminal book, is certainly worthy of Acacia's most prestigious individual award. Craig is someone who has continually given his time and his unique talent for bringing brothers together in the promotion of the fraternity, and is well deserving of Acacia's second highest individual honor.

 

One of the most rewarding presentations was given by Chapter Advisor Ernie Avellana(86) and seven of the active brothers on the state of the active chapter. The progress and growth over the past several years is impressive and is evident by the quality of the young men we heard from. We are also very fortunate to have Ernie as our Chapter Advisor. His highly effective approach to mentoring these young men is another contributing factor to the chapter's move back to prominence on campus. 91 current active members and the success they are now having in recruiting are additional indicators of the significant upward trend they are on.

 

Several years ago I understand there were major concerns about the survival of the fraternity on campus and there were some who wanted to go as far as to sell the house. I know that two of my pledge brothers - Greg Crosby(69) and Bob Schlomann(69) - contributed a significant amount of their time and effort, along with people like past Board Chair John Beering(88) and current Board Chair Charlie Martin(71), to direct this significant turnaround we are now observing. I wish both Greg and Bob could have been at the meeting to observe the fruits of their labor and to receive the recognition they deserve. The past and present Board leadership of John Beering and Charlie Martin have made a large part of the current success possible, and they both should be very proud of their crucial contributions.

 

One of the final rewarding experiences of the event was a visit to 608 Waldron to observe the progress of the current renovation efforts and to learn about the next two major phases of the project. It was encouraging to hear from the active brothers on the extremely positive impact the renovations have had on recruiting and the increased morale of those living in the house. It was apparent to me the support for the renovation effort from the alumni brothers and the Board was a significant motivator for the active brothers to continue their climb back to prominence on campus. We are very fortunate to have brothers like Eric Corti(84) and Tom Smith(60) who have directed the physical restoration, Vane Clayton(78) and Jay Geshay(80) who are coordinating the financial contribution campaign, and Bob Fanning(62) and Warren Young(66) who have made significant financial commitments to the restoration project. All of these men are truly paying it forward. I believe the finalization of the entire restoration project is critical to the chapter's long term success, and it's extremely rewarding to see the progress.

 

I left this meeting encouraged and energized about the future of Acacia at Purdue and grateful for the outstanding brotherhood I am fortunate to be a part of. I hope in some small way my summary of the reunion gives those of you not able to be there a similar sense of commitment and pride moving forward.

 

Best regards,

 

Mark L. Hildebrand