The Torch
The Torch: January 2012
The Official Newsletter of Mu Lambda Chapter Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
www.Mulambda.org _________________________________________________________
January 2012 Message from the President Brother LeRoy Lowery, III
“Go after that Brother in your own auto or even hire a taxicab if necessary to impress him with the real need the local chapter has for his presence and influence. Expense should be nil, when the reward justifies the expense. For after all, what good is Alpha Phi Alpha to any of us if it does not teach us that as servants of all we must transcend all through service.” Jewel Nathaniel Allison Murray, February 1947 It is the beginning of another year and I wonder where the time has gone so swiftly. It seems only moments ago we were concerned about the effects of Y2K - remember? The newspaper is filled with pundits capturing the “rights” and “wrongs” with the past year and what we can look forward to in the new one. If asked, my letter for 2012, and years to come, is “F”, which stands for the following Family, first and foremost, is a primary concern for anyone. When no one else will come to your aid you can rely on family above all. The adage that blood is thicker than water is true and never discounted. Take time to nurture, cultivate and preserve your family. Author Havelock Ellis wrote – “The family only represents one aspect, however important an aspect, of a human being’s functions and activities. A life is beautiful and ideal or the reverse, only when we have taken into our consideration the social as well as the family relationship.” Friendship is necessary for the human species to proper. We are gregarious creatures after all and we need the social interaction of affable persons to ensure sanity and correctness of purpose. When no one else will tell you the error of your ways, a friend will! Develop and maintain the friends that contribute positively to your existence. Nighthawk, a popular DJ in years past, said ”I don’t need nobody to help me do bad!”
Inside this Edition: •
The Executive Message
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Beta Chapter Rededication
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Congratulations Speaker Series
Fun is a prerequisite these days more than ever with the pressures of the declining economy. Herodotus, an ancient Greek philosopher, said “If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.” Lighten up!
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Chair Drive Update
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Alpha Wives
Fraternal is truly an important word for us. We have pledged to show friendship and mutual support for those within our beloved Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Jewel Robert Harold Ogle said in 1936 “I wish to urge upon all of the Brothers the necessity for a broader bond of brotherhood in the communities where you reside. After allegiance to your God, family and country, let nothing shake your love for the Fraternity and its ideas. Let every Brother be truly a Brother, promote his interest as if it were yours and show to the world that Alpha Phi Alpha stands for more than mere words.”
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Housing Assessments
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Financial Brothers
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January Birthdays
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Executive Board and Committee Chairs
Faith is the final and ultimate dimension. Sir William Osler said - “Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith – the one great moving force which we can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible.” It does not matter what nomenclature you describe the ultimate Source – God, Allah, Jehovah – there exists something responsible for the creation of mankind as we know it. Respect and acknowledgement of that something is paramount for the complete being – you. Another DJ, Lord Fauntleroy Bandy, used to sign off his broadcasts by proclaiming - “If you don’t feel as close to God as you used to, make no mistake about which of you has gone astray.” Stay the course, Brothers, and together we will move mountains. Happy New Year!
Brother Kelvin McClinton, Esq. Editor
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