It’s always amazing how time flies. Here we are, back with another edition of the Beta Beta Byline. This semester has been a blast, and now we’re ready to show you everything we’ve been working on.
This time, we have many triumphant moments to share with all of you. The hard work and sacrifice we’ve been putting in are now paying off. You don’t want to miss this!
Recruitment 365
Our strategy for reaching people and putting our chapter’s best foot forward.
Page 2
The
Big Week
See our chapter’s new recruits: all 12 of them!
Page 5
Alumni Takeover
Our experience at the alumni reunion lunch in January
Page 7
Gratitude
Taking stock of all the great moments we’ve had since school started
Page 8
Recruitment 365
Being a small chapter at a small school, we face a lot of challenges that larger fraternities don’t. Larger chapters, especially public universities, are able to gain far more revenue by simply having a larger student body. The more students there are, the larger the pool of Potential New Members (PNMs). The more PNMs there are, the more people will rush your chapter. And the more people who rush your chapter, the more manpower and funding your chapter can use to support new projects, merchandise, and events. What’s more, all these can be used to promote the chapter so that even more people will join in the next recruitment season!
All of this means that our chapter can’t benefit from the positive spiral of attention that allows larger chapters to thrive. We needed to think outside the box in order to meet people and get new members. Our solution was to double down on a popular strategy for fraternity recruitment: Recruitment 365!
If you have a story or any news that you would like to have shared in the Byline, please send an email to fscpkp.historian@gmail.com!
New Members from Left to Right: Keaton Thomas, Kemar Samuel, Benecio Carpentier, Caleb Molnar, Tobias Walter, Tamen Prada, Gavin Sierstorpff, Josiah Stephens, Eli Johnson, Liam Keller, Nolan Becker (Tristen Sapp not pictured).
Recruitment 365
Recruitment 365 is a common tactic for recruitment, with a few simple principles that are very important for any chapter to keep in mind. The idea is that recruitment shouldn’t be conceptualized as only happening during Rush Week or other official recruitment events. Rather, every interaction you have with PNMs is a recruitment opportunity. The friends you make today may become next semester’s Rush class, and even if they don’t decide to join Pi Kappa Phi, both your lives will be enriched.
The primary way we can meet new people is through the various ways we take part in our campus community. When PNMs meet us in our normal lives and get to know us, we can showcase the values of our fraternity and introduce them to other brothers. As such, Campus Involvement is one of the more important Public Values for the task of recruitment.
For example, our Archon, Dakota Bennett, is a member of our school’s ROTC corps, the Moccasin Battalion. Through this connection, he was able to meet people like Tamen Prada and Nolan Becker, who later became members of our current rush class.
Another example is Jon DiMarco, our Vice Archon and Recruitment Chairman. His job in the schools primary gym, the Hollis Wellness Center, gave him the ability to spend time with interested Freshmen like Liam Keller, who then introduced his friends to members of the chapter.
No matter our place on campus, each of us has the ability to reach out to people and bring them closer to our brotherhood. As such, we are always working to showcase the best of what our brotherhood has to offer.
Recruitment 365
This kind of reputation spiral, where one person who has positive experiences with brothers introduces them to new people, was a major part of our recruitment strategy over the past year.
Because of this, we were able to meet a large number of people before the start of this semester’s Recruitment Week, drawing more attention and visitors to our events and casting a far wider net than would’ve been possible otherwise.
Having recruitment at all times of the year can have another benefit. It makes it easier to take advantage of our school’s policy on “open bids”. Open bids are invitations to join a fraternity given outside of the normal time on Bid Day, giving us more flexibility in bringing new people to the fraternity. Our most recent open bid came from Tristan Sapp, who ended up joining us a few days after Bid Day.
The Big Week
Coming up on Recruitment Week, we had several events planned
First was a nighttime cookout by the volleyball courts. Guests stopped by to eat burgers, play sand volleyball, and relax around the fire pit after a long day. Many of the attendees were people we already knew were interested in joining, but we also saw a few new faces. This type of event is always a crowd favorite, whether during Recruitment Week or not.
Next came an afternoon of dodgeball on Mr. George’s Green, where we provided free lemonade and donuts. This was also a popular event, and we even got people together for a game of two-hand-touch football The weather was perfect, a sunny day that still took advantage of late winter cool. This was definitely one of our favorite events this week!
Our third event during the week was a new one for us: Fruit Smash. Following the example of other fraternities on campus, we bought some old fruit from a local grocery store to smash with golf clubs and baseball bats. The event had a strong turnout and was fun for all involved. Though we haven’t begun making plans for next semester’s Recruitment Week, this event may return in the future.
The Big Week
Our fourth event for the week was more relaxed than the others. We invited guests to visit our chapter room for a laid-back night of games and snacks. Being in this more casual environment gave us a new way to connect with attendees. The event was also a success, and we’ve since held similar events for brotherhood bonding.
Our final event of the week was a historic staple of our recruitment: the Red Rose Dinner. This is an invite-only event we host on the last day of every Recruitment Week. This year, we catered food from the school’s main dining hall, Winnie’s, and invited a number of PNMs and alumni. We were very thankful to see alumni Danny Clemens, Jared Perez, Devan Burke, and Noah Yow, along with a special Zoom call from Tim Keller!
We’re always proud to see our guys run home to our chapter on Bid Day, but this year time was even more exciting than most. This time, we had 11 people run home on Bid Day! This number was added to by Tristen Sapp, who couldn’t make it to the event on Bid Day but was able to accept his bid that Monday, bringing the total to 12 new associate members for our chapter.
Alumni Takeover
Every once in a while, we’re reminded that Pi Kappa Phi’s all share in a common brotherhood
Our chapter recently had the great honor of being invited to an Alumni meetup of old Beta Beta brothers from the 1960s at Miller’s Ale House in Lakeland. Unfortunately, this reunion took place on the same weekend as Pikapp College, so only our Historian, Andy, was able to attend.
However, when he went, he saw an alumni community still going strong after over 60 years away from school. The alumni were all incredibly friendly, and even though some of them had not seen each other in years, they still talked and laughed and shared stories like they were still in school. The group was quick to share with our representative, and showed him pictures from their time in school, along with old copies of the Beta Beta Byline and presentation materials from past reuinions.
To the alumni we met that day and those who sadly couldn’t make it: thank you for being an inspiration for us!
Gratitude
These past few months have given us a lot to be thankful for. Here’s a look at some of the moments our chapter has shared together!
We’re thankful to see so many members of our school’s ROTC run home this year. We used to have a strong presence in the Moccasin Battalion, but most of those members graduated years ago. Now, we’re making a comeback!
In February, we held a large Car Wash to raise money for the chapter. We also sold lemonade at the event. Other chapters have done car washes on campus before, so we decided to hold one of our own. The event was a huge success, with a large turnout especially from our campus’s sororities.
To celebrate Bid Day, we knew we had to go all out for the associate members. So, that evening, we drove over to Dave & Busters to play arcade games, win prizes, and have fun with the new brothers!
Gratitude
This past January, most of our Executive Council went as delegates to Birmingham, Alabama for Pikapp College for Chapter Officers. There, they received extra training for their officer roles and met brothers from across the country, including Pi Kappa Phi’s CEO, Jake Henderson!
Having alumni who still live nearby always provides a great opportunities to see old friends!
Our (now graduated) Sweetheart, Faith Schwartz, held a potluck pool party for Pi Kappa Phis right after Spring Break, and our whole chapter was invited to come! Seeing old faces again is always sure to bring back memories, and the new members were excited for the chance to meet our alumni.
Thank you Faith!
If you have a story or any news that you would like to have shared in the Byline, please send an email to fscpkp.historian@gmail.com!
The donations we receive from alumni are crucial. With your help we can:
Fundraise Through Events on Campus
Provide Insurance & Scholarships for Members
Lower Associate & Continuing Member Dues
Maintain our Chapter Room & Memorabilia
Host Events for Recruitment & Brotherhood Bonding and more!
If you would like to make a donation to our Chapter, we ask that you scan this QR code for our official Donation Page, or use this link: https://vault.omegafi.com/vault/publi c/contributions/contributionsform.ph p?URLCode=KOMTDB
Dear Alumni of Beta Beta,
Thank you very much for reading this edition of the Beta Beta Byline, and for your patience in waiting for it. Our chapter has come a long way since we revived this newsletter at the start of the school year. It’s come with challenges, but it’s also been a very rewarding experience.
Moving forward with this newsletter, we expect to publish one more edition before the start of next semester. That means that you’ll still be following us every step of the way through this school year.
Best Wishes, Your Brothers in Pi Kappa Phi
As always, we’re happy to hear from our alumni. Whether you’re a recent graduate or haven’t seen the old school in years, you’re always one of us. Thank you for staying connected, and we hope to see you soon. Pi Kappa Phi – Florida Southern College 111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr. Lakeland, FL 33801
