Chapter History

Expansion Director Matthew Friedman, along with Dave Edwards, colonized the gentlemen of Old Dominion University on December 6th, 2000. Also in attendance were members of the Christopher Newport Chapter. The ceremony was held in the Whitehurst dormitory study lounge on the third floor. The 23 men colonized that night in the Freshman Dormitory at Old Dominion, without hesitation, taking upon the responsibilities of what it means to be a Sigma Pi. We were proud, young, and even immature at times. We argued and pointed fingers at first, but if you look at us as a whole, we had grown a lot, that it would send a tingle down anyone’s spine.

The hardest thing in the world involved in starting a new fraternity on a campus where already had established groups residing at, took a lot of acceptance. Acceptance was needed amongst one another, and among other organizations. In that first semester, when 23 men which had no previous relations with one another, tried to operate as one, it was cluttered and unorganized. It was not until that upcoming spring semester that Sigma Pi Colony would make their first mark on the history of Old Dominion University.
Spring Semester 2001
Our first spring semester together went well, numbers increased, we had our first interaction with sororities, and we held a successful blood drive. The Sisters of Pi Beta Phi Sorority invited us to dinner, and cooked for us. We had tapped our recruitment resources into Old Dominion ROTC program, and right off the bat we had several new members. We started competing against other groups in intramural sports. We did extremely well in volleyball which we had a purple and gold team. In meeting our duties with philanthropy we held our first ever blood drive for the American Red Cross, in which our goal was nearly doubled. At our first ever Relay For Life we won the best site award. In winding down the spring semester we were about to take a break for the summer, which would lead to a low tide in the history of Sigma Pi Colony at Old Dominion University.

Fall Semester 2001
Following an extremely unproductive summer in which opportunities were missed during the fall previews, our group was ill prepared for our upcoming recruitment. Lack of contact during the summer also lead to the decline of membership, and of the returning members there was a loss of momentum that should have been carried over from the end of the previous spring semester. Organization and communication in our group faltered. During this rut we experienced our sense of priority was lost as well, but would only recoil to propel us to current stature. After missing the initial fall rush, we pulled together and recruited 8 new members. Unfortunately our retention of these new members was not successful, in that we lost 5 of them. Our social interaction with sororities was indeed the high point of the fall semester. We took Alpha Xi Delta ice skating, and carved pumpkins with Alpha Phi.  We also held our first annual Breast Cancer fundraiser at a local restaurant in which we exceeded our predetermined goal for the event.
The executive board changed several times during the course of the semester. We all knew something had to be done, or else the dream of chartering would dissipate. We decided to have a winter retreat during Christmas break, which would in turn be the lift we needed to get back on track. Winter retreat was successful in the aspect that it brought us closer together, and although planning for the spring was not as extensive as we would have liked, several differences were settled among individuals. As a group we organized a road trip to the University of Virginia where we attended a social function with Alpha Phi Sorority. It was an excellent time for bonding between individuals and for the group as a whole.

Spring Semester 2002
Recruitment in the spring semesters here at Old Dominion had never been the best reputation for increasing membership. In fact we proved that recruitment during spring semester was a struggle. In this semester we only recruited 3 new members, which to date still represent Sigma Pi Colony well. We invited Zeta Tau Alpha to dinner and a movie in which they accepted. The event went smoothly and was well planned. In this semester we put on our first event open to the public. A Fire Fighter Appreciation Day was held at the Old Dominion University Station Number 7. We cooked a pig overnight at the station and served it free of charge to the public the next morning. It was the first time we made the front page of the Mace and Crown, which is our university newspaper.
In March of the spring semester we held elections for the executive board. The onset of fresh ideas in the executive board had sprung us into the well, established group for the next semester. The new executive board would begin to conduct more orderly meetings, and hold rituals to a higher standard. The upcoming summer would prove to be more productive than the last in the fact that most of the members stayed through the break. Contact and social interaction amongst the group was frequent throughout the summer.

Fall Semester 2002
Recruitment began early with fall previews, which proved to be advantageous to us at the beginning of this semester. Our rush went like clockwork in recruiting 18 new members. Rush events were organized and original in theme. The weekend of freshmen move in, we held a pig picking across the street from Whitehurst Hall. We held informational meetings during activity hour inside Webb Center. We once again put on a successful blood drive in which we once again exceeded our goal. Our second annual Breast Cancer fundraiser escalated from the previous year, and once again we exceeded our predetermined goal. We held our first annual car show to benefit MADD. The event was not as large as expected, but was run well.
There was the first annual social with Alpha Xi Delta, in which we took the ladies country line dancing. The day after the social we began Homecoming with Alpha Phi Sorority, who co-sponsored the events of the week with us. Our attendance in every event that semester had been excellent. Morale and attitudes had remained positive throughout the entire semester. Our scholarship program went in full swing, and we fully expected to remain the group with the highest GPA. Committee structure had been reworked, and should to be more efficient than ever.
Out of the now nearly forty men, there are event that have persevered the ups and downs from day one. It is partly the effort of these eleven men that this honor is due, but could it could not have been accomplished without the members who have joined throughout this trial. If one were to ask us if we have any regrets about the events that have conspired since colonization, we would have to say yes, but in turn if one were to ask would we do this again, then we would answer yes without a doubt. In the history of Sigma Pi Colony at Old Dominion University there have been times when the group struggled, and times when we have flourished. Throughout all the adversity that this Colony has endured, we have risen to be leaders among the Greeks on this campus, and hold ambitions to remain the best on the upcoming chartering of Theta-Eta.

Spring Semester 2003
The first semester in as brothers was a big hit for the chapter. We showed pride around campus wearing our letters, and we also showed what it meant in being a Sigma Pi. The first Sage as a chapter for Theta-Eta was George Warriner. At the beginning of the semester, we formed our first pledge class with three brothers initiated, which was the Alpha class. In the athletic side of the chapter, we did very well in sports and it helped bring us together as new brothers.
Programming and campus life we dominated in also. Our second Fire Fighter Appreciation Day at Station 7 was a big hit, and we actually had Toby Lathem take IFC President during the semester.  Lastly, we installed our first Chapter Director, Keith Walentowski, and had Courtney Mathias become our first chapter sweetheart.

Fall Semester of 2003
This semester the chapter kept on growing and taking over the campus at Old Dominion. We had our second pledge class, Beta class with 12 new members added to the chapter, and we still had Toby holding IFC president. The chapter had its first social with Zeta Tau Alpha during the fall, and it was also the first semester as a brotherhood to participate in Homecoming Activities. We saw a huge increase in community service hours with all the brothers in the chapter which gave us lots of recognition with the University and Sigma Pi Nationals. Lastly, we had established our first registered fraternity house which was on 46st street.

Spring Semester of 2004
The spring semester of 2004 took a strange turn for the chapter. We were growing so fast since chartering the chapter, we never took the time to look at the chapter functions, and organization as a whole. Toby Lathem had taken the position of Sage over, after his term as the IFC President the past year. We did not rush, and which in return at the end of the semester we took a hit in active brother numbers due to graduation. There were also some rough patches in the brotherhood, and Keith our Chapter Director was removed from his position.

Though we had a rough start in the chapter, we did succeed in programming and sports. We had another successful Firefighter Day which was our third annual event, and we had a social with Alpha Xi Delta again taking the ladies country line dancing. We also moved our fraternity house to 48th street, and we went all the way to the tournament in soccer, softball, and volleyball though we did not win. Lastly, we had our first formal which was in Richmond, Virginia.

Fall Semester 2004
The fall semester seemed as a hit for the chapter in coming back from a decline. It seemed that the brothers came back from the summer with a spark in them, which was shown first off with the next pledge class which was Gamma class with 23 new members. John Shepheard had taken over the position of Sage now, and we had initiated our new chapter sweetheart Laura Buehner.

There was also a lot of excitement when the chapter partnered with Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority took third place in homecoming, and a brotherhood auction that took in a record $2500. We also had a strong role still in IFC, and we had our first brotherhood retreat as a chapter in Winchester, Virginia. It was very defining that a year out of chartering, this chapter was still growing very strong.

Spring Semester 2005
From a high semester, came another low semester for the chapter. We yet again did not have another pledge class, which in return took a major hit in numbers to the chapter due to graduation and people leaving Old Dominion. We also were very high in community service hours, but fell short in philanthropy hours.
John Shepheard was sage again for the chapter. We had another very successful Firefighter Appreciation Day, which made this our fourth annual event.
We continued our tradition of taking Alpha Xi Delta country line dancing, and we still were very strong in recreational sports. Lastly, we held our formal at the Radisson in Downtown Norfolk.

Fall Semester 2005
Yet, we left school in the spring semester 2005 with a low ambition; we came back again with pledging another class which was Delta with seven new members. We held strong in recreation sports and homecoming still on campus. John Shepheard not only was Sage for the chapter, but also now was on Interfraternity Council Executive Board, and Student Government Association.

Spring Semester 2006
Spring 2006 brought a new change to the chapter in many different things, from leadership down to even new programming. After a two term presidency John Shepheard did not run again, and his little brother Ron Perea became the next Sage for the chapter. Also, in leadership changes was the installation of the chapter’s second Chapter Director, Dave Edwards who was coming back after working at Sigma Pi Nationals.
We also had another pledge class, which was Epsilon with three new brothers added into the chapter. Yet again, we also continued our tradition of our 5th annual Firefighter Appreciation Day, and taking Alpha Xi Delta country line dancing. The start of Sigma Pi’s ACE Project started, with the creation of “Safe Spring Break Campaign.”We also kept a position on IFC with Stephen Fletcher hold Vice President of Academics. Theta-Eta also started a new program for ladies who exemplify their love for Sigma Pi entitled Orchids with our first, Laura Watkins. This was presented at our formal which was held at the Ramada on the beach. 

Fall Semester 2006
The fall semester was steady, though it started a little rough patch in the financial aspect of the chapter with a failed fundraiser of $4500. On a brighter note, we had Zeta class with 12 new members added to the organization. Ron Perea still held Sage, and we had JJ Samar now holding the Vice President of Academic on IFC.  Lastly, we participated in Homecoming with Alpha Phi Sorority, with coming in third place.

Spring Semester 2007
John Shepheard took over sage again, hoping to use his experience of a two term presidency to help get the chapter out of the hot water it was in. We also did not rush that semester, which in return will see that it hurt the chapter in numbers. The 6th Fire Fighter Appreciation Day suffered, with very poor planning. We held our second ACE project, and also were okay in sports. Formal was held again at the Ramada at the Beach, and we installed two more Orchids, which were Ann Kumm and Quinn Sickles.
We did realize though, that if we did not work together, it was going to be a long struggle to get the chapter stable again.

Fall Semester 2007
John Shepheard continued to hold Sage, and we also brought in 17 new members into the Eta pledge class. We had two members come back from SPU, Chuck Dunn and Travis Smith, which opened up a new programming event which was our annual Sam Spady event. We partnered with Alpha Xi Delta for homecoming, and won first place.
The chapter also dominated in football and we were improving the chapter debt, and organization of the chapter. Though, two things that we failed to improve on were teaching the Eta pledge class how to be a correct Sigma Pi, and continue focus on academics which directly put the chapter in a terrible position.

Spring Semester 2008
Since we did not pledge the Eta class correctly and still initiated them, the EC and Dave Edwards put together a new pledge program to fix these problems. The chapter brought in the Theta Pledge class with seven new members. We also had a lot of changes in EC with Mike Eyre (Sage), stepping down after the first month and Travis Smith who was the Second Counselor, and taking over Sage. We also saw a lot of changes like the fourth counselor C.J. Milhoan, moving up to Third Counselor because Stephen Longnecker took over the second counselor position.

We also improved in sports, and we crushed the campus in softball with key players like Shane Vernon, and Chris Rice. The chapter’s ACE projected started to grow more, with co-sponsoring it with Delta Zeta Sorority. The spring also graduated the last bit of original members of Sigma Pi, which meant only new blood in the chapter. Lastly, formal was held at the Radisson Norfolk, with installing five new Orchids, Lauren Healey, Amanda San Louis, Jennifer Byrd, Heather Hignutt, and Jessica Irons.

Fall Semester 2008
The fall started off with a successful brotherhood retreat that was held in Yorktown, Virginia. Though, after the retreat there was a major issue with the brotherhood throughout the chapter. We brought in 18 new members to the chapter, which was the Iota class. The EC still had the same officers installed from the spring, except a change in the organization of the second counselor. We also installed our third chapter Sweetheart Amanda San Louis.
The semester also developed many different programming opportunities for the chapter. We had events like an Alcohol in Academics Seminar for Sam Spady, and a fundraising event called Party Politics. The chapter dominated in football, and we also had homecoming with Alpha Xi Delta, though it did not turn out as successful that we wanted. It was a very successful semester, except the lack of focus in scholarship would hurt us the next semester.

Spring Semester 2009
The semester started out with a change in Executive Council with Taylor Robertson becoming Sage. We also were put on suspension for academics from the national organization. We also did not rush, and there were a lot of issues with the brotherhood, and risk management violations throughout the chapter. A lot of members had started to question if this chapter will last another semester.
Though at midterms, the chapter got of suspension for academics and played softball it would not last long. At the end of the semester the grades still dropped, and resulted in a change of Chapter Directors from Dave Edwards, to Brian Kurisky. Also at the end of the semester, Taylor Robertson had left school, so Travis Smith was appointed for the summer and fall semester as Sage.

Fall Semester 2009