Jax Convivium
On February 9, 2005, the brothers of the Jacksonville Alumni Chapter held their annual Convivium at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. The 51 brothers in attendance, which included alumni as well as actives of Zeta Nu Chapter, were fortunate to have Crawford Province Commander Blair Bailey as the guest speaker. Bailey agreed to serve as Province Commander when the previous Commander, Curt Owens, was called to serve our country in Iraq.
Brother Bailey spoke of the history of the Order, the status of the Crawford Province, our spiritual founder Robert E. Lee, and reminded all in attendance of the importance of giving back to the Order.
The chapter recognized its 50 year members: Karl Bardin, Walter Dickinson, and Henry Beckwith. Also, the chapter recognized Lou Frost, Jacksonville’s public defender for 36 years, for his commitment to the community and loyalty to the Order. If you are interested in joining this alumni chapter, please contact Matt Roach at (904)334-0671 or roachmt@aol.com.
Miss. to be tagged for KA
The Mississippi Pine Belt Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order has found a way to show their KA spirit while raising funds for the Irwin Province. Chapter president Brian S. Trascher was eating at a local restaurant when a fellow Gamma Zeta alumnus, Rick Forte, Jr. of Hattiesburg, approached him with an idea to raise funds for KA.
According to Mississippi state law, any organization can have a specialty license plate if it is passed by the state legislature and the design is approved by the state tax commission. The cost of the specialty plate to a consumer is approximately sixty dollars, and the organization receives approximately half for every plate sold. Another Gamma Zeta alumnus Brad Southern, who also happens to be a graphic designer, was immediately enlisted to come up with a design for the special plate. Trascher then drafted a bill to be introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives and delivered it to State Rep. Lee Jarrell Davis for filing. The bill was passed during the 2004 regular session and the KA license plate in the State of Mississippi was born.
Trascher knew that the next step would be to decide how to fairly distribute the revenue raised from this endeavor. “Since there are so many KA’s in Mississippi from several different chapters, I knew that the final destination of the funds would be an issue. I had the law written so that the funds would be dispersed to the ‘Irwin Province Commander of Kappa Alpha Order’ without naming any names. This way, whoever holds that position now or in the future will be in charge of the funds.” Before the special plates can be printed, there has to be a pre-order of at least two hundred of them, so getting the word out is important,” he added. Interested Mississippi residents should contact the Mississippi State Tax Commission and have an application e-mailed or faxed to them.
USC alumni plan return
Beta Sigma Chapter alumni held a very successful Convivium this year. Many alumni were in attendance including Oscar winning director/producer Taylor Hackford. Knight Commander Ben W. Satcher, Jr. announced the formation of the Committee to Restore Beta Sigma. Robert F. Padgett, M.D., was named committee chairman.
The committee purpose is to return KA to is position on The Row and the University of Southern California. Any alumni who would like to be involved should contact Jesse Lyons at the National Administrative Office at (540) 463-1865.
