Triangle played a very important role in my college life. Like most house freshmen, the fraternity was my first home away from home. My Big Brother and, yes, even the Pledge Master, provided me with valuable guidance and direction in both my academic and social development. The opportunity to develop, along with my pledge class was an invaluable experience. Once initiated, we were thrown into various leadership roles – opportunities we would have otherwise not experienced.
Several years ago, I decided to try to repay the Fraternity, in some way. I was fortunate enough to not need a scholarship or a full-time job to get through college, but others can’t. I dedicated a percentage of our estate to the Triangle Education Foundation, to establish a permanent scholarship fund in my wife Jo’s and my name. I will continue to make regular donations to the Education Foundation, and I hope you all do, too. I want to challenge the pledge class of ucla61 (and you know who you are) to also bequeath a percentage of your estate to Triangle National.
To fin out more about how you can remember Triangle in your estate plans, contact Scott Bova at
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or at (317) 705-9803.
Triangle Foundation Announces Pearl Level of Founders' Club
In 1907 a group of young men gave of themselves to form an organization
that would impact young men for many years to come. They had a vision of the
future and did what it took to make it happen. They believed in a
brotherhood of men, committed to scholarly activity, developing strong bonds
of brotherhood, with a strong sense of civic involvement and broadening of
one's leadership skills. These men made an investment in the future of
Triangle . . . So do the members of the Founders' Club.
The Foundation is pleased to announce a new level just for young alumni.
Those alumni who were initiated between 1993 and 2003 can join the Pearl
Level for a yearly gift of $120 or for a small gift of $10 a month. To join
this group log onto the Foundation website at
www.triangle.org/tef/
or contact Scott Bova at
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Foundation Announces Technology Improvement Grant Program Winners
The Triangle Education Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded $12,000
to eight Triangle Chapters for Technology Improvement Grants. The Foundation
received over $80,000 in requests from chapters across the country, further
emphasizing the need for these types of grants.
The Technology Improvement Grant Program is designed to help chapters purchase
and upgrade equipment and furnishings in their chapter houses to provide a
competitive and up-to-date learning environment. The grants awarded in this
recent round range from technical improvements to updated study materials,
continuing to make the Triangle Fraternity chapter houses comprehensive Living
Learning Laboratories.
In addition, based on the overwhelming need for these types of grants, the
Foundation Board of Directors has made a commitment to continuing and expanding
this program in future years. The next round of funding will be made available
in the fall of 2008. Chapters who did not receive grants or did not get full
funding are encouraged to submit requests at that time.
Triangle Fraternity alumni interested in underwriting full or partial chapter
projects through their tax-deductible donations to the Triangle Education
Foundation are asked to contact the Foundation President, Scott Bova. Through
the support of alumni the Foundation will be able to further expand this
program in years to come.
Foundation Elects New Officers
At its fall meeting, the Triangle Education Foundation elected new officers of
the Board. Elected were James McShane marq65, Chairman; Robert Benziger ill61,
Vice Chair; Dr. Wayne Echelberger sdm54, Treasurer; Michael O’Connor marq74,
Secretary; and Scott Bova, CFRE, President. Each officer was elected to a two
year term.
"These talks and activities made me understand the importance of unity
in our Greek Community. Creating a win-win relationship with other
fraternity chapters is a good start to improving Greek unity. Most
fraternities and sororities share similar goals and values. We can make
each other better if we help each other achieve our goals and live up
to our values. Come to think of it; all Greeks are in the same boat,
and we surely don't want that boat to sink."
-- Chris Yim ar98
"I expected a clear-cut, very defined conference with lots of
specifics on problems and how to fix them. What I got was so much more
than I expected! UIFI gave me a chance to actually think about what was
going on in my chapter, on my campus, and around the nation. I was kind
of able to draw my own conclusions. UIFI just gave me a certain
understanding of what the problems actually are and how to deal with
them."
-- Brant Bristow is98
"What I learned at UIFI will benefit my chapter, my Greek system, my
friends here at Triangle, and me. I learned that being Greek is a
really great thing, and being Triangle is just the icing on the cake,
so to speak. UIFI really gave me the focus and desire to come back to
Marquette and make a difference in my chapter. I also learned that
other Greeks from similar and totally different types of schools (large
Greek population versus small Greek population) like Marquette have the
same problems and enjoy the same benefits of being Greek. Many of the
large group sessions are where I gained most of my new knowledge and
how to deal with specific areas of Greek life, like dealing with
conflict (personal and professional), chapter involvement,
decision-making skills, becoming a credible leader, and talking about
what our ritual should mean to each one of us."
-- Ryan Murphy marq96
"I learned that there is a lot more to leadership than I first
thought. Leadership is a multi-faceted talent. Teamwork is the largest
part of leadership. It is more than just having one person force other
people to do things. With leadership by example you can get great
results. Constant input is mandatory to get maximum efficiency.
Diversity will always be a part of groups so being able to cope with
diversity is only going to make the group function better. We also must
find strengths and weaknesses so we can work together as a group to
extend the strengths and to help eliminate the weaknesses."
-- Cory Dawkins is96
"To start with, let me just say thank you, as UIFI was one of the most
motivating and invaluable experiences I have ever had the opportunity
to be a part of. The whole experience builds such a high level of
motivation and self confidence, it's unreal. I feel ready to take on
the world; however, knowing you can't leap mountains on your first try,
I have already set a number of small, obtainable goals and steps
towards which my Chapter and I will be striving. The topics covered
were real and applicable to the ways we live our lives today as members
of the Greek Community."
-- Dan Amerman mtu95
"This summer the Undergraduate InterFraternity Institute will be
held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Last year I was lucky enough to have the
opportunity to attend, thanks to the generosity of TFEF. I attended
Leadership school at Purdue last summer, and presented information on
UIFI along with a great group of other Triangles that I can say that I
am very proud to know. When I attended MGCA (Midwestern Greek Council
Association) in Chicago, I had an opportunity to meet up with some of
the guys that I had seen at Leadership School -- funny, they had all
been to UIFI. This year a number of Triangles have been provided the
opportunity to attend. But guess what? The same chapters who had
delegates last year are sending more members this year. Iowa State,
Cincinnati, Armour, Colorado State, and Marquette are all sending
delegates this year. Hmmmmmmm . . . maybe these chapters are doing
pretty well . . . stop me if you don't see the correspondence. If you
want your chapter to be a better place, you have to work on it, and use
your resources, like our national office and its services."
-- Jason Moulden marq95
The Future Begins With Us:
