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Epsilon Kappa Chapter (Lamar) Celebrates 50 Years
Friendships were rekindled and many tall tales retold when Epsilon Kappa Chapter celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding at Lamar University over the weekend of August 8-9, 2008. The weekend featured a keynote address from Pat Talley, Jr. (Armstrong Atlantic State, Eta Mu ’74), which was his first official speaking engagement as the newly elected international president, and the “largest-ever gathering of Epsilon Kappa alumni,” according to Event Co-Chairmen Tommy Gard ’82 and Daryl Gray ’86. The attendance totals showed that about 160 brothers of EK participated in the weekend.
The festivities began at 5:00 p.m. at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Beaumont, Texas with a “Remember When” social. Old nicknames were revived and big stories of yesteryear swapped while segments of the crowd would erupt with cheerful greetings as each newly-registered brother would enter the room.
The party moved, around 9:00, to Madison’s, a popular restaurant in Beaumont’s West End for “Pike Jam”, a concert that featured four Texas musicians who are all initiates of Epsilon Kappa Chapter. The upstairs section of the venue, reserved especially for the Pikes, proved to be too small to accommodate the hundreds of alumni brothers, spouses and dates who packed the house, eventually spilling out into the downstairs area. The party roared until well past 2:00 a.m. when exhausted staff had to shoo the Pikes out of the restaurant. Some things never change!
Saturday started with a luncheon in Lamar’s Setzer Student Center at the old “Pike Tables”, an area in the Cardinal Nest where the Pikes used to congregate as undergraduates. Afterward, LU Alumni Association staff members led a campus tour to see how things have changed in recent years.
Alumnus brothers gathered back at the hotel for a ritual meeting. Members were flooded with memories of college days as they watched and participated in the Pi Kappa Alpha meeting ritual – some for the first time in over 30 years or more. Alumnus Kyle Scaff ’78 served as chapter president for the meeting, where chapter housing was a primary topic of discussion.
The weekend culminated with a semi-formal “Brotherhood Banquet” in the hotel ballroom, with over 300 people attending. During the dinner, members representing each decade of the EK’s existence gave thought-provoking, and sometimes irreverent, toasts to their respective time periods. The brothers then serenaded all the former dreamgirls with renditions of “The Dream Girl of Pi Kappa Alpha” and “Down in Old Virginny.” International President Talley, Jr. gave the keynote address about the importance of alumni involvement. A 30-minute DVD presentation spanning EK’s 50 years, produced by Jack Fitch ’88, was then played on the big screen.
The party got cranked up with a local deejay juggling requests ranging from Motown to Classic Rock to Hip Hop. Members were able to browse table after table of memorabilia. The items on display included standard fare like photos, t-shirt quilts and champagne glasses, along with the unusual – a replica of the cedar-planked outhouse that served as the chapter house phone booth in the 70s and 80s. The celebration also included the requisite circling up to sing songs and “gator” to Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” Hopefully, those injuries are healed by now!
Co-Chairman Gard said, “A wonderful weekend was had by all who attended. The guys had a great time because, if only for one weekend, they were in college again… and the accolades just keep pouring in. The guys were impressed that so many people participated.” “The preparations consumed my whole summer, but it was worth it,” said Co-Chairman Gray, “It was a labor of love. We’re expecting this event to reinvigorate the entire alumni base. It was truly awesome.”
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