Francis W. Shepardson Award

David Meid Compton, Indiana ’49 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 01
Awarded the Shepardson Award on July 30, 2001

Compton concludes six years as a Beta Theta Pi Foundation Board member this year. Most recently, he was chairman of the nomination committee and has devoted much of his time to loan and grant committee work. He is a former chapter counselor and district chief as well. Considered the Fraternity’s most loyal Convention attendee, this Carmel, Ind., native has been present at 47 Conventions. Compton was a longtime friend of the late Dr. Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence ’22, distinguished president and general secretary of the Fraternity. At Conventions, it was often said, “If you look for Meid, you’ll find Seth.” A realtor by trade, Compton served as a medical‐surgical assistant with a MASH unit in New Guinea during World War II. In 1990, he volunteered to transport ambulances to Guatemala. Three years later boarded a plane as a point man for medical teams bound for Somalia as part of the Somalia Relief and Rehabilitation organization.

Richard R. (Misty) Shoop, Denison ’41 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 02
Awarded the Shepardson Award on July 30, 2001

Shoop has been a recognized leader of the Denison chapter and the General Fraternity. Though his participation in the active chapter was cut short by his volunteering for military service, Shoop generously gave his time as district chief (1969‐71), general secretary (1971‐74) and vice president (1974‐77.) The retired Army Air Corps pilot was known to fly his private plane to visit Beta chapters throughout the East and Midwest. Shoop, who has attended 40 Conventions, is also the composer of several Beta songs. He resides in Fairborn, Ohio.

Herber H. Stephenson Jr., Miami ’39 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 03
Awarded the Shepardson Award on July 30, 2001

Stephenson is in his 25th year as General Fraternity archivist and is the first volunteer to maintain daily office hours at the Administrative Office. The position requires him to be the custodian of the Fraternity’s memorial museum, curator of its collections of documents and treasures, and coordinator of Beta’s John Reily Knox Memorial Library. He serves on the committee for improvements to the archives and consults with a Cincinnati firm specializing in the design and construction of exhibits. His most recent project is the completion of the annex for sports and publications displays. Stephenson had completed military service (1943‐46) as a lieutenant in the Supply Corps of the Naval Reserve, all sea duty in the Pacific. A long‐time resident of Oxford, Stephenson retired from Miami University as assistant dean of student life for housing assignments and administrative services in 1977. He was the faculty advisor and counselor for the Alpha chapter and was secretary and member of the Board of Trustees of the Alpha Chapter House Company for several years. For 17 years, he was faculty secretary of the Miami Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa.

Burton W. Folsom, Nebraska ’49 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 04
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 9, 2002

Folsom is one of only two Betas to serving in the Fraternity’s top three roles — general secretary, president, and general treasurer. Folsom began his service as chapter counselor to Alpha Tau, Nebraska chapter, 1958‐62, then general treasurer, 1964‐67; general secretary, 1967‐71; alumni affairs commissioner, 1975‐77; fund trustee, 1984‐87, and president of the Fraternity, 1987‐90. He was crucial in Lincoln (Nebraska) Beta alumni activities and the Austin (Texas) Beta Club founder. Folsom has attended 34 General Conventions. In 1994, he was honored as the Beta’s 20th Oxford Cup recipient. Folsom is the seventh Beta in a Nebraska Folsom line that totals ten, including his son, Thomas L. Folsom, Westminster ’74. While in the European Theater with the 1st Infantry Army Division, Folsom earned the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He completed his bachelor’s degree in 1949. He was back in uniform, 1950‐ 51, in the Army, 36th Combat Engineer Group at Camp McCoy, Wis. In 1963, he earned a master’s degree from Indiana University School of Finance. Folsom was CEO of the Nebraska Central Building & Loan Assn. and director of the Nebraska Savings and Loan League. He served as president, Executive Club of Lincoln; chairman, Employee Division, United Way, and president, Country Club of Lincoln. He was clerk of session and chairman of the board of trustees for the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Currently, Folsom is a trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation.

Paul P. Van Riper, DePauw ’38 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 05
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 9, 2002

Van Riper is a recognized leader of the General Fraternity. He was secretary, General Convention, 1949; president, General Convention, 1959; scholarship commissioner, 1961‐64; vice president, 1962‐63; and general secretary, 1963‐65. Van Riper has attended 35 General Conventions. He was instrumental in founding Beta’s Texas A&M chapter and was chapter counselor, house corporation president and faculty advisor of the chapter. His most memorable Beta event was Francis Shepardson’s participation in his 1935 initiation into the Fraternity. He was a district chief for ten years, member of the house corporation boards of DePauw, Cornell and Texas A&M chapters and chapter counselor of the latter two. Van Riper began teaching at Northwestern University in 1947, then was on the faculty at Cornell before advancing to Texas A&M in 1970 as head of the political science department. He stepped down in 1977 to concentrate on teaching and community leadership. Van Riper is professor emeritus of political science and professor of public administration at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. A charter member of the American Society for Public Administration, he is considered one of the stalwarts in the field. In 1990 he received the Dwight Waldo Award to recognize his lifetime achievements and contributions to the field. Last spring, Van Riper was presented with the inaugural Paul P. Van Riper Award, recognizing his contribution to bridging the world of public administration scholarship and practice. During World War II, he served four years in the Quartermaster Corps, U.S. Army — two in U.S. and two in England and France. Van Riper has authored or co‐authored more than 50 articles, including History of the United States Civil Service, The Wilson Influence on Public Administration and Handbook of Practical Politics.

Robert L. Cottrell, Miami ’54 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 06
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 1, 2003

Cottrell, a relentless worker, is a member of the Beta Theta Pi Foundation Board of Directors and serves as a campaign advisor to the Fraternity’s Upon These Principles capital campaign. He was chapter president as an undergraduate at Miami University. After graduation, he was house corporation president for two terms and then district chief, which led to his election as vice president and member of the Board of Trustees, 1971‐74. During his term as administrative secretary, 1991‐98, Cottrell took the lead in establishing the Fraternity’s Foundation and Administrative Office. He was also director of the Beta Theta Pi Foundation, 1998‐99.

Raised and educated in Southwest Ohio’s Oxford‐Hamilton community, Cottrell, a Phi Beta Kappa, graduated summa cum laude in economics from Miami, an Air Force ROTC distinguished military graduate. On active duty in the mid‐’50s, Cottrell flew single‐engine jets.

In his distinguished career with Kroger, he was promoted to vice president, Store Operation Service, in 1964; vice president, Corporate Procurement and Trade Relations in 1977; vice president, Distribution Administration 1979, and vice president, Wholesaling, and chairman of the Board of Foodland Distributors in 1984. After leaving Kroger in 1988, he established Cottrell & Associates, a management-consulting firm in the food industry. He served on an interim basis as senior vice president of operations for Circle K Corporation.

In 2001, he was honored as the Fraternity’s 46th Oxford Cup recipient, an award given to recognize the achievement of the highest order by a member. Recipients must have brought honor to the Fraternity through distinguished service and accomplishment in their chosen professional fields.

He and his wife Nancy, a Kappa Kappa Gamma and Miami graduate, are parents of three sons, all Miami Betas: Philip F. ’78, Robert S. ’79 and Richard F. ’80.

Involved with his community and alma mater, Cottrell was a trustee of the Ft. Hamilton‐Hughes Hospital, 1977‐85, providing financial leadership for a $42 million expansion; trustee and president of the Board, Hamilton Community Home Assn., 1979‐86; elder, trustee and chairman of the finance committee, Hamilton Presbyterian Church, and chairman, of the Butler County Children’s Services Board, 1993‐99. For Miami, he was chairman of the School of Applied Science, vice-chairman and trustee, Miami University Foundation, and a member of the advisory council of the School of Business and the Resource Development Board. In 1989, he received the John E. Dolibois Alumni Award for service to the University.

Jerry M. Blesch, Centre ’60 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 07
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 9, 2004

Blesch, retired Navy captain and veteran of the Gulf War, is a Beta Theta Pi Advisory Board member after serving two three‐year terms as General Secretary, the Fraternity’s CEO (1995‐2001.) He is also a volunteer chairman of the Major Gift phase for Beta Theta Pi Foundation’s Upon These Principles Campaign, spending numerous hours making gift appeals for the Campaign.

After studying pre‐engineering at Centre College, where he was initiated into Beta Theta Pi and lettered in track as a half‐miler, Blesch attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1962. He retired from the Navy in 1990 after a distinguished 28‐year career, which included command of the battleship USS Wisconsin in the Gulf War. Previously, he commanded the USS R. L. Page (1977‐80) and the USS Puget Sound (1981‐83), was assistant director of the Tactical Training Group Atlantic (1980‐81), was commanding officer of the Destroyer Squadron 25 in Pearl Harbor (1983‐85) and was executive assistant to the commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command (1985‐87.) Among many honors and recognitions, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and U.S. Navy John Paul Jones Leadership award runner‐up.

Blesch has served in volunteer roles with Beta Theta Pi from the day of his retirement. He was assistant general secretary (district chief) for the Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, and Louisville Universities and Centre College chapters. All four chapters earned the Fraternity’s highest award in 1995, the Sisson award, achieved by only 25% of all chapters. He also served as the Fraternity’s leadership advisor and keynote speaker at the 152nd General Convention.

He and his wife Karen make their home in Danville, where he is on the Centre College Alumni Board, active in Habitat‐for‐Humanity, and a frequent lecturer and motivational speaker.

Thomas D. Cassady, Cincinnati ’76
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 08
Awarded the Shepardson Award on March 17, 2005

Cassady is a member of the Beta Theta Pi Foundation Board of Directors and serves as a committee member to the Fraternity’s Upon These Principles capital campaign. Cassady has held offices as General Fraternity vice president, 1988‐89 and general secretary, 1989‐92. He is also General Fraternity insurance commissioner, a position he has held since 1986. A former assistant general secretary, he was named district chief of the year in 1985.

Locally, Cassady treasures the Diogenes Club and is a trustee of his chapter. He chaired Beta Nu’s Rehabilitation Committee and was elected to the Cincinnati Chapter Hall of Fame in 2000.

Cassady has also shown sustained leadership in the business world and his community. He is president and CEO of USI Midwest, employing more than 200 associates in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Chicago. He is also on the executive board of the national organization. USI is the nation’s ninth-largest broker, with 2,500 employees nationally. Cassady was elected president of the Cincinnati Insurance Board in 1998. He has also served on his local community council and numerous nonprofit organization boards.

He and his wife Karen are parents of two Cincinnati Beta sons: Thomas (Dan) ’00 and Todd ’03, and two daughters: Betsy and Jenny.

Richard G. Lugar, Denison ’54 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 09
Awarded the Shepardson Award on April 1, 2005

Lugar, Indiana’s senior United States Senator, is the Fraternity’s official spokesman for the Men of Principle initiative. The Initiative, implemented in 1998, renews the values Beta Theta Pi was founded upon and is considered the front‐runner for developing and implementing innovative education and leadership development programming to better the Greek experience.

Senator Lugar is also the honorary chairman of Upon These Principles: a Campaign for Every Beta, the General Fraternity’s ongoing capital campaign, which has raised more than $8.5 million toward its $15 million goal. In 2001, he was awarded the North‐American Interfraternity Conference’s, Silver Medal. This fifth-generation Hoosier is the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Indiana history. He is the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a member and former chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976 and won a fifth term in 2000, his third consecutive victory by a two‐thirds majority.

Lugar graduated first in his class at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis and Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He attended Pembroke College at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, studying politics, philosophy and economics. Lugar manages his family’s 604‐acre Marion County corn, soybean and tree farm. Before entering public life, he helped manage the family’s food machinery manufacturing business in Indianapolis with his brother Tom.

As the two‐term mayor of Indianapolis (1968‐75), he envisioned the unification of the city and surrounding Marion County into one government. Unigov, as Lugar’s plan was called, set the city on a path of uninterrupted economic growth. As mayor, Lugar served three terms on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, including two terms as the vice‐chair of the Commission, and served as president of the National League of Cities.

Senator Lugar has been a leader in reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. In 1991, he forged a bipartisan partnership with then‐Senate Armed Services Chairman Sam Nunn (D‐Ga.) to destroy these weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union. To date, the Nunn‐Lugar program has deactivated over 6,300 nuclear warheads that were once aimed at the United States.

Lugar has promoted policies that spur economic growth, cut taxes, lead to job creation, eliminate wasteful government spending and reduce bureaucratic red tape for American businesses. His Hoosier commonsense has been recognized many times, including such awards as Guardian of Small Business, the Spirit of Enterprise, Watchdog of the Treasury, and 38 honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in 13 states and the District of Columbia. He was the fourth person ever named Outstanding Legislator by the American Political Science Association.

Lugar and his wife, Charlene, were married on September 8, 1956, and have four sons and nine grandchildren.

Shelby L. Molter, Miami ’54 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 10
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 4, 2005

Molter undertook the task of returning Beta Theta Pi to its historical reputation as “The Singing Fraternity” as General Fraternity song leader, 1992‐2000. With Administrative Secretary Steve Becker, Florida ’69 and others, Brother Molter developed a new Beta Song Book featuring new arrangements for four‐part harmony. He helped to produce the Beta CD, The Singing Fraternity. He also served as an advisor in the recolonization of the William & Mary chapter.

Shelby’s musical background includes eight years with the saxophone and seven years with the piano. He was a booking agent while an undergraduate and was song director for the Alpha chapter and singing with the Beta Quartet.

A lifetime singer and lover of barbershop harmony, Shelby has sung with the Hudson Heritage quartet, Your Father’s Mustache quartet, the Richmond Virginians, the Dukes of Glouchester and the Poughkeepsie New Yorkers.

The Richmond, Virginia, chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. gave him its highest award, Barbershopper of the Year, in 1997.
Molter began his professional career with the U.S. Army as a special investigator with the Counter Intelligence Corps. He later began an extensive career with IBM, holding many significant leadership positions such as national education manager for the manufacturing industry, designer of the customer executive education center, education manager for Southeast Asia and education manager for China Operations. He retired in 1998.

L. E. (Erv) Johnson, Idaho ’53
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 11
Awarded the Shepardson Award on April 22, 2006

Johnson was appointed Beta Theta Pi’s Director of Communications in December 1992. With this title, he was also selected as General Fraternity Editor of The Beta Theta Pi quarterly magazine, serving through November 2001. The Fraternity’s communications efforts grew exponentially due to his expertise, dedication and resolve.

As one of the final tasks of his career as a professional Fraternity man, Johnson accepted the exhaustive task of authoring and editing the splendid, award‐winning, 15th edition of Son of the Stars: A Manual for Pledges of Beta Theta Pi, copyright 2002. Today, every incoming pledge receives a copy of Brother Johnson’s comprehensive work. Johnson continues to serve as a regular contributor to The Beta Theta Pi magazine and has been a regular speaker at numerous Beta conventions and conclaves.

His lifetime of dedicated service to his beloved fraternity began long before he and his wife Ginger ventured to Oxford, Ohio, in 1992. He was Idaho’s chapter counselor (1972‐81), served on the house corporation board of directors, and was the founding editor of Idaho’s quarterly Gamma Gamma Alumni Newsletter in 1977.

A native of Boise, Johnson was editor of two leading European travel magazines prior to 1992. Previously, he had been public relations manager for Pittsburgh National Bank and in 1967 opened the public relations counseling firm, L.E. Johnson & Associates, Inc., which he headed for 20 years.

In 1976‐77 he took time from public relations duties to travel throughout the United States, writing a weekly newspaper column, One for the Road, for newspapers ranging from Portland, Maine, to Vancouver, Washington.

Johnson has authored several books, including Treasure of the Hills: The First 100 Years of Beta Theta Pi in Idaho, in 2004, scores of television scripts and films, hundreds of features, articles, brochures, annual reports and speeches. He also performed E. Hemingway, a one-person show during 1980.

Earning a bachelor’s in business law from the University of Idaho, he was on active duty in the U.S. Army (1954‐56), reserve duty (1956‐61) and retired with the rank of captain.

He earned the Accredited Public Relations designation by the Public Relations Society of America in 1968. Brother Johnson was president of the College Fraternity Editor’s Association (1998‐99) — one of two Betas to serving in that role in the organization’s 82‐year history (the other being Francis W. Shepardson in 1932‐33) — and was presented CFEA’s Marilyn Simpson Ford award in 1996.

Johnson and his wife Ginger — and their dog, Sara B. — spend their time traveling throughout the West in their RV, portraying historical characters, giving colorful tours of lighthouses and Army posts, and attending baseball games.

Owen S. Williams, Toronto ’50 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 12
Awarded the Shepardson Award on June 28, 2006

One of Beta Theta Pi’s most widely‐recognized alumni, Williams has given selflessly of his time and energies to the Fraternity’s presence there, particularly in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Williams was recruitment chairman and treasurer while a collegian in the Theta Zeta (Toronto) chapter. He became an involved alumnus for Beta soon after earning an honors BA in economics. Entering the real estate field, he became an Accredited Appraiser of the Canadian Institute of Real Estate Appraisal and earned an MBA from York University, Toronto, in 1968. He joined the new educational system of Community Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology at Seneca College as assistant chairman of Business, later becoming director of the Real Estate & Insurance, Business Administration and General Business courses.

Williams served on the Beta Theta Pi Foundation Board of Directors from 1995 to 2002. He was chapter counselor for Theta Zeta for more than 25 years, has been president of the chapter house corporation since 1976 and was chief of District IV, 1963‐67. Former treasurer and president of Theta Zeta Alumni Association, Williams was vice president of three Beta General Conventions and chaired the 50th, 75th and 90th Theta Zeta anniversary banquets. In 1996, he was awarded the additional chapter roll No 1000 by Theta Zeta.

Williams was commissioned in the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942. He served as a watchkeeping officer and in various seagoing wartime assignments and latterly as executive officer of the Canadian Naval Repair Dockyard in Newfoundland. In 2000, Williams was presented the Fraternity’s Oxford Cup to recognize his professional achievements.

Williams was born and resides in Toronto, Ontario, and has four children.

William W. Berry Jr., Vanderbilt ’68 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 13
Awarded the Shepardson Award on June 29, 2006

Bill Berry had a profound love for Beta Theta Pi; that love followed him all the days of his life as he often reminded Betas, young and old, to “earn your badge every day.” Sadly, Berry passed away from cancer in 2001.

A graduate in education, Berry attended Vanderbilt School of Law and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1972. He was an enthusiastic student of astronomy and the American Civil War. While serving as assistant General Fraternity archivist and chairman of the Museum Committee, which supervised the creation of the Beta Museum — a focal point of the Administrative Office in Oxford — he frequently made the drive from Nashville to Oxford for a long weekend of organizing the archives, searching historical files and even taking a polishing cloth to the John Reily Knox Loving Cup.

Berry attended his first General Convention in 1966. Twenty years later, he would become secretary of the 147th General Convention and later, president of the 149th Convention held at Toronto’s Inn on the Park in 1988. He served as official parliamentarian at two other Conventions. Berry was frequently identified as Beta’s foremost authority on The Code of Beta Theta Pi, and he coordinated the original production of The Singing Fraternity CD.

Berry attended some 18 Conventions and served the Fraternity as a chapter counselor, financial advisor, house corporation president, district chief, and regional director.

Frederick F. Brower, Miami ’50
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 14
Awarded the Shepardson Award on October 28, 2006

Brower served as the Fraternity’s second administrative secretary (1958‐65) and 16th general treasurer (1967‐70) and is an oft‐consulted member of the Advisory Council of former trustees. Brower was initiated into the Alpha Chapter as a sophomore on March 13, 1948, first in a class of 10. He has commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps upon graduation in June 1950 and was wounded in Korea early in 1951.

After hospitalization, he returned to combat duty before being reassigned to Parris Island as a recruit‐company commander. Brower gained management experience in being in charge of the base officers’ club, which included a large hotel operation. Later, he became commander of the Marine detachment aboard the carrier U.S.S. Tarawa, serving through its world cruise. Released as a captain in August 1955, he returned to Miami University for graduate study toward a career in real estate sales and property management. Brower married Mary Jane Hugh, a Miami member of Alpha Omicron Pi, in June 1956.

The administrative secretary position had been created as a job to be filled on a part‐time basis, for about five years, by a bright young man who would move on after gaining maturity and experience. By 1957, Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40, as its first incumbent, was preparing to begin devoting full time to his insurance business. On Fey’s recommendation, the Fraternity’s Board of Trustees offered the opportunity to Brower to understand that he would continue his business activities part‐time. He accepted effective June 30, 1958. He began working in February under Fey’s guidance and was able to take over entirely on May 2. He served seven years.

By the time he, in turn, was ready to leave the Beta office, he had become a partner in Oxford Real Estate Sales, a development firm. Several other firms eventually were merged with this to form Alpha, Inc., an association of members of the Alpha chapters of fraternities founded at Miami.

Beta Theta Pi continued to call on Brower. He became the 16th general treasurer, 1967‐70, serving ex‐officio as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Founders Fund and the Baird Fund. In 1977, he was named a trustee of the Founders Fund to fill an unexpired term. Soon, the Founders Fund and the Baird Fund boards were combined, and Brower served on the combined board through the 1984 General Convention.

Over these years, he planned arrangements for six General Conventions; helped organize the annual Alpha migration held in Oxford on or near the August 8th anniversary of the founding of Beta Theta Pi; was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Alpha Chapter House Company and served as its president, and was temporary president of the Sesqui‐Centenary Convention in 1989.

Fred and Mary Jane are parents of Elizabeth, Rebecca and Susanne. Fred’s Beta relatives include a brother Dan (Miami ’52), a nephew Dan (Miami ’80), a grand‐nephew Dan (who is an Alpha Chapter sophomore) and two cousins: Otho E. Lane, Miami 1901 and John M. Sommer, Miami ’53. Another cousin, Nancy Sohngen, married Robert L. Cottrell, Miami ’54, who became a Fraternity vice president and trustee (1971‐74) and served as administrative secretary in the 1990s.

Ferdinand (Ferd) del Pizzo Jr., Washington in St. Louis ’58 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 15
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 2, 2007

Known best as “Ferd” by thousands of brothers, Brother Del Pizzo, has attended 37 General Conventions. His participation in this annual gathering of Betas began as he served his chapter as rush chairman, pledge trainer, recording secretary, vice president and chapter president. Subsequently, he led the Washington University Interfraternity Council as its undergraduate president.

After graduation, Brother Del Pizzo served as president of the St. Louis Beta Alumni Club and was on the association’s board for more than 25 years. He has also served as Zeta Phi (Missouri) chapter house corporation president, Alpha Iota (Washington in St. Louis) house corporation president and board member, chapter counselor and pledge education advisor.

Ferd has been a General Fraternity officer since 1973 when he agreed to be chief of District 21 (which included chapters at Missouri, Westminster and Washington in St. Louis), vice president on the Board of Trustees (1982 to 1985), alumni affairs commissioner (1982) and regional director (2000 to 2001). He has been a member of the Advisory Council since 1986.

He graduated with his M.D. from The University of Missouri‐Columbia in 1962. Now retired, Brother Del Pizzo practiced obstetrics and gynecology in St. Charles, Missouri.

Ferd met his wife, Linda, as they both served in the United States Army in the Philippines, she as a nurse and he as a physician. They have three grown children: Matt, Angie and Fred. Matt was initiated into the Zeta Phi chapter at Missouri in 1990. Ferd has two Beta Brothers: former General Secretary Vince, Missouri ’62 and Wilson, Missouri ’65.

James S. Wachs, Cincinnati ’55 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 16
Awarded the Shepardson Award on November 8, 2008

Wachs served as General Treasurer from 1973‐76 and on the Advisory Council from 1976 until he died in 2008. He was a Fund Trustee from 1973‐77, a position that was the forerunner of the directors of the Beta Theta Pi Foundation. He was instrumental in establishing the Beta Foundation, again serving as a board member from 1993‐2000. Jim completed his term as Foundation Chairman.

As Beta’s official legal counsel to the administrative secretary and Board of Trustees for more than 30 years, Jim provided advice on all legal and tax matters, facilitating the development of today’s chapter services, risk management and fund‐raising activities of the General Fraternity and Foundation. After his death, his estate gift prompted The Beta Theta Pi to feature him as a member of The Bridge Builder Society in the A Lasting Moment feature of the magazine.

Advisory Council Member Robert L. Cottrell, Miami ’54, reflects, “As a peer District Chief, Trustee, Foundation Board Director, and as our legal counsel during my term as Administrative Secretary, Jim was an invaluable mentor in my Beta experience.”

“Jim served on the Beta Bu Building Company for five decades, providing his characteristic wit and wisdom, always with humility and profound self‐deprecating humor. Jim would express his pride for the Cincinnati chapter’s progress and awards by saying he would never be admitted with their current standards. We all knew better,” recalls Advisory Council Member Thomas D. Cassady, Cincinnati ’76.

For 49 years, he practiced law as a member of Frost Brown Todd LLC (formerly known as Frost & Jacobs). His practice focused on estate planning, estate administration and the representation of numerous family and closely-held businesses. Jim was a highly respected lawyer, not just in Cincinnati but state-wide. He was a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, an Ohio Super Lawyer, and was included in the Best Lawyers in America since its first publication.

In addition to his law practice, Jim and his brother, Gary, Cincinnati ’58, were owner/operators of the 152 unit Garfield Suites Hotel, located in Cincinnati. A life‐long Cincinnatian, Jim was a graduate of Walnut Hills High School, the University of Cincinnati, and a Harvard College of Law graduate.

He got a great deal of satisfaction from his many charitable endeavors. In addition to his philanthropy, Jim was very active on many foundation boards, including Cincinnati Bar Association, Cincinnati Rotary, University of Cincinnati, Emery Memorial, Jack J. Smith, Louise Hannaford and Beta Theta Pi. He was also a long‐time member of the Cincinnati Commonwealth and Commercial Club, the Banker’s Club, the United Way de Tocqueville Society and Ryland Lakes Country Club, where he was a past president.

His survivors include his wife of 24 years, Karen; son, Randy; daughter and son‐in‐law, Jenny and Doug Wyatt and five grandchildren.

Donald G. (Dipper) DiPaolo, Michigan ’78
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 17
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 1, 2009

Dr. Donald G. (Dipper) DiPaolo, was initiated as number 1509 on the roll of the Lambda Chapter of Beta Theta Pi at the University of Michigan on April 23, 1975. His commitment and dedication to Beta Theta Pi over the past two decades is largely unmatched, and he serves as the quintessential Beta role model to undergraduates and alumni alike.

DiPaolo’s journey as a Beta volunteer began when he assumed the role of house director and chapter counselor for his alma mater in 1992. Seeing the potential of this bright, rising star, he was appointed district chief in 1994 by then-General Secretary Vince del Pizzo, serving in that capacity for two years.

Change was in the air in the mid-1990s as Beta Theta Pi was seeking to prove her relevance in the collegiate world. By the late fall of 1996, the Fraternity’s leadership gathered a cadre of committed individuals . . . ultimately forming a blue-ribbon strategic vision steering committee. Brother DiPaolo’s background in education made him a strong player in that all-important endeavor and he became a member of the 1996 Strategic Planning Committee. Soon after, the Men of Principle initiative was born, and Dipper was asked to introduce the new initiative to the 159^thGeneral Convention in Miami, Florida, in 1998. His influence continued as a member of the Initiative’s development and implementation teams.

DiPaolo was elected to a three-year term as vice president on the Fraternity’s Board of Trustees at the 163rd General Convention in 2002 and has led many significant conversations among Beta brothers as he is a frequent speaker and advocate for Beta Theta Pi’s Men of Principle initiative and leadership programming. He serves as the General Fraternity’s Leadership Development advisor and you have likely met him if you have attended the Chapter President’s Leadership Academy, a Keystone Regional Leadership Conference, The John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle, or The Peter F. Greiner Leadership College, which are all programs he has helped to shape and facilitate.

DiPaolo is nationally known as a strong advocate for quality fraternity and sorority life. He has spoken at hundreds of campuses and spends much of his time promoting interfraternalism. In August 2002, he was honored by the North-American Interfraternity Conference as a recipient of the Award of Distinction and served as the keynote speaker for the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Association of Fraternity Advisors.

DiPaolo earned a doctorate in leadership education from the University of Michigan in August 2004, and owns and operates DiPaolo & Associates, a consulting practice that provides private leadership coaching.

DiPaolo was an award-winning Saline High School teacher and coach for 19 years before he joined the University of Michigan School of Education faculty in 1997 as cohort director of the Master of Arts and Certification Program.

William F. Hahn, Lehigh ’49 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 18
Awarded the Shepardson Award on July 28, 2011

William F. Hahn was born on July 7, 1923. Bill attended college at Lehigh University after his service in World War II. He initiated into his beloved Beta Chi Chapter at Lehigh on May 25, 1946, as roll number 408. He graduated in 1949 and, reflecting on his decision to join, Bill shared, “It turned out that was one of the best decisions I ever made, because it got me back to civilian life after four years of serving in the military.”

During World War II, Brother Hahn, a Navy pilot, flew carrier-based fighter planes in aerial missions over Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Tokyo and Kyushu. The President of the United States awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross for his “heroism and extraordinary achievement” piloting in Fighting Squadron Eighty Two, which was attached to the U.S.S. Bennington. It is also noted that Hahn’s “skill and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Hahn’s future chapter brother, Herbert Seeger ’49, introduced Bill to Beta Theta Pi. Seeger struggled with mechanical drawing and excelled in calculus, and Hahn, the opposite, helped Seeger with mechanical drawing while Seeger studied calculus with Hahn. Hahn initially was not attracted to the idea of fraternities. However, he decided to join Seeger for dinner at the chapter house, met his future brothers and committed to joining the Fraternity.

After college, Hahn worked at the Fuller Co. until 1968. Hahn then joined Pennsylvania Crusher Corp. in 1968, which merged with Penn Virginia Corp., where he served as president from 1969 until 1980. When Penn Virginia Corp. acquired Vibranetics in 1978 and Merrick Corp. in 1980, he became the senior vice president of Penn Virginia Corp. and chairman of Pennsylvania Crusher Corp., Vibranetics, Inc., and Merrick from 1981 until 1986.

Hahn served on the Foundation Board of Directors from 2000-2006, as Villanova’s financial advisor from 1993-1997, as Villanova’s House Corporation President from 1989-1990 and as a district chief from 1961-1965.

He and his wife and Beta Sweetheart, Helen (dec.), have four grown children. His son, William “Bill” Hahn, Jr., Penn State ’80, son-in-law, Dan Wilhelm, Penn State ’79, and grandson (Dan’s son) Eric Wilhelm, Penn State ’09, are also members of Beta Theta Pi.

John K. Easton, Jr., Wesleyan ’58 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 19
Awarded the Shepardson Award on July 28, 2011

John K. (Jack) Easton, Jr. was born on May 10, 1936. He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and graduated in 1958. His family is very familiar with Beta Theta Pi. His father, John K. Easton, Pennsylvania ’30, uncles, Harry M. Easton, Pennsylvania ’26, William F. Ahern, Iowa State ’21, and cousin Harry M. Easton, III, Maine ’52, are members of the Fraternity. One of Easton’s most memorable Beta Days was April 15, 1984, when his son John K. Easton, III, Denison ’86, was initiated into Beta Theta Pi.

Easton has had numerous roles in Beta Theta Pi, including helping position the current Administrative Office location. From 1999 to 2002, he volunteered as Alumni Advisor for the Phi Chapter at the University of Pennsylvania. He supported the chapter through the ups and downs of reorganization in the late 90s, led by the chapter’s serving as a pilot chapter for the Men of Principle initiative and played an active role in the young men’s officer development and advisor training. Previously, he guided the Villanova University Chapter when it was colonized in 1991 as the Chapter Counselor from 1994‐1997.

Earlier, Easton served on the Beta Theta Pi Foundation board of directors from 1994 to 1999. In addition, he was the Fraternity’s General Treasurer from 1991‐1994 after serving as a Vice President from 1989‐ 1991. Prior, he volunteered as district chief from 1981‐1987 for the chapters at Dickinson, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, Penn State and Maryland. Further, the 172nd General Convention is Easton’s 31st Convention attended. He attended those Conventions as a chapter president (1957‐1958), Convention president (1985) and Delaware Valley Alumni Association president (1975‐1976). While serving in the Delaware Valley Alumni Association, he was instrumental in the group’s growth and success.

Outside of Beta Theta Pi, Easton was vice president of PNC Bank in its Philadelphia headquarters. He also served as chairman of the Bank Automation Association of Delaware Valley during part of his professional career.

Easton and his Beta sweetheart, Jane, have been loyal supporters of the Beta Leadership Fund and various Capital Campaigns. The Eastons are the Bridge Builder Society members and have been generous sponsors of many undergraduates to attend leadership opportunities.

Easton enjoys volunteering with his church, the local school board, and the area country club in his downtime. He and his wife of 50 years, whom he married six days after his Wesleyan graduation, are avid golfers and reside in Lower Gwynedd, Penn. In addition to their son John, they have two daughters, Barbara and Betsy.

Peter W. C. Barnhart, Miami ’66
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 20
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 3, 2012

Peter “Pete” W. C. Barnhart, Miami ’66, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on June 3, 1944. He attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and graduated in 1966. Beta Theta Pi’s legacy, as his uncle, Charles C. Evans, was a member of Beta’s great old chapter at The Ohio State University.

Barnhart has long been a servant of Beta Theta Pi. Currently serving his second term as president of the Alpha Chapter House Company, he has served as a director since 1972. Barnhart was a donor to the Beta Foundation’s Upon These Principles Campaign in 2006 and the new Administrative Office Building Campaign in 1994. He also served on the Alpha 2000 Campaign Committee and is a Bridge Builder Society member of the Beta Theta Pi Foundation.

Beginning in 1981, Barnhart served as vice president of the Board of Trustees. His time on the board followed his five-year term as the fourth administrative secretary from 1972-77. Barnhart has also volunteered as assistant chapter counselor for the Alpha Eta Chapter at Denison University and as the chapter counselor for the Theta Delta Chapter at The Ohio State University. Since 1984, Barnhart has served as a member of the Advisory Council of Beta Theta Pi’s former trustees.

Barnhart worked as a senior vice president for PNC Bank in Columbus, Ohio, where he recently retired after 29 years. Barnhart is also a United States veteran, having served in the Ohio Air National Guard from 1973-93, which followed his active duty service in the Air Force. Barnhart retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and graduated from USAF Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College.

In his free time, Barnhart enjoys volunteering with several prominent organizations. He is a current member of the Arthritis Foundation National Board and serves as the budget and finance committee chair. He also serves on the Arthritis Foundation Great Lakes Regional Board (past chair) and the Arthritis Foundation Central Ohio Board (past chair). Barnhart has been awarded the Arthritis Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for his efforts. Barnhart is a past president and member of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Development Board and Advisory Board. He has served on the NCH Center for Child and Family Advocacy Board. Additionally, Barnhart volunteers with the Rotary Club of Dublin/Worthington, the past president.

Barnhart is the proud father of Christina and Carrie, who both attended Taylor University in Indiana. Barnhart currently resides in Worthington, Ohio, with his wife and Beta Convention Veteran Judy, the past president of Delta Gamma Fraternity and past chairman of the Delta Gamma Educational Foundation.

James J. (Tiger) Ellis, Missouri ’55 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 21
Awarded the Shepardson Award on September 7, 2012

Born in Monett, Mo., Jim Ellis served as the quarterback of his state championship football team and was offered a basketball scholarship by the University of Missouri. He developed a strong work ethic at an early age through sports and working on his father’s Coca-Cola trucks throughout the southwest Missouri region. His college years were some of Tiger’s favorites, and the fraternal friendships formed at 520 College Avenue in Columbia blessed Jim throughout his lifetime.

He was married to his wife, Van Hartman Ellis, for more than 51 years. In 1960 they moved to Dallas, where he started his career with Mutual of New York. He was appointed manager of the Dallas agency in 1976, earning the title of general manager. He retired from management in 1992. In 2003, Jim was elected to the General Fraternity’s Board of Directors of the Beta Theta Pi Foundation. He served on the house corporation of his beloved Zeta Phi Chapter for many years.

Having earned a litany of industry awards, including a Life Member of the Million Dollar Round Table, Jim received the Faculty Alumni Award from the University of Missouri and the Citation of Merit from the University’s Alumni Association. He was a University of Missouri Jefferson Club member and was active in the Davenport Society, the strategic planning board of the College of Business. Jim was a member and past president of the Dallas Country Club and served on several corporate boards.

While Jim’s accomplishments reflect his remarkable intellect, character and work ethic, Jim is remembered most significantly for his collection and network of close friends and fraternity brothers. He loved people and maintained friendships from across the country. He was a man of faith, character and integrity and was a gentleman at all times. Jim was fun-loving and a blessing to all who knew him. He was indeed a man of principle for the ages.

Jim is survived by his wife, Van, his daughters Mary Van Ellis Armistead and Helen Ellis, his son-in-law Howard L. Armistead III, and his three grandchildren Caroline, Howard IV and Elizabeth Armistead.

Ronald P. Helman, Miami ’55 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 22
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 9, 2014

Ronald P. Helman, Miami ’55, was born on July 13, 1933, in Canton, Ohio. He attended Miami University and was initiated into the Alpha Chapter on November 2, 1952, as Roll No. 1013. Graduating from Miami with a Bachelor’s degree, he earned his Master of Science from Miami in 1957.

Helman’s involvement with the Fraternity runs deep. From 1965-72, he served as Beta’s third administrative secretary following in the footsteps of Ralph N. Fey, Miami ’40, and Frederick F. Brower, Miami ’50. Under Helman’s guidance, the Beta Leadership Fund was launched, and the Fraternity began using computers to save membership records. From 1984-87, he was a vice president on the Fraternity’s Board of Trustees and was a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors from 1996-2002. In 1991, Helman was elected to the Board of Directors of the National lnterfraternity Conference. He continues to serve on Beta’s Advisory Council.

Helman is very dedicated to his beloved Alpha Chapter. He organized the Alpha Class of ’55 Reunion tradition beginning in 1960. Members of the class have met on Miami’s campus every five years and have donated gifts to the chapter at each reunion. Helman established the Badge Award, given to the Alpha Chapter senior with the top GPA

Besides the Fraternity, Helman is devoted to his alma mater. He was a member of Miami’s Alumni Association Executive Council, president of the alumni association from 1971-72, and in 1980, served as the chairman of the fundraising committee for the 25th Anniversary Reunion of his class. In 2013, he was awarded the university’s Bishop Medal.

Other distinctions and volunteer efforts include being named Oxford Citizen of the Year for 1969 and serving as a board member for the Rotary Club of Houghton, Michigan, and Houghton’s Little Brothers­ Friends of the Elderly.

Professionally, from 1976-96, Helman was the executive director of the Michigan Tech Fund of Michigan Technological University. Following his retirement from MTU, he served for 18 months as a part-time advancement advisor to former Finlandia University President Robert Ubbelohde. In his retirement, Helman remained busy, coaching three community campaigns totaling $1.3 million for Little Brothers­ Friends of the Elderly, the Copper Country Humane Society, and the new Portage Lake District Library.

Helman and wife Lou Ellyn, a sister of Kappa Kappa Gamma, are parents to Betsy, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Randy, Central Michigan ’84, founding father and former chapter president, and Roger, Michigan ’89, who also served as chapter president. Helman’s grandson Alexander ’17, was a refounding father of the Gamma Psi Chapter at Michigan State University.

Through annual giving to the Beta Theta Pi Foundation, Helman and his sons created the Ronald, Randall and Roger Helman Scholarship, which provides merit scholarships to Miami, Michigan and Central Michigan collegiate members on a rotating basis. Besides the Alpha Chapter, Helman has roll numbers from the Gamma Psi Chapter at Michigan State University (No. 1000) and the Epsilon Gamma Chapter at Central Michigan University (No. 200).

Lloyd L. Kirk, Kansas ’55
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 23
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 4, 2016

Born April 2, 1933, Lloyd L. Kirk was initiated September 27, 1953, as Roll No. 942 into the Alpha Nu Chapter at the University of Kansas.

The spirit of dedication and giving back to the Fraternity are inherent in Kirk, whose role as a volunteer began back in 1968 when he served for five years as a district chief. Less than 10 years later, the Board of Trustees appointed him as the Fraternity’s 23rd General Secretary, a position Kirk filled from 1980-1983. Members in that time remember his genuineness and authenticity through gestures such as sending individual, hand-signed holiday cards to each chapter. Even after his successful run occupying the highest volunteer position within the Fraternity, Kirk returned to serving Beta Theta Pi locally as the house corporation president of the then-young and aspiring Epsilon Lambda Chapter at the University of Missouri–Kansas City from 1992-1998. The men were so grateful for his contributions and guidance that they honored him as Roll No. 72 on the chapter’s official roll.

For the countless hours of time Kirk has given back to the Fraternity, he has been equally as generous with his treasure. A regular donor to the Beta Leadership Fund virtually every year since its inception in 1971, he also served as a donor and volunteer for the Upon These Principles Capital Campaign – the then-largest fundraising campaign in Greek world history. Altogether, the longevity of Beta’s award-winning leadership development programs personifies a man whose name is synonymous with the values of Beta Theta Pi – Lloyd Kirk.

Retired from a successful career with Moore Business Forms, Inc., Kirk resides in Prairie Village, Kansas, and has two children with his late Beta Sweetheart, Millie, and five grandchildren.

David W. Wright, Ohio State ’67
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 24
Awarded the Shepardson Award on July 29, 2017

David W. Wright, Ohio State ’67, was born on April 22, 1945. He attended The Ohio State University and was initiated into the Theta Delta Chapter on May 3, 1964, as Roll No. 1326.

Wright’s volunteer service to the Fraternity spans almost 30 years, beginning in 1988 when he became Theta Delta’s house corporation president. He later occupied the district chief and regional director roles before joining the Fraternity Board of Trustees. There, Wright served for nine years, six of which he spent leading the Fraternity as General Secretary (2001-2007).

Upon completing his term, he joined the Foundation Board of Directors (2009-2011) and served on The Promises to Keep Capital Campaign cabinet. Wright currently sits on the Advisory Council and leads the ongoing capital campaign to rebuild the Theta Delta Chapter house.

Professionally, Wright serves as the chief investment officer at First Ohio Planning, providing financial planning, investment advice, insurance underwriting and employee benefit plan design for a broad range of clients.

Highly involved in his community, Wright is a member of The Society of Financial Services Professionals. He belongs to the Columbus Rotary and has served as the award-winning Camp Enterprise chairman. He was named vice chair for The Ohio State University Alumni Association Advisory Council representing Student Life. A member of First Community Church, he has served on the Parish Life Council and Finance Council and previously taught Sunday school for more than ten years.

Wright resides in Columbus, Ohio.

Douglas G. Houser, Willamette ’57 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 25
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 4, 2018

Doug G. Houser, Willamette ’57, was born on July 11, 1935. He attended Willamette University and was initiated into the Gamma Sigma Chapter on February 15, 1954, as Roll No. 246. He earned his law degree from Stanford, where he served as president of the law school student body.

Houser began volunteering for Beta in 2007 as an appointee to the Foundation Board of Directors. Two years later, he assumed the role of Foundation Board chairman, leading in the formulation phase of Beta’s eventual $20 million Promises to Keep Capital Campaign.

In 2011, he was elected to a three‐year term as General Fraternity President on the Board of Trustees. He currently sits on the Fraternity’s Advisory Council and actively supports his Gamma Sigma Chapter.

Professionally, Houser serves as a senior partner at the law firm Bullivant Houser Bailey, where he has worked since 1961 following discharge from the U.S. Army. His industry awards and achievements are abundant, arguably most notable being his long‐held role on the Board of Directors for Nike, Inc., which he incorporated and served as general counsel for many years.

His community service has included serving the Episcopal Church as senior warden of his parish, a member of the Board of Directors of the Episcopal diocese, and vice-chancellor of the diocese and serving on boards for the Eagle Scouts, Salvation Army and Waverly Children’s Home.

Robert T. (Bob) Grand, Wabash ’78
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 26
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 3, 2019

Robert (Bob) T. Grand, Wabash ’78, was born on November 6, 1955. He attended Wabash College and was initiated into the Tau Chapter of Beta Theta Pi on February 9, 1975, as Roll No. 1204. He earned his law degree from the Indiana University School of Law in 1982 and is currently admitted to practice in the state of Indiana.

Grand has a long and demonstrated history of service to Beta Theta Pi in the Hoosier State, formerly acting as a district chief and a convener of the Central Indiana Beta Theta Pi Alumni Association. For his contributions to Betas statewide, the Indiana Beta Conclave established the Robert T. Grand Volunteer of the Year Award, presented first to Grand himself at the annual alumni banquet in 2010.

Of course, Grand’s support for the Fraternity extends beyond his home state’s borders and far across Beta’s Broad Domain. A dedicated district chief throughout the ’80s, from 1990-93, he served the Fraternity Board of Trustees as vice president. Then, in 1997, he moved his talents to the Beta Foundation Board of Directors, first as a member then as chairman. During this time, he helped make possible the culture-shaping programs born in the early years of the Men of Principle initiative by helping lay the groundwork for Beta’s first capital campaign for educational programming. Launched publicly under his chairmanship in 2003, the Upon These Principles Campaign raised $20.1 million in its quest to grow and endow Beta’s hallmark leadership programs, an interfraternity record.

In 2012, Grand again answered the Fraternity’s call to serve, joining the cabinet and ultimately co-chairing The Promises to Keep Campaign. In no small part thanks to his expertise and talents as a leader, the Campaign went on to exceed its $20 million goal and help secure the Beta experience for a new generation of young brothers.

Professionally, Grand is the managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg LLP. He concentrates his practice in public finance and governmental regulation, counseling federal, state, county and city officials on financial and economic development initiatives. He has been listed among The Best Lawyers in America since 2005. Notably, Grand has been central to the teams of several prominent politicians, including former Indiana Governor Bob Orr, Senator Richard Lugar and Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump. He is currently on the Republican National Committee’s finance leadership team.

Within his local and professional communities, Grand has been involved as a chairman or board member of the Indiana State Bar Association, William E. English Foundation, Wabash College, Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis Urban League, Indiana Dollars for Scholars and the Capital Improvement Board of Marion County. He is also an elder at Second Presbyterian Church.

Bob and his wife, Melody, a sister of Gamma Phi Beta, reside in Indianapolis and have two sons, Ryan, Wabash ’08, and Kyle, Wabash ’11.

Joseph B. Buchanan, Washington State ’53 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 27
Awarded the Shepardson Award on May 20, 2020

Joseph B. Buchanan, Washington State ’53, was born on May 12, 1929. On October 7, 1951, he was initiated into the Gamma Theta Chapter of Beta Theta Pi as Roll No. 590 and graduated from his institution with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Brother Buchanan’s service to Beta Theta Pi spans nearly two decades and includes volunteerism at local and General Fraternity levels. Throughout that time, he has maintained a constant presence in the growth and success of his beloved Gamma Theta Chapter. Beyond being instrumental in the chapter’s 2001 recolonization, he also proved critical throughout his 14-year run on the advisory team in finance, ritual, recruitment, alumni relations and member education. He has also served on the chapter’s house corporation board for nearly a decade, first as treasurer then as president, and carried the torch as a chief volunteer for the chapter’s centennial celebration.

His influence on the General Fraternity began in earnest in 2005 as an assistant district chief, followed quickly by a promotion to chief of district 31 (British Columbia, Puget Sound, Washington) in 2006. After serving nine years in that role, he was appointed as one of the Northwest region’s earliest regional chiefs.

While Buchanan has established meaningful connections with chapters throughout the Pacific Northwest, perhaps none have been more deeply held than with Delta Epsilon at Puget Sound. He was honorarily initiated as Roll No. 1023 in early 2020.

The Administrative Office counts at least 35 General Fraternity events Buchanan has either attended or facilitated since 2007, including 13 consecutive Keystone Regional Leadership Conferences, 11 Conventions, eight Leadership Summits, multiple Wooden Institute sessions, and several sessions Foundation-sponsored receptions.

Brother Buchanan’s volunteer service has been so visible and impactful that he was featured in a 2013 issue of The Beta Theta Pi magazine and a plaque honoring those Gamma Theta Betas. The latter epitomize Buchanan’s volunteer spirit hangs in the chapter house at WSU.

Currently residing in Sammamish, Washington, Buchanan is married to his longtime Beta Sweetheart, Marliene, a Pi Phi, when he pledged the fraternity across the street in 1951. They have three children: Kathy in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Joe in Olympia, Washington; and Rich in Seattle. He enjoyed a 35-year career in the property and casualty insurance industry before retiring in 1991.

W. H. (Bert) Bates, Missouri ’49 (Deceased)
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 28
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 7, 2021

W.H. (Bert) Bates, Missouri ’49, was born on April 14, 1926, in Lexington, Missouri. He is a WWII Army veteran, having served in Europe as part of the 2nd Infantry Division. He attended the University of Missouri beginning in 1946 and was initiated into the Zeta Phi Chapter of Beta Theta Pi on March 13, 1948, as Roll No. 981. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, Bates attended the University of Michigan Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctorate and served as senior editor of the Michigan Law Review.

Leadership in his profession and community, as well as unselfish devotion to his fraternity and alma mater, have characterized Bates’s life and career.

A 1994 inductee onto the Zeta Phi Chapter Wall of Fame, Bates’s service to his beloved Beta Theta Pi began in 1997 as a member of the Epsilon Lambda House Corporation board at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

In 2001, Bates was appointed to the Beta Foundation Board of Directors. Of his six years volunteering in this capacity, he concurrently spent four as chairman of the Upon These Principles Campaign. Under his leadership, the campaign successfully raised $20.1 million in cash and estate gift pledges – an interfraternity record at the time among Beta’s 60-plus peer organizations – to fund the then-young Men of Principle initiative and endow its educational programming. Since 2007, he has been a member of the Fraternity’s Advisory Council of past board members.

Bates is a former chairman and current senior counsel of the Kansas City law firm Lathrop & Gage (now Lathrop GPM). Professionally, he has served as a member of or general counsel to numerous public or quasi-public bodies in his nearly 70-year legal career, including the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company and Central Methodist College of Fayette, Missouri. Notably, he has also been a special assistant attorney general of Missouri, served five years as secretary and attorney for the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, and acted as president of The Missouri Bar.

Among a multitude of leadership posts within his community, Bates is a past president of the University of Missouri System Board of Curators – an institution that awarded him a Juris Doctor Honoris Causa in 2016. He is also a former chairman of both the Missouri State Chamber of Commerce and Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, as well as a 12-year former member of the Central Methodist College Board of Curators.

For his professional accolades, Bates was recognized with Beta Theta Pi’s prestigious Oxford Cup on January 25, 1996. In receiving the Francis W. Shepardson Award, he becomes only the sixth Beta to earn both of the Fraternity’s top alumni honors.

He is also a recipient of the President’s Citation Pro Bono Award from The Missouri Bar, Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s ICON Award, Kansas City Rotary’s Outstanding Kansas Citian Award, University of Missouri’s Geyer Award, the Brotherhood Award from the National Coalition of Christian and Jews, the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Greater Kanas City YMCA Distinguished Service Award and the Champion of Children Award from the Lawyer’s Encouraging Academic Performance Foundation.

Bert was married to his Beta Sweetheart, Joy, Pi Beta Phi, for 56 years before her passing in 2013. He resides in Kansas City, Missouri, and is father to two children and three grandchildren, including one Beta, William Tucker Bates, Kansas ’21.

William E. (Bill) Lowry Jr., Kenyon ’56
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 29
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 6, 2022

The finer details of an individual’s initiation – while often remembered as a milestone by the brother and his close friends – often fade through the passing of the years from the consciousness of the larger Fraternity. Not so in the case of William E. (Bill) Lowry Jr., Kenyon ’56. 

Leaving his boyhood home on the south side of Chicago, Lowry traveled east to Gambier, Ohio, to begin his college career. In the fall of 1952, the standard quarters for freshmen at the all-male Kenyon were Quonset huts that had served as temporary housing for the VA program. Lowry was a halfback on the football team and made fast friends.

Several players on the team, who were members of Beta Theta Pi, had extended a social membership to Lowry, but he had not been invited to join the Fraternity. “There was kind of a grassroots movement in the chapter to get Bill to be a full-fledged member of the Fraternity,” recalled Franklin H. Gingerich ‘56. It wasn’t long before the chapter announced its intention to pledge Lowry. 

While the Fraternity’s constitution or laws imposed no restrictions with regard to race, color or creed upon those considered for membership, the initiation of a Black student had simply not – to the knowledge of Fraternity officers – been done prior to the spring of 1954.

The chapter received numerous calls from alumni about the matter. Some alumni approved. Others did not. James A. Hughes Jr. ’55, recalls speaking with then-General Secretary Seth R. Brooks, St. Lawrence 1922, who suggested the chapter delay the initiation until it could consult with alumni and Fraternity officers. “We weren’t trying to make a statement,” Hughes said. “There was absolutely no reason not to initiate him. For us, it was just a natural thing to do.”

Lowry was initiated into the Beta Alpha Chapter on April 27, 1954, just three weeks before the United States Supreme Court announced its historic decision on Brown v. Board of Education. A 25- year-old Martin Luther King Jr. was working on his dissertation in systematic theology at Boston University, Rosa Parks was still conforming to Montgomery’s segregationist busing policies and Kenyon College had graduated its first two Black students just two years earlier. 

Sixty-eight years later, Lowry’s college days are but a few moments in what has been a remarkable life. He harbors no bitterness about the circumstances resulting from his initiation, and even muses, “I am ‘the Kenyon affair.’”

In 1988, former Kenyan College President and Vice President of Inland Steel William G. Caples III ’32, and former First National Bank of Chicago President Richard L. Thomas ’53, invited Lowry to serve on the board of trustees of Kenyon College – a position he held for more than two decades.

During that tenure, Lowry made it his personal mission to make both Kenyon’s student body and its faculty more diverse. He has filled a similar role in his service to Beta Theta Pi.

A General Convention veteran and former Convention vice president, Lowry served on the Foundation Board of Directors from 2011-2015 as chairman of the nominating committee. In June 2020, General Secretary Wayne Kay, Virginia Tech ’73, announced the creation of a new, Board-level Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Charged with analyzing all aspects of the Fraternity, this historic announcement included the appointment of Lowry as commission chairman. 

When asked to once again play a role in driving the Fraternity to do something so bold, Lowry remarked: “Sixty-six years ago, a group of young men at Kenyon College also did something pretty bold. This is the right thing to do, and it is certainly the right time. I will do whatever my beloved Beta Theta Pi asks of me.”

Robert L. Schnese, Wisconsin ’83
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 30
Awarded the Shepardson Award on August 5, 2023

Bob Schnese’s leadership within Beta Theta Pi dates back to his time as a collegiate member of the Alpha Pi Chapter, where he served as chorister, new member educator and corresponding secretary.

In the 40 years since his graduation, Bob has volunteered his time for the Fraternity in various capacities, including as counselor and advisor for chapters at Lawrence, Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Oshkosh; assistant district chief; district chief; regional director; and as a facilitator for the John and Nellie Wooden Institute for Men of Principle.

He has served four terms on the Fraternity Board of Trustees, including six years as General Fraternity President. During this time, Schnese witnessed unprecedented growth of Beta’s collegiate membership – exceeding 10,000 undergraduates for the first time in the Fraternity’s history – as well as steady increases in the all-fraternity GPA and average chapter size.

Schnese was also involved in the Beta Foundation’s two most recent capital campaigns, “Upon These Principles” and “Promises to Keep.”

On December 30, 2016, Schnese retired from Motorola Solutions, Inc., the company he joined upon his graduation from the University of Wisconsin School of Business some 33 years earlier. He has served the Congregational Church of Excelsior, Minnesota, as a member of the choir and chairman of its finance committee, as well as First Congregation Church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as a member of its Board of Deacons.

An extremely active sports fan, “Badger Bob” is a season ticketholder for the Green Bay Packers and University of Wisconsin football and hockey programs. He and his Convention-veteran Beta Sweetheart, Lori, have been married for more than 30 years and reside on Long Lake in Waupaca, Wisconsin. They have two children, Andrew and Daina.

Dr. P. Thomas Purinton, Kansas State ’63
Shepardson Award Roll Number: 31
Awarded the Shepardson Award on July 27, 2024

Affectionately known as “Dr. P.,” Tom Purinton was initiated into the Gamma Epsilon Chapter as Roll No. 782 on April 1, 1960. Sparking a lifelong love affair, that moment ignited a passion for Beta Theta Pi that is arguably second only to his faith and love for his family.

Graduating in 1963, Dr. P. continued his studies at Kansas State and earned a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine in 1965. It was followed by a second doctorate in veterinary anatomy from Minnesota in 1972. Enjoying a 33-year career in Athens, Georgia, as a member of the anatomy and physiology department at the University of Georgia, he received numerous awards, notably where he was an eight-time recipient of the Faculty Recognition Award.

A lifelong supporter of his home chapter, it was Tom’s adopted chapter at Georgia where he spent decades serving young brothers. Joining a team of local alumni who started the chapter in the 1980s, beginning in 1996 he served as chapter counselor, new member advisor and ritual advisor. For his service, he was awarded Epsilon Epsilon Roll No. 358 on April 20, 2000.

Dr. P was an integral part of the 1998 launch of Beta’s Men of Principle initiative. As chapter counselor, he guided Georgia’s men through the pilot phase. The following year, he began a run of 25 straight summers facilitating Beta’s award-winning Wooden Institute.

A fixture at Beta leadership programs and on Beta task forces, he also served as regional chief for seven years. In 2000, he was elected to the Board of Trustees and, in 2005, he was elected to his first of two terms as General Fraternity President. In 2016, he joined Beta’s Foundation Board, serving until 2022.

In recognition for his service, Tom was awarded the NIC’s Award of Distinction in 2012. A Convention veteran with Sweetheart, Molly, Dr. P. enjoys a large, loving family: one son, two daughters and 10 grandchildren.