Undergrad Awards Presented at Pig Dinner

Five undergraduate awards were presented at Pig Dinner on April 9th  by Corresponding Secretary Austin Burress.

•        Irma Fowlkes Award - Most Gentlemanly Freshman - Clay Hillyard
•        Most outstanding Freshman - Colton Lee
•         Athlete of the Year - Drew Shapiro
•         Richard S. Hutchinson Award - Outstanding Junior - Taylor Thomas
•         Willaim W. Kreiss Memorial Award - Outstanding Brother - Daane Blocksma

2011 Pig Dinner

Pig Dinner for Kappa Tau and the Knoxville Alumni Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was held on April 9th at Cherokee Country Club.  It was billed as the most exciting and entertaining event ever.  If you were there, you more than likely agreed it lived up to its billing. 

It was a wonderfully pleasant Spring day in Knoxville TN with tempearatures around 80, a warm breeze and fellowship to abound.  Brother Charles Swan of Knoxville, class of 47, held the honors of leading in the brothers to dinner.

Brother Foster Arnett, class of 78, who is Knoxville's County Court Clerk, held court as Master of Ceremonies.  Foster set the tone for the evening's program which was "Phi Gamma Delta; Alive and Well and on the Move".  Brian Douglas, class of 98 from Tennessee Tech, was the keynote speaker.  Brian was recently elected as an Archon for the fraternity.  Brian's talk provided insights into the long term strategy by International to substantially expand and grow.  It was clear to all that International is also Alive and Well and on the Move.

The program for the evening was supported by two large 51 inch TV screens.  Terrell Kerr, class of 71, led the brothers in singing and as always there were a number of awards that were given out (see supporting post).  All in all it was a delightful night and one that the undergraduate and graduate brothers are committed to repeating in years to come.

Steve Carr Receives 3 Outstanding Contribution Awards

Brian Douglas, Steve Carr, Matt Carr

As anyone associated with Kappa Tau in recent years knows, the one brother who's name comes up the most associated with the renovations to the house and the brother review process from last year is brother Steve Carr.  The enormous contributions that Steve has made to the fraternity was recognized this week in the form of three awards. 

First, Brian Douglas, who is an Archon and was the keynote speaker at Pig Dinner this year, presented Steve with an Outstanding Alum Award at the dinner.  This award is voted on by the Board of Directors of Phi Gamma Delta and is given to brothers who make substantial contributions to the fraternity over several year.

Also at Pig Dinner, the undergraduate chapter started a new award.  The award is voted on and given by the undergraduates to the alumni brother who has made the greatest contributions to the undergraduate chapter.  It is fitting that the first recipient of this award went to Steve Carr.

Lastly, on Sunday night following Pig Dinner, Steve was presented an award for the Outstanding Greek Advisor at an annual dinner put on by IFC.  It is clear that Steve's relentless pursuit of raising money to refurbish the house along with his other duties as Housing Corp President did not go unnoticed by the fraternity council at UT.

Brothers, if you have not already done so, please take a moment to send a well deserved thank you to brother Steve Carr.  His email is e.steve.carr@gmail.com.  He has certainly been a major factor why Kappa Tau of Phi Gamma Delta is alive and well and on the move.

Tommy Wolf Named Outstanding Alum

Brian Douglas, Steve Carr, Matt Carr and Tommy Wolf

At Pig Dinner this weekend, Tommy Wolf, class of 03 and Purple Legionnaire, received the Calvin Walter Award for outstanding alum.  Tommy took over duties as Purple Legionnaire last summer and has helped guide the chapter thru some really difficult times.  Tommy's easy going nature coupled with a fierce dedication to doing what is best for the chapter has made him highly effective in bringing results to Kappa Tau.  Congradulations on a job well done.

House Renovations About Done

Living Room

Attendees at Pig Dinner this week were treated to pictures of the latest updates on the renovations at the house.  Within the last couple of weeks, new carpet and furniture went into the main living room making topping off other room by room additions over the last year. The place look truly spectacular for the first time in many many years. 

Steve Carr, Housing Corp President, and the main man behind the scenes to raise the money for the remodeling efforts is saying the end of the project is now in sight.  "All we lack is about $10,000 to buy drapes and we will be done", Steve says.

There have been numerous contributions by brothers along the way.  We have had major financial donors as well as small donors.  We have also had brothers like Dick Coffey, class of 78 and Bill Emmendorfer, class of 73, who have contributed both financially as well as their time and expertise to remodeling efforts. If you are able to help out with the final efforts to complete the house renovations, please contact Steve.

To all of you who have supported the efforts to make the Kappa Tau house look like a first class place again, many many thanks.  I can tell you with 100% certainty the undergrads are no longer ashamed to take a date and hang out at the fraternity house anymore.



Game Room





















Kitchen



Study Room





Dining Room



Card Deck



A Beautiful Spring Day on Campus

Kappa Tau On The Move

For the 2nd Semester in a row, Kappa Tau had the highest GPA average for any fraternity on campus. 

The brothers have been collecting letters, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, snacks, etc., to send to a platoon of marines in Afghanistan. So far, they have collected over $300 worth of items.

For Valentines Day, many brothers delivered over 100 cupcakes to various people in Knoxville, each representing a donation that was made to sponsor a low-income worker without health insurance to have the opportunity to visit the doctor free of charge. 
Lastly Kappa Tau won the championship trophy for the first time in nine years at the 31st Annual SAE Boxing Tournament (pictured). Out of the seven who participated, four brothers made it to the championship, two won their weight class, and one was awarded "Fight of the Night."

John Holden - Mayor of Dyersburg

The current Kappa Tau database shows 21 brothers living in Dyersburg.  One of them happens to be the mayor.  John Holden (83) is currently serving his second four year term as mayor of Dyersburg after initially being elected in 2006. 

John graduated from Dyersburg High School in 1978.  He took business at UT and graduated in 1983.  Government service must have been in John's blood and in 1994 he was elected to the Dyer County Legislative Body where he served in various positions before being elected mayor in 06. 

As a Phi Gam at UT, John was well known as King Holden.  Tony Sharber (83) recalls that John was highly admired by members of the opposite sex and often referred to him as King.  Well, John is certainly King of Dyersburg these days.

John is married to Amy who is a middle school teacher in Dyersburg.  The couple have two children.  Good luck John and just remember, Governor Haslam only has 8 years left in Nashville.