Founders' Day 2009
By: Br. Jason Hines
On Saturday, April 11, 2009, the Louisville Chapter of TRIANGLE celebrated its 102’nd National Founders’ Day. There were several notable Alumni present, as well as a large portion of the Active Chapter, and including dates the banquet hall was quite full. Br. John Riley (lou02) gave a very uplifting presentation about the goals and accomplishments that Triangle men should aspire to. He proved that a life dedicated to serving not only Brothers, but to the community, has rewards of its own and that it could be enjoyable. He showed some of the many projects he had taken on with many Brothers, assisting local charities, and generally just helping those that needing anything. Thanks so much, Br. Riley!
The annual Harry B. O’Donnell III awards were presented as follows: Br. Robert Catlett (lou05) – Award for Scholarship, Br. Adam Hacker (lou06) – Award for Leadership, Br. Shawn Maurer (lou06) – Award for Brotherhood.
The Award for Scholarship is based strictly on the calculations of credit hours and GPA for the year. Br. Robert Catlett has always been a positive influence for aspiring students. His focus and determination in his Mechanical Engineering field of study placed him in the upper percentile of his graduating class. This year, he earned his Master’s Degree and is now working for ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas. Over the years, he has graciously assisted younger students with their homework and studying and pushed the priority of academics, since that is the primary purpose of attending the University of Louisville. His great time-management skills and good study habits constantly keep him on top of things in the classroom, while his ethics and constancy made him a leader in his field.
The Award for Leadership went to Br. Adam Hacker this year, as he demonstrated the qualities of a model leader. Although dealing with the inside joke of his rough grammar (sorry, Adam) when he speaks up, his Brothers listen. His reliability and experience have earned him respect from his peers and others look up to him because of his unending willingness to help someone in need. Adam is a very proactive person, and never has to be asked to do necessary things. When he sees something that has to be done, he does it. This is one of the most influential ways to lead – by example. Although never expecting too much from his Brothers, he does expect they exemplify our values, and often calls Brothers out if they are living away from our Code of Ethics or Ritual.
Br. Shawn Maurer earned the Award for Brotherhood by the manner in which he is looked up to. Shawn always represents Triangle in the best light, and his morals and attitude have educated his peers and professors to the character that Triangle men aspire to. In my years in Triangle, I have yet to see Shawn be disrespectful to anyone, even when his patience must be wearing thin. His infinitely positive attitude and social networking skills make it seem that any task is possible. As an excerpt from the nomination form, Shawn will be a very successful engineer and will do well in all aspects of his life, and that phrase alone shows how much respect Brothers have for Shawn and how he pays the price of success in honest effort.
Three new awards were created this past year, but do not take away from the value of the Harry B. O’Donnell III Awards. Two of these awards recognize leaders in some other important activities that our organization participates in. Br. Phil Shepard received the Intramural Sports Award, as recognition of his tireless effort in our Intramural participation. While his skills on the soccer field and basketball court were obvious, he constantly pushed his teammates to do better, and keep a positive attitude. Even while not participating, he would show support for those Brothers that were working hard. Br. Michael Wagner received the Community Service Leader Award, for his charitable work outside some of the major events Triangle participated in. He offered up his own apartment as a shelter for foster-pets and often had to help nurse these animals back to health. He also participated in a trip to a third-world country to help the locals with many hard aspects of their lives. The third award was the Upcoming Leader Award, which was presented to Br. Jason Hines, who has shown the ability to learn and lead in many of the facilities of Triangle.
A few other awards that were given out at the celebration were: the Outstanding Pledge Scholarship Award, given to Br. Matthew Howard for his cumulative GPA and challenging coursework for the semester. The Alumnus of the Year Award, received by the Alumni Board Treasurer, Br. Bret Feger. And the Triangle Sweetheart for the upcoming year was nominated as Hannah Downs, for her constant effort to assist our Brothers with anything we take on our plates.
And lastly, to end the ceremony, the installation of the new Active Chapter Officers took place. Good luck to the following member in their undertaking of their new positions:
• President – Br. Jason Hines
• VP Membership – Br. Jordan Heil
• VP Pledge Education – Br. Phillip Shepard
• VP Activities – Br. Austin Marshall
• VP Administration – Br. Chase Childers
• Treasurer – Br. Adam Hacker
Finally, as an advanced invitation to our Alumni spread across the county, we’ve already set next year’s Founders’ Day celebration to Saturday, April 10th, 2010. We encourage any and all Alumni that wish to attend the Founders’ Day 103 celebration to go ahead and mark this date off on your calendar so that you can come celebrate this great day with the Active Chapter.