A Frat of which to be PROUD!

A few of my previous postings concerned (or at least mentioned) my collegiate social fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha. Well, last nite San Antonio was the site of a historic FIRST for the Brotherhood. Here, in the Skyroom atop the newest building on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word, was held the first ever tri-Zeta White Rose Gala.

"Zeta" is what we in Lambda Chi Alpha call a local collegiate chapter. In S.A. these are Sigma-Beta Zeta at St. Mary's U., Phi-Upsilon at UTSA and the newest (celebrating its third anniversary as a full-fleged Zeta), Pi-Epsilon at Incarnate Word. As I say, the three chapters PLUS the strong and active San Antonio Alumni Association put on the Gala. It was a wonderful as well as historically eventful evening!

Indeed, I was so impressed by the event, that I posted a report at the Website for Lambda Chi Alpha's e-magazine, Cross & Crescent. Here is my post:

Gala deep in the heart of Texas
April 14th, 2007 by Glen Alan Graham

Wow! Something very historic for Lambda Chi Alpha occurred last night in San Antonio! The three local Zetas plus the San Antonio Alumni Association put on a magnificent White Rose Gala, in the fairly new Skyroom at University of the Incarnate Word.

I’m so glad I was there! Lover of history that I am, I appreciate being involved in something of a historic or “first-time” nature. And lover of the Brotherhood that I am, I relish ANY activity that allows me as an alumnus to keep participating in the fraternity that meant SO MUCH to me as an undergraduate at the University of Idaho (Epsilon-Gamma Zeta).

Almost I hesitate to give an account of last night’s Gala; you almost had to have been there. Certainly you HAD to be there to feel the “electricity” generated by this gathering of undergraduate brothers, alumni brothers and their wives and dates! Everyone was “dressed to the nines”, and the women were stunning in their gorgeous gowns. Many of the men looked elegant in black tuxedos with either bow ties or colorful neckties. One that particularly caught my eye was a black tux with a vest and necktie in light, metallic chartreuse green. I was one of some who wore a business suit, dark brown (purchased for the occasion), and necktie — golden yellow on a dark green shirt, the closest I could get to the fraternity colors! Oh, and we had one Brother in US Army dress blues and one Brother wore the dress green uniform or”Class A” of the Army ROTC. So we had patriotic as well as elegant apparel.

The pre-function or mixer time was in the lobby of the Skyroom which ex-tends between the ballroom itself and an outside wall of the top floor that is a continuous series of picture windows giving a fine view eastward across the southern edge of the Incarnate Word campus toward the classic old building that used to house Brooke Hospital on Fort Sam Houston. And once we could enter the ballroom itself we had another set of picture windows oriented southward, from which we could see San Antonio’s famous and excellent zoo below, the unique architecture of nearby Trinity University’s campus to the right and the downtown skyline straight ahead! The food was delicious, a species of chicken cordon bleu on wild rice, with asparagus.

The speakers were even better. My own City Councilman, Brother Christo-pher “Chip” Haass (a Lambda Chi at TCU), was one of these. He spoke well and briefly about his fraternity experience and how it colored his undergrad years.

Keynote speaker, and representing the Grand High Zeta, was Brother Terry Means, an SMU alumnus and a US district judge in Fort Worth. Since he is ser-ving us as Grand High Phi, I wasn’t surprised that he focused on our great ritual and its teachings and ideals. His was a great exhortation to all of us, alumni as well as undergrads, to live out our ideals and teachings, to truly become Vir Quisque Vir, by kalepa ta kala and most important, make our lives truly lived Per Crucem Crescens! (I myself was High Phi at EG Zeta my junior and senior years; our ritual has always meant a lot to me, since it opened important truths of the New Testament to this then “baby” Christian in 1972.) Bro. Terry’s keynote words were very much appreciated by at least this alumnus!

Then came what was possibly the highlight of the Gala, the simultaneous installation of the new High Zeta officers for the three local Zetas: St. Mary’s, UTSA and Incarnate Word. Bro. Terry read the charge for each of the offices, each ending with description of the collar with insignia to be placed around the neck. How appropriate that a Brother who’s a sitting judge gave the charges! It was wonderful to hear again those words exhorting each young Brother as he was installed — or I should say each set of three Brothers being installed together in each office! When has THAT ever happened in the Brotherhood?

San Antonio, the Alumni Association and the three local Zetas can be proud of an event well done! Already I look forward to next year’s White Rose Gala.