Lester & Helen Liebel: Benefactors of Washington State University
Carter Deserving Of Chamber Honor
Indiana Chapter Plays Santa For The Holidays
Texas Brother Wins Big On Wheel Of Fortune
Washington State Alum Realizes His Dream With Legends Of The Palouse
Acacian's New Book Teaches Moral Lesson, Fascinating Facts
About Central America's Ancient People
ALA Dates Announced
Members of the International Council and Headquarters Staff are gearing up for summer! The 7th Biennial Acacia Leadership Academy is set for July 25-29, 2007, and once again the Indiana Chapter will be hosting this exciting and worthwhile event.
The Leadership Academy, held on off-Conclave years, brings together the best and brightest of Acacia's undergraduate membership. Over 100 of Acacia's up and coming leaders will converge upon the Indiana Chapter house in Bloomington, Indiana, to share in the free flowing exchange of ideas between chapters. Living and functioning together as one chapter is a highlight of the event. In addition, a balanced mix of speakers, small group sessions and entertainment compliment the program to provide our undergraduates with a great fraternal experience. Acacia is the only fraternity to offer this unique program in a fraternal setting.
Acacia Fraternity is a community of shared experiences, events, team building competitions and learning. At the Leadership Academy, our undergraduate brothers learn, experience and live fraternity. As these skills are passed on to their chapter members, the realization that the Acacia community truly extends beyond the boundaries of chapter and university experiences comes to fruition.
We would like to thank the Indiana Chapter Building Corporation Board for graciously allowing us to utilize their beautiful facilities for this event. This is the seventh consecutive time the Board has opened their doors for this worthwhile event. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to members of the Corporation Board, past and present.
If you are in the Bloomington area during the Acacia Leadership Academy, please feel free to stop by and see what the future of Acacia has to offer.
For more information on the 7th Biennial Acacia Leadership Academy, please eMail Assistant Executive Director Keith Bushey by clicking here.
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Lester & Helen Liebel: Benefactors of Washington State University
Brother Lester N. Liebel, Washington State '40, has lived a life that speakss from the heart of Acacia Fraternity's motto, Human Service. Throughout his life, Les has given of himself to further the lives of others.
Brother Liebel attended Washington State University after graduating from Kennewick High School (WA) in 1939. While at WSU, Les became a member of Acacia Fraternity, as well as becoming involved in other campus organizations, including ROTC and Officer Candidate School. After graduating in 1943 with a B.S. in Agriculture, Brother Liebel served as an officer in the 8th Armored Division during World War II, and fought in the infamous Battle of the Bulge. After his military service, Les returned to WSU and earned a Master's degree in Agricultural Economics in 1948. He then entered a career of education and support of the students of Washington State University.
To better the lives of those desiring an education, Les Liebel has endowed two scholarships at Washington State: The Mildred M. and Lester N. Liebel Endowed Scholarship and The Mildred M. and Lester N. Liebel Endowed Scholarship in Athletics. The scholarships honor the memory of Liebel's late wife, Millie*, an accomplished musician who played the violin and viola. Les remarried in 1998 to the former Helen Hurley. Their combined family includes eight children, fourteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Beyond educating and giving at the university, Les has also served his fraternity. A long time advisor for the Washington State Chapter, Les continually taught the young men of his chapter the ways of service and leadership. Given his drive towards excellence, Les' life spoke to the heart of the ideals Acacia embodies, and he found himself deservedly celebrated by the fraternity.
In honor of his commitment to Acacia, Les was awarded the Order of Pythagoras in 1972, the Award of Merit in 1976, and the George F. Patterson, Jr. Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1985. As a standout leader in the field of education, Brother Liebel was also awarded the Acacia Field of Excellence Award for Education at the Centennial Conclave in 2004.
Brother Les, we are ever indebted to you for not only your service to your Fraternity, but also your service to mankind. We salute you!
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Carter Deserving Of Chamber Honor
Ronald E. Carter, Indiana '62, received this year's Most Valuable Volunteer Award for his community involvement from the Carmel Clay Chamber of Commerce. Brother Carter, who is also a third-term city councilman, was cited for creating the farmers' market, gaining recognition for Carmel as a bicycle-friendly city and other efforts.
The chamber's sixth annual Images of Excellence Awards honored members of the local business community for efforts in renovation and preservation, business success, and the enhancement of the community's overall visual appeal, among others.
Brother Carter has served many years on the Indiana Acacia Building Corporation and led the Board as President from 1994 to 1996. In addition to being named a Distinguished Alumnus by the Indiana Chapter, Ron is a 1992 recipient of the Order of Pythagoras and a 1994 recipient of the Award of Merit.
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Indiana Chapter Plays Santa
For The Holidays
Last December, members of the Indiana Chapter stood in front of Wal-Mart and Kmart stores across Bloomington collecting donated toys for underprivileged kids in the community as part of the Fraternity's yearly philanthropic event, Acacia Claus. Brothers handed out candy canes, sung Christmas carols and danced for the stores' customers as the presents piled up thanks to the generosity of the city's shoppers and the Indiana Acacians' hard work.
The Indiana Chapter teams up with the Salvation Army every year to execute this rewarding philanthropy project. Brothers gathered the donated presents in the chapter's formal room, and passed out cookies and hot chocolate as kids of local families-in-need adopted by the chapter chose from the wide variety of gifts. The Salvation Army gave out the extra toys from its Bloomington location several days before Christmas.
Venerable Dean Kyle Simcoe said he enjoys Acacia Claus because it provides an opportunity to give back to the community.
"This is my favorite philanthropy because you can see the results. It is a great thing to watch the kids' faces as they look at the sea of toys in our formal room," Simcoe said. "We are letting the Bloomington community know we want to give back."
Indiana brothers covered tabletops and filled shopping carts with presents outside the Kmart and Wal-Mart on Bloomington's west side and the Kmart on the east side of town. The chapter also sold T-shirts commemorating the event for $10. Cash donations were used to buy more toys to donate to the Salvation Army.
Sophomore Michael Duncan and junior Dan Gensinger were put in charge of the Kmart on the east side. Both gathered toys for nine hours one weekend, as fellow Acacians joined them periodically for additional two hour shifts.
Duncan said Acacia Claus is a very personal experience because he has been able to meet and listen to stories from members of the Bloomington community.
"A man donated a toy truck to us because he said his family could never afford one," Duncan said. "Those are the things you really remember."
Gensinger said watching the kids make the difficult decision about which gift to pick was his favorite part of "Acacia Claus."
"That's when it comes together," said Gensinger, "and all the work becomes worthwhile."
Thanks to the Indiana Daily Student and writer Nick O'Neill for allowing us to excerpt their original article here.
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Texas Brother Wins Big On Wheel Of Fortune
Evan Sylvester, Texas '05, must be a really patient guy. He waited two years for his chance to spin the wheel on Wheel of Fortune. Two years.
"I actually had given up hope of being on," said Sylvester. "I got a voicemail out of the blue last September from one of the show's contestant managers. She told me that I was chosen for "College Week" and that I would need to be out in Los Angeles for taping within the next two weeks. You wait two years, and they expect you to be ready within two weeks! I was really excited though and looking forward to representing UT."
According to Evan, he tried his best to prepare for the show. He bought the Wheel of Fortune video game and started playing crossword puzzles obsessively.
"The best thing that helped me out though, was memorizing word frequencies," said Evan. "Certain letters are more probable to appear on the board than others, just based on percentages. So knowing that, I played a ton of the video game to get a good feel of how to work the board. For instance, vowels are really important, and I discovered through the video game that you should almost always invest in buying vowels after your first spin."
Evan's hard work paid off. After facing students from Colorado University and Temple University, Evan won the match, along with trips to Costa Rice and Greece and cash prizes totaling $24,000! Unfortunately, he lost out on the big money in the bonus round when his "Thing" category failed to turn up enough letters to aid him in solving the puzzle "Bad Joke".
Evan said all-in-all it was a great experience that he would never forget, and that he's looking forward to taking the vacations he won on the show.
So what's the one thing viewers at home might be surprised by? According to Evan, the "Wheel" is a lot smaller than it appears on the show.
"The camera angle they tape from is really good at making it seem bigger than it really is," said Evan. "It also looks more 'high tech' at home, but it is just a small, simple wheel."
Television magic at its finest.
Congratulations on your big win Evan, and thanks for telling the world about Acacia Fraternity!
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Washington State Alum Realizes His Dream With Legends Of The Palouse
Jeff McQuarrie, Washington State '85, spent his boyhood summers working on fishing boats in Westport, Washington. It was a rough lifestyle of 14-hour days often spent in dangerous, stormy weather, but that's where he learned his hard-work ethic.
After graduating from WSU with a degree in Communications, Jeff accepted a position as Marketing Director of a small resort in Alaska, and established it as one of the most popular fishing travel destinations in North America. He presided over the company from 1991-2003 and hosted celebrity guests like Larry Csonka, Phil Mickelson and Bob Griese.
In 2001, Jeff volunteered on a church committee headed by former Secretary of State Ralph Munro in Olympia, Washington. He was asked to make a promotional video for their church, and in the process learned that he was passionate about filmmaking. Says McQuarrie, "Up to that point, I didn't even know how to use the family video camera, so I find it humorous that I had to the audacity to think I could be a filmmaker." Growing increasingly bored with his role as president and marketing director of the resort in Alaska, Jeff finally got up the courage to leave his job in February of 2004 to embark on a career in filmmaking.
About this time Jeff met George Hollingbery, grandson of Washington State University's all-time most winning football coach Babe Hollingbery, and on a whim asked him, "I'm thinking of making a documentary on the history of WSU Football; how would you like to be my narrator? According to Hollingbery, "I thought about it for about five seconds before saying 'yes'. Cougars take care of Cougars."
So Jeff took his substantial severance pay, bought a broadcast quality camera and hit the road in search of interviews with the greatest Cougar football players of all time, including guys like Drew Bledsoe (Cowboys), Mark Fields (Panthers) and Keith Lincoln (Chargers Hall of Famer). No matter that McQuarrie didn't know any of these players, or even how to work his fancy new camera. "That's like renting Simba's Pride and then deciding you want to be a lion tamer" says Jahmal Corner, Sports Writer for the Tri-City Herald.
Acacia Alum Jeff McQuarrie (left) directs the cast for Legends of the Palouse: Part One — The First 80 Years.
A big break came less than six months into the production when Keith Jackson of ABC (WSU Class of 1954) returned Jeff's call and not only agreed to help with the film, but said he would come to Jeff's house in Olympia. With Jackson on board, Jeff found it easier to attract all the NFL Cougars he needed to breath life into Legends of the Palouse, and when all was said and done he had over 30 pro football players in the film and 70 other legendary players and coaches. While most folks are in awe of McQuarrie's ability to land interviews with so many big name players and coaches, he passes the credit off to the power of prayer. "God just kept opening doors during this three-year journey" he says. "I also feel fortunate to have a supportive wife who — as a great athlete herself — appreciates the value of this film."
"This isn't just another high-testosterone football highlights film", says Jeff. In fact, the movie's underlying theme has less to do with football and more to do what McQuarrie calls, "The inscrutable love affair Washington State alum's have for their school and its football team." He's been to most major universities in the country but never seen the loyalty that WSU alum's have. "It's easy to love your school and be loyal to it when you win 10 games year-in and year-out and your school is near a major recruiting hub and the money never stops flowing, but that's not the case at Washington State, which is located in the 'Palouse' (the wheat fields of Eastern Washington). The love these people have for their school and its football is an unconditional love. A Washington State coach can go 3-8 two years in a row and nobody is calling for his head on a platter. In fact, they just start backing him more and more, and typically he turns it around in a few years. We saw that with Mike Price and we're seeing it with Bill Doba."
Jeff had to endure a lot of hardships during the three-year adventure of making this film. Two years into it he ran out of money and was forced to take a marketing job with the State of Washington. He lasted less than one day as the thought of giving up on his film broke his heart, so he went home and sold his dream car, a Corvette convertible, to finance the rest of the project. But there were many other obstacles along the way.
"I arrived at this fancy hotel in San Diego to interview Rien Long, who was in town with the Titans because they were playing the Chargers. The hotel desk called security on me and I was physically thrown out of the hotel. I guess they didn't believe that I had an appointment with Rien. Anyway, I had traveled all the way from Seattle, and I couldn't go home without the interview, so I snuck through a restaurant that was attached to the hotel and interviewed Rien in a closet downstairs. When you see Rien in the movie you'll notice how bad the lighting is and you can hear the maids in the background."
Legends of the Palouse ended up being five hours long, and covers the entire history of Washington State Football dating back to 1894. It is plugged full of inspirational stories and Jeff lets the players, coaches and fans do most of the talking. Because of the length, Jeff decided to split it into a chronological three-disc collector set. Part one was released in September of 2006 and sold 1,000 units in the first two weeks at $39.95 per copy. The Seattle Times called it, "First Class!" and the fan reviews are nothing short of spectacular. Part two is due to be released just in time for the Holiday Shopping season and can be purchased at www.legendsofthepalouse.com, or by calling McQuarrie Creative at (360) 705-3068.
Written By Kimberly Tebrugge
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Acacian's New Book Teaches Moral Lesson, Fascinating Facts
About Central America's Ancient People
In his unique book, Tochtli: The Story of a Mexica Boy, Rubio Ramiro Gonzalez, Cal Poly/Pomona '93 — writing under the pen name Tenamazti Tonantzin — explores the concept that sooner or later, children must learn that their actions come with consequences if they are to live and work in a diverse society. While illustrating this point, Gonzalez offers readers of all ages a slice of history and culture from the people of Anahuac (Mexico, Central America and the United States).
Written in English and Spanish, Tochtli is set in pre-conquest Mesoamerica. Brother Gonzalez weaves a colorful story of a boy named Tochtli (which means "rabbit"), who develops some bad behaviors. As he grows older he begins to take for granted the harmonious cultural cycles around him. One day he snaps and goes on a selfish rampage. After verbally disrespecting his sister and grandfather, he destroys a neighboring farmer's cornfield and a ceramic shop. Tochtli makes his way to a remote hill where he falls asleep. Here, a nightmare begins, and the frightened boy sees terrible things taking place in his town: His sister is hurt, there is fire everywhere and no one is around to help him. Tochtli cries out in fear, only to wake up and realize it was all in this head. His intense experience motivates him to repair the damage he has caused.
Tochtli is filled with vibrant illustrations based on Mesoamerican mythology. Gonzalez also introduces readers to the Aztec-Olmec counting system, defines numerous Nahuatl words, and explains the meaning of each character's name.
"This book is intended to help reintroduce cultural values and unity to indigenous people who have been separated by national boundaries," says Gonzalez.
Brother Gonzalez was born, raised and educated throughout Southern California, earning his BA in English at Cal Poly/Pomona and his MA in Anthropology at Cal State/Fullerton. He currently lives in San Antonio, TX, where he is preparing to publish his thesis entitled, "The Caxcan Identity".
Tochtli is Brother Gonzalez's first book and is available at Amazon.com and fine bookstores everywhere.
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Hamrick Named New Leadership Consultant
Brother Mathew Hamrick, Central Oklahoma Fall '02, is the newest addition to the headquarters staff. Mat graduated in the fall of 2005, and took a position in banking (which he recently left to serve Acacia).
Mat's previous chapter positions include House Manager, Fundraising Committee Chair, and various supporting roles. He also served the university community as a member of the student government's House of Representatives, and the Judicial Chair in the IFC. Mat also held the Fraternity's seat in the Student Senate.
Welcome aboard, Mat!
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