Theta Iota
It all began the spring semester of 2004 when a junior from Orinda, California transferred to Washington State University (WSU) from the University of Colorado-Boulder. This man was Mr. Steven Yen, who had been an associate member of the Eta Gamma Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Only a few weeks before he was scheduled to complete Eta Gamma’s associate member education program and undergo Pi Kappa Phi’s Ritual of Initiation, Steve enacted his transfer to WSU in order to pursue a degree in kinesiology.
When Steve arrived in Pullman, he remembered the rewarding experiences that he had with the Pi Kapp’s in Boulder, but was dismayed to discover that there was no Pi Kapp chapter at WSU. At that time, there was only one other chapter of Pi Kappa Phi in the state of Washington, at the University of Washington (Alpha Delta Chapter). Additionally, all of the other chapters at WSU fell short of Steve’s expectations for a fraternity. Undaunted, Steve began pursuing avenues into starting a new student organization at the WSU campus. Thusly, Steve Yen became Theta Iota’s original founding father.
Steve gathered together new friends that he had met at WSU’s Campus Crusade for Christ to form an interest group of sorts. People come and go, but out of that first group of men, five of them became committed to Steve’s vision for a fraternity that stood for something more. These men formed the core of what would soon be the Washington State University Associate Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi and became forever known as the “Original Six.”
The Original Six:
Mr. Steven Yen
Mr. Nathaniel Stephen Krupke
Mr. Brian Kenneth Villarias
Mr. Adam James Hoover
Mr. J. Trevor Rockney
Mr. Ian Paul Turner
Their first step was to get the university’s approval to start a new chapter of a Greek-letter society. The Pullman campus was once the site of several violent riots that were started in protest to the university administration turning WSU into a dry campus. Fraternity men played a large role in these riots, some even escalating the violence. In the wake of these riots, several chapters were expelled from WSU, and the administration was not eager to have another fraternity on their campus. Unbeknownst to Steve Yen and the rest of the Original Six, an answer to the university’s skepticism would soon be delivered.
That answer came in mid April when Mr. Steven Whitby, the Assistant Executive Director of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, flew out to Pullman to pay them their first visit from a national representative. They realized that this was a momentous occasion, as the second in command of the greater fraternity was in their midst. These expansion visits are normally delegated to a leadership consultant however Mr. Whitby, believing so strongly in their potential, insisted on presiding over the fledgling group himself.
During his visit, Mr. Whitby was charged with the task of convincing university officials that they should give Pi Kappa Phi a chance, and that these men were exactly what their Greek community needed. After a two-hour meeting with WSU President V. Lane Rawlins and Anita Cory, the WSU Director of Greek Life, Mr. Whitby gathered the small group together at the Daily Grind coffee house in downtown Pullman to announce the results. It was there that he informed them that they were being given the opportunity of a lifetime. He had gained them the university’s recognition, and had now been given the “green light” from the National Council of Pi Kappa Phi to begin the chartering process. If they put in the time and effort, they could all become founding fathers.
Chartering efforts began with earnest in the fall semester of 2004 when Dan Hogan, a national leadership consultant, came to Pullman for a week-long consultation in late September. When he arrived, his first order of business was to appoint the chapter’s first Executive Council, several of the Original Six served on this council.
The first Executive Council of the Washington State University Associate Chapter:
Archon: Mr. Steven Yen
Vice Archon: Mr. J. Trevor Rockney
Treasurer: Mr. Cameron Jon Schnell, succeeded by Mr. Ian Paul Turner
Secretary: Mr. Ryan William Stimer
Warden: Mr. Adam James Hoover
Historian: Mr. Ian Paul Turner, succeeded by Mr. Christopher Wayne Nichols
Chaplain: Mr. Daniel Christopher Maycock
On September 26th, 2004 Mr. Hogan gathered the chapter together to facilitate their installation retreat. This retreat was a seven hour long meeting that fell nothing short of teaching them exactly who they were expected to be as Pi Kapps. Additionally, they learned the requirements they would have to complete in order to charter. By this time the chapter had grown to around twenty strong. However, they were told at the installation retreat that recruiting would be their biggest requirement and obstacle. They needed fifty men to charter.
Thanks to a few members who lived in the residence halls, their numbers swelled at a pace that was simply undeniable. One night in October, eight to ten potential new members were invited to an informational meeting in the Fireside Room of the Compton Union Building (CUB), however over twenty-five men showed up to that meeting alone. It was at this point that it dawned on them that recruiting men would not be hard at all due to the fact that Pi Kappa Phi simply offers something that no other fraternity does: Character, Leadership, Academics, Sportsmanship, and Service.
Towards the end of the semester, during the month of November, the associate chapter played host to yet another national representative. This time it was Mike Podobnik, the Coordinator of Colony Development. During his week-long stay, he met with all of the members individually, giving them great insight on how to effectively operate a chapter. While in Pullman, Mr. Podobnik stayed at Adam Hoover’s apartment. At the end of the week, Hoover’s apartment was the site of a pre-initiation ceremony in which a fireball from gasoline fumes nearly engulfed the entire room! After that, Mr. Podobnik became a guiding influence in the development of local traditions.
During Christmas break came more good news, they had achieved a chapter GPA of 3.09, the highest GPA of all the fraternities on campus. This achievement was made even more noteworthy considering that this was their first semester as a university recognized fraternity.
In mid January of 2005 seven members, including executive officers Steve Yen, Trevor Rockney, Ian Turner, Adam Hoover, and Dan Maycock along with Risk Manager Nate Krupke and Push America Chairman Mike Ahlin attended Mid-Year Leadership Conference in Los Angeles, California. The theme of Mid-Year 2005 was “Choose,” reflecting on the new “Second Century” Vision Statement of Pi Kappa Phi: “Leaders by Choice.” Aside from having the exciting chance to rub shoulders with leaders of other Pi Kapp chapters and the leaders of the greater fraternity, the delegates took a hard look at the underlying message. They realized that they had all chosen to be leaders not only in their chapter, but also among WSU’s Greek community. They returned from Mid-Year with a hardened respect and desire to become initiated brothers of Pi Kappa Phi. This excitement instantly transferred to the rest of the chapter and chartering goals were recommitted.
Spring break of that year four members, Ian Turner, Adam Hoover, Bobby Enslow, and Dan Taitingfong, traveled over 4,000 miles by car to Camp Little Giant in Carbondale, Illinois for a national Push Camp. The work that they did over that week helped enhance the lives of people with disabilities for many years to come, as well as save the camp thousands of dollars on labor and materials expenses.
Towards the end of March, the chapter orchestrated its first officer elections. Steve Yen was now a senior and would graduate in May. His vision not yet complete, there was a need for a man that would lead the chapter with the same grace and determination as Steve Yen himself. Ian Turner alone stepped up to the task; no one else was prepared to assume such a weighted responsibility. It became his job to direct the chapters chartering efforts and completing the vision of Steve Yen.
However, before that day would come to pass, there was still much more to do. Ian’s first goal was to find his chapter a house before the end of the school year. A vacant house was found at 565 NE Colorado, which had previously been occupied by Psi Upsilon Fraternity and Acacia Fraternity before that. Archon Ian Turner and Treasurer Bobby Enslow signed the original lease for the facility with landlord Louie Sanft.
Even before a house had been secured in which to meet, chapter meetings used to be conducted at a basement room of the CUB. These basement rooms needed to be reserved on a monthly basis. One day, Secretary Jacob Moore sought out the Associate Director of the CUB, John Cory, to pursue reserving a meeting room for an entire semester. John Cory, coincidentally the husband of Director of Greek Life Anita Cory, used to be the Chapter Advisor of the first re-chartering group of WSU’s Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter. Intrigued by Jacob’s story of a fraternity out to make a difference, John inquired more about Pi Kappa Phi. At the end of their meeting, Jacob not only secured semester long reservations but had recruited the chapters first Chapter Advisor.
In April of that year came their first opportunity to prove themselves among the other Greek chapters at WSU, who were skeptical of Pi Kappa Phi’s initial success on campus. This opportunity was “Greek Week,” the annual competition between Greek chapters at WSU. Together with partner Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity, they won Greek Week. Soon thereafter, Mr. Steven Whitby returned to Pullman for his second and final visit now that the school year was drawing to a close. He was pleased to see how far they had come in a little under a year. However, he reminded them that although they had plenty reason to celebrate, they still had a lot of work to do.
Come the end of semester, Steve Yen graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology. Many members of the chapter were there to cheer him on as he received his diploma. In addition, two more of the Original Six, Nate Krupke and Brian Villarias, graduated with Steve. It was the end of an era, the chapter’s original founding father and first Archon was now an alumnus. Although he could no longer participate in the chartering efforts of the chapter as an alumnus, Steve would return in the fall to become the chapter’s first Live-In Advisor at their new house.
Over the summer came more good news. The chapter sent two delegates, Jacob Moore and James McIntosh, to Pi Kapp College at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina. They informed the chapter that at Pi Kapp College the chapter had been unanimously awarded the “Associate Chapter of the Year” award out of the then eight other associate chapters.
Fall semester of 2005 was when it would all come together. Ian and the chartering Executive Council planned hard to coordinate between local event planners and national staff to make it all happen. The first of the chartering delegation to arrive were Matt Hunt, the Director of Chapter Services, and Rob Riley, the Coordinator of New Chapter Development. Together, they administered the written examination. After completing the written exam and oral boards, the Ritual of Initiation was conducted by Alpha Delta Chapter and Zeta Phi Chapter (Colorado State University) at St. James Episcopal Church.
On September 10th, 2005 a little more than a year after becoming a university-recognized fraternity, the Washington State Associate Chapter became an official chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. The chartering banquet was held at the Moscow Best Western, presided over by chartering officers, past National President Dr. Philip M. Summers and National Historian Mr. Tracy D. Maddux. Other notable guests included Dan Hogan, who had just retired from the national staff, and Mike Podobnik, who had also retired from staff but had been appointed the Regional Governor of the Pacific Northwest Region of Pi Kappa Phi. At the end of the banquet, Dr. Phil Summers bestowed upon them their Greek designation, “Theta Iota.”
The chartering Executive Council of Theta Iota Chapter:
Archon: Mr. Ian Paul Turner
Vice Archon: Mr. Charles Christopher Maier
Treasurer: Mr. Robert Keith Enslow III
Secretary: Mr. Jacob Robert Moore
Warden: Mr. James Rae McIntosh
Historian: Mr. Daniel Kim Taitingfong
Chaplain: Mr. Shawn Patrick O’Leary
Although chartering had finally been achieved, the journey was far from over. In November of that year, Todd Kilpatrick was elected the third Archon of Theta Iota. To him fell the task of establishing Theta Iota as an ideal chapter among other chapters on campus and Pi Kappa Phi. During the next year, Todd oversaw the first initiation of Theta Iota’s “Alpha” associate class, and commissioned the development of local chapter traditions including hosting a Rose Ball. Additionally, Theta Iota took Greek Week champion yet again with partner Alpha Phi Fraternity, proving that the passion that they had for each other and their fraternity had not subsided after chartering.
As a chartered chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, the members of Theta Iota took their commitment to service very seriously. This was reflected when Jake McCaffrey was made the first Push America Officer of Theta Iota, elevating the former Push America Chairman position to a full executive officer. On April 21st, 2006 Camp Sweyolakan on Lake Coeur d’Alene hosted a national Give-A-Push (GAP) Weekend which was facilitated by Regional Governor Mike Podobnik. Seventeen members of Theta Iota were in attendance, including Archon Todd Kilpatrick and Push America Officer Jake McCaffrey. Along with Theta Iota, ten brothers from Alpha Delta joined them to help renovate the camp.
There were two significant events that occurred in the summer of 2006 that secured Theta Iota’s place in Pi Kappa Phi. The first was the nationally renowned Journey of Hope (JOH), the cross-country bicycle trek of Push America. Brothers John Huynh and Ian Turner were team members on that ride. Together they rode over 4,000 miles on the “North Route,” starting in San Francisco, California and ending in Washington, D.C. JOH has been called the largest fraternal fundraising and awareness event of its kind, generating over $500,000 for people with disabilities every year.
The second was the 50th Supreme Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, held at Fort Worth, Texas. This was the first Supreme Chapter that Theta Iota had a presence, the official delegates being Mike Ahlin and Jake McCaffrey. The proceedings culminated with the initiation of Theta Iota’s most notable alumnus, Pat Rummerfield, the record-breaking driver of White Lightning the world’s fastest electric car and the world’s first fully-recovered quadriplegic.