Allen Presented with Alumnus of the Year Award | | |
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Chuck Allen ’87 was presented with the Thomas E. Wolf ’67 Alumnus of the Year Award. Chuck was elected Vice President of the Beta Tau House Corporation in January 2022 and has been instrumental in the updates throughout the Shelter as well as the renovation of the kitchen. His organizational skills have been paramount to getting the Chapter and House Corporation lined up on planning and accomplishing the task at hand. | | |
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“Thank you for the recognition. Us alumni continue to give back because we want these undergraduates to experience fraternity life like we did. Many of us volunteer even though our family may not understand and would prefer us to work on home projects. That just shows how committed and dedicated we our to the Fraternity.”
-Chuck Allen ’87
The Alumnus of the Year award was named in honor of Thomas E. Wolf ’67, longtime House Corporation director and current Treasurer who has given over 40 years of volunteer service to the Beta Tau Chapter of Delta Tau Delta.
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Ben Neff Scholarship Awarded to Undergraduate
The current Chapter Vice President, Adam Steinwold ’24, was the recipient of the Benjamin Neff ’57 Scholarship (Adam is pictured above with Alumnus of the Year Chuck Allen). Adam not only serves the Chapter as Vice President, but he has a hand in recruiting for the Chapter, has been a member of the Ritual Team since his initiation, and is a former Social Chairman as well. Adam has resided in the Shelter for the past 3 years exhibiting his dedication to the Fraternity. Finally, Adam earns a 3.5 grade point average.
“The Scholarship Committee really wanted to emphasize awarding the Scholarship to a young man who was a well-rounded member. That means a member who is not only high achieving academically, but also has a developed leadership style that is also high achieving. Adam fit that criteria with his 3.5 G.P.A., constantly residing in the Shelter, and his demonstrated leadership. But I think Adam’s desire and goals in making Beta Tau even better is what made him stand out to the committee.”
-Ryan Caldwell ’02, Theta Kappa (University of Nebraska-Kearney)
Former Beta Tau Chapter Advisor and House Corporation Scholarship Committee Chairman
The Benjamin Neff ’57 Scholarship is provided by the gracious gift of Ben Neff, a 1957 graduate of the Beta Tau Chapter at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Brother Neff donated a considerable gift for an endowed scholarship through the Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation. This endowment provides a $750.00 scholarship to any initiated member of Beta Tau Chapter who exemplifies scholastic and leadership excellence.
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Beta Tau’s Shelter
Improvement Projects
Summer 2022
House Corporation completed several key projects this summer, with the main focus being on our kitchen which was still in its 1969 configuration. Projects improved the overall appearance of the Shelter and improved Chapter operations.
Kitchen Projects
Those 1969 wooden cabinets and “cowboy” 2x4 plywood shelves are now gone! Thanks to Steve Fallon (AKA Demolition Man). Steve had the right tools and skills to remove these items. Smart Shelving by Metro will replace this shelving. The new shelves are made of steel and coated with epoxy. You find this type of shelving in commercial kitchens. This greatly improves the front portion of our kitchen, with regards to cleanliness and storage capability.
Floors, Floor, and More!
The 2nd old hallway is a high traffic area that was carpeted, but House Corporation replaced it with commercial grade vinyl plank flooring (LVP) – color driftwood. The old hallway is now the best in the Shelter; ready for those pledges to put it to the test!
Besides putting new flooring in 2nd old hallway, House Corporation worked to improve the condition of the floors in the kitchen, dining room, and entryway floors. Floors Inc. executed the tasks of cleaning, repairing, and then resealing these floors. The entryway is especially important to Beta Tau Delts, as this is part of the original 1949 Shelter. Remember those letters in the floor? Our goal is to protect them for future Nebraska Delts. Lastly a new convection oven has been ordered for the kitchen; baking operations will be safer with the new oven! Maybe Ilene’s ghost can whip up a batch of those yeast rolls!
The Future
Beta Tau’s Alumni, through the years, have been very generous during Shelter improvement projects. The 1969 addition greatly added bed capacity and moved the kitchen and dining room upstairs; it was located in the Chapter room as a dual-purpose room. The 1980s improvements remodeled the rooms, added the “Dirt Pit” and 006 room, built the north patio, built the study room, and remodeled the Chapter Room. Then we executed a major Shelter renovation in 2012, modernizing the Shelter to suite style rooms, added AC, fire prevention measures, and pitched the roof. Maybe we should rethink that last improvement and go back to the flat roof – oh the memories!
Many Beta Tau Delts have benefited from these past efforts. The time is appropriate for today’s Alumni to finally improve the kitchen operations and dining room appearance. In the near future, expect more information coming out on the specific improvements that will be undertaken. Your generosity in helping us complete these projects would be very much appreciated!
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Beta Tau Alumnus Gives to Shelter Construction Project | |
Eldon Park (Beta Tau, 1954) recently donated to the 2022 Summer Shelter Construction Project in memory of his life-long fraternity brother, Robert Hasebroock (Beta Tau, 1954), who passed away to the Chapter Eternal in February of 2021. Eldon recounted how he and Brother Hasebroock were the second and third Delts, respectively, selected for membership in the Innocents Society, where Eldon served as President.
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During his time as an undergraduate, Brother Hasebroock was President of the Interfraternity Council, Vice President of the Junior Class in the Student Council, and Vice President of Beta Tau Chapter, having previously served as Recruitment Chairman and New Member Educator. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Brother Hasebroock served in the U.S. Air Force for three years as a navigation pilot, was a 60 year member of the Scottish Rite in Omaha, instrumental in the refurbishing and financing of the Western Heritage Museum, founded the local Big Brothers chapter, and served on the District 66 School Board.
In his donation letter, Brother Park concluded, “I congratulate everyone involved with the current issue of the Beta Tau BLASTER. It was full of interesting and positive news. Using words from my Naval Officer days, I am delighted that the Beta Tau ship has been righted.”
Please join Brother Park in donating to the Shelter Construction Project. You will receive a donation form soon. We thank you for your support.
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Beta Tau Alumnus Delivers UNL Commencement Address | |
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Dr. Jay Keasling (Beta Tau, 1986) delivered the undergraduate commencement address to the graduating students of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on May 14, 2022 at Memorial Stadium. Brother Keasling is the Philomathia Professor of Alternative Energy at the University of California, Berkeley where he has served on the faculty for over 25 years. Keasling’s past research work has made a significant impact on developing countries suffering from malaria. His work served in the engineering and development of a synthetic version of an anti-malarial drug that was too expensive to produce naturally. The work has reduced both the cost and time to produce. It has gone on to benefit over 15 million people!
As an undergraduate from Harvard, Nebraska, Brother Keasling was a Regent’s Scholar and served Beta Tau Chapter as Vice President. Following graduation, Keasling attended the University of Michigan where he earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. He completed post-doctoral work at Stanford University before taking a faculty position at Berkeley.
In his commencement address, Brother Keasling encouraged graduates to take risks while they are young and have less to lose. He emphasized that most successful people he knows have failed far more often than they have succeeded.
“When you leave here today, start taking risks. Don’t be afraid to fail. If you do, you will learn and you will have successes later. And given the audience I am speaking to, many of those big risks will turn into high payoffs for you and society.”
Dr. Jay Keasling (Beta Tau, 1986)
Brother Keasling also received an honorary Doctor of Science degree during the ceremony. Congratulations, Brother Keasling! You inspire Delts in our value of “Strengthening Community is Essential to Our Vitality”.
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Alumni Gather for Alumni Weekend | |
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Alumni weekend was held September 16-17th in Lincoln. It began Friday afternoon with over 20 alumni and 40 undergraduates participating in a shotgun start golf tournament at NuMark golf course. Following the golf tournament, Beta Tau Delts were invited to the Shelter for burgers and cake provided by Chuck Allen ’87.
Despite the rain and early morning start of the Husker game against Oklahoma on Saturday, Beta Tau alumni and undergraduates joined together at the Shelter to celebrate brotherhood, chapter history, and breakfast. Those in attendance were treated to Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwiches provided by the Chapter. Awards were also presented during the tailgate.
A big thank you is also in order for Alumni Chairman Drake Allen for planning and organizing the event!
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Longtime Beta Tau Chapter Advisor Elected to the Arch Chapter | |
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Longtime Beta Tau Chapter Advisor, Ryan Caldwell (University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2002), was elected International Treasurer of the Arch Chapter at this summer’s Karnea in Norfolk, Virginia. The Arch Chapter is the governing board of directors of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.
Brother Caldwell is beginning his twentieth year of service to the Beta Tau Chapter. Originally elected to the Beta Tau House Corporation Board in 2003, Brother Caldwell continues to serve on the Board and was elected Secretary at the 2022 Annual Meeting held in January. He had previously served as Treasurer for a number of years.
Brother Caldwell also served Beta Tau as Chapter Advisor. Unofficially taking the role in 2005, he was officially appointed to fill the seat in 2006. During his tenure the chapter received two Hugh Shields Awards.
Curtis “C.J.” Campbell (University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2006) has been appointed to replace Caldwell as Chapter Advisor. Brother Campbell resides in Lincoln. He is a sales manager for Dultmeier Sales which is a wholesale distributor of equipment and supplies for agriculture and industrial uses.
“C.J. is a great addition to Beta Tau. He’ll bring his past fraternal experience and his sixteen plus years as a sales representative to continue the great strides Beta Tau has made. I look forward to the transition period and watching him develop excellent young men. As for me, I’ve volunteered nearly half of my life to Beta Tau. I’m invested to its success as much as any Beta Tau alumnus. That won’t change as a member of the Arch Chapter. I plan to continue volunteering on the House Corporation and any other way I can.”
-Ryan Caldwell, International Treasurer of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
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Upcoming Alumni Events
January 8, 2023 @ 1pm - Alumni Annual Meeting (Email to Follow with Specific Details)
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Stay connected to Beta Tau through our social media sites below! | | | | |
