On Saturday, March 21, 2009 Kappa Delta Rho re-chartered the Gamma Beta Chapter at Virginia Tech. There were over 145 Brothers and a total of 225 people in attendance at the chartering banquet. We also celebrated the reemergence of the Gamma Beta Alumni Association that evening.
52 Brothers were fully initiated into the Brotherhood that evening. The ritual was conducted by a National Ritual Team led by Daniel Romero, Consul of the Beta Gamma Chapter from Christopher Newport University. The keynote address at the banquet was given by Brother Robert Corrie, Beta ’53. He spoke about his journey within Kappa Delta Rho and the journey that our new Brothers will be embarking on after that evening. Brother Corrie challenged the newly initiated Brothers to grow the chapter and to grow the commitment and love for Kappa Delta Rho over the future years.
When asked about becoming a fully chartered chapter with Kappa Delta Rho Richard Hagmayer, Consul of Gamma Beta stated “Now that we have attained this goal we set out to accomplish so many months ago, we still have more work to do. Tomorrow we start working again, with a new vision and with a new goal. I have never been more proud to say that I am a Kappa Delta Rho gentleman.”
The banquet’s toastmaster was Senior Tribune, Doug Friedman, Gamma Beta ’11. His attention to detail made for a very enjoyable chartering banquet and well attended by special guests from the school’s administration and alumni within Kappa Delta Rho. Brother Friedman’s thoughts on the chartering were “Becoming a fully chartered chapter of Kappa Delta Rho is a momentous accomplishment for us. Excelling in the areas of philanthropy, scholarship, and recruitment has solidified an inseparable brotherhood. This is one of many milestones that the Gamma Beta chapter expects to reach and I am extremely excited to create a lasting impact at Virginia Tech.” One of the guest speakers at the event was Ronald Shidemantle, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Virginia Tech. Mr. Shidemantle stated that “Virginia Tech is very pleased to again partner with Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity in our combined efforts to provide positive collegiate fraternal experiences to students on campus. The current student leadership in KDR at Tech has demonstrated a real commitment to the mission of the university, and we have high hopes that their successes will continue for a very long time.”
When asked for comment about the new chartering Fraternity Board President, Shawn Hoke, Pi Alpha ’95 stated that “chartering a new chapter is a very exciting time and the National Fraternity is extremely pleased to return to Virginia Tech. We expect great things from the Gamma Beta chapter and stand ready to assist the Virginia Tech Greek community in anyway we can.”
The National Fraternity of Kappa Delta Rho would like to thank all of those involved in the effort for the chartering of the Gamma Beta Chapter.
