2014 Spring Newsletter

Spring 2014

2014-2015 Officers Regent: Keon Thomas!

Vice Regent: Tiffany Smith!

Chaplain: Ravi Bacchus!

Treasurer: Trang Conn!

Secretary: Jessica Wu!

Sergeant At Arms: Kate Sullivan!

Pledgemaster: Dominick Curry!

Historian: Staci Hall!

!!!

Table of Contents

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KAPPA PSI

EPSILON MU There is a destiny which makes us brothers; none goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.Edwin Markham !

Officers 2014-2015 1!

Spring 2014 SE Province Conclave 2!

Tea Party for a Cause 3!

Beloved Beta Brothers 5!

Ski Trip 2013 6!

Jersey Day 8!

Spring 2014

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Spring 2014 Southeast Province Conclave

By  Dominick  Curry    

  On the weekend of February 21-23, history was

made. For the first time in the SEP, a Conclave took

place outside of the Sunshine State. The Brothers from

Iota Chapter welcomed Brothers from around the

Province to the historic city of Charleston, South

Carolina. There were a lot of unique features to this

Conclave that made it one to remember, and one that

made Brother Michael Walsh especially excited; a Top

Gun theme.

The weekend kicked off with a celebration of

Brother Marvin Smith’s 40th birthday at Mad River in

downtown Charleston. It was a great night, and a time

to reconnect with Brothers from around the Province.

The next morning, the work of the weekend commenced

at the assembly. While Brothers filed into the meeting

hall, pledges were escorted to a room nearby. As the

morning began, the Province provided pledge

programming as a few Brothers volunteered to instruct

the pledges from USF and Delta Omega about the

meaning of our beloved 4 pillars.

The legislation proceedings progressed in a

routine fashion, and the excitement of the day was

provided by the elections. First and foremost, Epsilon

Mu has a great presence in the new Executive Board of

the Province. Brothers Karl Healy and Timmy Do ran

unopposed in their positions of Satrap and Historian,

respectively. Their dedication and competence shined

through while serving on the previous year’s Executive

Board. The Province recognized that the work done by

these exceptional Brothers warranted that they need not

be opposed in the new capacities that they will serve in

on the current E-Board. There is one more EMu

Brother who will be an officer this year, and he became

the talk of the Conclave with his sudden rise to the rank

of Province Officer. Nominated from the floor last

minute after a caucus, Brother Daniel Morley accepted,

and was set to run for Assistant Webmaster against

Brother Chris Popun. He walked up to the podium and

brought the house down with his speech to the point

where we had no choice but to install him as an officer

(and question if he is a super spy of some sort).

Congratulations to all the new officers of SEP, we know

you will make us proud.

The highlight of the weekend, however, was

the Banquet. It was located on the USS Yorktown, a

Naval Aircraft Carrier. This fact motivated the Top

Gun theme of the social later in the night. In addition,

there was a famous keynote speaker; Dr. Joseph Dipiro.

He gave a great speech about the growth of the

Pharmacist’s role clinically, and the profession as a

whole. We enjoyed dinner, and got a few great pictures

in front of the massive American flag.

The weekend was capped with a Top Gun-

themed social at the Trio Lounge, later that night.

Another great night of fellowship with our favorite

people, decked out in flight suits, bomber jackets, and

aviators. All in all, this was another great weekend and a

Conclave to remember. Personally, I left with a renewed

vigor to do my part for the Chapter and Fraternity. We

grew closer as Brothers, and strengthened the bonds

with each other. This in the end is always the best part of

any Conclave. See you all at the next one!  

Photo: Daniel Morley, Dominick Curry, Timmy Do, Tien Nguyen

Spring 2014

Tea Party for a Cause!By  Jeanine  GarciaThough it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes the story cannot fully be told with just a snapshot. Such is the case with this lovely picture of a couple of our Brothers wearing gorgeous hats and having a dainty tea. They look stunning, really, in their fancy attire, and I am sure more than a thousand words could be used to describe this scene. What you don’t see, however, is the why, the who, and the how. Why did they go to a tea party? Who benefitted? How can we continue to make a difference?

On March 25, the Epsilon Mu chapter of the Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, in collaboration with Kappa Epsilon, hosted a tea party to benefit The

Russell Home. The Russell Home is a private, non-profit organization in Orlando whose mission is to care for “atypical” children. Basically, they will care for children with severe mental or physical disorders. They began their mission back in 1948, and they have been helping people ever since.

Currently, the Home houses 27 residents, ranging in age from 15 months to 61 years. Their “kids” have quite a gamut of conditions, from Down’s syndrome, which is fairly common here, to a boy who was born with only a brain stem. He was taken in at a mere 14 days old, was expected to live only a few days, and is now 10 years old. They also house the oldest living microcephalic patient, who is now 40 years old. They have cared

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Photo: Carlos Walker, Chris Nguyen, Ronchell Drains, Cate Gandour, Jeanine Garcia, Houda Dardari, Megan Galarza, Silvia Kim, Brian Littlejohn

Spring 2014

for people with no eyes and no spine, for babies with drug addictions and fetal alcohol syndrome, and for a patient with congenital analgesia.

The Russell Home does so much more than provide a permanent residence for their kids. They also provide classes Monday through Friday with a retired teacher, creative dance classes every Thursday, and dance/karaoke parties whenever they can get a sponsor to donate decorations, drinks, and dessert. They encourage all of their residents to be their own personal best, and t h e y c e l e b r a t e a l l o f t h e i r accomplishments. Most of all, they are loved, cared for, and respected.

Accomplishing these feats is not easy. There are many generous people who donate their time and money to the Russell Home, but there is always more that can be done. Since they are a private organization, there is no state or federal funding. Most of the proceeds are raised through the two thrift stores that are run by the Home, and through the tea parties. For a $20 per person donation, the Pine Castle Women’s Club will serve you a proper – and delicious – tea. There are appetizers of sliced fruit, soup, and scones, finger sandwiches, and gorgeous desserts. And the tea,

of course, is delightful. All of the proceeds go directly to the Russell Home.

The tea party was our first event for the Home, but it is certainly not our last. We will be sponsoring a party for the residents on June 21. Also, we will be initiating a “Buddy Program,” where we will pair a Brother with a resident. We will do something special for our Buddy on their birthday or during the holidays, or just because. Since only four of the 27 residents have families who visit them, I think this is an excellent way to make a huge difference in their lives.

If you are as impressed with this organization as I am, I encourage you to visit them in person. Words and pictures can only show so much. Your life will be touched by seeing for yourself how amazing this Home actually is.

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Spring 2014

Beloved Beta Brothers Six brothers have left our collegiate chapter as they graduated this spring. During their time as part of Epsilon Mu, these brothers have invested their time and effort for our beloved fraternity and brotherhood. In the meantime, all six beta class brothers have demonstrated immense leadership towards the advancement of our pharmacy profession. They will forever remain icons.

Farewell  Brothers

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Photo: top: Dr. Hugh Flanagan, Dr. Jennifer Bahnmiller, Dr. Matthew Dr. Irwin, bottom: Dr. Dr. Nam Vu, Dr. Tien Nguyen, Dr. Richie Waithe

Spring 2014

A  Ski  Trip    By  Staci  Hall    

The next morning after a long day of traveling, the Epsilon Mu cabin was quiet, peaceful. The mist settled on the mountain, the trees bent gently to the wind, a soft dripping from the from the top balcony hot tub from the night prior. A light melody reverberated through the rafters.

“Someone shut that thing off!”

“Who wants eggs?”

“Jack! Get out of the shower!”

“If you don’t turn off that alarm I swear…”

“Someone took my medium shirt. How did I end up with a small?”

“Jack! There won’t be any hot water left!”

“Seriously, who has my medium?”

“Bro, I wear a Ledium.”

“Someone stole my waffles.”

“Jack we are going to be late!”

The flock was off to the slopes. Several Kappa Psi chapters met on the freshly made powder. The professionals took to the blues armed with their go-pros, and mad skills. The go-pro capturing the fact that they indeed got, “so much air.” six inches is quite impressive. On these infamous slopes the hashtag #popoff was born; proving that no phrase can ever be overused.

While the Brothers that were new to the snow scene stuck to the bunnies. Many tactics were tried in attempts to make it down the

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Spring 2014

mountain. The favorite of most beginners was to crouch on their skis and snow angel it all the way down. Many praying that they would soon learn to pizza instead of French fry. Of course the day was not without its misfortunes as one Brother was helped off the slopes with a minor injury. However, the rest of the day went off without a hitch.

Tradition was carefully followed as the Emu Brothers went to Dicks Last Resort for dinner and entertainment. The Brothers playfully tried to guess what their hats said without looking and only receiving clues from others. The

laughs continued back at the cabin with a few games of catchphrase. Brother bonding was taken to a new level when 15 Brothers tried to fit into a 4 person hot tub. What could possibly go wrong? As the ice formed on the stairs leaving a less than steady exit and Richie’s although big is not an ideal support beam left one Brother with nothing more than a bruised ego.

!

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Spring 2014

Epsilon Class Jersey Day!

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Spring 2014

more Jersey fun…

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