CHAPTER NEWS
“THE CHAPTER LOOKS FORWARD TO THE NEXT 50 YEARS OF ACHIEVEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA. ”
celebrate the chapter’s charter members, and the charter line for Zeta Omega acknowledged Zeta Omega initiates who transitioned to the Chapter Invisible. The National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning Chief Operating Officer Marks Pitts (Zeta Omega 1982) of Tampa (FL) Alumni gave an inspirational keynote address, which was the highlight of the evening. With the banquet com- plete, the brothers did not slow down. Several brothers attended a community service project Saturday morning at The Bridges in Norman. The Bridges is an organization that provides housing and services for at-risk high school students in the area. The community service event was held with the Norman (OK) Alumni, Zeta Omega’s advising chapter, and included purchasing and assembling patio furniture for the housing development. Brotherhood and fellow- ship were the theme for the remainder of Saturday as brothers converged on the “Kappa” House for a cook- out featuring a local food truck and noted DJ, Kend- rick Warren (Zeta Omega, Spring 2010). The cookout included impromptu strolls from the younger brothers
as well as old school step routines from the older brothers. Domino chal- lenges, cigar-smoking, and fond reminiscing rounded out the occasion. On Sunday, as the celebration weekend came to a close, the brothers converged on Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church in nearby Oklahoma City, OK, to hear the Word from Senior Pastor Ray Douglas (Zeta Omega 1984) of the Norman (OK) Alumni. The church service was also the St. Jude’s Day of Giving organized by the Norman (OK) Alumni Chapter. ZETA OMEGA IN 2023 Over the course of the weekend, the returning brothers received a first- hand view of the excellence of the Zeta Omega Chapter as it passed the half-century mark. Led by Polemarch Andrew Adigun (Zeta Omega 2021), the chapter roster is comprised eleven members (as of the Spring 2023) representing seven
different states across the country from as far away as Seattle, Atlanta, Michigan, and New Jersey. Eight of the brothers were recognized on the academic honor roll for their respective colleges. The chapter was recently ranked Gold Level Excel- lence – the highest rank possible – by the universi- ty’s Fraternity and Sorority Programs. In addition to driving a strong chapter, Zeta Omega is also active across the OU campus. Polemarch Adigun serves as the Vice President of the National Panhellenic Council, the Chairperson for the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Networking Coordinator for Black Men in STEM. Vice Polemarch, Rickey Hewitt, is on the executive boards of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the OU Integrity Council and is an award-winning OU mock trial team attorney. Brother Alexander Lewis serves as the Chairperson for the Freshman Action
Team. Kunle Akinlosotu, Quoi Ellis, and D.J. Smith participated in OU’s Track and Field Program where they collected an assort- ment of Big 12 Conference and NCAA awards and acknowledgments. Outside of the OU campus environment, the Zeta Omega initiates keep achieving, with Brothers Adigun and Hewitt selected to participate in the LEAD- Kappa Program during the 86th Grand Chapter Meeting in Tampa, FL. Also, Devin Bishop is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Middle Western Province. Overall, the chapter is still achieving at a high level and the Zeta Omega 50th Anni- versary Celebration was a tremendous success, with approximately 120 Zeta Omega initiates attending with solid support from all eras of the chapter. The chapter looks forward to the next 50 years of achieve- ment at the University of Oklahoma. ♦
18 THE JOURNAL ♦ FALL 2023
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