LOOK BACK KAPPA HISTORY
appa Alpha Psi®’s 87th Grand Chapter Meeting convenes in Phoenix, AZ, from July 1 to 6, 2025. The multi-million- dollar Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix is the Conclave venue, with the nearby Hyatt Regency Phoenix serving as the primary host hotel.
Kappa Alpha Psi returns to Phoenix for its Grand Chapter Meeting for the second time in four years. The 85th Grand Chapter Meeting was modi- fied from the traditional in-person assembly to a virtual conference due to safety concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Named one of the country’s top convention centers, the Phoenix Con- vention Center has 1,000,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, including a 312,500-square-foot main exhibit hall, 80,000-square-foot out- door event space, 99 meeting rooms, and a 46,000-square-foot ballroom. Numerous eateries, hotels, bars, live music venues, a professional sports
stadium, and art museums surround the massive complex. The fraternity has held its Grand Chapter Meetings in large conven- tion centers and hotels for the past six decades. However, convening to meet, discuss, and determine the fraternity’s business was not always held at these modern and spacious facilities. The Grand Chapter Meet- ing dates back to the fraternity’s nascent years when meetings were held in private homes and grew to use facilities such as YMCAs, municipal halls, and college campus buildings in cities nationwide. In the lead-up to the 2025 Phoenix Conclave, Grand Historian Kevin P.
Scott (Chicago (IL) Alumni 1998) and Brother Aaron Williams (Zeta Upsilon 1986) have composed a five-part article for The Kappa Alpha Psi Journal entitled, “The History of the Grand Chapter Meetings.” Scott and Williams utilized The Story of Kappa Alpha Psi, 6th Edition [2023], past issues of The Kappa Alpha Psi Journal , various other fraternity publications and artifacts, and external public and school newspaper articles as source material. This five- part feature highlights the evolution of the Grand Chapter Meetings, compares and contrasts the size and scope of these affairs, the frequency
32 THE JOURNAL ♦ SPRING 2024
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker