CHAPTER NEWS
Detroit (MI) Alumni Invests in the Community with New "Kappa Complex"
T he Historic Kappa House of the Detroit (MI) Alumni Chapter has been the flagship of the Northern Province for 74 years. It is the heart and soul, the command center and embodies the spirit of brotherhood for four Grand Chapter Meetings, numerous Northern Province Council Meetings, undergrad- uate events, leadership training, Kappa League activities, social affairs and the home of Detroit Alumni’s monthly for- mal meetings for 65 years. Founders, Laurel Wreath Laureates, El- der Watson Diggs Awardees, Past Grand Polemarchs, Past Grand Board Mem- bers, Past Province Polemarchs, current fraternity leadership and four genera- tions of Kappa achievers have graced this mighty chapter house over the years. Their "Kappa Kharacter" has left an indelible mark that can only be mea- sured by our love of this Noble Bond. The unique history, traditions and legacy of the Historic Detroit Alumni House are the pillars of brotherhood and the essence Kappa. As the demographics of the city change, gentrification and future developments have required Detroit Alumni to assess the current location and seek a new home, a new legacy. On March 26, 2019 the Detroit (MI) Alumni purchased a new facility to better serve the chapter, Kappa Alpha Psi, and the community of southeastern
Michigan. The New Kappa Complex located 10 minutes from the current Kappa House on the eastside of Detroit, provides everything the chapter requires to move forward into the 21 st century. The new Kappa Complex is an ADA- accessible facility featuring two large multipurpose rooms with stages that can accommodate 150+ people, two small conference rooms, two medium conference rooms. It is a gated facility with three electric gate openings, 80+ parking spaces, full perimeter video surveillance systems, kitchen facilities, dual HVAC systems, four bathrooms for men and women. The Facility Acquisition Team chaired by President of the Kappa Detroit Foun- dation, Marlin Parks (Alpha Beta 1974), Godfrey Dillard, Jr. (Alpha Delta 1968), Legal Subcommittee, John E. Johnson, Jr. (Southfield (MI) AL 1996), Commer- cial Acquisition Subcommittee, Mark Clark, (Detroit (MI) AL 1999) Finan- cial Subcommittee, Northern Province Polemarch Kevin D. Kyles and numer- ous other men organized the Capital Campaign to raise funds to purchase the property. Detroit (MI) Alumni Polemarch Henry Conerway (Alpha Beta 1970) galvanized the collaboration with the Kappa Detroit Foundation, ensuring the chapter secured additional funds, purchasing the property in full alleviating a mortgage. The Kappa Complex will be the keystone Diamond
in-with the constellation of chapters in the Northern Province. An edifice to achievement, brotherhood, com- munity service and leadership training. The chapter plan is to have the official opening dedication ceremony priory to the Centennial Celebration of Detroit (MI) Alumni, the second oldest Alumni Chapter in the Fraternity, 1920 – 2020. The 2020 Northern Province Council, to be hosted by Detroit (MI) Alumni and the Alpha Beta Chapters, plans to host a variety of events at the Kappa Complex. “. . . Inasmuch as college youths must assume the burdens of leadership after graduation, it is important that they acquire the social graces and embellish- ments that fit them for participation in the society of cultivated men.”.... wrote Elder Watson Diggs. We honor Founder Diggs, the force behind the first Kappa Chapter House, 1914. A refuge, an oasis free from the challenges of racial strife. A place of learning, encourage- ment, support and brotherhood. The New Legacy the Detroit Kappa Com- plex will provide a home, a chapter house based on the ideas of “honorable achievement in every field of human endeavor”. The Kappa Complex serves as our contemporary Oracle of Delphi, a place of wisdom, brotherhood and “training for leadership.”
168 | FALL 2019 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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