Michael F. Brown Middle Eastern Province Polemarch
Province Year in Review
By Quentin Mitchell
T he Middle Eastern Province West Virginia. Naturally North Carolina being the ninth largest state in the U.S. by population has faced its’ share of challenges due to the current pandemic. Southern West Virginia hasn’t been im- mune to these challenges either. geographic footprint is the state of North Carolina and Southern The threat of COVID-19 to the health of our loved ones and communities is the current reality. The various execu- tive orders handed down from the state government have brought us a new way of life. Through all of this the brothers of the Middle Eastern Province have shown perseverance in carrying out the business of our beloved fraternity. They have also displayed great tenacity in be- ing protectors of our families and local communities. Early in the pandemic all brothers were asked to contact other brothers in their network with the focus being on the well-being of our senior kappas. This also included any silhouette of a brother that had transitioned to Chapter Invisible. Individual brothers took it upon their own to offer to feed broth- ers and their families if they were in financial straits. With our local colleges and universities closing some of our campuses have brothers who are not from the area. Communication was made to see if any of the undergraduate brothers needed transportation or any assistance. Adjustments were made to usher in new initiates of the fraternity to address safety first without sacrificing
ganizations on campus. These brothers were majoring in Biology, Kinesiology, and Computer Science. In addition, they received the “Community Service of the Year Award” on campus. Led by Past Province Polemarch and current Province Chaplain Joseph K. Davis (Alpha Kappa 1976) started a se- ries of prayer calls to help uplift brothers spiritually. As the effects of the death of George Floyd rippled through the nation a new national reckoning on racial injus- tice started by way of protest. Brothers throughout the province marched peace- fully on their own with their local com- munity for social justice. One brother literally marched on a three-day journey in memory of past civil rights battles. Starting at the site of Bloody Sunday on
tradition. MTA clusters were divided up into smaller geographic based ceremo- nies with less people involved over the course of months. From the start of the pandemic chapter meetings started being held virtually. Three weeks before our 79 th Province Council Meeting and William E. Hooker Kappa League Sum- mit was to be held in Concord, NC we had to postpone it until mid-November. Despite COVID-19 and all the other obstacles we were challenged with, we still managed to raise over $20,000 for the children and families of St. Jude Children’s Hospital. We witnessed our undergraduate brothers continue to achieve during these times. The Rho Zeta Chapter at Methodist University won a Greek life award for having the highest GPA for Greek or-
THE JOURNAL ♦ SUMMER 2021 | 145
VIRTUAL 85 TH GRAND CHAPTER MEETING
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