JOURNAL NOTES
Kappa Alpha Psi’s 15 th National Founders’ Day Observance Sets the Stage for Fraternity - Foundation Partnership Around S.T.E.M., the Military and Trades
Kappa’s National Chapter Advisors Training Cluster Committee received training at the Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA) Annual Meeting this past quarter. Kappa Alpha Psi is one of the few organizations with membership in NPHC and North American Interfra- ternity Conference. Kappa’s member- ship builds a bridge and narrows a gap in understanding that otherwise would be more difficult to address. AFA tackled some meaningful topics and Kappa was there, leading the discussions (see page 10). The Military and Veterans Affairs Com- mission, led by Commission Chairman MG (R) Hawthorne “Peet” Proctor, (see page 64) provides a spotlight on the U.S. Army, including the promotion of Major General Kevin Vereen (see page 66) and the retirement of Major General Patrick Sargent (see page 70) as well as an intro- duction of initiates from the U.S. Naval Academy (see page 75) and the U.S. Coast Guard (see page 76). The issue provide you with the State of the Kappa Alpha Psi ® Foundation (see page 44), its Board of Directors (see page 48) and its approach: Building a New Way Forward for the Next Gen- eration of Achievers and its $5 million capital campaign (see page 49). Led by 104 th Elder Watson Diggs Awardee and Foundation President, Michael J. Dubose, the organization is spearheading a comprehensive approach for brothers and silhouettes to endow several efforts to improve the quality of life of those we serve. With a focus on the military, S.T.E.M fields and the trades, the Foundation's campaign is all-encompassing approach to uplift the next generation of our communities. We spotlight one of the Honorary Co-Chairman and 60 th Laurel Wreath Laureate, John E. Jacob (see page 59).
Brother Jacob has blessed us with his leadership and gift of exhortation in many fora. We were delighted he made the time to sit down with The Journal . The Scroller Club turned 100 in 2019. Grand Historian Kevin Scott with contributions by William L. Crump Awardee Aaron Williams and Frederick H. Black wrote a magnificent piece. It allowed me to reflect on the stories of my father-in-law who transitioned to the Chapter Invisible in 2017, when he was a Scroller in 1957 (see page 84). Grand Historian Scott also sat down with Lt. Col. James W. Williams, Kappa’s only Prisoner of War during the Vietnam War. Brother Williams has a remarkable story and shared photos of his return to the “Hanoi Hilton” (see page 92). Brother Williams is certainly heroism personified. He is indeed a man of Kappa Alpha Psi! The members of the Silent Generation in Kappa Alpha Psi are transitioning to Chapter Invisible at a pace that will strain the resources of The Journal . The section could easily be four times the size as what has appeared in print in this issue. As a result, we are in need of making structural changes. Full articles will be available for the on-line version of The Journal but we must shorten the articles in the printed version going forward. That said, we feature Laurel Wreath Laureates The Honorable John J. Conyers and Cornelius W. Grant, J.D. (also an Elder Watson Diggs Awardee) as well as Floyd J. Malveaux, M.D., Ph.D. among other brothers (see page 98). Finally, I salute the photography and the writing of The Journal staff as we con- tinue to build upon the foundation laid by previous administrations. We thank you for your letters, calls and emails complimenting us on our efforts.
Cleveland Ferguson III, Esq. I n this issue of The Kappa Alpha Psi ® Journal , we feature a sum- mary of the 15 th National Found- ers’ Day Observance in Las Vegas, NV, led by Grand Polemarch Reuben A. Shelton III, Esq. (see page 4). Kappa experienced a once-in-a- lifetime set designed exclusively for the opening ceremony by the Mirage ® Las Vegas (see page 22). Our thanks to them and the other sponsors for making it a world-class affair. There was much discussion on frater- nity issues on the home front as well as the ongoing work internationally, in- cluding establishing chapters in Canada (see page 16) and the Dominican Republic, the launch of Kappa’s part- nership with Room To Read, an update on the Greeks Leaning to Avoid Debt (GLAD) and other financial literacy initiatives focused on our collegiate members (see page 8). Walter T. Bond was a fantastic keynote speaker and I highly encourage reading his book: Swim!: How a Shark, a Suck- erfish, and a Parasite Teach You Leader- ship, Mentoring, and Next Level Success (see page 40).
2 | WINTER 2019 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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