LOOK BACK KAPPA HISTORY
Cities That Hosted A GCM On Three Or More Occasions, 1911-2025
and continues as a Conclave event in the 21st century. The Robert L. Williams Fellowship Breakfast: Executive Secretary W. Ted Smith named the Fellowship Breakfast after Robert Williams (Delta 1938) of Indianapolis (IN) Alumni Chapter sometime around 1987, following a request by Henry Bennett Sr. Brother Bennett requested the event be named after Brother Williams because of all of the work he did for the fra- ternity, specifically as the chairman of the Memorial House Commission that led to the Diggs Memorial. The fellowship breakfast first appeared on a Conclave Schedule of Events was at the 70th Grand Chapter Meeting in Orlando, FL, in 1991. More recently, the Senior Kappa Affairs Breakfast is held jointly with the Robert L. Williams Fellowship Breakfast. Vendor Exhibition: The first time the fraternity organized and designated a venue for companies and individuals to market and sell fraternity parapher- nalia was at the 62nd Grand Chapter Meeting in Chicago, IL, in 1979. Frater- nity vendors were present at previous Conclaves since the late 1960s but did not have an organized venue. Today, the vendor expo is one of the biggest attractions at Conclave for members and non-members alike. Typically, vendor exhibitions contain between 125-175 companies. In addi- tion, companies recruiting for jobs and offering services to members and the general public also purchase a booth in the vendor space. LEAD Kappa: As the inaugural Under- graduate Leadership Conference commenced 52 years prior at the Golden
INDIANAPOLIS, IN/BLOOMINGTON, IN
1913* 1917*, 1928, 1941, 1951, 1961*, 1986, 2011
CHICAGO, IL
1919, 1922, 1933, 1942**, 1953, 1979
DETROIT, MI
1927, 1938, 1948, 1958, 1982, 1997
PHILADELPHIA, PA
1920, 1930, 1959, 1995, 2019
ST. LOUIS, MO
1924, 1935, 1943, 1967, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC
1926, 1936, 1954, 1985, 2009
CLEVELAND, OH
1921, 1937, 1952, 2001
ATLANTA, GA
1956, 1980, 1999
COLUMBUS, OH
1916, 1945, 1955
KANSAS CITY, MO
1931, 1940, 1950
LOS ANGELES, CA
1947, 1957, 1989
LOUISVILLE, KY
1923, 1944, 1983
NEW YORK, NY
1925, 1934, 1946
*Business sessions in Bloomington, IN **Emergency Grand Board of Directors Meeting replaced the traditional in-person GCM
within the gold box). The fraternity rarely hosted Conclave west of Kansas City, MO; south of Nashville, TN and Durham, NC; and north of Detroit, MI; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; and New York, NY. Commencing with the 1970 Grand Chapter Meeting in Charlotte, NC, the fraternity began diversifying its host city selection to other parts of the country. In addition to Phoenix, AZ, cities such as Miami, FL; Las Vegas, NV; Minneapolis, MN; Orlando, FL; New Orleans, LA; Houston, TX; Tampa, FL; and Dallas, TX, had oppor- tunities to host one or more GCMs. SIGNATURE ACTIVITIES The Undergraduate Luncheon. The 45th Grand Chapter Meeting in Columbus, OH, in December 1955, held the earliest version of the Under- graduate Luncheon. The event, then
called “Adopt an Undergraduate Luncheon,” attracted more than 300 graduate and undergraduate brothers to the Columbus Central YMCA. The concept for this affair was graduate brothers select undergraduate broth- ers and take them to lunch at this event. The host chapter requested each registered alumni chapter brother assume the plate cost of one under- graduate brother and to sit together during the luncheon. “The undergraduate luncheon which afforded the undergraduate brothers an opportunity for direct participation in the Grand Conclave … The brothers feel that his luncheon should be retained as an integral part of the Grand Chapter in the future.” - February 1956 issue of the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal In the succeeding Conclaves, the host city's schedule of activities included the Undergraduate Luncheon
WINTER 2024-2025 ♦ THE JOURNAL 37
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