Dear Brothers,
Our great Fraternity reached many milestones in 2012. We all should be quite proud of where Sigma Alpha Epsilon stands today. As of this writing, we have 226 chapters and 24 colonies for a total presence on 250 campuses. We should reach 300 campuses by the end of this decade easily. I am especially happy to see us return to campuses where we’d once been. Earlier this year, we presented badge 300,000, and we now have initiated more than 304,000 brothers since our founding. In addition, we set another record this past fiscal year as we initiated more than 4,400 brothers for the first time in our history. Yet, you can’t beat the Baby Boomers. In 1967, the year of my initiation, ΣAE crossed the 4,300 mark for the first time — but with 50 fewer chapters.
One of the wonderful things about the Fraternity is our diversity in chapter size, campus environments, members, backgrounds and lifestyles while we share a common heritage, traditions and Ritual. We have small chapters and those whose membership exceeds 100 men. I had the pleasure of participating in Arizona Beta’s 50th anniversary recently, a chapter with 141 members.
We also set a record in the summer. Nearly 800 brothers participated in the 77th John O. Moseley Leadership School on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. This fall, we are looking forward to greeting nearly 150 brothers at the second DeVotie Ritual Institute, and participants are paying their own way to experience the event at our Levere Memorial Temple. Sigma Alpha Epsilon returns to the great city of Chicago for the first time in 50 years next summer for our 157th Anniversary Convention. We will celebrate the massive renovation of our headquarters with a night at the Temple, and the Chicago Host Committee is hard at work planning a great four days for what we hope will attract a record crowd.
While all of these statistics are impressive, the real joy of my tenure as Eminent Supreme Archon is observing the length and depth of service our brothers provide to their communities. The annual True Gentleman Day of Service continues to encourage both undergraduate and alumni brothers to perform amazing service across the Realm. I am both proud and happy to see this level of generosity. Service provides a terrific personal opportunity and life lessons for our members while they help others. I hope all of our brothers keep up the great work.
In the Bonds,
Ken Tracey
Eminent Supreme Archon
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