2018 PIG DINNER

The Chapter hosted its 2nd Annual Pig Dinner Weekend on April 20-21st, 2018. Clemson's Spring weather was at its finest in welcoming over one hundred graduates, advisors, parents, and guests. This was the first time many of the Chi Alpha 1.0 graduates had returned to clemson since the mid-80's. The weekend begun with the Chi Alpha brotherhood gathering at the chapter houses on Friday evening where undergraduate and graduate brothers connected about their favorite past times, where they are now, and their future plans. The Crank Dogs, a band with two Chi Alpha brothers, played as graduates were able to see their mark on the chapter's history.

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On Saturday, the University Inn Hotel hosted brothers and guests for a pre-dinner cocktail and then the pig dinner festivities began. The crowd began to file into the West End Zone Complex and people immediately took notice to the spectacular views of Death Valley. At half past six, the dinner began as four newly initated brothers from the Spring 2018 Zeta pledge class brought in the smoked pig. Tom Adams (Emory 1970), the chapter's Section Chief, began the ceremonies with the Exiles Toast which is a comical toast emboding the purpose of Pig Dinner by signifying strong camaraderie among brothers in the fraternity. Peter Everett (Clemson 1979) served as the Master of Ceremonies and first introduced fellow XA 1.0 brothers to present the history of the fraternity. Marc Zagara, Herman Demmink, Chip Langston, Richard Vaughn, and Keff Karmilovich covered the Fiji history from the late '70's through the late '80's. Tales of Norris Hall, Homecoming Float Builds, and intramural sports brought laughs amongst the crowd and reminded brothers of the great times they spent together in their college days.

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Jonathan Jarman (UGA 1979), a brother of the Kappa Deuteron Chapter, delievered an inspiring story to the chapter about the Cloverhurst Benevolent Foundation which was founded by UGA Fiji graduates to assist brothers who are facing difficult times. The foundation provides assistance to undergraduate and graduate brothers of the Kappa Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta who are experiencing life-paralyzing events or conditions and are in need of counseling or other professional services, and/or financial resources, to help them survive, heal and thrive.  Jonathan challenged our chapter to start a program of our own and begin the never-ending journey of supporting our fellow brothers.

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Andrew Stephens, chapter historian, announced two Father-Son pairs as they were officially recognized as joing the Fiji Sires and Sons Club. Those who were recognized are Jim Williams (1980) & Craig Williams (2019) and Dan Hughes (Akron 1991) & Dayne Hughes (2021).

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Jake Horan, undergraduate pig dinner chairman and graduate relations chairman, recognized all the XA 1.0 brothers for their 25+ years as brothers of the fraternity and gifted each XA 1.0 graduate the Silver Owl Lapel Pin in appreciation of their brotherhood.

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Chad Bureau, chapter president, introduced and awarded the 2017-2018 Undergraduate Awards to four brothers. Tanner Huyck was voted the New Member of the Year Award for his role in the Fall 2017 Epsilon class as Pledge Class President. Jacob Siebert was recognized as the Serviceman of the Year with 50+ service hours across a variety of organizations. Dillon Flaherty was voted Athlete of the Year for his notable involvement in many of the chapter's intramural sports teams. Lastly, Tyler Reid was awarded 2017-2018 Brother of the Year. Tyler served as the chapter's president from March 2016 to December 2017, which included the chapter's chartering in March of 2017.

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In closing of the event, Peter Everett announced Jim Nielson as the final XA 1.0 winner of the Lance Link trophy. The 1.0 graduates have now handed own the trophy to the 2.0 undergraduates to carry on the tradition.