Brief History of Our Chapter On March 15, 1993 Pi Kappa Alpha sent two representatives, Steve Heck and Jeffery Brown, from headquarters in Memphis with the goal of establishing the first Canadian Pike Chapter. Soon after arriving at Western, Steve and Jeffrey proceeded to visit all the sororities on campus to obtain some names of good men who might be interested in becoming part of the Pi Kappa Alpha legacy. After contacting over eighty men, sixty were extended bids to join. On April 3, the Western colony had its first retreat to set up the foundation for the upcoming years. The executive was introduced at this time. Scott Farlinger was appointed President, Steve Dalal, Vice President Internal; Jason Howe, Vice President External; Mike Davis, Treasurer; Jeff Wettlaufer, Sergeant-at-Arms and Sandy Jones, Secretary. After familiarizing ourselves with our new brothers’ names, we proceeded to set our goals for the upcoming year and for receiving our charter. This was a time of great optimism and our goal certainly reflected that. Meeting such goals would certainly be a challenge, however with which a dynamic group of individuals, there was little doubt we could accomplish what ever we set out to do. Later on the day of April 3, brothers from Wayne State University in Detroit came to Western to perform the pinning ceremony. Throughout the summer enthusiasm waned and Jeffrey Brown returned to Western to get our feet back on the ground. On September 17, Jeff called a meeting. At this meeting our colony was introduced to our Alumni Advisor Mr. Michael Steel of Delta Theta chapter, Arkansas State University. The Western colony’s fall rush began on October 3 under the direction of Andrew Morrow. Over twenty sharp men were actively recruited and after various socials and events bids were extended. Fourteen men accepted their bids and thus the Beta Class was formed. On April 9, 1994, Iota Omega chapter at the University of Western Ontario was initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. The initiation ceremony was held in Sarnia, Ontario at brother Mike G. Steele’s business. Later that evening, the 49 brothers of Iota Omega celebrated their installation at the Delta Armouries Hotel in London. History was made as the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity finally became International. International President Thomas J. Turner was present for this historical event. The hard work of the founding class finally came together and the night was celebrated in high spirits. Iota Omega chapter went on to win the prestigious Smythe award, the highest honour a Pi Kappa Alpha chapter can obtain, in 1995, 1996, and 1998. After this many members graduated and two members of the chapter were hired as consultants by Pike head quarters for their outstanding leadership qualities. Also a graduate and alumni, David Bell, helped initiate and went on to serve as the chapter advisor for Lambda Epsilon at the University of Alberta. After 1998, the Chapter faced three difficult years of declining numbers. Since 2002 Iota Omega has grown steadily in numbers while all the other fraternities on campus have declined. The Pikes at Western have a bright future and are poised to dominate the UWO campus. |