By Dalton Lee, Baldwin Wallace ’11
Beta Epsilon chapter house.
Beta Epsilon at Southern Mississippi rang in its 75th anniversary with a truly astounding weekend! The event on Saturday, October 28th was bursting at the seams with generosity, fellowship, and comradery. Over 150 brothers, family members, and friends gathered together to celebrate Beta Epsilon’s past, present, and future. Around 10:00am on Saturday, brothers began to congregate for an open house at the Beta Epsilon chapter house. At noon, those gathered were treated to an astonishing assortment of homemade seafood by restauranteurs and alumni, Tim Taranto, Southern Mississippi '88, and Todd Rosetti, Southern Mississippi '91. Following the feast, Steve Nelson, Southern Mississippi '73, began the process of thanking the staggering list of donors who not only helped make this event possible, but also contributed immensely to the future of Beta Epsilon; this included presenting plaques to the Board of Governors and 75th Planning Committee. A complete list of donors recognized during this event will be presented below.
Enjoying the amazing food provided.
The event continued on as time was set aside for all participants to get a personalized photo in front of the newly established coat of arms on the Beta Epsilon house. These photos will be compiled into a giant composite composed of alumni from this event and any others that take place throughout the coming year. The brothers then came together for a group photo, followed by an open social event. This celebration also saw a groundbreaking to commemorate the memorial bus stop the chapter is donating to the university. This stop will forever cements Beta Epsilon’s relationship with the university by providing shelter and seating for all Greek life students as they commute to class.
However, this celebration is far from over. It will continue monthly for a year across a 500-mile radius with alumni gatherings in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee—culminating in July with a Phi Kappa Tau statewide rush party between Delta Gamma at Ole Miss, Alpha Chi at Mississippi State, and Beta Epsilon at the state capitol in Jackson, MS.
Congratulations to our Beta Epsilon chapter and all the brothers who’ve ensured their success over the past 75 years. Read below for a complete list of donors who made this a memorable event:
Recognizing brothers during the event.
Former National President, Steve Nelson, Southern Mississippi '73, for acting as 75th Master of ceremonies; designing the 75th logo, shirts, poster and pin; and providing all banners, flags, commemorative signage and yard signs.
Rick Osswald, Jr., Southern Mississippi '72, for years of research, updating the alumni base, and leading the financial donor campaign.
Rick Villarreal, Southern Mississippi '76, for chapter house renovations and upgrades. Including TV purchases, and purchases of 80 permanent banquet chairs and 12 tables.
Alan Coats, Southern Mississippi '77, for being a CEG donor, reducing chapter debt ($30,000), and creating annual academic chapter scholarships which were handed out during the event.
Doug Williams, Southern Mississippi '76, and Susan Williams for completely refurnishing and redecorating chapter house.
Rodney Blackwell, Southern Mississippi '70, for the purchase and delivery of an exterior storage container.
Ron Russell, Southern Mississippi '68, for renovating chapter kitchen—including cabinets, hardware, counter tops, and flooring.
Jim Day, Southern Mississippi '71, for purchasing new ritual equipment for the chapter.
Bridgett Farris for designing decorations, flowers, place settings, centerpieces, and a custom cake with 75th logo.
Tim Farris, Southern Mississippi '86, for providing catering services, equipment, tables, food warmers, USM background decor in support of food service.