Jason Pearce

Lambda Chi just informed me that I’ll be working on an IBM ThinkPad Model T41 with a Pentium M Processor at 1.6 Ghz. I’ve never used a ThinkPad, so I’m both thrilled and a little apprehensive. After being burned by Compaq, Gateway, and Sony laptops, I’ve stuck with Dell for many years. But I’ve heard great things about the ThinkPads, so I guess it’s time for me to try one out.

Tuesday afternoon, Lambda Chi Alpha’s executive director, Tom Helmbock, announced his resignation. Over the years Tom has been an employer, boss, mentor, inspiration, and friend. Thanks for all you have given me, the Fraternity, and the countless others who have had the benefit of knowing you. You will be missed.

Excerpts from the March 30 press release

Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity announced today that Executive Vice President Tom Helmbock … has elected to retire from active service effective August 31, 2004. During the coming months, Helmbock will be recognized for his many years of dedicated service to one of the largest fraternities in the world.

Helmbock commented, “When I began my journey at the helm of this Fraternity in 1990, I knew we would be called upon to usher Lambda Chi Alpha into a new century of challenges and complexities—all the while retaining and strengthening the values that make Lambda Chi Alpha so meaningful to our brothers. I believe we have accomplished these goals and many, many more. I can leave satisfied that the Fraternity is better and stronger today, and well positioned for the future.”

“Tom Helmbock deserves more appreciation than we can begin to offer for his years of dedication to Lambda Chi Alpha. For more than 14 years, he has served as the stabilizing anchor through very rough waters and transitional times as we ushered in the new millennium. Tom’s foresight and leadership have brought the Fraternity where it is today—on the cusp of a second century as we approach our 2009 Centennial Celebration. He has always been a brother who sincerely committed his utmost to represent the values of this brotherhood,” stated Ted Grossnickle, chairman of the Fraternity’s Board of Directors. “We thank him on behalf of the nearly 250,000 members of our Fraternity world-wide, and we all wish him the absolute best for the coming years.”

Those of us on staff can only hope to make an impact as great and lasting as you have made. We’ll miss you Tom.

The word is out: I’m returning to Lambda Chi Alpha’s staff. COO Kip Zurcher posted the following in the fraternity’s “This Week at Headquarters” weekly email. The email goes to staff, board, former staff, and a bunch of key volunteers.

Jason Pearce Joins Staff (Again)!

Beginning May 1, Jason Pearce (Elon ’94) will become our Director of Technology. He previously served the Fraternity as an ELC, editor, and director of communications from 1995 to 1999. Since leaving staff, Pearce helped start (and close) WeAlumni.com in DC; worked for Carden Jennings Publishing by opening an office for them in Indianapolis; served as a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Guyana; and currently is a web designer at Gourad Media Group.

Jason will direct the revamping of our website and insure that the internal network at headquarters is working well. He will report directly to me as the Chief Operating Officer to ensure that all areas of the staff are benefiting from his work.

Welcome back, Jason! We look forward to seeing great things from you.

For more information, please visit Jason’Â’s personal website at jason.pearce.net.

It will be good to be back. Thanks Kip.

On a similar note, I’ve tossed in my hat to chair a committee or serve on the board again for CFEA, the College Fraternity Editors Association. CFEA’s conference will be in Chicago May 6 – 9.

Ironically, neither Lambda Chi Alpha nor CFEA’s website have changed much since I last worked on them several years ago. Is there a pattern here?

I almost forgot to tell you the big news. I will be returning to Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, in Indianapolis, to serve as their director of technology. I’m flying there this weekend to look for housing. I’ll leave more specifics sometime next week.

Forbes is going to be featuring an article called “Best Fraternities For Future CEOs” in its upcoming March issue. The article’s idea and research was influenced by a friend of mine, Jon Williamson. One of Jon’s hobbies is collecting fraternal alumni directories, and then reading them. He has a gifted memory, which helps him match names and ages to notable individuals, like Forbes‘s list of 500 CEOs. Way to go Jon.

Best Fraternities For Future CEOs
Davide Dukcevich, 01.31.03, 12:00 PM ET

NEW YORK – Don’t be surprised if you see your company directors exchanging secret handshakes at the next board meeting. After all, about a quarter of all chief executives on the Forbes Super 500 list of America’s largest corporations were members of college fraternities.

Despite what movies such as Animal House suggest, fraternities and sororities are more than just freshman rush and beer busts. The social skills that help students gain admittance into the Greek system are the same aptitudes that can later give them a leg-up in corporate climbing. Plus, once they’ve graduated, they can tap into the network of past fraternity brothers or sisters who litter all tiers of corporate America.

The numbers certainly seem to back this theory up. A mere 8.5% of full-time university undergraduates are members of either a fraternity or a sorority. Not only have fraternities been the breeding ground of those 120 Forbes 500s chief executive officers, they also have spawned 48% of all U.S. presidents, 42% of U.S. senators, 30% of U.S. congressmen, and 40% of U.S. Supreme Court justices, according to data from The North-American Interfraternity Conference.

Wachovia CEO G. Kennedy Thompson said that Beta Theta Pi, which he joined while an undergrad at the University of North Carolina, gave him “the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds and places, and the connections have continued beyond my university years to my business life.”

He is also a member of the fraternity that produced the most CEOs among the biggest 500 companies in the country. Beta Theta Pi can boast of 11 such CEOs, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi are tied in second at nine, Lambda Chi Alpha has eight, and Alpha Tau Omega seven.