2012 Senior Dinner
Jun 25, 2012
This past semester, Phi Lambda Theta had a total of 28 graduating seniors. To congratulate the class of 2012 for their continued participation and services to the fraternity, we held our annual senior send off dinner at the Lewisburg Hotel. The night was full of laughter and emotion as the seniors told their stories about brotherhood and friendship. On one instance, a brother described a story where he was traveling through Spain during a semester abroad. One weekend, he decided to travel to a different city and had nowhere to stay. Somehow by chance, he managed to run into a Chi Phi alum who offered him a place to sleep for the night, a true instance of friendship. There were plenty of other stories showing how the hand of brotherhood had always been extended during the seniors’ tenor at Bucknell.
Each graduating class usually has four outstanding individuals who receive awards for going above and beyond the call of duty in the fraternity. This year, there were five award winners. The Mel Woodward Award was given to Jim Wilcox ‘12, for his contributions, work, and leadership as Alpha of the chapter. Patrick Carey ‘12, received the Hoffman-Giannetti-Hess Award for his dedication to the fraternity, campus, and community.
The Walt McConnell Award, which is awarded to the senior who “best exemplifies as an undergraduate, Walt’s commitment to serve the chapter and university with lifelong dedication,” was given to Neil Dold ‘12. Lastly was the Steve Gyrsting Award given to both Rick Engelberg ‘12 and Grant Zeller ‘12 for serving the chapter as a senior up until the time of graduation. Big congratulations to all of the award winners and the senior class for their commitment and dedication.
Alumni Advisor Tom Deans acted as emcee for the dinner which was planned by the current chapter Alpha and Beta. These two chapter officers traditionally attend the banquet, but they have to wait another year to participate in the friendly roasting and sometimes embarrassing memories that seniors share. The Senior Dinner has been a continuing tradition that was renewed when the chapter was restarted in 2004.
In his closing remarks, Tom noted that this year’s graduating class was one of the largest ever to belong to PLT. He congratulated the seniors for their efforts to improve the chapter and making it possible for PLT to win Silver Star status at Bucknell and Accredited With Distinction at the national level.
The class of 2012 meant a lot to the chapter as a whole and will be deeply missed. As an active chapter, we wish them luck and remind them that the hand of brotherhood is always extended.