Author Archives: John Banta

Denzell Wilson Receives Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship

Congratulations to Undergraduate Brother Denzell Wilson for receiving the Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship for Fall 2019! Brother Wilson is a recent initiate from the Fall semester’s pledge class and is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautics with an expected graduation in 2021.

Denzell currently serves as an Airman in the Florida Air National Guard where he supports fueling and support operations.  In addition to the Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship, Denzell has received numerous other awards and recognitions, including Florida Air National Guard Airman of the Year for 2019. 

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship was created in 2016 to recognize and financially assist members of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi who are currently serving or have previously served in the US Armed Forces. This scholarship provides a monetary award to be used towards educational expenses while enrolled at Embry-Riddle.

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship is part of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created to provide financial assistance to deserving students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. For more information on the Foundation or if you would like to support future scholarship recipients with a tax-deductible contribution, please reach out to John Banta or Seth Downs.

Trey Pulliam Receives Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship

Brother Trey Pulliam, girlfriend Devin and their daughter, Stella

Congratulations to Undergraduate Brother Trey Pulliam for receiving the Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship for Spring 2018!  Brother Pulliam is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and is expecting to graduate in December 2018.

Trey currently serves in the United States Air Force Reserves as an Aviation Engineer in Cocoa Beach, FL where he is a Craftsman on HH-60 Pave Hawk and CV-22. Since joining Sigma Chi in the Fall of 2015, Trey has ben deployed twice – once to Bagram Afghanistan for Operation Freedom Sentinel and also to Djibouti, Djibouti for Operation Enduring Freedom.

Brother Pulliam was selected for this scholarship based on his current and past military service and solid academic achievements at ERAU.

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship was created in 2016 to recognize and financially assist members of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi who are currently serving or have previously served in the US Armed Forces. This scholarship provides a monetary award to be used towards educational expenses while enrolled at Embry-Riddle.

The Eta Iota Military Appreciation Scholarship is part of the Eta Iota Chapter of Sigma Chi Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created to provide financial assistance to deserving students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. For more information on the Foundation or if you would like to support future scholarship recipients with a tax-deductible contribution, please reach out to John Banta or Seth Downs.

House Corp Update – Jan ’16

Brothers,

Before we jump into the January House Corp Update, are you one of the 150+ that are already registered for 45th Birthday?  If not, what are you waiting for?

Register NOW

OK, so a lot of great stuff going on in House Corp this month:

  1. Tom McSwiggan has put together an extensive overview of work done at the house since last summer and has outlined the next projects he is tackling as Director of Operations.
  2. After years of requests with no viable solution, the chapter has a new tax-deductible donation channel!  This has been in the works for many months and is finally ready for rollout so we’re excited to announce the details.
  3. The nomination process for 2016 officers and trustees is now open.  We are looking for a few great men to help out!

Continue reading

2016 House Corp Officer & Trustee Nominations

nominationsWith Eta Iota’s 45th Birthday coming up soon, House Corp is now taking nominations for officers and trustees for the 2016 term.  We have all 4 officer positions (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, each with a 1 year term) and 3 trustee positions (3 year terms each) to vote on at the annual House Corp meeting on Saturday, April 2.

To speed up the process and save time at the April 2nd meeting, we are taking nominations now and will open the floor for seconds before jumping into voting.

This is your chance to participate and nominate yourself for one of these roles and step up to the plate to make a difference or nominate an alum you feel would serve House Corporation well.

The nomination form is online and super simple.  Check it out here!

Pete Zaccagnino (’92) To Receive Significant Sig Recognition

Pete Zaccagnino

Congratulations to Eta Iota Brother Pete Zaccagnino on being selected as a part of the 2016 class of Significant Sigs.

Pete will be formally recognized in June during the Grand Council meeting and is now the third Eta Iota alum to receive this prestigious award. Our 2 other past recipients were Brothers Hugh Mills and John Bailey. Continue reading

House Corp Update – Dec ’15

Greetings Brothers!  I hope everyone had a great holiday with friends and family and had a chance to recharge for 2016.

We have a lot of stuff lined up for Eta Iota in the coming year with ongoing focus on important house renovations, maintaining a solid balance sheet for future operations and of course, celebrating 45 years at Sigma Chi at ERAU.

Invitations have been mailed for Eta Iota’s 45th Birthday and you should have received them by now. This month’s update will recap how we’ve incorporated feedback from the last major birthday event and Birthday Chairman, James “Gassi” Ahrens(’90) has the Top 10 list of reasons to attend (as if you needed that many).

Two items covered in this month’s briefing:

  1. We listened to feedback from past birthdays and made some changes for 45th we think you’ll enjoy.
  2. Gassi’s Top 10 reasons to attend Eta Iota’s 45th Birthday

Continue reading

Sponsor an Undergraduate for 45th

Remember those undergraduate years when a tight budget forced you to live loan-check to loan-check and make tough choices on daily expenses?

Some active brothers and pledges will choose to skip 45th birthday events this April for financial reasons.  The birthday committee has worked hard to keep expenses to the bare minimum but as we’ve seen with past events, even a $125 ticket to a 5 year birthday is often not in the budget.

We’re offering an opportunity for our Alumni to help this year. Continue reading

House Corp President Update – Nov ’15

Greetings Brothers!  I hope everyone has recuperated from Thanksgiving feasts & family time.

I stepped back into House Corp as President on November 20th following the resignation of Roger Moody and wanted to take this opportunity to send a quick note on some of the main items House Corp is working on now and what is coming up.

For those of you who remember my first stint as HC President back in the late 90’s, I sent monthly email updates on progress & plans and I will be picking this up again starting with this update.

Three things to take away from this month’s briefing:

  1. 45th Birthday is coming up (March 31-April 3) and full details will be sent out very soon.
  2. 520 South Ridgewood is looking fantastic following recent large projects – you’ll be amazed at 45th.
  3. House Corp finances are in good shape with strong support from fundraising efforts and some exciting upcoming opportunities.

Continue reading