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Frank Miles, Tattler Editor
frank@sinfoniantattler.com
Scott Erb, Tattler Staff
scott@sinfoniantattler.com
Phil Wilson, Tattler Staff
phil@sinfoniantattler.com
Tommy House, Tattler Webmaster
tommy@sinfoniantattler.com
Not Pictured:
Travis Bryant, Tattler Staff
travis@sinfoniantattler.com
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The
Downbeat
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Frank Miles,
Tattler Editor
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Volume 4, Issue
1.
Let me repeat
that: Volume 4.
WOW! I cannot
believe as I write this that we really are starting our fourth year of
bringing you all the alumni news we can dig up. But we’re not the only ones
getting’ older. We got a long way to go to catch up on our beloved
Fraternity.
In this issue,
we’ll tell you how the Tattler staff is going to celebrate Founders Day.
We’ll also update the progress of a group of alumni in Atlanta,
as well as report from the Alumni Road Trip that swung through Montgomery and Birmingham
recently. And we’ll tell you how band directors who are Iota Nu alumni are
keeping the Sound of the South in business.
And don’t
forget your Alma Mater this month. Homecoming is a little early this year:
Oct. 20. Time to make the annual pilgrimage to ol’
Troy and cheer on the Trojans as their
high-powered offense looks to annihilate North Texas,
and the alumni Sound of the South takes out their mutes!
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Happy Birthday Phi Mu Alpha!
Tattler Staff to
Celebrate On the Air
Frank Miles, Tattler Editor
On Oct. 6,
our fine fraternity turns 109 years old. Be sure to take a moment that
day to reflect on the values and ideals of Sinfonia.
Better yet, take two-and-a-half hours that morning and join the Tattler
staff in celebrating Sinfonia on the airwaves
and even around the world (if you have internet access).
Michael Bird
(IN ’94) is the host of the Saturday Morning Show on WACV in Montgomery
and has invited the Tattler staff to spend the entire morning with him
talking about Sinfonia, music and other various
and sundry topics. Michael has also promised a plethora of brotherhood
songs will be played.
If you don’t
live near Montgomery
and can’t pick up 1170 on your AM dial, you can find the live stream on WACV’s Web site:
http://www.1170wacv.com/cms/
We hope that Sinfonians across the globe will join us on Oct. 6.
Call in and share some of your Sinfonian memories on Phi Mu Alpha’s birthday.
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Alumni Gather for Visit with National
Director
Scott Erb and Frank Miles, Tattler
Staff
Dan Krueger,
director of alumni engagement at Lyrecrest,
made his second road trip of the year recently. He traveled throughout
the Southeast to communicate with alumni and let them know what the
Fraternity is doing these days and how they can get involved.
During the
trip, Krueger visited six cities: Johnson City,
Tenn.; Charlotte,
N.C.; Atlanta,
Ga.; Montgomery,
Ala.; Birmingham,
Ala.; and Chattanooga, Tenn.
By the time he got to Birmingham,
he had visited four cities in four days. But that didn’t stop him from
preaching the message.
In Montgomery, seven area alumni attended the event,
representing two Alabama chapters (Iota
Nu and Delta Beta) and one Louisiana
chapter (Delta Omega). Tommy House and Frank Miles represented IN. After
dinner and socializing, Krueger made his PowerPoint presentation and
answered several questions. Though the group was small, the discussion
was lively and the Delta Beta alumni expressed a strong interest in
starting an alumni association in Montgomery.
In
Birmingham, eight brothers attended: two alumni from Sigma Pi, one
alumnus from Omicron Phi, one Delta Beta alumnus, two Iota Nu alumni
(Travis Bryant and Scott Erb), and two collegiate brothers from Epsilon
Nu.
The evening
was full of brotherhood and camaraderie. We rekindled old memories from
the days of probationary membership. It seemed that no matter what
chapter each of us was initiated into, some things never change.
We even had
an 88-year-old retired Navy band director show up. He wasn’t sure of the
correct event time, so Dan was the only one he got to talk to. I would
have loved to hear some of the stories he had to tell.
Overall the
evening went well and I believe all alumni that showed up are eager to
help and promote the new programs that the National Fraternity has in
store for us.
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Iota Nu Alumni Send Band Students to SOTS
John Mitcham,
Tattler Staff
If you have
attended any Troy football games this
year, you may have noticed a number of new faces in the Sound of the
South. In fact, 138 new faces!
This year’s
band boasts a massive freshman contingent that reflects the program’s
growing prestige on a regional and national scale. With several bowl
appearances and nationally televised games, the Sound of the South
maintains its position as a symbol of the university. The band also
continues a tradition of performing at exhibitions throughout the
Southeast. Not surprisingly, this exposure plays a major factor in
recruiting.
“We are
thrilled with the rising trend of membership in the band,” said graduate
assistant Sean Weiler(IN ’04). “The level of energy and enthusiasm that
these young members bring to the band is unbelievable.”
Sean pointed
out the diverse nature of this year’s freshman class. Most of the members
hail from various parts of Alabama.
However, a number of students come from Florida
and Georgia—ample
proof of successful recruiting efforts in these states.
“Given the
nature of out-of-state tuition and programs like the HOPE scholarship in Georgia,
we are excited to draw students from these states,” Weiler
said. “This speaks well for the reputation of the band and the
university. I mean, we even have one freshman from Ohio.”
The surge of
freshman into the Sound of the South speaks well for Iota Nu alumni who
traveled the career path of music education. Many high school seniors
choose Troy
University partly
because of urging from their band directors. Indeed, my own decision to
attend Troy
State came after a
visit with my band director Rob Ivey (IN ’86).
One Iota Nu
band director in particular emerges as a proud recruiter for the Troy band. In the far-away reaches of Hazelhurst,
Ga., Dennis Kirby (IN ’97)
has an impressive record. Dennis currently has six former Jeff Davis High School
students performing with the Sound of the South, four of whom are
freshmen. In addition, Dennis recruited one young lady from a neighboring
school who performed in his church band. And these members compose the
best and brightest of Hazelhurst. Two past band
presidents, several honor students and a host of musical talent round out
these exceptional additions to the Troy
band program.
“To have this
many students from our proud little town is certainly a moment every band
director wants to experience,” said Kirby. “All of these students are
very talented, blessed musicians and we are proud of them all.”
As the Sound
of the South continues to draw large numbers of talented students, the
traditions of excellence will transfer to another generation of members.
At the same time, Iota Nu alumni like Dennis Kirby will continue to play
a pivotal role in exposing their students to the great experiences of
being in the band at Troy
University.
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Notes in the Key of Troy
Lance Holman, Iota Nu Treasurer
It’s going
to be a great year
This year is
turning out to be one of the most productive and exciting years Iota Nu
has seen in a long time. We’ve instated some much needed policy changes
and have made sure that already existing policies have been better
enforced. The overall atmosphere of this year is one of dedication and
focus. We set out our goals very early on in the semester so that we
would have clear cut goals and be able to manage their outcomes more
efficiently. This year Iota Nu is on full force and I’m excited to see
what we can accomplish with all this motivation and drive.
Homecoming
Weekend
Calling all
alumni! All hail brothers. As you know, homecoming is right around the
corner…Oct. 20 to be exact. We would like to see as many alumni as
possible come out and support the team and the chapter. We will be giving
out free bottles of water and soda for all the Phi Mu
Alpha alumni after the morning Alumni Band practice that day. We are also
looking into have a cookout during lunch time so that we can all gather
around and share our stories of old and new. We hope to see as many
brothers’ faces as possible. We want you to come and enjoy yourself. We
will be sending out info on the Iota Nu listserv so keep your eye out. If
you have any questions you can contact Lance Holman at (334)714-9629 or
e-mail me at Troysinfonian2006@yahoo.com.
The Final
Showdown Reborn
As many of
you may already know, last year we had some difficulties trying to get
our Battle
of the Bands up and running and ultimately it led to us having to cancel
it. This year we have taken all the necessary steps to make sure that the
show does go on. We already have a date, prizes, location and a t-shirt design ready. We even have a couple of bands
on board. We are currently trying to get sponsors in the area to help us
with this project. We decided to make this year’s “Final Showdown” a philanthropy. We are planning on using the proceeds
to help purchase a set of guitars for the elementary school here in Troy. The school
system currently does not have enough money to purchase the guitars so we
thought that this would be one of the best ways we could help uphold our
object - to “advance music in America.” Once again, if you
would like more information on this year’s Battle of the Bands you can contact
Lance Holman at (334)714-9629 or email me at Troysinfonian2006@yahoo.com.
If
you know any companies or if you would like to help privately sponsor the
event we would love the support.
Current Chapter Officers
President: Robert Lee
Vice President: Christopher Hall
F.E.O.: Adam Hudson
Secretary: Eric Scott
Warden: Martin Sager
Treasurer: Lance Holman
Alumni Relations: David Mitcham
Historians: Adrian Smith
Scott Achtemeier
Music Director: Scott Sexton
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Q&A: Dr. Mark Walker, XC
‘91
Scott Erb, Tattler Staff
 TAT:
How has the fraternity impacted your life and career?
Mark: It has allowed me to network with other
brothers, participate in a variety of meaningful musical experiences.
TAT: What made you want to study music?
Mark: I was good at a young age. The structure
of music was really interesting to me, and I wanted to know more about it.
Also, I really enjoyed performing.
TAT: Tell us about your career and where
you have been?
Mark: I began teaching at Temple High School
in Temple, Texas, in 1995. I worked there for two
years and then moved to Lamesa
High School in Lamesa, Texas,
in 1997. We lived WAY OUT in west Texas,
about 30 minutes from New Mexico.
My wife graduated from Texas Tech in 1999
and in the fall of 2000, I went back to school to the University of Illinois
to begin work on a doctorate. In 2002, I was offered and accepted the
position at Troy.
TAT: What is your current position and
describe your daily activities?
Mark: I am the Associate Director of Bands. I
also coordinate Graduate Music Education, teach applied tuba and euphonium,
and teach other courses. My daily activities include private and classroom
teaching, rehearsing, administrative work, meetings, etc. No two days are
the same.
TAT: What do you like best about Troy and the music
program?
Mark: It’s a fun place to work. The students
and faculty are great. Everyone has to work together.
TAT: What is it like to work with Ralph
Ford, Director of Bands?
Mark: We have a lot of fun together. We hang
out a lot and our families socialize outside of work.
TAT: What is your ultimate career goal?
Mark: Keep doing what I’m doing. I would like
to be promoted one of these days.
TAT: Tell me about your family?
Mark: My wife, Jessica, teaches sixth grade at
Goshen
Elementary. I have one daughter, Emily, who is 5 going on 21 and an
American bulldog named Millie.
TAT: Tell us a funny moment while in
college and with the chapter?
Mark: Our chapter was the only fraternity on
the Tennessee
Tech campus that could have alcohol at the parties, since we were not
technically a social fraternity (at the time), so the Phi Mu Alpha House was the place to be on Friday and
Saturday nights. Things were a lot different than they are now.
TAT: Any words of wisdom for alumni and
college students reading this?
Mark: If you’re in college, go to class and
practice. For alumni, try to keep the ideals of Phi Mu
Alpha close to your heart.
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Atlanta Area Alumni Association in Home
Stretch for Charter
Phil Wilson, Tattler Staff
 For some time now, brothers in the Atlanta area have
been working hard to organize their very own Phi Mu
Alpha alumni association. Our very own Jerome Williams (IN ‘96) has been
very instrumental in this process along with 14 other brothers from the Atlanta area. The
brothers have hosted several meet-and-greet sessions in the past couple
of years to generate enough interested members to begin the process of
applying for their own charter. On Sept. 18, 2007, the delegation
completed the application and will anxiously await word from the National
Fraternity.
The
delegation of brothers recently elected to serve as the initial set of
officers are:
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President – Michael Knight, OE ‘02 (Western Carolina University)
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Vice President – Jerome Williams, IN ‘96 (Troy University)
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Secretary – Aaron Angel, XC ‘88 (Tennessee Tech University)
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Treasurer – Mike Izenady,
KB ‘04 (Morris Brown College)
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Member-at-Large – Wesley Taylor, KG ‘99 (Berry College)
Bro. Williams said that the goal of this organization,
other than to fulfill our already established purposes is to “fill a void
that many brothers have after leaving college; a void that only Phi Mu Alpha can fill.
“Even though we may come from different cities, states,
schools, colleges and universities, we are still brothers, and we are
bound by the strong bond of music.”
This group of very dedicated brothers has already been
busy planning activities to promote the fraternity.
 “We plan to
participate in Mills Music Missions, fundraising for struggling music
programs, and hope to eventually start a scholarship fund for
disadvantaged music students in the Atlanta
area,” Knight said.
“There are over 1,000 alumni [according to Lyrecrest records] living in the Atlanta area,” said Williams. “I have
been living in Atlanta
for 6 years now, and I have only met two other alumni brothers. So, it is
my hope that this association will work as a network tool for collegiate
and alumni brothers because the brothers that are in school today will be
alumni of tomorrow.”
We will continue to watch and keep you updated on the
progress of this group and their endeavors. If you are interested in
attaining more information about this group, please contact Jerome Williams
at williams.jerome@comcast.net
or (404) 447-5106.
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Band
Oct. 6 – CHHS Marching Festival
Oct. 13 –
Dothan & FWB Exhibition
Oct. 20 –
Homecoming
Oct. 27 – Overnight
Band Trip (Arkansas St.
– Jonesboro)
School of Music
Oct. 16 –
TAC – All The
Way from Magnolia Springs – Crosby Theatre @ 7:30pm
Oct. 23 – 25
–
Picasso at
the Lapin Agile – Trojan Center Theatre @ 7:30pm
Oct. 28 –
Picasso at
the Lapin Agile – Trojan Center Theatre @ 2:30pm
Oct. 30 –
Collegiate
Singers Concert – Crosby Theatre @ 7:30pm
School
Oct. 8 – 12 Fall Break
Oct. 6 – Fl.
International – Away
Oct. 20 –
Homecoming
Oct. 27 – Arkansas St.
- Away
Phi Mu Alpha
Music
Rehearsal & Business Meetings – Sunday Nights
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