The place: Phoenix. The time: summer 1997. When they weren’t admitted to a private party at Conclave held by the Freearks (a group composed of past SigEp Headquarters traveling staff members), seven brothers who prided themselves on their SigEp involvement volunteering “in the trenches” signed their names on a piece of paper. Their vow: At the next Conclave, not only would they host a private party of their own, they’d all chip in to pay for an undergraduate’s registration fees as well.

By the 1999 Chicago Conclave, these brothers had organized themselves as the Anthony “NUTS!” McAuliffe Society, named after the brother, West Virginia 1920 graduate and U.S. Army general known for his defiant reply of “Nuts!” when the Germans asked him to surrender.

Dues were set at $25 per Conclave, and Columbus Johnson, Sacramento State ’85, proposed a long-term goal of creating a $10,000 SigEp Educational Foundation endowment to support their ambition of helping undergraduate brothers experience Conclave.

Since then, NUTS! membership and dues have increased along with the group’s size and impact. Today, the society sponsors dozens of undergraduates to attend each Conclave and underwrites ancillary costs for Ruck Leadership Institute. It also supports SigEp’s Annual Fund — to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars per year.

Though the spirit of friendly competition between Freearks and NUTS! Members is particularly evident during Founders Day of Giving, the two groups have softened toward one another over the years. In fact, a few Freearks are now also members of the society, joining those whose only service to the Fraternity is “in the trenches” of volunteerism.

After all, we’re all here for the same reason: to help today’s young men find their purpose and pursue excellence in every aspect of life, thanks to the common bond we all share.

The charts above provide a snapshot of the incredible support these “NUTS!” have offered to our young brothers in recent years.