Saturday morning, the Grand Chapter elected six alumni and students to fill vacant seats on the National Board of Directors.

Tom Jelke, Florida International ’90, was elected as Grand President. Jelke has served on the National Board since 2009, including two years as Grand Secretary, as well as a number of local volunteer roles, especially at his home chapter of Florida Nu. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Daniel McVeigh, Texas Wesleyan ’90, was re-elected as Grand Treasurer, a role he has held since 2017. Brother McVeigh has served on the National Board since 2011.

Dave Calderon, Cal Poly-Pomona ’88, and Greg Pestinger, Kansas State ’86, were elected to the National Board. Calderon previously served on the National Board from 2015 to 2017 and as a district governor. Pestinger is a longtime volunteer for Kentucky Beta at the University of Louisville.

Jake West, Missouri State ’20, was re-elected as a student director. Van Augur, Connecticut ’20, and Keaton Dornath, Kansas ’20 were also elected as student directors.

At the Alumni Awards Dinner, Grand President Jelke said, “I dream that the day my sons are ready for college, if you were to ask people about fraternity, they would immediately say SigEp was the one to join — because they have the right people, the right experiences, and the right environment to help them succeed and be better men.” He also expressed a desire for SigEp chapters to be the safest place on their campuses.

We are exceedingly grateful for the decades of service on the National Board given by outgoing Board members Grand President Chris Bittman, Colorado ’85, and Garry Kief, Southern California ’70. Bittman joined the National Board in 2001 and served as Grand Treasurer for 14 years before being elected Grand President in 2017. Kief served on the Board for 16 years, plus two as Grand President from 2009 to 2011. Bittman and Kief received the Paul B. Slater Award at the Alumni Awards Dinner. 

Additionally, we are thankful for the service of Kyle Clark, Loyola Marymount ’18, and Ben Pavich, Christopher Newport ’18, as student directors. Clark and Pavich received the C. Maynard Turner Award for their contributions to the National Board.