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50th Anniversary Celebration Page

Spring 2024

Chapter Banquet & 50th Anniversary CelebrationFlint Hills Room, Student Union

The spring 2024 chapter banquet dually served as Kansas Gamma's 50th birthday party. Bill Snyder was the keynote speaker. Two new awards were announced. The second-ever State of the Chapter presentation was given. Olive Garden was the caterer. Learn more about the event via the link below. The banquet was ended with the Tau Beta Pi Yell

INSTAGRAM RELEASE ABOUT THE BANQUET

Kansas Gamma held its spring banquet last night following its 101st initiation ceremony. We hosted 67 attendees and were happy to see many distinguished members and guests including Dean O’Keefe (MO-B ’85), Senior Associate Dean Clark (KS-G ’24), Former CEO of BNSF Railway Carl R. Ice (KS-G ’79), President of Orazem & Scalora Engineering Tom Orazem (KS-G ’24), and former head football coach Bill Snyder. Much was celebrated as we welcomed thirteen new undergraduates into our Association along with six eminent engineers and commemorated the chapter's 50th anniversary.

Bill Snyder kicked things off with a keynote speech about leadership, life lessons, and takeaways from his influential career. Following Snyder’s speech, our 85th President Nick Divilbiss told the story of the 65-year-long effort to establish our chapter at K-State titled ‘As Easy As A, B, G’ which described how the first two failed attempts at establishing a chapter would’ve resulted in us gaining the Kansas Alpha or Beta charters in 1910 and 1928, respectively. Divilbiss showed off our freshly restored charter certificates as well as our former Sigma Tau (Epsilon) chapter’s 1912 charter.

Awards Director Henry Bash then presented membership certificates and announced two new named awards: The Eddie R. Fowler (KS-G ’54) Most Outstanding Member Award, in honor of a former chief advisor, to our member with the heartiest participation, Brandon Thimmesch; and Frank A. Tillman (MO-A ’60) Special Service Awards #1, #2, #3, & #4, in honor of our founding advisor whose drive and dedication is to blame for the chapter’s existence, which are awarded on an as-deserved basis to members exhibiting extraordinary drive and dedication in fulfilling our mission of service to the College and Manhattan community. Dalton Rizzo, Matthew Culbertson, Michael Velasquez, and Emily Pine were recognized for their successful planning and execution of the 2024 Engineering Formal. Karsyn Fuchs was also awarded our renamed Donald E. Rathbone (IN-A ’51) Underclassman of the Year Award, in honor of our 7th dean of engineering and his exceptional impact on engineering and K-State.

Fall 2023

Chapter BanquetFlint Hills Room, Student Union

The fall 2023-chapter banquet was held in the Flint Hills Room of the Student Union on November 28th, 2023, at 7:00 pm immediately following the fall 2023-initiation ceremony in the same location. Cox Bros. BBQ was the caterer. This banquet was the first at which a State of the Chapter presentation was given. The banquet was ended with the Tau Beta Pi Yell

Spring 2023

Chapter BanquetBluemont Room, Student Union

The spring 2023-chapter banquet was held in the Bluemont Room of the Student Union on April 20th, 2023, at 7:00 pm immediately following the spring 2023-initiation ceremony in the same location. Cox Bros. BBQ was the caterer. The banquet was ended with the Tau Beta Pi Yell.

NOV. 29TH ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE BANQUET

Hello Tau Bates,

We had an exciting time at the fall initiation banquet last night! Dr. Kimberly Kramer of the Architectural Engineering Department was initiated as an eminent engineer. Brandon Thimmesch, Joseph Fortino, Riley Byrd, Micheal Velasquez, Ali Alquarni, Sebastian Trill, and Ziyu Zhao were initiated as student members. Please extend your sincerest congratulations if/when you see any of our newest members! One more exciting note: For the first time in recent memory, local Tau Beta Pi alumni members also attended the evening's events.

Once everyone had their fill on Cox Bros. BBQ, Dr. Kramer gave a presentation on the importance of failure with respect to personal and professional development. Kramer described how high-performing students often fall apart once they enter the industry, because they don't know how to fail. She said that failure builds grit, and grit is what keeps you going through your lowest points. She encouraged all attendees to self-reflect and determine if they'd ever experienced failure. If not, she suggested for them to try something out of their wheelhouse, so that they may fail and become stronger people for it. Dr. Kramer described how she doesn't like public speaking, which typically leads to questions about how and/or why she's a college professor. It's because she's willing to fail, and she's willing to place herself outside of her comfort zone to work and grow in a position she loves.

President Divilbiss then gave the fall 2023 State of the Chapter presentation, which is attached hereto for your reference. Please review the slides, as they contain pertinent information about the chapter's plans over the coming semester. The presentation outlines a new points system which will be implemented in January 2024, and will be administered via the Canvas gradebook. Information beyond what's included in the slides will be released soon. The slides also provide information about the chapter's recent achievements. The presentation was the first of its kind and was a result of President Divilbiss's failure to successfully secure a main speaker for the banquet. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the chapter has always hosted outside speakers for its banquet presentations and would not have thought to create a State of the Chapter presentation had it not been for the difficulties encountered while trying to secure a speaker this semester. Events Director Rizzo had a great idea to spice up the end of the presentation with some trivia questions, and three new members won free sweatshirts after their Tau Beta Pi knowledge was put to the test!

District 9 Director Matt Romero (Mississippi Alpha '20) then gave a short presentation on the lifelong benefits of Tau Beta Pi with respect to professional opportunities and described how the connections he's gained through Tau Beta Pi have been paramount in his early success as a young engineer in Kansas City. They've allowed him to develop friendships and professional connections in every state. He said that there's an instant level of trust when he meets other Tau Bates, because of the positive attributes one must possess to obtain membership.

Moving forth, the final executive meeting of this semester will take place in the Leadership Room (DUF 1108) at 7:00 pm this Thursday. Please stop in if you have any questions or concerns or if you'd like to run for an officer position. You may find information on that in the slides.

Also, the December Bent decoration is coming up this Sunday at 2:00 pm. Be there or be square.

Best,

Nick Divilbiss | President

Fall 2022

Chapter BanquetCottonwood Room, Student Union

The fall 2022-chapter banquet was held in the Bluemont Room of the Student Union on November 8th, 2022, at 5:00 pm immediately following the fall 2022-initiation ceremony in the same location. Cox Bros. BBQ was the caterer. Dr. Brad Kramer was the guest speaker and during his speech he brought back the 1978 version of the Tau Beta Pi Yell.

Spring 2022

Chapter BanquetFlint Hill Room, Student Union

The spring 2022-chapter banquet was held in the Bluemont Room of the Student Union on April 5th, 2022, at 7:00 pm immediately following the spring 2022-initiation ceremony in the same location. Cox Bros. BBQ was the caterer. Dr. Kevin Wanklyn was the guest speaker.

Fall 2021

Chapter BanquetBluemont Room, Student Union

The Fall 2021-chapter banquet was held in the Bluemont Room of the Student Union on November 4th, 2021, at 7:00 pm immediately following the Fall 2021-initiation ceremony in the same location. Cox Bros. BBQ was the caterer.