APO Pledge Meeting (JOU 301)
Bright eyed and eager to learn, the pledges of UK's Alpha Zeta chapter of Alpha Phi Omega looked to their pledge leader, Roy Trumbo, during their weekly pledge meeting Tuesday at 6:30 in the Student Center, for his words of guidance.
As pledges wandered into the small room with a front wall covered in paper sign up sheets and a chalkboard full of scratchy writing, Trumbo felt it was time to begin his meeting.
"Did anyone do any service hours this week?" he asked and the room was silent. No one raised a hand, so he continued the meeting, a little disgruntled that not one pledge had served that week, and passed around an attendance sheet to record the number of pledges present.
"This is the biggest pledge class I have seen and I have been in APO since my freshman year," said history senior Lara Koenig, APO's vice president of service for the fraternity and community.
He then introduced the president of UK's chapter, Beverly Moore, who announced a fund-raising project that will occur involving surveys and reminded pledges that they do have to have fund-raising time. Next, pledges were familiarized with the APO Listserv by Stewart Robertson, who is a communications officer. He also passed out a phone log of active member's numbers. Then, the topic turned to merchandise. A catalog of APO gear and supplies was available for the pledges to look through.
Alpha Phi Omega is America's largest coed fraternity and was founded in 1925 by Frank Reed Horton. The cardinal principles of the fraternity are leadership, friendship, and service. These new pledges know that APO is not just about meeting and talking, it is about doing time. Service time. As part of APO's motto goes, these pledges must, "Be of service."
At this point in the meeting, Koenig presented her instructions and projects. She had lists for pledges and actives to sign up for the needed hours on various projects, including working the Trail of Terror haunted trail at Jacobson Park, working a Halloween party at Eastern State Hospital and serving a lunch at the Florence Crittendon Home, which houses unwed teenage mothers.
"I am really excited because of the wide range of projects we have available this year. There should be something for everyone," Koenig said.
After a few issues concerning the attendance list and forms were brought up, Trumbo gave the order to divide into groups, predicting that "90 percent" would flock to the service and fellowship committees, leaving the fund-raising group bare. When this scenario turned out to be false, he seemed pleased with the results. As the pledges talked in their committees, he circled the room, dividing time between each committee, asking questions and praising the pledges for their hard work thus far. As the meeting ended, Trumbo answered questions and said goodbyes. Under the direction of Trumbo and the active APO members, these pledges should be well prepared for the community service needs they will fill. They will embody the phrase in APO's toast song that says "...ever serving all humanity."
Email: hlstan1@pop.uky.edu