Mystery was the word of the night dur-ing this year's Acacia Semi-Formal Event. This year, the external committee decided on having a murder mystery semi-formal. The members of Kansas State Acacia and their dates traveled to Abilene, Kansas for an evening at the Seeyle Mansion. The night began with dinner, catered from a local caterer, which was followed by each of the couples participating in a clue game

that involved three different parts, in which they had to use their detective skills to solve a murder mystery. The first part of the game was to find out which room of the house which the murder took place. Each pair was given a map of the house with one room missing, and their goal was to find the missing room. The second part of the game sent the pairs on a hunt throughout the house

◣ POGO:

our positive gossip

stories review the past semester . 5

◣ Chapter I.D.P.:

Learn the goals of the

Spring 2015 Acacia .. 4

February 2015

The Official Publication of the Kansas State Chapter of

Volume 102 Edition 02

Since 1913 “Together, Building Exceptional Lives…”

◣ State of Acacia:

A new Venrably

Speaking and Leader-

ship Multipliers ..... 3

Alumni Spotlight: Becker Presents at MOA Spring Retreat

By: Br. Kaden Littrell ’15

Br. David Becker '08 recently visited the Men of Acacia during their Spring Retreat and shared about his time in Acacia. “You learn a lot of things while you are in school and many of those things can be passed on to help out someone new," said Becker, referring to the father-son program.

He also talked about what he wanted the current Men to get out of the house. "I hope that the guys are able to learn how to work with people who are different from themselves. As you move out into the workforce your ability to work with a wide variety of people will be very important." said Becker.

"I really hope every member gets what THEY want from Acacia." Becker and his wife Brittney now live in Newton, KS and is a Senior Design Engineer for AGCO.

ABOVE: Brothers A.J. Wertzberger ‘15, Scott LaMunyon ‘14, Colten Johnson ‘13, and Corey Kingsland ‘12 pose with their dates for a

family picture.

BELOW: Brothers Jordan DeLoach ‘14, Ryan Haefke ‘14, Connor Henley ‘14, and Matthew Dolezal ‘14, preparing for kickoff!

New Semi-Formal Clue Event Full of Suspense By Br. Kaden Littrell ‘15

Fraternity and “Farmageddon,” Men Travel to Iowa State By Br. Kaden Littrell ‘15 and Jordan Martin ‘15

Over the years, Acacia Fraternity has traveled all over together to support the Kansas State Football team on the road. Early last semester, the K-State Chapter traveled to Ames, Iowa to watch the Kansas State vs. Iowa State football rivalry, “Farmageddon”, as well as connected

with the Iowa State Acacia Chapter. The brothers enjoyed breakfast at the Iowa

State Chapter house, getting the opportunity to meet brothers from another Acacia chapter. They also received tours of the Iowa State Uni-

(Continued on page 4)

(Continued on page 2)

Semi-Formal Clue Game Full of Suspense By Br. Kaden Littrell ‘15 and Jordan Martin ‘15

The Kansas State Chapter of Acacia Fraternity

The Acacian Page 2

with a list of various items. Each pair had to use the list to discover which of the items listed was not found in the house. The third and final part of the game required each pair to communicate with each other. Each group was given either a name or a trait. Using their information, pairs had to work with each other to find out which trait was missing a person attached to it. "The Clue game was a really unique way to get to explore the Seelye Mansion,” said Br. Nicholas Meyer ’15 "It was a great way to learn the history of the house as well as communi-cate with one another." Following the game, prizes were awarded to the winners, and members enjoyed bowling in

the basement and continuing to explore the mansion. This night of mystery and fun will not be one that is soon forgotten.

(Continued from page 1)

Surprises and Suspense at the Seelye Mansion

The Acacian

Newsletter is published biannually by the undergraduate chapter. The newsletter is the responsibility of the Chapter Secretary, Chapter

Advisor, and the Senior Men Communications Committee. It is distributed to Senior Men, Men of

Acacia, and their families.

Editor: Br. Kaden Littrell ‘15

kaden.littrell@gmail.com

Fb.com/kstateacacia

Twitter.com/kstate_acacia

ACACIA Fraternity

Kansas State Chapter

2005 Hunting Ave

Manhattan, KS 66502

Kstateacacia.org

The mission of Kansas State Acacia

“Acacia Fraternity will be a K-State campus leader in the development of men as an established brother

hood, dwelling in harmony. We will be guided by our values in the

development of each member’s life, while supporting K-State’s mission.

An Acacian’s life is a commitment to support the community, university

and undergraduate chapter.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day of remembrance, and a day of service. This year, the Kansas State Chapter of Acacia Fraternity continued the tradition of living its motto, ‘Human Service,’ by volunteering with HandsOn Kansas State. Members helped at many different sites, from the local Salvation Army to highway cleanup to assisted living and retirement homes.

Br. Landon Leiker ‘14 was one brother who served at the Salvation Army site in Manhattan. “To see so many people out in force, in service and in memory of MLK Jr is just inspiring” he said while folding and hanging clothes in the basement of the Salvation Army Store.

As mentioned before, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service was sponsored and planned by HandsOn Kansas State. Our very own Br. Ross Allen ’12 and Br. Zev Allen ’14 are student coordinators of the organization. “We were only glad to help” Allen said, “We had more volunteers than we knew what to do with. Acacians showed up not only as volunteers, but as site leaders. I would say that my Brothers at

Acacia always support community service work. Not only that, but they literally lead the volunteers. That’s truly living the motto of Acacia Fraternity.” Br. Jordan Strickler ’14 was a site leader for one of the

highway cleanup crews. “I just volunteered. I didn’t really think much of it. MLK Jr Day isn’t about getting the day free from classes, it’s about giving back to the community.” On being a site leader, Strickler said “It was a lot of fun. Sure, there’s extra work in being a site leader, but you get that addition feeling of doing something good. There’s nothing wrong with doing community service yourself, but feeling like you lead others to do the same is another feeling altogether.”

Acacians totaled over 50 community service hours throughout the day.

Brothers Serve During MLKJ Day of Service By Br. Cain Fourd ’13

ABOVE: Br. Ross Allen ‘12 talks to Br. Jordan Martin

‘15 about his responsibilities as site leader. Many

Acacians participated in this year’s MLKJ Day of Ser-

vice.

ABOVE: The Seelye Mansion, located in Abilene KS, was the sight of this year’s Acacia Semi-Formal event. The 25 room mansion was built in 1905 for Dr. A. B. Seelye, where he and his heirs lived in the house until 1981. Acacians enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about this historical site

State of Acacia at K-State

Spring 2015 Page 3

At Acacia this spring, we’re focusing on multiplying success, as we seek to attract and optimize talent. As a talent magnet, Acacia can create a cycle of attraction that “accelerates performance and grows genius.” We look for talent everywhere, find native genius, use people to their fullest and help remove blockers. We create intensity that requires the best thinking. Acacians create a

motivating living, study and social space where everyone is given the opportunity to do his best. As liberators, multipliers generate rapid learning cycles, restrain themselves, shift the ratio of listening to talking, and level the playing field.

Acacians also extend challenges to themselves as well as others. We understand that the organization’s intelligence grows by being stretched. Multipliers provide information to promote a process of thinking and discovery.

We debate decisions, and debate makers, we “drive sound decisions through rigorous debate.” People must be engaged for this to be an effective process. The role of the debate maker is to

frame an issue by defining the question, forming the best team, assembling data and challenging conventional thinking.

Lastly, we instill ownership and accountability, an in this practice, Acacians give others ownership and invest in their success. As part of serving as an investor, our leadership teams and individuals give resources for success while also holding people accountable. They “teach and coach” to help others learn what they need to know.

We hope that these multiplier skills will be specific pointers you can apply to your family, church, work and community endeavors.

Sincerely, Lucas Shivers Chapter Advisor

The Multiplying Effects of Leadership

Venerably Speaking—Leadership’s New Level The President’s Message By: Br. Colten Johnson ‘13

What an honor it is to get to write the VD report in the Newsletter for this next year. Reflecting back on my last semes-ter in high school I would never have of guessed this would be my outcome. However, through the great recruitment tool we call, Acacia Leadership Scholar-ship (ALS), I like many others found my-self in the house first semester. ALS had over 150 applicants apply and will bring 75 applicants over a 3 day period to the house for interviews.

Although we are all heavily involved with Acacia, there’s no shortage in involvement on campus and within the community. We have a new spring philanthropy partnering with the Boys & Girls Club for the Color Dash. This, as well as, multiple service events, will only contribute to another semester of being first in community service hours within the Greek Community. It’s amaz-ing how much we pack into our semesters with Acacia, service, and campus involvement. We have five freshmen in honoraria’s, 11 presidents of organizations, 30 intramural participants, and the Student Body Vice-President. The day to day grind of maintaining an old house is running smoothly and efficiently. We bought new couches for our living

space and new mattresses for the 26 beds upstairs. We also have a new sound system and two TV’s on their way to be utilized by the chapter. The support and dedication from our alumni is a major element in our success and ability to stay ahead of the game in this rapidly changing culture. We welcome our newest brothers Colin Ferrel, Jordan Martin, Gage Nichols, Nicholas Meyer, Branson Kocher, Drew Kohlmeier, Kyle Fleming, A.J. Wertzberger, Kaden Littrell, Mark Ronning, Chris Francis, and Matthew Keener. We are excited to help them develop into the Men of Acacia that has made our organization thrive in every facet of life. We are also excited for the potential we have in our three YMOA that we have currently living in the house. The undergraduate executive team is always excited to hear from you! If you have any comments, questions, or concerns please feel free to contact us at any time. We understand that criticisms is a key element in the continual grow of a great organi-zation, as well as, acknowledging accomplishments to continue to push forward. With fraternal pride, Colten W. Johnson Venerable Dean coltenj@ksu.edu

Brothers Bond With Iowa State Chapter

versity campus, focusing mainly on the row of sororities and fraternities. Brothers enjoyed the hospitality of the Iowa State chapter, as well as the opportunity to compare successes and failures and learn about new ways the Aca-cia brand can be promoted.

“I always love visiting the Iowa State Chapter and seeing my brothers there, their passion and dedication to Acacia reminds me of why I'm an Acacian.” said Br. Cody Kennedy ‘12

Following the tour of campus, the brothers enjoyed a thrilling game at Jack Trice Stadium, watching the Wildcats come from behind to win the game in the final minutes.

(Continued from page 1)

New Year, New Goals: Spring 2015 I.D.P. By Br. Kaden Littrell ‘15

——————– UPCOMING DATES

—————–—

February 8th Acacia Leadership

Scholarship Interviews

February 20th-21st, 27th-28th Experience Weekends

March 6th

Spring Formal

March 7th March Madness Basketball

Tournament Brotherhood Event

April 11th Annual Meeting

April 17th Date Party

May 9th

Boys and Girls Club Color Dash Philanthropy

May 10th

Mom’s Day ——————–

“Together, Building Exceptional Lives”

—————–— LEADERSHIP TEAM

—————–—

Executive Council Venerable Dean—Colten Johnson ‘13 Senior Dean—Jordan DeLoach ‘14 Junior Dean—Scott LaMunyon ‘14 Senior Steward—Kyle Fleming ‘15 Secretary—Kaden Littrell ‘15 Treasurer—A.J. Wertzberger ‘15 Recruitment—Zev Allen ‘14 Recruitment—Ryan Haefke ‘14

Elected Officers

Junior Steward—Branson Kocher ‘15 Scholarship—Mark Ronning ‘15 Risk Management—Noah Trapp ‘14 Education—Jordan Strickler ‘14 Social Chair—Chris Francis ‘15 Philanthropy—Matthew Keener ‘15

The Kansas State Chapter of Acacia Fraternity

The Acacian Page 4

This year's Executive Council marks the 100th executive team of the Kansas State University Acacia Chapter. Br. Colten Johnson '13 takes over as Venerable Dean to lead Acacia during 2015. Joining him are Senior Dean, Jordan DeLoach '14, Junior Dean, Scott LaMunyon '14, Senior Steward, Kyle Fleming '15, Treasurer, A.J. Wertzberger '15, Secretary, Kaden Littrell '15, and Recruitment Chairmen, Ryan Haefke '14 and Zev Allen '14. The main focus of the Exec Team this year is to increase communication throughout the fraternity; between the members themselves, members and officers, as well as members and the Board of Directors. "I feel like communication is important," said Wertzberger, "because I feel there are groups in this fraternity, like alumni and committees that we are under utilizing, and by involving these people, we can increase efficiency and morale of the fraternity as a whole." The new exec team worked with the chapter

during the Spring Retreat to develop this semester's Individual Development Plan. The house's goals are divided into four categories: physical, mental, social and spiritual. Many of the goals relate to increasing academic results, participating in hosting more social and service events, and participating in more physical and intramural activities.

BELOW: The new K-State Acacia Executive Council poses together following their induction as officers. This marks as the 100th Executive Council of the fraternity.

ABOVE: Men of Acacia pose in front of the Iowa State Chap-ter House before the football game. Brothers enjoyed getting the chance to connect with Iowa State Acacians.

Acacia Fraternity

Chapter Development Plan

Spring 2015

Physical

Have a monthly, athletic-focused brother-

hood event.

Top Quartile in Fraternity Intramural Competition

Have a Brother in every Intramural Event

Have a physical in-house competition

Mental

Earn a 3.4 Chapter Average GPA

Have a Chapter-wide midpoint grade

check

Have a Mental-health CORE

Social

Have five quality social functions

Advertise all social events one month

prior

Provide four large service opportunities

Spiritual

Have an alternative religious experience

Have a Sunday where 20+ members at-

tend the same church

Have a house Bible Study

Host a night life event after a campus ministry

Back-to-School BBQ August 23rd— The fall semester was kicked off, once again, with the annual Acacia Back-to-School Barbeque hosted at the house. All students and community members were wel-come to come and enjoy an evening that in-cluded food, water activities, a photo booth, and many other activities. Over 100 people attended the event. Date Party: The Amazing Race October 15th—The first date party of the year was the second annual "Amazing Race." Brothers and their dates showed up to the date party dressed in patriotic attire and grouped up to search for notable Manhattan locations to find clues. Once the clues were found, they came back and performed differ-ent tasks. Following "The Amazing Race," everyone went out to Britt's Farm and trekked their way through the corn maze. The event concluded at the end of the maze with s'mores around the bonfire. Homecoming: “Wildcat Strong!” October 19th-25th – Acacia was partnered with the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Alpha Delta Pi sorority for this year's home-coming activities. The theme this year was "Wildcat Strong" and was carried on throughout the week in the different home-coming festivities. Some of these festivities included Wildcat Request Live, the Kid's Carnival, and Pant the Chant, where Acacia placed 3rd. Hundreds of hours were spent pomping and on the construction of this year's Homecoming float. "The work of eve-ryone from the other houses and us together was very nice to see everyone combine in school spirit and competition!” said Br. Gage Nichols ’15. The week ended with the K-State football game against Texas, where the brothers enjoyed watching the Wildcats beat the Longhorns 23-0.

Dad’s Day November 1st – Dad’s Day was held this year, giving a chance for Acacian’s to enjoy

a day of football and fraternity with their dads. Lunch was served at the house and many brothers enjoyed the K-State Volley-ball game that afternoon. Drive-By Raking November 2nd - This year, Acacians put in over 100 combined hours of community ser-vice during the annual Drive-By Raking ser-vice event. Drive-By Raking is an event offered through HandsOn K-State that gives students the opportunity to help out members of the Manhattan community. Brothers drove around surrounding neighborhoods and helped rake, bag, and remove leaves from their yards.

Bowling Brotherhood Event November 18th - In a night of friendly com-petition and brotherhood, Acacians spent the evening at the Wabash CannonBowl at the K-State Student Union. "It was a good time to compete against my fellow brothers and get closer as a group" ." said Br. Chris Francis ‘15. Acacia Christmas at Mom Ann’s December 8th - Each year, Mom Ann invites all of the Men of Acacia to her house to en-joy an evening of holiday cheer. The high-light of the night was the Secret Santa gift exchange, where each person was given the name of someone to buy a present for. “It's always fun going to Mom's house for food and brotherhood,” said Br. Connor Henley ’14. “Everyone is relaxed and enjoying the moment along with Christmas spirit even though finals are about to hit us.” Acacia Claus Toy Drive December 13th - Acacia's annual philanthro-py is the Acacia Claus toy drive. Brothers set up tables outside both Walgreen's stores in Manhattan asking customers to purchase toys to donate to the Salvation Army for them to give as Christmas presents to lesser

fortune children. During the event, $526.00 and over two hundred and fifty toys were collected to be donated to the Salvation Ar-my. "It was awesome to see how grateful the people from the Salvation Army were," said Br. Noah Trapp ‘14. Men of Acacia Celebration January 17th - Acacia is proud to welcome twelve new members into the fraternity. Roll numbers 1222-1233 were initiated into the fraternity, as well as the 100th Executive Team being inducted as officers. Br. Gary Patterson Wins Coach of the Year This year we are proud to congratulate Br. Gary Patterson '80 on winning NCAA Coach of the Year. Patterson is the head coach of the Texas Christian University Hornedfrogs. After finishing with a 4-8 rec-ord the previous year, Patterson led his team to a Big XII Championship and a 42-3 victo-ry in the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl. Patterson graduated from K-State in 1983. Acacians Support K-State Athletics K-State Acacia always strongly support K-State athletics. Many men get yearly football and men’s basketball season tickets, while also supporting K-State Volleyball, Baseball, Women’s Basketball, and other sports teams. Many members of the house sit in the front rows for every home basketball game.

Fall Semester Grades Report For another semester, K-State Acacia was ranked in the top quartile in grades with a GPA of 3.249. This marks the 24th of the last 25 consecutive semesters that the chapter has ranked in the top quartile. Ross Allen ‘12, Jordan DeLoach ‘14, Mason Grittman ’11, Ryan Haefke ’14, Matt Keener ’15, Corey Kingland ’12, Hayden Kinney ’13, Kaden Littrell ’15, Ryan Luder ’13, Jor-dan Martin ’15, Nick Meyer ’15, Noah Trapp ’14, Nathan Wehrman ’11, and Mi-chael Whinery ’12 all received a 4.0 GPA.

POsitive GOssip News Shorts Fall 2014 At-A-Glance: A review of the semester’s notable events

Undergraduate Chapter News

February 2015 Page 5

ABOVE: Willie the Wildcat poses with Acacians during a K-State basketball game. The Men of Acacia have made it a priority to support K-State athletics this semester.

ABOVE: Brothers Chris Francis ‘15, Kyle Fleming ‘15, Noah Trapp ‘14, and Colten Johnson ‘12 proudly show off the bags of leaves that they raked up together.

ABOVE: “Wildcat Strong!” was the theme for this year’s Kid’s Carnival booth. Acacians enjoyed working with mem-bers from TKE and Alpha Delta Pi throughout the week.