Phi Delta Theta (Mizzou)

"Where are they now?" - Mike Messer

His Run Down . . .

• Bond # - 2258
• HIgh School - Rockbridge in Columbia, MO
• Degree = International Relations/Latin American Studies
• Years in the house - 1993-1997
• Nicknames - Messer
• Current Location - Columbia, MO
• Occupation - Agent for Shelter Insurance

Some memories from the house?

• One in particular stands out the most. . . Sophmore year, on stage at Greek Week in front of a packed Jesse Auditorium.  Eddie Houlehan was the lead actor and during a specific part of the act, he had changed the dialogue in rehersal each time so no one knew what he was going to say.  It was generally very funny, but had nothing to do with the script.  On the night of the competition, the scene was a country western hoe-down. The dance stopped for Eddie to mutter his line, and to this day I have no idea what it was supposed to be, but it ended up being, “Let’s give a big thanks to Mr. Jimmy Dean, for his tasty sausage!”  You could have heard a pin drop on that stage, but somehow we managed to continue the skit without the thirty Phi Delts and Alpha Delta Pi’s completely cracking up.

Is Phi Delt still a part of your everyday life?

• Entering a large university challenged me to organize my studies and change my habits.  Study hall during pledge semester showed me the importance of setting time aside for studies.  That discipline turned into a financial reward when I received a scholarship from the School of Arts and Science my senior year.  It was based on my improvement in my grade point average over three years, and my grade point average in my core studies for my major.  Today, I use the same philosophy I learned in my pledge semester to prepare for business appointments, presentations and projects in my profession.

Any advice for the current actives?

• My advice to current actives is to GET INVOLVED.  Seek out every opportunity to volunteer and lead in campus organizations.  The contacts you make will enter the workforce with you and can be a valuable contact for employment and friendship.  It will also bring back a great reputation to the fraternity when you are demonstrating you leadership abilities all over campus.

Shoot Mike an e-mail mmesser@shelterinsurance.com to see what else it going on with him.

"Where are they now?" - Chris Crocker

e His Run Down . . .

• Bond # - 2266
• HIgh School - Parkview in Springfield, MO
• Degree = Tourism
• Years in the house - 1992-1997
• Nicknames - Crocker
• Current Location - Columbia, MO
• Occupation - Senior Broker, Professional Mortgage Group

Some memories from the house?

• The Big 6 any given Friday night.  I swear you could walk across those people like a herd of cattle. 
• The Doors. . Well I woke up this mornin’ and I got myself . . .  Let it Roll Baby, Roll!
• Marley and sun tans. . .We’re professional “tanners”. . . that’s. . .what we do.
• Rusty’s Dance Palace in Fantasia.
• Rush Float Trip. . . I think Stout and Dorsey are still on the river.

Is Phi Delt still a part of your everyday life?

• MO Alpha has helped me tremendously in my professional life.  Networking, definitely.  But most importantly, confidence.  Everyday I face challenges, and everyday I can turn those into opportunities by using the confidence I took from my fraternity.

Any advice for the current actives?

• Take a leadership role.  Prove to yourself that you can shoulder the responsibility.  MO Alpha opens the door to hundreds of opportunities.  All you have to do is take the initiative.

Shoot Chris an e-mail crocker2005@gmail.com to see what else it going on with him.

"Where are they now?" - Justin Deutschmann (Jocko)

His Run Down . . .

• Bond # - He doesn't know
• HIgh School - Lafayette
• Major = Interdisciplinary Studies, "the major for non majors",
• Years in the house - 1993-1997
• Nicknames - Jocko, Sporto, Deutsch
• Current Location - Denver, CO
• Occupation - Financial Advisor for Bank of the West

Some of his memories from the house?

• I often flashback to the Gangster slide we built that went down the stairs.  I think that slide sent no less than a half dozen people to the hospital to get staples in their heads. It was a great idea a the time. 
• Shaving our heads as a pledge class to show unity.
• Carl Wardenberg doing Matt Foley the motivational speaker during Greek Week, "in a van down by the river".
• Watching Cory Bricker chase his pet bird around the back yard.
• Listening to Kurt Biersmith always say "Shave Dat Boy".

Is Phi Delt still a part of your everyday life?

• My boss, Chris Counce, is also a MO Alpha Phi Delt.  I have a lot of friends in different industries who also are;  the house has been great for networking.

Any Advice to the current actives?

• Have fun and Live it up because you're gonna miss it some day.
• Be cool . . . stay in school.

Drop Deutschmann a line at ledeutsch1@yahoo.com

Where are they now?

As mentioned earlier, over the break we are going to try and reach out to different Alumni from around the country.  This is an attempt to see what everyone is up to, and to bring everyone back into the conversation on mizzouphidelts.com.  All Alumni should be warned, that you may recieve an e-mail from us, asking several questions, and requesting a current picture.  Stay tuned to see who is first.

Graham and Garth

After we posted the story about Deutshman taking the stage in Denver, an alumni sent in a picture of Graham Bramblett (who we also mentioned in the posting), getting some face time with Mr. Garth Brooks back in 2003.

Apparantly, Graham played guitar on tour with Rodney Redman in 2003 and made a stop in Tulsa along the way.  Even with their busy schedule, both Rodney (middle) and Graham found the down time to hang out and "pick a little" with the man himself at his ranch.

MO Alpha Alumni (a.k.a. - Jock-O) hits the stage in Denver.

Justin Deutschman, pledge class 1993, plays lead guitar for Switchgrass, a Denver based rock band.  He is the one on the right.  During his stay in the house, Justin was known to coordinate late night jam sessions in the living room with Graham Bramblett and Ben Booth (amongst several others).  Graham is also a singer-songwriter, living in Nashville, TN.

This video was sent in by a fellow pledge brother of Jock-O, so we don't know much about the band.  But take a listen and leave a comment.