Iowa State Chapter Named Sweepstakes Finalist for 9th Consecutive Year

The Chapter accepts their Sweepstakes Finalist Trophy

August 8, 2023 - The Iowa State Delta Upsilon Chapter participated in the annual Leadership Institute in Kansas City, Missouri on July 28-30. Congratulations to the men for taking home their 9th consecutive Sweepstakes Finalist trophy Saturday night in Kansas City. Many factors went into this award including a Chapter GPA of 3.31, 25.3 service hours per man and over $7,000 raised for the Delta Upsilon philanthropy, Global Service Initiative.

The Chapter also won the Innovative Member Development Award. This award was created to recognize chapters that are educating, mentoring and developing members throughout their entire collegiate experience after the Associate Member Education Program.

The highlight of the weekend was spending time with Brother Doug Howell, ’83. Brother Howell was honored with the Sloan-Kettering Award of Merit in Business. He hosted a breakfast roundtable with the Iowa State Chapter and some of the top DU undergraduates on Saturday morning sharing his experiences that has led him to being CFO at Gallagher Insurance.

Ben Breeding wins 2022 Chev Adams Award

Ben Breeding

May 20, 2022 - Over this past year, Ben Breeding has committed as many leadership responsibilities as possible without being on exec. Although Ben joined as a Freshman in 2019, he was only able to be a part of the fraternity for a short 3 years, for he earned enough credits to graduate a year early. During his time in DU, unlike many, his involvement increased as the years went by.

In the fall of 2021, he served as our Professional Development Chair, going above and beyond what was expected of him. He conducted countless mock interviews with people, developed several resumes, and helped prepare our brothers for career fairs. In his final year, he participated in almost every Homecoming and Greek Week event, as well as serving as one of our Greek Week General Co Chairs’s for the semester. In that position, he coordinated almost every event that we did ranging from community service to sports events. Our third place finish in overall Greek Week wouldn’t have been possible without his extremely hard work and devotion.  Following Greek Week, Ben also organized our Spring 2022 Philanthropy, a task that was far from easy. He spent the weeks leading up to it making countless phone calls, booking dates with people, making sure tickets were handed out, and organizing time slots.

Ben has left a forever lasting impact on the fraternity and set an amazing example of what it should look like being an upperclassman in DU. He is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and will be incredibly missed around the house and in the fraternity as a whole. Congratulations to Ben Breeding on winning the 2022 Chev Adams Award!

Camden Troncin Wins 2022 Outstanding New Member Award

Camden Troncin

May 20, 2022 - Over the past two semesters, a new member of Delta Upsilon has shown what it’s like to come in and automatically be both a leader and everyone’s friend all in one. Camden Troncin, a freshman from Urbandale, IA, joined in the fall of 2021 and has bled DU ever since.

He has been involved in both Homecoming and Greek Week events, served as our Community Service chair this past semester, created several new service opportunities for the entire chapter, and has put in countless hours for himself as well. For the upcoming semester, Camden has been appointed Kitchen manager for our house and plans on working with different exec positions to run for one of his own later this fall.

Part of his leadership skills came out when he attended the annual RLA conference in Kansas City. There our Chapter was able to see first hand the level of communication and responsibility that he is able to bring to this chapter. His unique freshman year has set him up to be a great leader within the chapter and we’re excited to see where he takes it.

Not only is Camden a great leader, but he’s also a great friend to everyone in the fraternity no matter their age. Being that he lived in the house this past spring, he is always in other people’s rooms hanging out, no matter if they’re a sophomore or a Junior. His contagious energy is something that has already benefited the fraternity and we look forward to having it for 3 more years. Congratulations to Camden Troncin on winning the 2022 Outstanding New Member Award!

Iowa State Chapter Named DU’s Top Chapter

The Iowa State Chapter accepts the 2021 Sweepstakes Trophy.

August 1, 2021 - For the first time in our chapter’s history, the Iowa State DU Chapter won Delta Upsilon’s Sweepstakes Award. This is the award presented to the top overall DU chapter at the annual Leadership Institute (LI). This year’s LI took place in New Orleans. Nine undergraduates and four alums were there to accept the award on the chapter’s behalf.

In addition to the Sweepstakes Award, the chapter came home with other significant honors and recognition, including:

• Chapter President Nick Lee was elected as the Undergraduate Advisory Board Representative for DU’s Province 4

• The Chapter was named a top CEP chapter in the following areas: Academic Excellence, Associate Member Education and Operational Excellence

• The Chapter won the Innovative Member Development Award

• Chapter President Nick Lee and Vice President of Member Education Ryan Poppert were each awarded a $1,000 McQuaid Scholarship

• The Chapter was recognized as the second highest fundraising chapter for DU’s Global Service Initiative, raising nearly $3,700

• Vice President Graham Owen was named a finalist for the Distinguished Undergraduate Award, which is given to DU’s top undergraduate member

• The chapter was named a finalist for the Sweepstakes Award for the 7th straight year before winning the award

The 2020-2021 school year was very challenging for all fraternities due to COVID-19 and our chapter was no exception. Our undergraduate men did not use COVID-19 as an excuse and continued to improve the chapter in multiple areas. The chapter achieved a 3.31 chapter GPA, volunteered more than 25 hours per member and raised a significant amount of money for DU’s philanthropy, Global Service Initiative. This all led to the most successful year for our chapter since DU returned to Iowa State’s campus nearly 10 years ago. Please help us congratulate our undergraduate chapter for an extremely successful school year!

Noah Stenberg Wins 2021 Outstanding New Member Award

Noah Stenberg

June 2, 2021 - We are excited to announce that Noah Stenberg has won the 2021 Outstanding New Member Award. Noah was one of the first members of his spring class to sign his bid with Delta Upsilon and has fit naturally into the fraternity since then. Having signed with us before the start of the spring semester when he transferred to Iowa State, Noah moved directly into the chapter house and made himself at home.

In his first semester at Iowa State, Noah started off on the right foot by taking responsibility for his academics first and foremost. Noah was able to achieve a 3.27 GPA. He also did his part as an active member of our kitchen crew and has volunteered to lead our kitchen crew in the fall. Noah was not shy in building relationships with his new DU brothers. He could often be seen with the guys, starting a bonfire on the patio, or grilling out on a nice day. He also got involved in Greek Week and Lip Sync as a member of our team’s performance.

Noah has shown his interest and ability to be a leader in Delta Upsilon by building relationships with brothers beyond his pledge class. He has also shown an ability to adapt quickly to new surroundings during the challenging circumstances of COVID. Noah is a great example of an outstanding associate member. Please help us in congratulating Noah for his hard work and dedication.

Nate Nebel Wins 2021 Chev Adams Award

Nate Nebel

May 16, 2021 - Congratulations to Nate Nebel ’21 for winning the Chev Adams Award presented to the most outstanding senior of Iowa State’s Delta Upsilon Chapter. Nate has been an active DU member since his initiation and that did not change during his senior year. It is not often that we have a senior member as active as Nate.

During the fall semester, Nate served as DU’s Vice President of Compliance. In this role, Nate was in charge of ensuring our DU Chapter stayed compliant with Delta Upsilon International’s Men of Merit standards. These standards include items such as service hours, educational programming attendance and the Chapter Excellence Plan (CEP). CEP is a set of tasks that are to be completed by each chapter (organizational tasks, educational tasks, academic tasks, etc.).

Nate’s results speak for themselves. As the co-leader of our community service effort, he lead the effort to give community service opportunities to our Chapter. During the fall semester, our Chapter completed nearly 1,300 combined service hours, which resulted in more than 15 hours per member. This is well above DU International’s aspirational level of 10 hours per member. As part of our CEP completion, Nate led this effort to put the Iowa State Chapter in 4th place out of 67 chapters in the current DU International CEP standings.

During spring semester, Nate was the Chair of our Life Committee. This committee is dedicated to the mental health of our members. Nate has lead sessions in our Chapter Meetings and has given our members an opportunity to discuss this uncomfortable topic. He has excelled in this. Nate has also created a Brothers In Need Appendix which is a document that lists mental health resources available on campus and off campus.

Outside of DU, Nate has maintained a 3.64 cumulative GPA while majoring in Advertising. Nate has been a member of the Emerging Fraternal Leadership Council and Fraternal Values Society while at Iowa State. Congratulations to Nate on being awarded the 2021 Chev Adams Award and good luck to Nate in his next adventure!

DU Chapter Wins Multiple Awards

Graham Owen, Sorority and Fraternity Member of the Year

April 18, 2021 - Each year, Iowa State’s office of Sorority and Fraternity Engagement (SFE Office) hold an award ceremony for all chapters of all four councils on campus. This year, our Chapter and our members earned multiple awards for their hard work throughout a challenging 2020.

To start, our Chapter earned an Excellence in Academics award for our academic programming and resources. The DU Chapter is consistently one of the top academic chapters on campus. With our strong academic review board, academic programming and tutoring reimbursement, we have built a strong academic culture and are proud to receive this award.

Nate Nebel was honored as a Senior of the Year Finalist. Nate has been a passionate member of DU during his four years at Iowa State. He has served in multiple leadership positions in the Chapter and is currently the Chapter’s Life Committee Chair. Outside of DU, Nate has maintained a 3.64 cumulative GPA while majoring in Advertising and has been a member of the Emerging Fraternal Leadership Council and Fraternal Values Society.

McKinley Paratore, the current live-in Graduate Advisor was recognized for her work with the SFE Office. McKinley has been a valuable member of our team for the past two years. She has gone above and beyond to serve the men of DU in multiple capacities: advisor, house manager, counselor and friend. We wish McKinley nothing but the best as she moves on to her next adventure.

The Chapter was awarded with the Fraternal Award of Excellence Gold Circle Award. This is given to Chapters that achieve 80-89% of the criteria that the SFE Office sets each year. This criteria is based on the five values of the Iowa State Sorority and Fraternity community: Academics, Civic Engagement, Friendship, Leadership and Social Justice.

Finally, Graham Owen was recognized as one of three Sorority and Fraternity Members of the Year. This is a huge accomplishment for Graham and reflects very well on our Chapter. Graham has gone above and beyond during his time in DU and that is no exception for this school year. In the fall semester, Graham was the head of our Standards Board. This is a group of highly respected upperclassmen that work to ensure all DU brothers are upholding DU’s four founding principles of Character, Culture, Justice and Friendship. This semester, Graham is serving on the Executive Board as the Vice President of Compliance. In this position, Graham is in charge of leading the Chapter’s service efforts and ensures the Chapter is successfully completing the DU International Chapter Excellence Plan (a set of criteria used to measure the success of each chapter). Outside of DU, Graham has maintained a 3.23 cumulative GPA in Chemical Engineering. He has also participated in the Fraternal Values Society and Investment Group. He has volunteered as a Rho Guy which is a leadership position to assist incoming freshmen during formal recruitment. Finally, he was a part of the Interfraternity Council serving as VP Leadership Development.

Congratulations to our Chapter and all our Award Winners!

DU Undergrad Update, September 2020

Iowa State Sweepstakes Finalist Trophy

September 27, 2020 - Brothers, another Fall semester is in full swing here at Iowa State! As you know all too well, this semester isn’t like any the men of Delta Upsilon have faced before. It’s hard to believe that just six months ago we weren’t sure what our time here would look like moving forward. While we are ecstatic to be back in Ames, we understand that things look different since the last time we called this place home. Even though COVID has limited our chances to gather as brothers, it hasn’t completely halted our ability to connect. We recently held a pinning ceremony (distanced and masked up, of course!) for our newest 20 associate members at a room in the Memorial Union. It was great to see some familiar faces, and some new ones, too! This weekend marks the beginning of a series of campus cleanup events which will help keep our community looking beautiful. As the semester continues, the men of Delta Upsilon are hopeful to have more brotherhood events to stay connected.

In terms of awards, the Iowa State chapter was quite successful! I’m proud to report that we are Sweepstakes finalists again for the 6th year in a row! It’s truly an honor to see our hard work pay off by being recognized as one of the top seven chapters of Delta Upsilon. As a part of this accomplishment, the Iowa State chapter was also top three in fundraising for our philanthropic partner, Global Service Initiative. Our chapter also received the McKeag award for greatest participation in the Oak Circle, the undergraduate giving network. A recent grad and now DU alum, Joe Stanton, was also named a finalist for undergraduate of the year.

Finally, there will soon be an opportunity to spice up the wardrobe, as an apparel fundraiser is in the works! Stay tuned for more updates to come and ways in which you can donate to our philanthropy. While this isn’t the school year any of us expected, we are certainly making the most of the time we have here in person. I know I speak on behalf of all the members when I wish you continued safety, good health, and prosperity as we navigate 2020.

Dikaia,

Zach Schwake ’21

Jack Belloli Wins 2020 Outstanding New Member Award

Jack Belloli

May 19, 2020 - Congratulations to Jack Belloli ’23 for being named the Outstanding New Member of the Iowa State DU Chapter. Jack just completed his freshman year in the College of Engineering. He plans on majoring in Civil Engineering. Although engineering students are presented with many academic challenges as first year students, Jack was able to achieve a 3.27 GPA. His work ethic and time management skills allowed him to excel in academics while also being involved in other activities throughout his freshman year.

Jack also showed a great understanding of Delta Upsilons Four Founding Principles: Development of Character, Diffusion of Liberal Culture, Advancement of Justice and Promotion of Friendship. His willingness to challenge all members to be better, his understanding toward many issues and his kindness to all have earned him great respect throughout the Chapter.

As a member of the Chapter, Jack showed a willingness to get involved right out of the gate. He participated in Homecoming, Yell Like Hell and Greek Week. Also, because of Jack’s trust within the Chapter, he was chosen as the only freshman to be on the summer recruitment team. He will spend much of the summer working hard to bring in the next pledge class to DU. Thank you to Jack for his contributions to the DU Chapter. We look forward to seeing what you can accomplish over the next few years as a DU brother!

Joe Stanton Wins 2020 Chev Adams Award

Joe Stanton

May 17, 2020 - Congratulations to Joe Stanton ’20 for being awarded the Chev Adams Award as the most outstanding senior member of the Iowa State DU Chapter. Joe has been an outstanding representative of DU throughout his time at Iowa State. He has been a member of the Exec Board as both VP of Recruitment and VP of Administration. Beyond his involvement in DU, Joe has interned at the Iowa State Research Park and Principal Financial Group. He has also started his own business, Ash Avenue Prints. His company creates customized posters for their clients. Academically, Joe graduated from the Iowa State Ivy College of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He excelled academically with a 3.70 cumulative GPA.

As a senior, many brothers choose to be less involved in the fraternity. This is not how Joe approached his senior year. He jumped at every opportunity presented to him and even requested additional responsibilities. In the fall semester he served as the Social Media Chair and was very involved in DU’s homecoming participation. In the spring semester, he served as the Greek Week Co-Chair. Outside of DU, Joe was named as 1 of 10 people on the Iowa State Homecoming Court, Cardinal Court. This is a tremendous honor for any Iowa State senior.

Through his accomplishments in academics, career advancement and brotherhood, Joe has become a model brother for Delta Upsilon. Joe doesn’t just give advice to the underclassmen, but he also leads by example. He has and will continue to be an excellent representation of what it means to be a member of Delta Upsilon even as he becomes an alumni. Thank you to Joe for his contributions to Iowa State Delta Upsilon!

DU Undergrad Update, March 2020

Alex Freiberg, Alex Hauser and Josh Anderson participated in Delta Upsilon Global Service Initiative, January 2020.

March 1, 2020 - By: Andrew Arciuch ’21, Alumni Relations Chair (Former Chapter President)

To start the calendar year, the Chapter had three participants in Delta Upsilon’s Global Service Initiative (GSI). Alex Freiberg, Alex Hauser and Josh Anderson participated in a week long service trip to Jamaica with other DU brothers from across the nation.

Once the school year kicked off, the new Iowa State Chapter Executive Board was officially sworn in at the first Chapter Meeting of the semester. They’re off to a good start under Ethan Kiehne’s Presidency. One goal is to attain more Chapter Excellence Plan (CEP) Points this semester and they’re doing a great job. CEP is a list of criteria that DU Headquarters requests chapters complete each year.

The Executive Board is also working to build on their already strong brotherhood. With that in mind, the Iowa State Chapter decided to participate in a Building Better Men Retreat, which was led by Delta Upsilon Senior Director of Education Programs, Noah Borton. The brothers got a lot out of the retreat and the Executive Board hopes to use the goals established that weekend to continue to guide the chapter in a positive direction. Furthermore, sixteen brothers decided to attend the Delta Upsilon Regional Leadership Academy in Kansas City to gain more skills and refine the direction of the chapter. This leadership development opportunity not only helped the new Executive Board collaborate with other chapters to find good ideas, but it helped seven other young DUs find a direction of what kind of leader they want to be in the future within Delta Upsilon.

With many upcoming events this spring semester, the brothers are very excited about our spring philanthropy, DU Donuts. The event is hosted at the chapter facility, and people attending are served Krispy Kreme Donuts and many other sweet treats. Greek Week at Iowa State is approaching fast and the brothers of the chapter could not be more excited to compete against other Greek Week teams while being paired with Sigma Kappa Sorority and Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity. We hope the rest of this spring semester is fun and more successful than ever.

DU Undergrad Update, December 2019

December 10, 2019 - By: Zach Schwake ’21, Vice President of External Relations

As the fall semester wraps up, the DU chapter wanted to share an update on the exciting things happening in Ames!

Dad’s Day (9/21): This fall, the men hosted a Dad’s Day. It took place on a home football Saturday, in which the Cyclones beat Louisiana Monroe. Even though it was a rainy day, the event brought in more than 30 fathers of undergraduate brothers. A cookout was held in the evening after the football game concluded.

Barbarian Meal

Barbarian Meal (10/11): The temperature was mid 30 degrees and there were snow flurries, but this did not stop the men of Delta Upsilon from hosting our annual Barbarian meal. While the event normally ends in a food fight, it is a great way to get older and younger brothers together for an afternoon of bonding.

Yell Like Hell

Outcome of Homecoming Activities (10/19-10/26): Delta Upsilon was very successful during Homecoming. We placed 3rd in Yell Like Hell, 3rd in Parade Float, and 1st overall in Community Service! We were paired with Gamma Phi Beta and Pi Kappa Phi.

Update on Community Service: As the semester draws to a close, DU at Iowa State has had one of the most productive semesters of community service to date. To help hold us accountable, we use an app called HelperHelper. DU International has partnered with HelperHelper to assist in tracking service hours while also seeing how other chapters are doing. So far, we have completed over 1,100 hours of community service (and counting!). We hope to continue the trend in the future and find more opportunities for brothers to serve the Ames community.

New Initiates (not all new initiates pictured)

Initiation (11/9): We recently had the pleasure of initiating 26 new brothers into our chapter. This ceremony was held in the Memorial Union and had many parents and visitors in attendance. Brother Jorge Romero Castro ’19 was in attendance to give the charge.

Homecoming Tailgate 2019

October 14, 2019 - Please join the Delta Upsilon undergraduate chapter for a Homecoming Tailgate as the Iowa State Cyclones take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday, October 26. The tailgate will begin at 10:30 AM with the game to follow at 2:30 PM. The tailgate will be located near Lot D4. Look for the DU Bus and the DU Flag. The undergrads will provide food at the tailgate. Beverages are BYOB.

Parking will be available at the DU parking lot. A few undergrads will be collecting donations for Global Service Initiative (GSI) in exchange for parking. GSI is the official philanthropy for all Delta Upsilon chapters. Additionally, the house will be open before the game if you would like to re-live some memories from 117 Ash.

We look forward to seeing you in Ames! Go Cyclones!

DU Undergrad Update, September 2019

117 Ash decorated for Delta Scoopsilon

September 17, 2019 - By: Chet Kaiser ’19, Alumni Relations Chair

It is an exciting time to be a brother of Delta Upsilon at Iowa State! Last week, the Iowa State Chapter held their first philanthropy of the year, Delta Scoopsilon, and had record breaking attendance. Nearly 500 people attended and over $3,000 was raised.

Due to the philanthropy’s date landing on September 11, the Chapter decided to donate half of the proceeds for 9/11 first responders and their families through the FealGood Foundation. The other half was donated to Global Service Initiative (GSI), Delta Upsilon’s philanthropic arm. GSI is a project in Jamaica for DUs from across the country to help local Jamaican communities through hands on work. The Chapter will continue to raise money for GSI throughout the year. If you would like to support the Chapter’s philanthropy efforts, feel free to click this link to assist with the Chapter’s GSI efforts: GSI Fundraising.

The Chapter is now at its largest size since re-chartering with 98 total members. The Chapter recently finalized the Fall Associate Member class with 28 new members. If you know of any high school seniors coming to Iowa State please contact the VP of Recruitment, Alex Freiberg, at (712) 574-7432.

DU is in high gear preparing for this year’s ISU homecoming. We are teamed up with Gamma Phi Beta and Pi Kappa Phi to compete against many other teams in the ISU Fraternity and Sorority community. Events will consist of many great traditions such as Yell Like Hell, the Ames Parade, community service events and much more. The Chapter would love to see as many alumni as possible come out to Homecoming weekend.

Escape to 117 Ash 2019 Recap

Alumni and undergrads gathered at 117 Ash on Saturday, July 20, 2019.

August 1, 2019 - The 6th Annual Escape to 117 Ash is in the books! It was another great weekend with over 85 alumni and undergraduates gathering in Ames to meet old friends and to celebrate Delta Upsilon.

The weekend kicked off on Friday, July 19 with a class reunion for the classes of 1979-1985. The reunion took place at Ames Country Club as alums gathered to re-kindle old friendships and learn about the current success of the DU Chapter.

On Saturday alumni and undergraduates gathered at 117 Ash Avenue for brunch before heading out for golf and campus art tours. On Saturday evening, everyone met back at the house for drinks before enjoying a dinner of steak, baked beans and strawberry shortcake cooked by house chef Darrin Miller.

The final gathering of the weekend was a brunch at the house prior to departures. It was a great weekend with lots of fun had by all! If you have not made it back to an Escape to 117 Ash weekend, please make plans to join us next year. Escape to 117 Ash 2020 will take place on July 24-26.

A special thanks goes out to John Carson ’73 for leading the charge in organizing this event and to Nick Yeo ’19 for taking the pictures seen in the album below.

Sweepstakes Finalist for 5th Straight Year

Undergraduates and alumni accept the Sweepstakes Finalist award at the 2019 Leadership Institute in Indianapolis.

July 31, 2019 - Congratulations to Iowa State’s Delta Upsilon Chapter for being named a Sweepstakes Finalist for the 5th year in a row! This award is given out each summer at DU’s Leadership Institute to the top 7 Delta Upsilon chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Eight undergraduates and four alumni were on hand in Indianapolis to accept the award. Iowa State is one of two chapters in DU who have been named a finalist for 5 straight years. The chapter was presented this award based on these accomplishments from the 2018-2019 school year:

• Volunteered more than 17 hours per member

• Sent 23 members to DU educational events

• Raised over $5,800 for Global Service Initiative (DU International’s philanthropic arm)

• Outperformed the Iowa State All Men’s GPA both semesters

In addition to the Sweepstakes Award, Iowa State alum Kevin Guinan ’15 was presented with the Chairman’s Award for outstanding volunteer at the national level.

Donate to the Colonnades Club 2019

June 29, 2019 - The Colonnades Club is the alumni group for Iowa State Delta Upsilon. Your contributions help fund an undergraduate scholarship, send undergraduates to DU educational programs, fund the publishing costs of the Open Visor and fund other costs associated with helping the undergraduate chapter. Visit the donation site to learn more:

https://www.memberplanet.com/campaign/iastatedu/colonnadesclub2019

Ernest T. (Ernie/”ET”) Marshall: A true treasure of the Iowa State Chapter of Delta Upsilon passes away at age 88

November 19, 2013 - It seems hard to believe that only a month ago DU Brothers from eight decades assembled in Ames to celebrate our 100th anniversary of Delta Upsilon at Iowa State.  One of the many highlights of the celebration was hearing from Ernie Marshall ’48 via his welcome letter and the presence of his daughter (Marian) at the evening banquet.  Ernie, or “E.T.” as many DU’s and Iowa Stater’s have known him, also provided every attendee at the banquet with a copy of DU songs that he had recorded with the Delta Upsilon Chorus singing in 1947.   Although the recording quality was not very good more than 65 years ago, it was obvious that music was an important part of being a DU, and there was great talent among the DU brothers.

Just two weeks after the event in Ames, Ernie passed away on October 7, 2013 at his home in Fountain Hills, Arizona.  Before his death he made a point to make a major contribution to the Iowa State DU Chapter’s Centennial Campaign,  During the Centennial Celebration, it was announced that Ernie was donating more than $27,000 to the Campaign.  The fraternity house’s dining room will now feature a plaque that recognizes Ernie’s sponsorship of the public room in the house that he fondly remembered as a gathering place for all DU brothers.  Ernie also provided a scholarship funded through the DU Education Foundation that will help future DU undergraduate leaders attend various training programs offered by DU International.

Ernie had an extraordinary life, playing right end on the ISU football team and graduating with honors with an Iowa State degree in Industrial Economics (now the College of Business).  He went on to have a very successful career in advertising, marketing and as a public relations executive with Continental Oil Company (Conoco).  He later worked for a large advertising agency, and as the first executive director of the National Agri-Marketing Association.

One of the fondest memories that many Iowa State alumni have of Ernie was the role that he played leading the Alumni Band at ISU’s Homecoming for many years.  E.T. was runner up National Baton Champion as a youth, and later resurrected his skill after recovering from tripple bypass surgery in 1975.  After lots of practice throwing the baton for therapy, he performed with the ISU Alumni band at Homecoming that fall.  He continued to perform at Iowa State Homecoming halftimes through 2002, when he retired at 78 years of age!  A wonderful Youtube video of Ernie’s final performance can be found at the “Last of the Male Baton Throwers”.  The smile that is displayed on E.T.’s face as he throws the baton at every end of the stadium in front of more than 50,000 fans says it all about Ernie and his joy for life.

Thank you to Ernie’s son, Tom Marshall, for arranging for his father to become such a memorable part of our 100th anniversary celebration in Ames on September 21st  and for keeping us all informed of Ernie’s condition and eventual passing.  Tom, Marian, and the other four children of Ernie and Mary Cele, truly were fortunate to have had such an inspirational father………as we were to have Ernie as a DU brother.