At the 56^th Grand Chapter Conclave, we saw over 1,100 SigEp’s, friends and family members descend upon Houston. South Dakota Alpha had our largest ever Conclave delegation with seven alumni and three undergraduates making the trip down south. The brothers of SD Alpha were able to share our story like we have never been able to before. We connected with brothers from all over the nation and shared our successes and challenges. Our homegrown housing campaign is a true success story in the making and we shared it with fellow brothers as well as SigEp National Housing’s board of directors. Being in front of SENH was an amazing (and quite eye-opening) experience in itself. Please reach out to brother Mike Hart if you’d like to learn more.

Conclave also provided numerous educational sessions – providing our alumni and undergraduates alike valuable knowledge and skills to bring back to our chapter. Programming events like Love, Mom and Dad reminded all of us of our commitment to our third Cardinal Principle, Brotherly Love. Our undergraduate delegation helped provide SigEp’s direction for the next two years through legislation. However, the highlight of our Conclave experience, and validating SD Alpha’s efforts over the last two years (and more) was taking home our second consecutive Buchanan Cup! The Buchanan Cup is the highest award a chapter can receive for overall chapter operations and excellence. We are grateful for this recognition, but our diligent efforts must continue as we build our “people, experiences, and environment” into the future. As noted by newly appointed Grand Chapter President, brother Tom Jelke.

The 56^th Grand Chapter Conclave was one that will not be forgotten. Not by the brothers of SD Alpha that attended and not by many others across the country. We encourage you to mark your calendars now for the next Conclave, which will be held July 28-August 1, 2020 in Denver.

Cheers to our fellow brothers across the universe as we continue to be proud to be a SigEp.

Fraternally,
Troy Lambert, Mike Hart, Nathan Bylander, Jeff Lang, Kyle Dvoracek, Tony Wacholz, Luke Cardona