This is the second of a four-part series.

Part 1: A Fraternity in Crisis

Shock, disappointment, and the choice to step back in.

Part 2: Rebuilding Brotherhood

Recruiting new members, reviving rituals, and restoring accountability.

Part 3: Restoring Pride

Fixing finances, repairing the house, and rebuilding reputation.

Part 4: Sustaining the Legacy

Keeping alumni engaged and ensuring the future of the Alpha Chapter.

If you'd like to review Part 1, you can click here.

The 'Crisis' wasn't completely over, but with an increased alumni presence, and a Brotherhood gradually increasing in size and commitment, our trajectory was beginning to take shape.

The key part to the next stage would be those undergraduates themselves. Were they buying what we were selling in terms of principles, accountability, effort, and standards?

As we began the resurrection of Alpha Chapter, we had some initial curveballs that set us back and we had a great number of unknowns to deal with. The biggest area of concern was the Brotherhood itself. Would they respond? Were they like us? Was it worth the effort?

In the early days it was easier to rally alumni than undergraduates. The alumni wanted the house restored but most of the undergraduates didn’t know what restoration would look like. There were some guys living in the house who cared and were embarrassed at what was going on but weren’t sure what to do about it either.

The Alumni knew early on that there would be ‘teaching’ involved in the project.  That ranged from teaching the House Manager how to clean a toilet, to teaching the President how to hold a formal ritual meeting of the membership.

The core principles of Phi Sigma Kappa are Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Character. John Burgoyne and Nate Goodhue who were each President for a semester at the start of the transition, were good guys and wanted what we all wanted: a place where those principles could thrive.

So, were our efforts welcomed by the undergrads? Most of them. Did they bullshit us? Absolutely. Some of the behaviors that had driven the fraternity into its current situation were still going on, they just now had more people to hide them from.

Some claim that identifying the problem is half the battle. We’d identified the problem, but we also knew that the alumni were 100% helpless in turning the place around without undergraduates who had the same commitment.

There was a major turning point, or actually, three major turning points on this journey.

Turning Point #1

One Sunday about a year into the adventure, on a cold dark winter's night after a Chapter Meeting, I drove home in light snow through the hills of Western Massachusetts. I wasn’t sure if I was encouraged or discouraged. 

What I remember about the night is that, as the Advisor, I gave an impromptu speech about ‘accountability.’ Accountability for cleanliness, finances, adherence to the principles of the fraternity and so forth. The progress of the fraternity wasn't fast enough for me, and I had decided to practice some of my blunt skills that night.

As I arrived home, I remember hoping, or wishing, that at least one person heard me and would influence the other Brothers to be more accountable. Now, I will be the first one to tell you that ‘hope’ is not a management tool, but that night it was something I had to rely on.

There is a leadership lesson on the internet called the First Follower. Here is a summary of the video that you can find here.

The Unsung Hero of Leadership:

The First Follower

Leadership is often romanticized as the bold act of a visionary who dares to stand alone. We celebrate the pioneers, the “lone nuts” who defy convention and spark change. But the truth revealed in Derek Sivers’ famous First Follower video — showing a man dancing wildly on a hillside at a music festival — is that leadership alone is not enough to create a movement.



The lesson unfolds in real time. At first, the dancer is just a spectacle. But when one brave individual joins him, everything changes. That first follower does more than participate: he legitimizes the leader, demonstrates how to engage, and signals to others that this idea is worth their time. Within moments, a second follower joins, then a third, and soon dozens are on their feet. What began as a solitary act becomes a full-blown movement.

The video underscores a critical insight: the first follower is the true catalyst of change. By showing the way, the follower transforms vision into momentum. Leaders must recognize this dynamic and honor those early adopters who risk their own reputation to validate a cause.

For executives, entrepreneurs, or community leaders, the implications are powerful. If you are leading, embrace and celebrate your first followers. Treat them as partners, not subordinates. Their courage builds the bridge between your idea and the wider community.

And if you are considering following, remember that stepping forward early can be just as courageous as leading. Movements need leaders, but they cannot survive without followers willing to turn vision into reality.

In leadership, the spotlight may fall on the visionary, but history belongs equally to the first follower — the one who makes it safe for the rest of us to join.

As I pulled into my driveway at home, I realized that what I really needed to succeed was a First Follower, someone who could stand up and transform me from "a lone nut," to a leader in the quest to put Phi Sigma Kappa back on the map as a place of pride and distinction.

Little did I know as I arrived home, that the first follower had stepped up. His name was Pat Rodgers, and he legitimized my efforts by standing up and sharing with the men of Phi Sig that it was time to follow.

Pat was not a member of the E-Board, the slate of elected officers when I started the project. He had joined the fraternity as a freshman and was a sophomore at the time.

He was also one of a string of guys from Clinton, Massachusetts who kept referring other guys from that town to the House. In fact, without products of Clinton High School, the fraternity may not have made it.

Pat was a good listener, and after that speech I gave, he took the initiative, in casual conversations with other Brothers who were trying to decide whether to follow this old guy with lots of ideas, to declare he supported the concept of leadership that the old guy was trying to sell.

In fact, many years later he told me that he didn't think the fraternity had a choice. It was either listen to the Advisor or fold, and that was his message to the Brothers. The old guy was either dumb or right, and Pat urged his fraternity brothers to assume he was right.

So, the Alumni were ready to teach, but we needed people to learn. We needed followers and the first follower was the most important.

As a result of Pat's leadership and the Clinton connection, over the next several years Bryan Casasanto, Brian McDonald, and Cody Prudhomme all had turns as Chapter President. When you add in John Burgoyne, who was President in the Fall of 2009, that's five Presidents from the same High School. A testament to referrals and leadership.

Turning Point #2

As part of the effort to instill pride or more pride back to the house, we came up with the idea of “Paintbrush Weekend.” 

The concept was simple: all of the Brothers, and their dads, plus the active alumni would converge on the house on one weekend in the spring and paint the interior of the house. 

The goal was three-fold:

1.      Give the House a new fresh look.

2.      Cover up some of the dirt. It was easier to paint than clean in some cases.

3.      Instill some pride in the condition of the house.

It worked. At the end of the day of the first Paintbrush Weekend, as the five dozen men walked through the house after we finished, you could hear the undergraduates share their awe with each other about what had been accomplished.

That first Paintbrush Weekend was a true fraternity experience. Brothers, alums and dads collaborating together to better the House. 

It was not only a practical partial solution, but a symbolic solution of what can happen when people work together.

Because it worked so well that first time, we did it every year for the next ten or so years. 

It played a critical role in the development of teamwork and pride and made an impact on alumni engagement and undergraduate commitment, particularly during the years where the Saucehound Barbecue team, led by alum Mike McDade, provided lunch during the event. Mike and AJ Gerritson, a classmate, helped to rally the alumni from the 90's to engage in the project.

There was still a long way to go, but at least we had started. We had undergraduate leadership, a better-looking facility, additional alumni who were engaged, and the start of a ‘movement’ to restore the Alpha Chapter to a better place.

Turning Point #3: The Portico

But the real measuring stick was yet to come. The Greek-style portico on the front of the building had deteriorated and was removed years before and not replaced. It changed the outside look of the fraternity from a noble building to an embarrassment to us older alumni. 

A couple of guys who graduated in the 60’s, Perry Harris and Ed Szupel, took matters into their own hands and enabled the Chapter to take a giant step on the way back to Damn Proud.

Next Week:

Resurrecting Alpha Chapter: A Phi Sigma Kappa Story

Part 3: Restoring Pride

Fixing Finances, the House and the Reputation.