Induction Ceremony Distinguished Lambda Graduates
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Induction Ceremony Distinguished Lambda Graduates Lambda Chapter Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity DePauw University Greencastle, Indiana Saturday, April 10, 2010 Distinguished Graduate Award The Lambda Distinguished Graduate Award is intended to honor those Graduate Brothers of Lambda Chapter who best exemplify the core values of the frater - nity: friendship, knowledge, service, morality, and excellence. Each year, Graduate Brothers are invited to nominate other Lambda Graduate Brothers for recognition with the Lambda Dis - tinguished Graduate Award. Nominees may be living or Ad Astra. Nominees should have demonstrated involvement with and support for Lambda, Phi Gamma Delta, DePauw University, community involvement, and life achievements. Founded on June 24, 1856, Lambda Chapter is the longest continuously existing chapter of the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. The Lambda Distinguished Graduate Award recognizes Graduate Brothers who have contributed to Lambda’s rich history and traditions by their example. Recipients bring distinction to the Lambda Chapter, Phi Gamma Delta, and DePauw University. Their time, talents, dedication, and resources further the ideals of the fraternity and their life- long commitment to excellence. Each recipient in a credit to our valued brotherhood. Each is a constant reminder that Phi Gamma Delta “is not for college years alone.” page one ORDER OF EVENTS Welcome: Bryan Edwards ’12, Chapter Treasurer Awards Presentations: George C. Lortz ’62, House Corporation Vice President Recipients: Thomas W. Boswell ’66 Robert F. Wells ’66 Philip G. Heyde ’72 Douglas S. Ingersoll ’88 Robert S. Johnson ’90 Closing Remarks: George C. Lortz ’62 Reception to Follow page two THOMAS W. BOSWELL ’66 “Clearly the interpersonal skills acquired, the leadership experiences, and the lifelong friends have been very important in my life. However, there is one factor that was largely lost on me while an undergraduate. That was the subtle import of having been part of a bond that is much larger than the 100 or so men whom I narrowly viewed then as being the ‘fraternity.’ Later, I came to appreciate, and even be in awe of, the fact that I was part of a Lambda experience and tradition that had existed for more than a hundred years before we came on the scene. As I then entered the workforce and took a more worldly view, names of extremely successful Lambda FIJIs from our prior generations began to bring this perspective home—names like Dirks, Lortz, Kilgore, Thornburg, and, yes, even Boswell (no relation). Men like these had been importantly influenced by the “FIJI experience” and continued to be loyal and active supporters of those of us who followed. As I moved through my career many from our generation achieved success, and, in the tradition of those who had preceded us, several saw fit to return the favors Lambda had provided them. The wonderful health and vibrancy of the current chap - ter are a direct result of those who have been touched and influenced by their experiences as undergraduates...thus keeping this long tradition alive.” Phi Gamma Delta meant everything to Thomas W. Boswell when he was at DePauw. Tom is a loyal and generous supporter of DePauw and his beloved fraternity. Tom will be the first to tell you that his experiences at Lambda not only yielded wonderful lifelong friendships, but they also laid a foundation of self discovery for the rest of his life. Tom came from the small rural community of Culver, Indiana. (His high-school graduating class had 42 students.) Tom and his four siblings were the first generation of Boswells to attend college. In 1929, Tom’s father, Hampton, received DePauw’s Rector Scholarship during the height of the Great Depression. The scholarship required payment of a $50 fee; Hampton couldn’t get the $50 and never attended college. Because of this missed opportunity, Hampton made sure that all of his children attended the college of their choice. Tom entered DePauw in 1962, as a naive teenager with a lack of self-confidence. The ma - jority of the entering students had more sophisticated backgrounds and educational experi - ences. Tom felt that his “deficiency” was amplified during formal rush (then during the week of freshman orientation) when he was not pledged by any fraternity on campus. At the time, 90 percent of the student body was Greek and lived in Greek housing. Tom was left to live in a dormitory and had thoughts of transferring to another school. However, all that changed when Tom made the freshman basketball team. He was (continued) page three THOMAS W. BOSWELL ’66, continued befriended by varsity player and FIJI Dean Rush ’65, and ultimately, the FIJIs reached out to him and pledged him late in his freshman year. In the short span of a few weeks, he was over - whelmed by such welcome acceptance and a new-found support group. His thoughts about transferring quickly disappeared. When Tom returned for his sophomore year, he felt completely at home at FIJI, immedi - ately being accepted into the pledge class that had already spent their freshman year together. Two great roommates (Bob Wells ’66, who is another honoree this year, and Joe Johnson ’66), and a fraternity father, Dean Rush, helped show him the ropes. And so began the process and experiences that have had a huge impact on Tom’s life. Tom credits his treasurer’s duties at FIJI for helping him to learn many important life skills, and he learned about teamwork from the fraternity and the varsity baseball team. Tom received a B.A. in economics from DePauw in 1966. Two weeks after graduation, he enlisted in the Navy’s officer program. Then, on Christmas Eve that same year, he married his high school sweetheart, Cheryl, whom he had dated throughout their undergraduate years while she was at Purdue. (The two have been happily married for 43 years.) Tom spent four years as a supply corps officer on board a nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarine, where he did everything a from preparing menus to ordering food and sup - plies, to ensuring the availability of spare parts for the submarine. He cites both his education and his fraternity experience for ensuring that he was well equipped for the job. In 1971, he obtained an MBA in finance/accounting from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Soon afterwards, his business career began with Ford Motor Com - pany in Dearborn, Michigan, where he worked for 10 years, serving in numerous financial plan - ning and management positions. In 1981, he moved to Union Pacific Corporation (in New York City), where he was elected vice president—strategic planning. In February 1988, he joined the top management team of Union Pacific’s newest acquisition, Overnite Transportation Company, in Richmond, Virginia. In March 1990, he was elected chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Overnite—which soon became the nation’s fourth largest LTL (less-than-truckload) trucking company, with more than 15,000 employees and revenues in excess of $1 billion. Tom is now retired and stays active as a private investor, board member and community volunteer. He currently serves as chairman of the board of the Trust Company of Virginia and on the board of trustees of DePauw. He and his wife, Cheryl, live in Kiawah Island, South Car - olina. They have three grown sons. Tom has always valued his parents’ educational values and is proud to have endowed the Hampton and Esther Boswell Professorship and Symposium at DePauw in their honor. page four ROBERT F. WELLS ’66 “Our class at Lambda included brothers from a wonderful mixture of backgrounds and in - terests. We’ve all gone our ways since DePauw, but we are still a tight-knit group after more than 40 years. When key reunions happen, it’s not unusual for over 75 percent of us to get back on campus. Our FIJI friendships—formed at one of the most exciting times of our lives—have never faded. And actually it’s rather stunning how the old stories become larger, and larger, and larger, and larger...” When Robert F. Wells traveled to Greencastle from a little-known town in Connecticut in 1962, he carried one small, beat-up suitcase—stuffed with five shirts, a couple of pairs of pants and not much else. His brother, who had graduated from Yale some years earlier, had told him, “whatever you do, pledge Deke and avoid Phi Gamma Delta.” One of the reasons Bob had de - cided to go to DePauw in the first place was that too many in his family had gone to Yale. Bob wanted to go somewhere else. Frankly, he thought there would be cowboys and Indians in In - diana—not to mention square dancing every other night... Deke? Forget it. FIJI it was. Actually, most of the freshmen he really respected were members of Phi Gamma Delta. Liv - ing in Lambda was nothing less than life in a laboratory for learning. In the early 1960s, FIJIs managed their house as it morphed from an annex and a castle to a brand-new chapter house. They all took pride in helping one another in class (and life), competing in intramurals, resolv - ing personal and campus conflicts, and playing clever tricks on upperclassmen. As FIJI song-leader for three years, Bob’s serenading ensured that there was never a dry eye after sorority visits (the singing was that bad!) Life at FIJI was formative. Brothers were dragged endlessly to the old Fluttering Duck to hear Bob play Dixieland trombone—or to sing with other brothers and play songs he had written on the guitar. (When Bob and Bill DeGraf ’67 qualified for a national CBS television show in Chicago, “College Talent ’66,” they drove a beat-up car north up the road for miles and actually won second place).