Kyle Parido was initiated at Eta Beta Chapter during his freshmen year at Eastern Kentucky University. He transferred to the University of Cincinnati his sophomore year, and in February 2012, then-Regional Counselor, Darick Brown contacted Parido and encouraged him to restart Theta Chi’s Beta Omicron Chapter. Parido recruited a small group of friends to form an interest group, and along with Brown, presented their request to restart Beta Omicron to the University of Cincinnati IFC. The Greek Community voted unanimously to accept Theta Chi.
Over the next few months, Parido and his friends recruited new members into their interest group. In May 2012, they submitted their petition for colonization to the Grand Chapter and, following approval, officially became members of the Beta Omicron Colony at the colonization ceremony held on June 2, 2012.
After attending National Convention in July 2012, Parido and Kyle Goeglein had gained the knowledge needed to create an extensive plan for fall recruitment. First, they rented a house to serve as the home base for the colony and as a place to bring potential new members. Then, during the first few weeks of the fall semester, the new colony held several recruitment events.
In a short time, the colony grew to 25 members and was beginning to gain recognition on campus. As the colony continued to grow, they gained attention in the Greek community by being competitive in sports. Theta Chi won the fraternity volleyball championship, came in second in basketball and finished first place in overall points for all fraternities.They also gained attention from the UC sororities following several successful serenades.
By the end of the fall 2012 semester, the colony had grown to 33 members and Beta Omicron alumni had raised a large amount of money to assist with recruitment and other chapter operations. Each week, a member of the Colony Advisory Board would attend the weekly meeting and help guide the colony and ensure that they were staying on the correct path. Darick Brown was a driving force in seeing that the colony worked on essential projects and praised and encouraged them for their hard work.
By April 2013, the colony had grown to 46 members and petitioned the Grand Chapter for reinstallation.Approval was granted, and on May 11, 2013, Kyle Parido watched and participated as the colony members were initiated into Beta Omicron Chapter.The ceremony was held at 2 p.m. at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati – Blue Ash. National Treasurer, Doug Allen, presided. Kyle Louder was installed as the Beta Omicron Chapter president.
In attendance representing the IHQ were Senior Director of Recruitment and Expansion, JD Ford, Senior Director of Member Services, Joel Wendland Director of Health and Safety Programming, Shawn Bennett, Director of Standards, Jason Handberg, and all seven members of the Field Staff: Jeffrey Draluck, Matthew Gillis, Kyle Griffis, Jason Howeth, Joe Macko, Alex Nunchuck, and Scott Turk.
Over 50 Beta Omicron alumni were in attendance for the reinstallation ceremony, including Lloyd Towers (1947), Beta Omicron’s first president, and roster number #1. Brother Towers (right) was President when Beta Omicron Chapter was installed June 5-7, 1942, and served as toastmaster at the installation banquet over 70 years ago. He provided some brief remarks and stated that he was proud of Theta Chi and that the Fraternity meant a lot to him throughout his life, and he was very happy to see the chapter return to Cincinnati’s campus.
In another historical connection, undergraduate member AJ Freuh was pinned by his father, Michael Freuh, a Beta Omicron, class of 1984.
Following the reinstallation, Beta Omicron alumni were recognized with Diamond Brigade, Golden Guard, and Silver Legion certificates.
Recipients of the Diamond Brigade, recognizing 75 years of Theta Chi membership were: Clarence Hammel Jr. (1945) and Lloyd Towers (1947).
Recipients of the Golden Guard recognizing 50 years of Theta Chi membership were: Daniel Dell (1962), John Grier (1964), Carl Hartman (1961), Charles Mockbee (1961), Gordon Queen (1961), Ronald Saemann (1959) and Ralph Stropes (1961).
Brothers with 25 years of Theta Chi membership were recognized with the Silver Legion.These alumni included: Henry D. Acciani (1972), Jeffrey Bachmann (1982), Michael Breen (1986), Chuck Brodersen Jr. (1982), Thomas Butt (1975), Ben Chamberlain (1972), Frank Coyle (1984), Michael Frueh (1984), Michael Haase (1978), Todd Hoffman (1973), Donald Leckrone (1978), Larry Loar (1980), Joseph McKibben (1979), Laurence Radway (1983), James Riley (1972), Kenneth Ross (1983), David Scaglione (1980), Paul Scheuermann (1981), Robert Shaw (1982) and Stuart Small (1987).
Eighteen Theta Chi Chapters represented at the reinstallation ceremony included members from: Alpha Tau/Ohio, Beta Iota/Arizona, Beta Lambda/Akron, Beta Nu/Case Western, Gamma Rho/Florida State, Gamma Tau/Drake, Delta Beta/Georgia, Delta Kappa/Ball State, Delta Phi/North Texas, Epsilon Zeta/Tampa, Zeta Beta/Adrian, Zeta Rho/Kentucky, Zeta Tau/Michigan-Flint, Eta Beta/Eastern Kentucky, Eta Gamma/Morehead State, Eta Mu/Findlay, Iota Beta/Missouri State, and Iota Theta/Central Florida.
A banquet followed that evening at 7 p.m., also held at DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati – Blue Ash. Nearly 200 guests were in attendance.Since it was Mother’s Day weekend, two undergraduates, Ben Crocker and Megh Desai, sang a special song to the mothers at the banquet.
Leah Howell, Program Manager for Fraternity and Sorority Life, represented the university administration. “Beta Omicron is an exceptional group of young men, who have brought a passion and commitment to the installation of this chapter that reminds us all of the value and purpose of Fraternity. I look forward to continuing to support them in their growth and development, as they establish their place as leaders in diversity and integrity amongst the Greek and UC community,” said Howell.
Several awards were presented during the banquet. For his role and assistance in reinstalling Beta Omicron Chapter, transfer Kyle Parido was presented the Park Valentine Perkins Award. Leah Howell was presented the Fraternity’s Citation of Honor by President Kyle Louder. Alumni Awards were presented to Joseph McKibben (1979), Robert Shaw (1982) and Joshua Phillips (1998).The Beta Omicron undergraduates recognized Darick Brown with a small gift as token of their appreciation of his assistance over the past year.
The Fraternity is proud to once again have Beta Omicron/Cincinnati on the active chapter roll.The outpouring of alumni support and encouragement will certainly be a strong foundation for the undergraduates of Beta Omicron in the years to come.
University of Cincinnati is a public research university with an enrollment of 41,970 students. The university traces its origins to 1819 when both Cincinnati College and the Medical College of Ohio were chartered. In 1870, the City of Cincinnati established the University of Cincinnati, which later absorbed the two predecessor institutions, and in 1906, the University of Cincinnati created the first cooperative education program in the world.
For many years, the University of Cincinnati was the second oldest and second largest municipal university in the country. In 1968, UC became a “municipally sponsored, state affiliated” institution, entering a transitional period culminating on July 1, 1977 when UC joined the university system of Ohio. Today, the University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research University by the Carnegie Commission. The campus consists of 117 buildings on 473 acres, and is ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities by the National Science Foundation. The campus is also home to a Greek community consisting of 22 fraternities and 9 sororities.