Past Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer David L. Westol has been named one of two recipients of the 2012 North-American Interfraternity Conference Gold Medal, the most prestigious honor in the interfraternal world. The NIC will formally present the award at its annual meeting banquet on Sunday, April 22, in Washington, D.C.
Brother Westol (Beta Zeta/Michigan State 1973) is the fourth Theta Chi recipient of the Gold Medal, after George Chapman (Omega/Penn State 1920), Earl D. Rhodes (Delta/RPI 1921) and Howard R. Alter, Jr. (Omega/Penn State 1941). His prodigious record of service to fraternity and sorority life is well documented within Theta Chi and the greater interfraternal world.
After graduating in 1973, Dave worked for his alma mater as Assistant Director of Student Activities and Advisor to Fraternities while commuting to law school in Detroit three days a week. He was admitted to the Michigan Bar in November 1979 and became an assistant prosecutor for the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney in Kalamazoo County, MI, where he worked for nine years. He was Chief of the Juvenile Court division for two years and Chief of the Circuit Court Felony Trials Division for nearly five years. He has tried over 55 juried felony cases.
From 1975-1980, Westol served as a Regional Counselor for Theta Chi before being elected to the Grand Chapter as National Vice President in 1980. He remained in that role until completing his maximum second term in 1988. In December of that year, he was named the Fraternity’s Executive Director and held that position for 18 years. Today, he is the founder, owner and CEO of Limberlost Consulting.
Westol’s interfraternal career is equally impressive. He was elected to the board of directors of the Fraternal Information and Programming Group (FIPG) in 1993 and has served continuously on the board since that time. He has also served FIPG in the roles of Director of Policy Interpretation and administrator since 1996. In July 1998, he was elected to the Fraternity Executives Association (FEA) board of directors and served as president from 2002-2003. He has also served on the board of directors for HazingPrevention.org and is a current board member of the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values (AFLV).
Dave has become a ubiquitous figure at fraternity and sorority leadership development events. He has performed his signature anti-hazing presentation “Hazing on Trial” over 1,800 times since 1981 and has spoken on more than 350 campuses and at over 200 Greek leadership events. Dave has served as a faculty member for AFLV, the Northeast Greek Leadership Association, the Southeast Interfraternity Conference and the Fraternal Risk Management Trust, (FRMT) Inc. From its first session in the early 1990s through 2010, he was a faculty member for “Risk Management on the Road,” an annual traveling consultants’ workshop for women’s national fraternities and sororities.
Brother Westol is the recipient of many interfraternal and Theta Chi awards, including Theta Chi’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, in 1988. He is a past recipient of the NIC Silver Medal and the FEA Distinguished Service Award. The Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors has honored him with both the Jack L. Anson Award and the Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award. He has also been recognized by a number of interfraternal organizations over the course of his career.
“Dave is most deserving of this prestigious award,” Theta Chi Executive Director Mike Mayer said. “His lifetime of service has forever impacted the fraternal movement. Theta Chi is very proud to count him as a member.”
First presented in 1940, the NIC Gold Medal is the highest honor in the interfraternal world. It is presented in recognition of lifetime service to the fraternity movement. Consideration for the award is by committee, which takes into consideration a nominee’s tenure of service, interfraternal leadership, and dedication to advancing the fraternal movement. Accompanying Westol’s nomination were letters of support from Theta Chi Fraternity members, interfraternal friends, past Gold Medalists and others.