We want to wish all our current Gamma Chapter undergraduates as well as all of our alumni members a Happy Thanksgiving. The holiday season is always a time of reflection, celebration, memories and most importantly, gratitude. 

Whether it be through donations or time spent volunteering, we are thankful for your support in more ways than one. As Kappa Alpha Order brothers, we share a passion for the brotherhood that contributed to our personal development, our relationships, and our lives as students and far beyond to our roles as husbands, fathers, professionals, volunteers, neighbors, and friends. 

We can’t overestimate the true meaning of adding your name to the ranks of our alumni donors. We want to share our continued gratitude to those brothers listed on the honor roll HERE who have graciously given back to Kappa Alpha Order this holiday season. 

Year after year, thousands of students and alumni join together to celebrate the University of Georgia’s homecoming. With homecoming 2022 falling on October 15th, we are always interesting in hearing about your visit back to the old stomping grounds! Have you been back to Athens lately?  

Kappa Alpha Order wants to hear from you! What is the best place to visit when you are back in town? Is it Flanagan’s? Do you have a fun homecoming throwback to share with everyone? Let us know in the comments below!  

Haven’t been back to Athens lately? No worries! Now is the perfect opportunity to plan your next get-together with some old Gamma Chapter alumni. Use our directory to contact your old buddies or leave a note in the comments for us to include in the next newsletter! 

“Commit to a lifetime of brotherhood.” The Loyal Order is a program for Kappa Alpha Order brothers of all origins with the purpose to “endow The Kappa Alpha Journal and redirect undergraduate dues to chapter services & leadership education.”

There is no better way to celebrate the Kappa Alpha Order brotherhood than joining forces with other chapters from across the nation. 

Learn more about the Loyal Order, hear testimonials from your fellow brothers, and find out how you can get involved on the Kappa Alpha Order’s national site here. 

As summer has come to a close, we would love to hear about your favorite summer adventures! Did you travel abroad with your family or make a trip back to campus to visit some old college buddies? Whether it was this summer or a summer 50 years ago — let us know your answer, and we will share it with your fellow alumni in our next communication! 

Do you have a favorite adventure photo or story to share? Tell us all about it! 

Our fraternity has had a long and noteworthy past. Although many of us finished our new member education many years ago, we thought it was time to share a few more fun facts about the history of Kappa Alpha Order.  

• In 1865, the four founders of KA were among the 146 young men had enrolled for the college’s first post-war session.
• There are over 110 active chapters across the nation.
• You can find an archive of all chapters, active and inactive, here.
• Kappa Alpha Order shares a seasonal journal titled “Kappa Alpha Journal” with online access here.
• “KA has raised over $1 million for our philanthropic partners.”

Interested in reading more? Click here to view the national fraternity’s history page.

This year, brother after brother answered the of question of why it is important to give back to Kappa Alpha Order and said it was because of how much KA changed their life. KA gave them leadership skills and friendships that have weathered life’s ups and downs. Together, our gifts can make sure that the important benefits of fraternity membership live on — both through us as alumni, and with the next generation of students.   

While the KA experience of today and tomorrow might be different from your personal experience, the core values remain. Leadership, integrity and service to others still form the foundation of our brotherhood. Lifelong friendships, like the ones you continue to enjoy today, take root in new Kappa Alpha Order brothers.   

Your financial contribution to Kappa Alpha Order at University of Georgia does more than honor these ideals. It perpetuates the lifelong impact that KA has on our alumni brotherhood and the next generation of brothers who will gain leadership experience, camaraderie, and friendships that will last long into their life after graduation.   

Did the Gamma Chapter change your life? If so, join the brotherhood with a donation to the Annual Fund.  

We look forward to adding your name to the Honor Roll of Donors in our next publication and to keeping you informed about the impact of your support.   

DONATE HERE

With the beginning of a new school year comes a new class of Kappa Alpha Order brothers. Needless to say, our brotherhood is constantly growing!   

Thanks to donations of both time and money by our brothers and alumni, we are able to keep the brotherhood strong throughout the years. We have put together a list of benefits that brothers, current and future, are able to enjoy when we choose to give back.  

1) Networking: Fraternities have the ability to form connections like no other group. With members of all ages and stages of life, there is always a brother with the knowledge needed to help in any situation. A good chapter always keeps in touch with their alumni. 

2) Lifelong Friends: Not only are they able to help, but brothers are able to form a special bond through shared traditions. After countless professional and social events spent together, connections like these are often strong enough to last a lifetime.  

3) Professional Skills: Not only does the fraternity help us form bonds, but it teaches us vital skills that will be crucial to future career success. Many alumni site these skills as their top reason for giving back to the fraternity!  

4) Social Events: No matter how old you are, revisiting the old ‘stomping grounds’ to meet up with your old college buddies is always a good time! With the Gamma Chapter, there will always be a group back at the University of Georgia to visit. Whether it be homecoming, a football game, or an alumni reunion, Gamma Chapter alumni and brothers are present.  

It is time we thank the fraternity for all it has done for us. We give so that future generations can experience the same great benefits of brotherhood!  

Trey Rhodes ([email protected]) reached out to give a cool update. He says, “My son, Sim, just pledged to the Kappa Alpha Gamma chapter a couple of months ago. We are both very excited!” 

With the semester beginning this month, it is the perfect time to plan a trip back to Athens with some old college buddies! Here are some tips for planning the perfect KA weekend: 

FRIENDS: Wondering where your old college buddies are now? Head to the directory page to reconnect and relive the old days!  

FOOD and DRINKS: Athens is always changing. Whether or not our old favorite restaurant or bar is still in town, here are a few that have some of the best food and drinks now! 

• Flanagan’s Bar
• Boar’s Head Lounge
• LumberJaxe
• South Kitchen + Bar
• The Place

FUN: Fall semester means football is back in-season! Check out the fall football schedule here, and don’t forget about homecoming on October 15th either! 

Planning a get-together? CLICK HERE to let us know, so we can share it in our next e-letter! 

It’s time to start planning to truly reconnect with our Brothers once again.  

Mark your calendar now for University of Georgia 2022 football season! It is never to early to start planning your return to campus with your Brothers, check out the schedule HERE! 

In the meantime, summer is the perfect opportunity to plan your next fraternity reunion. Make sure to take photos and submit them for publication in our next newsletter or email newsletter and tell us all about the fun you had.  

We want to keep each of you in touch with your brothers from your decade, but we need your help! We have some brothers who we have lost touch with over the years, and you can help us get back in contact. 

Find which brothers from your decade who we have lost touch with throughout the years HERE. See someone you know? It is easy to update us! Just click their name and send us their email address. 

Thank you to those of you who wrote in with contact information when last we asked; we need to bring everyone back to our alumni communications. No brother should be left behind! 

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our brothers Crawford Brown Edwards III ’17 and Benjamin Bright Shellhaas ’17 into Chapter Eternal. We want to extend our deepest sympathies to their family, friends and loved ones. View their obituaries below.

Source Courtesy of The Legacy

Crawford Brown Edwards, III died on March 5, 2022. Crawford was born in Macon, Georgia on May 20, 1999 to Kristy and Brown Edwards and his two sisters; Christine and Milly Parks. He was predeceased by both his paternal grandfather, Crawford Brown Edwards, and his maternal grandfather, John Matt Bingham. Survivors include his paternal grandmother, Mildred Taylor Edwards Dennis and his maternal grandmother, Vivian Howard Bingham. His precious family includes numerous devoted aunts and uncles and many cousins.

A Celebration of his Life will be held Friday, March 11, 2022 at Christ Church with private burial. Rev. Cynthia C. Knapp will officiate. A Visitation will be held from 5 until 7PM Thursday at the residence of Bonnie and Joe Starr, 4533 Old Club Road, Macon, GA 31210. Donations may be made to fund OI research to Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607 or the OI Foundation, P.O. Box 824061, Philadelphia, PA 19182-4061 or Stratford Academy, 6010 Peake Road, Macon, GA 31220 or Christ Church, 582 Walnut Street, Macon, GA 31201.

Shortly after Crawford’s birth, he was diagnosed with a severe form of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Type III which is commonly known as OI or Fragile Bones. At the time of his death at 22 years of age, he had suffered over 53 broken bones, 28 surgeries, and over 60 trips to Montreal. In Montreal he was one of the first participants in the newly developed protocol and scientific study discovered by Dr. Francis Glorieux and his team through Shriners and McGill University. It was Shriners who cared for Crawford’s entire medical needs: treatments, diagnostics, equipment, therapy, and every other aspect of his health and well- being from birth to 21 years of age. Without this excellent care, it is unimaginable what his quality of life or longevity might have been.

Crawford was a student at Sonny Carter Elementary School and then transferred to Stratford Academy in the fifth grade and it is from there he graduated in 2017. During these school years he made many life-long friends in both his classmates and teachers. He loved playing Miracle League, a nonprofit baseball league for the challenged and disabled.

It was during his senior year at Stratford that he had to undergo an extensive surgery to lift his spine off his heart and lungs. He recovered in time to graduate and matriculate into the University of Georgia with the Zell Miller Scholarship. He pledged Kappa Alpha Fraternity and enjoyed fun, football, and wonderful friendships. He was working towards becoming a Sports Psychologist, a dream he had because of his great interest and deep passion for sports, namely the NBA and college football. His fascination and admiration for elite athletes allowed him to live vicariously through them; a way he could experience sports being disabled. He marveled at the elegance and awesome power that those athletes possessed.
Between January and June of 2019, Crawford had 6 surgeries to rod his arm and shunt his brain to protect him from the threatening hydrocephalus. He was very sick for most of those 6 months and could not attend college. He went through all these trials with grace, dignity, and stoicism.

As the world crisis with Coronavirus eased and he got a bit better, he was able to enroll in Middle Georgia State University and was a student there at the time of his death. He was employed at his beloved alma mater, Stratford Academy, where he was reunited with his favorite teachers and staff and worked as a substitute teacher and tutor.

Crawford was astoundingly never bitter or resentful. By allowing us into his life, to help him and love him, he taught us more about living and gratitude than we could ever learn alone. His brilliance far outshined any shadow that Osteogensis Imperfecta could ever cast over him. One of his favorite quotes was from Winston Churchill: “When you’re going through Hell, keep going” and he did until such a time, on Saturday, March 5th, 2022 he didn’t have to anymore and God carried him home, healed and relieved.

Visit www.snowsmacon.com to express tributes.
Snow’s Memorial Chapel, Bass Road, has charge of arrangements.

Source Courtesy of Kimbrell – Stern

Kappa Alpha Order is a student-run, living-learning society that advances leadership skills, cultivates innovation, and promotes social responsibility by engaging the Kappa Alpha Order community and its resources through projects, events, and mentorship.  

Mentoring: 

• Provides UGA students with experiences and knowledge so they can explore their potential outside of their core coursework. 
• Prepares UGA students to be future leaders through innovation, collaboration and networking. 
• Connects the students and alumni of Kappa Alpha Order  to build life-long relationships and networks at Kappa Alpha Order and throughout their careers. 

The alumni association aims to create a system that provides Kappa Alpha Order members with mentors at various levels throughout the UGA community to assist them in their personal, academic, and professional development, bringing together students, alumni and faculty.  

This mentorship program will:  

• Assist with finding internships and first jobs 
• Network to assist in mid-career support 
• Develop leadership skills by starting a new organization that can have a meaningful impact to the Kappa Alpha Order community and college life across the nation 
• Establish a network of relationships with students, alumni, faculty, and the administration that will support actives while at Kappa Alpha Order and throughout their career 
• Build life-long relationships gained through a living learning organization that goes beyond the years spent at UGA 
• Enable actives to gain unique, meaningful, practical, resume-enhancing experience 
• Enhance personal and professional development through a structured mentoring program that includes students, alumni, and faculty 

 We are seeking brothers who would like to join our mentor program, as well as an alumni mentoring coordinator. Please contact Hunter Hopkins at [email protected] if you would like to be part of this transformative program.  

When you’re in middle age, you start to realize how very much you need your friends. After decades of relentless striving — kids, house, career, spouse — we find ourselves coming up for breath at some point in these middle decades. And what remains? With any luck, our friends.  

A recent Atlantic Monthly article (do yourself a favor and read it at tinyurl.com/lifelongfriends), says that according to the Stanford Center on Longevity, those of us over 40 have aged out of the friendship-collecting business, which tends to peak in the tumbleweed stage of life, and move into the friendship-enjoying business, luxuriating in the relationships that survived as we put down roots. 

The problem? Those friendships are awfully hard-won. Life’s significant upheavals and changes can prove too much for many friendships to withstand. As years go by, some of the dearest people in your life have gently faded away.  

But these bonds with friends are more than an extra in your life story — they are the story. Over and over, we hear stories of how Kappa Alpha Order friends drove overnight to be in weddings, wept together at funerals, cheered at the news of new babies, toasted promotions, and gathered together in adversity. In a nutshell: the friendships we gained — and still have — with fraternity brothers is exquisitely rare in today’s world. 

Author Jennifer Senior says, “Practically everyone who studies friendship says this in some form or another: What makes friendship so fragile is also exactly what makes it so special. You have to continually opt in. That you choose it is what gives it its value.” 

Our friendships have seen us through so much, but don’t take them for granted. Take a minute to text or call your roommate, or intramural teammate, and tell them that you are thinking of them. Our friendships have fueled these decades since graduation… Let’s keep it going.  

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Terry Wingfield ’51 into Chapter Eternal. We want to extend our deepest sympathies to William’s family, friends, and loved ones. View his obituary below.

Source Courtesy of Online Athens

William Terrell “Terry” Wingfield, 92, of Athens, Georgia died peacefully on Thursday, August 26, 2021, surrounded by his family.

Terry, the youngest son of the late Middleton Barnett Wingfield and Lura May Kenimer Wingfield, was born on February 12, 1929 in Athens. He attended Barrow Elementary School and graduated from Athens High School, where he was alternate captain of the football team and active in several school organizations. Terry attended the University of Georgia, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He became active in his father’s insurance and mortgage loan business during college and, upon graduation, took over the business. Also while at UGA, Terry met the love of his life, the late Joy Wilkes Wingfield from Atlanta, and they were married in 1951.

In 1971, Terry sold the business and joined the Frances Wood Wilson Foundation in Decatur, Georgia, as Trustee. Terry was named Chairman of the Foundation in 1991, a position he held until his retirement in 2014. During his tenure, the Foundation awarded more than $40 million in grants to worthy charitable organizations, many of which were based in his beloved Athens.

Terry participated with his many friends in social, charitable and philanthropic activities, including the Athens City Club, the Athens YMCA, the Touchdown Club of Athens, the Robert W. Woodruff Art Center, the Georgia Student Educational Foundation, the Athens Country Club, the Gridiron Secret Society and Athens First United Methodist Church. He was a friend to multiple generations of Athenians and was considered an adopted father and grandfather to many.

Terry’s legacy is remembered by his sons, William Terrell “Terry” Wingfield Jr. and his wife Fran Sanderson Wingfield of Athens, and Milton Wilkes “Chip” Wingfield of Bethlehem; his grandchildren, William Terrell Wingfield Ill and his wife Sarah Elizabeth Wingfield of Carmel, IN, John Callaway Wingfield and his wife Martha Fay Wingfield of Athens, and Allison Wingfield Betts and her husband, Robert H. Betts of Atlanta; and his two great-grandchildren, Anna Louise Wingfield and Julia Joy Wingfield of Carmel, IN. Also surviving Terry are his two loving and dedicated caregivers, Keke Powers and Theresa Rawls, who brought him so much comfort during the final few years of his life.

We recently reached out to Ferrell Nolan ’70 and asked him what he has been up to UGA. Read on to see what Ferrell had to say!

Who do you still hang out with from Kappa Alpha Order?

Reed Konigsmark, Neil Holloway, George Lawton, Preston (Skip) Saunders, James Tallman, Currell Berry

My family & current business: 

My wife, Marian, and I currently live on a 9 acre farm in Marietta, GA located right next to the 3100 acre Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield National Park, where our small business (Dovetail Farm, LLC) is boarding up to five horses. Having direct access to the Park’s 20 miles of trails attracts horse owners. Our barn manager lives in the apartment located above the barn, and the three of us love getting up early, cleaning stalls, completing innumerable farm projects (repairs & improvements) and serving our customers. One of our three children, Elise, lives in Atlanta, is happily married with three children. Our other two happily married children are Epsie & Bernard, the first living in Spartanburg, SC while Bernard, having five sons, resides on Talahi Island, GA. Bernard and his wife, both professional artists, display some of their paintings in Joe Saffold’s (KA @ UGA) art gallery located in Savannah.

Career and transition to retirement: 

After graduate school at the University of South Carolina, employed at two investment consulting firms in Atlanta, Hazlehurst & Associates and TPF&C, where we managed (selected & monitored money management firms) $200 million of Delta Airlines’ pension assets. Transitioned from the investment world to IBM in 1976, and after 28 years with IBM, my favorite job being managing part of IBM’s Advanced Business Institute located outside of Armonk, NY, departed IBM in November, 2003 and purchased above mentioned farm and started our horse business.

God interceded my life in 1973 with a MIRACLE:

In 1973 during the last semester of graduate school, I was assigned to create a sample company, run it through the product life cycle, provide pro-forma results and make a presentation. While looking for a model, existing company that I could replicate, a fellow golfer suggested The Dimensional Development Company located in Atlanta, then experimenting with 3-D photography. I visited this company, met the general manager who took me on a tour and provided a stack of information that would enable the achievement of my assignment. Throughout my visit there was much mention of Jerry Nims, the owner and creator of this 3-D concept, but that day Mr. Nims was not in the office. Two weeks later, the more I thought about Mr. Nims’ company and the nice employees & management, I began to have the desire to meet Jerry Nims and discuss possible employment. Right then, Marian and I got an invitation from Reed Konigsmark, former KA roommate, to visit Atlanta and to, of all things in which I would not have an interest, attend the Billy Graham Crusade at the Atlanta Braves Stadium. Driving to Atlanta from Columbia, SC, all I could think about was wanting to meet Jerry Nims, but we had gotten a late start and it would be too late to again stop by his firm. The next day, sitting in the stadium, first listening to Corrie Ten Boom and then Billy Graham, who as he gave the gospel invitation and thousands of people were responding and moving down to the baseball field, I leaned over to Marian and said, “what a bunch of idiots”. Her response: “I’m one of those idiots and also want to go down there.” Oh no, not my own wife?! So, I reluctantly walked down with her and as I stepped onto the grass field, a Crusade counsellor approached and introduced himself to me, “Hi, I’m Jerry Nims!” “Jerry, two weeks ago I visited your business, The Dimensional Development Company. Yes, he said, my GM told me about your visit. But Jerry, this meeting today is impossible. No, Ferrell, with God all things are possible. Jerry, I want to know this magnificent God;” Jerry immediately explained to me how to become a Christian and I gave my life, my everything to the Lord Jesus Christ and have never looked back with any regret. Praise and thanks be unto Him!!

Revelation:

At age 74 I may have finally caught on to what Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:36-40 are the two greatest commandments, that of loving God with all of our heart, soul & mind AND loving our neighbor as ourselves. When we seek & love Him, His Holy Spirit becomes the enablement for us to love, evangelize, serve, help, pray for, give to our neighbor, even the least of them (whatever you do to the least of them you do to Me also). Then, in Matthew 6:33, “seek you first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these (other) things shall be added unto you.” Therefore, if we highly prioritize the two greatest commandments, God will take care of the rest of our lives via the fruit & gifts of His Spirit. Each day, we ask Him to purge us, draw us and enable us to fall more deeply in love with Him, and we ask for opportunities to “love our neighbor” and as we serve others, God fills us with peace & fulfillment & joy!

Value from being a KA:

Camaraderie in a family away from home, enhancing the development of character, integrity and confidence. Brothers convinced me to change my major from Forestry to Business, which enabled me to adequately raise and support my family. Met my wonderful wife, Marian, via a KA/XO social.

We want to take this time to say THANK YOU to Fred Sims ’86 for his continued support of Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order over the years. We recently caught up with Fred and asked him about where life has taken him, Kappa Alpha Order memories, and what Gamma Chapter means to him today. Here’s what he had to say.  

Why have you remained so dedicated to Kappa Alpha Order?

Fraternities were something I did not think I would enjoy, and man was I wrong. Kappa Alpha bid night is still such a fine memory. The very serious attitudes and stares when the question was asked, the quick shirt change to the gold and crimson, then immediately getting carried down the stairs and tossed high, all the while being doused with an abundance of spirits.  It just immediately felt like a family and it was.

How has being in Kappa Alpha Order changed your life? 

KA gave me some confidence and also made me realize I was only one of many young men trying to find my way. I just felt the closeness of the group and how it really was a big family. Playing against the SAE’s in the freshman football game with the elder KA’s cheering us on was another great memory.  

Who doesn’t love a good throwback photo? Well, we sure do have some throwbacks for you! Check out this photo Scott Nolen ’82 recently sent in of Kappa Alpha Order from back in the day. Here is what Scott had to say about the photo:

 “1980 post football game band party on Lumpkin Street”

We want to take this time to say THANK YOU to David Wiley ’87 for his continued support of Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order over the years. We recently caught up with David and asked him about where life has taken him, Kappa Alpha Order memories, and what Gamma Chapter means to him today. Here’s what he had to say.  

Why have you remained so dedicated to Kappa Alpha Order?

It was the most fun 4 years of my life!   It is also where I formed lifelong friendships.

How has being in Kappa Alpha Order changed your life? 

Reinforced my sense of honor & integrity instilled in me by my parents and provided a band of brothers that I know I could count on if needed and vice versa.

If you’d like to be featured in an alumni profile, CLICK HERE. 

We want to take this time to say THANK YOU to Richard Belford ’68 for his continued support of Gamma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order over the years. We recently caught up with  Richard and asked him about where life has taken him, Kappa Alpha Order memories, and what Gamma Chapter means to him today. Here’s what he had to say.  

Being asked to join Kappa Alpha Order was one of the most meaningful events in my life.  The closeness of the friendships we all shared as brothers was an integral part of my college experience.  KA was the center of my social activities and everyday life.  The memories of our jam sessions, Old South, Cowboy Ball, meals at the house, hanging around the house between classes, etc. will be with me forever.

I don’t think I have ever heard a KA say they were a KA:  they always say I am a KA.  Becoming a member of Kappa Alpha Order is an honor that you treasure forever.  When working, there was always a special relationship formed when you found out you were dealing with a KA.  You knew they shared your same values, honesty, and integrity.

When I run into a brother that I have not seen in years,  it is like we have never been apart.  There is a special bond that is lasting and sincere.