History of the Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter
History of Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter the Early Years by Stuart W. Doyle, Chapter Historian, 2013-14
Summer 1991 marked the birth of the Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. At that time, a group of Orlando-area Kappas began fulfilling a common desire regarding public service. They wanted to establish an alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi that would serve Central Florida’s northeast corridor with traditional fraternity programs and others based on that region’s needs.
To jump-start this effort, these Brothers developed an agenda comprising community service goals, fundraisers and internal chapter programs. A Spaghetti Jamboree was one of the earliest and successful fundraisers. The proceeds from the Spaghetti Jamboree were used to aid homeless citizens in the area. At that point, Winter Park had begun making its mark as a committed community servant in Central Florida.
In the quest to obtain alumni chapter status, the first major milestone occurred in August 1991 when the Brothers completed and submitted an application to Kappa Alpha Psi’s international headquarters for the chartering of Winter Park (FL) Alumni. Fifteen members of the Fraternity signed the petition, trusting that their months of hard work would satisfy the Fraternity’s stringent requirements for the establishment of a new alumni chapter.
Charter Members of the Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter
Richard Axle
DeVonn Baker
Barry Bellamy
John Bolden
Anderson Brooks III
Peter V. Clarke
Kevin S. Gaston
Stephen J. Graham
Fernanda Jones
*Jack LeFlore
Kevett Mickle
Jeff Munroe
Larry Reynolds
Turhan Robinson
Terence K. Saulsby
*Chapter Invisible
Chartering and Early Leadership
The petition for the establishment of the Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter was approved on January 25, 1992 at the Fraternity’s Grand Board of Directors meeting. That occasion was momentous for the 15 charter members, but February 6, 1992 – the day the official letter arrived -- was even more so. By then, the charter members had reclaimed and recruited about 20 more Brothers throughout Central Florida. Therefore, on March 14, 1992 when Winter Park officially accepted its charter from Southern Province Polemarch, Thomas Battles, the Chapter indeed was strong in number.
The new Chapter also enjoyed a wealth of support from other Florida alumni chapters, which encouraged the Winter Park (FL) Alumni members and strengthened their Bond. Clearly, this fraternal support was evident during Winter Park (FL) Alumni’s chartering ceremony, held at the Casselberry Women's Club. Attendees included representatives from the Bahamas Alumni Chapter, Coco-Merritt Island (FL) Alumni Chapter, Daytona Beach (FL) Alumni Chapter, Gainesville (FL) Alumni Chapter, Lakeland (FL) Alumni Chapter, Miami (FL) Alumni Chapter, Orlando (FL) Alumni Chapter, St. Petersburg (FL) Alumni Chapter and Tampa (FL) Alumni Chapter.
Prior to the chartering, Winter Park (FL) Alumni chose a slate of officers who essentially had been executing their roles since the Fall of 1991. So, when the new Chapter’s officers were installed at the chartering ceremony, they formally assumed the positions they had been executing for several months. This approach to the Chapter's administration and management proved to be ideal in that the leadership team (listed below) was already established and eager to continue their work officially as Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter.
History of Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter: The Early Years
Polemarch -- Richard Axle
Vice Polemarch -- Barry Bellamy
Keeper of Records -- Peter V. Clark
Keeper of Exchequer -- Anderson Brooks III
Strategus -- Jerome Thompson P
Historian -- Reporter Stuart W. Doyle
Board of Directors -- John Bolden, Kevin S. Gaston and Fernanda Jones
Youth and Community Service
From its inception, the Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter had a strong willingness to effect change as well as provide community support. Activities centered on four main goals: to serve the community, guide youth, help preserve moral and Christian values, and strive for achievement in every field of human endeavor.
In spring 1992, the Chapter began a mentorship program for 5th –grade boys at Hungerford Elementary, a predominantly African American school in nearby Eatonville – the nation’s oldest incorporated black township. Many if not most of Hungerford’s students were deemed “at-risk.” The Hungerford project coincided with the Chapter’s launch of Guide Right – a longstanding, signature Kappa Alpha Psi youth service program. As mentioned, early fund-raising efforts proved successful, and regarding Guide Right, the Chapter received a $2,200 grant from t h e Department of Children & Family Services (the state social services agency) to kick off the program. The success of the Hungerford program led to the school’s request for Winter Park to include 4th-graders and girls, which it did.
Several years later, the Chapter’s student services expanded when it took on a Kappa Alpha Psi tradition: annual sponsorship of a Student of the Year competition. This program provides the winning high school senior with a scholarship and the opportunity to compete on the Fraternity's national level against winners selected by other chapters.
Another youth program focused strictly on relevant academic and technology related mentorship to prepare students for the growing trend and reliance upon computers. The Kappa Kids Komputer Kamp (K-4) -- a Saturday computer camp for elementary students – filled the bill. Advanced Information Systems Group, now one of the Chapter’s long-standing corporate supporters, co-sponsored the program and provided valuable in-kind support including use of its offices.
In recent years, Americans witnessed every sector of their community rush to the aid of people near and far whose lives were touched by mega disasters ranging from Katrina and Rita to 9/11 to Sandy to tsunamis here and there. The Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter jumped into action on this front early in its history, August 1992, when Hurricane Andrew ripped South Florida to pieces. Winter Park was among numerous organizations lending aid to the thousands affected. In one of the Chapter’s earliest corporate partnerships, it joined Lockheed Martin in helping the hurricane victims by coordinating supply donations.
Closer to its Florida home front, the Chapter won favorable attention from several noteworthy organizations. One was Orange County Government starting in 1993 when Brothers began a five-year commitment to its Adopt A Road program. Once monthly on the first Saturday, Brothers, performing a public service, would clean up a designated stretch of road in north Orange County. The NAACP was another after the Chapter began annual support the association’s voter registration drive, helping to register hundreds of eligible ballot-casters. The United Negro College Fund became a Winter Park fan when in 1996, the Chapter first participated in and made donations to the annual UNCF fund drive. Brothers served as pledge -takers on TV during the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars. Darden Restaurants became a supporter after partnering with Winter Park to co- present Black History Month community symposia from 1998-2000.
Service within the Bond
Through the mid 1990s, the Chapter’s community services garnered ample publicity in local news media, the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal and The Southern Province Journal. It is important to note that the Chapter served itself as well, internally supporting the community of Brothers and their loved ones who all comprised the Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter family. The bond between Brothers strengthened as they became acquainted with each other’s families at annual Chapter picnics and other social events. Brothers forged stronger bonds also on the Chapter business end as a result of regular membership, board and committee meetings, and, more specifically, through daylong and weekend planning retreats.
In 1994, the Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter began formal recognition of its members for outstanding contributions to the Chapter, community and Fraternity. Its first awards program honored exceptional service during the 1993-94 administrative year. Several years later, the Chapter expanded the awards program by recognizing public officials and community leaders whose trailblazing contributions made a positive difference in the lives of children, families, schools, neighborhoods and other facets of the Central Florida community.
On the flip side, the Chapter itself earned favorable notice by its international parent, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., becoming a continuous recipient of Fraternity awards during this period.
Fundraising Feats
Perhaps the most significant accomplishment of 1993was the inaugural Kappa Kasino Royale, an annual fund-raiser to build and sustain the Chapter's college scholarship fund. This night of casino games with a backdrop of cocktails, food, music and dancing, typically held at the Winter Park Civic Center, became a highly awaited social affair. In addition to raising funds for the Student of the Year winner, proceeds enabled scholarships to students from high schools throughout the Chapter’s target service region. Also on the social front, the Chapter’s sponsorship of Black & White Balls, black-tie formals, starting in 1996, has generated funds to support service activities. While the aforementioned Children & Family Services grant was instrumental to Winter Park’s success in initiating Guide Right, other funding such as a Walt Disney World Community Service Award proved as advantageous. This award came with a $3,000 honorarium, which the Chapter reinvested into its youth service agenda.
Accolades
Winter Park’s aggressive and persistent approach to community service and first rate chapter management reaped significant awards during the first decade. Among them were Orange County Citizen’s Commission for Children’s Children Must Count Award, which the Chapter won in 1999 and 2002 in the Community Organization category. The Orange County Public School System kept a sharp eye on the progress of the Hungerford mentorship program and awarded Winter Park its Outstanding Partner in Education Award in 1998 and 2001.
Undoubtedly, one recognition in which each Brother has taken personal pride is the Fraternity’s own Small Chapter of the Year Award. Kappa Alpha Psi honored Winter Park with this competitive award for three consecutive years in the late 1990s.
Winter Park’s second decade through the present has reflected the seasoning of the programs mentioned and the launch of new projects centered on community needs. From Shoes-for-School -- which provides disadvantaged children with new shoes before the start of the school year – to Kappa League – an offshoot of Guide Right that helps male middle and high school students achieve worthy goals and serve their community -- Winter Park continues to prompt change as well as demonstrate its dedication to community service. On the fraternal end, Brothers of Winter Park (FL) Alumni Chapter then and now are fulfilling the goal of achievement as evidenced by the countless strides they have made academically and professionally. Now age 21, Winter Park has only begun what is destined to be a long and illustrious record of service to families, communities, professions and the Fraternity.