On Saturday, February 15 the Ohio Acacia Alumni Association and the active chapter hosted two events to acknowledge and celebrate their 36th and 76th re-founding and founding anniversaries on the Ohio University campus.
Now more than 70 members strong, the active chapter participated with numerous alumni from across the Midwest in leadership and brotherhood activities.
The kick-off to Founder’s Day was the Ohio Acacia Active & Alumni Leadership Summit. The OAAALS was held in Bentley Hall with nearly 40 undergraduates and eight alumni in attendance, including Executive Director of the Acacia Fraternity Foundation Darold Larson, leadership consultant Johnny Logan, several directors from the Alumni Association, and Chapter Advisor Scott Cleland. The focus of the summit was to put into practice actives and alumni working together to build upon the success of Ohio Acacia for the past 36 and 76 years. Topics included chapter house operations and alumni association development, as well as breakout sessions with actives and alumni working together to brainstorm ideas and develop strategies for building stronger brotherhood, creating excellent service and philanthropy programs, encouraging deep campus and community involvement, committing to better budgeting and financial stewardship, recruiting and retaining members, and developing leadership skills through alumni relations and mentoring.
The leadership summit was just the beginning of seeing and experiencing the benefit of these two constituency groups working closely together for the common good of Ohio Acacia. When the Alumni Association was re-founded in 2023, one primary goal for the organization was to provide often and ongoing leadership opportunities for the active chapter that helps ensure that all entities are aligned regarding chapter expectations and goals in the areas of financial obligations, officer organization and transition, and membership recruitment. Mission accomplished!
Soon after the leadership summit, the entire chapter and even more alumni hit the red bricks of Athens for nearby Stephen’s On Court. Here the Alumni Association hosted the annual Founder’s Day celebration and awards ceremony. Eleven awards were given including Acacian of the Year, Alumni of the Year, and the newly established Founder’s Cupp. A list of winners for 2024-25 can be seen in this newsletter as well details on the first-ever alumni scholarships that were awarded on behalf of the Alumni Association. The leadership summit and awards programs were fully funded by the Alumni Association and the awarding of the undergraduate scholarships was another major goal of the association. Mission accomplished again!
Undergraduate and Alumni Award Winners 2025
The afternoon of leadership and celebratory activities was concluded with remarks by brothers Larson and Logan from international headquarters in Indianapolis. Brother Logan said it best when he described the weekend and how proud, fortunate, and forward-thinking the Ohio brotherhood has become over its many decades at Ohio University:
“In 1988 and 1989 you were re-founded with very little alumni support…your founders (as undergraduates) had to go out, build connections and relationships, as well as work with each other to create the foundation of a successful fraternity, one that has lasted these past 36 years consecutively at Ohio University, one of only two who’ve had a presence on campus that long. So live!
A special thanks to Josh Melms, alumni relations chair, for helping arrange all of the Athens-related details for both events.
View the 2025 Founder’s Day and Leadership Summit Photo Gallery here.
