Alumni Update Email

Friday, April 10, 2026

Two elected for Induction into Theta-Upsilon Hall of Fame

The Kappa Sigma Theta‑Upsilon Alumni Association is proud to announce the two brothers elected for induction into the 2026 Theta-Upsilon Hall of FameDr. Jay Puccio IC ’82 and Chris Ferritto IC ’91.

Their achievements reflect the highest ideals of our Order and exemplify the purpose of the Hall of Fame — to honor alumni whose professional accomplishments, service to Kappa Sigma, and impact on their communities stand as a model for all brothers.

Nominations can be made by any alumnus and are processed by the KSTUAA HOF Nominating Committee. Voting is conducted by current Hall of Fame members.  
Each non-reunion year two brothers are elected for induction at Homecoming in Oxford. This year’s inductees represent decades of leadership, generosity, and commitment to others.

Dr. Jay Puccio IC ’82
A Lifetime of Service Through Dentistry, Community Leadership, and Devotion to Theta‑Upsilon


Not straying far from Oxford, Dr. Jay Puccio ’82 has amassed decades of professional excellence, community impact, and hands‑on fraternity service — always hands‑on, always humble — that have made him a pillar of the Theta‑Upsilon brotherhood as an alumnus.   

A Summa Cum Laude graduate of The Ohio State University Dental School, Jay has built The Middletown Dental Group/All About Smiles into a thriving practice known for expanding access to care. His innovative in‑house dental plan has enabled countless uninsured patients to receive affordable treatment — a program that has resulted in $50,000–$60,000 of donated dental care each year. His professional honors include induction into Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the national dental honor society, and recognition from the Association of Endodontics.

Jay’s commitment to service extends far beyond his practice. He has been a wrestling coach, Boy Scout leader, church volunteer, and President of the Middletown Jaycees, where he helped raise more than $30,000 for local charities. His leadership has touched youth programs, faith communities, and civic organizations across Middletown.

Within Kappa Sigma, Jay has been a dedicated and reliable alumnus serving on the KSTUAA Chapter Advisory Council since its formation in 2019.

His contributions to Theta-Upsilon include:
  • Fabricating the first set of wooden ritual induction items for installation and still used by the chapter

Chris Ferritto IC ’91 
Business Leader, Housing Corporation Stabilizer, and Champion of Brotherhood

Chris Ferritto 
has built an impressive career marked by growth, leadership, and the ability to elevate organizations through vision and teamwork.

As President of the Builder and Multifamily Division at America’s Floor Source, Chris leads half of the company’s national revenue. In his first year, he and his team grew revenue from $95 million to $115 million. His earlier career at Shaw Industries saw him become the top Builder Specialist in the country, earning six Territory Manager of the Year awards. He later served as Regional Vice President, overseeing a region that grew to $180 million annually across seven states.

Chris also co‑founded Redbrick Group LLC with his pledge brother, the late Cliff Browne, demonstrating his entrepreneurial drive and his commitment to honoring brotherhood through shared ventures.

But Chris’ most transformative impact on Kappa Sigma came through his leadership of the Theta Upsilon Housing Corporation (TUHC) during one of the most challenging periods in chapter history.

After the chapter closed in 2016, Chris became President and sole board member of TUHC after the unfortunate passing of the previous president, founding Theta-Upsilon member, Tim Johnson IC '67.  The TUHC was without a tenant and any prospects of one given the condition of the properties not being rentable and Tim's illness made an orderly transition impossible. 

Under Chris' leadership:
  • The Chapter property was stabilized and maintained during the chapter’s absence through the financial assistance of KSTUAA LLC 
  • TUHC signed a triple‑net lease with Crossroads Church, resulting in $180,000 in renovations to the Shoe Box
  • A $450,000 loan was secured to renovate the Stone House creating two apartments that began an income stream while we waited for the Chapter to be restarted.  The Stone House housed the president and Vice-President of the Theta-Upsilon Colony in 2021 providing a center of operations for recruiting.
  • The Housing Corporation expanded to include new alumni board members
  • The chapter returned in 2022 and began using the property immediately for rush, resulting in the number of members needed to secure a charter   
Chris also led fundraising efforts to establish endowed scholarships honoring Cliff Browne and Brian McDowell through a Go Fund Me campaign. These moneys were transferred to the Kappa Sigma Endowment Fund where they provide two $1,000 awards annually. 

His community involvement includes years of service to his church, leadership of an annual golf outing fundraiser, and support for the St. Jude Dream Home program — including participation in the St. Jude Marathon Weekend in Memphis.
Chris’ leadership, generosity, and unwavering commitment to the chapter’s future make him a deserving inductee into the Hall of Fame.

Make plans to join us as we honor two exemplary Brothers

The induction ceremony will take place during Homecoming Weekend September 26, 2026 in Oxford. All undergraduates, alumni, families, and friends are be invited to celebrate these two outstanding brothers.

Dr. Jay Puccio and Chris Ferritto embody the values of our Order and the purpose of the Hall of Fame. Their professional accomplishments, service to Kappa Sigma, and dedication to their communities reflect the very best of Theta‑Upsilon. Congratulations to our 2026 Hall of Fame inductees. 

For a list of all inductees and more information about the process, please see the Hall of Fame Page on the menu at the right.  A.E.K.Δ.B.

Five to be inducted at the 60th Anniversary Celebration

As 2027 is our 60th anniversary KSTUAA is organizing a weekend reunion for April 30-May 2 that will include a Theta-Upsilon Hall of Fame induction of five members.  

Any alumnus can submit a nomination using this form until December 15, 2026. All nominees of previous years will be automatically be included in the nomination process. 

If you are interested in serving on the HOF Nominating Committee who pull together information for the election please email KSTUAA@gmail. We seek to represent each of the decades on this committee as well as including the Alumni Relations Chair from the Chapter in the process.

We would like to thank members of this year's team:  
Rick Sippola ’85 Chairman,
George Duffield ’67,
Dave Vuicich ’72 
Christian, Essman '92 
The Alumni Relations Chair: Sam Zobrist '25,

Z-Man wins Cossa Challenge for the 4th Time!

The 2026 Cossa Challenge brought some extra excitement with Miami University taking their historic undefeated regular season into the Big Dance and winning their first game in the play-in game but alas running out of gas in the first round. 

In the Cossa Challenge, Brother Zurawski IC '83 achieved his 4th win out distancing himself from Cossa by 58 points by selecting Michigan to win it all!  Tom Solt won the consolation prize coming in closest to Eddie Fricker who both picked UConn.

The event generated additional Annual dues for KSTUAA to fund important programs and generated about $800 to assist with the purchase of Water Softeners.

The campaign for Water Softeners continues as Theta-Upsilon Alumni are still a long way short of the $5000 match and the estimated $20,000 that we expected is needed.  Please follow the links to donate to this important upgrade to our Chapter House.


  

  

Thursday, March 19, 2026

KSTUAA urges donations to purchase two Water Softeners

While the uptown water tower has long since vanished from Oxford, the white crust from the hard water remains a challenge for residents, especially those at 406 E. Withrow St.

KSTUAA seeks $15,000 in donations to help purchase two water softeners.

The KSTUAA Board voted February 22 to devote the proceeds of the years Cossa Challenge to the Housing Company to raise awareness of a needed project that Theta Upsilon Housing Company is planning: Installation of Water Softeners.

As most of you remember, Oxford, Ohio, is notorious for its extremely hard water, often exceeding 20 grains per gallon due to the region’s limestone-rich groundwater. 

Without a water softening system, these high mineral levels lead to rapid scale buildup inside plumbing, water heaters, and appliances, significantly shortening their lifespan and increasing maintenance costs! Installing a softener is a proactive investment that protects the property’s infrastructure from internal corrosion and ensures tenants don't face constant issues with clogged showerheads, inefficient heating, or mineral-stained fixtures.

We estimate needing $15,000-25,000 for the purchase and installation. The installation faces some space challenges in the Shoe Box.  If you have expertise, resources or connections we could be utilizing, contact Brother Bren through the KSTUAA@gmail email address.

The Cossa Challenge is expected to deliver $861.25, so we have a lot of ground to make up.

To help encourage donations five alumni have stepped up to create a $5,000 gift when we exceed reach $5,000 (not including the Cossa Challenge pot).  

Your donations of $50, $250, $500 or more will add up quickly and keep the progress moving forward and help fund this project! 

Donations can be made by: Paypal or Venmo

Checks can be made out to KSTUAA, memo line should read "Water Softener" and mailed to: James Lewis at:

Thank you to those that have donated to this Project

The Boards of KSTUAA and TUHC would like to thank the following alumni for helping us with the match. To date we've raised $750 towards the $5000 match. 

$5000 Matching Gift  
Jim Lewis IC '74 
Rob Miller IC '86  
Jeff Bieber IC '89 
Jay Rammes IC '88 
Chris Broome IC '89

1967 
Alan Higgins 

1980 
Jay Cavender

1981 
Scott Hamilton

1985 
Wes Bren
Chris Scocos
Rick Sippola

1987 
Nathan Varnum

1992 
Robb Warren

Donors to this effort will also be listed on our Donors page link on the right.

Cossa Challenge Kicks off for the 12th Time  

This annual tradition started over in 2015 years ago, provides our Theta-Upsilon Alumni a virtual competition for bragging rights in picking the winners in the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament.  KSTUAA created its own tournament in 2020 when the COVID pandemic cancelled the NCAA Tournaments. Videos of  our competition can be found on our YouTube Channel.

Winners have included:
Clay Hunt in 2025
Wes Bren in 2024
Pat O'Brien in 2023
??? in 2022
Keith Zurawski in 2021, 2016? 2015?
Brad Storts in 2020 (Luke Meissner was the champion Team in the 60 second challenge)
*We are searching a our archives for the winners of the other years.
 
Who will win it this year?


Friday, February 27, 2026

Alumni donate to Scholarships and Better Water!

Our 2026 Goal: Add $8,000 to our CSF to add another annual SLA scholarship!

The 2026 SAJ Weekend of Giving is another chance to build on this momentum. Every dollar donated during the campaign goes 100% directly to Theta Upsilon’s Chapter Scholarship Fund, which is professionally managed and distributed annually to our own undergraduates. With our CSF now approaching $80,000, if we add another $8,000 in donations this year, we will add another SLA annual scholarship!

To help us reach this year’s goals, four alumni have created five matches to encourage every brother to reflect on the impact Kappa Sigma has had on his life and to take the opportunity to help the next generation of Kappa Sigs at Miami University!

  • 2:1 Match for Alumni from 1967-79:  Brother Jim Lewis (Initiation Class '74) will match every donation two to one from Theta-Upsilon Alumni up to $2000. 

  • 1:1 Match for Alumni from 1980-1989:  Brother Michael Schoedinger (Initiation Class '86) will match every donation from Theta-Upsilon Alumni initiated from 1980-1989 up to $500 total.

  • 1:1 Match for Alumni from 1990-1995:  Brother Clay Hunt (Initiation Class '90) will match every donation from Theta-Upsilon Alumni initiated from 1990-1995 up to $500 total.

  • 10 First Time Donors Challenge:  Brother Wes Bren (Initiation Class '85) will donate $500 when there are 10 FIRST time donors to the Theta-Upsilon Chapter.
     
  • Five Donations 1996-2015:  Brother Wes Bren  (Initiation Class '85) will donate $500 when Five Theta-Upsilon Alumni initiated from 1996 to 2015 have made donations this year.
To donate and see the progress go to our Chapter's pageThe donation site is open during March 6-8 only.  Donors will be recognized on our donor page 

Celebrating Our 2025 Scholarship Award Recipients

The impact of our generosity is immediately visible. This December, a record ten Theta Upsilon undergraduates received scholarship awards from the Kappa Sigma Endowment Fund—an unprecedented milestone for our chapter. These awards included the three named scholarships from David E. Ledman Scholarship ($2000), the Clifford Browne II Scholarship - ($1000), the Brian P. McDowell Scholarship ($1000), along with six Donald C. Dilley Scholarship Leadership Awards recognizing academic excellence, leadership, and service. In addition, Theta-Upsilon benefitted from the Toby H. Taylor Scholarship bequeathed to Chapters in Southern Ohio.  Brother Taylor is past WGM, WGP, WGMC and past DGM of Ohio.  See January’s post for the names of 2025 award winners. 

Thank you to our 2026 SAJ Weekend of Giving Donors

Donations came in from 60+ alumni representing five decades that Theta-Upsilon has existed!  The total of $15,842.72 was raised placing Theta-Upsilon 12th in the rankings of almost 300 chapters. 

1967
Bob Coons HOF
George Duffield
Al Higgins HOF
Tom Wenning HOF
Bill Slouffman  

1968
Robert Fete
Tim Willis

1972
Craig Stichtenoth

1974
Jim Lewis HOF

1976
Bob Biederrman

1980
Bill Broderick HOF
Jay Cavender, AAA

1981
Ed Bash
David Brinkman, HOF
Chris Connolly
Timothy Solt

1982
Brad Mikes HOF
James Puccio

1985
Wes Bren HOF
Rick Sippola HOF

1986
Matt Garvic
Rob Miller
Scott Richardson
Larry Rosinski
Michael Schoedinger, HOF

1987
Dave Buckley
Mark Heppner
Jeff Meek
Matthew Smith
Joe Turner

1988
Jason Rammes

1989
Guy Bradley
Christopher Broome, HOF

1990
Preston Belding
Clay Hunt
Rob Merkle
Timothy Storer

1991
Jonathan Frankmann
Patrick Hallagan

1992
Bob Dittrich
Chris Veneklasen 

1997
Ryan Rubin

1998
Cole Condon
Ryan Egli
Michael Kuhnell
Luke Massey
Joe Pesci

2022
Zach Clemons
Mark Colavita
Luke King, AAA
Charles McGrew
Kian Metcalfe
Patrick Miller
Fernando Romero, AAA
Quinn Sippola
Kirt Sippola
Will Stout
Nathan Zobrist, AAA

Cossa Challenge coming up Very Soon!  Seeking Donations to help purchase Water softeners.

The KSTUAA Board voted February 22 to devote the proceeds of the years Cossa Challenge to the Housing Company to raise awareness of a needed project that Theta Upsilon Housing Company is researching: Installation of Water Softeners.
As most of you remember, Oxford, Ohio, is notorious for its extremely hard water, often exceeding 20 grains per gallon due to the region’s limestone-rich groundwater. 


Without a water softening system, these high mineral levels lead to rapid scale buildup inside plumbing, water heaters, and appliances, significantly shortening their lifespan and increasing maintenance costs! Installing a softener is a proactive investment that protects the property’s infrastructure from internal corrosion and ensures tenants don't face constant issues with clogged showerheads, inefficient heating, or mineral-stained fixtures.

More details will come out closer to NCAA Basketball Selection Sunday.  Contact Brad Mikes or KSTUAA&Gmail to make sure you get an invite to our private March Madness game.

DGM Bren organizes Great Lakes District Conclave as his Southwest Ohio District hosts and Theta-Upsilon plays an important role

The 12th Annual Great Lakes Conclave was the result of a year‑long effort led by District Grand Master, Wes Bren IC '85, who planned, organized, and emceed one of the largest district conclaves in the country. Undergraduate members and volunteers of the Theta-Upsilon Chapter were involved in the planning and logistics.


More than 300 Kappa Sigma undergraduates and volunteers representing over 40 chapters, colonies, and interest groups across all of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Western Pennsylvania traveled to Cincinnati for a full day of leadership development, training and brotherhood! Distinguished national officers including the 

Worth Grand Master of Ceremonies, Brother Nick Snowberger and Past WGS, Dan Tierney attended as VIPs and speakers, underscoring the significance of the GLC event which is known as one of the best conclaves in the nation.  Theta-Upsilon GM, Ryan Bowyer had the honor of introducing the WGMC.

Under Bren’s direction, this year’s Conclave expanded dramatically—introducing vendors, door prizes, and four awards for the first time. The G. Miles Arnold Journey Award recognized the chapter that made the greatest investment to attend, multiplying distance by number of attendees. The Military Heroes Month Excellence Award honored a chapter or colony whose November service best supported the program and the Wright State Colony Brothers Bren and Rob Miller IC '86 have been assisting was named the winner and presented with U.S. flag flown in service overseas on December 10th, Kappa Sigma’s founding date. A special expansion award recognized chapters that submitted multiple leads to help the Fraternity expand to new campuses without active chapters was won by two chapters.  

And the tongue-in-cheek. crowd‑favorite... The Brother Boyd Bristle Trophy, inspired by Brother Boyd's handlebar moustache and some similarity to some well know Cincinnati brands brought energy and humor as attendees cheered to select the winner. 

The event, hosted on UC's campus with extra room included a 50% increase in the number of breakout sessions and panels, three new roundtables, providing more options and topics to help Chapters and their leaders! 


This years event also expanded to Friday night with two events to promote brotherly fellowship and networking. For the undergrads, a Euchre tournament benefiting a MHC charity was hosted by the UC chapter with support from Miami, Capital, and Wright State. Miami members designed the championship hats.   For Alumni Bren organized an Alumni Happy Hour at New Riff Distillery, complete with tours! Bren, who turned 60 the weekend before brought a Busken Birthday Cake to the evening festivities featuring a composite photo from 1988-courtesy of his Kappa Sig sweetheart. 

Bren also brought together most of the 33 volunteers he oversees in the district for a team dinner at iconic Montgomery Inn Boathouse restaurant along the river. Longtime volunteers mixed with new volunteers with initiation years ranging from 2025 to 1974! 

Bren made sure there were many nods to the hometown throughout the weekend including: donuts from Graeter’s, Skyline 3‑ways as a lunch option (over 120 ordered!), Pringles  and Grippo’s BBQ chips, and Rhinegeist beer and KY Bourbon at the closing reception. 
The Conclave’s scale, creativity, and execution reflected the hard work and collaboration of two planning teams and Bren’s year‑long leadership—delivering an event that strengthened chapters across the region and provided Miami University’s members with a model of excellence in fraternity leadership and a life lesson that Kappa Sigma is not for a college term only!


Fricker Report Publication Delayed

 See the article on GLC above to understand why... ;-)

 

Sunday, January 11, 2026

Super Bowl Squares to Fund the display of more Composites within the Chapter House!

The 2026 edition of the KSTUAA Super Bowl Squares offers a prize pot worth $1000 with the KSTUAA portion helping to pay for additional composite reprints! 

The 2026 Project: Putting our legacy on display at the Chapter House  
Over the decades, all but a few of the composites were stolen or damaged beyond repair. The original vendors couldn't provide replicas saying their archives had been destroyed in a fire. 

So in 2021 KSTUAA began a process of collecting the the personal prints of the miniature composites that used to be handed out. These were usually about 14-16" wide.  Thanks to the help of Brothers Bill Weirough, Doug Buse, John Jahoda, John Wilson, Norm Witzler, Mark Morgan,  Brad Mikes, Wes Bren, Larry Rosinski, Timothy Storer and Robert Dittrich we secured 28 replicas in good condition.  Still missing are a few from 1971-1973 and many from 1996-2012 (See below for more details.)

The replicas were taken to a photography studio that were able to retouch and printed at a larger size of 28" x 18" with an 1/4" acrylic front and pvc back. (We also secured digital files from these prints for future use.) These were installed in the Shoe Box in the second floor hallway in 2022 creating a wall of the first two 1/2 decades of Theta-Upsilon. 


Above: Brother Joe Turner was happy to show his young face to a
family member on a recent visit to Oxford.
 


The cost to do this is about $250 each, covering the print, fabrication and installation. To cover the missing ones and start the process with the new era (2022-2025) will take more than $5000.  

Above: Composites are displayed chronologically in two rows. The single row is the gap of missing 1971-1973 composites.  

What years are we missing Composites?  
We are needing alumni to send the missing miniature composites for the following years:
1971, 1972, 1973,
1996, 1997, 1999,
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011-2012 

If you have one of these missing years, please email us immediately so we can share how you can help us complete the set. 

You can help by buying some Super Bowl squares!
The Kappa Sigma Super Bowl Squares split the pot will generate $1000 in prize money and $1000 for KSTUAA for this project (1/5 the expected cost.) 
 
The Kappa Sigma Super Bowl Squares Game Format:
The Kappa Sigma Super Bowl Squares is our simple take on a perennial favorite where alumni can pick squares with two numbers that reflect all the possible combinations of the last digit in any score. Pick the square that matches the AFL and NFC teams scores during a quarter end and you are a winner!!! 20% of the prize will be awarded to the winner in each of the first three quarters and 40% of the prize money will be award to the alumnus matching the final score!

Instructions:
Send us the game squares you want e.g. A1, C7, F5, I2, J10 and email to KSTUAA@gmail.com. (Squares are awarded based on the first to reach us, based on email sent times with dues paying Alumni getting priority on ties) Duplicate choices will be assigned nearest open spot by KSTUAA.

The Tables showing available squares will be updated each day: CLICK HERE to see the Table of Available Squares (May need to "right click to download" if it doesn't display)

Make payment with PayPal here. $20 per square for anyone that has paid KSTUAA Dues (so if you haven't paid dues add the $25 KSTUAA Alumni dues) If you already have paid Dues... THANK YOU and its just $20 a square.) You can also use Venmo (@KSTUAA) or personal check

Aren't sure if you'd paid your Dues? Check the Donor's page for the list of current donors  and confirm your status (Alumni that have paid KSTUAA dues are highlighted in a light green color). 

Remember extra donations go to pay for this great project. Please be generous!

Grab a beer and see who else shows up when Bracket Master Mikes will pick the column and row numbers Live on Zoom Saturday, February 7 at 11:00 AM ET the day before the big game! (let us know if you want to be included in the zoom.)

Then enjoy Super Bowl LX and win up to $1000 happily knowing you are helping our Chapter!

We will post this years winners below in an update. 
Good Luck and AEKDB

(Updated Feb 9) This year's Winners!!!
Q1 Seattle 3 - New England - 0
****Winner: Clay Hunt
Q2 Seattle 9 - New England - 0
****Winner: Ed Kessler
Q3  Seattle 12 - New England - 0
****Winners: Patrick Reedy
Final Seattle 29 - New England - 13
****
Winner: Robb Warren







A record TEN Theta-Upsilon members receive scholarship awards from the Kappa Sigma Endowment Fund in December!

Thanks to the generosity of our alumni over the last several years during Stephen Alonzo Jackson Weekend and those alumni that have become Jackson Men our Theta-Upsilon account in the endowment fund has grown to $80,000 which produces one $500+ scholarship for ever $12,500 (six this year) and we also have three annual scholarships named after our alumni $1000-$2000 each.
 
Our members fill in an applications and the process is managed by the Endowment funds with the awards being announced December 10 (Founders Day.) 

Eight very deserving undergraduates from our Theta-Upsilon Chapter received monetary scholarship wards from the Kappa Sigma Endowment Fund this fall.

  • David E. Ledman Scholarship Award $2000 - Andrew Rossi IC 23- Former GP & Scholarship Chair.
  • Clifford Browne II Scholarship Award $1000 - Ryan Kellogg IC '24, Former GT
  • Brian P. McDowell Scholarship Award $1000 - Mike Skidmore IC '24
  • Toby H. Taylor Scholarship Award (past WGM and Ohio DGM) $1000 - Nickolas Turbyville IC '25 current GMC

In addition 6 Donald C. Dilley, Jr. Scholarship-Leadership Awards were given out:

  • Kyle R. Hendricks IC '23 Former GM & GS also 'SAJ Incentive Individual Scholarship bonus'
  • Jake Francis IC '24 Former GMC, current MHC Chair
  • Zachary Sharpe IC '24
  • Dawson Bok IC '24
  • Ben Bayler IC '23
  • Andrew Weirman, IC '23 Former GS 
Thanks to all the Alumni that have donated to the Kappa Sigma Endowment Fund over the recent years. The 2026 SAJ Weekend of Giving which delivers 100% of the donation will be in the first weekend in March. Let's keep adding Scholarships!

If you would like to help get the word out to make sure this year's campaign is another success, contact Wes at KSTUAA@gmail.