The Riley Society
Chapter & Alumni News
The idea for Riley Society began when a group of Collegiate Grand Councilmen started discussing ways to help prepare young alumni to take on future leadership positions. Tyler Elvin (West Virginia) and Joe Gammie (Georgia Tech) were reflecting on their experience with the High Council while attending the College of Chapters in Roanoke, Va. While reflecting on the relationships that they had built over the past year, they began discussing how they could continue to ensure that strong relationships were being built between Collegiate Grand Councilmen (CGC) and other young alumni. They wanted to make sure CGCs of all ages had an avenue to stay connected on a meaningful level.
Tyler and Joe began constructing the vision of an organization that would connect CGCs from multiple years and create a pool of young talent to support the mission of the General Fraternity and Educational Foundation. They discussed their ideas with fellow CGCs Wells Ellenberg (Georgia), Matt Tudor (Eastern Kentucky), Jack Riker (Duke), and Cameron French (MIT) and High Council members John Hearn (Georgia) and Maury Gaston (Auburn).
Upon leaving Roanoke, Tyler and Joe continued to discuss the idea and shared it with fellow Collegiate Grand Councilman Tom Bymark (Minnesota). Tom was very interested in the idea and began to help create the outline of the program that would become the Riley Society.
“We like to think of the Riley Society as a grassroots program where we can build young, strong, and proven leaders for future leadership positions while cultivating relationships and educating through the years.”
The three founding members collaborated and executed an outline complete with a mission statement, objectives, benefits, and structure. After the foundation was in place, the team pitched the idea to members of the staff team while in Nashville for the 66th Grand Chapter. Staff members offered input that would refine the program to align with the fraternity’s strategic imperatives related to young alumni initiatives. Multiple conference calls were held to discuss details before the Riley Society was approved by the High Council in September 2014.
With an idea in mind and an ambition to make a difference, Tyler and Joe proceeded with a plan. They eventually settled on three objectives:
1. To establish a permanent medium of connection between alumni committed to service, development, and leadership in the Fraternity.
2. To sustain and strengthen Society members’ connection with and commitment to the Fraternity and its founding principles.
3. To support the achievement of the Fraternity’s and Foundation’s strategic goals and imperatives.
The founders of the initiative intend to provide an experience that expands members’ professional network, builds their professional soft skills, provides an avenue for career mentoring, focuses on giving back to the fraternity, and builds strong relationships.
“We envision the Riley Society as a large, prestigious group of young alumni who are actively involved in furthering the mission of the Fraternity and Educational Foundation through service and leadership,” Gammie says. “Overall, we want to see our members become more developed professionals, hoping that this opportunity will make both the fraternity and the young alumni more successful.”
Riley Society is open to any initiated brother who is not on the roster of any collegiate chapter; is a current donor to the Sigma Nu Educational Foundation; agrees to receive communications from Riley Society, the Fraternity, and the Foundation; and commits to volunteer with one Sigma Nu alumni event or Helping Hand Initiative event every year.
“We like to think of the Riley Society as a grassroots program where we can build young, strong, and proven leaders for future leadership positions while cultivating relationships and educating through the years.”