On Sunday, March 6, 2016, 55 men at the University of West Georgia stood together as they became the Founding Fathers of the Georgia Eta Colony. In attendance were several Phi Delta Theta alumni, Georgia Gamma Phis from Mercer University, fraternity and sorority representatives from the West Georgia Greek community, the West Georgia Greek Advisor, Michael Steele, and many other friends and family members. Province President Rick Orr presided over the ceremony as he expressed his excitement for the new group to begin their journey ahead.

Colony President Austin Handle expressed the colony members’ excitement to join the ranks of some of the most impressive men in history by stating, “A common saying is to shoot for the moon. I interpret that as don’t give up on your dreams and never stop improving yourself. The funny thing is, we’ve already been there. Neil Armstrong proved that both the character and actions of Phi Delta Theta have not only made it to the moon, we made it there first.” He ended by giving a heartfelt thank you to all guests present.

Leadership Consultants Zach Hilliard and BJ Nelson have been at the university for the past eight weeks to recruit the Founding Fathers and begin the foundation of what is sure to be a very impressive colony.  The colony is made up of a very diverse group of men from three different countries, in over forty organizations and nearly fifteen different majors. Despite the differences in each of them, they all share a common bond of boundless leadership and strong character.

As the Founding Fathers begin their path to Installation and Initiation, they will surely be faced with challenges on the road ahead, though there is no doubt that the Georgia Eta Colony at the University of West Georgia will be an immense success.