Thank you for your lifelong engagement to Phi Delta Theta and your commitment to hazing prevention!
Once a Phi Delt, always a Phi Delt. The bonds created at the beginning of membership are designed to sustain each person through every stage of life, keeping all connected through peer-to-peer relationships and via valuable mentor/mentee networking and intergenerational sharing of wisdom. Phi Delta Theta prides itself on having an incredible network of dedicated alumni and supporters who dedicate their time to give back to the organization. A lifelong commitment to the Fraternity by volunteers enables members to become the greatest version of themselves.
Meet Mark A. Brueggeman, Cincinnati ’81, a dedicated volunteer with Phi Delta Theta. Mark graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor of business administration degree in economics and marketing. He is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Phi Delta Theta Foundation.
Tell me about your undergraduate fraternity experience. Why did you choose Phi Delta Theta, and do you have any favorite memories you would like to share?
My fraternity experience started when I pledged Phi Delta Theta in the fall of my sophomore year at the University of Cincinnati. At the prompting of my mother’s best friend, whose son was then president of the Ohio Theta Chapter, I was invited down during recruitment to investigate what fraternity life was all about. At that time, I met some of my future pledge brothers and undergraduates who have remained my lifelong friends. The Ohio Theta Chapter thrived in the late 1970s, and I chose to join Phi Delta Theta because of the Fraternity’s values of Friendship, Sound Learning, and Rectitude. Of course, it didn’t hurt to be the only fraternity with a swimming pool in the backyard!
Do you feel that Phi Delta Theta made a difference in your life?
As I sit in my armchair recovering from knee replacement surgery, I have had time to reflect on what it means to volunteer for my fraternity, Phi Delta Theta. I chose Phi Delta Theta in 1979 and committed to the Fraternity as it has committed to me. The Fraternity offered so many experiences that I would never have had unless I participated fully each time I was afforded these opportunities for involvement. I had nineteen Phikeia brothers in the fall of 1979, and we were all initiated and committed to Phi Delt, which helped develop the bond between all the brothers that continues to this day. The moral support, the personal support, the late-night discussions, the fun, and the sportsmanship all helped us through to graduation and helped set the course for careers across the country. Those bonds provide some of the best memories and friendships that I could ever ask for.
Upon graduating from the University of Cincinnati in 1981, I moved to Houston, Texas, and began working in the petrochemical distribution industry. After a few years, I joined Chevron Corporation, where I worked for almost fifteen years before starting my own petrochemical marketing, logistics, and distribution company. To this day, many doors in my business have opened directly due to my Phi Delt affiliation.
Who or what inspired you to become a volunteer?
My wife, Elizabeth, was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Vanderbilt University, and she encouraged my involvement with Phi Delt, both in fundraising and ultimately in joining the Phi Delta Theta Foundation Board. She was an active board member for her sorority’s local alumnae chapter and its Houston Charitable Foundation for many years. She understands the value of supporting Greek life as an alum with your time, talent, and treasure.
I started my involvement as a Phi Delt Theta volunteer when the Ohio Theta Chapter raised money to build a new chapter house through its Building the Foundation Campaign. Our old house at 2718 Digby had been sold; the chapter had tried to be part of a new University Greek Village, but it was quickly apparent to the alumni that the chapter needed a new chapter house in order to survive and thrive. From Houston, I called Ohio Theta alums of all ages, encouraging them to join in support of the new chapter house, which was ultimately built. Elizabeth and I toured the house soon after it opened, and it is a wonderful place for the Ohio Theta men to gather and live.
My involvement in that building campaign caught the eye of the former senior vice president of advancement, Steve Bloomer, who visited with Elizabeth and me in Houston and shared the Campaign 2030: A Greater Version for Tomorrow vision. Subsequent visits from Steve and Sean Wagner, the current Phi Delta Theta Foundation president, were very motivating! We ultimately chose to support Campaign 2030 because we had been blessed with a successful business and a loving family. We felt that supporting the campaign was a way to give back to the Fraternity that gave me lifelong friendships, leadership opportunities, and social and academic support. The health and safety initiatives were especially appealing to us as parents of three sons who dealt, either personally or through their friends, with issues of alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, and suicide.
In October 2021, I was nominated and elected to join the Phi Delta Theta Foundation Board of Trustees and serve on the Foundation Finance Committee. I am honored to give back to Phi Delta Theta in this way.
What would you tell someone who is considering volunteering for Phi Delta Theta?
Do it! Through my involvement with Phi Delt, I have met many amazing and talented men. I am very impressed by the varied accomplishments of my fellow Foundation Board members and have learned a lot from them.
Do you have any advice for current students?
I would tell them to get involved in their local chapter and take advantage of any and all opportunities that the chapter and/or the national organization offers. Many of my best friends to this day are brothers from Ohio Theta and other chapters I have met over the years. The bond of brotherhood is truly for a lifetime!
