Ralph F. Burns Leadership Institute January 27 - 29
Location of Ralph F. Burns Leadership Institute
Crowne Plaza Hotel near the Indianapolis Airport
2501 S. High School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46241 Check out the Hotel.
Application Deadline Monday, November 21, 2011 by 5:00 PM EST
Arrival/Departure Time Begins at 2:00 PM EST January 27th and concludes at NOON EST on January 29th
About the Burns Institute This is NOT a program to talk about how to run a better meeting, how to recruit more men, or how to conduct a better bake sale.
This is about YOU.
It’s about you getting engaged and becoming the catalyst that changes your chapter, your campus and your community. It’s about you becoming a leader, not just in your chapter but for life.
Any meaningful accomplishment, idea, philanthropy project, or improvement began with one man in your chapter or colony saying, “I can do this better.” Then taking action—not being a bystander. Unfortunately, too many are happy with the way things are and that is why nothing changes. It’s about leading self before leading others. No one cares that you are new—results are all that count!
This is the Burns Institute experience.
Forget all the negative things you may have heard about past offerings. This year we raise the bar to provide a better experience for you. Here are some highlights:
No more multiple camps in the mountains in the winter. This year the Institute will be held at an upscale hotel in Indianapolis, IN — with real beds, real meals, and private showers.
Fewer lectures and being talked at. Instead, more formal and informal group discussions and sharing—talking about things that are important to you and your particular situation—getting help from peers who have ‘figured it out’.
Time to share brotherhood with men from around the country – this is a national brotherhood experience, not just a regional experience.
No more blue jeans and tee shirts. This year the dress attire is casual dress pants, collared shirt, belt, appropriate socks and dress shoes, and badge.
No more come one come all. This year enrollment is limited and done by selection, with representation from across the nation—truly a snapshot of the national brotherhood that you are or will become a member. Be sure to apply early so that you have the best chance of being selected.
This is an investment in you. To learn how to be a leader, a gentleman, a values-based man preparing himself for life in the business world, you should be treated and expected to act like a leader, an Alpha Sigma Phi gentleman, a values-based man in a business like setting. This is the new Ralph F. Burns Institute experience.
What better way to send you off charged to ‘make a difference’ than to have a nationally renowned keynote speaker pump you up on Sunday morning.
Institute Facilitators With the retooling of the Burns Institute this year, the two lead facilitators are alumni brothers who walk the talk and embody the principles of Alpha Sigma Phi. They speak from the heart as they continue to live the Alpha Sigma Phi gentleman lifestyle. “He’s a gentleman and a scholar, with a heart beneath his vest; he looks like all the others, but he’s better than the rest—for he’s an Alpha Sig—he’s a man you ought to, a man you want to, a man you’re sure to know!”
One of this year’s Lead Facilitators is the immediate past Grand Senior President and a past recipient of the Distinguished Service Award (the highest honor an alumnus can receive), Brother Mark Still, Washington ‘75. Brother Still has a led a very successful life both in and out of the Fraternity. In the Fraternity he has been extensively involved in Fraternity affairs spanning over 30 years. He has served on the Grand Council for ten years including 4 years as Grand Senior President. Outside of the Fraternity, he has catapulted in his Air Force career from executive officer to the Vice Commander in Chief, Military Airlift Command to Director of Operations Headquarters, Twenty First Air Force, when he retired as a Lt. Colonel to become an executive at USAA Insurance.
The other Lead Facilitator is Mike Waters, Oregon State ’73, was the first to earn the Frank Hargear Outstanding Undergraduate Award while leading Psi chapter as President to the GSP Outstanding Chapter Award. He served on Grand Council as an undergraduate and currently serves on the Alpha Sigma Phi Educational Foundation Budget Committee. Mike facilitated Presidents at the 2011 Alpha Sigma Phi Academy of Leadership. Mike’s professional career includes 23 years in Navy submarines where he commanded USS FLORIKAN, and he was base commander of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center. He has been a Program Manager for Affiliated Computer Services, Lockheed Martin, and Systems Integration & Management. He is currently President and CEO of IntegrIT, a disabled veteran owned Information Technology company. His degrees include BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, MS in Computer Systems Management, and MA in National Security & Strategic Studies. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
This year the society facilitators will all be young alumni volunteers who will guide and mentor you through the learning experience. They are all men who have carried on what they learned as undergraduate members of the fraternity into their daily work lives. They are volunteers who value the lessons they learned and elect to give back to the Old Gal as a part of their continuing membership.
What past attendees have to say…
"Learning more about the Fraternity and being able to take valuable information back to my chapter. I also enjoyed learning about what other chapters do and hearing from alumni facilitators... I basically enjoyed everything." - Meng-Hsiu Chan, Elmhurst '06
"Getting to spend a weekend surrounded by brothers and getting to learn more about ourselves and our Fraternity's values - priceless." - Rudy Mistovich, Michigan '08
"I enjoyed how well everyone communicated and expressed their thoughts as a group and worked together to complete goals. The weekend was very valuable." - Brian Benjamin, Virginia Tech. '07
"I really liked meeting brothers from different schools because for the first time, I felt like I was truly part of a national organization. Their stories and ideas made a lasting impression on me." - Daniel Stoecker, Washington '07
History of the Burns Institute On September 25, 1993, Ralph F. Burns, Ohio Wesleyan ’32, passed into the Omega Chapter. Even though Ralph is no longer with us, the legacy he left will remain as long as one man reaches out to another and calls him “brother”. It is said that every organization needs a conscience. In many ways, Ralph Frank Burns was Alpha Sigma Phi’s conscience - Its heart and its soul. Alpha Sigma Phi was Ralph Burns, and Ralph Burns was Alpha Sigma Phi.
For 61 years, Ralph F. Burns pledged his life to the principles and ideals that bind us as a Fraternity. His life exemplified what is good about the fraternity movement in our nation. His commitment to Alpha Sigma Phi was deep. His love of our Fraternity broad and his belief in our credo complete. You can see it in his smile, feel it in his touch, and experience it, as thousands of undergraduates did at a score of conventions and leadership conferences. Most say of Ralph, that given the chance, would rather meet with undergraduates then participate in Grand Council meetings. Ralph loved to interact with the undergraduates. That is why a program for undergraduates named in his honor made so much sense.
Shortly after Ralph’s passing, the Grand Council’s Chapter Services Task Force met in late 1993 to discuss the creation of the Ralph F. Burns New Member Program. The basic concept was to provide every new member of the Fraternity with a positive shared experience. A program with such scope and vision had never been attempted by any national fraternity or sorority. To this day, only a small handful provides a similar experience, but nothing matches the scale or number of participants our Fraternity hosts each year. The first Ralph F. Burns New Member Program was held in a hotel in 1997. The program was a success, but due to limited funding, no more than 80 – 90 participates could participate each year.
In 2001, the program was radically changed. The decision was made to officially call it the Ralph F. Burns Leadership Institute and portions of the curriculum we’re re-written. To permit more undergraduates to participate in and experience the Institute, Headquarters staff decided to move the Institute to four regional camps across the country; Washington, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Over the years, the camp sites have changed locations as the Fraternity's demographics have changed, most recently hosting sites in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina.
In 2006, the Fraternity received the Laurel Wreath Award from the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) for the Institute and its exceptional curriculum. The Laurel Wreath Award is the highest award given by the NIC to fraternities for educational programming. The Ralph F. Burns Leadership Institute is one of the reasons that we’re considered an organization of choice on college and university campuses around the country.
Fraternity Headquarters Staff Contact
Denis Beaudoin, Director of Leadership Programming
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| 317.843.1911 ext. 236
Alpha Sigma Phi is part of a large network of Greek organizations, commonly referred to as the alphabet soup (AFA, FCA, FEA, NIC, etc). Being Greek is not just…
Education 
The other Lead Facilitator is Mike Waters, Oregon State ’73, was the first to earn the Frank Hargear Outstanding Undergraduate Award while leading Psi chapter as President to the GSP Outstanding Chapter Award. He served on Grand Council as an undergraduate and currently serves on the Alpha Sigma Phi Educational Foundation Budget Committee. Mike facilitated Presidents at the 2011 Alpha Sigma Phi Academy of Leadership. Mike’s professional career includes 23 years in Navy submarines where he commanded USS FLORIKAN, and he was base commander of the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center. He has been a Program Manager for Affiliated Computer Services, Lockheed Martin, and Systems Integration & Management. He is currently President and CEO of IntegrIT, a disabled veteran owned Information Technology company. His degrees include BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, MS in Computer Systems Management, and MA in National Security & Strategic Studies. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
On September 25, 1993, Ralph F. Burns, Ohio Wesleyan ’32, passed into the Omega Chapter. Even though Ralph is no longer with us, the legacy he left will remain as long as one man reaches out to another and calls him “brother”. It is said that every organization needs a conscience. In many ways, Ralph Frank Burns was Alpha Sigma Phi’s conscience - Its heart and its soul. Alpha Sigma Phi was Ralph Burns, and Ralph Burns was Alpha Sigma Phi.
