Catching up with Dr. Michael Terry, Gamma Zeta ’94 – Head Team Physician for the Chicago Blackhawks

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TerryTalk about a Gamma Zeta ATO through and through, listen to this resume…

  • Pledged during informal rush first semester of freshman year
  • Moved into the house second semester freshman year and lived in the house through graduation
  • Served terms as Social Chairman, Rush Chairman and as a Senior was President of the Senior Advisory Committee, a small group of seniors who served as mentors to the younger members of the fraternity, particularly focused on redirecting some hazing practices that had gotten out of hand
  • Was awarded the prestigious Thomas Arkle Clark Award as a Senior as the top Senior ATO in the country
  • Met his wife Lynn through an ATO brother
  • Introduced his sister to brother Doug Ausnehmer and they later married
  • Nearly 20 years after graduation, still counts among his best friends, guys he lived in the ATO house with such as Doug, Dan Tarpey, Quinton Bailey, Matt Menna and Jay Nuttal to name a few
  • Describes his ATO experience as “fantastic” and the guys in the house at the time then and now a “strong and tight group”

Continue reading→

Matthew Massucci ‘96 Reflects on Balancing Good Times and Working Hard

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matt massucciWe’d like to thank Matthew Massucci ’96 for participating in this month’s alumni Q&A:

Where did you grow up and can you tell us a little bit about your childhood family, interests and activities?
I grew up in Barrington, and graduated from Lake Zurich High School.

Why did you choose the University of Illinois? What did you study?
I visited my older sister (Amanda) several times at Illinois several times and loved it. I never really considered any other schools. I was an Accounting major.

What was rush like at the time and why did you choose ATO?
I rushed in the fall of 1992 with my roommate (Al Strobl) and suite-mate (Dan Vanderweit). My roommate was a wrestler, and I definitely rode his coattails through the rush process. Ironically, Dan and I both went through pledgeship, but Al dropped out midway through (and later flunked out of school). I was one of the last pledges and I was definitely impressed with the pledge class that was in place.Continue reading→

Matt Dixon ’11 – Giving the Gift of Education

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Matt Dixon with his 8th Graders in DCHow did you get interested in Teach for America? Can you provide a little background on TFA?
Teach For America is a national corps of recent college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural schools in an effort to close the achievement gap and reach public educational equity. The program also works to develop corps members into life-long advocates of the educational equity movement who can affect change at various levels – from classrooms to courtrooms. This year, more than 9,300 corps members are teaching 600,000 students in 43 low-income communities across the country as nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni are working from inside and outside the field of education to create the changes needed to close the achievement gap.Continue reading→

James R. Stansfield 1947 Diamond Circle Member ATO

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stansfield 1Jim Stansfield grew up in Urbana. He won the state championship in wrestling at Urbana High School. His father was a geology professor at the University. He graduated from high school in ’37 and initiated at GZ in ’38. He majored in ceramic engineering but after his junior year entered the army and served in the European theater. As a resident of Urbana he never lived in the house but spent many many fun times there.

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Walt “Junior” Kirk ‘47

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kirkI’m very sorry to report that one of our true Gamma Zeta legends Walt Kirk ‘47, passed away this past December 12.   He will be missed.

Stewart D. Daniels III summed it up nicely – “What an incredible basketball pedigree- high school All State, All Big Ten, Team Capitan and Consensus All American at U of Illinois, 5 years in the NBA and coached by Red Auerbach, and then 34 years of coaching and mentoring – now that is some tall cotton !” 

Walt’s son, Doug Kirk who is an ATO Continue reading→

Albert E. “Bud” Benoist May 22, 1920 – October 9, 2012

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http://www.benoist.com/about/BudBenoist.aspx

Albert E. “Bud” Benoist
May 22, 1920 – October 9, 2012

Bud BenoistMt. Vernon, IL — Albert E. “Bud” Benoist, 92, of Mt. Vernon, passed away at 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012, at his home in Mt. Vernon, surrounded by family.

Mr. Benoist was born on May 22, 1920, in Bridgeport, the son of the late Charles and Marie (Stein) Benoist. He is survived by his wife Marjorie (Risley) Benoist of 26 years and his younger sister Marjorie Davis of Hollywood, Fla.

Other surviving family members include his three children, Jack Benoist of Mt. Vernon, Jane Raney of Mt. Vernon Continue reading→

Robert H. “Tubby” Bacon, Jr. ’52

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How do you summarize the dynamic life of a man like Tubby Bacon? As his friend and former columnist of the Chicago Tribune, William Rice, noted, “Part Jimmy Stewart, part Jacques Tati’s Mr. Hulot, he is a talker, a man of endless enthusiasms whose obvious good will helps him overcome the handicap of being fated to mispronounce even the most rudimentary French phases.” Always unassuming, when asked of his most outstanding achievement, he took a pad and pen and scribbled, “Eagle Scout at 15.”

 Click here for the full obituary.

Don Ainsworth ’42

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Donald AinsworthFrom the moment he first rushed Alpha Tau Omega, the fraternity stood out above all others and Donald Ainsworth ’42 knew it would be the fraternity for him. Now, some seventy years later, Ainsworth reflects fondly on his college years with the fraternity and continues to be involved with the organization as an alumnus.

“Being an ATO has been a tremendous plus in my life,” Ainsworth said. “If I could go back, I wouldn’t want to relive just one moment- I would want to relive all four ATO years.”

While reliving his college years is not a viable option, Ainsworth enjoys being able to stay active within the fraternity organization that he says has done so much for him.

“The best thing about my alumni experience has been the opportunity to stay in touch with many of my Illinois ATO brothers and to meet many ATO’s from other chapters via our monthly luncheons,” Ainsworth said.

The monthly luncheons are held on the third Tuesday of each month at the Greenbriar Hills Country Club in Kirkwood, Missouri. Ainsworth strongly encourages members to take advantage of opportunities such as these.

“I would encourage not only ATO’s, but members of all fraternities to make their fraternity membership a life-long experience,” Ainsworth said.

Ainsworth graduate from Illinois in 1942, after which he served as an FBI agent and a cryptographer for the U.S. Navy. He then graduated from the Washington University Law School and went into the insurance business, where he served as the insurance commissioner for the State of Missouri. In addition, he has served on the Kirkwood, Missouri City Counsel, as president of the Kirkwood Chamber of Commerce and various other boards and committees.

Bill Masters ’65

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William MastersWhy did you join?

Comraderie – word of mouth from hometown friends.

Tell us about your favorite memory of the fraternity

Odie. Frosty, our Samoyed mascot, and his amorous tendencies. Interaction among Pledge class.

What kind of influence has the fraternity had on your life since graduation?

Developed and enhanced my social/interpersonal skills so important in my life. Values to drive or evaluate behavior.

With whom do you still stay in contact? Who would you most like to find?Continue reading→