Joel Spangler “Spangs” Sauers ’71 ([email protected]) looks back on his time at Lambda Chi Alpha and offers some insight into why he gives back to the organization that gave him so much.
Sauers attributes his decision to pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha to “a young man who was two years ahead of me in high school (Robert Stahl ’71 ([email protected])). After attending the rush events it was the group of potential members of my pledge class.”
“The diversity of involvements spanning academics, intramural athletics, social events, and community and charitable opportunities” were what set the house apart for him.
We asked Sauers what his favorite memory is. “Selecting one is extremely difficult. There are three that stand out in my fading memory bank. One which I can’t explain but suffice it to say ‘step, step, landing.’ A second would be meeting Eric Walker early one Sunday morning during the ‘Bounceathon’ held at the Allen Street entrance to campus. The third would be being tied to the flagpole in the front yard late one night after getting pinned to my beautiful bride of 50 years!”
Sauers credits the fraternity with giving him valuable experiences and allowing him to meet and interact with a diverse group of young men. “It provided me the opportunity to meet, get to know, and appreciate a host of young men from different areas of the state, studying vastly different subject matter and sharing the goal of having fun and being respectful of differing opinions.”
He gives back “to provide other young men the opportunity to join an organization that will make them a better person while attending PSU and throughout their lives.”
Without Lambda Chi Alpha, I wouldn’t have met a great bunch of men – including Mike (Harpo) Howe ’70, Deno Yenias ’72, Kenneth (Homer) Magrini ’71 ([email protected]), David (Hawk) McKnight ’70, Bill Bott ’73, and Craig Anderson – my pledge class.