Pee Dee Pikes received our fourth consecutive Nester Award and was again selected as a winner of the “Alumni Association of the Year” at the Louisville Convention in July 2022. The award is presented to recognize the outstanding alumni associations in the fraternity. We have won this award each year since being chartered on March 1, 2018 on the 150th anniversary of the Founding of Pi Kappa Alpha. We are especially honored to win this award. Our goal remains the same - to do our best to actively support local undergraduate chapters and to “ … further the interests of those with whom we sympathize and deem worthy of our regard …”.

As outlined in our award submission, our accomplishments for 2020 - 2021 include:

• Actively supporting Taylor Trudeau Cycle For Life (Pike's philanthropy) as well as scholarship donations to Theta Sigma (Winthrop) and Theta Delta (FMU)

• In 2020, actively hosted Blaine Van Buskirk and Terik Terry (Expansion Consultants) for the Theta Delta re-colonization which began in 2020; all 8 members of the AAB for the Provisional Chapter at Francis Marion are members of Pee Dee Pikes

• Proactive and regular communications using our newsletters, website, and Facebook page; and contributions to the Shield & Diamond magazine

• Actively partnering with other alumni associations, Palmetto Region President Kyle Waltz and many members of our Memorial HQ Staff in Memphis, TN

• Membership increased by over 15% since charter on March 1, 2018 (now over 100 members)

• Completed the Virtual Southeast Leadership Summit and the Virtual International Convention

• Returned to in-person Pike University events (Atlanta Regional Summit; Louisville International Convention) and celebrated the official charter presentation to Theta Delta (Francis Marion University) and our fourth consecutive Nester Award

We have applied for the award every year as an opportunity to both affirm our accomplishments and challenge ourselves for the future. In our first year, we significantly exceeded our own estimates in terms of membership, support for local chapters, financial targets as well as opportunities to both “give back” and “pay it forward”. Pee Dee Pikes is built on personal networking and using the same rush principles we learned as undergraduates. Our leaders live in different geographical areas and are also of different ages. We use this to highlight a diverse group of chapter and alumni activities throughout the year. Our Executive Board has met in person and also by Zoom to complete our strategic plans for each new year. Like many organizations, our social activities were significantly restricted because of Covid-19. We continue to network with other Pike alumni associations and stay connected through social media. Our fundamental concept for the future is simple, “Once A Pike, Always A Pike”.

Over 10 members of Pee Dee Pikes Alumni Association attended the Richmond Convention in July 2018 to celebrate receiving our charter. After four years, 2022 saw a return to more personal interactions such as the Regional Leadership Summit in Atlanta as well as the International Convention in Louisville, KY.