TKE Xi Omega Local History
This chapter was originally conceived in the Fall of 1969 by a close group of friends who were looking for a kind of friendship which they were unable to find in existing fraternities. This chapter’s first meeting was held under the leadership of Taylor Martin and Bobby Altizer on February 6, 1970 in the second floor lounge of Johnson Hall. The name Alpha Chi Omega was chosen and Bobby Altizer was elected president.
The first attempt at national recognition was made to Pi Kappa Alpha but the Cotillion Club received the first chapter. The second attempt was made to Tau Kappa Epsilon and unofficial affiliation was granted the summer of 1970. Work began immediately in an effort to meet the membership requirements of TKE. The leaders in this effort were Past Prytanis Tom Sadler and Al Reed. This effort culminated in the winter of 1972 when Alpha Chi Omega presented it’s petition for membership in the TKE international fraternity. Membership was granted by TKE on April 14, 1973. It was installed by Past Grand Prytanis Lenwood S. Cochran an and the officers of the Mu-Tau chapter at James Madison University.
Xi-Omega grew notably under the leadership of Prytanis Bill Porter but it was unfortunately hit with dwindling membership and financial problems which led to the chapter to be put on probation by TKE National Headquarters. With the help of the Special Services Director “Buckwheat” Perry and the officers led by Prytanis Robert A. Fridley, Xi-Omega got organized and pledged 21 men in the fall of 1975 to officially remove the problem of probation. To further sweeten our efforts, in the summer Xi-Omega of TKE was awarded the most improved chapter by Nationals.
Xi-Omega TKE had established it’s first house at 2206 South Main Street. It had been destroyed by fire on the inside. The brothers of TKE rented this house and repaired the inside, again under the leadership of Robert A. Fridley.
Due to the desire of the owner to sell the house on South Main, Tekes moved to a second house in 1977. This house was at 110 Church Street.
Xi-Omega was once again forced to move for the same reason and moved to 430 Turner Street in 1979. This house was also being rented and unfortunately faced the same dilemma the following year.
The brothers of TKE, burdened by the prospect of not having a permanent house that they could call their own, set out to buy a house. Such an undertaking was no small endeavor and there were many tough decisions to be made under the leadership of Past Prytanis Tyler Fearnow III, and after a lot of hard work, as well as conflicts with Blacksburg Town Council, the “Barn” was purchased at 2450 Ramble Road for $140,000 in 1980.
Tyler Fearnow and all of the Tekes at Xi-Omega had many dreams for the house when it was bought and much work needed to be done on it to reach those dreams. Tragically, Tyler did not get to see these dreams come true. On May 3, 1980 he drowned in the New River, but his hopes, inspiration, and dreams did not die with him. He had instilled the qualities within the fraternity.
Under the leadership of Past-Prytanis Mark I. “Hound Dog” Anderson the house was fixed up and a new membership drive was completed. This all resulted in Xi Omega receiving the most improved chapter award again from National Headquarters in 1981. Xi-Omega’s continual hard work and dedication was rewarded by being awarded Top TKE chapter in ’89-’90 and again in ‘90-’91. In October of 2000, under the direction of the Chairman of the Blacksburg Alumni of TKE Inc., Phil Edwards, the mortgage to the “barn” was paid off in full.
In the Spring of 2004, after over 3 years of planning and preparation by the fraternity the TKE house underwent a $500,000 reconstruction project. Past Prytanis Dan Dickerson led the fraternity through the planning process and Past Prytanis Hunter Dasch led the fraternity while construction was underway and Xi-Omega was homeless. Financing and planning was handled by Blacksburg Alumni of TKE Inc, under the leadership of Phil Edwards, Josh Lawrence, Christian Dellett and Tim Murray. After months of delays and difficulties with the Blacksburg Town Council the barn was finally completed. In the Fall of 2004, Xi-Omega TKE returned to the new “Barn” under the leadership of Prytanis E. Adam Levy. Today, the barn is a symbol of the hard work and dedication that every Xi-Omega TKE has given to making it all possible.
