Volunteer Profile – Steve Finn, SMU ’80
Steve Finn, SMU ’80, has over forty-five years of experience in the capital markets and specializes in the municipal bond market. His client base includes institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals. Since November 2000, he has been working for SAMCO Capital Markets, a company based in Austin, Texas.
Why did you join Phi Delt, and how has it impacted your life and career?
I arrived at the campus of Southern Methodist University in the fall of 1976, and I knew nothing about Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. As I started meeting members from different houses, every time I met a member of Texas Delta, I walked away knowing that they were the best men on campus. Luckily, I received a bid to join our Fraternity and was initiated on April 20, 1977. Little did I know that during my time at SMU, I would be elected IFC president and then receive a job offer to start my lifelong career from a brother who had graduated from Vanderbilt University. I also didn’t realize, as an undergraduate member, that by signing The Bond, I was now a Phi Delt for life. I owe a great deal to the Fraternity, and I’ve been trying to pay it back through my gifts and service to our active members, including being a CAB member of Texas Delta since fall 2014, and then becoming province president of Rho North in spring 2021.
Who or what inspired you to become a volunteer?
In the spring of 2014, Texas Delta faced some serious issues with its members and the university. Four of my brothers—Tom Sabin, ’79, Kent Krause, ’79, Mike Bristol, ’77, and Charlie Carneal, ’73—stepped up and changed the chapter’s direction. I knew I wanted to be part of that, and I was asked to join the CAB later that fall. From that low point, the CAB and our undergraduates worked hard to foster a positive culture within the chapter. At the 2021 Pittsburgh Convention, Texas Delta received the Kansas City Trophy for the best chapter of its size nationwide. I feel very privileged to be part of that success. That same year, I was asked by the CAB to volunteer as the province president of Rho North. I also just completed my fourth year teaching at the Kleberg Leadership Institute, which has been a very rewarding experience for me, working with brothers from all over the country.
What would you tell someone who is considering volunteering for Phi Delta Theta?
Over half of my job as a volunteer involves simply showing up and letting the members know that I care about them and am there to serve and help them improve their chapter, grow their membership, and enhance their undergraduate experience by being a member of Phi Delta Theta.
