General Council President Nat Love’s Challenge: Guard Against Elation

General Council President Nat Love’s Challenge: Guard Against Elation

General Council President Nat Love challenges you to ask yourself, ‘What more can I do?’ 

General Council President Nat Love’s childhood was very nomadic. When he was very young, his father was in the United States Air Force. Born in Sacramento, California, at six months old, Nat’s parents moved the family across the country to the Maine-New Hampshire border. After his father’s service in the air force concluded, the family moved back to Michigan, and his dad rejoined General Motors. The family didn’t stay in Michigan for long, as his dad’s position took the family all over the world. In the following interview, Nat talks about growing up, his fraternity experience, and his vision for the next biennium. 

Nat’s Journey to Phi Delt 

I went to high school at the American School in London, not far from Paul McCartney’s house. Our family lived fifteen miles north in the town of Watford. Watford’s only reason for fame was that a certain musician grew up in a smaller village right next to it, and his favorite football team was the Watford Hornets. That musician ended up being one of the most popular musicians in the world; his name was Sir Elton John. He ended up playing two concerts in my high school gym as his career was starting to take off. 

After graduation, I left England to come home to college in America. I was planning on studying pharmacy, and at that time, there were only seventy-five schools that had pharmacy programs. I applied to five of the schools, and was accepted by all five. Because I went to school in the United Kingdom, some schools thought I was an international student and didn’t even send me an application, such as Purdue. University of Michigan did, however, and I applied and was accepted. 

I was a young undergrad, only seventeen when I arrived on campus. I was paired with an MBA student from Bowdoin College in Maine as my roommate. As I mentioned in my opening letter, my roommate, Larry Butler, was Greek, and he encouraged me to go through recruitment so that I could meet people since I had been abroad through high school. 

Neither of my parents was in a Greek organization. No uncles either, so I had no real connection or real plans to join a Greek organization. But Larry often encouraged me, and when recruitment time came in January, he said, “You know, you should check them out.” 

Michigan had a fairly strong Greek community. I think there were about thirty or so fraternities. So, as a group of friends from the dorm, we went and made a connection at Phi Delt, primarily due to sports. The athletic director of the chapter was pressuring the recruitment chairman to recruit a lot of multi-sport athletes because he wanted to win the IM championship. 

Well, he was able to do that. I was in a pledge class of nineteen, which, for Michigan at the time, was a big class. For example, the class before was four. And of the nineteen, most of us, if not all of us, had played two or three sports in high school, with one of them a varsity, cross-country runner. We did go on to win the IM championship that year, and for many years to come.  

One of the greatest experiences I think anyone can have is to live in the chapter house, and I was fortunate to live in Michigan Alpha’s for three years. That was primarily due to the fact that I held officer roles. So, although I was not the chapter president, I was the steward, which I would argue is the most powerful position in the chapter house when you control people’s stomachs and work with the house manager to make sure jobs get done. When your brothers don’t get to eat, a lot of people either like you or don’t at certain times. 

I also served as a scholarship chairman and represented the pharmacy school on the student government. For the last few years, I was the alumni secretary. Pharmacy school is a six-year program, so during the final two years, I lived down the street with two older Phi Delts in what we called the PDT clinic. One of my roommates, Jon McLain, ’77, was in dental school, and the other, Ralph Everson, ’78, was in medical school. So, we might have taken out a few stitches, put in a few stitches, maybe done a few other minor surgical procedures. Treated a lot of common aches and pains. I always joke that we had an HMO (health maintenance organization) long before they became popular. 

Just after my junior year, I started working for Meijer, the originator of the supercenter supermarket concept, as an intern in 1978. So, when I graduated, I had a choice to make. 

I could continue working at Meijer, where I had benefits and was about a year and a half away from earning another week of vacation, among other perks. Or I was considering moving to Snowbird, just outside Salt Lake City, to be a pharmacist at the pharmacy there, where I would have done a lot of skiing and probably paid very little, and definitely would have received few benefits. 

For some reason, common sense took over, and I didn’t pursue what seemed like an exciting job working in Snowbird. I ended up working for Meijer for thirty-eight years, eventually retiring as the vice president of drug store. While at Meijer, I served on the University of Michigan pharmacy advisory board for twelve years. 

When I graduated, I was asked to join the house corporation for Michigan Alpha. I believe that was mainly for two reasons. The first reason was that the chapter, along with the house corporation, had started a golf tournament, and the house corporation guys didn’t want to lose it since it had become an annual event. The second reason was that I could type. Back then, there were no word processors or personal computers. Using a list provided by General Headquarters, I had to type on labels with a typewriter, stick the labels to envelopes, and send them out. Regardless of the reasons, I was happy to be asked and served as a member for seventeen years, the last three as president. 

I lived the life of a normal alumnus for about two years, then one day Mike Scarlatelli called. He had just been elected to the General Council as a member-at-large, and he asked me if I would be interested in being the Sigma North province president. This was in 2000. I did that job for the next eighteen years. I had pretty much all the chapters in Michigan and occasionally, Bowling Green State University, in Ohio. 

I found that being a province president was probably one of the more rewarding jobs in our organization. Jim Warner became the Sigma South province president at the same time, and as our regions at times overlapped, we got to know each other well. We were province president pledge brothers.   

Jim and I started hosting Bi-Prov Retreats. These grew into the Quad-Prov Retreat, which included chapters from Central and Northeastern Ohio, along with all Michigan chapters. Besides offering member development, the retreats provided an opportunity for Phi Delts to work with province presidents and create programs that addressed urgent topics relevant to both undergraduates and the province. It was also a chance for undergraduates to meet Phi Delts outside their chapter and get a sense of a larger Phi Delt community. These regional conferences were the springboard for the Fraternity-wide province retreat model. 

In 2018, I was in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, when General Council Treasurer Dr. Chris W. Brussalis called and asked if I would consider running for the General Council. I couldn’t believe anyone would care about my opinion, but I decided to run. I was elected at the 2018 General Convention in San Antonio, along with J. David Almacy. Dave and I became General Council pledge brothers and, for the next seven years, we served on the council together. As I reflect on this period of time, we had quite an interesting run. 

Our first retreat as a council was supposed to be held in Asheville, North Carolina, but then Hurricane Florence was on track to make a direct hit. This seemed like it could be a sign of how our term might go. Especially since the meeting was taking place nine months after Max Gruver died due to hazing at Louisiana Beta. As a result, the Fraternity was reviewing policies, Phikeia education, and ways to keep our members safe. The council ended up meeting in Hueston Woods Park, just outside of Oxford, Ohio.  

Our other major focus of that first meeting was reviewing Phi Delta Theta’s strategic plan, Phi Delt 2020, and planning for Phi Delt 2030. In drafting the plan, we were discussing the enrollment cliff, the decline in young men attending four-year higher education institutions, and more. COVID-19, and the challenges it would bring to our members, wasn’t even on our radar yet. Thankfully, five years into the 2030 plan, the Fraternity is ahead in nearly every metric. Like any good organization, strategic plans are somewhat fluid because they are always being adjusted as the world continues to change. In fact, at the first retreat of this biennium, the General Council and General Headquarters staff reviewed and revised the plan to set the Fraternity up for continued growth and success. 

Challenging Ourselves to Do More 

This biennium, the General Council will be focused on: 

• Being guided by our three Cardinal Principles of Friendship, Sound Learning, and Rectitude.  

• Attracting the top talent on our college campuses and bringing them into our Fraternity. Growing both our number of members and our chapters.  

• Continuing to focus on member development by providing programming and resources to allow our members, undergraduate and alumni alike, to become the greatest versions of themselves. 

• Completing the rollout of our unified Phikeia education program. 

• Providing the highest level of chapter support in the industry by focusing on consistent engagement. 

• Continuing to move North Hall Properties and all its entities forward to provide safe and affordable housing for our undergraduate members. 

• Increasing the number of volunteers and training them so that they are well-equipped to work with our undergraduate members. 

• Growing alumni engagement and building on the success of First Thursdays with the Phis, as laid out in Phi Delt 2030.  

For this biennium, we have created a challenge coin. If we cross paths while I’m traveling, I might give you a coin. On one side is our Fraternity brand mark surrounded by our three Cardinal Principles of Friendship, Sound Learning, and Rectitude. Use this side of the coin as a reminder of The Bond you signed and use it to navigate life’s challenges as you pursue the greatest version of yourself. Reflect on this side of the challenge coin and ask yourself, “how can I use the Cardinal Principles to achieve the goals that are important to me?” If you use these principles as your life filter, you’re going to live a pretty good life. You’re going to be a pretty good father, a pretty good husband, and a pretty good member of society. 

On the backside of the challenge coin, Guard Against Elation. The phrase comes from our founder, Robert Morrison, when he made his farewell address to the attendees at our Semi-Centennial Convention in 1898. Guard Against Elation reminds us that we can do more. That is why one of the biggest focuses for this biennium will be on growth. We have invested in hiring recruitment specialists to support ten emerging chapters, the eight fall expansion projects, and at least five confirmed spring expansions. We aren’t just focused on the number of chapters but also the size. Ever since the Fraternity implemented alcohol-free housing in 2000, the quality of our members has increased exponentially. The intelligence of these students leads me to wonder if I could even get into Phi Delta Theta anymore! They just have a thirst to learn, and on top of that, over the past ten years, they have adopted the concept of philanthropy. 

Whenever I attend conferences and events with leaders from our peer organizations, I feel very proud of our members. Whether it’s their GPA, campus and community leadership, or making a difference in people’s lives by raising money for Live Like Lou or supporting families affected by ALS through the Connect and Serve program, my Phi Delta Theta brothers truly stand out.  

Which leads me back to Robert Morrison’s farewell speech. What can we do to support even more ALS families? We all know the effect of ALS and how devastating it is, not only on the patient but also on the family. It’s especially hard when one of our members gets this disease.  We know we can do more. Why do we only have forty Iron Phi chapters? Why not one hundred? How many Triple Crown chapters would we have then? What if the Live Like Lou Connect and Serve program could support three hundred families? Raise $2 million? I don’t know what the ceilings are, but I sure would like to find out.  

I think that’s what this biennium is about, challenging ourselves.  

We have the momentum, and we will reach the Foundation’s Campaign 2030 goal of $30 million. Brother Tio Kleberg has embraced our Guide Against Elation and challenged us to get $40 million. Achieving that would allow the Foundation to: educate 2,000 Phis annually through engaging in-person events; grant $2 million each year in scholarships and leadership programs; award $250,000 annually in first-generation scholarships to new members; ensure anti-hazing education reaches high schools via Phi Delta Theta chapters; We can do this, but it will take all of us to reach Tio’s challenge. At just over the halfway point, we thank former chairman and vice chairman Kenny Jastrow and Mike Fimiani for their leadership and vision, and passing the torch onto co-chairs Tio and Janell Kleberg, along with their son Chris as vice chairman, who have stepped up to do more and bring the campaign to a successful close. 

You may remember that Tio and Janell Kleberg were the first to give $1 million to support Phi Delta Theta’s educational programming. The continued success of the Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute led them to ask, “What would another $1 million do?” If the initial gift can support 1,000 Phi Delts each summer in Oxford, why can’t it support 2,000? They have challenged the Fraternity to do just that by 2030 and lead by example by generously supporting the Fraternity with a second $ 1 million gift. Thank you, Tio and Janell! 

Be Proud but Not Satisfied 

I will be challenging Phi Delts as I travel across the country for installations, anniversaries, and Founders Day celebrations, and as I speak to students and volunteers at Kleberg and the McKenzie Family Presidents Leadership Conference, I will encourage them to reflect on their own experiences and ask themselves, What more can they do? For I believe that we all, upon self-reflection, will admit we can all do a little more! 

College is a place to take risks. If you think about it, your chapter is a living lab. It’s an excellent place to learn, push yourself, and develop your leadership skills. You have no idea what the effect of holding an office in your fraternity or being involved on your campus is going to be like till you get twenty years down the road. As you look back, and you say, yeah, that’s where I cut my teeth. That’s where I really learned it. Every CEO that’s ever been invited to speak at Kleberg or McKenzie always reflects back to their fraternity experience; that’s how they got their start. 

Guide against elations! Sit back, reflect, and decide what more you can do to your personal bar. I promise you, it will pay dividends down the road. 

Proud to be a Phi!