Page 3 - The Delta Shield - Winter 2016-17

Alumni News

TN Delta Welcomes New Board President

Rob Ayerst ’78, TN Delta 902, is a 1981 doing this for a long time. I would like to add board own cooks, James, and then Richard, so dinners
graduate from Vanderbilt School of Engineering. members to be the new secretary and new treasurer. were eaten together at the house.
After graduation, he started working for Currently, those roles have been held admirably
International Paper Company in Mobile, AL, as an by Ross Rainwater ’65 for many years, and he How did the tradition of hosting chapter
engineer and has spent the past 35 years working has expressed an interest in stepping down. I also members at the lake begin?
in various areas, including corporate technology, would like to have younger members on our board.
global sourcing and supply chain operations. which I am 57 years old and the youngest member. I also It started about three years ago when I
led him to the global headquarters in Memphis, TN. would like to establish better fundraising programs reconnected with the chapter during the re-
He has been married to his wife, Lisa, for 35 years to cover House Corporation expenses plus worthy chartering ceremony and initiations. When I
with two grown daughters, Amanda and Allison. causes like the “Chapter Leadership Fund.” Finally, realized that Vanderbilt was only 90 miles from
His renewed engagement with the chapter began the board would like to see a new chapter adviser where I keep my sailboat, I thought it would be a
with the TN Delta Campaign to renovate the house in place, although it is not our responsibility to find great opportunity to have undergraduates on board
in 2011-2013, becoming a member of the TN that replacement. for a day on the lake, to get to know them and find
Delta House Corporation Board out about what was going on their lives. We’ve
in 2013. He and his family enjoy had some fun adventures and plan to continue to
spending their spare time on do this.
Kentucky Lake sailing their 37-
foot sailboat, Buenos Aires, and What advice can you give the alumni
have hosted numerous groups of about maintaining a relationship with
Phi Psi undergraduates aboard for the chapter?
a day at the lake.
It starts with coming back to the house for
Why is being on the board Homecoming in the fall or Founders Day in
important to you? February. It has been difficult in the past because
for so many years the chapter really didn’t care
I wanted to have the about the alumni nor the condition of the house.
Now they do care. We want to offer opportunities
opportunity to “pay it forward” to alumni to support the chapter and the house both
financially and with volunteer service.
to the current and future brothers

of TN Delta Chapter. When I The Ayerst family on their boat, Buenos Aires, on Kentucky Lake.
and my fellow brothers were

undergraduates, there was a lot Do you have any favorite memories from
of pride and ownership of the house; therefore it your time as an active member?
was well taken care of and maintained. It also gives
me the opportunity to be more connected with TN There are very many favorite memories of my
Delta now that I am a more active with the chapter.
time as an active member. The chapter put on many

great parties, including band parties at the house, as

What would you like to see achieved well as in different locations in Nashville or out of
during your term? town. We also started the Phi Psi 500 tricycle race

We have officers on our board who have been that raised money for a worthy cause. We had our

Chapter Eternal We are saddened to learn of the passing of the following TN Delta brother. Our deepest
sympathies to his friends and family.

Michael Joseph Benton ’69, of Franklin, 1983, he began working for Gresham, Smith, and Partners. Promoted to
Tennessee, passed away after an partner, Mike, a lifelong electrical engineer, retired in 2005 as engineering
extended illness in Knoxville, Tennessee, production manager for Corporate Healthcare Facility Design.
on the 22nd of October, 2016. Mike was a
member of the Methodist Church. He was Mike was a die-hard NASCAR fan and a lifelong Indy 500 fan. He
born and raised in Richmond, Indiana. After rooted for Tennessee Titans football and Nashville Predators hockey. Mike
graduating from Richmond High School, enjoyed Caribbean cruising and traveling with his wife, Dee. He served
in 1968 he was awarded an academic on the board of governors of the Tennessee Special Olympics,
scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University and helped to raise extensive funds for the charity. Mike
and moved to Nashville, TN. While attending Vanderbilt, Mike played on loved playing golf and was primarily responsible for
the Commodores baseball team. organizing and overseeing the execution
After graduating from Vanderbilt with a bachelor’s in electrical of the Nashville golf tournament for the
engineering, Mike worked for McWhorter & Franklin Engineers. In Special Olympics. Mike, you will be
missed, but not forgotten.