Zeta Psi Canadian Quarterly

Having been re-elected to a second term as Zeta Psi's Phi Alpha, allow me to introduce myself to those Canadian Zetes who don't know me well. I grew up in the Boston area where my only association with Canadians was with families who had come from Quebec or New Brunswick and whose native tongue was French. Little did I know from that background that French was not the prevalent language of Canadians, so as I attended my first-ever convention in 1971, in Halifax, I discovered that Canada was officially bilingual, and only a small percentage of its citizens spoke French as their primary language, and in fact, a relatively small percentage of Canadians outside of Quebec spoke any French. That first convention was an eye-opener for me, as it exposed me not only to the welcome hospitality of my Canadian Brothers, but to the notion that Zeta Psi Fraternity was truly and proudly an organization of North America.

During that next year I visited all Zeta Psi chapters, and had the pleasure of visiting every chapter in the U.S. and Canada-from my start in Nova Scotia at the '71 convention to my first Canadian Conference in Calgary, as well as stops in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and London. In fact, I can say proudly that I have set my feet in every Canadian Province except for Newfoundland-but how many Canadians have ever actually pressed the flesh with a Newfie in that province?

I was hired at the 1972 Zete Convention in Boston as Executive Director by a Zeta Psi President, Jim McLaughlin of Toronto, who would become not only my first boss, but my first and foremost mentor. A year after that, I hired as my first employee George McNeillie, also of our Theta Xi Chapter, as Chapter Consultant. My Zeta Psi routes in Canada are therefore profound and meaningful in my Zete, as well as my personal, life.

I have developed lifelong friendships in every province of Canada where Zeta Psi has a chapter, and I have dear Zete friends in several Canadian cities, especially in Toronto and Montreal. I participated in reactivations of Canadian chapters at Dalhousie, Alberta, UBC and McGill and supported expansion in Canada where Zeta Psi had not previously been. Since my first convention in Halifax, I have been privileged to participate in Canadian conventions in Toronto (three times), Calgary (twice), Winnipeg and Montreal. It will be my honor to conclude my term as Phi Alpha at Zeta Psi's 161^st Convention in Montreal next August-my eighth convention in Canada in my streak of 37 conventions since Halifax in 1971. I hope to see and greet many of my Canadian Brothers in Montreal next summer, so please mark the dates: August 13-16, 2008.

We are the first fraternity in Canada, for which all Zetes should be justly proud. Our legacy as the first International Fraternity will never be taken for granted, nor minimized in the grander scope of who we are as one of North America's oldest and most prestigious fraternities. As we embark on the 2007-08 school year, let us all continue to be proud to be Zetes and know that we are THE International Fraternity because Zeta Psi has prospered in Canada for over 125 years. Let it always be so that we honor and value our international brotherhood. Have a great year ahead!

Celebrating our International Brotherhood in Tau Kappa Phi,

Greg McElroy,

Phi Alpha CXXXI