Alpha Sigma Society Founder's Page
Irwin Haydock

It was my pleasure to be there for the 50th reunion of Alpha Sigma Society, and also for the 20th (back in 1977). Now I have my 20th T-shirt signed by you, Joe Cotchett, Walt Clark, Joe Baiocco, Steve Holman, Frank Frankel, and Dan Robertson. I also proudly wear this years beautiful Alpha Sigma collared shirt, and my "Lifer" cap, complete with scrambled eggs, thanks to the generosity of Ralph Evans. It gives me the opening to tell others what we have accomplished. Finally, I have a name tag that contains on the back the original written meaning we attached to Alpha Sigma Society. Thanks. All these things are precious to me!

I was happy to find a few of the early birds, including 'Big Bird' Joseph Cotchett* and another one of my closest friends, Michael McRae, who brought his wife by on Friday to say hello - she had a great time and wants to do it again. They just live over the hill! I also missed seeing Willis Hill who was just a few miles away, but Hal Wright was there to make me feel at home. Sadly, I was not able to convince Steve Walther to leave Vegas on such short notice, and I never got a call back from Oliver Wilgress in Bellingham? I had the advantage of everyone knowing my name, and a bit of my reputation (from Google?); I wish I could have come to know each of you as well. We should each call a few brothers to expand the circle the next time, maybe on one of those short cruises - not to the Antarctic, please.

I know that the Society has evolved in new ways over the past five decades. But I believe that the proof of our original concept and purpose was clearly shown by every individual I met and/or heard about at our reunion. I just wish there had been more time to get to know each one of you better. Together, we have accomplished a great deal over the past half-century, and we must certainly keep doing this as long as we are able.

Please keep me in the Alumni's loop; I do want to contribute in any way I can. I will start by sending in my Life Membership dues to the Alumni Association ASAP. And, also, I should mention that Eva was very impressed with what we had accomplished as a Society. She came away very happy that she had been able to meet all of you and hopes to do it again, soon.

Finally, it was nice to hear from you that my old pal John Madden acknowledged our Pozo adventure on his KCBS talk show. But I still think John is a real turkey (even though his favorite holiday meal is 'TurDuckEn') and he needs to show more appreciation to our school, Cal Poly, which gave him his start. Maybe he should start thinking like our own famous founder, Joseph Cotchett, and find his own unique way to give back. Pat Lovell, an even closer friend of mine living in Santa Cruz, had forgotten all about Pozo, but he continues to honor Cal Poly's history as a place with his occasional presence. We have all 'Learned by Doing' and we should all pay it back to assure Cal Poly's bright future. That is why I am serving on our small committee.

My best to all the brothers, and all their others, including our own little sisters (a unique concept that the founders regretfully neglected). The 50th was truly a memorable experience for me.

Irwin Haydock and Eva Byers

P.S. I must apologize for not ending my brief remarks more appropriately at the Saturday dinner. Later on that night I looked down and realized there is only one proper ending for a fraternity party. I forgot to ask us all to lift our many glasses of Conrad's son David's fine wines in a toast to the honored place Alpha Sigma Society holds in our hearts and in Cal Poly's history. Thank you David, thank you Cal Poly, SLO, and thank you Alpha Sigma Alumni. Hope to see you all again soon.

*For those who told me they thought Joe has neglected to mention his humble beginings. http://www.cpsmlaw.com/profiles/cotchett.html - as he recalls it:

... "Joe Cotchett has been a champion for justice since his college days. As an engineering student in the South, Joe challenged segregation by drinking from segregated water fountains and riding in the back of buses. Later, as a student at Cal Poly, Joe successfully established the first integrated fraternity, which prompted the other fraternities on campus to follow suit."

Joe recently sent me a copy of his book, The Ethics Gap: Greed and the Casino Society (The Erosion of Ethics in Our Professions, Business and Government) Joseph W. Cotchett. (Parker and Son, 1991), which should be required reading for all our Alpha Sigma brothers. Hopefully, he will bring it up to date since the lessons he documents have still not been put in practice. One recent example: sub-prime lending industry.

Return to Home Page