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.
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