Zeta Iota Installed After 25-Year Wait
Twenty-five years is a long time to wait. The wait came to an end on April 7 when the Zeta Iota alumni watched their chapter return to the University of West Florida.
Colonized in October 2023, the men of the Zeta Iota Crescent Colony labored for months to see their dream of chapter status become a reality. As the lights brightened and the applause began, a deferred dream of 25 years became a reality with more than just one damp eye.
Originally chartered on February 27, 1972, the Zeta Iota Chapter produced many of the most dedicated and committed alumni in the Fraternity. Zeta Iota Delts have served as chapter advisors, Foundation contributors and mentors to countless other volunteers and chapters. Even the famous Naples Delt rallies trace much of their success to a Zeta Iota Delt, John Garbo (West Florida, 1975), who has attended every Naples rally since they began in 1982.
It was only fitting, then, that more than 50 alumni returned with their guests to welcome the newest Zeta Iota Delts to the Fraternity. An unusual setting for the occasion, the Commerce Museum of UWF, resonated with nostalgia and the glory years of past decades. The setting provided a fitting backdrop for men who have never lost their love for the Fraternity and are ready to share it with a new generation.
The Ritual was superbly performed by the undergraduate brothers of the Zeta Chi Chapter at the University of Southern Mississippi. In what is believed to be a rarity in the Fraternity, the men of Zeta Chi installed the Delts of UWF on Sunday after initiating the men of Epsilon Kappa at LSU only two days earlier. The Fraternity is grateful for its exemplary collection of good Delts from Hattiesburg.
To conclude the celebratory banquet, Fraternity Vice Chairman Anthony Albanese (American, 1996) stated it best when he provided the men with words of encouragement and praise. “It is a truly fantastic day in Pensacola as we mark the return of the Zeta Iota Chapter. The enthusiasm of our undergraduates and our committed alumni here today will guarantee a bright future for the chapter. Count on it,” Albanese said.
Letters of congratulations to the newest Delts at UWF may be sent to Delta Tau Delta, Bldg 22, Room 244, 11000 University Pkwy, Pensacola, FL 32514.