CONSUL REID WILLIAMS '75

LIVING OUR VALUES
A DROPOUT TURNED CONSUL. WTF?
by Reid Williams, ’75
I was born and raised on a farm outside of Monroe, MI. I was taught a strong work ethic early on and was driving tractors and working fields at age 12. Through high school and college I always held at least two jobs, three during summers.

I went to MSU to pursue a degree in engineering. I start out with calculus, chemistry, computer science and ATL. Big mistake. I pull a 1.5 my freshman year and am lost. Soon I realized that I was not going to graduate. I was to be the first in our bloodline to earn a B.S., but all I did was play racquetball and lift free weights.
My sophomore year, my friend Scott Essex asked me to rush Sigma Chi. I was determined to succeed, I did everything asked of me.

Sigma Chi is a Christian based fraternity and its crest is a White Cross and a Norman Shield. There are several stages, parables and lessons to be learned during initiation. One of the final ones is to go out on campus at night, with a flashlight, on the search we have all went on.

At our initiation ceremony we were charged by the Consul to be true, faithful, and high-minded gentlemen. The White Cross was placed on our chest. Yay, we were in!

Soon afterward, we went to a home football game. I sat next to pledge-mate Lee Masty and asked if he was successful on his quest. Turns out he was.

I went into shock. I realized my act was only kidding myself and I had missed the whole point of initiation. It hit me hard. It was the first of two true epiphanies of my life. I’m talking tunnel vision, ears ringing, heart pounding, and literally struggling to find my way back to the house.

The first thing I did when I got back to the House was to tell Consul Alan Crites that I needed to move in to the House ASAP. I had amends to make, not just to the brothers I thought I had deceived, but to myself. After a week and a half of serious depression where I could not look a brother in the eye. I got after it, stripping, sanding, staining, varnishing and refinishing all the dining room tables, paneling the shower room and elected social chairman.
I worked 20 hours a week at the Physical Plant, would meet our cook Rosa every morning at 6:30 for coffee, then ride my bike to punch in at 7:00.

When it was time to elect a new Consul, Rosa told me, “You’re the one. You have to run. This place needs you.” I believed her, ran and won. Funny, what a double dose of vitamin ‘C’ (confidence) can inspire. When I gave the Charge to pledges at Initiation like Joe Chisholm, Mike Green, Matt Kraay, Tom Selke, etc. I took it to heart. I didn’t miss a beat and felt like Charlton Heston.

Tom Turk and E.B. Hill said “It’s one of the best I’ve ever heard.”

I was so busy. I learned to study and got my best grades making the Dean’s list three times. My Little Brother, Matt Kraay said I should call his dad as he was looking to fill a position at OCF. I did and I got it.

Thirty-two years later, at age 54, I retired a multi-millionaire. Still with the once used resume my mother typed on mimeograph paper.

My point is, Sigma Chi truly saved my life. I just needed a wake-up call and a double dose of confidence, especially with study habits.
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We need to find a way to get this message out to undergraduates before they give up. Not just to go Sigma Chi, but to Go Greek! My daughter is a KD and she can tell you about confidence.
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In Hoc,

Reid Williams ’75
(425) 736-7427   reidmwilliams@comcast.net

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