Unveiling the 64th Second District Conference - SAVE THE DATE

Right now, Omega men across the country are readying for the trek to Washington, D.C. to celebrate and observe 100 years of "blood, sweat and tears" of the World's Greatest Fraternity. But right behind that historic gathering in the birthplace of Omega Psi Phi is something truly special for Brothers of the Second District -- the upcoming 2012 Second District Conference scheduled for the gleaming, new National Harbor complex in Prince George's County, Md.

View of National Harbor

National Harbor is located on the banks of the scenic Potomac River just outside of Washington,D.C. The dates have now been set and Brothers across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania are making note of April 26-29, 2012 as "purple letter days."

The 64th Second District Conference is being hosted by Gamma Pi chapter of Prince George's. The Super Chapter long ago started the ball rolling in terms of planning. But now, with the Centennial approaching, a "buzz" is beginning to make its way throughout the Second District in anticipation of what promises to be a truly unique event for Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.The often-heard line is: "Brothers of the Second District have a one-two knockout punch coming with the Centennial this summer...and then the Second District Conference next year."

For Brothers of "2D," gathering to take up Omega's business at the National Harbor will be a fitting way to kick off the "next 100 years" of the Fraternity within the Second District. This venue is classy, interesting, exciting and provides an atmosphere that will make this weekend tailor-made for bringing families and significant others to the Conference. There will be something for everybody to do.

National Harbor at Night ... 

In the coming weeks and months, Brother District Representative Kenneth E. Rodgers and Brother Eddie High, the District Marshal for the conference, will be updating you regularly on details regarding registration, and the agenda. Get yourself "plugged in" now so you don't miss a beat and so you can plan and save for what will be "2D's best-ever District Conference."It will be memorable and you will want to be there for "Ques on the Harbor." Take these steps now to get "plugged in":

Follow Gamma Pi on FACEBOOK (search for Gamma Pi chapter)

Follow Gamma Pi on TWITTER

Follow Gamma Pi on YOU TUBE

Bookmark our new website: http://www.gammapi.org/

Keep up with Gamma Pi on Gamma Pi LIVE

We will also be publishing a newsletter about the upcoming conference in the near future.

National Harbor is on track to become by the time the conference begins, the premier water-located entertainment and resort complex in the entire Northeast. The backdrop it provides to the upcoming 2012 District meeting -- the first of "the next 100 years" -- is fascinating: dining, shopping, nightlife, comfortable accommodations, sightseeing,  miles of waterfront, and accessibility to the Nation's Capitol on the other side of the river. 

Want to share this exciting information with other Brothers? Just click on the icons below to post to your own Facebook or Twitter accounts or send a blast e-mail out to your contacts.

Member of Gamma Pi's "Cradle of Preachers" Leads Major Youth Anti-Crime Rally in Caribbean Homeland

Bro. Minister Michael Turnbull is one of the newer members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., having entered the Fraternity in '08. As he goes about his way, he can be rather quiet and unassuming until, that is, he is asked to give Brothers a Word from the Lord to close out a meeting, share a Pearl of spiritual wisdom when he has to stand in for the Chaplain, or when he cracks his Bible and speaks to Brothers as part of Gamma Pi's Ques for Christ. Brother Turnbull can get quite animated about the Lord and Omega Psi Phi! He is among Gamma Pi's "cradle of preachers" which includes Second District Chaplain Brother Dr. Gerald Folsom.

Bro. Turnbull speaksto BVI youth

Back home in the British Virgin Islands, a Brisitsh Territory, Bro. Turnbull makes a lot of noise and a lot of people listen. A few weeks ago, Bro. Turnbull led a huge rally ("Stand Out") of young people against crime and for Christ during an event sponsored by the Hope Foundation (BVI) Limited headed by Bro. Turnbull and his brother, Mitch. The rally attracted several thousand youths and a litany of speakers including the country's Minister of Education and Culture, Andrew Fahie.  It was covered by the national media. Here are some news reports: Virgin Islands News Online, VI Platinum News, BVI Beacon.

Bro. Turnbull, in the spirit of the Omega Psi Phi Cardinal Principles of Scholarship and Uplift, joined other speakers from the stage in warning the young people about the dangers of gangs and crime, encouraging them to listen to their parents, directing them to seek lives of purpose, stressing the importance of education, and ultimately leading them to Christ.  The successful rally resulted in some 200 youths signing up for the Hope Foundation's Lion Heart Mentorship Programme.

Below is a video from the rally featuring one of the speakers who is a former "gang banger" in the U.S., as well as several photos, including a couple of shots of Bro. Turnbull "in action."  Click here to send him an e-mail shout out and congratulate him on some great work that makes Omega (and the Supreme Basileus) quite proud!

A Truly Humbling Experience -- Coming Face-to-Face with the Plight of Very Young Black Men Behind Bars

Brother Greg Crawley, new to Gamma Pi, organized a very successful mentoring visit to a local youth detention facility this past weekend and wrote this dispatch for the blog as a follow-up:

Brother Crawley

The Gamma Pi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity participated in a united effort to impact the youth in our community. The Joint Fraternal Outreach Project took place this past Saturday, May 21, 8:30am – 2pm, at the Cheltenham Youth Facility (CYF) in Cheltenham, MD. Located in Prince George's County, MD. CYF serves young men awaiting trial or court disposition from Anne Arundel, Prince George's, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties.

Other Greek Fraternities that participated in this event were Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Phi Beta Sigma, and Iota Phi Theta Fraternities, Inc. Unity in the Community” was the theme for this event. Gamma Pi’s mentoring topics were Safe Sex, STD’s, and Pregnancy Prevention. The fraternities organized themselves into 6 integrated teams and presented the various topics to all 130 plus of the young men in the facility.

Fraternity men reaching out

It was very humbling to see the number of youths that really did not understand the concept of family structure, and establishing yourself professionally before bringing children into this world so that you have adequate resources to provide for them. As we listened to a number of testimonials from the young men in the facility it became very evident that many of them have never had a positive male role model in their life to help them to stay on that path to success.

The Brothers of Gamma Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity hope that this is just the start of something bigger as we continue to try to reach out to the young black men of our society. They are our future.

                                                              --- by Brother Greg Crawley

Brother Crawley will be providing updated information in the coming days. Click here for updated information on a scheduled TV news report on the project from Prince George's Community TV. CTV sent a crew to cover the event. Click here to listen to Bro. Crawley describe the experience in an audio clip posted on the Gamma Pi web site.


The Men of Gamma Pi 



Different Colors, Different Fraternities, Singular Purpose

Gamma Pi Members Make News at Home and Halfway Around the World



Brother Ambassador Taylor

Former Gamma Pi Basileus and current U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Teddy B. Taylor has been in the news in recent days and weeks over in the South Pacific along with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Brother Ambassador Taylor and the Secretary of State have been quoted in print and broadcast media about the location of a new U.S. Aid office in the region. Here is a link to one of those brief news reports Radio New Zealand International.

Brother Ambassador Taylor was also recently part of a very important ceremony in the Republic of Vanuatu that was captured on video. In the two videos below, he is an active participant in a "handing over" ceremony concerning a major road on the island nation. Watch Brother Taylor "at work" playing an official role representing the U.S. in the ceremony and then he gives a major speech recognizing the occasion also in behalf of the U.S.  The speech is carried in its entirety.

Brother Ambassador Taylor is very prominent in both videos. The top video is mainly of Brother Ambassador Taylor's official remarks. The second video shows the snake-like line of the official motorcade bringing him and other top officials in for the ceremony. The rest of the video shows various aspects of the ceremony. Brother Ambassador Taylor is very visible consistently throughout both videos. To learn more about Vanuatu and see more video and photos of Brother Ambassador Taylor's visit there, click here to visit the island nation's Facebook Page.



Brother County Executive Baker

 Closer to home, Brother County Executive Rushern Baker is the subject of a four-part video interview series about his first few months in office. The video interviews were posted in recent days on all Prince George's County editions of the Patch, a new local news online newsletter that features news and information tailored to individual communities. Part I of the video interview series is also posted on Gamma Pi's web site in the Multimedia section.


Speaking to County Residents

In the video interviews, Brother County Executive Baker addresses the transition, the county's image, employee pay and development in Prince George's  County.  Click on the links below to view each part of the series:

Part I (The Transition)
Part II (Development in the County)
Part III (County Employees and Pay)
Part IV (The County's Image)