In Part 1 of a 3-part series, Adam and Christopher share keynotes and interviews from the 2023 College of Chapters. In this episode, the team shares Col. Keith Gibson’s (Georgia) keynote speech, delivered to College of Chapters attendees in Lexington, VA.
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The Gavel Podcast - Ep 25 - The Founding of Sigma Nu with Col. Keith Gibson (Georgia)
[Intro Music]
0:00:42.9 Adam Girtz: Hello and welcome to the latest episode of The Gavel Podcast. I'm Adam.
0:00:46.9 Christopher Brenton: And I'm Christopher.
0:00:48.8 Adam Girtz: The Gavel podcast is the official podcast of Sigma Nu fraternity, and it's a show dedicated to keeping you updated on the operations of the Legion of Honor and connecting you to the stories from our brotherhood.
0:00:58.5 Christopher Brenton: To find out more from the Fraternity, you can always check out our website at sigmanu.org. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @sigmanuhq or by searching for Sigma Nu Fraternity.
0:01:09.7 Adam Girtz: Christopher, we're back in our studio after having spent some time together in person, which was lovely and wonderful, at the College of Chapters in Roanoke, Virginia. So we're back in the home studio and recording another episode.
0:01:28.1 Christopher Brenton: Yeah, we've been, for those who are weekly listeners, not weekly, monthly listeners, I don't want people to think that they're missing out on episodes, monthly listeners.
0:01:36.7 Adam Girtz: That's our Patreon.
0:01:37.6 Christopher Brenton: Our episodes, actually... [laughter] He's not telling the truth, people. You can't trust him.
0:01:42.0 Adam Girtz: We don't have a Patreon.
0:01:43.5 Christopher Brenton: We do not have a Patreon. But if, if you think that we could really be successful with this and have ideas, please send them to news@sigmanu.org. But, jokes aside, we've been hinting and kind of talking about College of Chapters, which is our annual president's academy, president's conference, where we do a lot of leadership development instruction for our newest collegiate chapter commanders. So that just concluded, which was really exciting. And we've got some fun products for the podcast that are kind of coming out of that experience.
0:02:19.9 Adam Girtz: Content, sweet Content. No. It is really neat. There was a lot of really cool opportunities for us to capture audio at College of Chapters. So, I guess that's a great segue into kind of what we're doing. Well, I will say this week, for this one, because we are planning on releasing a few episodes in quick succession here. So, Christopher Brenton and I, like I said, had an opportunity to capture, some really great audio at College of Chapters, and we'd love to share that with all of you, with our listeners. So, part one of three, of that, series that we're going to do with that, is our episode today, which is featuring a speech given to the commanders, at Virginia Military Institute, as part of our Lexington pilgrimage, delivered by Colonel Keith Gibson. So, Christopher Brenton, could you give us some background on Colonel Keith Gibson and, and I guess why is he speaking to all of the commanders and and why is he a really cool guy that everyone should listen to?
0:03:27.8 Christopher Brenton: Yeah. So, Colonel Keith Gibson has been a longtime friend of the Fraternity. He currently serves as the executive director of the VMI Museum System, and also VMIs Architectural Preservation Officer. And we have been working closely with, with now, Brother Keith, which I'll get to in just a moment, since about 2014 when, College of Chapters, returned to the region, it used to be, you know, for a brief stint, we were, doing it in St. Louis. But then we brought College of Chapters in its current format, to Roanoke and made Lexington a part of our, a tour to, of, sorry, a tour of Lexington a pilgrimage to Lexington, a part of our standard curriculum. And so Keith has been, a longtime partner in that. And, you know, keeping in mind that he is, you know, in charge of the VMI Museum, just as a byproduct of of his work experience, he has become, quite an expert on, specifically Sigma Nu's founding at Virginia Military Institute.
0:04:36.7 Christopher Brenton: He's very much aware of kind of the historical context, of VMI at the time in which the fraternity was founded, as well as the context of the student life experience that was happening in which, the fraternity kind of formed and was established. So, we really turned to him as kind of a great resource to better understand, the founding values of the organization, what was kind of on, the minds, of our three founders as they, formed, the Legion of Honor, and we're excited to bring that conversation to you today. Now, I will say I did kind of preference, brother Keith Gibson, for those of you who may not know, in 2020, so actually just before the pandemic took place, we actually had a special opportunity to initiate, Colonel Keith Gibson as a knight in the Legion of Honor. So he is initiated as a non matriculate, and our Nu chapter served as kind of, the host chapter, for that ceremony. So he is now an official initiative of our Nu chapter at the University of Georgia. So Brother Gibson, we're excited to bring him to the podcast. He is not present for this recording. We are bringing his, a sampling of his, of his speech at College of Chapters that was delivered to our commanders.
0:06:06.0 Adam Girtz: Yeah. And, and when I say he's a cool guy, I'm definitely understating it. Brother Colonel Keith Gibson is, a integral part of the College of Chapters experience, as well as Sigma Nu history. In general, I would say when we look back, he's definitely going to be listed as an exceptional figure, in our fraternity and has done so much, for us, and we really do appreciate all of that, that he's done. So I did want to provide a little bit of extra context as well. Something that you're going to be hearing during his speech is he's going to reference a painting, that is, kind of the backdrop of this presentation that he's giving us. So that painting is the new market battle painting, and it is a huge, huge mural in Memorial Hall at VMI.
0:06:57.5 Adam Girtz: Really incredible painting depicting the cadets from VMI at the Battle of New Market, which was a battle during the Civil War where, cadets, actually, joined with the, Confederate Army to defend, the valley there. So, you know, really, integral part of the, VMI history as well as, kind of Sigma Nu's history there. So, he'll get into a little bit more of the context of that and why it's important to us or why that painting's important to us, and what it means to him and to us. But I did want to reference that, and we are going to include a link to a picture of that painting, in the show notes. So if you're, listening while you're driving, maybe, don't do this, but if you're listening at home, go ahead and, pull up, the link there and take a look at the picture. Take a look at that painting. Very neat, context there. So, alright. Awesome. Well, let's dive into the interview then, and, we'll see you on the back end.
[Transition Music]
0:08:27.0 Colonel Keith Gibson: It is a distinctive honor for me now to speak to you as not someone addressing a visiting organization Sigma Nu from around the nation, but to speak to you as one of you, as I gratefully acknowledge, as was just mentioned. I want to try to give you a context, as you conclude your visit to Lexington. Perhaps for some of you, your very first visit, probably not your last because of your leadership positions in the organization, but I want to, give you a context of how we VMI, we Sigma Nu, have a common bond that goes beyond that moment in October of 1868. In fact, is represented by virtue of your effort, the concerted effort that you've made to gather here today from the four corners of the country, to gather as brothers to share, to become bonded with this mission that you've accepted in each individual chapter that you have.
0:09:40.7 Colonel Keith Gibson: I want to draw your attention back to this painting. It predates the arrival of those members of the class of 1870 that, you know, so well, you know, Hopkins and Riley and Quarles. But this, is a moment in time, very, very much of which they were aware. The individuals that you see depicted in this painting were members of their cadet corps. They arrived at the conclusion of the American Civil War, the cauldron of American history, where the nation that would come from that moment would be incredibly different, a more perfect union than the one that had preceded in 1859, '60, '61. This moment happens about 80 miles to our north on a tiny little farm owned by Jacob and Sarah Bushong, where they had raised three generations of their family by May the 15th, 1864, the moment that's being depicted in the painting, they certainly didn't want a Civil War battle to take place on their farm.
0:10:53.3 Colonel Keith Gibson: "Take it someplace else, please." But there they were caught in that moment. They hid in the basement of their house to avoid the disaster, the destruction that was taking place outside. The VMI cadets were called up primarily because, there wasn't anyone else, any recruit, any reservist was welcome to help defend the valley in that last summer of 1864. And when the Confederate army came through Lexington, they asked permission for the cadets to join them. These school boys, what can you expect of school boys after all? But nevertheless, they knew how to march. They had some rudimentary experience. So they joined the army and marched the 80 miles over four days reaching this moment on a Sunday afternoon. It was a pouring down thunderstorm to add to the intensity of the moment cannon bellowing, muskets firing as the two armies clashed there. At one particular moment, mid-afternoon, the confederate line that had taken its position near an orchard fence was totally shattered. The very center of it simply ceased to exist because of well placed union artillery and musket fire.
0:12:19.0 Colonel Keith Gibson: The Confederate commander, by the way, to give you some sense of how complicated all of this time period was, The Confederate commander at that moment was a guy named John Breckenridge. If you know that name at all, it's because he was Vice President of the United States in 1859 and 1860, just before the war. But now, four years later, there he is commanding the Confederates here along that orchard line. He saw the center of his line totally evaporate, and he had to repair that breach, or the battle was over for him. So he says, send the cadets in, those reservists, send them in. I know they've never been in a battle. I know they're untried, untested, but this, we've, it's them or no one. Either they will rise to the occasion or defeat will follow. The cadets are given their order, and they march forward and they restore that hole in the gap, in the gap of the Confederate line.
0:13:24.7 Colonel Keith Gibson: They're stepping over the maimed and wounded and dead bodies of those who had just previously been there before them. Now it's their turn They must have thought, but they continue on. They are not deterred. They continue on. They reestablish the line. They successfully command a charge across a muddied, weak field, literally tearing their shoes off their feet as they tramped across the mud. They named it the field of lost shoes after that. And they achieve a victory on that day. When the VMI Cadet Corps today comes into this building, or if you had the opportunity to say, what do you think of that painting in there? They would say that painting is about brotherhood. It's about those individuals joining together to create a force that no particular individual could have accomplished alone. They find strength in their numbers, in their unity, in their common bonded experience to take them across that field into, for some of them certain death.
0:14:42.8 Colonel Keith Gibson: 10 cadets died. 47 were wounded, and many of the survivors returned to the institute and became the brothers, the VMI brothers of Riley and Quarles, the founders of Sigma Nu. After the war, if you know your Sigma Nu history, and I dare say you do, you know, one of the motivating factors here is the brutality that these young men had experienced in their young lives. And they wanted to find a way to address that issue, not just the brutality that was being demonstrated in the nation and the uncertainty of that moment, but even the brutality that they found here at VMI as the institute is rebuilt and reopens, and adjusts to this post-war period. They committed themselves to honor, to truth, to love these VMI cadets. Those were the elements of character that they wished to encourage in one another and take forward into whatever the world was going to be in this post-Civil War era. If you can imagine the incredible uncertainty that faced the three founders as they started their careers, as they finished up their degrees at VMI and started their careers in the civil world, what could they best do to make it a more civil world, a more perfect union?
0:16:30.3 Colonel Keith Gibson: As it turns out, one of the things that they contributed was something probably no one would've imagined, would've taken the root that it did, and resulting in the incredible impact that it has over the last 150 years. And that is the founding of this tiny little group of men that they call the Legion of Honor. The Legion of Honor, not by mistake, not by accident, but by forethought and intent. These are the men we wish to be said, the three founders, and they started this organization on an October evening and announce it to the world a couple of months later, and it becomes Sigma Nu as we know it today. Those words are now the creed of Sigma Nu honor, truth, love, brotherhood.
0:17:32.4 Colonel Keith Gibson: And I wanted to share with you a document that every entering freshman Brother Rat as we refer to them at VMI Brother Rats, brothers, brother rats. Now VMI is a co-ed school today, but it makes no difference. Everyone is a brother rat. They get this little book, and this book has all kinds of things that they need to know. One of them though, and it comes, at the very beginning of the book, one of them I wanted to share with you because I think it will resonate with you. It's the code of a cadet, not from 1868 or 1870, but from today, "A cadet's word is their bond. A cadet embodies integrity at all times. A cadet is a leader who offers equal respect, treatment and understanding to all. A cadet stands against intolerance, prejudice, discrimination, hate, and oppression. A cadet productively communicates lives and works with people from many backgrounds. Cadets find sacred duty to country state, the core of VMI, the Family and Friends. A cadet embodies a philosophy of physical wellbeing, good manners, grace, proper humor, humility, are commonplace characteristics. A cadet never takes counsel of their fears."
0:19:14.0 Colonel Keith Gibson: Oh, that's too difficult. It's too hard, it's going to require too many resources, I don't have time, all of those things keep you from acting on your best intentions. A cadet never takes counsel of their fears. The core of the VMI code, though, you might have heard, is those words that were so important to Riley and Quarles, they... And I don't mean to leave out Hopkins, he has actually a plaque in the barracks, but to the three founders, there's words that have resonated since their time to today that are now recorded in the VMI Cadet Bible, as it's called, that every freshmen every new cadet, every new Brother Rat receives and memorizes honor, integrity, truth, commitments to those character traits. It is not by accident, I do not believe that any one of you have ended up in this place at this moment. In fact, I think your journey here started a long, long time ago, even before you chose the college that you now represent Certainly before you chose Sigma Nu, I think it started well beyond... Well, much earlier. I think you had this sense of duty and service and compassion perhaps, that you had to find an outlet for, it's led you to make the decisions that you have led until this moment in your life.
0:20:56.8 Colonel Keith Gibson: It is perhaps that thing that attracted you to Sigma Nu. I would suggest Sigma Nu is not an ordinary type of Greek fraternity, just like VMI is not an ordinary type college experience, but it appealed to you for some reason. I could do a quiz right now and find out why you have done this thing, why you have joined this group of brothers, but I can speculate probably pretty accurately that I know why, because those qualities of honor, of integrity, of life, of character, of purpose, of leadership, resonated with you. I can make a difference there. I can make a difference, said, Quarles, Hopkins and Riley, I will make a difference. Now, for those young men, their difference would become in the careers that they chose. Riley, civil engineer, reconstructing the country after the chaos of war. Quarles, becomes an attorney, a judge in fact, meeting out the wisdom of the law from the bench, an elected politician as well, a leader in his community. Hopkins becomes involved in development, real estate, all in creating this new nation, this new world that would be their gift to us, also never losing connection with their brothers of Sigma Nu as it began to expand first to the other side of the Blue Ridge Mountains to Charlottesville, and then to other states and beyond, to where now, it covers the nation.
0:22:53.8 Colonel Keith Gibson: But there's just a few young men that have that sense of finding that partner for you that you can help encourage and develop your sense of character through Sigma Nu. And it's not going to end when you graduate, it continues on and to the chosen profession that you'll have and to the contributions you'll make to your own personal communities, because you are leaders.
0:23:24.9 Colonel Keith Gibson: This is why you're here, you have demonstrated an interest and ability to lead, and Sigma Nu will help you refine that opportunity. The VMI is known for its honor code, and the Honor Code is 13 simple words. In fact, I think the success of the VMI honor system is based on how simple it is. It's simply, "a cadet will not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those that do, and anyone found guilty of that, of lying, cheating or stealing or tolerating will be summarily dismissed." There's no mitigating circumstances, there's no intervening penalties, it's, You are honorable or you're found to be dishonorable and you are removed from the presence of the brotherhood. Every year, there are a very small number of cadets that are dismissed by the honor Court because they didn't take it seriously enough, they didn't commit to it to the degree that they should have, and they are found to be wanting in some infraction lying, cheating, stealing, tolerating, and are dismissed. That is a personal decision. You have to decide you're going to be that person, not to lie, not to cheat, not to steal, not to tolerate, not to associate with those that do.
0:25:11.4 Colonel Keith Gibson: The only person that's going to control that outcome will be you, and if you choose to take a different course, then you will also be separating yourself from this powerful, important thing for with what you can accomplish, so much more than you will be able to accomplish individually and for you, certainly an important part of that is your brotherhood of Sigma Nu that brings you back here, not necessarily you personally, but brings your chapter back here, brings your organization back here every year to say this is a... So, so well stated by the region, this is the foundation, this is the rock, and you will take from this place back to your chapters as the commanders, the leadership, the experience, the example of integrity and character that you've already demonstrated, you wouldn't be sitting here if you hadn't.
0:26:15.9 Colonel Keith Gibson: You will take that back to young men that are waiting and need your leadership, and then even a greater thing is going to happen, You're going to graduate. Well, most of you, yeah, you're going to graduate, and then where you are really needed will be waiting for your leadership, and that is society at large, leaders that support and defend the defenseless, that provide guidance, counsel, love, trust to the down-trodden.
0:26:56.2 Colonel Keith Gibson: All of the things that this country is known for will be passed forward through your experience, through your commitment, of those things that when you were just a young boy began to begin to manifest themselves and have led you to Sigma Nu into this place. But will carry you throughout the world. It's a highlight of my... I love starting the year with you guys visiting. It's a promise of a new good year, which I wish for all of you gentlemen, thank you so much.
[applause]
[Transition Music]
0:28:17.9 Adam Girtz: All right, welcome back everyone. Really great speech by Colonel Keith Gibson, brother Colonel. And really enjoyed being able to be present for that. I did just want to remark on how incredible it was and is every time that we're able to do it, this pilgrimage to VMI and to the headquarters property. As referenced in brother Colonel Gibson's remarks, this is likely the first time that all of these collegiate members are visiting VMI or the headquarters office. It is really an incredible experience for them. But also for us on staff we talk about the concept of a fish understanding that it's in water and not knowing what water is and trying to take the time to appreciate things that we take for granted in that way.
0:29:21.5 Adam Girtz: And one of those things for me is spending so much time at the headquarters property and in Lexington and at VMI as a staff member. You forget how blessed we are as an organization to be headquartered where we were founded and to be steeped in that history. And for me, every time that we do this pilgrimage, whether it was our 2018 grand chapter that we were able to do a pilgrimage for, or annually when we bring all of the commanders and various alumni in for College of Chapters watching those people that have not been able to be there before, experience it for the first time, really reminds me like how incredible it is and how important that that history can be to us as an organization.
0:30:14.0 Christopher Brenton: Yeah, absolutely. And I think the exciting thing is that we are trying to do, I think a better job to provide some of those experiences to bottle some of those experiences that our collegiate chapter commanders are getting at College of Chapters and to repackage them for an audience that isn't present and doesn't have the opportunity to attend. So as Adam mentioned at the top, this is one, our part one of a three part series. So part one of course featuring Brother Colonel Keith Gibson. And then part two we are going to be bringing another keynote that was delivered at College of Chapters by former Collegiate grand councilman a longtime volunteer for the fraternity since his graduation, I believe in 2012. But I think actually I think he was a Sigma Nu Man of the year in 2012. I think he graduated shortly thereafter. But Wells Ellenburg and Wells delivered an incredible speech at College of Chapters, and so we were really excited to make sure that we shared that as well. So be on the lookout for part two coming soon, and then part three shortly after that.
0:31:26.6 Adam Girtz: Cool. Yes, indeed. Yeah, very excited for this series that we're doing. I was able to have a conversation with an alumnus while I was at College of Chapters just to he had mentioned to me that he listens to the podcast and appreciates it. And that was really cool. And I just asked him some of his thoughts and all of that. And he let me know that he really enjoys getting to see highlighted some of the things that normally some of our alumni would not get to experience because there are things that came about after they were an active member, or things that have changed since they were in school. And so that for me is really affirmation of the work that we're doing here, Christopher Brenton. I think it's really cool to be able to share that with our alumni as well as with our active members and to... And perspective members, parents, whoever else is listening and is interested in Sigma Nu this is something that is huge and impactful in a lot of people's lives.
0:32:34.3 Adam Girtz: And love to be able to share that with everyone. So to that end I think we've gone back and forth and fumbled around with how we like to wrap episodes. And one thing that I think I'm going to start doing from now on is ending every episode with a call to action to our listeners. Please share this podcast with your brothers. If you listen, we really appreciate you in the, the kind words that we get whether that's in person or via email or anything else. You know, we hear those, we see those, and we appreciate those so much. And the best thing you could do to support the show and the brotherhood is to share the show with with your brothers and just let them know that it's out there. So that's how I'm going to start wrapping episodes. So if you like what you heard today, please share it with a brother and connect over it. So thank you all so much for listening, and we will talk to you soon.
[Outro Music]