Fraternity History

In the years that followed World War I, a movement developed among college and university bands, searching for some motivating force that would create a greater interest in band music. This movement sought expression in an effort to develop good will, fellowship and understanding among bands and their members, and to recognize the value of dedicated leadership. Seizing upon this idea, ten members of the Oklahoma A & M College (later to be known as the Oklahoma State University) Band, led by William A. Scroggs and their director, Bohumil Makovsky, drew up a plan for a national honorary society for college bandsmen.

Director Makovsky selected nine men to work with Scroggs to organize the first local club. These ten charter members were: A. Frank Martin, Raymond D Shannon, Clyde Haston, Clayton Soule, Carl Stevens, William Coppedge, Dick Hurst, Asher Hendrickson, and Ira H Nelson. Officers for the local club were elected and William Scroggs was selected as president.

With the local organization complete, a corporation was formed which petitioned the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for a charter. The charter was granted November 27, 1919, and "Kappa Kappa Psi, Honorary Fraternity for College Bandsmen," was established on the Oklahoma State University campus with the local group being known as the "Alpha Chapter."

During the first year of operation as an honorary society the members were kept busy working out and adopting a national constitution, creating and developing the Ritual ceremony, designing the jewelry needed to provide distinctive recognition for the organization, and setting up plans for the expansion of the Fraternity. The Greek name and symbols, "Kappa Kappa Psi," were furnished by Dr. Hilton Ira Jones of the OSU Chemistry faculty, and assistance in the final organization was furnished by Col. F.D. Wickham of the OSU Military Department.

Founded by bandsmen for the band member, Kappa Kappa Psi was (and is) a tribute to the dynamic personality of one man. For around this personality there grew a core of student leaders committed to assist him in a program of developing the best college band with the highest performance standards possible. "Boh" was that man, and each incoming member of this Fraternity should be familiar with the man who was officially recognized by the Grand Chapter in Convention assembled as "The Guiding Spirit of Kappa Kappa Psi."

CHAPTER HISTORY

The Eta Sigma Chapter's history is visible through its family trees. A "family" is traced through big and little brothers. Of the five original families, there are two remaining: Panthers and Snakes.

While the Panther family tree has never spun-off any sub-families, many of the families we have today are spun-off from the Snake family. These families are:
OHCYSP (pronounced PSYCHO)
Psychobunny
Psidog
Ninja
Jedi (aka Bear)
Phoenix

There have been other families that have been present throughout Eta Sigma's history. These families, much like many others, were sub-families or off-shoots of others. Some like the Black Sheep Family, and the Duck family, which are both extinct, were started by transfers from other chapters. Other familes include the Hawk Family (originally the 3 Amoebas), the Dragon Family and many other unnamed families (denoted by F1, F2, etc.) Full trees for these Families to be added later.

The Eta Sigma chapter exemplifies leadership in the band and the fraternity. In past seasons, drum majors, band presidents, and various other Marching Knight staff positions have been filled by brothers. Brothers of Eta Sigma have also had the honor to serve as district officers. We constantly strive to serve the organization and maintain a positive presence. We have had the honor of co-hosting the 1995 and 2007 National Convention in Orlando and UCF has hosted the 2002 SED District Leadership Conference and the 2005 SED Convention. We take pleasure in hosting Florida Day annually for brothers and sisters to socialize together. G.R. Schagg created a flag that has been adopted by the national fraternity as the offical flag of Kappa Kappa Psi.

SO, WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY DO?

Naturally, our first priority is service to the bands of the University of Central Florida. Every chapter serves in different ways according to the wants and needs of its school's programs. At UCF, the brothers are most visible during marching band season. Day to day activities include painting the practice fields when necessary, pulling out podiums and a sound system for rehearsals, and putting them away at the end of rehearsal.

Game days begin a few hours earlier for brothers than they do for the rest of the band. Eta Sigma is responsible for picking up the rental truck and loading it with equipment such as uniforms, sousaphones, percussion, the sound system, Starlet Knight equipment, water coolers, and more. Although it is a lot of work, we have a good time and our bond grows ever stronger though the hours we spend together in marching season.

In the spring, KKPsi's primary tasks are setting up and tearing down for ensemble concerts. With all the extra time, Eta Sigma finds a variety of other ways to serve the UCF bands as well as using the time to enhance brotherhood. In the Spring of 2002 we purchased the KKPsi/TBS SED commissioned piece, "To The Summit!" for the UCF music department. Some things the chapter did in the Spring of 2005 included: hosting the 2005 SED Convention with over 1000 members in attendance, and completing our first commissioning project. This project was one of Eta Sigma's top goals. "Sound's of Brazil" composed by Hudson Nogueira was premiered by the UCF Orchestra that Spring and marked the end of a 1½ year project. Other projects such as creating a chapter song and Florida Day are being carried on into the summer.