About Us...

Standing on top row: Robert Boone, Gilbert Mason, Cl. Luckett, Philip Terrell
Bottom row: Robert Bowles, Rick Amos, Roy Irons, Edward Roberts, Jerry Griffith

The charter members of Delta Omicron Boulé date March 2000.

2006 Induction

On July 18, 2006 Delta Omicron inducted two new Archons, Barry Harris and Christopher Fisher. Standing from left to right are: Anthony Montgomery, Jerry Griffith, Jeffery Knight, John Thompson, Joseph Mitchell, Roy Irons, Mack Harris. Seated are: Barry Harris, John Kelly, Robert Boone and Christopher Fisher.

2004 Induction

On June12, 2004 the chapter inducted two new members, Theron Evans and Joseph Mitchell. From left to right the Archons shown are: Roy Irons, Jeffrey Knight, Theron Evans, Robert Bowles, Robert Boone, Jerry Griffith, Anthony Montgomery, John Thompson, Mack Harris and Lawrence Roberts.  Archon Mitchell is not shown here. 



History
There is an old African Proverb that says, “a tree cannot stand without its roots.” Likewise Sigma Pi Phi Grand Boulé cannot thrive without a solid foundation. And Delta Omicron Member Boulé cannot blossom without the support and nurture of those who have come before. In these pages we have recorded, from whence we came ... our history.

During the late 1980's the Grand Boulé established an Expansion Committee for the expressed purpose of increasing membership in the organization. The Boulé, like many organizations, was undergoing a decline in membership brought on by a lack of initiations throughout the country and the ever-growing number of Archons who were dying. During this period the average age of a Boulé member was 60, a definite sign of a “greying” organization.

A conscientious decision was made to focus attention to recruiting young and upward mobile men, as opposed to well-established men. Oddly enough, there were Boulés that refused to bring in new members at all. A member of the Expansion Committee, Archon James E. Wade, contacted Dr. Roy Lee Irons, a prominent Gulf Coast dentist and a member of Beta Gamma in Jackson about bringing the Boulé to South Mississippi. This discussion was prompted by the fact that Dr. William A. McMillan, President of Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, had just established a Gamma Nu Boulé in North Mississippi. Archon Wade is credited with bringing the Boulé to the State of Mississippi (Bata Gamma in Jackson, Mississippi). 

Archon Wade’s efforts with Dr. Irons were fruitless because, as Dr. Irons puts it, “I was enjoying working with Beta Gamma and did not want to leave. So, I sat on the idea for the next seven years.” Dr. Gilbert Mason and Dr. Irons were the most active members of the Gulf Coast delegation, thus the responsibility of leadership in establishing a Boulé in South Mississippi would fall on the shoulders of one of them. The idea of expansion to the Mississippi Gulf Coast gained support from Marvel Turner, Sire Archon of Beta Gamma. Archon Turner’s influence on Archon Irons as a personal friend weighed heavily on him. Consequently after almost twenty years of traveling back and forth to Jackson, the idea of a Boulé in South Mississippi took hold with Archon Irons.

Thus, the history of the Delta Omicron member Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity is deep rooted in the history and tradition of Beta Gamma Member Boulé of Jackson, Mississippi. Archon Irons garnered the ears of three other members of Beta Gamma who resided on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 

There he shared his vision of establishing a Boulé in South Mississippi with Archons John Russell Kelly, Alfred Earl McNair, and Gilbert Rutledge Mason. In September 1999, Archon Irons asked for and received Beta Gamma’s endorsement of and assistance in the establishment of the South Mississippi chapter.

Archon Robert V. Franklin of Toledo, Ohio and Chairman of the Expansion Committee was contacted for directions for establishing the Boulé.

After seriously exploring the merits of a coastal Boulé, the four prominent African American Beta Gamma members met for a luncheon working session at Mary Mahoney’s Restaurant in Biloxi and reviewed a list of twenty potential member candidates. From this list of candidates, ten received the unanimous endorsement of all four Archons. As a result, letters of interest were sent to this group of ten Black professionals who resided on the coast. On Saturday, January 8, 2000, at 11:30 a.m., eight potential new member candidates met in the Gulfport, MS home of Archon John Kelly to socialize and hear presentations on the advantages of Sigma Pi Phi membership. 

Presentations were made by The Honorable Robert V. Franklin of Toledo, Ohio, (Alpha Phi Boulé), Chairman, Board of Trustees, The Boulé Foundation, and Hargrove F. Wooten, a prominent Ophthalmologist from Houston, Texas (Nu Boulé). Attending this orientation meeting were potential candidates Rick Amos, Robert Boone, Robert Bowles, Jerry Griffith, Billy Knight, Cleotha Luckett, Lawrence Roberts, and Philip Terrell. 

After interest in organizing was established and all prerequisite dues were assessed, an organizational meeting was held on Tuesday, February 22, 2000, at 7:30 p.m., in the home of Dr. Roy Lee Irons, a prominent Gulfport dentist, for the purpose of electing officers, establishing a official meeting date, planning for the initiation and chartering ceremony, and paying the first $150 installment of the membership fee. Dr. Irons, a veteran Archon of 18 years (Beta Gamma, July 1981), was elected as the Boulé’s first Sire Archon. Dr. Alfred Earl McNair, a prominent Gautier physician, was elected as the first Sire Archon-Elect. Other elected officers were Robert Bowles (Grammateus), Jerry Griffith (Thesauristes), Cleotha Luckett (Grapter), Lawrence Roberts (Agogos), and John Whitfield (Rhetoricos). As a result of a telephone survey conducted by the Grammateus, the first Thursday in each month at 6:30 p.m. was adopted as the official meeting date of the member Boulé.

On Saturday, March 11, 2000, the first initiation and chartering ceremony was held at the Oasis Hotel of the Grand Casino in Gulfport. Ten coastal area professionals were officially inducted as charter members of Delta Omicron Member Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi Grand Boulé. The ten new Archons were Rick Olando Amos of Gulfport, Robert Franklin Boone of Ocean Springs, Robert Wayne Bowles of Gulfport, Jerry Lester Griffith of Gulfport, Billy Earl Knight of Moss Point, Cleotha Lenell Luckett of Gulfport, William Wendell Martin of Gulfport, Lawrence Edward Roberts of Biloxi, Philip Joseph Terrell of Pass Christian, and John Herbert Whitfield of Gulfport. These ten new Archons, along with Irons, Kelly, McNair, and Mason who transferred their membership from Beta Gamma in Jackson, formed the newly established Delta Omicron Boulé of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Grand Sire Archon Eddie Williams of Washington, DC conducted the initiation and chartering ceremony.

Following the initiation and chartering ceremony, a formal dinner was held for the installation of officers. Attending this gala affair were the wives of each of the new inductees and the Archousai or guest of the four Archons who transferred from Beta Gamma. National officers in attendance were: Grand Sire Archon Eddie N. Williams, Grand Sire Archon-Elect Thomas Shropshire, Anthony W. Hall, Jr., Past Grand Sire Archon, the Honorable Robert V. Franklin, Chair Grand Boulé Committee on Growth and Expansion, and Southeast Regional Sire Archon Peyton Williams, Jr. A social hour featuring music by Davis and Sax was splendidly held.

Thus, Delta Omicron became only the third such Member Boulé to be established in the State of Mississippi and the 107th Member Boulé nationally to be issued a charter. The other Member Boulés in Mississippi are Beta Gamma in Jackson, and Gamma Nu in Holly Springs.

The first meeting of the Boulé as a chartered affiliate of Sigma Pi Phi Grand Boulé was held on Wednesday, March 15, 2000, at 6:30 p.m., in the home of Dr. Irons.

During the course of its first year of existence, the Sire Archon made the following committee appointments: 

Social Action Committee William W. Martin, Chairman
Program Committee Robert F. Boone, Chairman
Membership Committee Rick O. Amos, Chairman
Bylaws and Judiciary Committee Gilbert R. Mason, Chairman
Budget and Audit Committee Philip J. Terrell, Chairman 

Some of the activities of the Boulé during the year were a family cookout and outing in July, a joint family Christmas function with the Beta Gamma Boulé in Jackson, a voter registration and voter “Get-Out-To-Vote” transportation program for the 2000 Presidential election, and the adoption of Center Circle, a facility and program for troubled youth.

In 2001, the Delta Omicron membership expanded to 18 members when Archon John Thompson transferred to Delta Omicron from Gamma Iota in Rochester, New York, and three new members were inducted into the fraternity on Wednesday, June 6, 2001, at the Great Southern Club in the Hancock Bank Plaza in downtown Gulfport, Mississippi. The new members were Alonza Clayborn, Jr., of Ocean Springs, James Lee McEwen of Long Beach, and Raymond Bernard Wynn of Ocean Springs.

Delta Omicron initiated a special Prostate Cancer Screening program in the fall of 2001. This community action event won a $2,000 award at the Grand Boulé that was held in New Orleans in July 2002. The program featured 115 participants who were given distal rectal exams by qualified physicians of Sigma Pi Phi. The screening program was shared with Delta Omicron by the Northern Mississippi chapter, Gamma Nu of Sigma Pi Phi.

During the spring of 2002 Delta Omicron inducted three new members, Archons Mack B. Harris, Anthony Montgomery and Jeffrey Knight. 

The fall of 2002, the chapter continued with its Prostate Screening program at two churches on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. That December of 2002, Delta Omicron and Beta Gamma jointly hosted the Christmas for Archousi event at the fabulous Grand Casino in Biloxi. Everyone enjoyed the food, the music and the fellowship the fullest extent. 



Timeline for historical input:
· Current officers
· Creation of a chapter web site in 2002
· Being A Man seminar of spring 2003
· Prostate Cancer Screening of Fall 2003
· Induction of Archons Mitchell and Evans
· Attending the Grand Boulé of June 2004
· Prostate Cancer Screening of Fall 2004
· Joint Christmas For Archousi function of December 2004