About the Chapter

The Beta Xi Chapter of Sigma Tau Gamma at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota began in 1960 with 29 Founding Fathers. The chapter left campus in the 1980s and returned in 2011. Over 350 men have been initiated since its inception.

Chapter Facts

• An undergraduate brother was able to work with all the MN professional sports teams through his internship at Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center.
• While overseas in Afghanistan, Brother Cota conducted an interview via Skype where he interviewed (and obtained) for the position of Executive Vice President.
• Two brothers serve in the U.S. Army.
• The chapter has raised over $5,000 for Winona Area Food Shelf in the past two years.
• Three brothers were facilitators at the Nobleman Institute.
• In fall of 2016, three brothers took home four fall awards from a sorority competition.

Chapter History

In 1960, a group of men decided to form an organization at Winona State University called, Pioneer Club. Upon doing so, they then decided to be a part of Sigma Tau Gamma. They petitioned Sigma Tau Gamma Headquarters, and for roughly the next 20 years, the men operated as the Beta Xi Chapter.

It seemed that Winona would continue without a Sig Tau Chapter for some time as it was not on the list for expansion. The decision to bring the Beta Xi Chapter back in 2011 was in part due to the first Chapter President, Tim Comes. Comes reached out to the Expansion Director at the time, Michael Smoll. Tim had a small group of 13 men ready to revive the chapter. They saw something was missing on campus and that at the time, Winona only had two fraternities with low numbers. They saw that fraternities were meant to better men and create an opportunity to leave a legacy on campus. It offered a place for men to become the best versions of themselves.

The campus greeted them with mixed reactions, with an uncertainty of a new Greek organization on campus. After four semesters of hard work and recruiting, the chapter was able to petition to move from an Associate Chapter to a fully recognized chapter. It had more than 40 men at its charting in November of 2013.

Since its rechartering, Beta Xi has maintained more than 30 men and has continued to be recognized on campus and in the community for the work of their men.

In 2015, brothers decided to host a UV Splash 5k. They worked with Winona Area Food Shelf, many Winona State University faculty, and Winona Parks and Recreation Department to execute the event in just under three months. Then in 2016, the event changed to Color My Community 5k. Each year the event grows in popularity. The purpose continues to be an event where community members are brought together with students. 2017 will be the third year of organizing Color My Community, and they are expecting it to be even bigger than years past.

Chapter Funds

A Chapter Fund is a restricted account from the Sigma Tau Gamma Foundation. In this case, the restriction is that the funds and earnings on the investment of the funds may be used only for a particular chapter, meaning that if you donate to your chapter’s fund, it may only be used for your chapter.

Chapter Funds may be used to:

• Award scholarships based on academic and leadership criteria
• Technology grants for purchase and upgrade of chapter computer technology
• Educational facility grants to the selected chapter
• Leadership education grants for participation in institutes, seminars, and conventions.

The Foundation manages the fund. This management includes fund accounting, investing, and preparing required reports for the Internal Revenue Service. The policy of the Foundation Board of Trustees is to involve chapter alumni association leaders in the creation of criteria, formation of program priorities and selection of grant recipients.

Submitting Changes to the Chapter’s History

Any member of the fraternity and/or chapter is welcome to submit a request to update/change/correct information listed within the chapter history portion of the page. submissions will be accepted in two ways: should a correction need to be made, please submit the entire sentence/paragraph, that needs to be updated with the correction highlighted in yellow or in a different color. If something new or updated needs to be added, please submit the entire text that needs to be added and/or revised with the new information highlighted in yellow.

This information should be submitted to noblemen@sigtau.org, where is will be reviewed by HQ Staff. Your submission will not be acknowledged unless it has been added to the website. It is very important that the chapter’s history accurately and objectively reflects the chapter, so all corrections, additions, and revisions should be reviewed by other members of your chapter before being submitted.