Sarasota (FL) Alumni Chapter

After finishing college in Alabama in 1978, four young men from Palmetto, FL returned home and gathered at Mrs. Inez Ware home in Palmetto, the mother of Larry Washington. Three of these young men attended and pledged Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. at Stillman College (Larry Washington, Nathaniel Simmons, and Charles Pompey). The other, Freddrick Williams pledged at Troy State University. While socializing at Mrs. Ware’s home, Mr. Steve Lewis, who had taught all four of the young men in the 6thgrade arrived wearing a Kappa sweater. Of course, a union or bond was formed, and discussions begin about starting an Alumni Chapter in Manatee County.

Mr. Lewis knew other Kappa’s in the Manatee-Sarasota area, so he started recruiting Brothers. While Bro. Lewis was recruiting local Brothers, Bro. Simmons and Williams took to the road and attended 29thSouthern Provincial meeting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the C. Roger Wilson Conference in Tallahassee, FL in 1979, and the 30th Southern Province Council meeting in Pensacola, FL in 1980. With paperwork having already been submitted for a Charter, Bro. Simmons and Williams attended the next C. Roger Wilson in Tallahassee, FL where the announcement was made that Dr. Ulysses McBride, Province Polemarch said they will be getting a Charter soon. Brothers Simmons and Williams received a standing ovation from all Brothers attending the meeting on the approval of the Charter.