Author: Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President

Presidents Update

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ Leave a comment 
Date: Thursday, January 29th, 2026
Time: 9:30AM
Subject: Death of an Alumni Member

It is my sad duty to report to you the death of Brother John Edward Yerkovich, 79, of Fairmont, WV on Monday, January 26th, 2026. Brother John pledged in the fall of 1965.

Brother John and all TBI’s who have left us during the past year will be remembered at our Memorial Service conducted during our annual Founders Day Program on Thursday, March 19th, 2026.

Please keep John’s family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

His family will receive friends from 12 – 5 on Saturday, January 31 with a service to be held at 5:30. Burial will be held at a later date. To honor John’s memory, donations may be made to Central Christian Church 1640 Big Tree Drive Fairmont WV 26554 and The Marion County Humane Society 2731 Locust Ave Fairmont WV 26554.

Further Details can be found by following the link found below:

(Click Here for Brother Yerkovich‘s Obituary)

With Condolences to Brother Yerkovich's Family,

Kevin C. Iaconis, Fall 1981
President, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association

Presidents Update

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ Leave a comment 

Date: Friday, January 16th, 2026
Time: 1:48 PM
Subject: Death of an Alumni Member

It is my sad duty to report to you the death of Brother Stephen Thomas Kelly Jr., 54, of Media, PA on Tuesday, September 9th, 2025. Brother Kelly pledged in the spring of 1989.

Brother Kelly and all TBI’s who have left us during the past year will be remembered at the Memorial Service conducted during our annual Founders Day Program on Thursday, March 19th, 2026.

Please keep Steve’s family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

A celebration of life will be private at the request of the family.

Further Details can be found by following the link found below:

(Click Here for Kelly’s Obituary)

With condolences to Brother Kelly’s Family,

Kevin C. Iaconis, Fall 1981
President, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association

Presidents Update

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ 1 Comment

Date: Thursday, January 15th, 2026

Time: 12:00 PM

Subject: TBI – Turley Wallman Scholarship Application Window

1 Attachment: Scholarship Application

Brother’s,

The application window is now open.

This post is a call for family members to apply for the TBI – Turley Wallman Scholarship. This scholarship is for the academic year encompassing Fall 2026 through Spring 2027. We are thirty (30) days away from the deadline of February 15th, 2026, for application submissions.

All applicants must have a 3.0 Grade Point Average or higher and have a minimum of twelve (12) semester hours of college credit to be eligible apply.

Gentlemen, attached to this post is the TBI – Turley Wallman Scholarship application in a printable .pdf form. Revisions have simplified the application process with Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. Please ensure your applicant(s) do not place any personally identifiable information on this application form such as Social Security numbers (SSN #’s). And please do not include grade point averages. A thorough review by the foundation, and a selectee(s) servicing office of financial aid will occur prior to approval of funding.

The deadline for all family member applicants to send their applications directly to our scholarship committee is Sunday, February 15th, 2026 “No exceptions.” Our scholarship committee will make selections on Thursday, March 19, 2026. We will send the selectee(s) name(s) to Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. no later than April 1st, 2026.

Detailed submission instructions can be found on the form.

Best wishes for a very happy New Year,

Kevin C. Iaconis, Fall 1981

President, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association

00 TBI TW Universal Scholarship ApplicationDownload

Presidents Update

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ 1 Comment

(Subject: 2026 Convention and Annual Meeting)

“Happy New Year to each of our Tau Beta Iota Brother’s and Gamma Chi Chi – Phi Mu Sisters reading this post.”

As of this post we have 123 projected and preregistered members planning to attend the convention this summer along with its various activities. You may look at the breakdown below. It is accurate as of today. We have received several new preregistrations, and they are counted in the total above.

“It is imperative that you pre-register.”

If you plan on golfing, please understand, we are holding 26 slots in a reserved status for those who played golf last year. It would be very beneficial for members to pre-register as we have 22 slots left for the morning flight for our seniors. There are 48 slots open for the afternoon flight. If you golfed last year, please contact me directly.

“Golf is in a first come first served basis.”

After several discussions with the Gamma Chi Chi – Phi Mu Leadership we will continue to offer preregistration for the 2026 Convention until the end of March. We are planning to send out RSVP documents via email with instructions no later than April 1st, 2026. We felt that it would be wise to extend the window for preregistrations based on our member’s needs, and to ensure that we know somewhat accurate numbers that we can expect per each event. We are carefully planning so we do not exceed maximum occupancy limitations at the Fairmont Field Club. And, to ensure proper seating for our members.

Final pricing for the 2026 convention will occur during the February bi-monthly business meeting to be held on February 19th, 2026. We hope to publish costs associated with this event no later than March 1st, 2026. This meeting will be held at the Highland Avenue United Methodist Church, 204 Highland Ave, Fairmont, WV, 26554 (6:00 p.m. Social Gathering) (6:30 p.m. Meeting).

Thank you for your continued support.

Best to all,

Kevin C. Iaconis, Fall 1981

President, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association

#Pre-regestrationsTotal
1TBI Alumni 48
2TBI Spouses 20
3TBI Dates 3
4GCC – PM Alumnae 29
5GCC – PM Spouses  12
6GCC – PM Dates3
7FSU and PC & TC Administration Guests8
8Projected Totals:123
#EventTotal
1Night Out66
2Golf Flight 127
3Golf Flight 20
4Golf Luncheon (Golfers)26
5Golf Luncheon (Members)10
6Barbeque76
7TBI Annual Meeting33
8GCC-PM Luncheon27
9Joint Mixer60
10Dinner Dance81

Christmas Wishes to Our Brother’s

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ 1 Comment

To our Brother’s throughout the world wherever you are, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association wishes you, and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A special Merry Christmas and Happy New Year goes out to our Veteran Brother’s and their families. And, to those Brother’s actively serving in harm’s way around the world during Christmas, “You are not forgotten.” (AATW)

Kevin C. Iaconis, Fall 1981

President, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association

Presidents Update

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ Leave a comment

(Tuesday, October 21st, 2025)

Subject: Gamma Chi Chi – Phi Mu Invitation Acceptance

We received formal confirmation from Mary Jo Thomas on Monday, October 20th, 2026, that the Gamma Chi Chi – Phi Mu Alumni Association accepted our invitation. They will be attending and partnering with us for a joint convention this summer. Further details will be posted on our website under the “Convention Link” as they are finalized.

If you are planning on attending the 100th year convention, please preregister by November 30th. We need good solid planning numbers from our membership. The Gamma CHI CHI – Phi Mu Alumni Association should have preliminary numbers back by the end of December as they have just accepted our invitation.

To preregister please us the link below.

Preregistration Link

Sincerely,

Kevin C. Iaconis, President

Fall 1981

Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association

Presidents Message to the Membership

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ Leave a comment

Convention 2026 Preregistration

Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association is inviting members to preregister for Convention 2026. A link to the preregistration form is available on the website. Participants are encouraged to review the information and communicate their intentions. We have included a direct link to the form below.

Best regards.

Kevin C, Iaconis, Fall 1981

President, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association

Click Here to Preregister for Convention 2026

Incoming President’s Message to the Membership

~ Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association President ~ 6 Comments

Sunday, August 17th, 2025

Dear Brother’s,

I am taking this opportunity to express my gratitude to the membership of Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association for being nominated and then elected to the office of President of our association.  For me and those that have held this office, “It is an honor to serve Brother TBI’s.”

Officers’ Elected for the 2025-2026 Operational Year Include:

  1. Mr. Kevin C. Iaconis, President
  2. Mr. Marshall Lupo, Vice President
  3. Mr. Jeffery L. Adams, Secretary
  4. Mr. Gerald L. Johnson, Treasurer
  5. Mr. David A. Roth, Special Liaison to the President
  6. Mr. Charles T. Hillberry Jr., Historian

Scholarship Committee Composition:

  1. Mr. Kevin C. Iaconis, Alumni President
  2. Mr. Marshall Lupo, Alumni Vice President
  3. Mr. Gerald L. Johnson, Scholarship Commitee President, Member at Large
  4. Mr. Bradley W. Dobbins, Scholarship Commitee Vice President, Member at Large
  5. Mr. David A. Roth, Member at Large
  6. Faculty Advisor: Vacant

Our outgoing President Charles T. Hillberry Jr. has done an outstanding job in his role and tenure as President.  Many of the things that we have in place such as the Master Alumni List, Founders’ Day, TBIAN, Pledge Class Lists, and safeguarding of the “Sacred Relics” are just to name a few.  We as an organization would not have these things had sweat equity not been put into the recreation of what should have been common practice and communication between the active chapter and the alumni association through the years.  Great Job Chuck you have done Yeomans work, I thank you and commend you for staying on in the role of historian.

I have called an incoming president’s meeting for Thursday, August 21st, at 6:30 P.M.  The meeting will be held at the Highland Avenue United Methodist Church, 204 Highland Ave, Fairmont, WV, 26554.  Association Officers’ and Scholarship Committee Members have been informed. Any member wishing to attend may do so as this is an open meeting. 

The first topic on the agenda is updated processes for the TBI Turley / Wallman Scholarship.  These process revisions are being driven by FSU’s Office of Financial Aid and requested by Fairmont State Foundation Inc. After my meeting with foundation representatives, it is imperative that our scholarship committee review my proposals and decide on a course of action as there is a change of submission dates for scholarship awardees.  This concerns Founder’s Day activity scheduling and our February monthly meeting.

The second topic on the agenda is the 2026 schedule of events for the 100th Convention. Dates of the convention are Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1st of 2026.  At the annual meeting the membership voted to hold the convention at the Fairmont Field Club.  Marshall Lupo and I have a meeting with Sarah Yost manager of the Fairmont Field Club on Tuesday, August 19th, 2025, to go over services, contracts, and guest capacity for events. This being the 100th convention I suspect that there will be a large turnout of members and their spouses.  For us to plan this event it is imperative that we receive accurate attendance numbers early in the planning process.  If you know that you will attend or are planning to attend, please let us know now even though we are a year out from the event so we can start the guest list to receive preliminary numbers.

I am going to mention the results of the vote that we called for regarding the future of the convention and of Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association as an organization.  My intent is to clear up confusion as to the alumni association’s future status. 

The 1st vote called for the convention in 2026 (100th Year) to be the last convention. The vote passed.  There will be no more conventions coordinated and held by Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association in the future unless the entirety of the membership elects to change this by written ballot.

The 2nd vote called for was to completely shut down the alumni association. It failed.  Thus, the Course of Action (COA) selected by the membership was COA 1 for a “No Vote”.  Our bimonthly meeting schedule remains unchanged, and we shall have an annual business meeting to pass any motions that need the consent of the membership.

COA 1 for a “No Vote” States: “Do nothing.  Continue to operate as a functioning organization that does not need recreating in the future.  All offices and accounts stay in place.  We remain a placeholder, presence, and information source for our Alumni Brother’s.  Reinstate the “Elimination Dinner” as a fund raiser to support the organization with a portion of the monies going to the Turley Wallman Scholarship to grow the Corpus.  Thus, increasing the award amounts to future applicants.  Thus, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association becomes the sole scholarship body to safeguard the decision-making process of the scholarship contract.  This Course of Action becomes the limit to which the organization’s continued existence depends.”

Our association will continue to operate in the future though slightly leaner than before.  Our presence will remain at Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College.  I have taken the liberty of creating a new officers’ position within our association.  Mr. Dave Roth accepted my offer to become the Special Liaison to the President of Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College.  In his capacity each administrator will have a go to TBI Alumni that knows our organization and what our best interests are.  And how can our organization serve the best interests of both institutions.

Thank you for taking the time to read this message.

Fraternally,

Mr. Kevin C. Iaconis, Fall 81

President, Tau Beta Iota Alumni Association