LAS VEGAS (NV) ALUMNI HISTORY - FROM A DREAM TO A CHAPTER

(Article and pictures are taken from the Kappa Alpha Psi Journal Vol. LX No. 4)

December 1974

From a dream to a group to an association, and finally, an alumni chapter is the story of the Las Vegas Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.  In February of 1964, five aspiring brothers gathered at the home of Kermit R. Booker, Sr. to establish plans to put the name of Kappa on the map in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada.  Little did these men know that seven months later the Las Vegas Alumni Chapter would become a reality.  The original five were Kermit R. Booker, Sr., Joseph William Haynes, Herschel L. Williams, Herbert Freeman, and David Hoggard, Jr.  These five brothers had long envisioned the establishment of a Kappa Chapter in the Vegas area.  Their hopes began to materialize in April of 1964, when William H. Smith, Jr., Harry Robinson, and Thomas Bailey arrived in the Las Vegas area...now there were eight.  In February, a determined drive was launched by each member to locate other brothers in the community.  By June, Roger V. Von Phul and Kermit R. Booker, Jr. had joined the ever-growing clan.  Now there were ten. 

On Saturday, July 11, 1964, another milestone was reached by the aspiring group - the first national Black Greek Letter Society Branch on the college level to be established in Nevada - received its charter from Charles Sudduth, then Western Province Polemarch, at a ceremony in the home of Kermit R. Booker, Sr.  Now these aspiring brothers were more than just a group, they were chartered members of the Las Vegas Alumni Association.  The resolution to reduce the number of brothers required to establish an alumni chapter from thirteen to ten was proposed and adopted by the Grand Chapter at the Conclave in San Fransisco, CA in August 1964.  The ten brothers of Las Vegas rejoiced in hearing this good news.  This meant that at last their greatest aspirations and wildest hopes of becoming an alumni chapter would become a reality.  Thus on Sunday, September 20, 1964, at a brief ceremony again in the home of the first Polemarch, Brother Booker, the brothers of Las Vegas received their charter from the newly elected Western Province Polemarch Robert F. Green.  They had finally arrived, the Las Vegas Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi had been born. 

The brothers of Las Vegas did not sit back on their laurels, now that they were an alumni chapter. They mapped, planned, and executed a program in the local community for 1964 -1965.  They established a Guide Right Program and formed a pledge group.  In August 1966, the Las Vegas Alumni Chapter hosted the Western Province Meeting at the Stardust Hotel which was an outstanding event.  The chapter then set its sights for the National Conclave to be held in Las Vegas within ten years.  This was indeed a hard task for a young chapter, with so few brothers.  This dream of the first Polemarch Kermit R. Booker, Sr. also became a reality.  The Las Vegas Alumni Chapter hosted the 59th Grand Conclave! 

Charter members were: Kermit R. Booker, Sr.; David Hoggard, Jr.; Herschel L. Williams; Herbert Freeman; William H. Smith, Jr.; Harry Robinson; Thomas Bailey; Roger Von Puhl; Joseph William Haynes; and Kermit R. Booker, Jr.