Remarks at the Greek Life Banquet and Awards
March 26, 2010 at 7:30 PM
The Stockdale Center at Monmouth College
Since last year’s banquet, a lot has happened. IFC has continued to step up, the Greek President’s Council has promoted better inter-chapter communication, Mr. DeMarkco Butler has been hired by the Phi Delta Theta international headquarters as their first African American leadership consultant, and some cool new housing is in the works with the Greek Life Initiative. And that brings us to tonight’s Wørd… PROGRESS.
MARCH 11, 2010 — NASHVILLE, TENN. — For some, spring break means a lazy week on the beach, but for fourteen students from Monmouth College (Illinois) and their advisor, Daniel M. Reck, this week is about hard work.
The college's website quoted Reck, explaining the Alternative Spring Break contingent would be "working with several different groups, and what’s exciting to me is that they’ll be doing more human service work than they’ve ever done before” Reck is Assistant Director of Greek Life, Leadership and Involvement at the college.
“In the past, they’ve done more physical jobs. They’ll still be doing some of that, but they’re also going to work with some elementary school students and with some senior citizens,” Reck said. The service included lifting spirits with music performed by Reck and his students.
Read more: Students and Reck bring music, service to Nashville
DECEMBER 20, 2009 — HINSDALE, ILL. — From its animated and dissonate introduction on the piano, to the clarinet's jazzy lament, "Fantasia Annenberg" will takes performers and audiences on a journey through senses of tense excitement, reassurance, and meditation. The new duet was composed by Daniel M. Reck during his residency at Northwestern University, and the work's interlude is based on music originally arranged by Brahams and adopted by the university as its hymn, and is a nod to the composer's graduate residency on the Evanston campus. The music is published by forzandoArts. "I am very excited to finally have 'Fantasia Annenberg' out the door," says Reck.
"I got started on 'Fantasia' a couple years ago and had it pretty well roughed out in a couple months," Reck says, "But I was busy with other projects and could only edit it when I had the chance." The duet was sharing time with Reck's graduate studies in education at Northwestern, which awarded him a Master of Science in Education and Social Policy degree in 2008.
"The 'Annenberg' name refers to Annenberg Hall on Northwestern's Evanston campus," Reck says. The building houses the university's School of Education and Social Policy, and is named for noted publisher, broadcaster, diplomat, and philanthropist Walter Annenberg. "The building itself is relatively new and was designed by the architect to unify the nearby Gothic- and modern-styled buildings," the composer says, "That building was the nexus of my studies, and and this music also brings together the various moods I experienced at Northwestern."
DECEMBER 1, 2009 — MONMOUTH, ILL. — "Scouting is growing in western Illinois," says Daniel M. Reck, a unit commissioner for the Illowa Council of the Boy Scouts of America. "With the formation of Venturing Crews at Warren Achievement Center and now Monmouth College, I'm glad to see the high adventure program is really taking off," he says. Venturing Crew 1851 was chartered today with about a half-dozen youth participants, which are called "Venturers" rather than Scouts.
Reck, who is also Assistant Director of Greek Life, Leadership, and Involvement at the college, provides volunteer support to the group's youth leaders and adult advisors. He provides the same service to the local Boy Scout Troop. Unlike a Scoutmaster, who works directly with Scouts to help them accomplish their goals, a Unit Commissioner is more like a consultant who can bring a wealth of Scouting knowledge to the troop or crew. "I've been a Venturing Crew Advisor in a new crew before, and that experience helps immensely as I support this crew in taking its first steps," Reck says.
The Boy Scouts' Venturing program is targeted at young men and women from fourteen through twenty years of age, and is an off-shoot of the long-running Exploring program. "While Exploring now focuses on vocational interests such as veterinary medicine, public safety, or scientific research, Venturing has coalesced around high adventure activities like caving, wilderness backpacking treks, and scuba diving," Reck says. All of the new crew members are students at Monmouth College. A professor serves as advisor, with other college staff contributing as the crew committee. The new unit was designated as Venturing Crew 1853. "We love that number. It's the founding date of the college," says Reck.
Read more: Reck is Commissioner for New Venturing Crew at Monmouth College