Donor Spotlight
Lt. Tony Beaster
University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse '92

 

Lt. Tony Beaster University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse '92 gives back to Delta Sigma Phi because he wants to help shape our nation's future leaders. As a recruiter for the U.S. Navy, Beaster says Delta Sig equipped him for the job, teaching him leadership qualities like courage, will and determination. "The hardest thing to do is to be a leader among your peers, because it's so easy to be influenced. My experience in the fraternity gave me the leadership skills I needed to become a Naval Officer," he shares.

 

When Beaster pledged the Epsilon Iota chapter in 1992, he was looking for a group of like-minded men who were involved on campus, and he quickly found them in Delta Sig. He served his chapter as Sergeant-at-Arms and Rush Chairman and volunteered for other chapter and campus activities. He credits the Fraternity with keeping him focused and in school during his early college years. Today, he's proud of how the chapter continues to build men of the highest caliber. 

 

Upon graduation, Beaster took a job with G.E. Medical and then joined the Navy in 2000.  First stationed in Norfolk, VA, he worked on the U.S.S. Cole, U.S.S. Seattle and then transferred the Navy Boot Camp in Chicago. Today, Beaster runs the Navy recruiting office in Minneapolis, managing a staff of 15 recruiters covering six Midwestern states.

 

Still, he makes it a priority to invest in his fraternity brothers. When traveling on business, Beaster takes time to stop by Delta Sig chapters in his region to say hello. "Usually I just knock on the door and whoever answers, I take him out to lunch or dinner," he says. Building relationships like this, he says, is part of being a Delta Sig.  "I just want to find out how they're doing and show them that I care," he explains.

 

Beaster believes in Delta Sig's mission to invest in future leaders, and he is committed to doing his part through the Building Better Men Campaign. "In recruiting, I meet a lot of young men who can't afford the same opportunities I had.  The Fraternity's leadership programs are really important in helping shape our future leaders.  I just want to see these programs thrive, because the country as a whole depends on people with leadership skills.  Some day, these men will be running the whole show. We have to equip them to carry the torch and give them the tools to do it," he shares.  Yet, he challenges his brothers to remember that "Paying the Debt" is more than just a financial commitment. "Paying it back is giving all you have – whether it's money, time or effort – to help strengthen Delta Sigma Phi," says Beaster.

 

When Tony and his wife Lynette moved to the Minneapolis area, they were looking to buy a house and ended up connecting with two of his chapter brothers who own a real estate agency. They helped the Beasters get acquainted with the area and eventually helped Lynette find a house while she was there on her own. "Even today I often run into Delta Sigs. We have complete network within the Fraternity. Anything anyone needs we've got. Fraternity means different things to different people, but I'd say Delta Sigma Phi means ‘brotherhood' in the truest sense of the word," says Beaster.