1998 Volume 121 No 1–4 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

ALUMNI
NOTES
Investment dub yields bond
Texas Delta brothers form club and find gains in brotherhood
By Judy Hominick
The Texas Delta Investment Club. Front row: Bob Thomas, Judge Robert Price, Dan Stansbury, Don Apeland, Dr. Gib Hatcher,
Dan Davis, Dr. George Hurt, Bill Strother, Dr. Law Sone, Tom Hughston, Foster Poole. Back row: Olin Lane, Dick Bernet, Ted
Brooks, Bill Kendrick. All are SMU '54 or '55.
Forty years ago, a group of
Southern Methodist University
Phis decided to cement
their bonds financially as well
as socially. In October, 1957,
they formed the Texas Delta
Investment Club, a group that
is still going strong.
Members named the confederation
after their chapter,
Texas Deha. And as the original
18 established careers and
raised families, they met
faithfully each month to discuss
investment strategies.
Hominick is a special
contributor to the Dallas
Morning News, where this
article originally appeared.
Used with permission. All
rights reserved.
They also have had a lot of
fun along the way.
Membership has fluctuated
over the years. Some members
left only to return later. Membership
now stands at 19.
One thing, though, has
remained constant. Each
member is a Phi. Four of the
founding group have died,
but five are still active—Dan
Davis, Dr. George Hurt, Foster
Poole, Dan Stansbury, and Bill
Strother.
"It is really a great group of
guys," says Foster Poole,
founder of the Sample
Houses. "We have a real estate
guy, some dentists, lawyers...
a number of whom went to
University Park grammar
school."
10 THE SCROLL SUMMER 1998
Among others, the club
also includes doctors, a judge,
accountants, brokers, insurance
men, a home contractor
and a retailer.
Dick Bernet, a broker who
joined a few years after the
club formed, says the once
formal club is much more
relaxed now. In the beginning,
they elected board members,
took minutes and had guest
speakers.
To handle urgent business,
Brother Bernet says, "At one
time, we had a three-person
investment committee who
was kind of on call."
If someone had a hot tip,
he would call this investment
committee. "It was their job to
check it out," Mr. Bernet says.
The club members admit
that the more structured
system did not last long.
Nowadays, each member puts
in $40 each month, $20 for
dinner and $20 for investing,
but it was different in the
beginning, says Poole.
"We had the 'cheapies' and
the 'richies'—either $5 a
month or $10 a month," says
Poole, who admits being a
"cheapie" during those early
lean years.
Every year but one, the
club has relied on one treasurer,
Dan Davis, a certified
public accountant with
Middleton, Burns and Davis.
A meticulous record keeper,
Davis has all the records from
the past 40 years, including