The Savannah (GA) Alumni Chapter was chartered on April 18, 1941 and is the second oldest alumni chapter in the
Southeastern Province. Twelve distinguished men organized and petitioned the Grand Chapter in 1940 for a charter. The charter members include Joseph R. Jenkins (Polemarch), W. Dickerson Donnelly (Keeper of Records), Albert W. Jackson (Historian), M. D. Bryant, Nathaniel Dunmore, Bowles C. Ford (Keeper of Exchequer), Nathaniel H. Collier (Vice Polemarch), W. D. Turner (Strategus), W. Vergil Winters, James W. Brown, Emerson W. Lash and John W. Lyons.

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In 1951, the Grand Chapter restructured its governing policies and in the process created the Southeastern Province. For the next 16 years (1951-1967), two members of the Savannah (GA) Alumni Chapter served as Province Polemarch. Bro. W. Dickerson Donnelly was the first appointed Polemarch for the Southeastern Province. Appointed in 1951, he departed Savannah for Nashville, TN the following year to accept a position as Director of Alumni Affairs at his alma mater, Fisk University. 

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His successor, Bro. Joseph R. Jenkins, initiated at Delta Chapter, Wilberforce University, was appointed in 1952 and served as Province Polemarch until his retirement in 1967. He was a man of vision who sought to mold the Southeastern Province into a cohesive and achieving group of undergraduate and alumni chapters. He set many goals and structured programs to achieve them which is documented in the history of the province. In recognition of his achievements the Southeastern Province created the Joseph R. Jenkins Award. It is the highest honor that the Province can bestow on a member. 

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Another charter member of the Savannah (GA) Alumni Chapter who deserves to be mentioned is Bro. Bowles C. Ford, an initiate of the Zeta Chapter, Ohio State University. He broke political barriers in Savannah by becoming the first black to win a seat on Savannah's city council. Elected in 1970 he served with distinction until retiring from the political arena in 1978. 

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Mindful of its high achievements of the charter member of Savannah (GA) Alumni, subsequent members have striven to maintain the achievement bar at a high level. Bro. Johnnie P. Jones, Sr. was one of the first eight African-American police officers hired with the City of Atlanta Police Department and is a recipient of the Joseph R. Jenkins Award. Bro. Eddie B. Bivens held the office of Southeastern Province Keeper of Records and Exchequer, Middle Western Province Polemarch and a member of the Laurel Wreath Commission. Bro. Thurmond N. Tillman held the office of Southeastern Province Chaplain (1983 – 2008) and is a recipient of the Joseph R. Jenkins Award. Bro. John Camper served as the Southeastern Province Guide Right Director and Bro. Andrew Young served as the Southeastern Province Junior Province Vice-Polemarch. Currently, Bro. Johnny McDonald serves on the Southeastern Province Strategus Taskforce and Bro. Rodheem Greene serves on the Southeastern Province Achievement & Awards Commission. 

 

The chapter is very active in the community, with Guide Right programming, Kappa League and serving as an advisor to the Savannah State University Chapter, the Gamma Chi of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. The chapter has remained actively engaged in supporting the aims and purposes of colleges and universities, most notably through its Kappa Kowboy Kontest in the 1950's, which awarded two scholarships each year to students attending Savannah State University. The chapter has also established an endowed scholarship fund at Savannah State University and Georgia Southern University. Between 2004 and 2007, the chapter raised $40,000 to establish two $20,000 endowed scholarships at Savannah State University and Armstrong-Atlantic State University, now Georgia Southern University - Armstrong Campus.

 

Down through the years the chapter has experienced many accomplishments to include the following:

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• Alumni Guide Right Scrapbook Award (1985 - 1986, 1988, 1990)

• Student of the Year Contest Award (1992)

• National Reclamation Drive Award (1983 - 1984)

• Alumni Website of the Year Medium Chapter Award (96th Southeastern Province Council)

 

We are just proud of the legacy bequeathed to us by our chartering brothers; So much tat we strive to mightily emulate their accomplishments in every manner possible. 

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