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Beta Gamma Sigma Inductees Honored

By Lindsay Anderson

The Foster College of Business honored students who were inducted into business honor society Beta Gamma Sigma at an April 19 ceremony on campus.

Beta Gamma Sigma is the international honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

The mission of Beta Gamma Sigma is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, to cultivate and celebrate leadership and professional excellence, to advance the values of the Society, and to serve its lifelong members. In 2013, Beta Gamma Sigma marked its 100th anniversary.

To be eligible for invitation, students must be:

  • Second-semester sophomores and rank in the upper 10 percent of their class;
  • Upper 10 percent of the junior or senior class; or
  • Upper 20 percent of master’s class

Dr. Lawrence Weinzimmer, Caterpillar Inc. Professor of Strategic Management in the management and leadership department, kicked off the ceremony by welcoming students and their parents and guests, as well as attending College faculty and administration members.

Dr. Darrell Radson, Dean of the Foster College of Business, then spoke of the history and importance of Beta Gamma Sigma.

“Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive in a business program accredited by AACSB International,” Radson remarked. “And you all are accomplishing that here at the Foster College of Business. The faculty, staff and the College could not be more proud of you and your accomplishments.”

Chapter president, management major Jessica Martin ’15, performed the installation of new members and recited the importance of the meaning behind Beta, Gamma, and Sigma.

“Beta is the initial letter of the Greek word BEBAEO (beb-i-os), which signifies honor,” Martin said during the induction. “Gamma is the initial letter of the Greek word GNOSIS (no-sis), which means wisdom, and Sigma is the initial letter of the Greek word SPOUDE (spoo-day), which means earnestness.”

All Beta Gamma Sigma members were then asked to accept honor as an ideal to be translated into reality in the daily conduct of their lives, continue their quest for wisdom by nurturing and utilizing it, and accept earnestness as a guide to their personal conduct, every day of their lives.

After the new members were inducted, a dinner was served, followed by Keynote Speaker John Wieland, owner and CEO of MH Equipment.

In Wieland’s 20 years with the company, it has grown from 50 employees to more than 700, with an annual revenue of $200 million.

Wieland spoke about the most important thing in business and life is understanding and shaping culture - culture being what naturally flows out of a person or a company. 

“A successful business is the efficient implementation of two things: strategy and culture,” Wieland said. “Let’s pretend an oak tree is your strategy and the root system is your culture. If you don’t have a strong culture (root system) that oak tree is not going to persevere through all the elements thrown at it.”

“Culture needs to be owned everyday as it drives everything,” Wieland continued.

He went on to discuss the three pillars of MH Equipment:  all people matter, regardless of what you believe, what you know, and what you don’t know; have passion that inspires; and have purpose that unites.

Wieland concluded with congratulating the students on their inductions into Beta Gamma Sigma and ended with a few calls to action.

“Be a culture of stewardship – the careful and responsible management of something or someone that you are charged with their care,” Wieland concluded. “People matter, so try to make a difference in your community. And finally, don’t get trapped in materialism, it will not provide meaning, peace and joy.”

The 2015 Accepted Memberships into Beta Gamma Sigma:

Undergraduate Students

  • Brett Althoff ’16, Accounting – Decatur, Illinois
  • Patrick Caplis ’16, Entrepreneurship – Chillicothe, Illinois
  • Brandon Casey '15, Management Information Systems (MIS) - Bartonville, Illinois
  • Azelia Clar ’15, Accounting 3:2 – Edelstein, Illinois
  • Melissa Cobb ’16, Accounting – Bradford, Illinois
  • Shannon Connelly ’15, Entrepreneurship – Glenarm, Illinois
  • Stacy Davis ’15, Management – East Peoria, Illinois
  • Chance Dowds ’16, Management Information Systems (MIS) – Delavan, Illinois
  • Taryn Gille ’15, Accounting 3:2 – Rockton, Illinois
  • Ethan Gipp ’16, Entrepreneurship – Peoria, Illinois
  • Hannah Haberman ’16, Accounting – Ballwin, Missouri
  • Trent Hootman ’16, Accounting 3:2 – Canton, Illinois
  • Cameron Horn ’15, Management – Farmington, Illinois
  • Bradley Johnson ’16, Accounting – Sugar Grove, Illinois
  • Kaylee Karumanchi ’16, Finance – Peoria, Illinois
  • Andrew Kovacevic ’16, Finance – Naperville, Illinois
  • Jessica Paradis ’16, Finance – Crystal Lake, Illinois
  • Amanada Pavlacic ’16, Accounting – St. Charles, Missouri
  • Amanda Sadler ’15, Accounting 3:2 – Lockport, Illinois
  • Jordyn Shawhan ’15, Management – Peoria, Illinois
  • Damon Tatar ’16, Accounting – New Lenox, Illinois
  • Evan Webber ’15, Accounting – Peoria, Illinois

Graduate Students

  • Manoj Baweja, MBA – Chillicothe, Illinois
  • Juan Cuadrado, MBA – Peoria, Illinois
  • Jiri Dvorak, MBA – Czech Republic
  • Allison Elias, MBA – Peoria, Illinois
  • Erica Fay, MBA – East Peoria, Illinois
  • Daniel Gullifor, MBA – Peoria, Illinois
  • Ashley Piechota, MSA – Hardwick, Massachusetts
  • John Zimmerman, MBA – Dunlap, Illinois