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Like other families, the Bests share many bonds and common experiences like little league, family get-togethers and football games, but unlike most families, the Bests share the bond of brotherhood as well. The Best's family ties with Phi Sigma Kappa began in the early '70s when Bruce '76 made the decision to join after rush.

Bruce began college with the goal of joining a fraternity and got to know the brothers of Phi Sig through a high school friend, Bob Kotchman '73. The closeness and uniqueness of the brotherhood, along with their focus on academics and intramurals attracted Bruce.

Because of Bruce, Gary '78 had some familiarity with the brotherhood prior to starting college. Gary's decision wasn't automatic, however, he still decided to rush other fraternities, but says he chose Phi Sig because, "The brothers had a nice diversity of membership, everyone got along really well and I felt comfortable with the demeanor of the house."

Like his father before him, Alex '12 was also exposed to Phi Sig before beginning his freshman year. While visiting Penn State as a high school senior, Gary showed him around the campus and introduced him to some of the brothers at the Phi Sig house. The impression that visit left on Alex along with the unity of the members inspired him to follow in his father's and uncle's footsteps.

After joining, the Bests didn't waste any time and got involved with the fraternity early, holding numerous positions including president, which Bruce and Gary each held in the '70s and Alex holds today. Alex admits that the family tradition of being president appealed to him, but says it also felt like the next step for him after holding positions like Vice President and Risk Manager.

Bruce, the first of the three to be president, was proud of Gary for being elected and is proud of Alex too, saying, "It's pretty cool that (Alex) went to Penn State, joined Phi Sig and is president. It's not something I expected, but I am proud of him and he is certainly deserving."

In January, Gary had the unique opportunity to sit in on son leading a chapter meeting when he visited Penn State for Joe Paterno's viewing. Visiting the house is not uncommon for Gary; he remains actively involved with Kappa chapter, especially because of Alex.

A few years ago the chapter renovated the entire house and Gary, who owns two Maid Brigade franchises, worked closely with the actives and the pledges by showing them how to clean the house, repair maintenance issues and encouraging them to get involved in the fraternity.

Since he started working with the active chapter, Gary has noticed a great improvement including a newfound love and respect for the Kappa Chapter, something that wasn't as prevalent five years ago. These results didn't come from merely from Gary, however. Dick Doherty '58, Fred DeCock '80, Bill DeGrandis '77, Dave Hyland '80, Ben Jarmul '81, Bruce Balmat '70, Dan Stearns '73, John Benedict '74 and the recently deceased Roger Barton '69 also played instrumental roles in improving the Kappa Chapter.

Alex and the active chapter appreciate the efforts taken by Gary and the other alumni. Alex specifically enjoys his father's visits, saying, "It's awesome, he's very personable. When he comes over everyone's excited to see him, he relates with the brothers really well and he's closer to our generation than a lot of people."

Although Alex is graduating in December 2012, don't expect Gary to be any less involved because of that. "I bleed magenta and silver," Gary says as he describes his pride for Kappa Chapter and the progress it has made in the past five years.

Living close to Penn State in Virginia, getting back to campus and remaining involved with Phi Sig is relatively convenient for Gary. Bruce, on the other hand has been living and working in several distant states (most recently Texas) for over 30 years and isn't able to get back to campus often. That doesn't mean the bond is any less strong for Bruce, however.

Five years ago, after Bruce's wife passed away, he received a lot of emails and support from brothers that he hadn't heard from in years. That they didn't forget about him and were there when he needed them despite the time and distance between them meant the world to Bruce, who has since reconnected with Bob Kotchman '73 who, like Bruce, also lives in Houston.

This past Fall Bruce was able to make additional connections to his Phi Sig past when he traveled back to campus to attend the Nebraska football game where he had the pleasure of hooking up with Russel Lenor (aka Trash) '74 and former pledge brothers Steu Brown '74 and John Wall '76.

Bruce's fondest Phi Sig memory is the emphasis the fraternity has traditionally placed on philanthropy. He specifically cites a Christmas party from his undergrad years in which they invited a family from Lewisburg that were victims of a flood and gave them presents, took them ice skating and hung out with them. Alex also feels strongly about the emphasis on philanthropy, calling the annual "Superstars" event benefiting the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society his favorite Phi Sig memory.

Kappa chapter is lucky to have a family so dedicated towards carrying on the Phi Sig legacy.

In this photo: From left to right, Bruce's brother-in-law Andrew Reeder, Bruce Best, Alex Best and Gary Best at the Rathskeller.