| Dave Phillips (third from left) and past 1851 Award recipients at the 2017 Four Corners Campaign Celebration during Alumni Weekend. |
Dave Phillips ’65 Earns 1851 Award for Securing Funding After 1971 Fire
Picture it: In October 1971, a fire ripped through the Beta chapter house and destroyed it. The old section was completely gutted, and the new section was left without heat or electricity. To further the devastation, the insurance settlement ended up being just $68,000 – a fifth of the cost of rebuilding.
Two years later, a rebuilt chapter house opened, but no financial institutions wanted to provide long-term financing for a fraternity house. Foreclosure even threatened.
Take a minute to imagine that. Picture what your memories would look like if the house had vanished in 1971, if your experience at UNC didn’t include those iconic columns, or that staircase, or your DKE brothers.
When we asked Trey Adams about Dave Phillips ’65, recipient of the 1851 Award, the first thing he said was, “Without him, we wouldn’t have the chapter house today.”
It’s because of Dave, that we don’t have to picture what might have been. But that comes a little later in the story. First, let’s go back to the dire straits after the new house was built.
“We asked every prominent bank in North Carolina for loans, and were turned down every time, even though some had board members who were former Dekes,” Dave remembers. “Out of desperation, we contacted Kenneth Ryall. He was president of the N.C. senate, and considered the most powerful person in the state. He was not a DKE but his son was. After many conversations with the local savings and loan in his hometown of Durham, they loaned us the money; however, they would only loan us so much.”
The Savings and Loan Company reached their financial limit. The DKE House had cost more than the estimates, and they raised less money than they had hoped. The House even needed working capital to pay the water and electric bills, so Dave, along with Cameron Harris and Lyons Gray, personally guaranteed a loan of $25,000 at First Union Bank in High Point. (Click here to read a 1976 DEKE Journal article that outlines the story).
It was a huge sacrifice, and it wasn’t easy – the trio was not able to pay off the loan until November 1982 when the DKE Foundation stepped in to help. “Needless to say, there were many sleepless nights and much frustration over many years,” Dave says.
Brothers are quick to weigh in on Dave’s best qualities. Tee Baur remembers as him as a handsome guy who always had a good looking date, and reiterates that it was his efforts after the fire that distinguished him – “It was through his efforts that we got the house rebuilt,” Tee says.
Brother Berny Gray sums him up succinctly: “Businessman, Ambassador, Family Man, Philanthropist.” Dave is exactly that. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Phillips Industries, Inc. and as a partner in Market Square Partnership. For more than 30 years he promoted American business by financing accounts receivables, by building showrooms for the International Furniture Market, and by manufacturing textiles. He then used his wealth of experience as U.S. Ambassador to Estonia from 2007-2009. He continues to offer his time and energy to educational, medical, and other causes as diverse as Duke University, Wake Forest University Medical Center; and the Smithsonian Institution. In 1999, he chaired the World Games of the Special Olympics, presiding over 10,000 athletes and coaches from 150 countries visiting North Carolina and more than 36,000 citizens volunteering their services.
Dave’s pledge trainer, Chris Jones, might have used another word altogether … but Dave tells that story best. “Our pledge trainer was Chris Jones, and he had a crew cut, and looked and acted like a Marine. One day, he told us to assemble in the dirt parking lot beside the DKE House, and he gave us shovels and told us to start digging. He didn’t give us dimensions, and he would not tell us how deep. After what seemed like a long time, he told us to stop and proceeded to invite our fraternity brothers to surround the extremely large and deep excavation. They were asked to relieve themselves into the pit. He then commanded that we fill the hole back up!”
DKExcellence: Four Corners Campaign is coming closer and closer to its goal of $1.28 million – happy news and perfect time to celebrate the blood, sweat and tears that kept the house together four decades ago.
“We had great fear that we could not rebuild the DKE House, but we did,” Dave remembers.
Yes, you did, Dave. And, we are forever grateful.
