Q: Describe the fraternity as you remember it in your time frame.
A: During the time I spent in the house, Delta Chi was known as a “geek house”— no jocks, not very socially cool, and we wore the label rather proudly. We didn’t really care about those things and focused on education and hanging out with a great group of guys and a few great women. It was the early ‘70s, a time of campus upheaval against a war and the establishment, long hair, great music, marijuana and women burning bras! It was a great time to be young, alive and trying to find and blaze your path in the world.
Q: What are you fondest memories of being a Delta Chi at Michigan?
A: Wales Tales in the Drinking Room, John Russell breakfasts especially prepared for me, even though I missed the official hours most every Saturday and Sunday, participating in intramural athletic teams for DX, Michigan football Saturdays road trips, new member Rush parties, fierce Pinochle, Bridge and Euchre games in the phone room (closet), Coffin trips to the neighboring sororities…but the best memories are always about the comradery and brotherhood with my fellow Delta Chis!
Q: Did you live in the house?
A: Yes, I did for two years in what was known then as the Front Triple. Doug Shelton ’70 and I were the lucky ones to share that room.
Q: Did you have a nickname and if so, how did you get it?
A: Yes, I have HUGS imprinted on my Delta Chi U of M drinking mug, but not too many brothers called me that, mostly either “Hughes” or “Dan”.
Q: What about your membership in Delta Chi makes you the most proud?
A: The long-term relationships I still have today with some of my Delta Chi brothers, and to know that I can pick up right where we left off with most any if not all of the brothers I was fortunate enough to meet as a Delta Chi, as this recently happened at a past reunion.
Q: Do you stay in touch with any of your Delta Chi brothers? Who?
A: Yes I do. Paul Majchrzak ’75 and Hassen Baghai ’73 are two that I am closest to— we have been best men and/or stood up in each other’s’ weddings and we vacation every year together with our wives in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This last year, my wife, Lisa, and I spent a terrific 10 days in Southern France with Paul and his wife, Lydia. Mark DeLange ’75 was another who we were close to for many years after school. Unfortunately, I have not seen him in the last 20 years since he moved to Texas. Dan Maher ’76 and I have reconnected in the last 10 years. In recent years at the fraternity homecomings, I also had the pleasure of reconnecting with some of the ‘70s brothers like Joe Matt ’72, Dickie Crane ’73, John Levinson ’73, John Stinson ’75 and Gary Mervak ’74 to name a few. Of course, I could not fail to mention the ever present and amazing Frank Morrey ’64, better known as “Eff”!
Q: What was your undergraduate degree? What was the first job you took after college?
A: After five wonderful years of enrollment at the University of Michigan, the University advised me in a letter that I needed to attend classes and excel scholastically in order to graduate from U of M and flunked me out of the university. I was obviously chagrined, as I felt I was learning so many valuable life lessons and had made so many valuable friendships and relationships! So, I never graduated and, while probably not great advice for our students of today, have never really regretted not getting that sheepskin. I then pursued careers where the degree was not required, but hard work and results were.
Q: Who have you worked for?
A: I have had two careers in my 40 years of professional life. During college, I was fortunate to attend a few Rose Bowls in the Bo Schembechler era and remember wondering what was wrong with me as I boarded those planes home to come back to Ann Arbor and the long, cold winters. So, after my college career was put to a jarring end (as noted above) I made my way to Southern California, not really knowing a soul other than a friend from freshman year and West Quad at the U of M. I did eventually convince two of my DX brothers, Paul Majchrzak and Mark Delange, to join me on the west coast.
After trying rather unsuccessfully to become a beach bum, I took my first job in the retail industry at a funky unisex clothing retailer named Merry Go Round and was rather quickly promoted though the ranks. I became a Store Manager, Area Manager, District Manager and finished as a Regional Vice President with responsibility for 250 stores in Southeast United States working out of Atlanta. Over that period of time I worked for three different retailers and was promoted or transferred to many cities including Milwaukee, Detroit, New York and Atlanta.
At the age of 40, I experienced a life changing event (noted below) and needed to change careers based on my doctor’s advice. I became a headhunter in the retail industry, achieving more success and income than I did as a VP in the retail industry over the next four years.
In 1995, I decided to start all over in a new career, Information Technology. Starting at the bottom, both title-wise as well as financially, I became a recruiter for an IT Services firm in Detroit called Compuware. I have been here for the last 21 years and have had the privilege of having many diverse roles. I became a Recruiting Manager, Director, the VP of World-Wide Recruiting and VP of Business Transformation for this global, billion dollar software and professional IT services firm and have been able to travel the world in support of our operations in North America, Europe and the Far East. Two years ago, we divested our Professional Services Division and I was able to help form a new organization named Lochbridge, headquartered in Detroit, where I am now a VP of Sales for our Public Sector Vertical.
Q: Where have you lived?
A: I think I covered it above but – Long Beach, CA; Milwaukee, WI; back to Long Beach; Detroit, MI; Aberdeen, NJ; Duluth, GA and back to Detroit.
Q: Tell us about your family and interests.
A: My wife, Lisa, unlike me, is very much a creative soul. She works for a greeting card firm headquartered in Detroit named Avanti Press.
I am blessed with two terrific kids:
Rachel, my 27 year old daughter, living in Commerce Township, MI, is a Project Manager for Ashgrove Marketing, a marketing firm headquartered in Northville, MI named
Jason, my 24 year old son, living in Royal Oak, MI is on the road and traveling as a Big Data Consultant for a software company out of San Diego, CA called Teradata.
Q: Hobbies you have?
A: Golf, reading, music of every genre and family activities of any kind
Q: Volunteer work?
A: I have been fortunate to actively support many causes such as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Karmanos Cancer Institute and numerous other charities, but my most rewarding work has been as a Big Brother for the Big Sisters/Big Brothers organization here in downtown Detroit, having had the privilege of being a Big Brother to two young men from 4th grade to 9th grade.
Q: Any illnesses you might like to mention or share?
A: Like many men, having never gone to a doctor or having to deal with anything other than the normal sports injuries, I was very blessed to have had the warning signs and appropriate reaction to a blockage in the main artery of my heart, which is often referred to as “The Widowmaker”, at the age of 40. I had a double cardiac bypass to repair it, which resulted in ongoing monitoring, no physical restrictions and the opportunity for a very full life for the last 23 years and hopefully the opportunity to continue a very active life for a long time to come.
Q: What would you say are your life’s biggest successes?
A: The opportunity to raise, nurture, and coach my two children, who are college graduates and very successful professionals, but, most importantly to me, are big-hearted, kind, compassionate and considerate human beings! The opportunity to have a second chance at marriage with a woman who makes me smile every morning helps me to make life complete and very fulfilling as well!
Also, the opportunity to professionally achieve success over my career in roles as a Manager, Director and Vice President for some great organizations and be a coach and mentor to hundreds of colleagues, of which the vast majority I am most pleased to still have contact with and call friends.
Q: On the contrary, what would you say are your biggest failures or regrets? What did you learn from it?
A: Probably my failed first marriage. After 20 years of marriage, I now know I could have worked at it harder, not taken it for granted and spent more time at home instead of the consistent 60-70 work week hours.
Q: What advice would you give the younger Delta Chi members?
A: Find a path in life that is something you can be passionate about, want to devote a 1000% to and, as the saying goes, “ whatever you choose to do, pursue excellence in all of your endeavors.”
I have found that, in my professional life, I am a pretty simple guy and really have only asked for three things to be a part of any role or job that I have had:
- Can I contribute… to the organization or goals of the business
- Am I challenged… because I have found the easy things are not necessarily the most rewarding
- Can I have fun… both in doing my work with the people and teams I have worked with and led
Where those three things have been true, I have been most successful, been promoted multiple times and raises have always seemed to follow.
Q: What do you want people to remember about you 50 years from now?
A: Not sure other than my family. Anyone will remember my contributions 50 years from now, but I would like to think that anyone who has been a friend or a colleague of mine would say they are better for that relationship with me. I think my desire to listen and hear others’ points of view and perceptions has not only served them well, but, in the end, was as valuable to me as any value they derived from knowing me.
Q: Would you like to mention your business for anyone that might be searching for your product, expertise, or just information to help a Brother out with?
A: Anyone looking for a career opportunity or information that I can help with can please feel free to contact me.
If any brothers would like to reach out to Dan, they can do so at [email protected] or [email protected] or call 248-318-5570.
