Fra Sugumele Honored During Nu Reunion
by Michael Kawochka
(University at Buffalo, '91), Consul
CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. (May 30, 2026) — Forty Nu men gathered in Clearwater Beach, Florida for a weekend last May to commemorate and celebrate 40 years of friendship and brotherhood. For recent reunions, we've gravitated toward climates significantly sunnier than the one the University at Buffalo is notoriously associated with.
Held fast and firm by links of friendship together since the eighties, these guys repped the 80s and 90s era of Nu chapter.
The B-52s, R.E.M. and Nirvana were all hitting their stride during the era that these men pledged Sigma Alpha Mu. These bands all played on UB's campus and their songs were played on mix tapes at every Sammy party. Social dues for our chapter were then $50 per semester and student activity fees were the same. One hundred bucks all-in got you into every campus concert and Sammy mixer all semester.
The reunion itinerary ran Thursday through Sunday, but brothers traveling from California, Iowa, and Vermont extended the weekend—arriving as early as Wednesday and staying through Tuesday.
Shepherd's Resort and Hotel was home base for this squad. Thursday was dinner at Frenchy's. On Friday, pickleball and golf were available to the early risers, followed by all day drinks at our poolside cabana at Shepherd's. Live entertainment was available every night at Shepherd's beach bar and nightclub venues.
Moderation was our watchword, ever careful not to overdo it physically at our delicate age.
The main event was a dinner at John Meringue McGuire's waterside home. John treated us to a five course dinner, catered by a private chef we poached from one of Clearwater's finer restaurants. In between courses, John let us take his pontoon boat on the bay, piloted by a designated captain who knew his way around. We ran aground just once and only briefly.
Special thanks for John and his wife Mindy for hosting us.
After dinner, Mark Trixie Itskowitch presented the Brotherhood Lifetime Legacy Award award to his little brother Steve Kabula Sugumele. This was a double-secret surpise portion of the evening. Inscribed in the purple trophy:
For decades of unwavering commitment
in fostering and maintaining a spirit of fraternity,
a spirit of mutual moral aid and support.
Instilling and maintaining love for and loyalty to
Sigma Alpha Mu brotherhood and its ideals,
resulting in actions worthy of the highest precepts
of true manhood, democracy, and humanity.
With gratitude and brotherhood,
from all of us at the Nu Chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu,
University at Buffalo | May 2026
During his undergradute years, Kabula was always a leader: Prior, Pledgemaster and Social Chairman are Sammy CV highlights -- all are almost as sweet as the years he led our intramural flag football team to championship glory.
Trixie hatched the idea for the award to formally express gratitude to Kabula for continuing to be our Social Chairman for the past 35 years, organizing dozens of reunions, ski trips, Bills games, memorials and other Sammy excursions. He is the Bridge Builder personified, literally bridging the decades between our 80's and 90s guys.
"Kabula has made it so easy for us stay close, despite distance and decades. All we had to do was show up." said Fra Itskowitch. "May the reader be inspired to pay it forward by attending their next reunion or by simply calling a brother they haven't spoken to in 8 years."
Inspired by Trixie's good idea, the Octagon will honor Fra Sugmele with the 2027 Alumni Service Award. Fra Sugumele is now forever twice enshrined in fraternity history -- at the chapter and international convention levels.
Congratulations Steve and Nu brothers on another successful reunion!
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