Bob Hall sits on the patio of his residence in Iowa City. He is one of the first three
brothers who have become mentors in Iowa Beta’s Virtual Big Brother program.
Iowa City’s Hall one of three initial mentors
to participate in the Big Brother program
By Greg Miller (IABE ’86)
Director and Communications Chairman
Iowa Beta Alumni Association
The first three of many Iowa Beta alumni have volunteered to participate in Iowa Beta’s vanguard Virtual Big Brother mentor program.
The mentor program allows a member of the fraternity – alumnus or undergrad – to seek advice, provide coaching and mentoring as well as gain strength from another brother. A brother can find aperson who has either more experience or who has walked a mile in his shoes whether on a professional or personal level.
The inaugural mentors are Iowa City, Iowa’s Bob Hall (IABE ’66), Durham, N.C.’s Jimmy Slowin (IABE ’87) and Chicago-area resident Joe Noll (IABE ’86).
“These brothers will be the first of many in a stable of mentors and coaches who can be there to listen and support a brother on a periodic basis helping them overcome obstacles, providing a different perspective, and enabling them to succeed through their own real-world experiences,” said Iowa Beta Alumni Association president Marc Rosenow (IABE ’86).
Mentors who join the program can choose from a variety of areas to help. Some examples include life coach, leadership coach, assistance coach and networking coach.
Here is a closer look at the first three men who will serve as mentors:
Bob Hall, life coach
Hall said he sees himself with a Mark Twain-like characteristic, to be very straightforward.
“When a guy comes to me and asks for help, I usually can see right away that he knows exactly what to do,” he said. “But many times people want you to give them a stamp of approval that their instinct is correct.”
While an undergrad in 1964, Hall attended Leadership School at the Levere Memorial Temple. He served as Pledge Trainer and Eminent Herald, prompting the nickname “Harold.”
He has served on the board of the Iowa Beta Riverside Corporation (the house corporation) since 2005, serving as de facto property manager for the Chapter House and as a Chapter Advisor. He also assisted the Iowa swimming team for 20 years running meets and helping with administrative needs.
“I preach self-reliance,” he said. “It may sound a little gruff, but most of the time people know exactly what they need to do satisfy their conscience. I have a lot of faith in the human being, probably more than most people do.”
For most of his career, Hall was in the insurance business but is currently an independent financial counselor helping people and small companies with retirement planning and recommendations on investments and financial instruments. Hall and his wife have three children and four grandchildren.
He tells an anecdote a few winters back where he was able to help by just being available. About 15 inches of snow buried the area and Hall knew that the phone was going to ring.
“One of the leaders in the SAE house at the time called me and even without identifying himself the first words out of his mouth were ‘what do we do?’ ”
Hall told the student to “figure it out.”Hall said he offered the advice to go and get a snow shovel and start digging. The brother told him he thought there were about five shovels that were lying out and were buried. Hall suggested that the student make a trip to the hardware store and get some more shovels so the house could work together to dig paths to the parking lot.
Hall said that he is happy to offer advice in both the professional and personal area of a brother’s life.
“AllI can do is offer personal life experience and the wisdom that goes with it,” he said.
He also recalls what former Iowa assistant coach Lou Holtz taught him.
“Lou used to say, ‘You know what to do, go do it and you know what is right, so go do it right.’ There is all kinds of training available if you need knowledge but in a lot of cases, I tell people that they are expected to figure out how to solve life’s puzzles in their own unique style.”
Jimmy Slowin, assistance coach
Jimmy Slowin lives a happy, fruitful life in a warm, cozy house just outside of Durham, North Carolina.
He has one son, Austin, a sophomore star cross-country runner. This summer, Jimmy married the love of his life, Amy. They are expecting Payton Grace Slowin any day now.
But it took a major episode for Slowin to bring his life to this much happiness. He will never forget the holidays of 2007.
“December 5th, 2007 was my last drink,” he said. I needed help and knew of a good treatment center in the area. I checked into Fellowship Hall near Greensboro the morning of December 7 a broken, sick man who felt a great deal of shame and fear.
“I was a mess. Alcohol had taken over my body, mind and soul. I wanted to get better and I knew I could not do it on my own. The people in that facility saved my life. I learned about my disease and how to live a full and happy life without alcohol.”
Slowin, 49, has spent his entire career in the restaurant business starting as a server back in his college days. He moved to North Carolina and entered the management side of the business playing many roles from assistant manager to vice president of operations. Slowin and a business partner just launched a company that helps restaurants train better through the use of their software.
“The restaurant business is a perfect place for a person with a drinking problem,” Slowin said. “It is notorious for sex, drugs and rock ’n roll. Everyone has a glass of wine or beer after work. That’s not a problem as long as the size of the wine glass is smaller than a fish bowl,” he laughed.
He said his third day in rehab was the most impactful. The doctor provided him with an academic explanation of the disease.
In Slowin’s case, there are altered neurotransmitters in his brain that hampers his ability to hit the off switchand stop drinking. The doctor also told him he lacks an enzyme that enables himto process alcohol like most people.
“While he explained what was going on chemically in the brain and how an alcoholic processes alcohol differently, light bulbs went on,” Slowin said. “I got it! When I understood intellectually what was going on with the a disease, I began to give myself a break. I was not a bad person. I had a disease and as long as I stayed away from alcohol, I could live a long and fruitful happy life!”
IronicalIy, Slowin was released the morning New Year’s Eve. The next three months were a challenge learning to live without alcohol. His employer thought it was a good idea that the two not work together anymore.
“On top of all this, I discovered a spot on my chest that turned out to be melanoma – cancer,” he said. My son was my biggest inspiration to stay sober. Weeks turned into months and I am about to enjoy six years of sobriety!”
Slowin said what he can offer is that he can listen to another confidentially and without judgment and let them know that they are not alone and that he has been there. “Hopefully I can answer a lot of questions about alcohol and some insight for anyone struggling with the disease or with someone they know who is struggling,” he said. Slowin said he can breakdown what kinds of support are being offered and some insight as to what it is like to get help. And he said alcoholism is harder for people to get help because it is one the rare diseases that must be self-diagnosed. “The vast majority of our brothers may not have this addiction, but they know someone who does,” Slowin said. “And by remaining uninformed, they can actually make the problem worse by enabling the situation. People have to take alcohol and drug addiction seriously because people die from it.”
He said most people struggling with substances do not understand the disease. He also said it does not matter how close a person with an addiction is to you: they will lie to your face and break your heart because they cannot help themselves.
Slowin said calling him can be a first step to taking strong action to address a problem.
“But I want it to be clear that I don’t know everything, because I don’t,” he said. “It is very important not to assume this attitude because no one has all the answers. I cannot offer professional counseling.But I can offer my perspective and my experience. I know it will help.”
Joe Noll, networking coach
Joe Noll is a re-founding member of the Iowa Beta Chapter who helped spearhead SAE back onto the Iowa campus in 1982.Noll will serve as mentor coach for networking.
“Networking is a skill that can help you find fertile ground to remain employed and sometimes find a better opportunity,” he said. “Besides a career change, networking is a fantastic way to build your business and prospect for clients.”
Noll has served as a Director of the Iowa Beta Riverside Corporation since 2012. Hailing from Fort Madison, Iowa, Noll now resides in Bartlett, Ill.
While at Iowa, Noll served the Iowa Beta Chapter in many capacities, including work on the committees for philanthropy, rush, Little Sisters of Minerva and homecoming.
“Networking is critical to a person’s financial survival,” he said. “In a way it is hunting and there are some really good techniques to do it. Many times it is not the person you are talking to who you will get a job or buy your product, but each person knows a lot of people whom they can filter and introduce you to so you can get what you seek.”
For instance, when you are looking for another working opportunity, asking a person directly for a job usually does not work. However, letting someone know you are interested in working in a particular area can get some proactive dialogue going. “If you asking someone ‘are you hiring?’ most often the answer is ‘no.’,” Noll said. “And that can kill the conversation right there. But if you let them know what you seek and ask them whom they know that you might call, you will get some valuable information and referrals of people to contact. Always set up the conversation where you can have a few more people to reach out to.”
Noll is VicePresident, National Accounts for Cogent-Works, LLC, a billing solutions company for property and casualty insurance medical claims. He ismarried to Leslie and has one stepson, Devin. Together they enjoy travelling, Chicago sports, and returning to Iowa City for the occasional football game. He is active in the Bartlett community as well as his church.
Are you interested in mentorship?
The Virtual Big Brother program is not designed for immediate crisis counseling. It is not professional counseling but a mentoring program geared toward making better choices in your personal and professional life based on the real-world experiences and wisdom of others.
“When you joined SAE, you became a brother for life,” Rosenow said. “This is an outstanding opportunity for you to stay connected with the fraternity and give back. It’s brothers helping brothers.”
Please consider helping another brother succeed in life. Contact marc.rosenow@iowabetasae.org today to participate.
Indiana TV anchor began career with “SAE sports”
In the early 1980s, Mike Cleff was a major contributor to bring SAE back on campus. And each week he delivered the SAE sports report with immense hilarity and precision.
Cleff has been a television sportscaster for 25 of the 26 years since he graduated from Iowa. He is the weeknight news anchor at the CBS and FOX affiliate in Terre Haute, a viewing area known as the "Wabash Valley."
He anchors the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts Monday through Friday for CBS and serves as fill-in anchor on occasions during the 10 p.m. newscast for FOX.
Cleff’s rise to stardom began during weekly chapter meetings while he was in the SAE house. He would impersonate legendary sports broadcaster Howard Cosell and deliver the SAE sports news to the point where the brothers would fall on the floor in tears from laughter.
“My famous intramural reports at chapter meetings, which everyone tolerated (thank you!), are experiences that taught me to ad-lib sportscasts and are instinctive references that I use to this day,” Cleff explained.
Cleff won the Terre Haute anchor job when local legend Mark Allen retired.
“He was a 46-year broadcasting veteran in the Wabash Valley, in three Hall of Fames, and someone I've idolized since I was 8 years old. I got to work with him for two weeks before he retired,” Cleff said.
“One of my interviews was with Mark (I was one of 602 candidates) and he endorsed me for the job. I'm very flattered and greatly humbled. I'm in a great, great situation and, for the first time in my life, working Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week. Which means any SAE reunions from now on I definitely can attend and look forward to!”
Cleff has worked at WTHI-TV/My FOX10 since mid-June. Recently his nephews visited him at the station - Nick, Evan, and Cam. The boys' father is Cleff’s cousin.
“He's really my adopted brother and best friend,” said Cleff. “He works at Wells Fargo in Terre Haute and his office is three blocks from my station, so having a job really close to family is awesome.”
Cleff is single and does not have any kids of his own.
“My memories of SAE and living in the lodge (the SAE house on Dubuque Street) are very fond ones, and there are experiences that I've learned from that I apply to this day. I am proud to be part of a group of that started something good with high-quality people - the brothers of SAE at the University of Iowa.”
Cleff said his feeling then was that he would remember what took place for a lifetime and remember it fondly.
“That's exactly how I feel today,” he said. “The SAEs during my college years were a group of very talented, extremely diverse, interesting, highly entertaining and high-integrity people.
“It's been a real pleasure re-connecting with people from the Iowa Beta Chapter at SAE and seeing the successful stories of so many fellow brothers, which doesn't surprise me one bit. I always told my mom (who passed away in 1995) when I was in college that a lot of my SAE brothers would go on to big and successful things.”
Iowa Beta brothers watch Hawk football in Naperville
Iowa Beta’s Bill Hayes (IABE ‘92) put out the flag for the Iowa-Ohio State game on Oct. 19 and about 10 brothers in the area gathered for some beer and cheer at Tommy Nevin's in Naperville.
“It was great to hang out with some of the guys and have a little fun,” Hayes said.
Hayes secured his pledge dad, Bill Baedke (IABE ’92), as among those attending. Other brothers attending included Kurt Arbeen (IABE ’86), Scott Carlson (IABE ’93), Joe Noll (IABE ’86), Marc Rosenow (IABE ’86), and Charlie Souhrada (IABE ’85).
Though the Hawkeys gave a valiant effort, the Buckeyes survived and won the game, 34-24. Hayes said he fulfilled his commitment to the event by lowering the GPA average.
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