Today, Jerry Felmley, Illinois ’54, serves as Chairman of the Scholarship Committee of the Jolly Green Association (USAF Combat Search & Rescue during the Vietnam War years) that meets annually to select scholarship recipients.  Jerry has presided over the evaluation of hundreds of applications that have awarded $81,000 to dependents of Jolly Creen Rescue crewmembers. 
"It is a great thrill and reward to be able to help truly deserving kids with outstanding high school and undergraduate academic records and extensive volunteer community service."

He attributes his lifetime interest in scholarship to his involvement with the Jolly Green Association and as a donor to the Phi Delta Theta Foundation. Jerry's motivation to "help our own" is intense, and he notes, "as it should be."

Jerry explains that his undergraduate fraternity experience had a “very positive influence in his life,” and he emphasizes the long-term benefits of being a member of Phi Delta Theta. He clarifies, “it’s not just a 4-year experience; it is an opportunity to be involved for life.”

When Jerry was initiated in 1951 he was pinned by his cousin, Jim Meek, one of 12 Phi Delts on that side of his family. Jerry describes this as one of his fondest Phi Delt memories. The pin was significant because it had belonged to Jim’s father in the early 1900s, and Jerry was honored to wear it until he purchased one of his own.

What makes him most proud to be a Phi? For Jerry it’s the relationships that remain even today with about two dozen of the 88 men who were in the chapter with him. He recalls the close relationships they built while in the chapter and they still get together for football weekends.  Members from Jerry’s pledge class keep in close contact and every winter there are about 14 of them who get together for a mini-reunion in Tucson where Jerry resides.

Jerry credits the fraternity experience as being a place where young men can build relationships and learn discipline as they progress through their undergraduate years. He explains, “I attribute my success with interpersonal relationships to both my membership in Phi Delta Theta and my active duty in the Air Force. I was able to use the skills I learned in a very competitive business environment. You learn to easily recognize differences in others, how to approach negotiation, interview new employees, build cohesive and effective teams and still maintain good friendships.”

Now that he has the financial means to comfortably give to the Foundation, Jerry does so by shifting his equity shares, which allows him to meet the giving level he desires to reach each year. He sees his financial gifts as an extension of his commitment to the organization—a demonstration of his love for the Fraternity. He explains that, “offering a helping hand to younger Phis through my donations to our Foundation is the essence of the Phikeia Oath: ‘I will strive in all ways to transmit to those who may follow after, not only not less, but greater than it was transmitted to me.’” And that, declares Jerry, “is my commitment—to continue to make the Fraternity better than it was in 1950, 1995 and 2005, for those who will follow my path.”

Jerry says his greatest satisfaction from contributing to the Foundation comes in meeting undergraduates and alumni who have received Foundation grants towards their academic goals. “I feel a direct relation to their success.”

He’s now “99% retired.” After 27 years on active duty with the Air Force and then working in acquisition management and business consulting, Jerry now spends his time with the University of Arizona Phi Delta Theta chapter, the Tucson Alumni Club, and with his three daughters that reside across the U.S.

As a member committed to the Phi Delt cause, Jerry Felmley has been a donor to the Foundation for over 35 years. He is a member of the Living Bond Society and the Founders Club, and has been a member of the Trustees’ Roundtable since its inaugural year.  Because of his lifelong interest in scholarship and Phi Delta Theta, there is a direct connection that Jerry has to many of our members – some he has met over the years in his travels and some he will never meet but only assist them in achieving their academic goals. Either way, Jerry’s contributions to Phi Delta Theta will continue to touch the lives of our members in years to come.