Fraternity members shovel to show appreciation

Colby Davis (left) and Hogan Davis shovel snow from sidewalks on Seventh Street in Fulton on Thursday. The Westminster College students are members of Delta Tau Delta. The fraternity members decided to help out their neighbors.
Colby Davis (left) and Hogan Davis shovel snow from sidewalks on Seventh Street in Fulton on Thursday. The Westminster College students are members of Delta Tau Delta. The fraternity members decided to help out their neighbors.

When Mike Kilman saw two college students shoveling the sidewalk outside his home Thursday morning, he walked out to thank them for their hard work.

"No problem," said Hogan Davis, sophomore at Westminster College.

Colby Davis and Hogan Davis are members of Delta Tau Delta fraternity at Westminster. Their fraternity house is located on Seventh Street, so Wednesday afternoon about 12 of the members decided to trudge out into the cold and help their neighbors dig through the snowbanks to clear their buried driveways and sidewalks.

"We wanted to do something to make sure the neighbors knew how much we appreciate them," Hogan said.

Hogan, who is the philanthropy chair at Delta, said he and Mandela Byam, the fraternity's committee chair, came up with the idea after deciding that helping people shovel away snow would be a great way to give back to the community.

Michael Greaves, fraternity president, was also out Thursday shoveling snow beside freshman Chad Huber. Greaves said they wanted to show appreciation to their neighbors for sharing the street with the fraternity.

"We figured we'd give 'em a hand," he said.

Starting on driveways at around 4 p.m. Wednesday, the students had many of them cleared after two hours, they then went out again Thursday morning and afternoon to continue working. Greaves said the group planned on working on Sixth Street, too, once Seventh was finished.

Kilman was at a neighbor's house Wednesday when he first saw the students working.

"We know how much work they're putting into it," Kilman said. "Everyone was really appreciative of it."

He said he and some of his neighbors would like to send the fraternity some e-mails, thanking them for their efforts.

Colby and Hogan said the shoveling has been good exercise. There are about 65 members of Delta and Hogan said he "got as many people involved as he could."

He admits that hanging out with his fellow fraternity friends has made what is usually seen as a chore something much better.

"It's pretty fun," he said.