By: Akash Mishra

As anyone can imagine, keeping a house of roughly 25-30 college-aged men running smoothly and feeding over 80 brothers can be a lot to handle. Luckily, we have Big Sam as our house chef. He is so much more to all of us than just a cook. He is the father figure of our chapter and is the glue that keeps us together. He's been with us for many years now and continues to approach every day with a verve and charisma that never fails to brighten our days.

I'm personally very fond of the conversations we have at breakfast. Sam will regularly sit with me, ask about my family and about what is going on in my everyday life. He has an uncanny ability to pick up on when some of us are stressed and always offers up his best advice. Sam is a great storyteller, and he has many incredible life experiences. When one sits to talk with him, a quick chat can turn into a 30-45 minute conversation in the blink of an eye. 

In addition to cooking for us, Sam also manages a local bar, The Dead Mule, and caters food in the community. While he has many specialties, his gameday BBQ, mac and cheese, baked beans, cole slaw, and hush puppies are a staple of the Tar Heel tailgates. On Fall Saturdays, students, parents, alumni, and Chapel Hill residents flock to 109 Fraternity Court to enjoy Sam's delicious cooking. 

When I talked to Sam, he asked me to convey that the fraternity house and annex are open to be used for meeting space anytime alums are in the area. He would be more than happy to provide lunch for meetings and hopes to see several alumni, young and old alike, in Chapel Hill soon. 

We are lucky to have Sam as such an integral piece of our chapter, and are thankful for how he goes to extra measures to ensure that all fraternal operations run smoothly. 

If you are in the area in the future, please come by for lunch or dinner. Big Sam and the brothers would love to see you.