The Bill Gunn - Skip Beebe Leadership For Life Program

Brother Skip Beebe (class of 1966) long had a vision to build an annual retreat for the undergraduate members of the Beta Psi chapter focusing on the development of their leadership skills and to continue those lessons throughout the academic year via an alumni mentoring program. Beginning in 2010, Skip worked with Brother Bill Gunn (class of 1967) and several other Beta Psi alums to build such a program, deciding early on to use Brother Bill George's book True North to give form to his original vision.

The result – the Skip Beebe Leadership for Life Program (“L4L”) – was developed specifically for the Beta Psi community to provide enrichment for both undergraduates and alumni alike. It was designed to not only impart valuable life lessons to Beta Psi undergraduates but also to promote continued involvement from Beta Psi alumni in the lives of undergraduate brothers and pledges. Since its inception in 2011, L4L has consisted of an annual spring retreat focused on leadership training followed by several activities facilitated throughout the academic year by alumni leaders. L4L has seen over 250 undergraduate brothers complete the three-year curriculum, and nearly 50 alumni serve as mentors to small groups of undergraduates.  By all accounts, it has been a tremendous success!

The annual retreat, held for several years at a retreat center operated by the WinShape Foundation at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, sets the stage for upcoming learnings and serves as a capstone event for the past year’s experiences. Facilitation of experiential leadership exercises, books and materials, food, and accommodations are all provided for the benefit of the undergraduate members. 

Prescribed activities throughout the academic year utilize the same delivery mechanism – the Leadership Development Group (or “LDG”) – deployed by Brother George in classes he teaches at Harvard Business School.  These small groups of fixed membership meet at regular intervals throughout the year and provide an invaluable framework within which the undergraduates can explore challenging topics with the aid of alumni mentors. Brother Gunn also used the LDG concept in an MBA class he taught for several years at Georgia Tech.

In addition to the leadership lessons learned by undergraduates in L4L, two more very clear benefits have materialized: (1) Our alumni mentors routinely testify that their lives have been enriched by the opportunity to engage more deeply (or perhaps to re-engage altogether) with the chapter; and (2) L4L has proven to be a fruitful networking environment for the undergraduate brothers to land employment with alumni either as summer interns or full-time employees. 

Sadly, Skip unexpectedly entered the Chapter Eternal soon after L4L’s first retreat. Bill Gunn immediately assumed leadership of L4L and led it through a period of significant advancement. He spearheaded efforts of enhanced curriculum development and a strategic overhaul of the annual retreat to accommodate professional training from subject matter experts and custom activities for the LDGs centered around leadership themes of increasing complexity year over year. After a decade of leading L4L to new heights, Bill was forced by health concerns to withdraw from involvement until, in 2022, he also entered the Chapter Eternal. In recognition of the deep and abiding impact that Skip and Bill have had on Beta Psi through L4L, the program was renamed in 2023 the “Bill Gunn - Skip Beebe Leadership for Life Program.” The Foundation has also established an endowment, the Bill Gunn - Skip Beebe Memorial Fund, to help fund L4L in the years to come.

The Bill Gunn - Skip Beebe Leadership for Life program incurs an annual expense of around $32,000. Brother Bill George and his Foundation have played a pivotal role in funding a significant part of this program over the years. Additionally, contributions from alumni and friends have been crucial in supporting the program. Donations can be made to the Beta Psi Foundation, specifying that they are intended for the Bill Gunn - Skip Beebe Leadership for Life program. These donations will directly support the annual costs of the program.