Ernie Ernest

Frater Richard C. Ernest, better known as Ernie, is a Frater who is as kind as he is passionate. As a generous donor, Ernie's roots with Tau Kappa Epsilon originated from the Beta-Mu chapter at Bucknell University, and through a successful professional career, and personal generosity to match, Ernie is recognized as one of the Fraternity's all-time leading donors.

Ernie joined the Beta-Mu chapter during a time of international turmoil and political unrest. The Vietnam War was taking place and men looked to join organizations as a way to cope with the current state of affairs.

"I wanted to be with as many people as I could as the political dilemma unraveled," said Ernie. "I found comfort in ritual and other aspects of the chapter. Tekes were a great group of men and made my collegiate experience what it was."

The impression Tau Kappa Epsilon left on Ernie was one he could not easily shake. Not ready to move on from the Fraternity that helped him in so many ways, Ernie joined the Beta- Mu chapter Board of Advisors in 1972 while attending graduate school and working a full-time job.

Some 25 years later, Ernie saw a change in his home chapter. The men of the Beta-Mu chapter lost their way and the Board of Advisors was forced to close the chapter house to the university.

As time passed, the Offices of the Grand Chapter worked to revitalize the Beta- Mu chapter by sending two representatives to Bucknell to gather a new core group. Previously involved alumni were also welcomed back and were reengaged with the chapter.

"I saw how the International Headquarters stepped up and helped Beta-Mu become a Top TKE Foundation Chapter," said Ernie. "I started getting more involved after that and I found that the the TKE Foundation was the best opportunity for me to give back."

Ernie capitalized on the opportunity and joined the Board of Directors of the the TKE Foundation in 2004. Six years later, Ernie was elected Chairman of the TKE Foundation Board of Directors, a position he held until April of 2014. Today, he continues his involvement in the honored role of Chairman Emeritus.

Ernie explains that he continues to dedicate time and resources in hopes that Fraters will always have the opportunity to further advance their leadership and management skills as the Fraternity helped him in such ways.

In Ernie's eyes, the value of leadership as taught by the Fraternity is unrivaled, "My Bucknell education was in chemistry, and that was certainly helpful in that field, but I realized how inadequate my college education was in regard to managing people and how exceptional my fraternity education was in that regard." Many years ago, Ernie established a life insurance policy naming the the TKE Foundation as his beneficiary. He has also encouraged many others to follow his example.

"There are so many good, worthy causes out there there, but you should donate to an organization that has touched your life in a positive way; TKE Foundation is such an organization," said Ernie. "When you donate, you can have confidence that each and every dollar will have an immediate and meaningful impact on the lives of undergraduate Tekes across the nation! You can make a difference!"