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Congressman
Roger F. Wicker presents the 2006 Maddox Honor
Lecture
United States Congressman Roger F. Wicker
(Mississippi) presented the 2006 Maddox
Honor Lecture during the opening session
of the 62nd Grand Chapter held earlier this
month in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1988, Dr.
Robert N. Maddox (Arkansas) established the
Maddox Honor Lecture series though
a gift to the Educational Foundation. Here
is an excerpt from the 53rd Grand Chapter
transcript of Dr. Maddox introducing the inaugural
lecture.
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The
Sigma Nu Creed talks of Love, Truth
and Honor. The Initiation Ceremony talks
only of Honor. Have you ever thought
about why? My opinion is that the first
Initiation Ceremony was |
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| U.S.
Congressman Roger F. Wicker (Mississippi) |
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written
by Founder Hopkins, and subsequent writers,
including myself, have tried to stay true
to his work. Every initiate of Sigma Nu swears
on his Honor that he will do certain things.
Our fraternity is called the Legion of Honor.
Every person would have a different definition
for Honor but my dictionary defines it:
HONOR - One's word given as a guarantee
of performance.
During my collegiate years, I remember no
discussions about Honor within my chapter
of Sigma Nu. The subject just never came up.
In 1955, I became a Chapter Advisor, and in
1957 a Division Commander. At that time there
was a man named Dick Fletcher (Penn. State)
from Headquarters touring the country talking
about Honor and Sigma Nu being the Honor Fraternity.
I also became involved with the Liturgy of
our Fraternity and learned how intricately
and completely Honor is involved in the making
of each Sigma Nu. As I came to better understand
what was being said, and what was in the Liturgy,
I knew that I had found a code of living that
satisfied the standards that had been instilled
by my parents and I had been trying to attain
in my daily life. However you choose to express
it, living by the principle of Honor is a
goal for which we all should strive. If we
achieve this lofty goal, the world certainly
will be better for our having lived. |
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I
am only one of many who feel that there
is a need today for more attention to
ethical behavior, moral principles,
Honor, or whatever you wish to call
it in business, education, government,
and money and/or office, however obtained.
Too few consider the means and methods
based by those considered successful
or outstanding in achieving their position
or status.
Think of the impact if every Sigma Nu
could be persuaded to rededicate himself
to living by the Principle of Honor
in his daily life. To learn to say of
some anticipated action, "That
is not Honorable. I will not do it."
The Honor Lecture has been established
to help achieve that goal. Living by
the Principle is not easy. Some of the
choices that have to be made are difficult.
Most choices that must be made are not
simple differences in black and white.
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Dr. Robert
N. Maddox (Arkansas) |
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Carl
Sandburg wrote "Nothing happens unless
first a dream."The Maddox Family
dream is that the Honor Lecture will
be one of the catalysts that leads more Knights
of Sigma Nu to apply the Honor Principle in
every act of their lives. |
Congressman Wicker has served Mississippi's First
Congressional District since 1995. He was re-elected
to a sixth term in November, 2004. He landed a seat
on the powerful Appropriations Committee in 1995
and serves on two Appropriations subcommittees:
Labor, Health and Human Services and Education;
and Defense. He serves on the Budget Committee and
as chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority Congressional
Caucus. Following his presentation at Grand Chapter,
Congressman Wicker was inducted into the Sigma Nu
Hall of Fame.
For more about Congressman Wicker, please visit
his website at: http://www.house.gov/wicker/.
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