Wigg's Top 10 Alphas

10 years ago TODAY I crossed the burning sands of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. Although I have had my fair shares of ups and downs. pledging Alpha by far has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my life. I have met some PHENOMENAL people, accomplished some AMAZING things, and has had some BREATHTAKING experiences. There aren't too many awards and offices that I haven't had over the past years.

Chapter President - check
Vice President - check
Special Events Chair - Check
Historian - Check
National Photographer - Check
Undergrad chapter of the year - Check
Alumni Chapter Of The Year - Check
Oklahoma District Alumni Brother Of The Year - Check
Etc... Etc... Etc....

My point is that I have made a point to be as active in my organization as possible. I wanted to take the time out to personally thank EVERYONE that have helped me along the way. There are just so many Alpha men that were very instrumental and helping me become the man I am today. Below is my list of the top ten Alpha men that have helped me tremendously and who I have the utmost respect for. I definitely look up to these gentlemen.

10) J.D. Daniels (Current Oklahoma District Director) and George Smith

Everyone knows that the transition from an undergrad chapter to a graduate one can be extremely difficult. Most fraternity men often decide not to make the transition due to the issues they faced on the undergraduate level. Even the ones that do decide to make the transition, they generally don't last long since they are treated somewhat like "Neophytes". Individuals aren't that receptive to change and most older brothers definitely aren't trying to listen to a man that the same age as his grandkids/sons. When I became a member of Beta Eta Lambda, JD Daniels was the chapter president. Him and brother George Smith one of the only gentlemen that welcomed myself and others into the chapter with open arms. He always made it a point to listen to ALL of our ideas and challenged us to become better Alpha men. Even till this day, they continue to challenge me to be innovative, creative, and the hardest worker that I can be. I chair a committee and hold an executive office because of brother Daniels and Smith.

9) Keith "Check" Lewis

There isn't a person in the early 2000's that can deny the stepping domination of the OU Alphas. Zeta Zeta and I ran stepshows all around the area. Shortly after crossing in the fall of 1999, I met a bruh that went by the name of Check and he had pledged 2 years earlier at the Beta Kappa chapter at Langston University. He was the stroll guru from '97 till at least 2001. He was the one that taught me the first strolls that I ever learned. He came to my apartment in November of '99 and not only showed me how to execute the moves but also allowed me to record them. From Monday of that week until Friday, I played, I strolled, I rewound, played again, and strolled for hours a day. When I showed up to the party on that Saturday night i was READY! The Ques had a party called "BootNasty" at the time and I managed to hop around the party like a seasoned prophyte. No one knew that Check had provided me with all of the extra help that I needed. We became really great friends after that and most weekends you could always find him sleeping on my couch after the latest crunk OU party because he was too tired to drive back to the LU. The name "Shorty Doowop" and the little dude with the whistle became popular in all of Oklahoma because of Check.

8) Walter Jones

Walt J will always be known as my transfer LB. Like myself, he crossed the burning sands of Alpha in the fall of 1999 . He went to school at Fort Valley State University in Georgia and had no idea that our lives would cross paths two years later at the University of Oklahoma. We both transferred to OU in the Fall of 2001 and became instantly popular. Especially after the infamous "Show N Tell" performance that is still talked about amongst many old heads that went to OU around that area. That performance will always go down in history as one of the most popular shows in OU history and later was used as a "What NOT to do at Show N Tell" by the Center For Student Life! lol... All I can say is that our show involved freaking, gyrating, thongs, and big panties. It was crazy and very creative. Walt J (Or Dunny) showed myself and others how to put that Georgia twist on the way that we handled business. Many people in our chapter hung out with their LB's and that often left Walt J and I out of the mix. We became great friends and referred to ourselves as the "Transfer LB's". He definitely made OU fun for me during our tenure there. He was also Co Stepmaster with another brother and I when we created the infamous Stompdown show from 2003. To prove to you how powerful that show was, I STILL see steps TILL THIS DAY performed in stepshows that were actually created in Walt J's living room. We use to move the couches to the side, push the coffee table to the kitchen, and make it happen.

L-R Anthony Odom - J. Wiggins - Walter Jones

7) Derrick Wilturner

To call this bruh a genius would be borderline disrespect. He was one of the first guys doing graphic design in college. He was creating party flyers/brochures back in the day when most people thought "Photoshop" was a place where you get your pictures taken... He did everything from ALL of the party flyers on OU's campus to creating the sickest shirts and illest line jackets I have ever seen. Although he hasn't lived in Oklahoma since 2004, his work can still be seen around the local area. The infamous "OBama" shirt that I rocked last fall was designed and created my him. My co-grad advisor Curtis still has an Alpha Letterman jacket that is one of the freshest joints I have seen in a long time. I followed in Derrick's (DPW) footsteps for a short while when I started Concepts Productions. I began doing graphic design and DPW was the one that assisted me. In fact, he was the one that gave me my copy of Photoshop 7 and referred me to many online tutorials to hone my craft. Although graphic design was dropped a year later when I purchased my camera, I will never forget the influence that DP Dub had on my company.

6) The Wrecking Crew... Deshun Casey and George Armstrong

Deshun and George (ZZ Fall '97 and '98 Respectively) were my dudes. They were definitely were some very respected cats in the community. Shun taught me how important it was to always stay on top of my history. He always made sure that we protected not only our "yard" but the letters on our chest and on our right sleeve. "The amount of history that you know is a direct reflection of your DP... so NEVER make him look bad!" is probably one of the most powerful things that he taught me. From there a dang near became a walking history book. I always wanted to make my DP and my chapter shine. Since I'm a fairly short guy, I probably got "charged up" the most. I guess they thought I was an easy target... but once they saw how knowledgeable I was about the fraternity, I was quickly respected. George taught me that I could change the stereotype of Alphas. At the time, we were known as the nerdy brainiacs. He showed me that you can be a nerd, be smart, and be popular all at once. His knowledge of the banking industry is second to none and I will never forget the numerous conversations that we have had about finances, investing, and making money. The fact that he was/is an extremely talented singer was just the icing on the cake.

George Armstrong and Deshun Casey pictured with the baby Wrecking Crew

5) Images of Imhotep - Fall 2001 Zeta Zeta

The Images of Imhotep better known as "I-12" was by far one of the funnest group of men to initiate into the chapter. They all had different personalities and were EXTREMELY interesting to say the least. To list their individual contributions on this blog would simply take all day. I will just say that they were 12 young men that were willing to work, learn, and couldn't wait to lead. They were initiated in a period in Zeta Zeta where THEY actually out numbered the whole chapter. We knew that after the infamous probate afterparty at Westwood went down we had a unique and extremely crunk bunch. As stepmaster at the time, I was able to take 6 of them and create not only a BiG XII championship team but also a district of Oklahoma and Stompdown '02 Champs. Their leadership was very evident on campus producing BSA presidents and other exec positions as well as producing a few ZZ chapter presidents.

Zeta Zeta Fall 2001

4) Marc Flemon

Since the first day I met Marc I looked up to him. He was a strong leader in the community and many of the Alphas that I looked up to actually looked up to him. Although he was out of college by the time I was initiated, his undergrad legacy and stories still lived on. I remember hearing stories from Check of how dynamic a stepper he was. People like G. Lane would tell me how he led his team (The first Oklahoma Team) to represent Oklahoma and the Southwest Region in the national Fraternity Stepshow. Once I heard that, I knew that I wanted to follow in those same footsteps. After numerous wins and tons of heartbreak, Zeta Zeta and I were granted the chance to represent Oklahoma and the Southwest Region in the Alpha National Stepshow in Philly. Till this day, Marc is a well respected man on Langstons campus. I owe him all the credit of providing me the opportunity to share my gift of photography to the students of Langston University. These last 2 years, I have provided the world with an inside look at ALL of the LU homecoming festivities. For that I will always be grateful.

Marc Flemon

3) Freeman Gardner and Anthony Odom

Freeman and Anthony are both Fall '99 Initiates of ZZ. As you know by now, I was initiated at UCO (Zeta Sigma) and later transferred to OU. (Zeta Zeta) When I transferred to OU, I had already known all of the bruhs in the chapter. They welcomed me with open arms but there were two bruhs that went above and beyond to make me feel welcomed. Freeman Gardner was my road dog for a few years. Most the chapter ideas at that time originated in my living room. We were neighbors for a few years and developed a strong friendship. Freeman was ALWAYS extremely supportive of all of my ideas. Even when I created stepshow themes that people laughed at, he actually rode with it and made sure that the idea was performed. I remember being on campus and telling the brothers the theme for Show N Tell 2002 and our blast to the past. The bruhs just didn't believe that the show could work. Freeman was the only one that agreed that the show would be hot. After our standing ovation, Freeman and I gave the chapter the "I Told You So" look. Freeman was my dude and I will forever miss him. For those of you who don't know, Freeman was killed in Iraq in March of 2007 fighting for our freedom as an Army soldier. Anthony Odom always made me feel like I was a member of the "Sons of Heru" ship. Whenever they had line brother activities, he always made sure I was included. In fact, still to this day he includes me in "the line" communication text messages. He is one of those people that won't hesitate to pick up the phone to call whenever he feels he hasn't spoken in awhile. He is definitely a brother from another mother and I thank God for him. He always made me feel like a chapter brother and not the stepchild from Zeta Sig.

Freeman Gardner

2) Christopher Clark also known as Chris Concept

Chris is a Fall '99 initiate of of the Omicron Tau chapter out in Denver Colorado. I met him in the Spring of 2000 at a BiG XII Conference on Black Student Government. From the second we met we clicked like frat brothers are supposed to do. To say that he was a SUPER NEO would be an understatement. I once watched him set out a party hop in the middle of a grocery store. (True Story) Dude was extra crunk and he was very excited to learn new strolls from our area. Contrary to popular belief, AlphaWest just doesn't do it like US. lol (Just kidding) Anyways, Chris' creativity is the reason why he is #2 on my list. For those of you guys who have kept up with my blogs, you would know that my company name "Concepts Productions" was actually inspired by Chris. At the time, we went by Concept. He was an illmatic poet that was wrecking mics and notebooks in the Denver/Atlanta area. He was the first poet that I didn't think was gay or moist. His words made sense and I thought it was dope. Even when I started writing poetry in Spring of 2001, I was in denial of being an actual poet. I would refer to my words as "Concepts" as a way to give Chris a shoutout. When I started my company about 3 years later, it was only right that I named it Concepts Productions. I had already branded the name Concepts in Oklahoma so the transition was EASY. The funny and ironic thing is that I'm not sure if Chris has ever had ANY IDEA the influence that he had on not only my poetic work but also I my company. I had not talked to Chris since 2004 when suddenly I found him on another bruhs page on facebook. I definitely owe Chris for creating the Concept for MY CONCEPTS.

Chriz Clark

1) Paul Shanor

What can I say about Paul that I already haven't said before? In a nutshell, Paul Shanor was a young, vivarant brother who was killed in January 2006. When he passed away, he left me with the "Pashon" to become a GREAT photographer. Pauls chat name on Yahoo messenger was "Pashon" and after his passing I took it and ran with it. He is gone but he will never be forgotten. I know he is looking down and me and my company and smiling from ear to ear. Its funny because when I first started doing photography, he was the first one to ask to hold my bag just so he could get into the club for free. When I would ask people to do that for me, they would laugh and tell me in so many words that their name wasn't "Jeffery" from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He was very supportive and it wasn't until his passing that I knew my photography actually meant something. I attack every project very serious as if it were my last one. I look at life completely different now and I thank him for that. Thanks bro! I LOVE YOU!

Paul "Pashon" Shanor




and Last but not LEAST...

My DP Mr. DAVID NORRIS

Dave Norris aka "Big Poppa Alpha" was my Dean of Pledges. He held me down and I will always appreciate that. He gave me the KEY to the HOUSE of ALPHA and for that I will always be indebted to him. After I crossed the burning sands, there wasn't ANYTHING that he wouldn't do for me. He would then and still would till this day bend over backwards for me. He is definitely the epitome of what a DP should be. Thanks "BIG DAVE"!!! I hope I have made you shine and look good over my 10 years of service to the fraternity!!!


J. Wiggins Circa Spring 2000