Kuehn grand marshals GCSU homecoming

Kevin Kuehn, an individual at the Life Enrichment Center (LEC), was recently initiated into Kappa Alpha Order’s Epsilon Nu chapter at Georgia College & State University (GCSU) and served as the grand marshal during the homecoming parade.

Kuehn was initiated into the chapter on Jan. 27 by the chapter President Matt Rose but his connections to the chapter go back to 2017 when it initially began working with the Life Enrichment Center. The Life Enrichment Center is a private nonprofit program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities that live in or around Baldwin County.

Kappa Alpha is a partner of the facility and the partnership was established during the chapter’s search for philanthropy projects.

“Since 2017, the chapter has continued to work with the LEC. Kevin has been the highlight of every service day the two groups have shared. Brothers of Epsilon Nu began to look forward to service days because it was another opportunity to hang out with Kevin,” said Rose.

According to Rose, the former chapter president Sam Jones went out of his way to grow this connection with Kuehn and get to know him further.

Jones and many of his brothers saw Kuehn as a friend and a symbol of what their fraternity stands for.

“Kevin supports everyone he cares about and is very passionate about the work he is involved in. He has a kind heart,” said Jones. “He provides more to us than we do for him. He always talked about wanting to be in a fraternity and as we looked into doing a special initiation, we found out that his father, Keith Kuehn, was a member. But, Kevin earned his initiation by his own merit.”

Keith Kuehn was a member of Kappa Alpha at GCSU which was initiated in 1984. Keith met his wife Gina, Kevin’s mom, while also at GCSU so Kevin had both a connection he built on his own with the fraternity and a legacy that connected him to Kappa Alpha and the GCSU campus.

“One thing that is important to acknowledge is that joining KA means you are joining a lifelong brotherhood. This means that Kevin will always be a brother, and I think it’s important that we make it a point for brothers in the future to always keep him in the loop.,” said Rose. “He’s not joining Epsilon Nu for just a year. He’s joined it for life.”

Keuhn was elected as the grand marshal of the GCSU homecoming parade on Feb. 20. He rode along the streets seated atop a red Ford Thunderbird to head the homecoming celebration with his Kappa Alpha brothers, Rose and Thomas Smith.

“The grand marshall is kind of like the ceremonial figure of the parade,” said Jones. “It was cool to see that happen for him.”

Both Jones and Rose agreed that Kevin has always had their back and that they and their fellow brothers plan to have his back for many years to come.

Executive Director of the LEC Barbara Coleman also commented about how proud she was of Keuhn and what an honor it's been to see him not only become a part of the chapter but also be a leader acknowledged by the GCSU community as a whole.

“The GCSU Homecoming Parade was history in the making. Kevin was recognized not only as grand marshall but as a brother,” said Coleman. “I’m grateful for all the work and care that Kappa Alpha has shown to our organization.”