Sidney Guller By Lee Ann Harper November 14, 2007 In 1941, a young man graduated high school with aspirations of college. His parents supported the idea of college but were unable to help him financially. So he worked for more than a year to raise the necessary funds for school. That young man was Sidney H. Guller, Washington U. ’47, and from these humble beginnings came a frater who has served his fraternity as no other before him.

Sidney Guller’s may be the most familiar name in Sigma Alpha Mu, but the list of achievements that gained him that recognition is far too lengthy for anyone to remember. Guller’s dedication to the fraternity and its foundation can only be described as all-encompassing, reaching both ends of the spectrum. Guller is a Past Supreme Prior and former chapter advisor; chairman of and donor to, the ΣΑΜ Endowment Fund; National Interfraternity Foundation and National Interfraternity Conference leader. Guller’s reputation is synonymous with the ideals of ΣΑΜ and its founders, going back six decades.

Guller will tell you that he sees the fraternity as the force that shapes young men in preparation for life. “Associating with other men in a fraternal organization, in a brotherhood, has been one of the things that makes better men of them,” Guller says.

From the time of its inception, the Foundation vowed to work to the day when no member would have to leave school for lack of funds. There are three Guller scholarships to help young scholars, established to address this goal. Also, the Bobbi and Sidney Guller Leadership Development Fund brings outside speakers to our annual leadership conferences.

And while his commitment to ΣΑΜ is astounding, it is just another example of Guller’s charity and decency. His community activities in St. Louis and abroad include Washington University, the American Cancer Society, Boy Scouts of America, Anti-Defamation League, St. Louis Jewish Federation, St. Louis Jewish Center for the Aged, and dozens of other civic and cause-related organizations. He has been honored by Kiwanis International, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Technion University in Israel.

The depth and breadth of Guller’s generosity and loyalty are what makes this frater so remarkable yet he embodies the very ideals of our Founders, perhaps in ways the Founders never imagined. Guller is helping to assure Century Two through leadership, scholarship and community service. By doing so, he honors the dedication of those who came before and secures the legacy of those who will follow.

Guller summed it up best when he said: “I’ve given a lot to the Fraternity in the way of time and effort and money, but the Fraternity’s given a lot to me in the way of friendship. Personally I think I got more than the Fraternity did…”