Erik Showalter, Kappa Alpha Order (Louisiana Tech ’02), has been named the new president of the Baton Rouge General (BRG) Foundation of Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2016, the foundation recruited Showalter from CCS Fundraising in Washington, D.C., and before taking on his new position he served as the foundation’s major and planned gifts officer. In his new role, Showalter oversees the foundation’s staff and the hospital’s volunteer services and auxiliary departments. BRG Foundation helps to provide Baton Rouge General Medical Center, a community hospital that serves patients from birth to geriatrics, with upwards of $21 million a year in charity care, facility enhancements, and the latest technology.
A certified fundraising executive (CFRE) and a loyal KA brother, Showalter was the chief development officer of the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation for over seven years, and is a recent addition to the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation Board of Trustees. He also served as the finance director for U.S. Congressman Robert Pittenger of North Carolina. Showalter said that his involvement with KA has enhanced his life in many ways.
“Excellence is our aim,” he said, stating the KA credo, which appears to be his personal credo as well.
“For me, I’ve always taken this to mean – be a forever learner. KA has opened my eyes and opened doors that I never knew existed. I would not be where I am today without Kappa Alpha Order. I met my wife because of KA, and I have the job I have today because a great KA alumnus named Jim Bowers (Beta Omega-Washington College ’57, now deceased) decided to turn a skinny 24-year-old kid from Louisiana into a fundraiser. What a blessing it is to be involved with an organization that challenges you to be better and pushes you to always look for ways to improve.”
