Wayne Benesch '64

Wayne pledged in 1960.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1964, having stood out as a campus and chapter leader.  On campus Wayne was a member of Sophos, the Junior Class President, Most Eligible Bachelor finalist and upon graduation, commissioned a 2/Lt in the United States Air Force.  His chapter leadership was just as active, serving as the Chapter Vice-President and House Steward his senior year, while contributing on Rush and Social committees and participating all four years in intramural sports.

Wayne’s service to Sig Ep continued unabated post graduate as he served on the chapter Alumni Board from 1964 thru 1967, while earning his Juris Doctorate at the University of Arizona Law School.  Wayne was as responsible as anyone for the remarkable transition of Arizona Beta from a small, little-known fraternity to one of the campus leaders.  In the years following, he has been a career contributor to the Sig Ep Educational Foundation, and has supported the chapter over the years financially, including working as a Team Leader with the Fraternity Management Group raising funds for the new chapter house.  In 2010, during the recent turbulent years, Wayne traveled to Tucson to participate in a major retreat held trying to save the chapter.

Wayne’s service to others is absolutely remarkable!  A list of his community affiliations in Yuma where he has lived since 1971 exceeds 35 entries.  Noteworthy among them are the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, Caballeros de Yuma from 1974 to the present, Arizona Town Hall, Yuma County Town Hall Founding Member, several City of Yuma Committees, Arizona-Mexico Commission and Border Trade Alliance, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and Yuma Proving Ground Advisory Committees, and the University of Arizona Alumni Club from 1973 to the present.

Wayne has served these community organizations in a multitude of capacities.  He served as Chairman of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce and over a period of 15 years chaired several committees, including the very important Military Affairs Committee. He was President of the Caballeros de Yuma, on the Board of Directors for six years, and still serves after 39 years. He was a co-founder and Chairman of the Southwest Arizona Futures forum, Chairman of the City of Yuma Personnel Commission and Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board. He also served as Chairman of the Rio Colorado Commission and is a Life member of the Elks Lodge.  Of the many organizations Wayne is affiliated with, he has served as a Chairman of at least twelve of them.  Wayne received the U of A Alumni Service Award in 1986 for serving 12 years as President of the Yuma Alumni Club.  In 2000, he was named Small Businessman of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

Professionally, while serving as managing partner of the respected Yuma law firm of Byrne & Benesch, where he practices Commercial and Real Estate Law, Business and Corporate Law, Estate Planning, and International Business Law with Mexico, Wayne has continued to serve.  He has been a member of the State Bar of Arizona for over forty years and served as President of the Yuma County Bar Association. Wayne has served the State Bar on committees such as Professional Conduct (Ethics), Local Disciplinary Committee, Peer Review, Consumer Protection, and Unauthorized Practice of Law.   He was appointed a State-wide Disciplinary Hearing Officer in 1989 and served in that capacity eleven years.

On a personal note, Dave Barclay ’63 writes, “during Wayne’s four years’ service to his country as an Air Force Judge Advocate, we were stationed together at Reese AFB in Texas. In recognition of his outstanding legal service to the troops, he was awarded the rare opportunity to fly in a USAF jet.  I had the pleasure of piloting him on that ride in a T-38 jet trainer…two brothers experiencing supersonic High Flight.  We have remained close friends since 1960, when I became Wayne’s Sig Ep Big Brother at Arizona Beta.”