David M. Lemke, Wisconsin ‘89

Treasure Hunter / “Pirate” / World Class Yachtsman

Which of our brothers could possibly have earned the monikers of Treasure Hunter, Pirate, and World Class Yachtsman? And to be fair, we also need to include Professional Salesman, par excellence, as our brother’s finely honed and perfected people and sales skills, which he credits in large measure to his Acacia experience, proved lucrative enough to propel our brother to a life full of adventure and soon, early retirement.

Which brother is the subject of our present alumni spotlight? Who is a larger than life, world class trekker and adventurer? It is a brother whose choice of matriculation led him to become a Badger. We introduce our brother, a man who is worthy of being called one of the many Men of Action of the Acacia Fraternity, a brother who always displays a welcoming smile, a humble never bragging and positive can-do attitude, a beacon of light to every room he enters. It is none other than our brother, David Lemke, Wisconsin ’89.

A Wisconsin Badger

Brother Lemke’s adventures could be said to have begun when he matriculated to the University of Wisconsin in 1987, culminating in 1992, with a BA in Communication Arts and a BA in Business Administration. And, to be honest, as we tell the ongoing and still continuing tale of our voyager Brother Lemke, his adventuresome spirit began years prior, with a fair measure of credit due to David’s father and mother, Bud and Jamie, and the solid, loving upbringing they gave him during his formative years, where young Master David learned the importance of relationships, having grown up in a tight knit loving family that owned and operated the famous “Lemke Cheese Company” and being introduced from a young age to the ideals of hard work and the fun play that hard work can yield.

Acacia Fraternity

David joined Acacia in the fall of 1989 and held leadership positions of Junior Dean for 2 years and alumni chairman. If you get David in a conversation, he will tell you that his interactions with many and varied Wisconsin alumni brothers in his role as alumni chair was of especially high value to him, and the mentoring he received and network of contacts he began to build from that officer role, a role he describes as the “best and hidden gem of all leadership roles the fraternity offers” to undergraduate brothers. In addition to Acacia, other school activities he fondly remembers participating in was the “Hoofers Sailing Club”, where he was able to nurture and scratch a lifelong itch and passion for sailing that persists to this day, a passion his father introduced him to at the tender age of 8, on the many lakes of Wisconsin, Lake Michigan, and Superior.

Leadership, People, & Sales Development in Acacia Fraternity

Upon graduation from Badgerdom, David joined the Acacia national staff and worked for 2 years as a leadership consultant, 1992 – 1994. In this role, David travelled the US and consulted multiple of our chapters on operations, mainly focused on rush and finance issues. David credits his time in the role as leadership consultant with vastly improving his already formidable people and sales skills. During that time, he helped start a chapter at IUP, restart Texas, and helped Ohio State reorganize. To this day, he has many fond memories of and maintains contact with many brothers, including a group of Ohio State and Ohio University brothers. Several Ohio State brothers nominated David to be featured in this particular alumni Spotlight, which says a tremendous amount about David as a man and as a brother, as Buckeyes are known to be almost blindly rabid and insanely loyal to only their own colors, making David all the more remarkable that Ohio State brothers would insist on featuring our Wisconsin brother at the threat of open rebellion and revolt if we didn’t.

Early Sales Career

After finishing his stint as a leadership consultant, David moved to Columbus, Ohio, to begin a sales career, a choice made easier having created a network of contacts from his days helping the Ohio State chapter. From 1994 – 1996, he honed his sales skills selling office equipment for the O’Brien Business Equipment company and then migrated into the much more lucrative medical device sales market, working as an operating room specialist for Medline Industries 1995-1997. For those not familiar with sales careers, it is common to begin a career fresh out of college working in lesser compensated sales roles and then take those skills and move into much higher compensated industries, as David did. Shortly after relocating to Columbus, another Wisconsin brother, Brian Durst, also moved to Columbus to begin work for the Limited clothes and fashion empire, a Leslie Wexner owned enterprise, which was and still is headquartered in a suburb of Columbus, New Albany, in a business management related capacity. Brother Durst and Lemke leased a house in the famous German Village district, a historic area dominated by beautiful brick homes and brick paved streets, reminiscent of old Germany. Incidentally, while working for The Limited, Brother Durst found intellectual enlightenment by matriculating to and receiving his MBA from the Fisher school of business, having at some point in those years, if not earlier, recognized the superior education offered by The Ohio State University, and thereby becoming a Buckeye. But back to the leased house in German Village. David states that structure in those days unofficially became the “halfway house” for recent Ohio University Acacia brothers and brothers from other chapters who found themselves in Columbus needing a place to hole up and crash. Brother Lemke distinctly and fondly remembers many brothers, and in particular, Mark Adams, Ohio’ 88; Steve Karaiskos, Ohio ’89; John “the doctor” Brandt, Ohio ’90; as having moved in at different times and semi-officially and/or outright claiming squatters rights to live on their couch for different periods of time during those years.

Having outgrown Columbus, or maybe having grown bored with Columbus, an exceptionally difficult if not impossible thought to imagine by those that have never left Columbus, David decided to begin a new adventure and phase in his life. He packed up and moved to Chicago near the end of 1997 and accepted a sales role for Paychecks, selling payroll services to businesses large and small. 

Life Changing Event

Around this same time, a life changing event transpired which would ultimately propel David onto the path we now recognize as his world trekking adventurer path, a path he is determined to wring every ounce and measure from life. David’s beloved father, Bud, who worked exceptionally hard the vast majority of his life running the family owned and famous Wisconsin cheese factory, the Lemke Cheese Company, died suddenly of a heart attack. The sudden unexpected loss of his beloved father caused David to re-evaluate his own life and priorities. This reflection ultimately reignited David’s passion for the sea and love of sailing, which constantly beckoned David to the water. This loss became a seminal point in David’s life path, whereupon he decided to finally pursue his lifelong dream of sailing the Caribbean.

The Florida Keys

David sold everything he owned. Quit his job in Chicago. And moved to Key West. There he bought a 34’ Canadian built Grampian Ketch. To those who know the Grampian line, this is an ugly, beast of a sailboat, with a wide beam, and fiberglass hull so thick all but the US Navy’s best ordinance would have no chance to make a dent or crack. A twin masted, heavy built bruiser of a cruising boat (emphasis on the word heavy) built to handle heavy seas and take you anywhere, slowly, in comfort and safety. David’s new love and 34’ mistress, named the “Brilliant”, he reports as being most happy when ridden hard, and her deck kept soaking wet from waves in rough seas breaking over her bow. David lived aboard his beloved “Brilliant”, sailing as much and whenever the weather permitted, which, given the “Brilliant’s” design, was often.

Treasure Hunter

Living in the Keys and being an outgoing personality, David eventually ran into and was offered a job working for a world-famous treasure hunter who happened to be active in the Keys at the time, Mel Fisher. If you have the time, Mel Fisher is worth googling, on his own merits, as an interesting character with a fascinating and famous life – a modern-day, real-life version, perhaps, of Indiana Jones, treasure hunting and fighting governments, insurance companies and investors in legal battles over who owned the spoils of the multiple treasure laden sunken ships he had discovered. In his role working for Mel Fisher, David would scuba dive to retrieve coins from sunken Spanish galleons and take the recovered coins to numismatic trade shows across the US. The ship they were harvesting treasure from at that time was the Neustra Senora D’atocha which sank in 1622.

During this period, David also worked as a deck hand on the America – a Gaff rigged schooner – as a means to scratch his sailing itch on a larger vessel. He also worked as a delivery driver for a local deli, delivering food via scooter to hungry tourists and residents. Having met nearly everyone on the Island and being an immediately likeable person, it was no surprise that David was named “Citizen of the Day” by the Key West Citizen, a local newspaper. David recalls that one of the best parts of living on his beloved “Brilliant”, was that she was moored behind the Schooner Wharf Bar, where David ate and drank many meals and received his mail and phone calls.

For our younger brothers, while it seems an impossibility beyond imagination, there was a time that existed before text, internet, and smart phones. An era as primitive as you might fear from the scariest horror movie, where communication was accomplished with actual letters – written or typed on real paper – that were sealed in envelopes, with postage stamps applied, and mailed to friends and loved ones via the US postal service. As unbelievable as this may sound, sending letters thru the mail was a common practice in this primitive era, as a means of communication, something all but lost and forgotten from the pages of history today. And with that context, David pointedly remembers the concern and probably shock that his mother had, but apparently semi-hid well, that her sole means of communicating with her son was to send letters to him in care of a local saloon where he could pick up his mail. 

A Pirate’s (of the Caribbean) Life

Having exhausted his patience with the rhythm of life that was becoming all too routine on Key West from diving for gold coin, crewing the schooner, and delivering food, David decided it was time to cut all ties and move on to new adventures. He was constantly pulled by his patient mistress, the Brilliant, who had been waiting for him to come to his senses and return to his real passion, sailing. So, he untied the dock lines to the Brilliant and took off and sailed thru the Bahamas, the lesser Antilles and Dominican Republic, disappearing for the next 2 years, exploring dozens of islands and reefs in this part of the Caribbean, with no agenda, no plans, no set itinerary, and literally travelling in whatever direction next seemed best and dropping anchor whenever he was too tired to keep sailing. Fishing. Swimming. Scuba. Sailing. Exploring islands. Meeting people and turning strangers into friends. David refers to these years working in Key West and those where he sailed the Caribbean non-stop as his “lost years”, and claims he enjoyed those years and adventures immensely, and partook of so much rum, that he remembers very little except that these were the very best years of his life, up to that point in his life.   

A Chance Encounter & Propelled Back Into Sales

While on his non-stop sailing epoch in the Caribbean and while anchored off St. Johns island, David ran into Stuart Senger, Iowa ’91, an Acacia Iowa brother, who was then working for the cruise lines with a ship then anchored at the island. David commented that it was mere chance, no more likely than “a fart surviving a windstorm”, that Brother Senger not only was in the right place on the island at the right time to run into him, but even more so was even able to recognize him, as at that time, David was sporting exceptionally long hair and beard, emphasis on the word exceptionally, likely reminiscent of what a pirate must have looked like after being at sea for months and months on end and not shaving or cutting his hair once. After dinner and a few glasses of rum, Brother Senger offered David a job on board the cruise ship as a “port lecturer”.

Recognizing that fate had likely placed Brother Senger on that island at that precise time to run into him, and ready for another change of pace, David put his beloved mistress, the Brilliant, up on the “hard” in St. Johns. The hard, for non-sailors, means taking her out of the water and putting her on jack stands to hold her upright for a long storage period. David reports he headed into town, got a haircut and shave, bought a pair of shoes, and then flew to Miami, where he began working on Cruise ships as a port lecturer. A port lecturer’s job is a sales position, running promotions for shopping destinations in the different ports of call to customers on the cruise ship. It is essentially onboard advertising, and David had his own TV Channel on the cruise ship TV system for his use. David reports this turned out to be very lucrative work, commonly earning 6 figures in commissions for 6 to 10 months at sea, before getting shore leave for several months, prior to the beginning of the next cruise stint. This work for 6 to 10 months at a time, with several months off, repeated several times during the years 2002 – 2004, until he landed in an office management role for Norwegian Cruise lines, running the line’s entire shopping program, ending in 2006. During these cruise line years, David’s worked included Alaska, the Mexican Rivera, Hawaii, and of course, the Caribbean.

David recalls that the problem working the cruise lines was that the money was too good and the time off too long, several months after a long cruise, that this combination promoted a lifestyle of hard work and long hours, while working, and uber excessive fun and entertainment when on shore leave. In 2006, he decided to leave the hard living cruise life behind and he moved to Tampa. David then returned to medical sales for an outfit called Response Link. Back on the mainland living and working sales again, David was eventually recruited to work for Graebel Van Lines selling services to move and relocate hospitals moving into different and newer facilities. David has worked in Business Operations Relocation sales since 2011, selling services to companies who are moving offices, research, and production facilities, and is currently working for Suddath Workplace Solutions in this capacity. David plans to retire next year and spend his retirement years, yes, no surprise, “sailing”.

A World Class Yachtsman

By now, the constant theme of water, sailing and sailboats, should be apparent with Brother Lemke. But there is more to the story. Brother Lemke had developed a reputation among the sailing community as a capable sailor. He was soon recruited into competitive sailing (racing), starting back in 2008. From 2011 to current day, Brother Lemke’s passion is competitive offshore international sailboat racing. Perhaps the most famous race in the world is the Fastnet race. David has participated in this race 3 times. This race begins at the Isle of Wight and goes around the southwestern tip of Ireland and finishes in France (the race previously finished in Plymouth). His best finish in the Fastnet is the top half. The Fastnet race is infamous for heavy weather and rough seas. 19 sailors participating in the race died in 1979 while competing in this race. It is very common that less than half of the sailboats that start the race, ever finish the Fastnet, the conditions are that rough.  David has also competed in the Carribean 600 three times. This race is a circumnavigation of the lesser Antilles, Antigua, Barbuda, 12 islands in all, waters he knows well first hand from his “lost years”, and has finished 2nd and 3rd in class in this race.  

He has also participated in the Regata del Sol al Sol multiples times, which begins in Tampa Bay and runs across the Gulf of Mexico, finishing in Mexico, finishing 1st overall once and finished 1st in class four other times. His racing CV includes the prestigious Rolex Middle Sea Race, which starts and ends in Malta after circumnavigating Sicily, having finished in the top half. Many of us are familiar with résumés and CVs (curriculum vitae). Brother Lemke has a sailing CV, listing all of his sailing accomplishments, which follows at the bottom of this article. 

Today, David lives in Tampa at Davis Island, a mere few steps away from where he keeps his 40’ O’Day sailboat in the water. He races this sailboat up and down the west coast of Florida when not working. And perhaps the best prize of all, from his sailing passion, is that after being a bachelor for so long, his passion of sailing brought him together with his wife, Melinda, whom he married in 2013. He and his wife enjoy sailing together whenever not working.

David’s advice for a young brother still in undergrad school:

"Hard work pays off – BUT – don't be afraid to live life and have a few lost years!"

David’s advice for any young man in college thinking about joining Acacia:
The things I learned in the fraternity and living in the chapter house are big teachers in how I interact with and manage people and opportunities, and have paid me back immeasurable dividends that are easily more valuable than anything I learned in any classroom. I can’t begin to place a value on the lifelong friends I have made through Acacia, my brothers.

Conclusion & Next Steps:
David will retire next year at 55 years of age, even after “suffering” a total of “6 lost years”. He’s looking forward to spending his golden years with his wife and sailing their 40 footer “Mother Ocean” and creating many new “lost years” before his final sailing sunset comes and the tide rises and falls for its last time. 

So concludes our spotlight of our beloved adventurer brother, David Lemke. Like our most famous Acacian Brother worldwide, James Webb, North Carolina ’27, whom the James Webb space telescope is named after, Brother Lemke has and is making contributions to his profession and to the community he is most passionate about. We are proud to call David Lemke “brother” and proclaim David to be one of many brothers worthy of the title “Acacian, Man of Action”.  

David Lemke Sailing CV
Tampa, FL
Age 54
Positions- mast, jib trim, mid ship, grinder, helm
World Sailing Offshore Survival Certified

Regatta Del Sol al Sol-450 NM Ocean Race FL to MX
2010-American Spirit-Benetau 40
1st in Class, 1st in Division, 1st Overall

RORC Caribbean 600- 600NM Ocean Race around the Lesser Antilles
2011- EH01-Benetau 47.7
2nd in Class

Regatta Del Sol al Sol-450 NM Ocean Race FL to MX
2011-American Spirit-Benetau 40
2nd in Class

Rolex Middle Sea Race-Malta-600 NM Ocean Race Circumnavigating Sicily
2011-Nisida-ULD 52
Top half of class

SORC Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race-170 NM Ocean Race Ft. Lauderdale to KW
2012-Constellation-Swan 48
2nd in Class

Regatta Del Sol al Sol-450 NM Ocean Race FL to MX
2012-American Spirit-Benetau 40
1st in Class

Regatta Del Sol al Sol­-450 NM Ocean Race FL to MX
2013-American Spirit-Benetau 40
1st in Class

Rolex Fastnet Race-600 NM Ocean Through the English Channel, across the Celtic Sea and Back
2013-EH01-Benetau 47.7
Top 1/2 of Class

RORC Caribbean 600-600NM Ocean Race around the Lesser Antilles
2014-EH01-Benetau 47.7
3rd in Class

SORC Pineapple Cup-800NM Ocean Race From Ft. Lauderdale to Montego Bay Around the outside of the Bahamas
2015-Sunset Child-J120
Finished

SORC Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race-170 NM Ocean Race Ft. Lauderdale to KW
2016-Sunset Child-J120
Finished

Rolex Fastnet Race-600 NM Ocean Through the English Channel, across the Celtic Sea and Back
2017-Batfish V-Comet 41
Top 1/2 of Class

Regatta Del Sol al Sol- 450NM Ocean Race FL to MX
2018-Revenge Dufour 34
Finished

RORC Caribbean 600-600NM Ocean Race around the Lesser Antilles
2019-Katar J145
Finished 

Rolex Fastnet Race-710 NM Ocean Through the English Channel, across the Celtic Sea finishing in Normandy, France
2021- Green Dragon Volvo 70
Finished-Brutal year

Regatta Del Sol al Sol-450NM Ocean Race FL to MX
2022-Liquid Time Benetau 40
2nd in Class

Newport to Bermuda Race-600 Ocean Race Newport Rhode Island, USA to Bermuda
2022-Osprey-New Mistral 82
Finished