 Members (l to r) Madison M. Pender, Sarah A. Weir, Molly E. Morgan and Seth A. Hall of Pi Sigma Epsilon pose with trophies won at the Epsilon National Convention in Norfolk, Va. March 25 to 29. Photo special to The Appalachian |
by NASH DUNN
Intern News Reporter
Gamma Xi, Appalachian State University’s chapter of the marketing and management fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon, walked away with four trophies after competing in the fraternity’s national convention in Norfolk, Va. March 25 to 29.
The convention included over 50 chapters who competed in five different marketing and management competitions, utilizing both writing and presentation skills.
In addition to being a finalist in all five competitions, chapter participants Seth A. Hall, Molly E. Morgan, Sarah A. Weir and Madison M. Pender received the President’s Award for Most Improved Chapter and placed second in Top Sales Project, Top Management Team and Lloyd L. Antle Top Amethyst Chapter.
Hall and Morgan are seniors at Appalachian, Weir is a junior and Pender is a sophomore.
In its
29-year history at the university, Gamma Xi has only received one other
national award, and Hall, Gamma Xi President, expressed how important
the new awards are to the fraternity.
“We have
not competed as a chapter since 1980, so to do so and have this much
success is outstanding,” Hall said. “The hard work that all our members
put in and the drastic changes we have had to make have been a
difficult challenge.”
The
changes Hall referred to are the radical adjustments the chapter was
forced to make after being placed on probation in fall 2008.
Refusing to accept the chapter’s cancellation, chapter members decided
to face the difficult challenge of revising how the fraternity is
managed, Hall said.
In addition to this, Hall explained how preparation for the national convention was a demanding task in itself.
“Most
other chapters are much larger than ours or have been competing for a
much longer time, so they knew what to expect, and also were able to
bring a lot more members for the competitions,” Hall said. “Our chapter
was only able to send four members…[and we] had to write all of the
written entries together and prepare for each of the presentations.”
Now,
after a semester of revisions and hard work, the chapter is ranked “10”
in Pi Sigma Epsilon’s National Chapter Efficiency Index rankings and
has reached the Amethyst level for the first time in their history.
“We
received standing ovations each time our chapter was called to the
stage,” Hall said. “Not only were we proud of how well we did, but
other chapters knew how far we had come and how hard we had worked to
get there and they were extremely supportive.”
Chapter faculty advisor Barbara Michel has witnessed the group’s transformation and attributes their success to persistence.
“The
organization as a whole has been working very hard,” Michel said.
“We’re proud about winning all the awards and [want] to keep up the
same process and success next year.”
Although the fraternity is designed around marketing and management, the chapter is open to all Appalachian students.
“The
best part about our fraternity, though, is that it is open to all
majors even though we are specifically a marketing and sales
fraternity,” Hall said. “So this not only says something about the
College of Business, but also the students that Appalachian State is
producing.”
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