The Journey
A newsletter for chapter advisors, chapter officers, and
regional officers.
May 2001
Issue
complete the
Journey Survey!
Phi Theta
Kappa Hallmark Awards
Fact or Fiction?
Will participating in the Hallmark Awards Program be in your chapter's vision for the next academic year?
Are you excited about participating, or do you feel defeated before you even begin because your chapter doesn't meet the so-called qualifications to be award-worthy?
Before throwing in the towel, let us separate the facts from the fiction by taking a look at how the 2001 award-winning chapters stack up.
Fiction:
Only older, well-established chapters win.
Fact: The young ones are reaching new heights! This year six of
the chapters represented in the Top 100 were less than 5 years old. For
the chapter at Nunez Community College in Chalmette, Louisiana, 2001 is
a banner year. Chartered in January 2000, this new chapter won two awards
at the 2001 International Convention, including a Distinguished Chapter
Award and the Paragon Award for New Advisors. As the Society continues
to add new chapters, the possibility of these chapters winning awards
only increases.
Fiction:
Only large chapters win awards.
Fact: Try telling that to the chapter at Haywood Community College
in Clyde, North Carolina, who received the Scholarship Hallmark Award.
Their membership may be small in number with only 40 new members inducted
in 2000, but they are big on scholarship. In fact, 35 percent of the chapters
receiving awards in one or more of the four hallmark categories inducted
less than 100 new members in 2000.
Fiction:
Only Southern chapters win awards.
Fact: For members at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado,
humidity and Southern accents may be in short supply, but Hallmark Award
success is plentiful. They received an abundance of accolades including
Leadership, Service, Fellowship and Distinguished Chapter Awards in addition
to being named Second-Runner Up to the Most Distinguished Chapter for
2001. Take a closer look at the Society's top six chapters, and you will
see that in addition to Colorado, Missouri and Hawaii are also represented.
That's 50 percent non-Southern!
Indeed, as the names of winning chapters are announced at the International Convention, it may seem that Southern chapters are recognized more often than any other group. Since the Southern Region has a higher concentration of Phi Theta Kappa chapters, it makes sense that many award-winning chapters hail from the South.
However, compare the number of chapters from a particular geographic region represented in the Top 100 to the total number of chapters from that region, and you will find that the rankings are quite evenly distributed.
This year 41 chapters out of 401 from the North Central Region were recognized as Top 100 chapters. That's 10 percent. From the Southern Region, 39 of the 388 active chapters were recognized for a total of 10 percent. From the New England/Middle States Region, 11 of the region's 191 active chapters were recognized. That's 6 percent. Finally, 9 chapters of the 140 in the West/Northwest Region were recognized. That's also 6 percent.
Fiction:
Quantity triumphs over quality.
Fact: When constructing a Hallmark Awards entry, some chapters
believe that more is always better. While award-winning entries run the
gamut from petite to plus size, it is important to understand that the
size of an entry does not affect the judging process. Take for instance
the award-winning Scholarship entry submitted by the chapter at Caņada
College in Redwood City, California. Including the cover sheet, the entire
entry consisted of only 15 pages!
Hallmark Award judges look for quality of programming in award entries rather than volume of activities. A chapter which implements a handful of quality programs that have an impact within their chapter, college, community and region has a better chance of receiving an award than the chapter that fluffed their entries with activities not related to the particular Hallmark category.
When considering embracing the Society's Hallmarks, take to heart the words of wisdom from the Most Distinguished Chapter of 2001 at St. Petersburg Junior College - St. Petersburg Campus in St. Petersburg, Florida. "Planning is the key. As soon as officers are elected, set goals and design a path to achieve them," says chapter advisor Steve Meier. "We decided to plan a variety of fun and interesting activities to increase participation, but also major activities that might separate us from other chapters."
St. Petersburg chapter president Lee Palmer believes that standing out from the crowd is the key to success. "Do something that others might not think about, even smaller events can and do make a large difference," says Palmer.
Questions about Hallmark awards? Contact Director of Chapter Programs Tracee Walker, 601.957.2241, ext. 524.
[Return to the Table of Contents]