FIJI President Joe Edwards said he was happy to learn that his fraternity chapter won two national awards.
Ball State University's chapter of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, or FIJI, won first place in the Zerman Trophy and second place in the Coon Plaque. These honors are given by the fraternity's national headquarters on an annual basis.
According to the organization's Web site, the Zerman Trophy is awarded to the undergraduate chapter nationwide that surpasses expectations in encouraging brother involvement within student organizations and extracurricular activities. The award has existed since 1970, but this is the first year the Ball State chapter has received the Zerman Trophy.
Edwards said FIJI stresses involvement to their brothers. Every year, he said chapters submit a roster of all of the extracurricular and student organizations their members are involved in to their headquarters. These rosters are then compared to see which chapter has more positions filled by their members.
Edwards said he is pleased with the work his fraternity did to win.
"These awards mean we are continually improving," he said. "We are starting to make a name for us nationally."
The Coon Plaque is given to the Phi Gamma Delta chapter with the best publication during the previous academic year. The Coon Plaque has been awarded to chapters since 1932. The fraternity headquarters judge the creativity and design of their publication and they judge the output information in your publication.
FIJI sends out two publications each semester. These are three- to five-page mini newspapers that inform parents and graduate members what is going on within the fraternity.
Edwards said he hopes that these two awards will lead to further success within the chapter.
"We are making sure we keep a good work ethic with our community involvement," he said. "These two honors are a test to the hard work of all of our members."
Edwards said FIJI is not going to be satisfied with these awards. They are seeking improvement within their chapter.
"It starts with realizing the things we did right and where we need improvement," he said. "We want to be in competition to be the best chapter in the country."
FIJI has obtained many other awards for its chapter over the years. They have won awards for their excellence in outreach and chapter
management. In 2005 they won the Interfraternity Council service award for their excellence in community service.
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