Mortar Board Chapter Receives National Awards

The Zeta Chi chapter at Oklahoma Baptist University was among the outstanding chapters to be honored for their excellence at the 2009 Mortar Board National Conference, held July 24-26 in Chicago.

The group was one of 67 outstanding chapters to receive the Silver Torch Award, presented to chapters executing timeliness and dedication while exemplifying the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service. Silver Torch Award recipients are selected based on a review of national records, requiring that the chapter meet all of the national minimum standards and deadlines.

The chapter was among 28 groups to receive a Project Excellence Award, granted by a selection committee to chapters with notable projects in the areas of scholarship, leadership, fundraising, service, the national "Reading is Leading" literacy initiative, alumni involvement or Mortar Board Week. The chapter was recognized for the group's art auction conducted during the campus' annual "Blitz Week" fundraiser for Family Promise, a non-profit organization comprised of churches that help support families who have lost their homes. The chapter gathered and auctioned more than 200 works of art.

Chapter President Jenna Kay Lane, an OBU senior from Amarillo, Texas, was present to accept the chapter's award.

Mortar Board is a national honor society that recognizes college seniors for outstanding achievement in scholarship, leadership and service. Since its founding in 1918, the organization has grown from the four founding chapters to 227 chartered collegiate chapters with nearly a quarter of a million initiated members across the nation. The Zeta Chi chapter at Oklahoma Baptist University was chartered in 1968 and currently has 21 members.