THE REPORTER:
Kappa Alpha Order Earns National Award
This summer six members of the Beta Omega Chapter of the Kappa
Alpha Order traveled to Tampa, FL, for the annual national conference.
Unbeknownst to them, they were to receive the highest recognition
available to active chapters across the country.
Handpicked from more than 125 chapters, Beta Omega, with just
31 brothers, was one of three chapters to receive the George
C. Marshall Award for Chapter Excellence.
Dave Gallara, president of the local chapter, says Beta Omega
has made great strides in recent years to break free of the
fraternity stereotype associated with wild drinking parties.
The KAs do host an occasional social event, Gallara concedes,
but these days the KAs are known as much for their commitment
to community service as for their Beach Bash. Last year, the
organization gave more than 3,000 community service hours to
various local organizations, elementary schools, and Washington
College itself. The KAs help out with the Chestertown Lion's
Club Chicken Flip, the Jaycees Easter Egg Hunt, and a reading
program for elementary school children. On campus, they are
responsible for cleaning up litter around the Casey Academic
Center.
Meanwhile, they raised $2,000 for the KA's national philanthropy—muscular
dystrophy —and another $500 for local causes, the largest being
the annual "Christmas for the Kids," a gathering for underprivileged
children in the area co-sponsored with Alpha Chi Omega.
The chapter has also made its mark in the scholastic realm,
recognized by the National Office for academic achievement in
four of the past six semesters. Peaking in the Fall of 2002,
the chapter was able to receive a cumulative average higher
than the all men's average on campus. The KA membership is represented
on several athletic teams, including crew, soccer, and baseball,
and are active in campus activities such as student government,
Students in Free Enterprise, Toastmasters Club, and the Elm.
"Beta Omega has become more than just an average fraternity,"
Gallara says. "The chapter prides itself on the fact that it
is not just a social organization. We strive for something better."
PHOTO:
National Kappa Alpha officers Larry Wiese (left) and David Warren
(right) present the Marshall Award for Chapter Excellence to
David Gallara '04, the president of Washington College's KA
chapter.
|
|
|
