SFCC PTK Chapter Wins Regional Awards

SEDALIA—State Fair Community College’s Alpha Lambda Omega chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) honor society received numerous awards at the Missouri regional spring conference March 13-15 in Branson, Missouri.

The SFCC chapter also hosted this year’s conference. Duties included helping regional PTK directors Jo and Steve Fritts, Ozark Technical College, plan the event and arrange for keynote speakers.

The SFCC chapter received the following awards in recognition of achievements over the last year:

·     An award for improved rating from one star to three stars (five stars is the top rating)

·     An Honors in Action award—This award is for a scholarly research project. At the request of SFCC President Dr. Joanna Anderson, chapter members researched and presented to PTK the feasibility of instituting an honors program at SFCC.

·     An Honors in Action Competition award—The research report and data the chapter presented to PTK were submitted and accepted into international competition with PTK chapters at colleges all over the world. That competition will be held in the future.

·     A $100 scholarship from the Missouri PTK Alumni Association recognizing chapters that made significant improvements. Only two of the 27 Missouri chapters received scholarships.

·     A Conference Hosting Recognition award for helping plan a successful conference

Gary Webb, SFCC PTK advisor, also received the Horizon Award, one of only two given to Missouri advisors who have guided their chapters through substantial improvements and whose members exhibit leadership and improvement.

SFCC’s David Lorandi, Mexico City, Mexico, was elected vice president of Missouri’s Theta District. He will help host several conferences over the next year; attend the PTK international conference in San Antonio, Texas, this month; and receive training at the PTK Center for Excellence in Mississippi and at the Honors Institute in New Mexico.

Attending from SFCC were Matthew Anglin, Sedalia, PTK vice president of service; MacKenzie Walker, Sedalia; Cristina Munoz, Osage Beach; Lorandi; and Webb.

PTK officers who could not attend but are directly responsible for the chapter’s success are Amollie Stoermer, Mora, president; Nathan Schnell, Boonville, vice president of leadership; Joe Rinkmeyer, Sedalia, historian; Rachel Walters, Sedalia, treasurer; and Joshua Burch, Knob Noster, former vice president of service, who graduated in December.

The conference is held annually to bring together students from 27 Missouri PTK chapters to network, learn leadership skills and honor chapters that have demonstrated success over the previous year.

Phi Theta Kappa is a worldwide honor society with chapters in more than 1,200 two-year colleges. Students who meet academic and character criteria are invited to join.

(Courtesy of SFCC)