Members of the Kappa Alpha Order chapter at Missouri Southern brought home seven awards from the Province Council in Carbondale, Illinois.

Among those awards, the most notable was the Samuel Zenas Ammen Award, which recognizes the top 10 chapters in the nation.

This is the third straight year Kappa Alpha has won this award.

“That really shows that everything we’ve done in the past has paid off,” said Rylee Hartwell, senior sociology and psychology double major and chapter president. “It was awesome being recognized for job well done and we are proud of what we have accomplished.”

Qualifications to win this award include number of philanthropy hours, monies raised, cumulative GPA, size of chapter, proficiency in knowing rituals and customs and more.

Kappa Alpha members won awards for their number of philanthropy hours and finance.  They worked 132 philanthropy hours per member and donated $230 per man to charity.

Other awards include the Excellence in Chapter Finances, Excellence in Social Media Communication, Excellence in Fraternal Communication and Excellence in Campus and Community Communication.

“I’ve seen us grow and continuously get better every single year that I’ve been a member,” said Hartwell. “The important thing to know is that we rise and fall together.”

Hartwell encourages students to think about joining the Greek system in order to make lifelong connections.

“If you are coming to Missouri Southern, you want a college experience and be involved in something greater than yourself,” said Hartwell, adding member benefits include the fraternity’s mission, to provide a moral compass for modern gentlemen.

“We want it to be known that we are gentlemen in the strictest sense,” said Hartwell. “We live our values, which are excellence, gentility, honor, respect and chivalry.

“All those things have been timeless in Kappa Alpha and I think what is missing from society.”