Eastern’s Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils acquired the highest awards in their division while attending the recent Mid-American Greek Council Association.

The councils both attend the Mid-American Greek Council Association conference each year to represent the Greek community and listen to speakers from around the world lecture on topics such as leadership and programming, Jay Piatt, president of the Interfraternity Council, said.

“It was important for us to be at the conference to represent Eastern, since we were returning defenders,” Piatt said.

This is the second consecutive year that the Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils have been awarded the most prestigious awards in their division for Outstanding Council Programming, a press release said.

“It is like mini-seminars in a big conference, and the last night is the awards ceremony,” Colleen Klein, president of the Panhellenic Council, said.

The Interfraternity was awarded the Jellison award, the highest award for the Top Programming by an Interfraternity Council.

The Panhellenic Council was also awarded the Sutherland Award, the highest of its caliber, recognizing the best programming by a Panhellenic Council, a press release stated.

The Interfraternity Council is composed of nine members of the Executive Board and one representative from each fraternity on campus, while the Panhellenic Council includes eight members of the executive board and one representative from each sorority, the council’s Web site said.

The Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils are the governing body of the fraternities and sororities on campus and work in conjunction with each other. They are responsible for the overall organization and operation of the Greek system.

The awards received by both councils are given only to those that excel in all of the categories taken into consideration at the awards ceremony and displaying overall strength as a Greek society, Piatt said.

In addition to receiving the most distinguished awards of the night, they also proceeded to span their winnings to the individual categories as well.

“You have to apply for these individual categories, which are given for specific programming efforts,” Piatt explained.

The Interfraternity Council raked in seven awards in these individual categories and the Panhellenic Council brought in a whooping eight.

The following awards were received by Eastern’s Greek councils:

n. Academic Achievement

n. Council Management

n. Philanthropy and Community Service

n. Leadership and Educational Development

n. Membership Recruitment

n. Public Relations

n. Risk Reduction and Management

n. Self-Governance and Judicial Affairs

“We put a lot of hard work and dedication into what we do, and we take pride in it,” Klein said.