Phi Theta Kappa

On Saturday, March 17, York Technical College's Alpha Alpha Iota chapter of Phi Theta Kappa was recognized at the Phi Theta Kappa Carolinas Region Convention held in Clemmons, NC, for their hard work last year. Kirk Adams, President of PTK, has provided outstanding leadership to the College's local PTK chapter. His dedication to PTK and to the College demonstrates the level of commitment and engagement we hope for all of our students. Karen Hedgepeth and Bill Bass, faculty advisors for the local PTK chapter, have worked very hard supporting our students efforts and are to be commended.

The chapter received the following awards at the Phi Theta Kappa Carolinas Region Convention:

Carolinas Superstar Award - for 90 percent participation in Regional and International events.
Four Clover Challenge Award - for completing four environmental projects including planting trees, recycling, and providing environmental awareness information.
5-Star Chapter Award - for reaching the highest level of participation for a chapter, completing four International Honors Topic projects, four International Service Topic projects and much more.

The International Honors Topic and Service Topic Projects must involve some or all of Phi Theta Kappa's Hallmarks (Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Fellowship). Within Scholarship, our chapter shared their knowledge and experience with others in the school, community, and region. For the past two years, they have provided historical presentations at Jefferson Elementary School. They presented movies on campus with discussions afterward on how they relate to the Honors Topic, "Gold, Gods, and Glory: The Global Dynamics of Power." They have empowered those in the community and internationally through Project Graduation and Better World Books where they collected food to be donated to a local soup kitchen and books to be donated to The Children's Attention Home, Family Literacy, and Books for Africa.

In line with their Service Topic, "Operation Green: Improving Our Communities", they held a waterway cleanup at Ebenezer Park for the last two years, planted flowers around the school and trees in the community to help to reduce our "carbon footprint." In addition, they have distributed information in ways to keep the environment clean and handed out over 200 pocket ashtrays on campus.

Scholarship Hallmark Award - (awarded to the top 5 chapters in NC & SC) for projects making an educational impact on the college, community, and regional levels.
Service Hallmark Award (Honorable Mention)- (awarded to the top 10 chapters in NC & SC) for service projects making an impact on the college, community, and regional levels.
Hall of Honor Award (for Patricia Celley) - This is given to members who are nominated for Distinguished Chapter Member/Officer/President/Advisor Awards
Distinguished Chapter Officer Award (Patricia Celley) - This is given to the top 5 Chapter Officers in the region for their impact in the chapter as well as in the class and college.
Distinguished Chapter President Award (Kirk Adams) - This is given to the top 5 Chapter Presidents in the region for their impact in the chapter as well as in the class and college.
Horizon Award (Bill Bass) - For contributing to their chapter's continued advancement in the region.
Horizon Award (Karen Hedgepeth) - For contributing to their chapter's continued advancement in the region.
Distinguished Chapter Award (Honorable Mention) - (awarded to the top 10 chapters in NC & SC) for the highest overall scores/awards.
Distinguished College President (Dr. Greg Rutherford) - awarded to the College President who provided the highest level of support to the colleges Phi Theta Kappa Chapter.

As Kirk Adams stated, "our goal as a Phi Theta Kappa chapter is not just to be recognized for academic excellence, but to make a difference on our campus, in our community, and ultimately in our world by sharing what we have learned and giving back of our time and talents. We want to help with Dr. Rutherford's vision of making York Tech the best place to work and to learn by contributing in any way we can."

Thank you Kirk, Karen, Bill, and all the PTK members for a job well done!