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August 10, 2003
Iota Sigma Dominates at BLTW
The 56th Balfour Leadership Training Workshop (BLTW) was held in Lincoln, Nebraska July 31st through August 3rd. It is the largest gathering of its kind held by a Greek letter organization. The purpose of the workshop was to provide the nearly 850 undergraduate attendees of the Sigma Chi Fraternity with leadership skills that will help them run an effective chapter at their respective colleges.
Iota Sigma of Sigma Chi was proud to send 6 of its undergraduate brothers to BLTW. Consul Matthew Wallace (’04), Magister Jon Ackerman (’04), Pro Consul Tom Mathews ('05), Adam Dellay (’05), Rishab Malhotra (’06), and Ben Lieske (’06) spent nearly 10 hours per day attending seminars, discussion groups, 
chapter planning sessions and listening to keynote speakers such as 63rd Grand Consul Lee Beauchamp, Grand Pro Consul Keith Krach, and 59th Grand Consul Dick Hester.
BLTW is not only a time for learning and planning for the upcoming year, but also a time of recognition for the chapter’s accomplishments during the past school year. Several awards are presented at BLTW, including the J. Dwight Peterson Award and Legion of Honor Award. “The Peterson Significant Chapter Award is the highest award bestowed upon an undergraduate chapter. Named for Past Grand Consul J. Dwight Peterson, Indiana ’19, the award recognizes excellent, but not impossible, performance by chapters in all major areas of operation and programming. For many years, the Peterson plaque has been a symbol of dedication, idealism, and achievement.” (from sigmachi.org) The Legion of Honor Award recognizes those chapters that run excellent scholarship programs encouraging life long learning and scholastic achievement.
Once again, Iota Sigma has received the highest honor bestowed upon an undergraduate chapter of Sigma Chi. Iota Sigma has frequently enjoyed the company of the Peterson Significant Chapter Award on the ride home from BLTW. In only 13 years as a chapter of Sigma Chi, Iota Sigma has won the Peterson Award 11 times.
Along with the Peterson Award, Iota Sigma was also presented with the Legion of Honor Award. During the past year, Iota Sigma created a scholarship program that raises the minimum GPA above Sigma Chi National Standards and Valparaiso University Standards, as well as implements programs to raise the lower GPAs in the chapter.
Last, and certainly least, of the honors received by Iota Sigma is champions of the annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Iota Sigma participated in the tournament with 64 other teams and went on to win the crown for the first time in chapter history. The team consisted of Ben Lieske, Jon Ackerman, Adam Dellay, Rishab Malhotra and Delta Eta Sig Devlin Thomas. Brothers Wallace and Mathews provided moral support, high quality H2O, and worked out cramps using techniques taught to them by members of the Kazawa Atoll.
In closing, Iota Sigma would like to recognize one of Iota Sigma's alumni, Tim Birner ('02) for his "presence" at BLTW. The picture you see at the beginning of the article is of Tim. All were enthused to see him grace the cover of every item one could imagine at BLTW. Tim will be pursuing a career in male modeling focusing on rainwear by Ralph Lauren. Look for his first spread in the Winter 2004 issue of Marshall Fields' Shop 'Till You Drop product catalog.
More information regarding the topics in this article can be found within the links below:
Information Regarding Peterson Application
Posted by Webmaster at August 10, 2003 01:19 PM